I figured I would start by stating the obvious~
Having twins is a LOT of work!
Having twins plus an 18 month old is even more work!
Having twins plus an 18 month old plus 3 other kids in school is a ridiculous amount of work!
But having these little girls in our lives is such a miracle and blessing~ I can't imagine my life without them.
Everyone I have talked to that has had twins has told me that the first year or two are a complete blur and they don't remember anything about it. It hasn't even been 4 months yet, and I already can't remember a lot of what has been going on the last couple of months. So, I figured I would write about what a "typical" day has been like with these girls since being home from the NICU.
One advantage of the girls being in the NICU (yes there is a good thing to come from it) is that the nurses got the girls on a wonderful schedule. Here is what our day looks like~
7 am: Girls get up to eat, burp, diaper change and then go back to sleep (takes the full hour), Korby and kids up and getting ready for the day
8 am: I pump, Korby off to work, kids off to school and Vivian off to daycare
9 am: Girls still asleep, I am either back asleep or trying to get some things done around the house and pump again
10 am: Girls get up to eat, burp, diaper change and then stay awake
11 am: Girls still awake and just hanging out
12 pm: Girls go back to sleep, I pump and then go pick up Vivian from daycare
1 pm: Girls up to eat, burp, diaper change and go back to sleep while I play with Vivian
2 pm: Play with Vivian and try to get some things done around the house
3 pm: Vivian goes down for a nap, kids come home from school, I pump
4 pm: Girls up to eat, burp, diaper change and stay awake, Vivian wakes up and I help kids with homework and try to get dinner ready
5 pm: Korby home from work, I am still trying to get dinner ready, help kids finish homework, keeping Vivian entertained and taking care of the girls
6 pm: Girls go back to sleep, clean up dinner and I pump
7 pm: Girls get up to eat, burp, diaper change and stay awake, get kids ready for bed
8 pm: Older kids all in bed, hang out with Korby and the girls
9 pm: Girls go back to sleep, and I pump
10 pm: Girls get up to eat, burp, diaper change and go to sleep
11 pm: I get things ready for their night bottles and go to bed
12 am: Everyone asleep
1 am: Girls up to eat, burp, diaper change and go back to sleep
2 am: Everyone asleep
3 am: Everyone asleep
4 am: Girls up to eat, burp, diaper change and go back to sleep
5 am: Everyone asleep
6 am: Everyone asleep
7 am: Start everything over again!
Some other tidbits that go into my day~
*The girls came home from the NICU using Dr. Brown bottles 7 times a day which have 5 parts (x 2 girls) and I pump 6 times a day and that has 4 parts (x 2 sides), plus the containers that I store the pumped milk it to mix their bottles (they have to have a little bit of formula mixed in with their bottles for extra calories)~ that is about 125 pieces that I am hand washing every single day!
*We go through 15-20 diapers a day (between both girls and Vivian)!
*The girls go through enough pjs, blankets, burp clothes that I have to do a full load of laundry for them every other day.
I can't tell if that looks like a lot or not to someone just reading it, but trust me~ it is a LOT!
There are definitely times when I get completely overwhelmed, but for the most part I love my life! I am so blessed to be able to stay home with these beautiful girls and do nothing but care for them. They are so good-natured and easy going babies.
I haven't taken many pictures since bringing the girls home~ mainly because we do the same thing day after day. So here are some pictures of what our normal day looks like~
The girls sleeping in their bouncer chairs
The girls sleeping on a blanket
The girls awake and laying on burp cloths
The girls on Halloween sleeping on a blanket
The girls sleeping on a blanket
The girls sitting in their boppys
The rare occasion of the girls in their car seats, going to the doctors
The girls drinking bottles
The girls helping keep each other's pacifiers in
They have their 4 month check up next week, so I will have more to update then.
