4 month checkup

So, a little about the girls 4 month check up this week. I was there for 1 hour - it felt like forever. I must say, though, that these babies are so good. So it's not because of their behavior that the appointment felt so long.

As soon as I got there I had to use the bathroom. So I asked 1 of the medical assistants (MA) to watch them. When I came out, the stroller was surrounded by admirers and Jessica & Nicole were loving the attention. (all smiles & coos) I went to the waiting area and a few minutes later, one of the MAs came by to ask if she could "borrow" one of the babies. If this had been my first child, I probably would have been pretty appalled, but I felt okay and let her "borrow" Jessica. Then another MA came by to borrow Nicole. They were shown to everyone in the office - "Look at these adorable twins!" - and I felt pretty proud. It was also nice to be able to "relax" while I waited but honestly, I was more tense thinking about someone else holding my babies.

Once we got called in, the check up went great. The doctor examines one baby at a time. Nicole weighs 14 lbs and Jessica weighs 14 lbs 2 oz. The doctor was very complimentary and kept saying what good babies they are, and how amazing their eye contact is, and how well they are using their hands, and how well they are growing. She even said, "Mrs. Lee it seems like any child would thrive in your household." It definitely made me feel good. (Of course I wonder if she says that to everybody!)

Then the bad part... the vaccines. The first vaccine was the 2nd dose of the oral vaccine for rotavirus. They both drank it pretty well, except, at the end, Jessica starting to have a coughing attack. (she has a cold). I think a combo of the syrup and the phlegm in her chest did it. I had 2 MAs in the room when she started to cough and I could see by their faces that they were scared. It did get scary because it seemed for a second that she couldn't breathe. I sat her on my lap and firmly patted her back until she was able to cough it out. Not fun.

Next was the vaccines via shots. Poor babies. Nicole went first and I held Jessica as I waited for the shots to be administered to Nicole (1 in each leg). You know how they say that with identical twins, sometimes if 1 is feeling pain the other can feel it? Well... not in our case! I swear that the second Nicole got the first shot and starting screaming, the biggest smile came over Jessica's face. That smile was soon gone when it was her turn for the shots. Both of them cried, of course, but I was able to quickly comfort them. Until....

... earring time. For those of you who are not from Miami or don't have a Hispanic background, it might seem really cruel to put earrings on babies. I can completely understand. It's very common here, though, and part of the culture for little girls to get their ears pierced young. It's so common, as a matter of fact, that it's done at the pediatrician's office. (I will come back to tell more about this story, but gotta run for now! Stay tuned!)

school

School is going great! I'm in advanced math AND Spanish!!!
My teacher is real nice like my old teacher every thing is great.
Stevie might be in the 2nd level of Spanish ! Well...
BYE BYE!!

New Pictures of the Family

It's been so long since I've uploaded any twin pictures. The truth is we hardly ever even TAKE pictures. (It so true what they say about big families. There are always tons of pictures of the first born and then as you go down the line, less and less. Poor little Jessica!)

As I was posting my "new" pictures I realized that I haven't taken any side by side pictures of the twins! Darn! That will be my next photo assignment. Sorry about that.

All in a Days Work

So I went back to "work" on July 29th. I think we are sort of settling into the new routine, which I must say is a bit hectic.

The routine at night for getting ready for the next day is LONG. By the time I know it it's close to midnight (I think the earliest I got to bed last week was 11pm). Then at 5:15am it's time to get up so I can pump. (somewhere in between there Steve and I are waking up to feed the babies; some nights they do sleep through, though). After I pump first thing, then it's time to feed the babies, change diapers, and dress them. Then get myself dressed & ready. Get the other kids dressed. Get breakfast for the other kids. Pack all the stuff for daycare (the bottles and any other supplies). Wash and pack my pump equipment. Drop off the "big kids". Get to the daycare around 7:30. Go to work. Pump twice at work. Since I "ONLY" work 30 hours, I leave around 2. When I get to the daycare to pick them up it's about the time for the babies to eat so I stay there to give one of them their bottle. When done, go to Sofia's classroom to pick her up. Leave the daycare with Sofia and the twins. Get home and wash bottles. (Refer to picture above.) Put away pumped milk and wash pump. Meantime the babies are fussing and Sofia wants a snack or wants to go to the potty (She wants to be a big girl now and it's the worse possible timing for potty training.) Next thing I know, it's time for the babies to eat again. And time to pump!

The easy part of the day are the hours I spend at work. I can eat my lunch without much interruption. I can go to the bathroom when the urge arises. I can hear myself think. It's actually quite refreshing! LOL

It's getting a little easier every day. Of course, a new challenge is right around the corner... BACK TO SCHOOL. So we'll need to add homework, school projects and school social activities in the mix.

What I've learned most from the experience of having twins is our ability to adapt. Many people ask, "how do you do it?" And the answer is simply: You just do it. (Those Nike people are geniuses.)

Hot NEW topic: Chores? (not really)

Tio Ian asked me to write about some chores I now have to do but the thing most of the
chores here are easy or fun or BOTH!!! here are my sort of chores

1 Holding babies. (one at a time)
2 Feeding babies. (one at a time)
3 Getting bottles.


and that is it.

I don't have a clue

If you love going in the pool everyone in my family does too. But our pool is different than other pools....
Today we went in the pool, me, my mom, Stevie, and Sofia. But it is always fun even when there is all of us (you know what I mean) because of the bees. Yes I am talking about insects. The bugs? Pests if you will? I know it is weird but there are bees near our pool so when a friend comes over 0r we are just swimming it is really fun because the bees come and go so there is so much suspense in the game you are playing because you never know when they're there. Trust me it is fun. Weird.. but pure F U N!!!

It's Not Easy Being a 2 year Old Rock Star

I feel obligated to say that this picture was NOT posed (really). Sofia fell asleep like this while playing her Barbie "Electric Guitar". (lol)