So, we're already at seven weeks and if there's a routine to be had, we has it!
It seems that babies are creatures of routine and habit and by sticking to a routine new parents can cobble together some semblance of a life. Mostly..
We've started the going-to-bed cycle about 8ish by putting the girls in their travel cot and gathering up the 100000 bottles, bibs, muslin squares, anti-splash mats and other liquid repellent materials required for a night with twins. By 9 we should be in the bedroom and feeding should have commenced so that by 10pm at the latest they're drifting off to sleep.
This part of the equation works quite well and by 10.15 or thereabouts the house is quiet and we're all off to sleep.
Where the plan usually falls down is the 3am feed where Faith will take a full bottle then steadfastly refuse to produce the required number of burps, keeping one of us up for about 90 minutes.
It turns out this 90 minutes is THE most important period of sleep of the whole night time period and missing it leaves you in a state of mental fog for most of the day. I no longer know what day it is, can barely remember the time and occasionally forget where I live but that aside it's pretty much OK.
Emily sleeps through the night so it's just Faith that causes this lack of sleep but she's so utterly gorgeous that I forgive just about anything she does (or doesn't do) - unless it involves damaging my PCs or consoles...
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not complaining, just pointing out the facts of a twin parents life. Right now it feels like a constant round of eat, wind, change nappy, sleep, eat, wind, change nappy, sleep and I suspect it'll continue to be like that for a while yet, it's not bad, annoying or even irritating, it's just part of being a parent and it's totally forgotten every time one of the girls looks up at me with those big, clear blue eyes. It would be nice to have a night off, just to get eight hours sleep or find enough time to grab a proper bath of spend some quality time with Elly, but, that can and will have to wait and we'll be as patient as is required.
In the mean time, they are seven week sold now and we've nearly had some proper smiles. It has become a source of constant competition between Elly and I to see who can get the first proper grin so fingers crossed the girls will step up for Daddy :)
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Golden showers
Bah! Yea, you heard me, bah! I'll even say it again - bah!!
There has been an evil new twist to changing time in the Russell household and to be be honest, I'm not happy with it.
Let's be straight about something - my children are cherubs, they are the single most beautiful children ever born, they will be rocket scientists and live life to the full. In short, however good you think your children are, mine are better - FACT!
But ...
They developed a nasty habit of peeing all over me. It's very intelligent, beautiful, life fulfilling pee but it's pee all the same.
I think it's probably a voiceless protest at the process of nappy changing but surely there are better ways to object to something? A poster campaign perhaps or t-shirts with slogans on, really ladies, there's no need for this!!!
.. and to make matters worse it's all cunningly planned and goes something like this..
Step 1. Fill current nappy with unmentionable substances.
Step 2. Cry until unsuspecting parent turns up and offers to change you.
Step 3. Remain silent until unsuspecting parent has removed outer garments and reaches for the sticky fastening tapes on the aforementioned nappy.
Step 4. SCREAM.
Step 5. CONTINUE SCREAMING.
Step 6. Don't stop to see if unsuspecting parent is listening , just SCREAM a bit more.
Step 7. Allow unsuspecting parent to remove nappy.
Step 8. Wait for gasps at horror at what you've produced.
Step 9. Look at ceiling nonchalantly while clean-up operation occurs.
Step 10. Wait for the exact second that unsuspecting parent has removed existing nappy and is as far away from a new one as is physically possible and ..
Step 11. Urinate like your life depends on it - if possible try to pee at least three times your own bodyweight over the unsuspecting parent, your own clothes, the changing mat, the cat, the wallpaper (etc etc)
Step 12. aaaaannnnnnd rest....
Oh, and one more thing... Make sure you do it at exactly 3.26am as this is the time when unsuspecting parent is least awake.
I love my children :)
There has been an evil new twist to changing time in the Russell household and to be be honest, I'm not happy with it.
Let's be straight about something - my children are cherubs, they are the single most beautiful children ever born, they will be rocket scientists and live life to the full. In short, however good you think your children are, mine are better - FACT!
But ...
They developed a nasty habit of peeing all over me. It's very intelligent, beautiful, life fulfilling pee but it's pee all the same.
I think it's probably a voiceless protest at the process of nappy changing but surely there are better ways to object to something? A poster campaign perhaps or t-shirts with slogans on, really ladies, there's no need for this!!!
.. and to make matters worse it's all cunningly planned and goes something like this..
Step 1. Fill current nappy with unmentionable substances.
Step 2. Cry until unsuspecting parent turns up and offers to change you.
Step 3. Remain silent until unsuspecting parent has removed outer garments and reaches for the sticky fastening tapes on the aforementioned nappy.
Step 4. SCREAM.
Step 5. CONTINUE SCREAMING.
Step 6. Don't stop to see if unsuspecting parent is listening , just SCREAM a bit more.
Step 7. Allow unsuspecting parent to remove nappy.
Step 8. Wait for gasps at horror at what you've produced.
Step 9. Look at ceiling nonchalantly while clean-up operation occurs.
Step 10. Wait for the exact second that unsuspecting parent has removed existing nappy and is as far away from a new one as is physically possible and ..
Step 11. Urinate like your life depends on it - if possible try to pee at least three times your own bodyweight over the unsuspecting parent, your own clothes, the changing mat, the cat, the wallpaper (etc etc)
Step 12. aaaaannnnnnd rest....
Oh, and one more thing... Make sure you do it at exactly 3.26am as this is the time when unsuspecting parent is least awake.
I love my children :)
Monday, 8 March 2010
Air Raid Sirens at dawn
To this point in time, night times have been merely a bit inconvenient. Emily sleeps really well and can go up to seven hours without waking and Faith likes to be topped off with milk every three hours - it breaks your sleep up but hey!, that's what parenting is all about.
Last night, things changed..
For the first (and hopefully last) time, Faith screamed the place down for most of the night. It could be colic I guess, as the usual reasons for screaming were satisfied (wet/full nappy, hungry etc etc) so the jury is out. Elly bore the brunt of the agro which was pretty grim and things only really settled down after Ell passed Faith to me and I gave her a good cuddle at which point she shut up and went to sleep - strange but true..
Other than this one incident though, things have been pretty good in House o' Crussell. Every day the girls show us new and interesting things, like a staggering propensity for farting, who knew such a small person could contain so much gas???!!! What's nice is that both girls are just starting to show more interest in their surroundings - there's a lot more evaluation going on but we've yet to see them get touchy-feely with anything.
Also, they just about fit their clothes now (the premature ones, not the ones that are marked as being for their age) so the feet holes in sleep suits now actually contain feet! There are worrying signs that they may be growing out of some items too, a quick change after a full feed results in bulging around the buttons and fasteners...
Last night, things changed..
For the first (and hopefully last) time, Faith screamed the place down for most of the night. It could be colic I guess, as the usual reasons for screaming were satisfied (wet/full nappy, hungry etc etc) so the jury is out. Elly bore the brunt of the agro which was pretty grim and things only really settled down after Ell passed Faith to me and I gave her a good cuddle at which point she shut up and went to sleep - strange but true..
Other than this one incident though, things have been pretty good in House o' Crussell. Every day the girls show us new and interesting things, like a staggering propensity for farting, who knew such a small person could contain so much gas???!!! What's nice is that both girls are just starting to show more interest in their surroundings - there's a lot more evaluation going on but we've yet to see them get touchy-feely with anything.
Also, they just about fit their clothes now (the premature ones, not the ones that are marked as being for their age) so the feet holes in sleep suits now actually contain feet! There are worrying signs that they may be growing out of some items too, a quick change after a full feed results in bulging around the buttons and fasteners...
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
I am no longer the person I used to be ...
I have taken to using nonsensical words and phrases such as "bumbum" and "napnap" and everything I smell is tinged with a hint of powdered milk.. I am now officially ParentGuy(tm)
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Three weeks old today!!
