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.