How do YOU keep the romance in your relationship?

Okay, I admit it. I was naive enough to assume that having babies wouldn't throw our marriage into a spiral of chaos that neither of us saw coming. After all, infertility truly made our marriage stronger. . .so why wouldn't having the babies that we had waited so long for make our marriage stronger too?

Easy.

Sleep deprivation.

100% all day long going going going.

Teething.

Breastfeeding. . .and pumping. . .and breastfeeding. . .and pumping. . .constantly.

Stress.

Nonstop babies. One of them ALWAYS needs something, and if they don't, then the dishes need to be done, the kitty litter needs scooped, clothes need washed, the floors need scrubbed. And we do let those items go for as long as we can, but we have to keep the house sanitary!! We have two pugs and a cat - it's a pretty hairy household if we don't clean at least once a week.

Me feeling the need to "keep score" and expect everything to be equal. . .I take the girls shopping with me and give him some alone time and I expect to be able to cash my alone time card in later. But I can't! I'm breastfeeding. . .I have to be available to pump or feed every 3 hours. . .a spa day is out for me. . .

Zero intimacy.

Zero romance.

Zero sex.

Yup, I went there.

And I did so because I know I'm not alone. I don't feel comfortable in my post pregnancy body. YET anyway. I feel fat. And I definitely don't feel sexy. Si assures me that I am sexy, and he loves me regardless (so sweet!), but I am having a really hard time getting past what I look like. And that's not all of it. I have a new identity now. I am no longer the sexy wife. . .I am the mommy. Okay, and how do you get past thinking about your babies that are downstairs while you are trying to be intimate upstairs? It's hard. I haven't mastered it yet.

So how do we solve this problem?

We haven't been out "on a date" since before the girls were born. If we do go out, either the girls are with us and/or other people (family or friends) are with us. We never have time to just be. So, we have decided to have a dedicated date night each week. It doesn't matter if we just go to the grocery store, or if we go to the movies, or out to dinner. It has to be just us. We have to get our marriage back into good shape. If we don't, we can't be good parents.

We have actually decided to try ballroom dancing. I'm pumped! We know how to swing dance and that was our special thing that we would go out together and do before all of this IF junk and pregnancies and bedrest. It was SO much fun! We had total trust in each other. We were one out on that dance floor. I SO want that back again. We are going to do some swing I think, but we are also going to try some Tango, Foxtrot, and Waltz. I will let you know how it goes. I want to start classes next week. We will see if it helps us connect again.

Are any of you facing the same issues? What has helped you and your spouse get your intimacy back? Romance? Sex life?

We love these little peanuts to death, and we don't know what we would do without them! We just have to remember that we need to come first. Without each other we don't have much =)

YAY Food!

The girls finally tried some baby food last weekend, and they LOVED it! I made sweet potatoes for them (baked, gutted, pureed, thinned out, packaged, and froze) and I must say, they are quite tasty =). The girls were definitely ready for "real" food, but I'm glad I waited.

Don't they look happy?

Since then they have also tried green beans, mashed potatoes, and applesauce. Well on our way to real food!!!

I'm being bitten - OUCH!

Okay moms, help me out here. HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP????

I get why it's happening. The girls are teething and it hurts. During the day while I am at work they are getting breastmilk bottles instead of straight from the tap. They can chew on the bottle nipples and the bottle nipples don't get mad or jump or cry at them. . .so why does mommy?

Seriously, it HURTS. And I've tried to pull them back in towards me - even though that is totally counterintuitive. That's what I did when they were newborns and would bite me. And it worked. They stopped. But now? It hurts SO badly when they do it, I can't help but yelp and pull them away from me. And what do I have to show for it? Blood blisters actually around my nipples. . .yeah, not pretty.

So what can I do? My mom suggested putting my finger in their mouth when they bite me while they are eating as that will break the suction and at the same time let them know that they did something wrong. And I get that. But nowadays they are breaking latch every 15 seconds because they are too busy looking around, trying to grab my hair, my nose, my shirt, their blanket, whatever is even remotely close. So it isn't like they are totally honed in on feeding anyway. And maybe that's a good point to make. I don't get bitten in the middle of the night, and I usually don't get bitten first thing in the morning or right before bed. . .when they seem to be 100% focused on eating. Maybe them being focused has something to do with it?

Last night after Liv bit me I just started crying. . .I'm not ready to stop breastfeeding, but if this is going to be how it is, I will have to stop. I would still pump and feed them that of course, but that isn't the same thing. I want the closeness and the special time with my girls that I have now (or had I guess). I'm not ready to give that up! HELP! What has worked for you guys? Any ideas?

Mommy and Me Monday

The girlies and momma styling and profiling in our new chariot! The girls LOVE it!! And it's pink. . .so what isn't to love? =)

This is a "jogging" stroller. We got it Saturday at the multiples sale. YAY new stroller! Hopefully the "jogging" will get this last 15 lbs of pregnancy weight off! HA! Not that I'm doing any jogging just yet, but hopefully I will be soon!! =)

Have a great Monday!

