Our beautiful differences =)

When we are out and about with the girls, at least once a day (usually multiple times a day!) we are asked "oh, are they twins?!". When we answer yes, at least 60% of the time the follow up question is "are they identical or fraternal?". I like to say that our girls are "very fraternal". Apart from the (I think) obvious differences in their appearances, they are also very different in terms of their personalities and individual development.

And I LOVE those differences.

Miss Olivia can single-handedly light up a room - instantly offering a huge smile and making friends with everyone around her.

Miss Brianna is more shy and reserved, will cower behind mom and dad, or refuse to be put down around strangers. Well - until she gets to know you - then she is a fireball! Always wanting to be the star of the show.

Miss Olivia does an excellent job of listening to what is said, and following instructions.

Miss Brianna listens about 50% of the time, and follows instructions less than 10% of the time. She likes the additional attention she receives when she has to be asked or shown something repeatedly (sneaky little lady).

Miss Olivia knows what she wants, and she wants it NOW. Patience is not a skill she posesses at this point. She becomes frustrated quickly, and will act out by hitting or screaming, when she doesn't get what she wants.

Miss Brianna is pretty patient with her sister and other kiddos. She doesn't love to share, but she will usually do it to keep the peace. Like Olivia, Brianna also knows what she wants, but she is more likely to incessantly sign the word "please" over and over again while whining until she gets what she wants then she is to hit or scream.

Miss Olivia dislikes getting in trouble. Time out is her arch enemy. She cries and cries the whole time she is in time out.

Miss Brianna lives on the wild side, and will push her limits right until the very end (right before she would get in trouble or get time out) then would stop. Time out does not seem to be an effective deterent for Brianna. When put in time out she plays by herself or talks. She rarely cries or becomes upset. This could be a challenge later on!

Miss Olivia gets SO excited about things - for instance - we adopted a new kitty (Dora) last week. Olivia LOVES this kitty. Every time she sees Dora, she does this high pitched scream and barrels toward the poor cat. Luckily Dora came from a home with children, so she is relatively familiar with this procedure and doesn't freak out as much as she would otherwise.

Miss Brianna is pretty even keel. You can tell she is excited, but it isn't quite as obvious. She gets a great big smile and becomes very affectionate (hugs and kisses). The kitty and the pugs both really like Brianna.

Miss Olivia is a very independent little toddler. She is happy to play on her own, without much direction from others. If she wants you to read a book to her, she will bring it to you and ask. She expects your full attention while reading. After you are done reading, she is content to go back and play by herself. Affection from Olivia is rare.

Miss Brianna is has more of a dependent personality. She is okay playing by herself for a short period of time, but she prefers to be involved in activities suggested/regulated/directed by others. She is happy to sit in your lap and read books for hours, and doesn't mind if her sister wants to sit in your lap too. She is content to share her space. She also LOVES to cuddle and give kisses.

Miss Olivia is very particular when she eats. She loves food, but only certain kinds of food (currently crackers, cheese, and macaroni and cheese) She prefers to remain relatively clean, and hates to be cleaned up after meals.
(Picture caption - I'm done!! I'm dirty! Ewww! Get me out of this chair!!!)

Note how clean Miss Olivia is - her hands, her face, and her tray...items are still relatively organized....

Miss Brianna LOVES food! She loves how it feels between her fingers, how it tastes when mixed together, how it sticks to the walls or feels in her hair. She too has become a bit more particular with what foods she likes (macaroni and cheese has been a massive hit over the past week) but she spends more time playing with it and flinging it than she does eating it. Not that she is starving in any way...we have big healthy girls =).
(Picture caption - I'm happy just being messy!!!)

Note how very dirty Miss Bri is...food all over her hands, arms, face, in her hair, all over her tray, and whether you can tell or not, there is actually rice on the wall!

