When you have twins

There is never a dull moment

My little girl Hannah

I wasn’t sure if Hannah would be girly, or would she take on the boys because she has two brothers who loves trains. As she is my first girl, I was not sure what she would like to play with either. So I just left her to play with whatever we had at home. Mostly Ayden’s toys. I never needed to buy anything new for the twins. Thankfully Aaron likes trains too. He REALLY likes trains. Even more than Ayden almost.

So for Hannah’s second birthday, I decided to get her a Baby Alive doll. She was thrilled. Fed her dolly, which she calls “Baby” milk all day long. Her aunt bought her a baby stroller to go with it. But she did not get into it much.

Until one day at Toys R Us, she spotted a “Frozen” handbag. She made a bee line for it! And refused to leave without it! Mummy BAG! Mummy PLEASE! So needless to say we went home with the bag. Which she put on immediately.

Then her grandma went to Korea and bought her another bag. So that her other favourite bag. Which she goes everywhere with. So what does she have in her bag? Hers and Aaron’s pacifier!

Another thing that caught me by surprise is make up! She insists that I put her on my make up counter and play with my brushes. And insists that she “apply” make up on my face with each and every brush!

Early this week a friend made me a mummy and daughter rainbow loom bracelet. Hannah proudly showed off her bracelet to Aaron. Pwetty!! Aaron yuuuk! Pwetty!!

So there it is I found the girly side of her!

The twins are l. 5 years old

I must admit I don't post as much about the twin than I do about Ayden. No, I don't favor them less, I just took a blogging break.

One and a half already and they have grown in leaps and bounds.

Aaron is able to say a lot of words. Ball, duck, cat,mummy, daddy.... he really is a very chatty boy.

Hannah being a girl does not have that many words in her vocabulary yet. She babbles a lot but not very legible words. But she is my girly in character.The way she tilts her head to the side when you tuck her hair behind her ears. So so sweet.

I don't often go to shopping malls over the weekend to jalan-jalan, apart from Bangsar village after their Gymboree class.  Last week, since daddy was away for work over the weekend, we decided to go to One Utama. A place where we generally do not go if daddy was around. He hates the crowd! So us 4 including Ayden had a great time wondering through the mall. The twins one getting none manageable so its quite easy getting around with them. But I still can't do it without the maid though. Still need another adult to manage the kids. 

Hannah is now so much more brave in crowded places compared to when she was younger. Aaron is always willing to try new things and explore.

Here ane the twins at the mall. So grown up at 1.5 years. They say it gets easier and so much more fun as they approach two. I couldn't agree more!

Those little pearly whites

So the twins finally has some teeth. Considering they are 14 months of age, that is slow. I was worried for a while that they may not have any teeth!

So since they don't have that many teeth, we are still on very soft purees. The down side of this is, they are not good at chewing, let alone gumming.have to consciencely remind myself that they need to have some lumps in their food, just to get those jaw muscles going.

I've also introduced more "sinful" foods of late such as cake. Just because they deserve to taste something other than natural foods like veg and fruits. So far I have not introduced any kind of seasoning in their meals.

The exciting part of finally having some pearly whites is that I get to brush their teeth! But I am yet to find a tooth paste that babies can swallow. Kodomo tooth paste which is common in our pharmacies are not swallowable, as I recently found out. Poor Ayden had swallowed loads when he was younger!

Nowadays you get really fun tooth brushes to choose from. Here's what I got for the twins! Suitable for 0-2 years old. Can't wait to try it tonight!

Oh the joys of bringing up kids :D 

The Twins Turned ONE!

And we had a blast of a party! So many milestones came and went and I did not manage to blog them! Been so busy at work and at home, but this time, I'm so happy!

This is what happily ever after really means :)

So just a quick summary of what had transpired since Raya

- Both twins started walking at 11 months
- Hannah had her first tooth at 10 months
- Aaron bottom 2 teeth only broke through his gums a week after his birthday
- Super busy at work and coming home late as potential partners were in town for negotiations
- At the same time planned for the twin's birthday party
- Had an awesome party!
- Took a day trip to Bukit Tinggi ( will blog about this soon)

My photographer is yet to deliver the party photos to me. But here are some photos taken by my friend.

First steps

Both twins has taken their first few steps over the last few days :) 

Breastfeeding twins

It's not that different from breastfeeding a singleton except that it involves two babies. Not necessarily double the time if you are tandem feeding. And I do know lots of twin mummies (even triplets) who are able to breastfeeding their multiples fully.

