My Bees' 1st Halloween

Halloween was kind of boring for us.  The bees are too small for trick or treating, so that was out.  Due to the risk of colds, flu & RSV, we chose not to go to any local fall festivals or church carnivals.  I had resigned myself to the fact that the bees were just going to have a "My 1st Halloween" onesie and that was the end of it.

Aren't they cute???  I could have been happy with just this, but about 2 weeks before Halloween I was doing some online shopping.  Between work and spending time with the bees, I rarely have time to shop for anything more than groceries and household items.  Online shopping is becoming quite addictive!  While shopping for some long sleeve outfits for the boys, I stumbled across the cutest costumes for the bees.  They were on sale, I had a discount code and free shipping.  I got both outfits for less than $15 and couldn't resist.  

Honey Bee agreed that Chunky and Itty Bitty were cute, but says that next year we need something "more manly".  

Favorite Things Friday

Now that the bees are getting older, we are starting to use some new stuff with them.  Here are a few of my favorite things that we use on a regular basis:

NoseFrida - I had read on other blogs how great the SnotSucker is, but honestly the thought of it grossed me out.  Still does kind of.  But OMG!  The amount of snot I get out of the bees' nose is unbelievable.  Chunky Bee had his first cold a few weeks ago and the NoseFrida was my last-ditch effort before going to the pedi.  After a few days of saline and sucking, all better.  I even asked Honey Bee if he thought I could use it on myself when I caught Chunky Bee's cold.  ::Insert blank stare::

Sleep Sacks - Chunky Bee has been unswaddled for a while now.  The thought of SIDS scares the crap out of me, so I didn't want to use a blanket in his crib.  The sleep sack is a wearable blanket.  It keeps baby warm, but doesn't pose a suffocation hazard.  We have 2 right now, but need to purchase a few more because we're breaking Itty Bitty of the swaddle in the next week or so.

Gerber Puffs & Lil Crunchy Veggie Sticks - Chunky Bee is doing great with solids.  Itty Bitty Bee is only slightly interested, but is getting better.  I've been offering Chunky some puffs to help with his fine motor skills.  The puffs dissolve in baby's mouth and stick to slobbering hands well.  Recently, I tried him with Gerber Veggie Sticks.  The kid was smacking because he liked the taste so much.  He even started crying when he was out of them on his tray.  Of course being the great mom that I am, I have sampled both of these.  I mean if they taste badly, how can I expect him to eat them?  Both varieties are quite tasty.  (Sidenote - We've tried the Peach Yogurt Melts and neither of us are a fan.)

Sound Machine - This sound machine is SO soothing.  The bees' received it as a gift after they were born.  Initially I thought "We'll never use this.  They have mobiles on their cribs" I was wrong.  While Itty Bitty was still in the NICU, I took it in an placed it in his bed.  He was in a private room and I felt like he was alone so much that it would be nice for him to have music.  A bonus of this machine is that it also has image discs that display scenes on the wall or ceiling.  Each day when I arrived, Itty Bitty was either asleep with the machine on or wide awake watching the fish or sheep.

Now that both bees are at home, we have the machine in the nursery.  It plays 3 different lullabies and it has 3 nature sound setting.  The thing that makes this better than their mobile is that it has a timer.  We can "set it and forget it".  We put the bees down drowsy, but not asleep.  The soothing music in combination with the dark room is the perfect sleep scenario for the bees.


What are some of your favorite things?

National Prematurity Awareness Month

November is National Prematurity Awareness Month.  As we move through the month, I plan to dedicate several posts to prematurity awareness.

Thursday's Tidbits

When I started this new blog, I had great intentions of posting at least 5 days a week.  Well, it seems as if I'm failing.  I vow to myself, my bees and my (few) readers that I will get better.

Lots of things have happened since my last post...

• The bees had a weigh in yesterday while receiving their monthly Synagis shot.  Chunky Bee is up to 15lb12oz and Itty Bitty Bee is up to 8lb14oz.  
• Both bees had a follow up appointment with their opthamologist.  Both were at risk of eye disease as a result of their premature birth, but Dr. E said they both have "perfectly healthy eyes".  Yay!  We don't have to go back until they are 2 years old.
• Honey Bee and I had a stay-cation last weekend.  We stayed at a golf and spa resort in town.  It was nice to have an adult dinner, a few drinks and a full night's sleep.  I mean from 11ish until 10ish.  I was so well-rested.
• The bees are getting much better with solids.  Chunky Bee is getting oatmeal and fruit or yogurt for breakfast and both bees are getting dinner.  Itty Bitty is a picker eater, but he seems to love sweet potatoes and peach yogurt.  The kid may turn orange, but at least he's eating.
• The whole family ventured out a few weekends ago.  We went to zoo.  I figured it was a safe bet since it was open air and people wouldn't be in the bees' faces.  Princess Bee had a great time.  She got to feed the giraffes.  I got some great pictures while we were there.  Hopefully I'll get around to downloading them and will share them.