Megan

Mommy and Me Monday
Hosted by Krystyn

Our first trip to the zoo!

At work they were selling discount zoo memberships for the next year, and while I suspected that the girls may still be a bit too young to get the full benefit of the zoo, I went ahead and signed us up.
My bestie Sheila and I, her son Adam, and the girlies made our way down to the Henry Doorly Zoo here on Omaha on Wednesday. We had SO much fun! We hit up the aquarium and the lions/tigers. Here are the pics. Our "first" zoo experience was a success! We will definitely be going back soon!! Thanks for going with us Sheila and Adam!! =)

We survived Orlando!

I am happy to report that we have returned from our 5 day stent in Orlando, and we all survived in one piece! On the plane rides down I seriously was expecting the worst. Si was on a direct flight with Frontier, and I was on American with a layover in Dallas. The Frontier flight was full so Si did have to hold Miss Olivia all the way down to Orlando, but he said she was a champ and didn't make a peep! She fussed just a little while they were on the tarmack, but he gave her some tylenol and had no other issues. Go Olivia!

My first flight was only an hour and a half, and it wasn't full, so AA let me bring Brianna's car seat on the plane with me. Strapping her in was a breeze, and she slept the whole way to Dallas. Not a peep! Not one!! Our trip from Dallas to Orlando wasn't quite as peachy. The flight was full. . .the seats were TINY, and the second we sat down Brianna started fussing. I had a young teenage boy in the middle seat beside me, and while he was very nice, it made me feel bad for breastfeeding. Bri is at the age where she has no desire to be covered, and if you do cover her (to cover yourself) she makes it her mission in life to get the blankets off. SO, I only nursed her on one side. I didn't want to give him a boob shot and make him feel any more uncomfortable than I am sure he already was. Once I got Bri on the breast she was way better, except that once she started eating she decided to poop, and of course it was a blow out poop. Awesome. Once I changed her she slept for about 45 minutes (out of the 2.5 hour flight), and the rest of the time was spent playing. We had a very sweet older lady caddy corner from us and she was great at distracting Brianna as well as keeping her entertained with pictures from magazines and clanking two pop cans together. That was incredibly helpful! She has a grandson who is 4 months old, so she was used to entertaining him and knew exactly what to do. AWESOME.

In the end, when we got off the flight I got about 7 comments from other passengers commenting on how great Brianna was on the plane. I personally didn't think she did all that well, but maybe that was just me being paranoid and thinking that every sound she made was as loud as a scream and was upsetting the other passengers - lol. Apparently that wasn't the case!

The flight home was uneventful for both parties. Both girls did well. Frontier only let us bring one of the two car seats on the flight even though there were TONS of extra seats, so that was frustrating, but I nursed Bri (and had no one sitting beside me on the flight), and she slept for a good 2+ out of the 3.5 hour flight. YAY!

SO, how was Orlando? It was good! The girls LOVED the warm weather and not having to wear socks =). They hated the car though (we got a Ford Fusion instead of an identical Acadia to what we have at home - the Acadia's were $80 a day!). Every time we put them in the car they cried. At home putting them in the car puts them to sleep, so this was a bit of a surprise to us! The girls didn't nap well overall the whole time we were there. There were so many new things that they hadn't seen before and they wanted to take everything in!

One thing I noted about Orlando that wasn't so nice - the rudeness of people down there! Seriously! I am sure this statement is an overgeneralization, but at least 75% of the people we ran into were seriously rude to us. And these were people in the service industry! The people at the hotels were rude (except a select 1 or 2), the people at restaurants were rude (with the exception of the people at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant on Disney property), and the random sightseers were pretty rude too! I can't tell you how many times Si would go to open the door for me to drive the stroller in and people would cut right in front of me. It was definitely irritating. Or, people not waiting for us to get off the elevator before they got on. Seriously parents, teach your kids some manners!! Sigh, maybe next time will be better! Or maybe I just need to grow some thicker skin! LOL.

We went to Downtown Disney several times, and the girls loved it! Here are a couple of pictures =)
Here's Brianna posing with her Minnie ears on. . .

