9.5 hours...

Is how long my baby boys slept last night! I couldn't believe it when I woke up at 5am! Well I actually woke up at 1 (their normal feeding time) to go to the bathroom and I listened... SILENCE! I shrugged and went back to sleep thinking I would have to get up in a few minutes. four hours later Maximus woke up crying. I had to wake C up to tell him, "THE BABIES SLEPT NINE AND A HALF HOURS!!!". I'm praying this isn't a fluke!

After their 5 am feed they went back to sleep til 8. I feel quite rested today, to say the least! Fingers are crossed for tonight!

Bath time fun...

Rocco

Rocco

Maximus

Maximus

The boys really do love their bath.  We give them one EVERY NIGHT!  I think a night time routine is crucial... especially for twins. Usually at about 7pm they start getting fussy, letting us know they are ready for bed.  We take them upstairs and as soon as they hit the warm lavender infused H2O, the tears subside and they are calm. Baths take no more than 5 min at this point so it really isn't  a hassle.  And we don't always soap them up, but always get their bottoms nice and clean... no diaper rashes please!

I have had one REALLY bad diaper rash experience.  Maximus had one where it left his poor lil bottom raw.  It took weeks to heal.  I wouldn't use wipes just would give him a "bidet" in the sink!  Since then, I learned why.  The boys were pooping at EVERY feeding and I had not been putting any protection, i.e. Butt Paste!  I swear by Bordeaux's Butt Paste now!  At every changing I smother their lil bottoms with the stuff and since then we have been diaper rash FREE!

After bath we feed and then read a story, or two.  They LOVE story time.  Its adorable hearing their coo's and giggles while I'm reading.  They watch me read so intently.  I think starting reading young is also so important!  My SIL never read to her baby now her 14 month old won't sit still for a story!  He doesn't understand it!  Maybe its the teacher in me, but I love to read to them and I hope it instills their desire to read as well.

After story time, I kiss them good night and turn out the lights.  Sometimes they fall right asleep and sometimes they just lay there for a while.  But they know its time for bed and they eventually fall asleep, without fussing.

I love routines!

6 more lbs...

I am now 6 lbs away from my pre-IVF weight and 3 lbs away from my pre pregnancy weight.  Although, I don't really know if IVF is what caused me to gain 3 lbs because we did IVF over the holidays so I could have been just over indulging.  Actually, I believe 1 year ago today I was on BCP's and gearing up for the dreaded Lupron shots.  Its so crazy to think how much has changed in one year!

Anyway,  I'm back in my jeans (yay!) and only a few more to go to get back to my "fighting weight!"  However, my body (abs) have definitely changed.  My stomach seems much flabbier than it did before (hello... you just delivers TWINS!) and it makes me feel like I need to lose even more weight than previously.  My waist is bigger (per measuring).

What I've been doing to get back into shape and lose the baby weight...

• Breastfeeding TWO babies (Lost 30 right away, then plateaued.  Started watching my diet more and now have lost 6.4 more!)
• Jogging/walking (almost everyday I get outside and do one or the other!  I had to invest in a NO-BOUNCE sports bra... works wonders for my new size!)
• Pilates (The best ab tightening core workouts I know of)
• Eating right! I thought because I was breastfeeding I could eat whatever I wanted and how much!  NOT SO MUCH!  It did get me so far, but to lose the last 10-15, my diet needed some tweaking!  I was worried it would affect my supply, but I have plenty!

My final weight gain from my twin pregnancy... 38 lbs (post IVF) and 41 lbs (pre IVF).  Not too bad!  However, my body needs much more work!  My mother said it takes about a year for your body to get back to normal.  We'll see.  I think most people don't start eating right and exercising right away!  February we are headed to Kauai with our babies, so I have extra motivation to get in a bikini :)

MY LIL SUPER HERO'S

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN!  We've been quite busy lately, sorry for the blog hiatus!  I haven't had much to blog about though.  My new life is amazing and I am loving every second!  Although I cannot  wait for an eight hour sleep!  They are still waking up in the middle of the night.  The boys go down at 8pm, then up at 1am then 5am....  Its exhausting still!  They are 13 weeks old today (8 adjusted) so I guess I can't ask for much more!

For Halloween we ended up going down town and walking around with friends and their babies.  It was really crazy and crowded.  I don't think we'll do that again next year.  Trick or Treating sounds like much more fun!  Hopefully our church will have an event going on!

The boys are full of smiles now so each day is so fun!  Although you can't tell by these pics :-/  Its hard to make them smile from behind my giant camera!

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday!