Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

We are now driving a van! John’s parents decided that the Focus wasn’t safe so we have traded vehicles with them. We are now driving their van and everybody has lots of leg room. The Focus is in Windsor enjoying the nice warm weather.

We had a nice holiday weekend. The girls are back in teething hell and both of their gums and bums are very sore. They are pretty happy for the most part but they were harder to get to bed than usual. They went to sleep fine tonight at home so fingers crossed they are feeling better.

John and I took advantage of having family around and went out two nights in a row. Friday night we went to the Windsor casino. It was the first time we have been to a casino since our honeymoon in Vegas and it made us both want to go back. Last night we went to see Hitch. It was entertaining.

Ronan John Lamarche was born on Friday afternoon weighing in at 7lbs 11ozs. We stopped into the hospital in Guelph today to see him. He is very cute and I’m sure the girls are going to have lots of fun with him. Carrie and Coby are doing well and they expect to be home from the hospital tomorrow.

The last time I held a fullterm newborn I was 12 (my cousin Kiera). Holding Ronan tonight it hit me just how small and fragile the girls were when they were born. I have been saying that I would like to try a one baby pregnancy but tonight made me revise that statement to a fullterm one baby pregnancy…not anytime soon though!

I will ask Coby and Carrie if I can post a picture of Ronan. John’s parents got a digital camera so they took plenty of Easter pics. I’ll have to get some from them because I didn’t even unpack the camera.

We’re off to Windsor for Easter. This is our first long trip since the new carseats were installed. We might be getting the minivan a year early by the time we get back. The driver and passenger seats are pretty much as far up as they go and to say it’s uncomfortable would be an understatement. I know it’s morbid but I can’t help wondering about the people who design these things. It’s great that the babies will survive an accident but the design pretty much guarantees they’ll be orphans!
Have a Happy Easter. Don’t eat too much!

The girls started the cutest thing yesterday. When John gets home from work they are usually playing in the living room. Yesterday, when he opened the door, Emma started squealing with excitement and commando crawled all the way over to see him. Tonight they both did it. They sure know how to make their dad happy after a long crappy day at work!

The weather has been beautiful the past two days. Yesterday we walked over to the grocery store and today we went over to the mall. Now that I can ingest whatever I want, my new favourite thing is to get a Tim Horton’s half hot chocolate/half coffee and find a bench in the mall. Today I saw a woman with triplet boys that looked to be just over a year. Two of them were identical and the other was fraternal. It would be like having two Emmas and one Leah…or two Leahs and one Emma. I can’t even imagine.

I can’t believe it’s been a week since my last update. Time seems to be going by so quickly lately.

We are all doing fine. The girls have both mastered the commando crawl and in the past few days are up on their hands and knees rocking. They follow me around all day and it’s pretty cute. They are finally starting to need my attention more and I’m not sure if this will be a good or bad thing! If I sit on the floor within seconds I will have two babies trying to get on my lap. If I sit on the couch I get two babies on the floor by my feet trying to get my attention.

Leah is getting much better at sitting. If she is in the right mood she can now sit unassisted for 5 minutes. Emma is showing a big interest in pulling herself up. If she’s sitting down and you give her your hands she pulls up to standing.

The weather is finally starting to get warmer and we are out for walks every day. We were at the mall 3 times last week. Unfortunately it was March Break so the mall was a zoo. Hopefully it will be a bit more peaceful this week.

We had a nice weekend and for once it didn’t fly by. I think it helps that we get up earlier and make full use of the days. On Saturday morning we fed the girls, got them dressed, went to see the house, went to Costco and went grocery shopping all by 11am. All the tile in the house has been installed. The garage door wasn’t locked so we managed to get in. It looks really good which is a relief after all those trips to the design centre. Hopefully the counters and cabinets will also be a success. On Friday night John hosted Poker. The girls went to bed before most of the excitement started so I don’t think we have to worry too much about what their first words could be.