Huzzah! My little angels are three weeks old today - so, how do you reckon it's been going?
Well, we're finally managing to get some form of schedule going, Faith feeds every three hours whereas Emily feeds when it suits here. Also, Emily will sleep up to six hours during the night which makes it easier to deal with Faith who doesn't... is that a schedule, or just a random collection of events which in our sleep-derived minds constitutes a schedule?
Actually, it's not as bad as it sounds and I guess it could have been far, far worse if we'd had genuinely screamy children who turned the volume up to 11 all day every day.
On the subject of the volume at 11, I have discovered the girls are heavy metal fans. During a trip to the doctor's the other day I had to sit in the car with two mildly grizzling two week olds while Elly went for a nurses appointment. In an effort to stave off excessive screaming I turned on the car's CD player which, cunningly, contained an MP3 compilation disc. A couple of minutes of experimentation revealed that Airbourne and ACDC were incredibly well received with an audience participation level of "no crying" whilst Brittney Spears evoked audience complaint levels of "Well above irritating". I am so proud ....
Major criticism this week is reserved for people with no kids who park in the Parent and Child bays in car parks. OK, there's no law about parking there when you don't have kids but come on.. Have you any idea how tricky it is to get two kids + car seats + pram out of the car when the neighboring vehicles are inches away from your doors? It's impractical and sometimes impossible to get out of the car safely. Even before we had the children I never knowingly parked in Parent and Child spots as a courtesy to those with kids and if I don't see some of that courtesy returned pretty soon I'll be taking matters into my own hands...
I've found time to post to my blog. How did I manage that, you ask? Simple! We're having a "test week" where Ell runs around after the kids all day and I sit in the office working. It sounds like a bit of a skive, but, there is a practical application. Doing this allows us to see how Ell's going to cope on her own from next week when I'll be back in London. Currently, if a big issue arises - like a major nappy Code Black - I can help out where needed. Hopefully it'll let us see where we need to get extra help/assistance or just change the way we do things - whatever happens, I have no desire to go back to work and would be quite happy to spend all day, every day at home with my family.
Finally this week, we're having a bit of a do on Sunday. For the first time since we attended ante-natal classes, all eight couples plus twins plus other kids are popping down to the pub for lunch on Sunday. That's 16 adults, 16 children and six others. If I were you, I'd avoid the De Havilland from midday on the 28th...
Well, we're finally managing to get some form of schedule going, Faith feeds every three hours whereas Emily feeds when it suits here. Also, Emily will sleep up to six hours during the night which makes it easier to deal with Faith who doesn't... is that a schedule, or just a random collection of events which in our sleep-derived minds constitutes a schedule?
Actually, it's not as bad as it sounds and I guess it could have been far, far worse if we'd had genuinely screamy children who turned the volume up to 11 all day every day.
On the subject of the volume at 11, I have discovered the girls are heavy metal fans. During a trip to the doctor's the other day I had to sit in the car with two mildly grizzling two week olds while Elly went for a nurses appointment. In an effort to stave off excessive screaming I turned on the car's CD player which, cunningly, contained an MP3 compilation disc. A couple of minutes of experimentation revealed that Airbourne and ACDC were incredibly well received with an audience participation level of "no crying" whilst Brittney Spears evoked audience complaint levels of "Well above irritating". I am so proud ....
Major criticism this week is reserved for people with no kids who park in the Parent and Child bays in car parks. OK, there's no law about parking there when you don't have kids but come on.. Have you any idea how tricky it is to get two kids + car seats + pram out of the car when the neighboring vehicles are inches away from your doors? It's impractical and sometimes impossible to get out of the car safely. Even before we had the children I never knowingly parked in Parent and Child spots as a courtesy to those with kids and if I don't see some of that courtesy returned pretty soon I'll be taking matters into my own hands...
