Long day in Kathmandu

Yesterday was a LONG day. The babies are waking up earlier these days...5:30 am to be exact! I tried to put them to bed a little later last night to see if that would make a difference and I gave them a little more food before they went to bed but to no avail...5:30 am was our wake up time once again today. I am definitely not complaining. As it is, they sleep for 10 1/2 to 11 hours straight...I just would like for it to be that they go to bed a bit later and then wake up a bit later. But for now, I will just try to go to bed a little earlier and wait for my 5:30 wake up call. So, our LONG day yesterday began at 5:30!

After my refreshing day on Sunday I felt really ready to start our busy week on Monday. But it was still a LONG day and at the end of it I was very, very tired, frustrated and ready to get home. Running errands in Kathmandu means something totally different than it does in America. The roads are bad, the air is extremely dusty and dirty, the stores and places are spread all over town and are hard to get to and the traffic is horrible. I am not saying that we don't deal with these things in America...I definitely remember sitting in traffic for hours on the parkway or 95 but in many, many ways it is just different.

We left the house at 10 am yesterday and did not return home until 7:00 pm. In many ways that doesn't seem like that long but the babies were with us and we did so little during that time (most of it was spent sitting in traffic) that it just was too much. In 9 hours we drove to a new families flat to help get it set up, went to a paint store (twice) to bring the painter to the new flat to get it painted, went to eat lunch and go to the ATM, and drove to the grocery store and then came home...If all of that went very smoothly with no traffic (which doesn't EVER happen in Nepal) it should have only taken us 5 hours at the most. (I know all of you have had days like this!)

All that to say that I did not plan to be out for so many hours. The babies did so well through it all (thankfully) but I did not have enough food for them for one of their feedings (and we were far away from the grocery store) and here in Nepal we unfortunately do not have mini marts or grocery stores where I can just go and grab some baby food conveniently. So, I did what any mother would do in a situation like that (hungry babies, no baby food) and I bought some bananas on the side of the road while we were in traffic and I chewed it up in my mouth and fed it to the babies. I know, I know...GROSS. But sometimes you just have to do what you have to do! I have seen my Nepali friends do this (this is actually the way that they usually feed their babies solid food)...and I said..."NEVER". But you know what they say, "Never say never". Keane and Gracie did not seem to mind at all. Oh, life in Nepal. Ryan and I were both so tired after the day that he fell asleep at 8:45 pm and I followed shortly thereafter.

**The pictures above are just to give you a good picture of the traffic and pollution here and the one picture of all the guys pushing the truck was taken by my parents on their trip in 2006 but I thought it was worthy for this post because crazy things like that happen EVERY day in Nepal...I mean you would think that the guys on top would at least get off and help push...

Just one of those days...

Yesterday was "just one of those days" not a bad day, just a "blah" day. I felt that way pretty much from the moment I got up. I was sleepy, not feeling 100% and simply "blah". Then Gracie and Keane did not have their best day. They seemed to be sleepy too and we are working on getting them on a different schedule...you know moving from 5 bottles to 4 with more solids. I find it to be a difficult transition right now. Figuring out when to give the milk, when to give the solids.

The entire time that they were on just bottles, it worked amazingly well for us. It was pretty cut and dry, every 3 hours during the day give a bottle and then they would nap between practically every bottle. Even when they began eating a bit of solids it was fine too (see previous post about our schedule then) but now, at almost 7 months, that has changed and it seems to be changing so quickly, everyday I am having to re-evaluate what I am doing (I am sure many of you know what I am talking about). They are still sleepy but don't want to sleep as much because they are now so curious and into everything, they still definitely LOVE their bottles but also LOVE food. They get so excited when they see that little cup and spoon. And, trying to stretch them to four hours, figure out when to give them their solid foods (with the bottles, as a snack, some with, some separate) and figuring out when to carve out the best time for some naps in this new schedule has been tricky. I have been trying different options of schedules that are modifications of the schedule we were on and are ideas from other websites and books I have read.

Today is my third day really trying to nail a new great schedule down. I am finding that this is the first major time that trying to schedule twins has been pretty difficult. In our situation, feeding them bottles every few hours worked well and since they were eating at basically the same time for most of their feedings their nap schedule was also pretty much the same but now, with more components of the schedule to deal with, I am finding that they are more often napping at different times, waking at different times, etc.