First bath in the kitchen sink

Emma loving the sink

Leah lounging in the sink

All in Dad…ALL IN!!

We had a good weekend. Friday night John stayed with the girls and I went to the movies with Alicia. We went to see Bride and Prejudice. It is by the same woman who did Bend it Like Beckham (one of my favourite movies) but it wasn’t nearly as good. I’m not really into the whole Bollywood breaking into song in the middle of a scene thing.

Saturday we drove out to see the house. It was raining when we left home and by the time we got to Oakville (10 min drive) it was snowing like crazy. That has happened a few times so I think we’re going to have more snow in our new house. The house is looking good. The walls are all done and painted. Now all that is left is the trim, toilets, sinks, cabinets, flooring and brick. They are working on Saturdays now so maybe it will stay unlocked.

Saturday night Drew came to watch the girls while we went out for dinner with Coby and Carrie. I can’t believe that both Carrie and Alicia’s babies are due in a few weeks.

The girls are doing well. They have slept right through without a peep for 5 nights now so we’re hoping teething is done for a bit. They seem to really want to go to bed at 7 and we have given up trying to fight it. They get up around 7 these days but as long as I don’t stay up too late I get a good sleep. I am a morning person anyway. We are working with Leah at her exercises and she is already getting stronger.

I am very happy that all our appointments are over. It’s extremely cold here and I would have preferred not to have to go outside!

The follow up appointment was good. They aren’t overly concerned with Leah’s low tone and they have given us some exercises to do to help strengthen her belly muscles. They were very happy with how mobile, alert and curious she is. She loved all the attention! Emma’s muscle tone has loosened considerably since our last appointment. They were very happy with her progress and they just want us to work with her transition from a sitting to crawling position. Emma cried when they tried to work with her so John had to help out. She is so shy!

The pediatrician was today. Dr. Govan is very happy with their progress. I have been a bit worried about their weight gain but he said it is to be expected that it slows down a bit when they are teething. Leah has fallen off the growth curve for her actual age (she has been hovering near the very bottom) but is still well within range for her corrected age. Leah is 14lbs 12ozs and Emma exactly one pound heavier. Both girls were all smiles for the doctor - I think it was because they didn’t get a shot this visit.

After the pediatrician appointment I took the girls over to the hospital. We haven’t been back since the babies were born and I thought today would be a good day since there were no shots. We met up with Aunt Bonnie and then headed over to the NICU to say hi to all the nurses. It was fun seeing them all again and they all were so excited to see the girls. The NICU was full and there were babies in their spots - one in the cot and one in an incubator. Am I ever glad they are strong healthy girls.

On to the update…

Teeth:
Emma got her right top tooth and the one beside it. She now has six teeth - four on the top and two on the bottom. Leah cut her front two teeth last week so she now has four. These teeth were not as smooth as their first ones and they have been a bit fussy.

Hair:
At the rate we’re going I won’t have to worry about doing hair until they’re 3 years old!

Sleep:
This month they went from 3 naps to 2. Besides a few recent teething issues they are sleeping through the night. Their bedtime is getting earlier and earlier and for most of the month they slept from 8pm until after 7am. Emma is a good sleeper and goes to bed no problem. Leah fights it a bit more but she’s getting better.

Getting around:
They both started the commando crawl. Leah gets around more than Emma but I think this has more to do with her curious nature than her ability to crawl. Emma is just as mobile when she wants to be. Leah’s current favourite is Jackson’s bowl and the door stoppers.

Food:
They are eating about 20oz of formula a day and three meals. We have separated bottles and meals in preparation for weaning them off bottles in a few months. They can both hold their bottle which makes it much easier. We are trying sippy cups but so far they both just like to chew on them. They are still eating fruits and veggies. We keep trying chunkier food but they act like they’re choking and spit it all out.

Talking:
These days they are saying Ba, Ya, Ma, Da, Ga. They are quite chatty and when they wake up in the morning they’ll lie in the crib and talk to each other. It’s pretty cute.