It's these differences, along with many others, that really make me cherish each girl as an individual. I love their beautiful differneces...every one of them...even if sometimes they frustrate me or drive me absolutely batty =)

I really feel like instead of having "twins" in the traditional sense/belief (alarmingly many people think that twins are simply two of the exact same child) we have two siblings who just happened to be born on the same day. They will have a very special bond because of these circumstances, naturally, but my expectation will never be that they will be "the same" person. They are so very very different.

Do you love the differences is your kiddos? Are they incredibly apparent like ours, or are they more subtle?

Until next time -
Megan

One month old!

People tell you to cherish every minute with your babies because they change SO fast. I suspect this is one of those things that you don't pay all that much attention to because between 11 PM/1 AM/3 AM/5 AM feedings, massive sleep deprivation, and 150 poopy diapers a week, there doesn't seem to be time to stop and enjoy your growing babies. We are no exception. The babies are a month old today. A MONTH! Where has the time gone?

Honestly, around that two week point I was praying that time would go faster. We were having a hard time adjusting to caring for two "preemie" newborns, Si had gone back to work, my milk had fully come in so I literally was the milk cow between breastfeeding every 2 hours and pumping, and I was getting maybe 2 hours total of sleep a night. The babies weren't putting on as much weight as the pediatrician and home nurse wanted, and I felt like I wasn't doing a good enough job caring for my babies.

What a difference two weeks can make! The babies are more on a schedule now - feeding every 3-4 hours during the day, and making it nearly every 4 hours between feedings at night. I am exclusively breastfeeding, except one Neosure bottle a night for Brianna, and two for Olivia (so dad can help with the girls in the middle of the night too). They are getting a bath every night - usually between 11 PM and Midnight - then they are both getting a bottle and they will usually sleep until 3:30 or 4 AM! We both get up and feed them when they wake up, then they are usually good to go until 7-8AM when Si leaves for work. Definitely more manageable. AND, we are probably getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. DEFINITELY an improvement from the maybe 2 hours I was getting before! I can't wait until we sleep through the night, but I can be a bit more patient now and enjoy watching them grow up now that I'm not quite as sleep deprived.

We had our last home health visit with the visiting nurse, and the girls are doing GREAT! For the last two weeks both of the girls have gained a beautiful amount of weight - between 8 oz-10 oz each, each week! Brianna is up to 7 lbs 7.5 oz, and Olivia is up to 7 lbs 6.5 oz! We are almost the size of an "average" newborn now - woo hoo!! We are still wearing newborn clothes and diapers, but I suspect our time is now pretty limited in them. . .maybe a week. The girls are starting to grow up so fast!!!




Oh, and do they have their own little personalities or what?!
Olivia is quite the social butterfly. She LOVES to chat it up with whoever will listen! She "talks", or coos, or mumbles while she is awake, while she is sleeping, while she is playing, and while she is feeding. She is going non-stop! And the faces she makes! Cracks me up!!! I suspect she will be our little drama/speech queen. She always wants to be first, and definitely enjoys being the center of attention. In the last two days she has started holding her head up more, and is pushing up with her feet trying to stand on us. No little one, you don't get to be mobile yet!! This little daddy's girl is full on personality and life =).





Brianna is our more reserved little lady. She is patient, and more calm than her sister. Unless of course she is getting her diaper changed or getting a bath. . .then it is game on and she can scream like no one's business! She has already managed to roll over, although we didn't actually witness it. I put her in her crib on her back last week and I came back in an hour later to her on her tummy! She has been able to roll from her back to her side since she was a week old, but all the way over? That's just nuts! I suspect Brianna will be our more athletic little one. . .she always has her arms flailing as though she is swimming, and she has kicking down pat too! She is most excellent at kicking off her blankets, then crying because she is cold. We have learned that we have to swaddle her pretty darn tight. This little momma's girl is a cuddler who LOVES to breastfeed =).





As we are more on a schedule now I hope to be able to go back to following all of my fellow bloggers, answering emails within the same week they are received (not kidding - sad!), and providing updates and pics on this blog. We shall see! I am totally on my own during the day with the girlies now, so I'm hoping to be able to maintain my sanity while attempting to return to semi normal life. . .wish me luck!