The Adventures of A-star and B-boy

What to do?

DaddyX2 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:38:00 GMT

I have not blogged in a little while. It has been hectic at home and work.

The boys have started solids. A-star is standing with support. I decided to get a haircut that looked like B-boy's ( he looked comfortable). We took them to see Santa. We did some portraits and had foot imprints done. I went to a sing along.

The truth is, unless you are always thinking Blog, it's hard to keep it going.

I thought about blogging about people who tell me it's nice to have twins to "get it out of the way".Then I thought about doing a blog on taking them to see Santa, but I didn't. Nothing has really struck my fancy.

I guess what is happening is that the boys are only small once and it's going by fast. The only thing we can do is to try and keep up. I'll try to keep you all posted.

By the time you read this...

DaddyX2 — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:47:00 GMT

Tomorrow is a Mommy's day out for My Wife and her new mom friends, so there's going to a bunch of Dads flying solo for a few hours, including me. I briefly considered asking relatives to help me, but then I thought: " I should be able to take care of the boys on my own for a couple of hours." What's an adventure without obstacles, right?

Last night I asked my Wife how long she'd be gone for. She seemed to be adding some shopping to her itinerary. Not to mention travel time.

If my day is really interesting, I'll let you all know how it goes. If there's silence, maybe the day went off without a hitch.

Maybe.

Let me tell you something...

DaddyX2 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:04:00 GMT

My Wife and I had to shop for baby stuff the other day, so we waited until A-star and B-boy were ready for their nap, piled them into the car and went to a Baby store. It was very crowed, shelf-wise, so I hung back with the car-seat stroller as my Wife shopped. A couple pregnant with twins noticed our car seat stroller and asked me some questions. I started talking to them, answering their questions and then relating some experiences. After awhile my Wife joined us. Eventually we wished them luck and they departed for another store.

As we were walking back to our car, my Wife said: "I think they wanted to leave earlier." Mentally, I rewound the conversation and I realized they did say "We should let you go" at least 3 times. Maybe 4. Naturally they meant, "We're too polite to say: Please let us go, your verbal diarrhea is scaring us." I am that monster: the Dad who can't shut up about his kids. Mea Culpa. I vowed to do better the next time.

Which happened to be the next day, different couple, different store.

I quickly answered the couple's question about the stroller, then made up an excuse to find my Wife. When I found her and related my experience, she told me my information about the stroller was entirely wrong.

I decided against going back to find the couple to correct myself. Why risk it?

Finally, an actual adventure

DaddyX2 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:36:00 GMT

My Wife and her father had hearing problems, so the public health department has scheduled A-star and B-boy for regular hearing tests. A little bureaucratic screw up meant that they missed their four month check up, so we set it up closer to five and a half months.The testing involved A-star and B-boy falling asleep at the hospital. Every adventure must have at least one obstacle, right?

Right after the boys woke and and had their bottles, we bundled them into the car, the the car seat covers up, to keep them awake, expecting to be at the downtown hospital around 10. Because A-star and B-boy have such odd hours, I hadn't seen rush hour traffic for awhile. We got a little nervous, because if they fell asleep in the car, it would be hard to get them to sleep in the hospital.

They stayed awake, so we could then mull over how we had no plan on how they might fall asleep at the hospital.

At the sound proof testing lab, the Audiologist put 3 electrodes each on A-star and B-boy's foreheads and one behind each of their ears. A-star didn't like the one behind the ear, and after 2 tries, the Audiologist decided to put it on after they slept. We read them a story and turned off the lights. Then, we pulled the sheets over the front of the car seats we had brought the boys in on. The Audiologist said she would be back in 10 minutes when they were asleep. I thought it might be rude to laugh at her statement, so I said nothing.

Our little family sat in the dark.

After a little while, A-star started to cry. We tried to talk to him, but i was finally forced to pick up the car seat and swing it, something I hadn't done in a weeks. A-star had put on a few pounds. Luckily, it calmed him down enough that he did fall asleep. Through the commotion B-boy fell asleep. 30 minutes.

Then the testing began. Ear jacks were placed in B-boy one ear, and then another. We had been told the testing only took 15 minutes. Sometimes the first nap lasts less than 30 minutes. You can do the math. Plus, putting in ear jacks, despite the Audiologists' care, still disturbed the boys a little.

B-boy woke up a few minutes after his test were done and My Wife took him out of the room, where he quickly tore off his electrodes. A-star made it through his left ear, but not completely through his right. We assured that the chances that having hearing loss in one ear and not the other was slim, so we decided not to go through the whole procedure again.

For the next test, we were told they could stay awake. I'm sure that trip will still be its' own little adventure.

It all makes sense now

DaddyX2 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:11:00 GMT

Before the arrival of A-star and B-boy, I used to marvel at certain products. I called them "I'm too lazy to" products, as in "I'm too lazy to cut mushrooms","I'm too lazy to make a salad", or "I'm too lazy to cook roast beef".

Of course, I realize now those products aren't for lazy people. They're for parents. Especially the new parents of energetic boys like A-star and B-boy.

