At the weekend, everything will be okay

The Wildhearts' lyrics notwithstanding, it was a fun weekend. Kathy's friend Sue came down from NY and took Kath out on the town, so to speak. I was alone with the twins for an extended period of time for the very first time. I was excited to have some quality time with the boyz. Kevin slept and Jason was up, so we had some fun reading books and watching "Doctor Who".

Then...all hell broke lose. Both boyz got hungry at the same time and they were both crying at me. "FEED US YOU MORON! HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS TO COMPREHEND?!" They're very literate criers. Anyway, so I put both babies in bouncy chairs and kneeled on the floor, bottle in each hand. They feverishly chowed down, both coughing...again, at the same time...and sprayed milk all over my glasses. Satisfied, they continued to eat up. After a while, they calmed down and I was able to begin to burp them in turn. Then fortunately Kath & Sue came back home...and just laughed at me. Actually, they were laughing with me, as Kathy's been through that same situation a thousand times.

New respect all around.

The boyz are beginning to smile a little bit. They're terribly amusing, smiling or not. We're working on getting them to sleep through the night. The idea is to feed them enough calories throughout the day so by bedtime they'll have had their daily nutrition and will be more apt to sleep for 5-7 hours. It's going slowly. Last night we made it from 11pm to 7pm...kinda. They were up for a few hours...but eventually went back to sleep. This morning when we fed them, they seemed well rested and fairly content. Maybe we're on to something, maybe it's coincidence. Maybe you, the reader, have the answer. If you do, no worries...we're looking at this as a win.

We're beginning to interview nannies...more posts on this later.

Best,

Joe

Rough day

Poor Kathy. Yesterday was a rough day to be a Mom of twins. When Kevin wasn't sleeping, he was crying. You know, kinda wailing. Lasted pretty much all day & night. It was hot yesterday, in the 80s, and our thought is that he doesn't handle heat well. Not a huge surprise, considering that I don't either. Sh*t, I cry all summer long! But that's our working theory. It breaks your heart on one level holding a baby who's only method of communicating his displeasure to you is a wail. On another level, the brain level, it can be frustrating and exhausting. Add in a very warm day, and you have a recipe for aggravation for both child and parent.

When I got home, I took hold of Kevin and Kathy went off to try to get a few of her house projects finished. Kevin stopped crying for a few minutes (it's not some paternal innate knowledge or instinct...Kath gave me the heads-up). What was weird/funny was while he was in remission, he was cute, cuddly and gave me a massive smile. We played, chatted, tickled for about 10 minutes and then he remembered: hey, I'm supposed to be crying! And then promptly started up again.

We began to rule out causes (once again, most of these were my wife's suggestions...she's wicked smaht). I changed his diaper and put a lightweight onesie on him (that was my only idea). He had urinated, but that wasn't the cause. I took his temperature, it was normal. We tried feeding him, he spit it back out. No burps. So, ultimately, I went downstairs with Kevin in my arms and just held him and rubbed his head, belly...just trying to soothe the kid. He eventually settled down to a nap and I put him in his bouncy chair in order to get Jason's bottle ready.

Jason, btw, is being really good. Maybe they take psychic crabby turns.

So that kinda went through the night. Kathy was amazing and let me sleep in during the 4am feeding. Actually, she was astounded/horrified that I could sleep through a baby screaming in the same room as me. Hey, there was a fan on...the white noise trumps all!

Today (Thursday) my sister, niece, nephew and my cousin Beth stopped by the house for a visit. I haven't seen Beth in a long time...she's as awesome as always. The funny part is I remember when she was born, and here she is holding my babies. I guess that's kinda wild...or just that I'm an old fart.

The pack is going to take a walk over to the school behind our house to play in the playground. They have a marvelous setup over there. Plenty to do for tons of kids. Can't wait to take my boyz over there to play. Added bonus: now I don't need to buy a swingset for my backyard! Although...now that I mention it...I grew up next to a school and yet had my own swingset. Maybe so my mom could watch my sister & I through the kitchen window and not have to truck us over to the school. Hmm. Well, maybe a trip to toys r us is in order in the future...


More later,
Joe

A fun weekend

Such a beautiful weekend here in New England. Saturday was really toasty. High 70s, low 80s...sunny...jaw-droppingly gorgeous. So we got the double stroller out and took the boyz and the pooch for a walk around the neighborhood. All the neighbors came a-runnin' to check out the new additions to the residents of the street. Kevin & Jason were extremely well-behaved and everyone thought they were beautiful. Then again, would they say they looked like aliens? Not to our face, anyway. They could have three eyes and coo "beep beep" all the time, I'd still love them.