I realize that with twins (or even for a single baby for that matter) and adding food and their personalities, that it is never going to be simple cut and dry "3:00 pm on the dot peas and then 4:00 on the dot nap for both of them for 2 hours..." I know that but what I am looking for is just a BETTER schedule then we have now. Now I know generally what is going to happen in the day but I am at a strange point where I am trying to figure out if they are sleepy and need more naps, if they are hungry and want more food, if they are missing that one extra bottle I am trying to drop each day, etc. Before when it was just a bottle every three hours, I knew (95% of the time) why they were crying and what they needed. Now we are in this muddled area that I am not sure what they are upset about because I don't have the feedings and naps down for this stage in their growth yet. They are still sleeping amazingly well through the night (6:30 pm - 6:30 am). I would like to be able to put them to bed a half an hour later or more but with the way things are right now they are SO ready to go to bed by 6:30 which works fine for me but I would like them to begin sleeping a little later in the morning and I know that won't happen until they are going to bed a bit later because they are already sleeping an amazing 12 hours...which I am SO thankful for.

And so, here in lies the dilemma which made my blah day a little more difficult yesterday because I was not in the best of spirits and neither were my two precious babies. I am looking forward to getting a good schedule worked out for all of us. The wonderful thing about having children is that even in the blah days it does not take much effort to find something that makes you smile or makes you thankful. Here are just a few things from yesterday that made my "blah" day a little brighter:

- My trip to run errands with Keane yesterday and having him fall asleep on me in the taxi.
- The fact that Gracie is beginning to crawl a bit and had the biggest smile on her face when she "broke free" from the play area we created for them on the floor.
- The times throughout the day that I would be holding Keane and he would pull my face into his just to be close to me.
-Watching Ryan lay on the floor and play with them while I got lunch made and seeing them smile at their dad.
- That even when they were both upset and crying before their bath we put them facing each other so they could see each other and they began laughing at each other so loudly for a long time.

I am so grateful to God for my family. I desire to serve them and love them abundantly. They are undeserved gifts from Him. Today I woke up feeling more refreshed and ready for the day. Right now Gracie and Keane are napping. We will see how today's "schedule testing" goes. I will let you know when we find one that works! Have a great day and don't forget to allow God to show you the many things around you that you have to be thankful for (small and big) even if today is one of your "blah days".

**Anyone have any advice for schedules that worked for you at this point??? I would LOVE to hear them!

Our Schedule at 6 months

People often ask me how I manage my day with twins. When do they eat? What do I do if they are both crying and I am alone? Do they sleep at the same time? Do they sleep together? Do they wake each other up by crying? Etc. Etc. I will be answering some of these questions in later posts but today, I wanted to write out our current (flexible) schedule. I know when I was pregnant, I just wondered how in the world we were actually going to do it, what days looked like for other people with twins. I hope that this will help someone who is in the same boat as I was.

We have had and lived by a schedule from day 1. I love having my babies on a schedule. Our schedule always remains flexible but not by much, just by a half-hour here or there or a few ounces of formula here or there, or a missed nap (or one taken in the stroller or car), etc. Our schedule is constantly being modified based on the stage we are in (newborn, trying to drop feedings, sleeping through the night, beginning solid foods, etc) but we generally stick to a 3-4 hour feeding schedule with playing and napping in between and a good bedtime routine. When I was pregnant, I learned a lot about scheduling from some more experienced moms as well as by reading the book, "On Becoming Baby Wise" that had been suggested by moms who had had great success getting their babies to sleep through the night. Having a schedule allows me and my husband (who has a very flexible work schedule (such a blessing) and is able to help me with many feedings and can stay home at times so I can get out do ministry, exercise, shop or visit with friends) has made our lives so much more simpler and has taken so much of the guess-work out of parenting. By living by a schedule, not only do I have time built into my day to do tasks that I need (and want) to do, but I am able to know (ALMOST all of the time) what my babies need and why they are crying, etc. I am able to better care for their needs and in turn, they are content. Last week, my babies (Gracie and Keane) turned 6 months old. About a week before that, I began very slowly introducing them to rice cereal by spoon along with all of their other formula feedings throughout the day. I am LEARNING something new everyday, I think it will be this way for the rest of my life. For now their daily schedule looks like this:

6:30-7 am: They both begin making sounds from their cribs. We let them lay there for a few more minutes but try to get them before their sounds turn to cries.

