As you may have noticed Loving Our Messy got a brand new look and website! Excuse the delay as I get all the old posts and links moved over from Blogger!
Thanks for stopping by!
All shiny and new
categories: Uncategorized
A week with us
categories: Everyday Life
So…this week was nuts. Last week was even more so. Remember when I said we were working on getting our house on the market? Well it sold. In 7 hours. I know. That was pretty unexpected. We are obviously so thankful and happy but also a little panicked because now we need to find a new house quickly. We have faith that God is leading us but it is a little stressful! Here’s to some serious house hunting!
Also this week our house rocked our Cubbie blue for the first Cubs game of the season! Happy Opening Day Cubs fans!
I have some high hopes for this season! This is the best time of the year. Luke and Reid already have a favorite player. 😉
The babies had their first food- a little thinned out oatmeal and were a little unsure.
They took a few bites before they were more interested in the spoon than anything else. We will try sweet potatoes later this week which was always a favorite first with Caleb and ElI!
I found this Easter bunny sleeper with ears that Eli wore when he was that age. I couldn’t find it for Easter but we still had to try it out!
Look who is sitting up! You can tell by their smiles that they know they are a pretty big deal. I love this stage because they are pretty content sitting up with a pillow and a pile of toys on their laps for awhile. I know this won’t last long!
They’ve also definitely become more and more aware of each other. They find each other pretty amusing and are constantly falling over on each other or rolling on the other. They don’t ever seem to mind- maybe they are just used it it!
Hope you have a good week! Wish us luck with the house!
A week with us
categories: Everyday Life
What a couple of weeks around here! First, some pretty big news for us. We have decided to put our house on the market and attempt to move our family closer to where I grew up. Staying in Iowa, just another part. We have basically spent every spare moment since Christmas Eve (when we decided to give this crazy plan a go) trying to prepare our house and talking with our realtor. I know…seems like a normal thing to do when you have infant twins right? There are so many reasons why we have been thinking about this and we kind of both feel like it’s now or never. If we are going to move, I would love to do it before kindergarten starts in the fall so Caleb doesn’t have to switch schools. So we’ll see. The house is supposed to be listed in the next week and then I guess we will reevaluate if it hasn’t sold by July/August. Wish us luck! Keeping the house walk-through ready with four kids shouldn’t be stressful at all. 😉
In other things… we also welcomed our brand new niece! We visited my sister’s sweet baby girl this week and we have been so excited! They knew her gender but kept it a secret. Maybe it was an aunt thing but I had a pretty strong feeling it was a girl.
This is what I was greeted with at 7AM on a Monday. Seems about right for a house with all boys!
Caleb and Eli helped me make a cake for Daddy’s birthday. I’m going to pretend we didn’t eat half the topping that was supposed to be on it. 😉
So thankful for this guy on his birthday and everyday. This has been a wild year for us… we had just found out we were pregnant with what we thought was one baby when he turned 30. What a difference a year makes!
We celebrated Easter this weekend… although perhaps not in typical fashion for us! I mentioned that Luke and Reid were battling their first cold, and poor things are having quite the difficult time. They were up Saturday night for a really long time just restless and fussy and the four of us hardly got any sleep at all. I was supposed to get up around 5:30 to get everyone dressed and ready to go but had only been sleeping for about 40 minutes at that point and just could not pull it together in time. Josh took the older boys to Church later that morning and I stayed home with the babies who were never going to make it through Easter service poor things.
They slept for a couple hours in the morning and perked up for a little bit so I could get them dressed. You sure wouldn’t know from this picture that they weren’t feeling good!
We headed down to my mom’s for brunch and then back home for a much needed Easter nap….for everyone!
Happy Easter to all of you! Hope you have a great week.