Here are several pictures of us at Downtown Disney - one in front of the fountain

One in front of the water front

Here's a picture of Si by "Jenny" - the real Jenny - the shrimping boat from Forest Gump =)

And here's a picture of me and the girls standing by a giant Mickey Mouse =)

We also went to the premium outlets, and mommy scored a new Coach diaper bag, Coach shoes, and D&B handbag. Daddy got a new pair of shoes and some socks. Equal? I think so! =)

When we got back to the hotel we all got into our swimsuits and got in the pool. The girls hated the kiddy pool, but LOVED the big pool. They didn't want to get out! Here are their pics in the kiddy pool for the first time with mommy and daddy. The kiddy pool was cold and the big pool was heated - I'm guessing that is why they disliked the kiddy pool =)
Here's Daddy with Olivia in the kiddy pool

And Mommy with Brianna in the kiddy pool

What else is going on? Well, we broke the habit of Bri sleeping in the swing at night while we were down in Florida - YAY! She is now sleeping in her boppy (I know, I know, they aren't supposed to sleep in them - but we are just transitioning her to her pack and play). So, we are working on using the swings less! YAY! We will also be starting first foods this weekend - sweet potatoes first. We will make sure to record it as I expect it will be pretty comical!

Oh, and Olivia is relatively mobile! She will lay on her back on the floor (or bed, or wherever you put her), and she will arch her back and push with her feet, and move herself across the floor! Crazy kid!!!

And we are still growing like weeds - we are outgrowing our 6 month outfits!! Where is the time going?! Oh well. I hear a couple of peanuts starting to wake up from their naps, so I have to go. We are going to the zoo today with Miss Sheila and Mr. Adam. We must go get ready!! More pics to come soon!!

Until next time. . .
Megan

PS - Congrats Scott and Natalie on the birth of Miss Emilia yesterday! You have such a beautiful family, and we couldn't be more happy for you!!!

What a LONG week!

Whoever told me that once you have kids and they get sick the whole house gets sick SO wasn't kidding. Last Sunday night the girls had started getting snotty and congested. Over the course of several days that evolved into tons of congestion, runny noses, babies being suctioned 15x a day, lots of sneezing, coughing, nobody sleeping, and a crazy amount of fussiness and irritability (Bri was literally attached to me for several days straight). Si got sick on Monday night, and by Wednesday I had caught the bug too. Si went to the doctor on Tuesday and we brought the girls in to the pediatrician on Wednesday. And what bug could that possibly be??? Well the pediatrician didn't find anything obvious but the PCP found out it was strep after he got Si's culture back from the lab! ICK!! So. . .the whole household has been sick for nearly a week. Boo.

I am happy to report that we are FINALLY on the mend and everyone is starting to feel better. After a couple of days on antibiotics of course. Which is good, because... we are set to go to Orlando later this week! We decided to turn my business trip into a mini vacation for the family. Our first "family" trip. AWESOME. We are staying just 2 miles from Disneyworld, so of course we are going to have to drop by. . . you know. . .maybe take a trip to Magic Kingdom? Meet some Disney characters? Get our pictures taken in all the cool places?! Can you tell I'm excited?!

Even thought the girls will be way too young to remember it, we aren't. And I can hardly wait to get out of 30 degree temps and into the 70's and 80's =). I even bought a swimsuit. Yeah. Me. Me and my 4 month twin postpartum body bought a swimsuit. Needless to say, it is a 1 piece, and it's one of those swimsuits that "sucks it all in". Good thing. I wouldn't want to blind all of those poor Floridians at Disneyworld or in the pool that would happen to be gawking at "the twins" while I was wearing it. =).

What else has happened since the last post? Hmm. . .well we bought a new car! We got a GMC Acadia. We LOVE it. Such an awesome vehicle. It came with a hefty price tag, but it has all wheel drive and the inside is the same as a high end minivan (captains chair's in the middle row and 3rd row bench seating that can seat 3 comfortably - all leather). Sunroof for Si and I and a moon roof for the girls (which they LOVE). Oh, and the power lift gate. Such a fabulous feature in a vehicle. Although I did manage to tell the lift gate to close and Si wasn't clear yet and it bopped him in the head. Oops. He will survive. I still felt bad though (hehe).

Oh, and I finally broke down and had my wedding ring resized. I haven't been able to wear it for about 9 months now and it was driving me bananas. I was trying to be patient and give my body time to go back to it's pre-pregnancy size and stature, but I don't think that is going to happen any time soon. So, $180 later, I am no longer the unwed mother of twins when I am out alone in public. You'd be amazed how many people notice such things. . .

Okay, that's all I think I have to update for the time being. I'm trying to come up with the list of stuff that we MUST HAVE for the girls for the trip. So far there's a ton of stuff on it! If you have traveled with an infant (or two) before and have any input, definitely let me know. The girls love their swings at home (Brianna even sleeps in hers at night because she has GERD), so we are contemplating bringing at least one "travel swing" with us. And we will be bringing the two Boppies. And crib sheets (the hotels have "cribs" although I suspect they suck). Since the hotels have the cribs we shouldn't need our pack and play, although if that would be better than the hotel cribs and people have strong feelings about it we would be willing to consider that. We will be bringing the girls car seats (obviously) and stroller, then of course lots of clothes, diapers, some formula etc.. Anything else that we must have for them???

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! Stay well =).

And of course I will leave you with a picture of the girlies. . .so sweet!!

Until next time. .
Megan