7 am (or whenever they get up): My husband and I each feed one of the babies. They both get an 8 oz bottle and they usually chug this one down.

7:30 am (or whenever they finish their bottle after a little cuddle time): Back to bed for a nap. (I tried last week to see what would happen if I just let them stay up and then take a nap around 8:30 am or so, NOT GOOD!)

9 am: Both are up from their naps. Usually one will wake up before the other and will play on the floor with toys or with us before the other one wakes up.

10 am: 4 oz bottle and 1 oz green beans mixed with 1 scoop rice cereal. This is only our second week with the green beans and cereal. They are getting better and better at eating from the spoon and really love the food. Keane usually eats more food than Gracie. I always give them the majority of their bottles first because I don't want them to get full on food and not eat their milk (which most doctors say is more important than the food at this point). (For the day time feedings, it is usually just me or sometimes just my husband that gives them to them now when the other is out). So, we feed one and then when they finish, feed the other. Each feeding usually takes around 15 minutes. We feed the one who seems hungrier first. If we know we are going to be alone during the day then we plan ahead and feed them before they begin to fuss or a few minutes before the scheduled time. This way, I don't have two screaming babies that are both hungry at the same time!

11 am: Nap time again. Gracie is usually VERY ready for her nap at this point. Sometimes Keane is or isn't. If he isn't he plays for a while longer (usually 11:30) and then goes down for a nap too.

12-12:30: Both are up from their naps. Play time on the floor with their toys or in their bouncers or swing or with one of us.

1 pm: 6 oz bottle

1 - 2 pm: play. I also read them books. And lately they are loving chewing on frozen washcloths.

2 pm: They both go down for a nap. Sometimes one of them is crying but by this time in the day they are usually ready for their longer nap and they don't cry for long. They sleep for at least 1 1/2 hours. Usually one is up before the other one (do you see a pattern???:)!)

4 pm: They are both up and ready to eat again. 4 oz bottle and some fruit (1 oz apples or bananas) mixed with 1/2 scoop rice cereal.

4 - 6:15 pm: Play. Last month they usually took a short nap during this time. I am trying to break them of this which helps them sleep longer and better at night. Sometimes if they just can't make it, I let them sleep for about 30 minutes but usually they make it but are just REALLY ready for bed by 6:00. Everyday is getting better and they are able to go longer without getting fussy.

6:15 pm: I give them baths one at a time (because they can't sit up yet), play with them in the bath for a bit and then get them dressed in their pj's (which usually are just a comfy onesie (we don't have AC and it is the summer here in Nepal)). Sometimes Ryan will give one a bath right after I give one a bath if they are both really fussy and we want to get it done quickly so we can feed them or if he just wants to bathe one.

6:45 pm: We each give one of them a 4-6 oz bottle. Sometimes Gracie wants nothing to do with this bottle but usually she will drink at least some of it. Keane usually drinks most of it.

7 pm: We sing 'Jesus loves you' to them and rock them for a few minutes, pray over them and then put them down. Most of the time they go down without problems. For the first few months they NEVER cried when we put them to sleep. Now, they are becoming more and more aware of the things around them and when mommy and daddy leave the room and they cry sometimes and need to be soothed. When this happens, we usually soothe them for a few minutes by rubbing their backs or rocking them while they are laying down and then leave the room and wait for about 5 minutes. If the crying hasn't stopped, we go in again, tap them a bit and then leave again. If they were crying at all, they are usually asleep within a total of 10 minutes or so.

Then they sleep through the night. My problem is that I wake up multiple times throughout the night worried about them so I get up to check on them and I have broken sleep all night. Some nights are better than others for this. Also occasionally, Keane will wake up once in the middle of the night wanting his pacifier. I know, I know, by giving it back to him I am creating a bad habit but sometimes, if patting him won't soothe him back to sleep, I give it to him. He is happy and so am I.