One Z Pillow Review
categories: Uncategorized
*I was provided the OneZ pillow in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
My twins are the third and fourth babies I have nursed, so I have had a lot of experience with different nursing pillows. When they say the OneZ pillow is unlike anything else on the market, they are totally right. When Josh and I took a breastfeeding class before our first son was born, they stressed the importance of comfort for the nursing mother for proper latch and also relaxation hormones that help milk production. I used a boppy with my first two babies but always felt like I had to arch my back forward to comfortably feed my baby. After awhile, my back started hurting all the time from sitting that way! I love snuggling my babies after they eat and was having to constantly readjust trying to stay comfortable. The back support built into the OneZ pillow solved that problem for me.The back support puts your body in a great nursing position and it is the perfect size to rest baby and your arms on it to nurse and snuggle comfortably for as long as you want to.
I have their new waterproof fabric on mine (in the multicolored bird pattern) and I love it. My babies spit up fairly frequently so I love that I don’t have to strip the pillow every time to wash the cover!
The OneZ would also be good to comfortably bottle feed your baby or for a place for them to rest or play. Love this pillow and this company!
Life with Twins – 4 months old
categories: Twin Tuesday
These cute dudes are 4 months old this week and pretty darn proud of it! This month has brought so much development that I can’t believe it has only been one month since I wrote their last month post.
Before I get to the little stuff, we celebrated Luke and Reid’s baptism earlier this month. We had such a wonderful day and I think our parish does a wonderful job making the ceremony held during Mass special for the families.
I was a little nervous that the babies wouldn’t really want to cooperate and when one starts crying… the other commonly follows! They really surprised us though and did amazing!
One of our only family of six pictures!
This month, Reid started rolling over. Luke watched him for a week or so and then decided that he wanted to have some fun too. Even though we have two older boys and have been through this before, it’s still a shock to set them down on the floor and look back to see them in a different spot!
They are playing a little bit by themselves with toys now and are more generous with their smiles. Seeing those smiles when they wake up in the morning is my very favorite thing. They are always waving their arms when they get excited hence the blur.
They are still nursing great and are napping well during the day. They wake up around 6:45 and snooze a little bit on the way back from dropping Caleb off at pre-K. They take another mini-snooze on the way to get him around 11:15 and then take a longer afternoon nap around 1:30. They aren’t sleeping through the night just yet and are still up at least twice but sometimes many more times. We’ve still been waking them both to eat when one wakes up overnight but we’re starting to think about easing our way out of that.
The boys had their hip ultrasounds this month and results from those were normal which is wonderful. The procedure itself was not painful at all but a little awkward to try to keep them calm while the doctor was doing the ultrasound. I’m not sure if it was a matter of preference or what but the doctor performing the test, insisted that the babies were not only held completely still but also silent during the test. For example, if there was any crying or fussing even if they weren’t moving, he would get agitated and start over. That made the whole thing very stressful as you can imagine. There is no ability to reason with a 3 month old about why they need to be quiet. That part was a little strange.
Luke also went to see the ophthalmologist this month about the abnormality that our regular pediatrician saw in his eye. Thankfully, the ophthalmologist assigned to us was actually an old colleague of mine from when I worked in the lab. She was seriously such a blessing to us and reassured me with her words (but also just her presence) that everything was going to be okay. She examined him and found that the abnormality is actually a characteristic that is commonly seen in premature babies. She strongly expects that it will go away on its own in time but wants to keep monitoring it. However, she did notice during the exam that Luke also has clogged tear ducts on both his eyes that will also need to be monitored. She hopes that they will resolve themselves but said if they don’t by the time he turns a year old, he will need to have a small surgery to clear them.Certainly we never want issues to arise but I feel very comforted that she is our doctor and know that we are in good hands!
Huge month right? Happy four months to my sweet boys!
Hey 2016!
categories: Everyday Life
Happy New Year to all (officially!) As usual, I’m already having issues remembering to write 2016 on everything. It was so nice to have a three day weekend and spend it hanging out with my little fam. We did a TON of traveling over Christmas (over 700 miles in 3 days) so we enjoyed hanging low this weekend without any plans whatsoever except catching up on all the sleep. The babies apparently caught wind of that idea though and thought they would teach me a lesson on making plans with 4 kiddos under 5 in the house….
