A lot can happen in two years. A person can emerge from relative obscurity and have a very decent shot (please, please) at becoming the United States' first African-American president. You can go from living fairly comfortably and buying according to wants instead of needs (at least some of the time) to cringing when your retirement account statement arrives and wondering if you'll have enough to pay the bills each month.
And in two years' time you can completely and totally forget the utter monotony of feeding, burping , and changing that is the newborn stage, and the absolute suckiness of sleep deprivation that accompanies caring for an infant. Or two of them.
I couldn't be happier that the twins are home, but I now realize there was something slightly fantastic about not being with them in the overnight hours. Luci and Nicholas are great babies during the day. They eat, they sleep, they poop and pee. They might fuss a little bit, but for the most part, they are your typical newborns. The nighttime hours are a different story because it seems they're not so much interested in the sleeping. They'll wake up to eat, and then not want to go back to sleep. I'll get up with whichever one awakens first, either my mom or I will change his/her diaper, and then I'll feed "that one."
Once I'm done, I'll burp, swaddle, and deposit the twin in the bassinet, wake up the other one and start the whole routine again because they need to be on the same schedule. Either one or the other (sometimes both) are often fussy in the middle of the night, which means someone is up and rocking the fussy baby (usually my mom during the week and the hubs on the weekends when he doesn't have to get up for work). On a good night when both go back to sleep immediately after eating, the entire process takes about an hour. When they don't, it's an all-night affair. They're up at least twice during the night to eat, so I've been averaging about five hours of sleep per night, which is about five less than I need to keep up with three kids under the age of 2.5.
I.Have.Three.Kids.
In other scintillating news, everyone and everything is annoying the shit out of me. I love my mom to pieces. She's a huge help here. She makes dinner. She entertains Isabella while I'm nursing. She does laundry and holds crying babies and grocery shops. But I'm a very independent person who likes being alone, and while I know I need her help, I want my house back. With three adults, three kids, and three cats currently living here, the walls of my small house are closing in on me on a daily basis. Throw in miscellaneous relative visitors and there is ALWAYS someone here. Someone is always either talking, crying, or meowing. There is no silence and solitude ever, and there are times (a lot of them, actually) when I wish everyone would just clear out and leave me alone. Of course, I'm unreasonable and quite possibly hormonal. I know my life right now is nothing but crazy and expecting it to be otherwise borders on the ridiculous. But I think that's also precisely why I'm wishing for just a tiny slice of The Way Things Used To Be pie. Anyone want to bake me one?
Which brings me to my next complaint. Two newborns and one two-year-old = No time for me. Someone always needs feeding, changing, holding, or entertaining. This blog post was written in about 15 stages, because the second I sit down to email or blog or catch up on all of your blogs, a baby or toddler is crying, crawling up my leg, or hungry. This will end soon, right? Like next week when they're a month old? Because I can totally do this for one more week. Beyond that, I'm not so sure.
Okay. I'm done bitching. How about some twin cuteness?
All three are beautiful!
The infant stage is funny. (So is the human brain.) I miss it already. (That's the brain part . . . we forget the hard stuff and remember the good.)
Every stage has it's challenge and it's reward . . . and you're getting both double!
Single sleep deprivation was tough enough for me! You are super woman now . . . :-)
I had newborn amnesia as well I think. I forgot how monotonous and...truly...un-fun it really is. I love the babies, don't get me wrong, but they're sucking the life out of me, lol. I keep telling myself that by Christmas they're going to be so different and I'll miss this stage..but..don't tell anyone I said this...I don't think I will, lol.
I know exactly what you mean, since my daughter went through it all 12 years ago. She also had an older child (age 2) when her twins were born. It is sometimes hell, but you get through it and then wonder how you did it. This too, shall pass, Kristi. They are all beautiful.
They are beautiful. I am very jealous. Of course, if I were in your shoes I would be tearing my hair out and wondering when this was ever going to get better. Try and be patient. It will get better, it will just take way longer than you want it too. {{{{Hugs}}}}
I'm sorry things are so hectic right now. Hopefully you will all get into a good rhythm very soon.
Those pictures are so great! I love the top one, it's like he's saying, "Here I am!!"
And, you would be proud of Little E. Today I was flipping through news networks and an SP stump speech was on. He took one look, and started bawling! Maybe it's the voice?
Sounds like you need a little time to yourself. Can you get an hour to get out of the house by yourself?
I miss that baby stage so much now that Munchkin is 2. It went by so fast the 2nd time.
Hang in there!
Sleep deprivation is the pits. I need a good 8 uninterrupted hours each night, too, and that hasn't happened in about 4 years!
It'll get better. It will. You just have to get used to this new normal and come to terms with the fact that things will never be as they once were, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
If you need to vent, remember I'm only an email away. :-)
I'm a cranky mess today just because I didn't get ONE good night's sleep. It's amazing you can still blog and function at all. They are beautiful and I can only imagine all of the wonderful moments, but sleep deprivation is awful and I remember the first month as really monotonous. It still went too fast though.
My older sister was 3 when my twin and I were born--my mom said it was utter hell the first few months, but once we were sturdier and more independent, we were actually easier than her first baby, a singleton, b/c we entertained each other.
Hang in there--I don't know what you're going through, but I know you're doing a fabulous job.
They're all gorgeous! Maybe Mom and the hubs and maybe an aunt or someone wants to watch the kids while you do something under the guise of a chore (grocery shopping maybe?) and then go get yourself a coffee at a shop somewhere and for a half an hour just read some trashy mags. Then pick up some milk and sundry items and head on home.
Ah, that's gotta be rough. The sleep deprivation made me cranky and anxious and weepy. You have it times two. You are amazing. And please, don't worry about catching up on my blog. You have newborn twins -- a free pass! ;) There's nothing good on my blog right now anyway!