Things To Do With Your Baby

Soooooo, you have no idea what to do with your bundle of joy once they're home from the hospital? Totally understandable! I mean, they don't move around  much; they are pretty much just stationary, milk-sucking, smaller versions of a real human! They're somewhat like pets at this point! Yet, you are super eager to use all of the fabulous play mats and toys that you got at your baby shower, so you lay your little one down on the mat and wait...and wait...and wait some more. They'll eventually at least reach for some of the hanging things right? Ehhhh, probably not! This "lack of activity" doesn't last for just a day or two either, it will last months! DO NOT feel bad! It's just the way it is! They don't hate the gifts they were given, they just have no idea what their purpose is at this point!

Don't feel bad! I remember feeling bad because Jax and Alek (my little twin monsters) would just lay there, looking around, sleeping, eating, pooping, eating, pooping, sleeping - you get the idea! I felt like they were totally BORED! WTF was I thinking?! They don't even know what being bored is and even if they did, there was no possible way that they were bored! Imagine being all blind and snuggled up in the wet wonderland of a uterus (gross) and then being spewed out into our big, bright world! Yeah, they're not bored. They're acclimating themselves to being in a totally different setting than they had grown accustomed to. They can't see real well, everything is a billion times louder now, and there's more space around them than they know what to do with!

You're not a bad mom if you're not holding them 24/7. I mean, if you want to, and like that kind of thing, by all means, hold them all the time (they won't get spoiled just yet)! I'm not that kind of mom. I love the little guys but I also hate sitting still for too long! Of course they need held and cuddled and loved, but they will also be fine if you leave them be to figure out some stuff on their own!

The first few months are pretty harsh when it comes to their sedentary "lifestyle"! I've put together a list of ten things I did with my boys from 0-5"ish" months old that kept all three of us entertained. Trust me, you will question your sanity at some point and these activities will give you a little release (or perhaps just confirm your insanity)!

1- Lay them on their play mats even if they don't "play"! They are looking at all the hanging objects you've put in front of them. They will eventually start to interact with the stuff. Plus, someone once told me that babies that have nothing above them to look at will "turn out dumb", lol! There's actually research on that, and I will say that the findings do show that the visual stimulation is great for them.



Alek

Jax

2- Draw eyebrows on them and let them look in the mirror! It will be more entertaining for you than them, but babies LOVE mirrors!

3- Do baby art. get some water-based acrylic paints and a canvas. Paint up your little one's hands, feet, booty...whatever, and use them as a human stamp to make a DIY wall hanging! Make sure you use colors that you would want to display! So much easier to incorporate with your décor than the god awful "feet butterflies" people seem to be fond of making. You know, the ones that end up crushed between the pages of a baby book. With that being said, IF butterfly footprint art can be easily incorporated into your décor, you've got bigger issues than figuring out things to do with your little one!

4- Engage in a tickle war. Mine love it when we lightly bite their ribs and blow on their stomachs. Maybe it's because they're boys and the "fart like" sound that blowing on their stomach makes, is engrained in their DNA to be funny. Now don't expect some fantastic bellowing laugh from them until they're a few months old, but when you hear that first laugh, you'll want to hear it over and over!

5- Turn on some horrible music that you love (Vanilla Ice or maybe some Soulja Boy) and hold them upright, making them dance...kinda like a puppet. Again, probably more entertaining for you than them, BUT you're getting them used to movements and they'll never know you're laughing at them and not with them ;)

6- Take them for walks. Lots and lots of walks. It's good for you and good for them. Don't be one of these moms that doesn't want to expose their kids to the elements. Dress them according to the weather and let them get out! We live in Las Vegas and it gets pretty hot here, so we "visit" the local malls and the shopping forums in the casinos to walk. If you choose to do the mall thing, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT plan on getting any actual shopping done.

7- Sing and dance for them. They don't know that you have been kicked out of karaoke bars for having a voice so bad that chimpanzees scream at the sound of it. They just know that you're smiling and having fun!

8- Let them hold different objects. It's fun to see what they like and don't like, plus it lets them get used to different textures. My monsters love to take soft blankets and rub on their faces. Now, I would never leave them alone to do this, but it's super cute when they shut their eyes and seem to enjoy it so much. They hate wooden spoons.

