Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

Nothing very exciting to report. I had the second speech and language workshop on Friday and we have a follow up appointment this Tuesday. I'm supposed to pick a target word and repeat it all sorts of ways. Since the girls say and understand "up" so well we've decided to try for down. So far we get "da" every once and awhile. During the follow up session they will videotape me interacting with the girls (using all the new skills I've learned….) and then we will review the tape and receive feedback. It should be interesting. I would really love to get discharged from the program but I'm not going to beg and be reported to child services. The workshops are a pain because I have to find someone to watch the girls for 2 hours in the middle of a workday.

We had a nice weekend. Last night we did some shopping, took the girls for a walk then watched the Sens pound the Leafs 8-0. The girls did well with the clock change this morning and got up at 7:45 new time. Today we went to the library - no I didn't have to drag John along - he was the one who suggested it after he discovered the Oakville library has much more current computer books than Mississauga. I wish I shared his love of technical books. After the library we took the girls to the pumpkin patch and got a pumpkin. We were going to try and get the girls in bed by 7:30 but by 7 all four of us were tired of each other and we decided to let them go to bed because they were very tired. We'll try to stretch it out a bit more tomorrow night. We're looking to change their bedtime from 8pm to 7:30pm.

Tomorrow John's dad and Drew are coming to drop off our old couch. I am fed up looking at our empty living room and I miss our nice comfy couch. John's dad is going to stay for the week and his mom is going to come for the weekend. My parents are also staying tomorrow night on their way through to Florida so we're going to have a full house. I'm going to have to be extra vigilant that none of the grandparents or Drew try to sneak the girls any Halloween candy! We're not going to take the girls trick or treating but we'll probably pull them around in their wagon so they can see all the "cumkins" - that's the word they learned today.

Getting their bedtime bottle in Ottawa
Going for a walk

Here's a video taking yesterday afternoon of Emma dancing…we call her Stevie Wonder. She gets her rhythm from John

THE VIDEO 

We had a good weekend even though the weather was terrible. On Sunday we had a visit from Sean and Ahren (our university friends). We see Sean all the time but it was nice to see Ahren who now lives in Vancouver.

We also had a birthday party on Sunday afternoon. The little boy across the street turned 4 - his little brother is the same age as the girls. The girls had fun watching the older boys run around screaming. Little boys sure have a lot of energy.

This week we’ve been busy. Monday we did errands. Yesterday we went to the Early Years for the drop in. It was the busiest I’d ever seen it and it was a bit challenging keeping the girls out of the path of some of the older kids. Thankfully they’re used to being pushed around by each other so there were no tears.

This morning we had our first Mother Goose session. Emma made two of the other kids cry. She didn’t mean it but again she’s used to playing with Leah. One thing I did notice is that the girls are actually pretty good at sharing. We haven’t had any tantrums in awhile now. They have adapted a system where they play tug of war which turns into them both giggling because they think it’s funny. Of course they tried doing that with the other kids today and the look of shock when the other kids just started crying was funny. Of course I didn’t laugh - I was already on thin ice with all the other moms because Emma is such a bully. All in all they seemed to enjoy Mother Goose. They both danced and laughed even though it was right in the middle of their nap time. They were pretty grumpy in the car on the way home and went straight to bed.

Tomorrow Jess is dropping Sarah and Brennan off for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Friday I have another speech and language workshop so Jess is going to watch the girls. Two busy days and then it will be the weekend.

Here we go. I found this website that hosts the video so expect lots more in the future. This one was taken moments ago. While some of you may think that Leah is at a disadvantage because she doesn’t walk this will show you that is not the case. Pay close attention to the audio at the end - I promise Emma was not hurt in the making of the video!

 THE VIDEO

First off let me say that Emma is walking!! When we were in Ottawa she got more and more confident. We then got them walking shoes and she’s really going now. Way more walking than crawling. She still has her arms up in the air but she’s looking less and less drunk as she gets the hang of it. The shoes also seem to be helping Leah - she’s tried a few times to get up to standing, can stand by herself and on Thursday night she took 2 steps! She still has a way to go but she’s much more daring than Emma.

The girls had a good trip to Ottawa. We are still battling constipation with Emma. We get her sorted out and then it starts up again. Nothing has changed in her diet and the only thing I can now think of is that she doesn’t drink as much now that the hot weather is gone. Leah is fine. They both aren’t eating as much as they were and they still aren’t sleeping very well although we’re down to 1 wake up a night. My theory on this (it seems all I do is sit around and think up theories!) is that they’re hungry. They are really not interested in sitting in their chairs and eating but I’m going to start trying to get them to eat more. Baby Einstein during meals helps as well as letting them eat off the coffee table. Bad habits I know but they’re so small and they need to eat more. I don’t understand how they didn’t get my “I love food” gene.

