Twins' six month update!

Today Ira and Roman are six months old! I am so proud of those two little babies and also proud of myself for all the mothering I have done these past six months. When I was pregnant I joined an online support group for mothers of multiples and I remember noticing how they all, upon the occasion of their babies' first birthdays, made the same exclamation: "We survived!" 

Survival might seem like a low bar for parenting but I'll tell you what- it is sometimes the only bar one can meet. Or hop over. Or... actually now that I'm typing this I'm realizing I don't know from what sports this metaphor springs.... let's say hurdles. 

So sometimes survival is the only bar you can hurdle and that is just fine! My husband likes to say that in life he tends to "under-promise and over-deliver." I guess the parenting-infant-twins equivalent would be to aim for the survival bar and celebrate every inch over that bar you manage to leap! 

In my last update I wrote about the 4-month-sleep-regression and how it was kicking my butt. In month five we had a handful of good nights but overall I continued to be whooped by its long reaching arms. There was a string of nights in a row when, between both babies' wakings, I was sleeping about 45 minutes at a time. Folks I am here to tell you that I nearly lost my mind. 

Never have I been so tired in all my life. Severe sleep deprivation is no joke.

The silver lining to surviving those long crazy-making nights is that now I truly cherish sleeping 3 hours in a row. It's kind of like when you are really sick with the flu and you remember back to a time when you had a cold and think, "WHAT WAS I COMPLAINING ABOUT?! I would kill for a simple cold right now!" 

So now when the twins allow me to sleep for three hours at a time, I say thank you, kiss their little cheeks, and drink my coffee trying not to complain and know that in time, this too shall pass. Last night was a rough night again (I was up every hour) but before that we had a few good nights in a row, with 4 or fewer wake ups. The twins have also started to take a longer and consistent morning nap (1-2 hours) which has been great and allows me some time to either rest or take a shower or fold laundry... whatever seems most pressing at the time! 

While the sleeplessness has at times put me in a sour mood, the twins are as happy as ever! They are healthy, growing, babbling, chunky little babies who daily make me laugh and sing praises to the heavens. I often look at them and breathe out prayers like, "Thank you God for this precious child! I am the luckiest mama on earth." When I think about my three boys I truly feel rich. One of my favorite times of each weekday is when I load up the twins and we pick up Arie from school. Driving home with all my littles in the minivan I feel the wonderful weight of the abundance of my children. Three little boys to gather in my arms. Three lives to nurture. Three stories to which I bear intimate witness. Three blessings from my Heavenly Father. I am grateful. 

Ira and Roman have become quite expressive in their love and desire for me this month. I think what I am seeing is the beginnings of the attachment that forms separation anxiety, but on the positive side. They get so excited when they see me and they each have their own darling reactions when I hold them.

Roman loves to reach out with his little hands, hold each side of my face, and stare into my eyes while softly cooing. He giggles and pulls me in for kisses, which I shower on him in increments of 10 or 100. Or 1000. 

Ira is what I affectionately call my "boobie monster." The boy loves to nurse! When I hold him he claws at my shirt and bounces his head into my chest. When I sit down in my rocking chair in the nursery with him he balls his little fists and lets out out a gleeful laugh in anticipation. I read a breastfeeding quote the other day that said, "Nearly every need your baby has can be answered at the breast." That is certainly true for my little Ira!

Speaking of breastfeeding, I am grateful that we have made it to the six-month mark! Yesterday before we introduced solids for the first time I took a moment to admire their chunky little bodies and marvel God's design for a mother to nourish her babies. It was a very tough journey for us at first but how incredible it has been to see my boys thrive on my milk! 

Introducing solids was great fun! John and I chose avocado as their first food and they loved it. Roman in particular seemed like he could have demolished the entire fruit on his own. While I know all babies eat solid food eventually it felt happily surprising to see how well they took to it! I think I will enjoy introducing new foods. Well, with the exception of all the messiness this new phase will introduce into our lives. If anyone has a dog we could borrow for mealtimes please leave me a comment below. ;-) We have yet to convince our cat to lick up our spills and crumbs after meals.

Lastly our two highlights of the twins' fifth month were going apple picking with big brother as well as visiting my family in Ontario for Thanksgiving. While sometimes it is tough for me to gather the energy to do these kinds of things, I often forget about how tired I am when I am enjoying myself and I'm always glad I made a little push to make some memories with my family! I'll leave you with some pictures of these two highlights. 

Picking apples:

Thanksgiving weekend in Ontario, visiting a festive fall farm:

My parents with all their grandchildren! 

xo