Last week’s tale...Tuesday was a breeze with the girls--they were so easy going.  Wednesday my Mom was here for most of the day, she helped me clean and take care of the girls.  But Thursday and Friday were a totally different story.  Neither babe wanted to sleep, which meant they were spitting up all day--we have discovered that there is a strong correlation between the two.  Thursday I decided to shower when I couldn’t get the girls to take a nap and wanted some peace from the crying, so to get a few minutes of peace I put water in my ears.  It actually worked, by the time I got out of shower they were sleeping and didn't wake up for another hour.  Friday was my hazing day.  I only had a 15 minute break all day without a baby and my day started at 4:45am.  The girls and I did have a dance and singing party to The Little Mermaid (video to come soon), so that was a fun part of the day.  Ryan had some errands to run after work, so by the time he was home I was so wrung out and was putting the girls to bed!

Good thing, though, that the bad days and the good days are balanced out, meaning a stretch of bad is usually followed by good.  It can seem like there are more bad days then good as they are harder on the mind and body. 

This week is another four day week for Ryan as he has his flex day and he will be home on Friday.  Also, my Marmy will be staying the night with us tomorrow and spending some extra time this week.  That will be great!

I am working hard at trying to get the girls on a schedule, something that we all can depend on.  If they know what to expect, then they will be more relaxed babies.  Our schedule right now is something like this: somewhere between 6 to 9am they eat 5-6 ounces of formula, then about every 2 and a half to 4 hours another bottle, ending around 8:30pm.  The first and last feed of the day are the easiest.  The first feed they are starving so they eat well and usually fall back to sleep following that bottle.  The last feed of the day is after their bath so they are prepared for that bottle and usually fall asleep while eating.  The two to three bottles in between are harder to gage.  So, my goal is to get them on a tighter schedule that only varies by about a half hour, that way I know they are hungry (or at least I have a better idea).  As well, we will soon be starting the girls on solids as apart of their daily nutrition.  We gave them some adult applesauce this past weekend and rice cereal and it went really well.  I want to start slowly to give them time to adapt. I am anxious to see how they do with oatmeal and other fruits and veggies!

Everyday I will be more competent and proficient at being a Mom so I can look forward to that.  But everyday they change and that means I will have to as well.  I have learned you have to be malleable to be a parent and you have to have patience.  Patience does not derive from Love but from deep breaths and self control.

Well, here it is-I am going it alone.  Sort of.  My Mom and Fran (maker of the girls' beautiful green and pink Beatrix Potter quilts) will be helping me throughout the week.  So, I will mostly be going it alone.  Tuesday was my first day and it was great!  I got more accomplished by myself than when Ryan and I are together.  You know why that is?  He is my best friend and we just want to hang out together!  Actually, part of it is that we are getting more settled into a routine and into our home, so there is less work and more upkeep. 

I recently went to a twin's club meeting and I was amazed by all the women talking about their babies' schedules.  When I found out they were 4, 5 and 6 month olds I realized that I missed the boat somewhere.  So, Ryan and I just started trying to get them on a schedule last week and it's going really well.  Most of the time when they get fussy or have been up for a while we lay them down in their crib (they are still sharing) and they fall asleep on their own.  Since that day they have been happier girls-AMAZING!  If someone would have told me that would happen, I would not have believed them.  I finally feel like I am getting a handle on being a Mom.  I will probably be saying that line over and over again throughout my life, as we probably are always learning to parent.  At the very least I feel more confident and relaxed. 

Julia and Marayla are so flipping adorable.  They talk all day long.  I haven't quite figured out what they are saying but it must be good, there are always shouts and smiles.  They wake up happy every morning and interact with each other the most at that time.  They are both really good with their hand to eye coordination and have both rolled over a few times.  Julia still has about a pound on Marayla, but that helps others tell them apart.  Although some days they look so different to me I wonder how anyone could get them confused.  They are just so different in personality it shows through in their looks.

I love being their Mom.  I am lucky that I get to stay home and be their primary caretaker.  I already miss Ryan, but we were ready for this and the transition was very smooth.