I've found time to post to my blog. How did I manage that, you ask? Simple! We're having a "test week" where Ell runs around after the kids all day and I sit in the office working. It sounds like a bit of a skive, but, there is a practical application. Doing this allows us to see how Ell's going to cope on her own from next week when I'll be back in London. Currently, if a big issue arises - like a major nappy Code Black - I can help out where needed. Hopefully it'll let us see where we need to get extra help/assistance or just change the way we do things - whatever happens, I have no desire to go back to work and would be quite happy to spend all day, every day at home with my family.
Finally this week, we're having a bit of a do on Sunday. For the first time since we attended ante-natal classes, all eight couples plus twins plus other kids are popping down to the pub for lunch on Sunday. That's 16 adults, 16 children and six others. If I were you, I'd avoid the De Havilland from midday on the 28th...
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Week Two update
Where the hell did the last seven days go???
Week two has been a fairly constant round of nappy changes, feeds and brief outbreaks of sleep and feeding (for us), the kids have the luxury of extended snoozes and all the milk they can suck down.
All-in-all I get the feeling we've been quite lucky, both girls are extremely placid and there's little in the way of complaints unless we miss a feeding time by 0.0000001 of a second. The act of feeding has been a game of two halves - Faith feeds beautifully, taking her time over her bottle and making cute, companionable noises all the while. Emily, on the other hand, gobbles down whatever you give, spreading the milk equally between her mouth and her chin/clothes/attending parent. A consequence is that poor Em has a whiter beard then I do, the only difference is hers flakes off from time to time..
Feeding for parents has become a complex issue due to the fact there's very little time to do it. In the five years we've lived in the current house we've always eaten meals at the table. These days we eat meals with our fingers, hunched over the sofa and in approximately five seconds and sometimes it's still hot!!!
Sleep has also been an issue with the girls taking turns to keep us awake until 4am some mornings, which, if I'm being honest, is even less fun then it sounds. Still, the last couple of nights we've managed to start a mini-routine which gets them and us to bed early and has resulted in a couple of really good nights - fingers crossed that it may continue.
Finally, the biggest obstacle to time and parenting is other people. We've been into town with the girls a couple of times in the last week and the process is slowed dramatically by people who are fascinated by the concept of twins. We don't mind really, it's lovely to show them off, but the questions are always the same and always in the same order. In an effort to save time I'm having some cards printed which bear the following text:
Dear interested person:
Week two has been a fairly constant round of nappy changes, feeds and brief outbreaks of sleep and feeding (for us), the kids have the luxury of extended snoozes and all the milk they can suck down.
All-in-all I get the feeling we've been quite lucky, both girls are extremely placid and there's little in the way of complaints unless we miss a feeding time by 0.0000001 of a second. The act of feeding has been a game of two halves - Faith feeds beautifully, taking her time over her bottle and making cute, companionable noises all the while. Emily, on the other hand, gobbles down whatever you give, spreading the milk equally between her mouth and her chin/clothes/attending parent. A consequence is that poor Em has a whiter beard then I do, the only difference is hers flakes off from time to time..
Feeding for parents has become a complex issue due to the fact there's very little time to do it. In the five years we've lived in the current house we've always eaten meals at the table. These days we eat meals with our fingers, hunched over the sofa and in approximately five seconds and sometimes it's still hot!!!
Sleep has also been an issue with the girls taking turns to keep us awake until 4am some mornings, which, if I'm being honest, is even less fun then it sounds. Still, the last couple of nights we've managed to start a mini-routine which gets them and us to bed early and has resulted in a couple of really good nights - fingers crossed that it may continue.
Finally, the biggest obstacle to time and parenting is other people. We've been into town with the girls a couple of times in the last week and the process is slowed dramatically by people who are fascinated by the concept of twins. We don't mind really, it's lovely to show them off, but the questions are always the same and always in the same order. In an effort to save time I'm having some cards printed which bear the following text:
Dear interested person:
- Two weeks old
- No, not identical
- Faith and Emily
- Oh yes *laugh* they keep us up for hours
- Yes, we are lucky
- Bye!
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Week One in review
Hard to believe it's already been a week since the kids were born, there are times when it feels like five minutes ago and others when it feels like forever...