9- Play in front of a mirror. Have I mentioned that babies love mirrors? Hold them, so that you're both facing the mirror and lean towards it and away from it. Make faces at them in the mirror. I recommend putting some makeup on so that you don't scare yourself; that "glow" you had while preggers might not have endured the birthing process!

10- I might be pushing the envelope with this one, BUT that's what I'm good at. So... you're going to be stressed; this is a huge life changing event, you're sleep deprived, and this is a whole new "normal" that you're experiencing. Take the tension out of situations and use your best ooogly googly baby voice to say things to them like, "Ohhhh did you crap yourself?" "Did my little man sh** himself?", "Why, aren't you just the most annoying little creature!", "Can you just STFU for mama for just a few minutes?"... I find this activity highly fulfilling, and since you're using a "sweet as pie" voice, they generally just smile and laugh. PLUS, you won't be able to do this activity once they start mimicking sounds!

Notes for the Babysitter

Jax: Less hair
Alek: More hair

            11:00 – Bottles (on counter)

12:00 – Lunch (each gets one of the little plastic containers in fridge) I feed them one at time because they’re super impatient and LOVE food (kinda like me, ugh)! If they don’t finish the food, that’s fine.

1:30 – Naptime. They will start getting moody between 1 and 2 so you can put them down anytime. Alek’s crib is closest to the window. They’ll probably sleep two+ hours!

3-4 – I’ll more than likely be back by 3 J

· They’re both “floor babies” now! They stay on the floor unless held because they will roll off the couch and die…dead babies are not good! (OK, they probably wouldn’t really die; I know this from experience!)

· They can play together if you’re down there with them; otherwise, keep them apart or they will gouge each other’s eyes out.

· Beware! They’ve moved on from just pulling hair to scratching. These monsters will dig their little claws into any part of you and they have no mercy!

· Dump out whatever toys you want them to have (in the baskets by the fireplace); they love the little rubber blocks to play with (and chew on). If there’s more than three things they get overwhelmed and are cranky AND cry AND whine (super annoying). Guess why they do this. Yep, evilness.

· I’m trying to teach them the word “no” but they have no idea what it means! So if you say no and they look at you and just smile, it’s because they’re evil!

· When you put them down for a nap, pop a binkie in (found in cribs) and leave the room (if you stand there, they cry). They will likely cry anyway so wait a few minutes and go back in to put their binkies back in their mouths…again, they’re evil! They should nap for 2-3 hours (if not, no big deal). They ALSO might wake up during the nap; before getting them up, pop a binkie in to see if they will go back the f*** to sleep J

· Help yourself to anything in fridge or cabinets! Stress eating is fully permitted in this house!

Cesarean/C-section Delivery

Wow, another Throw Back Thursday is here already! Ok, so it's Monday, but in Mommyland, all days blend together. This week, I'll walk you through my C-section!

"Are you wanting to try to have your twins NATURALLY?" My high-risk doctor asked a couple months into my pregnancy. I wanted to blurt out "HELL NO"... wait, who are we kidding, that's EXACTLY what I said to him! I then asked his thoughts on the matter and, after chuckling, he told me that it was rare for a first time mother of twins to be able to push them both out. What's this mean? It means that if you try to do it naturally and fail, then you've messed up your abdomen along with your "tender parts"! NO THANK YOU!

You work so hard to survive endless months of "the joys of pregnancy", so why not make the delivery easy? For a control freak, like myself, this is PERFECTION! Here's how my delivery went...

Scheduled for December 7th at 10:00. Went to the rodeo the night before. Got a late night call that we were moving the delivery to 1:00. NEVER HAD ANY CONTRACTIONS! Had babies. Ok, ok, so that's a TINY bit abbreviated...here's a little more detail.

Marc excited and ready to go!

We got to the hospital and gowned up; I got my IV. Marc got in his daddy blue gear, aka scrubs, and they took all of my vitals. BORING. Then comes the fun! They wheeled me to the operating room (because apparently they don't feel I'm capable of walking?) and introduce me to the TEAM, yes team, of people that were going to be there. The anesthesiologist began the spinal block. "Sit up and lean over", he says. "Lean over more," he says. WTF? Now I'm not sure how exactly I'm supposed to lean over any more when my stomach is the size of a large beach ball? However, since this guy is in control of my level of comfort, I kept my mouth shut. Marc watches from a window while the good doc tries several times to find an opening between my vertebrae...I heard it looked gross and I KNOW it hurt like hell! Finally he jammed that thing in there and all was good.