Our NYE was very uneventful. My best friend and godson came to visit during the day so my crew skipped their ‘quiet time’ in the afternoon and lost their ever loving minds come 6:30 pm. They willingly (!!!) went to bed early leaving Josh and I to snuggle the babies and ring in 2016 like the wild people we are. Instead… this was me at 9:40 pm. Whatever.
We spent Friday and Saturday digging through the Christmas presents we had unloaded out of the car in a sleepy haze and piled in the babies’ room. We finally put those away and took down our Christmas decorations. Usually, it makes me a little sad to put all the bright and cheerfulness away for the year but this year I was SO, SO ready. In our small living room we had crammed our regular furniture, two baby swings, more toys than you can imagine and a bigger Christmas tree than we have ever had before. I was ready to have some sense of normalcy and walking space back. Of course, I’d also had enough with the pine needles already.
Sunday we headed to our mall early in the morning to let the boys run off some energy before it opened for shoppers. You can almost always find us there on a weekend morning in the heart of winter in Iowa because we all get cabin fever over here. It was perfect because the cold kept even the mall walkers at home and we had our run (literally) of the place. We stopped by the hockey rink on our way out and my big boys were so captivated by the game that they forgot their crazy moods for at least 15 minutes and sat like quiet little angels watching. It was amazing.
We ended the weekend with Week 17 of football. Obviously the Bears have been out of this season for awhile but it was at least fun for us to watch the games that determines playoff matchups come down to the final minutes!
We have some super busy weekends coming up so it was really nice to take this one to just relax!
New beginnings
categories: Everyday Life
New beginnings doesn’t even begin to describe this past year for us. We have experienced such change and flux from our normal and I’m extremely proud of how well we have adapted. Fittingly, yesterday on the last day of 2015 I worked my very last day at my job and start today, the first day of 2016 as a new stay at home momma. I have conflicting emotions about leaving my job but most of all I am excited to close that chapter and start this brand new one today. I don’t imagine it will be easier but I hope it is filled with more joy, less stress (or maybe just a different kind!) and more time to focus on those little people that really are the most important thing in my life.
When I was trying to come up with some goals for 2016, I immediately thought of all these books I wanted to read, opportunities I wanted to volunteer for, and all the hours I wanted to spend trying out new exercise routines to get back into shape. And then I laughed at myself. I mean I hope that I can dabble in all of that sometime this year but let’s be honest. Those are not realistic goals for me to focus on this year during this crazy season of my life. There will be years for those things but this year I’m setting some more realistic goals that are just as important to me.
1. Prepare ourselves for mentally and emotionally for kindergarten and preschool. Caleb will be starting kindergarten in the fall and Eli 3 year old preschool. I love my big boys and know they will do wonderfully with what is ahead but I want to spend this year working with them on the things that will help them be ready. Helping Eli be more confident with the potty and expressing himself with words. Working with Caleb on letter sounds and his nerves about being at school all day. And of course, working on preparing MY emotions for these big changes for my big boys.
2. Decide once and for all whether to move closer to our families or stay here. For years, we’ve considered moving closer to our families for what seems like a million reasons. We’ve always been one foot in, one foot out and it’s been a subject of constant discussion. With Caleb starting kindergarten in the fall, I want him to start school in the place we plan to live forever. I’m not sure if that place is here or there but I want us to decide. Then make peace with our decision and move on.
3. Work into a better sleeping routine with the babies. They are only three months old and are doing great sleeping- it could be SO much worse with two. I do however hope we can ease ourselves into a routine of an earlier bedtime for them so Josh and I can have a little time to ourselves at night to hang out together alone while the littles are sleeping- to watch tv, pick up the house or whatever. I think we are both missing that time.
4. Start my new role at home and make it work for me. I’m excited to be home with my kiddos and get into a routine. I find comfort in routine and look forward to starting our new one with me home.