On Sunday we took the kids in the strollers we have that the car seats just snap into (marvelous invention, btw) to Shopper's World. We went to Babies R Us and to Bob's Store. We got the boyz some new bibs and new undershirts (onesie types for 3-6 month olds). And some new sandals for Dad.

I can't wait for the next walk. That was really fun.

I'll post more later...gotta earn diaper money.

-Joe

What will the future bring?

Kathy belongs to a Mom's of Multiples Support Group. Gotta say, it's been a terrific resource. They even connect you with a mom who's gone through what you're going through so you can directly ask for advice, vent...etc. They also have a forum where you can write to the entire group.


One of the stories Kathy told me about was a woman writing in about her young twin boys and how they've both graduated to normal beds. As momentous as this is in the grand scheme of things, the obvious happened: the boys now will not stay in their beds and they basically try to play all night long. So her question to the forum was, "who has been through this and how do I handle this?" Not surprisingly, practically everyone in the group had a similar story and advice on how to deal with it.


Later on in the evening when I was feeding Jason, I was thinking about what it's going to be like when my sons get to that age. I mean, right now they're sharing a crib (that will most likely change this weekend). But I fully expect the two of them to go nuts when they get their own real beds. I mean, beds are terrific indoor trampolines and with a little imagination can be anything from boats to cars to spacecraft to riding on the backs of dinosaurs (as they're my kids, I imagine they'll be hitching rides on the backs of Godzilla and King Ghidorah). Since the house we own is relatively tiny, they'll be sharing a room for quite some time (probably until college, but don't tell them that).


Naturally, the next thought that crossed my mind was how Kath & I would handle this concept of bedtime...which actually means you need to go to sleep. I thought back to how my folks dealt with my sister and myself. The problem being is I don't remember too much. I do recall my dad telling me to turn off the radio (I loved listening to Dr. Demento on Sunday nights) and to go to sleep. This was generally okay with me, as I was taping the shows anyway. The only problem was the tapes were 45 minutes a side and I needed to be awake to flip it over...hey...couldn't bear to miss the "Funny Five" at midnight. So I would be as quiet as I could...pretending to be asleep when my dad walked in to check. As soon as the tape ran out, I would flip it, hit record and nod off. The neat part was sometimes the tape would run past the Dr. D. show and I'd record whatever was on WCOZ right after. Incidentally, that's how I discovered Blue Oyster Cult.

I digress.

So what will we do? How will we handle that scenario? The answer is quite simple: who the hell knows. We'll burn that bridge when we cross it. Right now, I'm absolutely thrilled with the two infant boyz we have in our life and I'm trying to stop to smell the roses, as it were. I want to remember every moment of my sons' lives as best I can, and I realize that actually stopping and saying to myself..."remember where you are and how you feel right at this moment" is vital.


Of course, I'm already forgetting the ends of books and which episode of "The Office" I've seen, so that's why I have a camera. Visual aides are always a good thing. Also, this blog. I hope to someday print out all this verbal garbage and keep it for Kathy, me & the boyz to read. Maybe it will be good for a laugh, a smile or at least a jogged memory.


More later,


Joe

The boyz are sleeping through the night!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

No.

But it is becoming clear that Kevin is ready to graduate to 6oz, at least at night.

Kathy's doing the Pavlov thing for the babies, and it's a total hoot. Before we give Jason his bottle, she says, "MMMMM YUMMMM". His little eyes open wide, he smiles, gets excited and opens wide. I really need to videotape this...it's a classic.

I fed Jason this morning and couldn't stop laughing after I said "MMMMM YUMMMM". After burping him, he snuggled up under my chin and was cooing in his own little way. A very sweet moment where he must have been thinking, "Thank you for finally feeding me, you giant dope. Do I amuse you? Am I your clown?"

Kevin doesn't fall for the MMMM YUMMM thing. The moment he catches a glimpse of the bottle, he goes nuts. MMM YUMM Whatever...just gimme the damned bottle.

Another little milestone: when I changed Jason this morning, he didn't cry at all. He kinda just looked at me and was very responsive to my expressions (yes, yes...I know. It's probably all in my imagination. Like I care). They're both beginning to mimic. They love to copy sticking out the tongue, and occasionally they'll smile in response to a smile.

Anyway, that's all the random thoughts for the moment. More later,
- Joe

Photos and gratitude

It's been pointed out to me that I neglected to mention my Aunt-in-law's Eastertime visit to the merry Doherty household. Believe you me, Diane, this was not intentional. I honestly thought I wrote up a blog on the experience. But I don't have to impress upon you that I could have simply had a waking dream that I did so.


So for those of you out there in cyberspace who didn't know, Kathy's Aunt Diane came up from Arizona for a week long visit...most of which was sadly spent in her hotel room with an illness. Figures. Just goes to show you that being couped up in a hermetically sealed cesspool...sometimes called an "airplane"...can be just downright crappy.