Those are the highlights of the last few weeks.  Of course there was the bees' first Halloween, but that deserves a post all on its own.  Also, we have some big stuff coming up with Itty Bitty - more details to come.

PS - Congrats to my friend, Megan on the birth of her little girl, Piper.

Y3W - My favorite time

I had a hard time picking out my 3 words for today.  I had several options, including:

• Three Full Nights (as in sleep.  all night long.  both bees!)
• Can't Stop Eating (I blame PMS)
• Great Dr. Appt (coming in another post)
• First Family Outing (happening tomorrow!  Come back for the details.)

But ultimately I decided on "My Favorite Time" because it's something that seems to be happening on a daily basis now. 

Honey Bee and I wake at 5 am Monday through Friday.  Before the bees were born, I could sleep until 5:45 and still make it to work on time.  But when you throw pumping and feeding at least one bee in the mix, it just doesn't work.  

Honey Bee is a morning person by nature.  He wakes up talkative, happy and walks around singing.  Me?  Not so much.  I've never been a morning person, but lately I look forward to the mornings.  Why, you ask?  It's because of the bees!  They wake up happy.  They wake up smiling.  They wake up talking.  They give us time to warm bottles before having a meltdown.  Clearly they got that from their daddy!

I love our mornings together!  The four of us will hang out on the bed.  The boys will eat.  I'll pump & put on my makeup.  Honey Bee will play with the bees.  They laugh.  They smile.  Sometimes they stare at the ceiling fan in amazement. Sometimes they stare at each other and smile.  Sometimes they hold hands.  A lot of times, Chunky Bee will roll over and squish Itty Bitty Bee with a "hug".  Or he'll roll over and start sucking on Itty Bitty's head.  Don't worry - Itty Bitty gets in on the action as well.  He will kick Chunky or give him a good slap to the face.  And occasionally they will fall back to sleep.  

Who would have thought that two little boys could make me a morning person?  I never would have dreamed that early mornings would be my favorite time of the day.

Happy Friday!

Y3W - Call me slacker!

I used to be organized.  I used to be a planner.  I used to have "to-do" lists.  These days?  Not so much.

Since the bees were born, life has been crazy to say the least.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm a first time mom {to babies}.  When Princess Bee became part of my life she was not a newborn. I never had to pack a diaper bag.  I never had to plan trips around nap time.  I never had to measure out bottles.  Despite all of these things I "never had to do", I always had a plan for me, Honey Bee and Princess Bee.  These days I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants.  Barely getting by.

If it's not due to being a first time mom, is it related to having twin baby bees?  When Honey Bee and I found out we were expecting twins we went through a wide range of emotions - joy, panic, worry, HOLY CRAP!  I had grand visions of spending nearly 4 months at home after their birth.  I'd have them sleeping in their room, in their cribs by 2 months old.  We'd use BabyWise to have them sleeping through the night by 10 weeks old.  I'd have an iron-clad daily routine and our days would run like a well-oiled machine.

Today our life is pretty much the opposite of this vision.  Honey Bee just asked me earlier this week "What happened to my wife?  You know the one that used to plan everything?"  Well, let's see....she had two babies.  Ten weeks early.  Life just gets in the way.  I work full time and when I get home each day, I have less than 3 hours to spend with the bees before bedtime.  During this time, I don't care what's for dinner.  I don't care that I have two loads of laundry to be folded.  So what that they've been there for 2 weeks?  It doesn't bother me that I'm grabbing clean sleepers out of the basket because I never got around to putting them in the drawer in the bees' room.

I will say this - our house needs a good, deep cleaning.  I really want to hire someone to come in twice a month to do this, but Honey Bee says we can't afford it.  You know, the whole one income household thing? But our house isn't filthy, nasty, dirty.  Does the furniture need dusting?  Yes.  Do the tile floors need to be steam cleaned?  Yes.  Is the living room our own plastic jungle?  Yes.  But to me, it's not cluttered.  It's not nasty.  I mean, I lay the bees in the floor all the time.  If I thought our house was dirty, I'd do something about it.  It just needs a little "elbow grease" as my Nanny calls it.

So if you want to call me a slacker because I'd rather spend time snuggling with my bees instead of planning meals, folding laundry, and mopping floors, go right ahead!

Wordless Wednesday

This is how I feel lately.  The bees have got to start sleeping better.  Please?  Pretty please?