5. Get more active. More exercise of course but I really mean just getting our whole family out of the house. We’ve been limited in our activities lately with two new babies and living in a cold weather climate. When we are faced with packing up all the boys, it’s so much easier to just hang around at home. I’m hoping as warmer weather hits in the spring we will be up and out of the house making memories as a family again.
6. Be intentional about time in prayer. When I can start my day with even just a few moments of prayer, it makes me a more patient and purposeful person and mother. I really want to try to start every day this year like that. Even if I only have a few minutes.
Well that’s it. 2015 blew my mind. Bring it on 2016.
Life with twins- 3 months old!
categories: Twin Tuesday
Our sweet dudes are 3 months old this week! Time is just flying. The babies are doing great! This month has brought even more changes with them and a big decision for our family! After debating about this truly for about the last 9 months (since we found out we were having two), I’ve decided to stay home with our boys and not go back to my job. I’m actually back at work now for two weeks to wrap up loose ends and then I will be home full-time starting January 1st. This decision has been weighing on me because I so badly wanted to stay home – I just didn’t know if we could make it work for our family. It’s not going to be easy but we think it’s what is best for us right now!
It has been so much fun this month to hear them start babbling and making noise when interacting with us. They know and absolutely care now when we walk away, especially Reid!
They are becoming much more generous with their adorable smiles but still love it when we act like crazy people to try to get them. Caleb and Eli always get smiles from them when they use their ‘baby voices’. They definitely are sneaky dudes with those smiles though.They find my phone pretty fascinating so whenever I try to take a picture of their sweet smiles, they are gone once I take out my phone! I had to be super quick which means blurry pics but they were too cute not to share.
They have slept through the night a few times in their little lives but we are not in a consistent habit yet. They are commonly are up twice or so overnight to eat and go back to sleep, which we can definitely handle. We are still waking both up to eat because when we don’t, the other wakes up 30 minutes later which is even less sleep for us! They usually take a morning nap and a longer afternoon nap/cuddle time on the couch with me which I LOVE.
They are still doing amazing with nursing and we are getting into a real rhythm now. We are already getting ready to move on from 0-3 month clothes. Am I the only one who gets a little sad about that? I almost always tandem nurse them and sometimes they will reach over and hold each others hands. It’s the sweetest thing. Other than when they are eating, they really don’t seem to care that much about each other yet. Sometimes they reach over and put their hand or foot on the other but neither one really seems to care. Maybe they are just so used to having the other there!
We celebrated their first Christmas this past weekend which they pretty much slept through. We spent a lot of the weekend traveling for the holiday and they got to meet our extended families. They were constantly being passed around and handled it like little angels. (Also, Josh looks exhausted in this picture because… we are. Ha!)
They have started staying awake more during the day and are starting to be entertained with toys. Their favorite thing to do is sitting in their bouncers or on my lap watching their big brothers play.
At their 3 month appointment, our pediatrician noticed that Luke has an abnormality in one of his eyes. We have been referred to a specialist to look at it next week. She wasn’t sure what it was but she did mention that prematurity can cause a range of issues in the eye. She was reassured that he doesn’t seem to have any noticeable defects in vision and can follow an object with both of his eyes. Obviously we hope and pray that everything is okay with his vision and that I can handle my anxiety about it until the appointment next week!
Luke and Reid also have to have a hip ultrasound next week at the hospital. The reason is a long story but the short version is that since they were both breech for a portion of the later pregnancy, it’s protocol to do a hip ultrasound to ensure that their hips have normal development and don’t show signs of dysplasia. Our pediatrician hasn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary so far so that is reassuring.
We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us with both of these appointments with the different specialists and my last day of work! Happy 3 months sweet boys!
Tis the Season
categories: Everyday Life
This Christmas season I am honestly overwhelmed with how much we have to be thankful for. Every year after Christmas is over and it’s time to put away our Christmas decorations, I always say a prayer for our family. I pray that the next year in front of us before we open these decorations again will be full of joy and memories and that we will open them just as happy as we are when we put them away. Never could I have imagined last January when I was saying that prayer, the plans that God has had for our family. We have been so blessed by these sweet babies joining our family this year and all our memories we made before and after they were born.