Our trip to Ottawa was good. We got a flat tire on the way but thankfully we left early enough that it was still daylight and the roadside assistance was very quick. I’m sure we could have done it ourselves (we actually found the donut and all the tools) but neither of us were confident enough in our non existent tire changing abilities to risk the girls. The weather for the wedding on Saturday was crappy but they had a good indoor backup plan and the night was a lot of fun. It was nice to be out without kids. John left on Sunday and we got back Thursday. My parents didn’t read my last post but I was still able to do all of my plans minus watching Oprah because I was napping.

Thursday night the girls had their first swimming lesson. The girls were in the water a lot over the summer and they quickly got used to it again. We had to lay them on their backs, on their tummies, dunk them and blow bubbles. There was no crying during the dunking - just alot of funny faces. We were also officially the last people to go home that night. I’m not a slow poke and I couldn’t figure out why we were last until I remembered seeing a supporting cast of onlookers for each child. These same people swooped in at the end of the lesson and got the child ready while the swimming parent changed. Maybe one day I’ll be a grandparent and undertand but I can’t even imagine how boring it would be to spend 30 minutes watching toddler swim class.

Yesterday I had my first workshop with the speech and language program. There were 7 other parents there and their children were mostly a little over 2. It was an interesting session. I learned some ways to encourage them to talk. We’ve already been doing some of the things like not talking all the time and making them ask for stuff rather than providing everything. I also learned some things like correcting them in a positive way, waiting for them to express themselves and rather than trying to get them to focus on one activity to just move on and stay engaged with them.

Last night John and I went to Canyon Creek for dinner while my parents watched the girls. We went to the one right by the condo. I forgot how busy that area is - we got there at 8:30pm and we still had to wait 40 minutes. Even when we were leaving there was a big wait. That restaurant really reminds me of the days before we were married when we were both working and going out all the time.

My parents left this morning so it’s back to reality once again. They go to Florida soon so it really is reality this time. It’s cold, rainy and miserable here today. We took the girls to Costco and the grocery store then came straight home. I wanted to go to the pumpkin patch but it doesn’t look like the weather is going to cooperate. I might have to buy our pumpkins at the grocery store which I guess is a fair trade off for the hottest summer on record.

I’ll post some pictures soon. No change except they are both cuter.

We’re going to Ottawa tomorrow. One of our university friends is getting married on Saturday night near Montreal and we’re going to leave the girls with my parents. While I’m not looking forward to the drive at all I am looking forward to a week of help. John is coming home Sunday but I’m going to stay for a few more days. I have some pretty elaborate plans of sleeping, catching up with my high school friends, visiting family, reading, lying on the couch and watching Oprah…you know all those things some people think stay at home moms do all day Hopefully my mom and dad will read this before we get there so they are fully aware and on board with my plan!

This whole week has been very long. I think it’s because that beautiful summer weather has finally gone. It’s been cold and rainy all week. Yesterday I took the girls to Ikea just to get out of the house. They still hate Ikea. Jess called today to ask if I wanted to meet her, Sarah and Brennan at Square One and I jumped at the suggestion. We walked around for 2.5 hours and the girls were so good. I had the diaper bag packed with distractions because I thought they would be monsters but they were fine just watching all the people.

Emma has started walking again. Last night she was trying to press the buttons on the TV and since “NO” results in fits of giggles I just moved her to the other side of the room. When I put her down she started walking back towards the TV. I kept on moving her further and further away and everytime she walked back. When she fell she stood up and kept on going. Today she wasn’t really interested but tonight she walked all the way across the family room and back without falling. Hopefully this time she gets it and I can officially say she’s walking soon.

The day after a holiday weekend (or helpful visitors) always seems so long. Today was no exception. The girls and I had two appointments so I thought it would go by quickly but it dragged on and on and on. On the plus side I was well rested because the girls are very nearly back to their old sleeping selves.

Our first appointment was with the Speech and Language program. The appointment went pretty much as I expected. It was nap time so the girls were a bit crusty but they did well. Of course they both didn’t say much to the therapist but I had accounted for this and had the list of all their words (see my updates are good for something!). If we have the pleasure of going again I will suggest to the therapist that we use books rather than toys to get them to talk. They don’t really make a habit of talking when they are dropped in a room full of new toys - the same thing happens at the Early Years. They become very quiet while they take everything in.

The appointment consisted of the therapist asking me all sorts of questions about their play habits and how they interact with others. The girls were left to play while we observed and tried to get them to talk. Emma did much better than Leah - Leah wouldn’t even say baby. Thankfully the therapist took my word that Leah is actually very chatty. In the end she didn’t see any cause for concern with the speech but because they were preemies (and speech problems are very common in preemies) she did not want to discharge us. She instead signed me up for a workshop on strategies to help encourage them to talk. Should be interesting. While you might think that my brain is rotting away while I’m not working I’m actually learning a ton about child development which I guess is one perk to having preemies.

So the morning nap didn’t happen. We got home around 11:30am and they were asleep by noon. I had to get them up at 1:30 to eat because I had a doctor appointment at 2:15pm. While they were napping I looked up directions to our new doctor and discovered that it was in an old house…a not very stroller friendly old house. I was tempted to cancel and reschedule when someone else could watch the girls but I decided to give it a try. There were stairs when we got there so I brought the stroller into the reception area then got the girls. We were all set when the receptionist told me the stroller wouldn’t fit through the door to the doctor’s office. When I told her that they would have to crawl around she offered to watch them while I was in my appointment! So in the end the appointment which I expected to be hell because the girls don’t sit still for long was nice and relaxing. At the end they even helped me carry the girls and the stroller to the car…and the doctor was nice too. I’m pretty excited to have a nice doctor with nice staff. The funny part is the doctors office is actually walking distance from our house - for those of you that have been here you’ll know how amazing this is…we live in the sticks now. I haven’t mentioned lately how much I still miss the condo - especially now that summer is over.

GUILTY

Tricking them into sitting together

“Jackson come back…we promise we’ll be gentle”

We usually go to Ottawa for Thankgiving but we have a wedding near Montreal next weekend so we’re going then. We were not up for travelling two weekends with the girls (two playpens…two feeding chairs…etc etc etc) so we decided to stay home.

Aunt Bonnie invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner last night so we went to Oshawa. It was nice to see everyone and we had a very nice meal. The girls cried for Great Grandpa initially but then he made them laugh with a teddy bear. Unfortunately they don’t enjoy sitting on laps anymore but theymake up for it by being very entertaining. Kim and Steph took them out on their trampoline and they both really liked it. They took some pictures which I’ll post once I get them. During dinner we put them in their chairs and gave them measuring cups and spoons which they loved. I gave them some peas which they put one by one into a cup, dumped them on the tray and started over…and here I thought they might eat them! We got them ready for bed, gave them a bottle and drove home. The woke up in the transfer but went to bed no problem. Leah was up at 12:30 and that was it. They are sleeping alot better the last few nights.

We have no plans for today. On Saturday morning we made a list of the things we would like to get done this weekend. It is getting harder and harder to get stuff done because the girls want to be around us more. We are hearing a lot of “up, up, up” which we usually indulge when they’re being curious and not whiny. Today I would like to organize our closets and put away all the girls summer clothes. Hopefully it will get done but if it doesn’t it means we had better things to do!

Teeth:
I just counted (oh it was fun…). Leah has 8 on the top and 8 on the bottom. Emma has 8 on the top and 8 on the bottom too. We gave them big girl toothbrushes this month and they are doing pretty well. We usually end up brushing their teeth for them and then letting them do it themselves. They both know where their teeth are and can say teeth.

Hair:
A little more - not accessory worthy yet - yes, I’m still happy about that!

Sleep:
Terrible this month. They were good for my parents while we were in Vegas and then they got their cold and it got bad. We’ve had some of the worst nights ever with them this month. It really can’t get much worse so I can talk about it here! Wednesday night was awful. Emma was up from 11pm til 3am and would not settle. At 4am Leah started waking and would not go back to sleep for more than 45 minutes. It was awful. Last night was the best night in weeks. They both woke up once but they were able to settle themselves and quickly went back to sleep.

They still go to bed at 8 and who knows what time they’d get up at if they were well rested. I think we’ll bring their bedtime a bit earlier when the clocks change at the end of the month. They are also starting (I think) the transition down to 1 nap. It seems to be from about 11am - 1pm. Again I’m not counting on any of this behaviour being consistent seeing as their nighttime sleep is so terrible lately.

Getting around:
Nobody is walking. Emma looked like she was ready to go but now shows no interest in doing it on her own. Leah is getting stronger and gaining balance everyday. While they’re not walking by themselves they both prefer to be up on their feet. They have a push toy that Emma can run behind and Leah can speedwalk and they also enjoy pushing the hamper around. They both can walk backward, sideways and are pretty agile. They are both getting very good at climbing. Emma can muscle her way up on the couch and they can both climb up on the chair in their room. They are crazy fast at crawling now - it’s pretty funny.

