life with twins – 4 months in

I can’t believe it’s been 4 months since these boys were born. 4 months of exhaustion, breastfeeding, pumping, diaper changing, multi-tasking and learning just how fun it is to be a twin mom to Jack and Remy. Exhausting and sometimes overwhelming, but mainly fun. 

So, I don’t even know where to begin with this post but wanted to give everyone an update. I obviously haven’t been posting any recipes, and I’m sorry about that! I make a lot of recipes and still cook all the time…but I hardly ever photograph them or seem to have time to write down the actual recipe, let alone edit and upload the photos and write a post. I love sharing recipes with you all, and I also love having a record of what I make, which was the original purpose of this blog, so I need to get back on the horse. In due time, I promise 😉 

The boys are growing very well. We still weigh them weekly and last week Remy was 12lbs 4oz and Jack was 12lbs 1 1/2oz. This means they’ve just about tripled their birth weight which is very exciting! In the beginning I was pretty stressed with their weight gain, hence why we weigh them weekly. I was exclusively breastfeeding for the first 8 weeks and I definitely felt the pressure of being their only source of food and weight gain. After 8 weeks, it was still painful the majority of the time they would nurse and I got multiple clogged milk ducts which can be caused from a poor latch, so I decided to start pumping to give myself a break. I was also feeding them 6-8 times/day for the first 2 months, meaning I was feeding 16 times a day since I couldn’t feed them at the same time. So tough! I didn’t take the pumping decision lightly, and fully intended to start breastfeeding again after I had a break, but I just never took it back up. I would try, and it was not enjoyable for anyone. I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding and never imagined I would be exclusively pumping for my boys instead of nursing, but it was very challenging feeding two babies. I never got the hang of tandem feeding (meaning feeding them both at once), so as I fed one baby I was constantly trying to soothe the other before it was their turn. If you’ve ever tried to soothe a hungry baby, you know how hard it is, especially when you’re trying to nurse a baby who doesn’t have the best latch! So, needless to say, we were all happier when I started pumping and bottle feeding instead. This way, I could feed both at the same time while pumping. Kills 3 birds with one stone and keeps everyone happy and fed! With bottle feeding I also knew exactly how much milk they were getting at each feeding instead of guessing. As the babies got older and started needing more milk I had to make the hard decision to start supplementing with formula. My supply is pretty good, and would be more than enough for one baby, but I don’t make enough for two. I added up all the ounces I was making for a week straight, and I was making on average 35 ounces/day and the babies need around 25 each, so I am 15 ounces shy. I am okay with this because Jack and Remy are happy and full, and I am doing the best I can! In order to make that much milk I have to be super mindful of drinking enough water, eating enough (especially carbs, which is not how I used to eat), and getting enough sleep. It’s amazing how stress and a lack of sleep affect milk supply! My goal is to “breastfeed” (aka pump) for a year. I want them to get the nutrition from the breast milk but I also don’t want to spend even more money than we are on formula. One box costs $32 and we go through one box every 5ish days. Speaking of formula…we are using Holle Goat Formula from Germany. The box has zero english on it, and I had to google the correct way to mix it, but the ingredient list is SO clean compared to the majority of other formulas I looked into. No added sugar which I really appreciate. Pumping and breastfeeding is so much work, and I will be so happy to be done. I love that I can provide this nutrition for Jack and Remy but it will be SO nice to not have to worry about pumping 5-6 times a day! 

Milestones! It’s so fun to see your baby reach milestones and gain independence. I am not one of those moms that gets teary eyed or sad when my baby turns another month older or reaches a milestone because that is just one step closer to my life being easier! Could be a twin thing, but I can’t wait for them to hold a bottle on their own, sit up on their own, play on their own, etc. Remy is a crazy baby and rolled over at 5 weeks old. He also has always loved tummy time and is such a pro in that arena. Jack on the other hand is just now starting to master tummy time without crying his head off. He rolled over around 10 weeks, but doesn’t do it all the time (neither does Remy). They have both mastered the mini baby pushup which is where they place weight on their forearms or hands and push up during tummy time – probably the cutest thing ever! They’re also both working on sitting up and whenever we put them in their boppys they try to sit up and get so happy when we grab their hands and pull them to sitting. They also do a pretty good job in their bumbo seats and their jumperoo. They both babble all the time – especially at night and in the morning and it’s so cute!