I still don't understand pre-mixed alcoholic beverages. "I'm too drunk to" products?

Red letter day

DaddyX2 — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:46:00 GMT

When my Wife and discovered that A-star and B-boy would be arriving, we visited our friends who had also had twins. I could swear they were at least six months, but my Wife says they were 5. In any case, the moment that is burned into my brain, and my Wife's brain, is the moment that their baby girl began to fall asleep in her Daddy's arms, without any coaxing or rocking. Her mom cried out: "Don't let her fall asleep."

That had never happed to us. A-star and B-boy had never fallen asleep while being held... until last week.

We were on our daily walk before bath time, the longest stretch the boys stay awake. The walk keeps them from getting too fussy at home. We've also discovered if they take a nap a few hours before bedtime, they are not tired enough to fall asleep at night, so the walk helps to keep them awake.

Anyway, the boys were in their carriers, looking outward. It was a chilly day, so the Boys were bundled up, wearing hats and we were wearing big jackets to keep them warm. We weren't particularly worried, as I said, they had never fallen asleep while being held, so we took our time, exploring the neighbourhood.

Then it happened. My Wife cried out "A-star's falling asleep!" It was true, even from my angle I could see his eyelids drooping. I was stunned. We raced home , rousing him slightly all the way.

It had finally happened.

All right, I wasn't holding him in my arms, but he did fall asleep while being held. it's true he was bundled up in a snug cocoon and I was gently walking around.

I know what you're thinking, but let me have my small victories.

More Sleep training : Rocket science to follow

DaddyX2 — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:01:00 GMT

Sleep training at night has worked out pretty well (knock wood). It's now rare for the boys to cry rather than not to cry. Last week, I took some time off work to help my wife with sleep training during the day.

How'd it go? Sometimes ok, sometimes very bad. A-star and B-boy had to be rescued on a couple of occasions. It certainly was not the rousing success stories you read about in the baby care books.

One popular book claims that if you time your baby's naps properly, they don't cry. Personally, I think that window of opportunity is so small, the only thing I could compare it to is the difference in time between the gold and silver medals in a luge competition.

Then again, maybe my definition of crying is too broad. I consider short bursts of sobbing to be crying, but maybe it isn't. Maybe the books only consider loud, uncontrolled wailing, to be crying.

Don't get me wrong, A-star and B-boy do both.

The point of no return

DaddyX2 — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:32:00 GMT

When A-star and B-boy first arrived, we were amazed at how small they were. We let people know it. Other parents would say something like: "They're small now, but wait until they get bigger and start moving around, then you'll miss the times when they just sat there and looked cute."

5 months, and I'm already there. Is that a record?

What do babies sound like?

DaddyX2 — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 12:01:00 GMT

B-boy and A-star have a new sound.

That's something that never get talked about, the noises babies make. Every baby you see on TV, film and radio make cliche baby noises; crying and goo-gooing. You'd think that someone in a prenatal class would say, "There are some baby noises you might not expect", but they don't.

When A-star and B-boy first came home, my Wife and i had them in a crib next to our bed. We put up a little blanket to block out sunlight, so we never actually had a direct view of them. At that age, after they ate, they pretty much fell asleep.

Then the sounds began.

There was burping. You could ignore that. There was wheezing. That got me up occasionally to see if they were breathing okay. There was wet clicking. That raised eyebrows and i usually got up to see what that was about. Then there was this sound... the only way to describe it was a hoot. They hooted.

The funny thing was, we'd hear all these sounds in rapid succession, rush over to see if something was wrong and A-star and B-boy would be sleeping peacefully. I couldn't even tell who made the noise. We'd watch them for a few minutes, not a peep. Lie down and it was like sleeping on the middle of the monkey cage at feeding time.

After a while, we all settled in and gradually the noises faded away. Now, when they're awake, B-boy and A-star gurgle, razz, giggle and squeal.

And now they've developed a new noise. It's like their squeal, but it rises sharply in the middle, to a point that I think I can hear the local dogs bark in response. At first, we thought it was just because they were having trouble going to sleep. But it's gone on for a few days now, and they use it for everything; happy, sad, hungry, you name it.

I guess we'll learn to love it.

Held for ransom

DaddyX2 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:43:00 GMT

A-star and B-boy do not like bedtime.

We have a whole bedtime ritual: Bath, Bottle, Massage, Bedtime Story and Lullabye. Most of the time, we can't even get to the last page in the storybook before they realize it's bedtime and they start to cry. Just as an update, some days they hardly cry at all and other days, they REALLY cry. It's the kind of crying that makes you wonder what kind of hideous monster you've become.

Then the next morning, A-star and B-boy are all smiles. They still love you, even after everything you've done to them. It made me think, perhaps they are victims of Stockholm Syndrome. It's the syndrome where hostages begin to identify with their captors, because the captors can ultimately determine the fate of the hostages. Maybe that's why a child's love is unconditional; they somehow remember when their parents were their "captors".

Makes sense doesn't it? Babies are helpless: Parents feed them, clothe them, change them. As I said many times before, Babies can't even learn to sleep without us. Almost every waking moment my Wife and I have is devoted to the care of A-star and B-boy. Our only reward for a sleepless night of suffering is their bright, happy faces.