But while she was here, she did give us many marvelous gifts...most importantly, an additional bottle warmer. Dear God, this was a blessing. We cannot thank her enough for this. When you have two hungry babies screaming at you, you'll know what I mean. So thank you, Diane. We were thrilled you made the trip and were able to visit with us and the boyz.

In re-reading this bloggy thing, I also noticed that I didn't have any photos of my in-laws. So here's a photo of Roger and Kay holding Kevin & Jason:






So the boyz were better last night. I would even go so far as to say it was a "good" night. Kathy had a dentist appointment this morning at 8am, so I got to feed both boyz this morning. They were terribly cute. Of course, my lovely wife had changed their diapers while I was feeding the pets, so that made life much easier this morning.

And finally, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my wife a Happy Anniversary. We've been married three years today, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that I've never been happier. Kathy: the words have not been invented to describe how much I love you. I'm the luckiest dingbat on the planet.

- Joe

So far...under four

Just a quick thought, rambling, musing about being a dad to newborn twin sons: as tired as I am right now, I can say that there's nothing better than having your infant son snuggle up to your neck under your chin. I'm gonna miss that when they get older.

I'm too old for this...

Last night the boyz decided that something just wasn't right with the world and took turns wailing away. Needless to say, Kath & I are operating on extremely little sleep today. Kinda the polar opposite to yesterday. Ugh. I think we had a total of 2.5 hours of snoozetime. I know that I've been up since 2:30am. Delta the Dog is an old pooch and is losing her hearing. So she got a decent night's rest. I cannot tell you how jealous I was of that dawg snoring away on the floor next to my chair as I was attempting to console a crying baby.

The upside is it's a sunny day and the weather reports indicate that it will be in the 60s towards the end of the week. Okay, it's a stretch for an upside. But hey, that's me...Mr. Positive. Mmm Hmm.

So let's take a poll at how many times I nod off at my desk today. Over/under is 4.

-Joe

Photos with cousins!

As promised, here are some photos of our boyz with their loving cousins, Joe & Molly.

Here are Molly & Joe about to go inside my home with two very, very cool gifts:

Where on Earth did y'all find such cool Superman teddy bears? Joe's answer, "At the store, Uncle Joe". Well, ask a dumb question...!

Here's Joe playing peekaboo with Jason:

Jason LOVED playing peekaboo with Joe. There was an instant bond between the boys.

Here's a photo of Molly, Jason and Joe:

And finally, here's photo of my sister, Cindi, holding Jason.

Where is Kevin in these photos? He was being changed. But not to leave the cute little bugger out of this photo montage, here he is in all his glory:

Saturday night the boyz were up pretty much every hour on the hour, each in turn. Arrgh. However, I'm happy to report that last night they slept very well. I actually feel human today.

More later,
Joe

Day is night?

One of the bits of advice our pediatrician gave us is to make sure that the kiddos do not confuse night and day for sleepytime. Well, sure as sh*t the boyz slept nicely during the afternoon and were up all night. They're SO lucky we find them cute. Needless to say this behavior will be modified sooner than later.

Another interesting find is the fast flow nipples for Jason. Kevin can't really handle them yet, but Jason can and feeding him just became significantly easier. Although it certainly hasn't made Dad smarter about handling him after the feeding as I got barfed on again. Mental note...do not make the baby dance on your stomach right after downing 5oz.

Yesterday at lunchtime we had a visit from my sister Cindi and her children Joe & Molly. Her kids have been dying to meet their new cousins, and I'm thrilled to say that the visit wasn't a disappointment! Everyone had a great time. Jason was particularly alert and thrilled to meet his future role models.

Cindi took lots of photos so once she sends some along, I'll post them.

More later (obviously),
Joe

Happy Birthday Joe O

Just wanted to take a moment to wish my best man, Joe O'Leary, a very happy birthday today. Happy birthday, my FIEND!

New Post from Kathy

Hi All,
Hard to believe that Jason and Kevin are 2 months old. Although the pediatrician did remind us that based on their due date....they could also be considered 3 weeks old...weird, huh? I baked a cake and we'll celebrate tonight. Some of us (those with teeth) will celebrate more than others.

Today's doc visit went well. They behaved for most of the visit until Kevin's pacifier hit the floor and then he hit the roof. The shots weren't a hit either. I had never seen a human turn that color of red before. Jason was so red, his hair looked positively blond. As for the new stats.....Jason is now 22 1/4' long and weighs 9 lb 10 oz. Kevin is 21 1/2' long and weighs 9 lb 5 oz. They are doing well and are on target for growth and development.

