Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Well, now. That was an interesting few days...

(Pausing here to thank you all for your support and commiseration on my last post. Nice to know I'm not alone. And someday, I will actually use the offered phone numbers. I'm just atrocious on the phone, gripped by some horrid combination of shyness and stage-fright which seems to render me paralyzed and/or gripped with Tourettic outbursts... but yes. Thank you all for letting me know I'm not alone.)

Posting has been light here for the usual reasons (babies, two of them), but we have now added pulled shoulder muscle to the mix. Anyone want to wager how much fun it is to take care of two babies when it hurts to look up, down or too far to the left or right? Yeah. THAT MUCH FUN.

We had planned a brief overnight trip to Asheville for Sunday night, just a quick in and out to meet with two friends, but in light of the injury, we decided to cancel it. Which made me kind of sad but kind of relieved at the same time.

So. Anyone wanna guess what I was doing when I pulled the muscle? (No, not that, you gutter-minded freaks...) I was attempting to nurse J.ack while laying down. I was all angled and then I moved my body like this and my head like that and PRESTO. Screaming pain at 4:00 a.m.

Thus began day #2 of Ja.ck waking up at 4:00 a.m. and refusing to go back to sleep. See, when I actually managed to achieve the whole lying-down-nursing thing, Jac.k took this to mean HEY, LOOKIE THERE! We lay down, AND I get to eat?! Here this whole time I had been contentedly laying next to BOOOOBS and NOT eating, when I could, in fact, have been nursing non-stop. The half was not told unto me! We must make up for lost time!

And so that is how it has come to pass that Ja.ck has begun sleeping in his bassinet. He is literally driven to complete distraction by sleeping next to me. He will spend well over an hour, screaming, thrashing, crying, rooting, attempting to chew a hole in my shirt, until I relent and let him nurse. And he will then nurse all. night. long. Which wouldn't be a big deal, except that laying-down-nursing is still a contortionist act for me and I cannot sleep that way. And so, J.ack was moved to the bassinet. And along with him, Hen.ry was also ousted from the bed, but he usually comes back to our bed with H after the first feeding.

So, it's great that they are in their bassinet, because it means they go to bed earlier as was one of our goals (and as a bonus, I get to take the prescribed muscle relaxers without worrying about squashing a baby). There is no schedule, really, but we are beginning to move toward a nighttime routine, and that is good. But I miss having the little sugar-lump snuzzling next to me in bed. He's just so sweet and soft when he's asleep. He spends so much of the day wired with tension that it's enjoyable to see him so relaxed. I keep trying to bring him back to bed with us (after the muscle relaxer has worn off...), but only once or twice in the last week has he been sleepy enough to fall asleep without trying to chew a hole through the front of my shirt. Tenacious little guy.

Anyhow, they are officially two months old. I really have been intending to write a little something about each of them at these milestone ages, but you know-- it's hard and exhausting and when is there ever time for truly thoughtful prose? I will, I hope, but for now, they'll have to settle for the fact that I managed to take their picture on their two month "birthday":

We Are Two Months Old!
Precious Jac.k (l) and Wonderful Henr.y (r)

Oh, and as you can see from the picture below, H.enry has also discovered his toes. Unlike his brother, he has maintained his interest such that he gets very excited when I put his socks on or take them off (the toes! they disappeared! the toes! they reappeared!). I need to get some of those socks with the bells on the toes or the little rattle thingys. I think he'd really dig those...
TOES!

And an extra of Ja.ck, just for good measure:
Jack at Two Months

10 comments:

jenn said...

They are so adorable! Love them- I love the differences too- Jack the beanpole & Henry the little chub!

I didn't get a chance to comment on the last post (packing & going on vaca) but I am right there with you on the hub front- even after 16 months I ~still~ feel like I do the lion's share. And this is despite the fact that he is the stay at home parent. He cooks and cleans and takes care of pumpkin every day all day. I am the wage earner, but I am still the 'on duty' parent 24/7. And it is hard, and I want the hubs to step up more sometimes. Vacation seems to amplify this slightly- be forewarned!
Anyway- there really does come a point where it seems to click with them. And they just start to do things without being asked. It does sometimes take just leaving the house & walking out on your husband and babie(s)and letting it be. We coslept from the 4 week growth spurt (I know it doesn't exist- but pumpkin ate all.the.time) until 14 weeks. There was a good rhythm & evening out of the go to bed & snuggle, wake & whip out the boob, back to sleep that worked for us all. Then she got real restless again & did what it sounds like Jack is doing- all night convenience boobs- the hub likened it to sleeping next to a plate of fresh chocolate donuts. So we moved her to her room then- which worked on an off. Now- she typically sleeps like a champ- so it is possible & you will get there eventually. I still sometimes (ok- most nights!) miss the warm snuggly baby next to me, but the sleep is so much better!
Yay for 2 months! So nice that you have taking some pictures with a toy for reference- I always meant to, but never ever did it!

addingtothepack said...

Ouch! I hope that your neck recovers quickly!

The boys are adorable, as always.

Melis.sa said...

They're getting so long!!

I hope your pulled muscle gets better! that sounds awful!!

Love the pictures of your sweet boys, they are so adorable.

Ellen K. said...

What cute little guys!

I feel for you on the injury. I pulled a trapezius last winter, and the pain was escalated by the anxiety of trying to take care of the twins while injured-- and of course the male doctor at the urgent care clinic told me I really needed to get more sleep; that 15 months of sleep deprivation and childcare contributed to the tension that resulted in injury. So he seemed to get it, but he really didn't GET it.

I felt better after a few days of muscle relaxers and high-dose ibuprofen, and I saved the rest of the Rx, LOL.

The boys are adorable.

I had thought about writing monthly posts and sort of wish I had done so, but I was just too tired and overwhelmed. My daily planner from Jan to March 09 is, literally, one big blank. I also thought of starting a separate blog for relatives to enjoy, but it is much easier to just put up some pictures on FB. : )

Paula Keller said...

Hey Kate!

Happy 8 weeks!

I miss reading your blog. We're still having internet issues, and well... I'm so busy.

I skimmed your last post. The boys are absolutely beautiful!!! Just, omg! Some day soon I will post pics of the girls. Amazing how fast they grow.

I do think it's getting easier, but agree that it's hard.

Ugh.... crying baby. I'll be back.

SassyMama said...

Happy 8 weeks, boys!

I must echo the other mothers... it does get better. There are still days that are hard, but nothing is as bad as multiple newborns. I remember one afternoon when I was on my own and the babies were a few months old, I had one in a sling and the second started screaming, so I picked him up... and then the third started screaming and all I could do is hold the three of them and cry from exhaustion and frustration.

I hope your shoulder improves quickly:)

Sue said...

I think they get more cute in every picture you post. Sorry about the pulled shoulder muscle - hope that gets better soon.

luxzia said...

The zwillinge are very cute. I like the way little J looks up at the camera... something in that look reminds me of you very much. Something very happy with a hint of mischievous. He's totally precious. And man oh man does baby H look like his papa - also totally precious, especially the fascination with his toes!

jill said...

Oh so cute :) I love the pics with the blurry kicking feet!

I hope your shoulder feels better soon. Taking care of twins like that has got to be a huge challenge.

Anonymous said...

I'm late to the party but Happy Birthday boys! I think this counts as a two-month milestones post. Bassinets and toes. Can't get much better than that. They are adorable!