Anyways, here's a quick roundup of progress so far:
Birth Day - Tuesday Feb 2, 2010
We arrived at Frimley Park at about 6.30am expecting to be kept waiting for hours as always seems to happen with hospitals. However, we'd scarcely had time to complain about the quality of the food when we were called to the operating theatre so, with Elly clad in two of those buttock exposing theatre gowns and me decked out in blue operating scrubs we toddled off for the big event.
First stop was the anesthetist who gave Elly a spinal, which is similar to an epidural but more appropriate to caesarian sections. To be honest, I don't see what all the fuss was about as I didn't feel a thing but "apparently" Elly had needles pushed into her back to deaden her lower half. It was the first time I ever been (conscious) in an OR so it was quite interesting, there were many machines that go 'ping', a couple of machines that go 'whhhrrrrrrrr' and one that didn't seem to do much at all but just the presence of it lent a certain air of formality to the proceedings.
We'd been told the OR would be busy, as it was a twin birth we'd have two teams on hand to deal with the babies and a surgical team to deliver them. What we weren't told was that there were also students in. observing proceedings so by my best count there are about 25 people plus us in attendance which gave the appearance of a waiting room full of masked people - think Eyes Wide Shut without the dinner suits... or Tom Cruise... and with more... medical stuff...
The delivery seemed fairly smooth, I wasn't allowed to cut the cords as Ell's nethers were a sterile area but the surgical shield was lowered when first Emily, then Faith were delivered. It was a very surreal moment. After so long, and so much anticipation it felt a little detached, but I put down to the fact that were almost entirely detached from the delivery itself. The feeling soon went and within a couple of minutes I had two very healthy, very hairy little people in my arms. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so did both and actually still do both every time we get five minutes of calm and I look into the eyes of my gorgeous daughters.
A quick look at the pictures shows the difference between the two of them, but in the chaos of the first couple of hours it was very difficult to tell them apart. Looking back a couple of days after the big event, it all seems a bit of a blur. At 8.59am on Feb 2, 2010 I was just another bloke in the crowd. A minute later I was Dad, bank manager, Guru, Oracle and future embarrassment and potential life wrecker to two very small, very beautiful little girls. I defy anyone with a heart not to shed a tear the moment their child is born. It's like gathering everything good that's ever happened to you up, compressing into a pint of emotion then swallowing it and getting drunk as a result - it's a moment I'll never forget.
Since then there have been several moments I will easily forget, due in no small part to Faith's desire to be bright and lively been 10pm and 4am. One tip to prospective parents; when the time comes to take first shift on baby monitoring (bedtime till midway through the night) or second shift (midway through the night to 7am) always go for the latter option as, by then, your gorgeous little bungle of life will have cried/pooed/peed/protested herself into oblivion. Whoever opted for the first shift will be begging for release by shift end and dehydrated from the tears of frustration, the second shifter can administer a quick feed then pop the little one down and watch him/her drift off to sleep in seconds - winner!!
Nappies have been an interesting experience. It turns out Merconium is not on the periodic table, looks like crude oil and is, in short, quite terrifyingly sticky - under no circumstances should it be interfered with as it could, quite possibly, be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Be sure to approach it with caution, however, and all should be well.
Nappy changing is an art form. It's staggering just how wriggly small people can be, especially when it's the first time you've seen a Pampers and you're struggling with the "stick tab A to pad B" type instructions. As long as you get the right end of the child to apply said device to, all should eventually be well although improper deployment of the nappy device can result in a damp child should excess urination occur.
Our pram is an absolute Godsend. A marvel of precision engineering, the Leebruss Zoom is a six feet long tandem pram which allows us to have both kids facing us. It's jet black and really swish, so much so I call it the Death Star - it puts fear into passers-by and attracts more attention than a yeti on a unicycle - in short, it rocks! Pushing it rounds shops generates masses of attention and it folds down so flat it's unbelievable.
So with prams, poo, birth and more covered, I now have to nip off and feed the kids. I'll try and post more soon...
