Lesson Learned

It was a great weekend.  Michael did not have to work, and we had a great time taking care of the babies--laughing at their funny faces, giving them a bath, and taking way too many pictures because there were so many cute moments.  Saturday, we had friends over in the afternoon (thanks for visiting Pipkins!) and then they went to bed easily and only woke up at 3 and then at 6:30 on Saturday night.  On Sunday, we became official members of Atlanta Westside and they were so good throughout church and lunch at Flip Burger with friends.  (I have a new obsession with Flip Burger and we dined there three times in one week.  Mainly, I love the Nutella and burnt Marshmallow milkshake. They top it with liquid nitrogen so it smokes when they bring it out). Then, to top it all off, I got them to bed by 8pm, something I have been trying to do unsuccessfully for the last week. I was on a high and for no good reason decided that this could be the night that they sleep through the night.  They have had a few five hour stretches, but I have been praying for that 9 hour stretch.
So with high hopes, Michael and I finished watching Princess Bride (Michael hadn't seen this classic) and I dashed off to bed thinking I might get some serious shut-eye.  Things went down hill after I set myself up for disappointment.  Here is the rundown:
10:15 Allie wakes up and Michael gives her 4 oz of formula
11:30 Harper wakes up and I nurse her.  I always wake the other one up to eat so they are on the same schedule, but I'm still thinking Allie will sleep for a long stretch...
1:00: not so, Allie is screaming and i nurse her.
2:15: Allie screaming and i can't get out of bed, so Michael brings her to me in bed to nurse her again for 20 minutes
3:15: Nurse Harper and cuss myself for not waking her up at 2:15 to eat with Allie
4:00: Allie's screaming and Michael gives her a bottle.  It takes an hour for her to take out 4 ounces and for him to change both gals diapers
6:30 Nurse Harper
6:50 Finally come to my senses and wake Allie up to eat.  SHOULD have been waking both up to eat together all night!
I squeeze in a shower before Harper is screaming again at 8am.
This was one of the most difficult nights we've had and I took the time the next morning to recall the events so thought I would record them here.  I learned a lesson: Don't let my hopes of sleeping through the night keep me from waking one to eat with her sister. I do love them despite their hunger at all hours of the day.

 

They look so innocent ;)

Stroll on over to meet Allie and Harper...a "Sip n See"

A few people have given me a sideways glance when I said that Allie and Harper were having a "sip n see" in Chattanooga.  I guess it is a southern term for a party to meet new babies.  A few of my Chattanooga friends and my mom's friends hosted the party. Harper, Allie, and I had a great time and I was so proud of them.  They didn't make a peep the whole time and loved being passed around and ogled.

The gracious hostesses!

Two Month Pediatrician Visit

Carolyn (Michael's Mom) and I took Allie and Harper to their 2 month weigh in and once again, I am happy to report healthy, growing babies:

Harper:
9 Pounds 12 ounces (24th percentile)
22.5 inches long (59th percentile)

Allie:
9 Pounds 3 ounces (@15th percentile)
21.5 inches long (? percentile)

Dr. Chugani was glad to see that they are moving up in percentiles (Harper from 15th percentile and Allie from 3rd percentile). I was surprised that they were only a half a pound different in weight because Harper feels significantly heavier and she is such a better eater.  Way to go Allie!

They also got a shot in each leg and they both let out the the saddest cry I've ever heard.  Harper hardly breathed for 5 seconds after she was stuck.  It was so sad to see the confusion on their faces last for a second after the stick and then turn into a murderous cry. I'm going to need support to take these girls to get all their shots, and I'm so glad Carolyn was able to go with me and soothe screaming babies.

Mark and Carolyn made the trip from Mississippi once again to help us out for 3 nights this week and brought these cute Christmas outfits.  The hilarious socks were given to us by my mom's friends:

Allie looks like a Christmas angel and Harper has visions of sugarplums dancing in her head.

Sleep

Last night, Harper slept for 5 straight hours! Michael gave her a 6 oz milkshake (what we call formula) at 9:15 and she was asleep by 10 and didn't stir until 2:15. This is particularly amazing because she slept through Allie's most ear piercing screaming session to date. The plan was to put them both down around 9:30 but Allie would have none of it. After multiple trips to and from our bed and the nursery to soothe, rock, nurse again, and replace the paci, I gave up at 12:15 and let her "cry it out." It sounded like the cat fight of the century and about broke my heart, but I also could not manage to get out of bed one more time. She either quit after 15 minutes or I just slept through it, can't remember. At 2:15 she was sleeping soundly and I had to wake her up to eat with Harper. After that, Harper woke up about every 2 hours to eat again, maybe because she had stretched five hours before?? Anyways, if I can get miss Allie to sleep I may be close to five straight hours of sleep. Allie goes down for naps during the day easily, while Harper wants to stay up and play or nurse some more. I've got one night owl and one rooster (or some other animal that stays awake all day).

Allie the Night Owl

Harper the Rooster

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Fun at Dad's Office

Yesterday, Allie and Harper met Santa for the first time at Michael's firm's kids Christmas party. He was a pretty authentic looking Santa, too. Real beard and all. We did see him leaving in a car though instead of his sleigh. I shielded A & H's eyes. After the party, we tested out Daddy's office chair (and spit-up in it after a few spins-oops)

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving trip to my parents' mountain home in Cashiers, NC was Allie and Harper's first vacation.  The Tuesday night before Thanksgiving we loaded down the car with all the necessary baby gear, and I don't know if we could have fit anything else.  Then, about 30 minutes down the road, we realized we had forgotten the pack-n-play -- their portable crib.  We couldn't stomach turning around and adding more than an hour to our trip, so we forged ahead and figured we'd cross the where-to-sleep bridge when we got there.  Except for one bottle each, they slept through the entire 2.5 hour drive.

After some brainstorming, our best idea for a baby bed was one from the olden days -- a drawer.  Wish I had gotten a pic of them sleeping in it.  They liked it just as much as their crib.

The holiday gave us a nice break because there were so many loving arms to pass them among.  On Friday, our family friends, the Moores and the Smiths, arrived for another HuffSmithMoore throw-down. The house was packed with 22 people. Because babies and new parents need their sleep, we missed out on the night-time festivities, but did get to hear everything through our door, including a 2 hour game of Salad Bowl (similar to Charades, but louder, especially with 18 people) and a 1am-3am dance-off.  I came out during the dancing to get bottles ready for the babies and saw furniture moved out of the way and parents and kids in a circle breaking it down.  They danced the fuzz out of the rug, literally.

Here are pics of some of our baby-care helpers who relieved us over the week:

"Lovey" as she wants to be called, and Harper

"D" and Allie (commiserating over their hair-loss issues)

My childhood friend, Kaki Brown, and Harper

Chrissy Smith, mother of six, was so refreshing.  She held and soothed my babes the whole weekend and brought me snacks and water when I was nursing.  That was the life!

Kadie Ann Smith and Harper

My baby, Allie, and my sister's baby, Weezy.  Weezy was quite curious about the babies.

Went to the Young's neighbor's Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our own tree!  (That's actually Michael, not Indiana Jones)

A Good Start Then We Get Hungry

Here are a few videos from one morning about two weeks ago (Again, pardon the baby talk):

Things start off great:

 

Then Harper gets very hungry:

Harper caught in the act on video.  For the record, I have also caught Allie latching onto Harper's head one night when it took me a little too long to respond to the cries of hunger.