Thank You Gramma!

When we learned that Chick would have to wear a Pavlik Harness for 12 hours a day (during sleeping hours) we knew we would have to make alternate arrangements for her sleepwear. None of her sleepers would fit over her harness and since she can't wear the harness under the sleepers, we knew we'd have to think of something to keep her snug as a bug while she slept.
On Sunday, K2 and I headed to the nearest fabric store, bought a pattern and some fleece and dropped everything off at Gramma's with the hope that she could work some magic for our Chick. Lo and behold, a sleep sack was born.
Our girl has slept like a champ the past few nights that she has had to wear her harness. In fact, she slept from 8:00pm last night until 7:10am today (waking only once at 4:30 for a bit of milk)!!**
 Thanks, Gramma for helping me to sleep snug as a bug in my new sleep sack!

**As an aside, Pea has slept from 10pm - 4:30am TWO NIGHTS IN ROW!!

Progress

Though we hadn't anticipated having to prepare a room for Pea so soon after his birth, things are coming along rather nicely. We emptied the den of all things work and computer related, shoved a lot of stuff into the closet (there, I said it) and moved his crib and small dresser in. I found some lovely bedding for him and got it for such an amazing deal, that I wound up ordering some bedding for Chick as well (hers will be delivered some time this week).

A sneak peak at Pea's crib

Both babies have been sleeping in their respective rooms for all of two weeks now and K2 is back in the matrimonial bed.  While he misses sleeping near his baby girl, he is enjoying the comfort of a real bed. Chick is an amazing sleeper and seems to not only love her room, but her crib as well.  She sleeps there during nap time and throughout the night with ease.  Pea, on the other hand, is a bit of a challenge.  Things are getting better, but he still dislikes the crib something fierce.  We transitioned him from the bassinet to the crib by placing the bassinet in the crib for a few weeks, then by removing the bassinet and putting Pea in only the bassinet bedding inside the crib. 

We are discovering that parenthood is really all about strategy.  It's like learning to use the PeePee Tepee after being peed on a million times.  On a side note, for whom does the PeePee Tepee work?  We need more of a Pee Pee Six Man Tent and full rain gear in order to prevent the watershed that occurs in our house.  But I digress...

All this to say that Pea's room is coming together and will be as beautiful as his sister's room in no time.  I have ordered some personalized touches from Etsy and these will make both rooms as special as the babies who will sleep there for years to come.

Three Months Old

Click to Enlarge

 

Where does the time go?

An Interesting Turn Of Events

A few weeks ago we brought Pea to the Fracture Clinic in Toronto to assess the state of his hips.  At that time the doctor wanted to do two things:  bring Pea back in three weeks to reassess and to bring his sister as well because girls typically have a higher incidence of congenital hip dysplasia than boys and the risk is especially higher in multiples.
On Wednesday, we brought both babies back to the clinic for follow up ultrasounds and today we received the results.  It turns out that Pea's hips are perfectly normal and have corrected themselves.  How thrilling!  No need for him to be evaluated again.  However, Chick's ultrasound showed an abnormality that needed attention.  Her hip isn't horrible, but the joint is shallow and needs to be treated.  So our girl will have to wear a Pavlik Harness for 12 hours a day every day for at least four months. We feel SO lucky because most babies have to wear it for 23 hours a day every day.

Image courtesy of Google Images

We will put it on at 8:00pm every night and take it off at 8:00am every morning with the hope that this will prevent painful arthritis or the need for hip replacement later in life.

As we were driving out of Toronto today, K2 and I were talking about how lucky we are. Sure, Chick has to wear this medieval looking device for the next four months, but it could be so much worse.  We thought of all the parents at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto receiving diagnoses of Cystic Fibrosis, Leukemia, or other horrific scenarios.  I can't imagine having to face something like that.

A harness and some discomfort we can handle.

Our Chick...asleep in her crib.  It's been a long day.

Sleep

Dear Pea,

Last night you slept from 10:00pm to 4:30am. Consecutively.
That's six and a half hours.
I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Chick,

Last night you only woke once at 2:30am.
After Daddy fed you, you slept until 7:00am
I love you.

Love,
Mommy

We're slowly getting there, babies.

When Books Attack

We can't get enough children's books into the house. We love them and want our kids to be avid readers. K2 built an awesome bookshelf a few years back and we have worked to stack it with some fun books for the babies.

Thinking that it's never too early to introduce books to little ones, we have been reading to the babies after almost every feeding.  It passes the time while we are letting their milk settle and it stimulates them for playtime.

Their two favorite books so far are:

 Flaptastic Colors

Can You Moo, Too?

They simply adore the pictures and the sounds we make as we read.  However, yesterday as I was reading "Can You Moo, Too", Chick tried to touch the page and ended up getting a paper cut.  This was the first time I have ever heard her do the no breathing cry.  You know the one...where her face contorts in a burst of red, but no sound comes out for like ten seconds.  I just sat there and watched while waiting for the scream to erupt and when it did, it put her brother's colic cries to shame.  After a little rocking and holding her close, she was fine, but man was it sad!  Look at her first little paper cut...sad.

I caught her online yesterday ordering a Kindle.  I don't think baby books are available on it just yet.

Butterflies

Go over and congratulate our good friend Catherine!