Yesterday Jason was in the crib and reached up for the bear mobile suspended above. Yay Jason, that's more of a 3 or 4 month old thing to do so our boy is really trying to impress us. Jason has also developed a taste for TV. Sadly. If he's in his bouncy seat (which sits below the tv) he'll crank his head back and try to see the tv. Fortunately he can't see it.

Kevin loves being read to and his favorite book is about a bunny who wants to take a nap. (I'm hoping he catches on to the whole napping thing). 'Huggy Puppy' is also a fave read. Kevin is our voracious eater and is nearly ready to graduate to 6 oz. He'll catch up to Jason (size-wise) any day now.

I'm sure Joe will update the blog when he has a moment so don't forget to check there for news too. :: I sure will ::

Hope you are all well.

Love,
Kathy

Two Months Old Today

It's April 8, and Kevin & Jason are 2 months old. We had to bring them in for their two month checkup today and to get their immunizations. Jason weighed in at 9lbs 10oz and 22 1/4 inches. Kevin was 9lbs 5oz and 21 1/2 inches long. They're both doing very well.

Both boyz behaved very well for the doctor today. I'm so proud and love them both very much.

OKAY, OKAY...I'll post more photos soon. Promise.

More later,
Joe

Getting better all the time, bettah, bettah beeeettaaah

The boyz seem to be doing much better these days. Their colds are waning and their appetites are returning. Phew. You have to feel for the little guys when 1/7 of their life has been nothing but the process of creating and expelling mucus. Kath & I are also improving day by day.

Sunday morning, Kathy let me sleep through the night by taking the 4am feeding all on her own. 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, how I missed thee. I returned the favor by taking the 8am feeding and then I brought them downstairs so Kathy could catch up on her sleep. She slept until after 11am, so it was bloodshotless eyes all around Sunday morning.

Now that Kay has returned home, I'm trying to jump back into doing all the tasks like back when Kathy was expecting (plus a variety of new jobs). Makes me feel very useful and that I'm contributing to the welfare of my family.

Next comes the nanny process. I've mentioned that before, but I figure if I keep talking about it I will keep it in the foreground of my brain and we'll actually get it done. Again, I would love to stay home and be a "Mr. Mom", but I'm just not sure we can afford to. Ah, the 21st century economy...gotta love ya.

More later,
Joe

Another right of passage

My poor wife. Yes, I know...that's a fairly obvious statement...but I'm not referring to the fact she's married to me. I'm referring to the fact that she seems to have contracted the cold that's going around the household. She has laryngitis, which makes communication over the screams of two sick babies impossible. Hey, I can't read lips. Sue me. I tried to feed the babies alone so she could rest, but they're just a handful at the moment. I'm feeding one while the other's snorting, coughing and crying. So much for sleeping.

I called the Pediatrician this morning, as instructed by the hospital, to inform him of Jason's progress. It was an odd conversation, as any questions I asked were funneled to me by a whispering wife (good name for a band). While I was on the phone, I was feeding Jason who's refusing to drink more than 2-3oz (he normally drinks 4-5oz). So he's complaining to me that he doesn't want to eat anymore and would just prefer to be held, thank you. I was ready to oblige when I realized he hadn't burped a good burp in some time. I picked him up and he projectile barfed all over himself and me.

Needless to say, I was a bit late for work this morning.

My mother-in-law, Kay, goes back to Texas on Thursday. Very sad news, as she's been nothing but a wonder around the house. I don't know how Kathy would have survived juggling two babies, two cats, a dog, a household and a stupid husband. Roger went back on Monday and his sense of humor and bottle washing abilities are very much missed. But to the Johnsons: Thank You. It's not really recompense for all of the work you've done for us, but it's sincere.

Kay said she'll return in 5-6 weeks to help Kathy & I get ready for nannydom. Fortunately, time flies.

-Joe

RSV Update

So it turns out that Jason's test did come back positive for the RSV. :-( Since it's contagious, the doctors are pretty sure that Kevin has it too. Not much to do from this point except note if they're off at all with their eating, pooping, etc.

Jason seems to have done well during the night with the breathing thing. That's the real relief for this tired dad. Kevin was a good boy for his grandmother all day and was pretty darned good for his father during the evening/early morning. His temperature was 99.9 at midnight, 99.7 at 4am, and 98.0 at 8am. So he looks like he's in the clear. He's still coughing and has enough boogies to build a small house with, but is in otherwise good spirits.

After taking the babies' rectal temperature for several days now, I have to say that buying one of those Welch Allyn 692 thermometers (the kind the hospitals use) was one of the smarter things I've done in a while. The thermometer takes an accurate reading in seconds rather than minutes. I cannot stress how important this is while taking a rectal reading. Actually, I'm sure I don't have to...

More updates as events warrant,
Joe