Now that I think about it... we're not in charge at all; we're the hostages!

Epiphany: I like the Backyardigans

DaddyX2 — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:21:00 GMT

I've never read a Harry Potter book. I watched the first movie and I couldn't see what the fuss was about. I actually thought it was stupid. The next 3 movies were better, but not enough for me to crack open a book. I've lived this way happily for many years. When the last book in the series came out with the mystery apocalyptic ending, I began asking people how it ended. I couldn't find anyone who had read the whole book yet, until today, when a colleague mentioned he had finally finished it. I asked him how it ended and his reply was: "I'll tell you if I really want to know."

Cue an epiphany: I may have to read these books with A-star and B-boy. I suppose I could know ahead of time how it all turns out, but I know that it would ruin the experience of sharing, even though I don't find Harry Potter at all interesting. So I said: "No thanks".

Then I had another epiphany: I'll probably have to share a whole bunch of things with A-star and B-boy that I don't find interesting. I might even find those things stupid.

I guess I'm not telling anybody anything they don't already know.

A practical guide to choosing a crib

DaddyX2 — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:44:00 GMT

If you're reading this, chances are you already have a crib. I offer this advice in case you don't, or you have friends who need a crib.

Some people buy cribs based on decor, some based on price, most buy them as a combination of the two factors. These are good factors to consider when buying a crib. Let me add the final factor to consider.

Go get the heaviest Bag of Rice you can. Flour is for suckers; flour is packed tight. If your Baby eventually feels like a bag of flour, you haven't been playing with it enough. Anyway, go to Chinatown, and get the biggest bag you can find. If you don't live near a Chinatown, go to the local bulk barn and get at least 15 pounds of rice in a bag. You could get less, but your paeditrician will probably tell you to feed you BOR until it reached a healthy weight of 15 pounds. Eventually your BOR will be 15 pounds (or more) anyway. Once you have your BOR, you're ready, head down to your prospective crib.

Stand next to the crib, cradling the BOR gently in your arms. If you can, do this while jet-lagged or try not to sleep for a day. Now, the first step is to set your BOR gently down on its' side. Remember that your BOR can sense when your arms shift its' body away from your body, so do this slowly. The last thing you want is your BOR's eyes to suddenly pop open.

If you've gotten this far, it's time to lower your BOR carefully into the crib. Your BOR can sense when it's being lowered, so if you hear any rice shifting around, it's pretty much game over; pick up your BOR and soothe it to sleep again. Once you get your BOR on the crib, it's time to turn the BOR on its' back. You could try putting the BOR down directly on its' back, but, as it turns out, BOR's are more likely to wake up when sleeping on their backs, so you have to trick it. Naturally, the safest way for your BOR to sleep is on its' back. Another one of Mother Nature's cruel jokes. Again, if you here a lot of rice shifting around, forget it, cradle your BOR and start over.

If you've got the BOR on the crib, watch it for a few minutes to make sure it goes to sleep peacefully. At this point, you'll have to imagine that it may not, so go through the whole exercise again. Using your knees is cheating. If you can lower the rail on the crib, do it, but your BOR can feel you doing something other than holding it. Your BOR doesn't like your focus to change.

Do this about every 3 hours, for seven days at least. How does your back feel? If you feel good, you've found your crib. Parents of varying heights will have to decide which parent's back is more important. When you're done, go have a bowl of rice. It's packed with carbs and you'll need the energy.

The other day

DaddyX2 — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:28:00 GMT

A couple of nights ago, I came down with something. Could've been food poisoning, maybe some inner ear thing. It felt like being drunk without the fun of having a drink or being so tired from drinking that I could pass out. I knew I had become a parent, because my first thoughts were not for my well being. No, the first thing I thought was: "Who's going to help my Wife feed the babies?"

Then my next thought (as I threw up into the bucket that my Wife had thoughtfully put next to the bed) was that my blog had the wrong title. This blog should be called "The misadventures of 2 first time parents trying to cope with twins who are blissful unaware of the events that transpire around them".

This title's more catchy.

Who's who

DaddyX2 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:38:00 GMT

Here's a scorecard, in case you need to identify the players.

A-star is "twin a"; he's the the twin that was the first to leave the womb. He spent the last few months inside with his head held by his Mommy's plevis. We theorize that is why he's our more fussier baby; he's used to being held.

B-boy is "twin b", born 40 minutes later. As a the twin in the back, he was a bit of a free floater. He's a little more easy going, but he can be loud if he wants to.

The Horror

DaddyX2 — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 01:37:00 GMT

If you've been reading this Blog, you know that we've been sleep training. I've been pretty clever for the last few nights; instead of going into the nursery (with its' squeaky hardwood flooring) to check up on A-star and B-boy, I've been using the night vision feature of our camcorder and zooming in on the (hopefully) sleeping babies.

So tonight, after they went silent, I went upstairs and got out the camcorder. I zoomed in on A-star. Asleep. Then I turned the camera on B-boy. There was a split second as the auto-focus kicked in.

He was staring at me.