In terms of sleep, or lack thereof, things are going really well! These guys were preemies, so we had to wake them up throughout the night to eat for quite a while (otherwise they may be too sleepy to wake up and eat, and won’t gain weight). I was feeding them at 8pm, 11pm, 2am, 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and so on. It was SO many feedings and the 2am was the roughest and the first one I cut out. As soon as I was confident they were gaining weight steadily (around 8 weeks when I started bottle feeding) I felt like I could let them wake up on their own to eat, and they naturally dropped the 2am feeding. Next, we dropped the 11pm feeding. They starting sleeping through the night about a month ago (around 8 hours) and last night they actually slept from 7:45pm-6am so they’re definitely doing well! We are slowly starting to get them to bed earlier and earlier, because we hardly have any time to ourselves before we go to bed. They were going to bed around 9:30, then 8:30, and now we’re trying to get it as close to 7 as we can. They are still swaddled which I think helps their sleep a lotttt, but I just started weaning them from it. We use Halo Fleece Swaddles and they love them, but I don’t want them to get even more attached to sleeping all bundled than they already are. In order to wean them from it, I started removing one arm from the swaddle, then I will remove both arms after a couple more days and see how they do! I read the Baby Sleep Solution and loosely followed that to get them sleeping through the night – it’s easy to understand and I’d definitely recommend it.

What else can I talk about. Life in general is really busy taking care of these two. I started getting up around 6am for the day and I love it. I feed the babies then have a couple hours to myself before they get up for the day. This has been so key because I’m able to drink coffee, eat a good breakfast, and get some things organized before they are up and hangry. Before, I was waking up to crying babies and then having to rush to get their bottles before having any coffee or breakfast, and I ended up eating around 11am. Not ideal for my mood or my milk supply, so this new 6am life is so much better. 

We also go to the gym 2-3 times a week which has been really helpful. Jack and Remy go to daycare for 2 hours while I workout, shower, go to the pool etc (so suburban mom of me), but it is such a nice break to have someone else do a feeding. The biggest perk is being able to shower and wash and dry my hair without being interrupted by waking babies. Heaven! Our gym also has something called “parents night out” where we can sign the babies up for $30/each and drop them from 5-10 on a Friday or Saturday. This has been so nice for Mitch and I because we actually get to hang out by ourselves and catch up and be married. I LOVE our time with the babies, but it’s hard to be totally present when you’re trying to keep a baby happy, so these date nights have been so great. It’s also a nice perk since we don’t have family near us that can help babysit from time to time.

On the topic of marriage…Mitch has been such a great support system and the best dad ever since these two buddies arrived. I always knew he would be a great dad, but seeing him with Jack and Remy is the best and has made me see him in a whole new light. Being a mom is hard work, but I don’t have to go into an office job 40 hours a week, and be a mom too. I appreciate how present and involved he is after he works a stressful 12 hour day, and I know the boys hit the jackpot having him as their dad. 

Working out and my mom bod…I really didn’t put any effort into working out until about 3 months in. I probably went to the gym once in the 3 months after they were born. The first 8 weeks there was no part of me that was going to workout because I was still healing from my c-section and I just knew I shouldn’t push myself too hard. I know a lot of people workout before then, but it didn’t feel right for me, and the majority of my time was spent trying to feed babies and keep myself functioning with so little sleep! About a month ago I decided to get to the gym more often and it’s been a great thing for all of us. Leaving the house with 2 babies, my gym bag and a diaper bag filled with gear they need for 2 hours is quite a task, especially since we live on the second floor, but with some practice I’ve gotten the hang of it. Before getting pregnant I ran 3-5 times a week, so I was pretty excited to start running again, but my first couple attempts were laughable. I decided to try to work on regaining some of my muscle and strength before I start running again, so for now I’m just walking and doing the Kayla Itstines BBG workouts that I did before our wedding. It’s a lot of body weight exercises that I love and really make me feel strong again. Think lots of lunges, squats, pushups, ab work, burpees etc. I am not someone who really cares about the number on the scale, but I’m about 8 lbs shy of my pre-baby weight and where I feel the most comfortable. I really don’t think I will reach that number until I am done breastfeeding because I have to eat so much right now and a lot more carbs that I am used to. I am totally fine with this and feel really good! My body is also different now that I have had these two babies (not surprising, but still weird). Who knows if it will go back to pre-baby after I lose the rest of the baby lbs, but my hips are definitely wider and my clothes just fit differently. 

Miss June bug is adapting well to the babies too! Her worst offense is too many licks, so we’ll take it. Bringing two babies home from the hospital was super confusing for her and she was understandably very curious at first/so excited these two crying things were with us. After a day or two she calmed down and it was like they had been here forever. She’s super sweet with them and I can’t wait for the boys to realize they have the best pet ever!

We have been loving a lot of baby things these past couple of months (and realize we could have done without a few other things), but I will touch on that in another post! Off to make a speedy smoothie before the monsters wake up 😉