We have had a busy holiday season trying to fit in all our Christmas traditions we usually do while figuring out how to do this ‘taking infant twins out in public’ thing! Of course we had to go see Santa! This was the first year that neither Caleb or Eli was nervous, they were just SO excited.
We drove to a beautiful barn decorated for Christmas about twenty minutes away to see him and somehow there was NO line. Luke and Reid slept through the whole thing and we took our own pictures for free. That’s a win in my book!
We had a big cookie baking day at my Mom’s house and both of the boys were so excited to help. ___ I’m pretty sure breastfeeding twins gives me a close to unlimited Christmas cookie license. (No? Is that not true? 😉 )
Caleb was a shepherd in his preschool’s Christmas pageant. All the preparations were kept a surprise from the parents and the kids were told not to tell us what songs they were singing. It was so adorable! I’m going to pretend that the reason I didn’t get any more pictures is because of where we were seating but in reality keeping two infants quiet and happy doesn’t leave much room for picture taking!
We saw Christmas lights, had our annual Grinchmas with my sister and went to a holiday parade. We definitely took advantage of the season and the mild winter so far. These sweet 4 are definitely all I’ve been wishing for under the tree this year!
Merry Christmas to you and your family from all of us! Hope you have enjoyed this season as much as we have.
Life with twins- 2 months old!
categories: Twin Tuesday
Our sweet monkeys turned two months old this week! Plus, we’ve survived to tell the tale.
At their two month well check, Reid was 11 lbs. 7 oz. and Luke was 10 lbs 5 oz. They decided to graduate them from the premie chart and move them up to the ‘big boy’ measuring chart this month which is big news around here! That puts Reid in the 15th percentile and our little Luke at the 3rd percentile. I am so proud of my boys! Reid has always been such a good eater but I’m extra proud of Luke lately who seems to be going through a growth spurt and is even more excited than Reid to eat.
Developmentally, they are a little behind (which is expected at this point) but really not too much. They are both smiling at us, holding their heads up for short periods, and tracking us with their eyes. It’s amazing to think about how much they have grown and changed already! I love this stage when they start to notice the world around them and start to interact with us.
They absolutely love their big brothers and truthfully they are loved right back. The other night, Luke took a little snooze on the floor while I was getting dinner ready and Caleb and Eli built a circle of super heroes around him to protect him while he slept. My momma heart was proud.
I can definitely tell the difference in their cries now when I am in another room or during the night. Luke is more easy going than his brother most of the time and really enjoys sitting in his bouncer or laying on the floor and taking in the world around him. Reid has some stronger opinions that he would like to make known. He absolutely hates to yawn (which cracks me up) and knows and doesn’t like if Luke is being held and he isn’t or if Luke has his favorite caterpillar toy.
Josh and I have no problems telling them apart but anyone who comes to see them feels otherwise. When we send pictures to family members we always have to specify which baby it is!
Tandem nursing is going really well which is such a blessing. Nursing twins is not without challenges but we are doing great so far. We spend the majority of our afternoons cuddled up on the couch while Eli naps and Caleb has some quiet time. It’s truly my very favorite part of my day right now and I know with certainty that it’s these moments I will miss.
Overall, I think they are sleeping really good too. They usually take a little cat nap around 7 and then are back down for the night around 11. They wake around 3 or 4 to eat and then sleep again until 6. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky at this point. They love their sleep sacks more than Caleb or Eli ever did. Right now they are still sleeping together (heads on opposite sides) of the pack and play but I can imagine that fairly soon they will outgrow it and move to a crib.
It’s funny because Josh and I already have a hard time remembering what we did with our ‘spare’ time before these little dudes. They were absolutely the missing pieces of our family. Happy two months sweet boys!