They laid me down, the flimsy partition went up... I went numb. I rapidly spouted off to Marc that I was terrified by the fact they were slicing me open and yanking things out of me! The worst part...they tell you EVERYTHING before they do it. I DON'T want to know when you're sliding a scalpel across my oh-so-tender skin and I especially DON'T want to know when you're cutting into my uterus. GROSS! I asked Marc if he wanted to "venture to the other side of the partition"; he said no before I was even done asking! I caught a glimpse of what was going on, in the reflection on the overhead hanging light, before I jerked my head away so fast that I surely had a mild case of whiplash!

Babies with what appears to be my floating head...

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" cried Jax, formerly known as "baby number 1". They whisked him by to clean him off and what did I say, you ask? My first word, in regards to my precious firstborn was, indeed, "EWWWWWWWWW".  Come on now, really though? Those things are covered in grossness and shouldn't be seen until they're prettied up a bit anyway! No sooner was I trying to retract my "Ewwwwww" (or at least defend it), "baby number 2", Alek was crying!

Marc held my hand while they sewed me up...oh wait, that's the story I made up in my head! What Marc really did was LEAVE ME on the operating table, abdomen wide open. Why? So he could go see his little babies! How quickly I became number three on his list of priorities ;) Both babies were perfect in every way...they were hella ugly little creatures but they were "perfect" hella ugly little creatures! (Do NOT scroll down if baby penis' scares you!)

Jax and Alek..."precious".

I laid there for another 15 minutes, ALONE (not that I'm still bitter), and the whole thing was over. 25 minutes from start to finish was all it took! So, if you're fearing a C-section, be thankful it's 25ish minutes of numb fun vs possible hours of labor followed by the tearing of your "tender parts"!

Maybe next TBT, I'll tell you what your hospital stay will be like ;) Until next time friends...

Teething Demon Babies


Most babies give their parents a break between not sleeping through the night and teething. Not only did my "now teething babies" NOT give us a break, they actually overlapped this whole timeline thing they're supposed to follow (what jerks)! Ok, so they're babies; I'll cut them a little slack and I'll be thankful that we are actually getting this all over with sooner rather than later.



Photo by Polar Cruises

My monsters got their two bottom teeth at four months and now they're working on their top teeth.  I swear, when babies cut teeth they morph into demons. There's no nice way to put it. You'd think they were sprouting walrus tusks with the way they carry on. I'm not into medications for babies (or adults for that matter), so they don't get the "almighty" teething pills I've heard so much about. What do they get? They get frozen wash cloths, teething rings, and, their favorite, MY FINGER!


Here's my suggestions on dealing with teething babies.

1) Distract them. I don't care how you do it. Distracted babies are happy babies! I choose to dance around like a banchee in my living room. I shake my booty, I do the chicken dance, I even did a somersault today! Have you ever thought about what a weird word somersault is? Somersault.

2) When you've burned more calories than you've taken in for the day AND the teething babies are no longer amused with your cool dance moves, shove that frozen washcloth in their mouth. A full piehole is a quiet piehole! How exactly do you freeze a washcloth? First, wash a few with no detergent and use some vinegar in the wash cycle (to remove all the chemicals). If they've dried, get them wet and ring them out. At this point you can just wad them up and throw them in the freezer, BUT what I do is roll them up into tight little Swiss Cake Roll looking things. You're done. Give them to your teething babies as needed.

3) Your demonic, teething babies will only chew on these washcloths for so long and then they're back to carrying on like nobody's business. At this point, let them scream for a few minutes to tire them out, and put them down for a nap. FORGET about their "schedule" because your sanity is more important! I figure they need extra sleep anyway... growing teeth is hard work don't you know!

4) The babies will wake up at some point...and you will cringe. But don't worry, it will be fine! This is temporary! Keep that in mind! I've found they've kind of reset themselves after sleeping, so they're good to play for a while before they "remember" they hate life. Let them play! I put them on their play mats (and keep all small toys away) so that they don't focus on things that fit in their mouths.

5) Keep repeating this horrid cycle until bedtime. Mix it up a bit throughout the day by keeping your "adult sippy cup" aka wine glass (or in my case, Jack and Coke cup) full. Buy some earplugs; trust me, you can still hear their screams with them in. And, remember, "enjoy these times because they don't last forever"! Bwhahahaha, don't you love (hate) it when people tell you that ;)