Despite the lack of sleep, my maternity leave flew by. I guess it didn't help that I only had 6 weeks and I spent the 1st week in the hospital. I was dreading this past Monday for awhile, but it wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. The biggest thing that I learned this week is that more than anything having my kids in daycare makes me appreciate the time I get to spend with them at home even more and therefore makes me even more productive while they are at daycare so I can concentrate on them when I'm at home. We are all learning as we go...
In other twin news, I've started pumping during the day so that the kids can each have 3 3oz bottles of breast milk at daycare. If they need a 4th bottle, then they get some formula. Then, at night I only nurse them and it's going well!!
As far as sleeping goes...we have some good nights and some bad nights. Good nights are when both kids go at least 4 hours between eating. That way I can usually get 2-3 hours of sleep in a row. Sometimes one baby will even go 5 hours between feedings, but then the other baby only goes like 3 hours and we don't get to take advantage of the long stretch. Oh well. Such is life with twins it seems. Bad nights are when they are off schedule and even though we try to wake them up to keep them together they still manage to stay off because one baby won't go back to sleep well or the other one doesn't nurse well, etc. CJ and I have good and bad nights too where we are more frustrated with the babies or the baby monitors (and their false alarms) or other random things. Overall though its going well and we are just looking forward to a few more hours of consecutive sleep in the future.
If anyone has tips on how to get a baby to sleep better in their crib then please share because that seems to be the hardest thing about getting the kids to sleep!!
In post-partum news, I am still 8lbs over my pre-pregnancy IVF weight and 18lbs over my ideal weight. I'm definitely eating a lot though to help keep my supply up and I think once I start working longer days (starting next week) and I'm not just doing research from home then the weight will start coming off again.
In emotional news, I'm still happier than I have ever been. It's kinda weird not feeling sad anymore, but I'm getting used to it. People say to me, "You don't even look tired." I think it's because I'm just so happy that feeling tired is nothing compared to the weight of loss and infertility and the uncertainty involved in all that. I'm a mom now...a mother of twins...who is tired, yes, but so, so happy!!
I'm dreading going back to work. It is nice to see a positive post about the transition. I'm sure it is tough, but it doesn't have to be all bad. Glad you are so happy!
ReplyDeleteMy doctor recommended Happiest Baby on the Block for sleep help (there is a chapter at the end about transition to crib if I remember correctly). I obviously haven't tried it yet, but might be worth a try!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you are able to have a somewhat smooth transition back to work.
ReplyDeleteMy twins also do not like their crib. They sleep great in their bouncy chair and rock n play so that's what we're doing right now, and trying to wean them on to the crib a bit each day. I think most babies just like sleeping on a slight incline due to reflux.
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