Personalities:
Leah continues to be a social butterfly. She loves attention and will let anyone hold her. She is always on the go and in need of constant entertainment. If she is bored she will let you know. She likes to scream when she wants attention (a habit that is going to be broken when we move to the house!).

Emma is more reserved. She is very shy and will cry when faced with people she doesn’t know. Once she warms up she is very friendly. She is content to sit and play quietly and can entertain herself. When she is upset she’ll lay on her tummy and bury her face in her hands like the whole world is falling apart.

Both of the girls are very happy. They smile and laugh all day long. This month we started bathing them at the same time and it is so much fun to watch them interact. They both love the water. Sometimes it seems like they are not aware of each other but if you separate them and then bring them back together they will squeal in delight when they see each other.

Our friends Liv and Scott had their twin boys Connor and Braden yesterday. Liv carried them to 38 weeks and they were big boys - both over 7lbs! I am in awe! I can’t wait to meet them. I’ve been really excited about sharing the twin experience with someone I know.

9 months old today! We have our NICU follow up appointment tomorrow and a pediatrician appointment on Wednesday so I am going to wait to do their big update. I am still worried about Leah’s lower body strength and it will be nice to talk to them about it.

We had a nice weekend. The house is coming along nicely. They have drywalled and taped everything and it looks really good. On Saturday Great Grandpa, Aunt Bonnie, Tom and Steph came for a visit. It was really nice of them to come and see us and save us the drive to Oshawa. They even brought the girls two cute summer outfits complete with sunglasses. Very cute. The girls were well behaved which is good because unfortunately they were pretty terrible yesterday. Leah is getting her top front teeth and she is not happy. She does this high pitched scream and it is the most annoying sound. We are very conscious of our neighbours so we try and stop her and she has definitely caught on that screaming brings mom and dad in a hurry. She’s going to be in for a shock once we get the house. John and I refuse to become trained! I’m hoping we will have our nice happy girls back once these top teeth come in.

The teething is also affecting their sleep. Saturday night they were both up a few times. Emma slept through last night but Leah was up around 3am. I went in and gave her some ambesol and the soother then let her fuss until she fell back asleep. We find if we take her out of the crib she thinks it’s party time!

Great Grandpa and Leah 

Great Grandpa and Emma

Moving around

Emma 9 months

Leah 9 months

Emma and Leah 9 months

I realize now that we have been very spoiled with the girls sleeping habits. For the past three nights one of them has been up in the middle of the night and it’s killing me. I am so tired.

Emma woke up crying on Tuesday night like she’d had a bad dream. I had to hold her to calm her down and everytime I tried to put her back in the crib she screamed like she was terrified. It took me an hour to rock her back to sleep. Thankfully Leah slept through no problem. Emma has slept through the past two nights so I think it was just a bad dream.

Leah isn’t finishing her bed time bottle and the past two nights she has woken up grumpy and hungry. Yesterday morning she was up at 5am and it took me two hours to settle her. Of course the minute she went back to sleep Emma woke up for the day. Last night Leah was up at 2am. I gave her the rest of her bedtime bottle and rocked her to sleep. I have been trying to push back their dinner solids in preparation for table foods and I think this is the cause of the problem. Because I’m trying to get her to eat dinner so late come bedtime she isn’t hungry (not a problem for Emma!!).

I look back at how I used to feed them both at 2am and 6am and wonder how I survived. I think back then I was so tired I could fall back asleep no problem. Now it takes me so long to get back to bed after getting up in the night and it’s tiring me out.

Not much else to report. It’s been very cold so I haven’t taken the girls out during the day. Last night I went for Japanese BBQ with some of the girls from work. It was nice to get out and I’d never had Japanese BBQ before and it was really neat.

We don’t have much planned for the weekend. Tomorrow we’ll go see the house. Hopefully they’ll be done drywalling. They’re going to be locking it up soon so our days of sneaking around inside are numbered.