Food:
We had some issues with constipation this month. Thankfully it is all sorted out now. They are still eating and drinking well. Somedays they’ll try new things and other days it goes straight to the floor. They really like chicken and eggs but they still aren’t fussed on veggies. I’m still anal about no crap.

The end of the bedtime bottle has been put on hold until they get their sleeping sorted out. I have a feeling we might have missed the window on taking the bottle away. I hope I’m wrong.

Talking:
They are really talking now and it is very cute. Some of you may remember that at our last NICU appt they decided to refer us to the Speech and Language program in our region just in case it became an issue. I guess the waiting list in Oakville isn’t what they were expecting because we have an appt on Tuesday morning. We think they’re doing fine but we’re not turning down an opportunity to have a second unbiased opinion. They also understand so much. They know where their body parts are and can understand and respond to questions.

Here is the complete list of what they can say:
From last month…
-cat
-mama
-dad
-papa
-cheese
-ball
-book
-baby
-hi
-bye
-yum yum
-Leah
-Emma
-cookie

New this month..
-Jackson (other cats are still cat)
-teeth
-night night
-see ya
-all done
-no no no
-shoe
-car
-cheese
-do do (Leah says this when she has a dirty diaper)
-duck
-up
-chicken
-chickie (Emma’s stuffed animal)

Personalities:
This month we discovered that Emma deals much better with being sick. She turns into a big suck but is otherwise happy. Leah on the other hand was very irritable, threw tantrums and was very hard to settle. She did have some cuddly moments but she was much harder to deal with. Thankfully now that she feels better she is well behaved and happy again.

Not much else has changed. They both went into nursery without me this month. It was for 2 hours every Tuesday morning. They both did very well. They didn’t cry when I left them and from all reports they were happy and well behaved.

They are both learning so fast. I taught them both how to close their eyes by showing them twice and then they got it. John taught Leah to blow her nose. Unfortunately he did it while holding the kleenex for her so now everytime she sees a kleenex she blows her nose. Thankfully the snot has dried up!

They are both a lot of fun to be around but they are a handful. I am pretty tired by the end of the day and somedays I am just so happy when they go to bed! Horrible mom but before you call child services come spend the day with them! They are go go go. Their attention span is getting longer and they will sit on the couch and watch 3/4 of a Baby Einstein before they get distracted. They also pay more attention when we’re reading. They both really like music and they dance which still needs to be fully captured on video for later use.

So last night Leah (and therefore everybody else) was awake more than she slept. They both went to bed like a dream…no crying…or even talking. I made the mistake (I should know by now) of laying on the couch, eating an ice cream cone and pronouncing our sleep issues over. The minute I said it I said to John that I’d jinxed it. Well I was right.

I can’t even remember what times she woke up at after midnight. We were all up at 12:40am and then Leah was up a few times and then we were all up at 5:40am. At that point we called it a night and John got ready for work and I pretended (in the dark) that it was morning. They had a leisurely breakfast while John tried to regain consciousness in the shower, we drove him to the GO train and then I pretended at 8am it was naptime. They slept for 49 minutes (I know this because I slept for 19) and then decided it was time to get up. I was so tired so I packed them up and took them to the Early Years Centre for Toddler Fun. They behaved ok…they were both tired but determined to play. They weren’t too interested in sitting with me for circles time and I can’t say I was all that into singing stupid kids song so I wasn’t really devastated. After Toddler Fun we came home, they ate a big lunch and they went to bed. I’m not even going to comment on my hopes for this nap but I’m sure it’s pretty obvious.

So I’m sure you can imagine that there have been some pretty lengthy discussions about what Leah’s problem is. We both agree that she is over her cold. We also both agree that she has learned that screaming her head off in the night gets us. Sometimes it takes awhile but we come. She has always been a light sleeper and it is possible that now when she wakes up she gets up rather than soothing herself back to sleep but we don’t think that’s the issue. There is something waking her up that’s new. Yesterday Leah started to get constipated as well. There is no more medicine and I finally figured out that it was the cereal I have been giving them. I am fed up with cleaning bananas off the floor so I started mushing them up with baby cereal again. Iron fortified cereal. So that’s it for cereal - I would much rather clean the floors!

So the plan is no more cereal and continued attempts with apple prune juice and prunes. We are also leaving their straw cups on the floor so they don’t have to ask (or me remember) to get a drink of water. We also have those suppositories on hand if needed. I hope this solves the problem for both of them. It’s awful when they cry because they have to poop.

Leah is also going to get some tougher love when it comes to the night time crying. Hopefully it will subside once she gets her bowels sorted out but I have a feeling she’s learned a bad lesson and she’s one very stubborn little girl.

I’m really hoping my next post will be titled - SLEEP FOR ALL!!

S