Anyways, here's a quick roundup of progress so far:
Birth Day - Tuesday Feb 2, 2010
We arrived at Frimley Park at about 6.30am expecting to be kept waiting for hours as always seems to happen with hospitals. However, we'd scarcely had time to complain about the quality of the food when we were called to the operating theatre so, with Elly clad in two of those buttock exposing theatre gowns and me decked out in blue operating scrubs we toddled off for the big event.
First stop was the anesthetist who gave Elly a spinal, which is similar to an epidural but more appropriate to caesarian sections. To be honest, I don't see what all the fuss was about as I didn't feel a thing but "apparently" Elly had needles pushed into her back to deaden her lower half. It was the first time I ever been (conscious) in an OR so it was quite interesting, there were many machines that go 'ping', a couple of machines that go 'whhhrrrrrrrr' and one that didn't seem to do much at all but just the presence of it lent a certain air of formality to the proceedings.
We'd been told the OR would be busy, as it was a twin birth we'd have two teams on hand to deal with the babies and a surgical team to deliver them. What we weren't told was that there were also students in. observing proceedings so by my best count there are about 25 people plus us in attendance which gave the appearance of a waiting room full of masked people - think Eyes Wide Shut without the dinner suits... or Tom Cruise... and with more... medical stuff...
The delivery seemed fairly smooth, I wasn't allowed to cut the cords as Ell's nethers were a sterile area but the surgical shield was lowered when first Emily, then Faith were delivered. It was a very surreal moment. After so long, and so much anticipation it felt a little detached, but I put down to the fact that were almost entirely detached from the delivery itself. The feeling soon went and within a couple of minutes I had two very healthy, very hairy little people in my arms. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry so did both and actually still do both every time we get five minutes of calm and I look into the eyes of my gorgeous daughters.
A quick look at the pictures shows the difference between the two of them, but in the chaos of the first couple of hours it was very difficult to tell them apart. Looking back a couple of days after the big event, it all seems a bit of a blur. At 8.59am on Feb 2, 2010 I was just another bloke in the crowd. A minute later I was Dad, bank manager, Guru, Oracle and future embarrassment and potential life wrecker to two very small, very beautiful little girls. I defy anyone with a heart not to shed a tear the moment their child is born. It's like gathering everything good that's ever happened to you up, compressing into a pint of emotion then swallowing it and getting drunk as a result - it's a moment I'll never forget.
Since then there have been several moments I will easily forget, due in no small part to Faith's desire to be bright and lively been 10pm and 4am. One tip to prospective parents; when the time comes to take first shift on baby monitoring (bedtime till midway through the night) or second shift (midway through the night to 7am) always go for the latter option as, by then, your gorgeous little bungle of life will have cried/pooed/peed/protested herself into oblivion. Whoever opted for the first shift will be begging for release by shift end and dehydrated from the tears of frustration, the second shifter can administer a quick feed then pop the little one down and watch him/her drift off to sleep in seconds - winner!!
Nappies have been an interesting experience. It turns out Merconium is not on the periodic table, looks like crude oil and is, in short, quite terrifyingly sticky - under no circumstances should it be interfered with as it could, quite possibly, be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Be sure to approach it with caution, however, and all should be well.
Nappy changing is an art form. It's staggering just how wriggly small people can be, especially when it's the first time you've seen a Pampers and you're struggling with the "stick tab A to pad B" type instructions. As long as you get the right end of the child to apply said device to, all should eventually be well although improper deployment of the nappy device can result in a damp child should excess urination occur.
Our pram is an absolute Godsend. A marvel of precision engineering, the Leebruss Zoom is a six feet long tandem pram which allows us to have both kids facing us. It's jet black and really swish, so much so I call it the Death Star - it puts fear into passers-by and attracts more attention than a yeti on a unicycle - in short, it rocks! Pushing it rounds shops generates masses of attention and it folds down so flat it's unbelievable.
So with prams, poo, birth and more covered, I now have to nip off and feed the kids. I'll try and post more soon...
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