So here's my story.

With Ayden, I had no clue about breastfeeding. I just did not put any effort into researching it at all. I mean, how hard can it be? Just slap on the baby on your boob and off you go! When I crossed that bridged, then I realised how hard it was. Cliche story short, I got all the basics of breastfeeding wrong but eventually I did manage to bf my boy for 9 months. The first 4 months exclusively and mixed with formula there after. Why did I mix? Well I did not have much BM stocked up and I was worried that I would be called for a business travel. And I did not want to leave substituting with formula to the last minute. What if he did not like it? I like to have enough time to ensure that he is ok and to trouble shoot any problems if any.

So with the basics of breastfeeding sorted, I had in mind very early during my pregnancy with the twins that I will breastfeeding them exclusively as long as I can.

As soon as I delivered my twins I was wheeled back into my room. They were delivered via c section. The nurses brought them up to my room about an hour later after they see cleaned up and thoroughly checked by their pead. Both were sleeping peacefully. I decided to start bfding them so I asked for one baby. Hubby handed me Aaron. This time being experienced with bfding Ayden I expertly positioned Aaron on my breast. And he suckled with no problems. After about 10-15 min, it was Hannah's turn. Hannah could suckle even better. Confidently, as though she had been bfding for the longest time. She also had 10-15min. I was over joyed. I bf my twins for the first time with no problems.

The following feeds were just as smooth. I also tried tandem feeding them while I was at the hospital. I used the football hold and with both twins being quite small, the first time was easy. I arranged two pillows by my side (I did not have a twin feeding pillow then) and placed each on each pillow and they both latched on no problems. Only someone had to handover them to me in turn for me to correctly position them.

I found that bf my twins were easier compared to my first born as they were both sleepy babies. So it was easy to just latch them on without them howling the place down and getting all stressed. It was a calm and easy to pick them up every 4 hours and give them a feed.

Things were however different when I was feeding Ayden. The moment he was out he was howling for milk every hour. Being inexperienced, I did not know how to deal with it. So even during the week at the hospital he was given formula. He also could not latch properly causing my first time feeding nipples to be terribly sore and cracked. I only started exclusively feeding him after I bought my breast pump, where I was relieved for them pain of him trying to latch.

So back to the twins, feeding them for the first and second month was really no problem. They were sleepy babies for the first month and had to be woken up for their feeds. I even managed to keep stock of one 5oz bottle a day and collected a good inventory before I started work.

Just some quick economics. In Malaysia one would expect to spend between RM400-500 a month on formula for a newborn per baby. So if you have twins, you would expect to double this amount! So by bfding I save RM1000 per month!

Night feedings are a bit of a challenge. When both cry for milk I have to tandem feed them. And being tired and sleepy, hauling two screaming babies on two pillows sitting in bed was not easy. They fall all over the place ! They either are too high, too low, not positioned correctly or simply just moving about too much. It was just frustrating. But I just endured it. Hubby eventually bought me a twin feeding pillow but that did not help much.

Things did not look too rosy when I started work either. I expressed my milk, using my madela freestyle twice a day. Once in the morning and once more after lunch. All was good the first week but my supply began to drop gradually. I was one or two oz short at every pumping session! I know I has collected some inventory but not a lot. Not enough to hold up if I keep being short even for 1oz at ever pump.

I did take some recommended milk boosters like oats, horlicks, fish and young papaya soup, fenugreek tablets. But nothing helped. Due to my work and meetings it was not convenient for me to pump more often than twice a day, which I think could have helped.

So I had to take a sad call and started supplementing with formula. For whatever amount I was short for that day.

Now that the twins are 7 months and has started weaning, I am still bfding. I do whatever I can do.

So mummies don't give up! It's doable. Just try your best. Don't worry if you have to supplement with formula. You're not a monster mom for doing that. You're just being human.

Best of luck!


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The twins are 10 months old!

Yes they are! And they are a bundle of fun and such a joy!

They like playing "exchange their pacifiers". It's hilarious to watch. Aaron will grab Hannah's paci, spits out his own and put Hannah's paci in his mouth. Hannah will then grab Aaron's paci and put that in her mouth. Then they would repeat this over and over and eventually one will run away with the others paci!

Both are crawling super fast. They started crawling at about 8 months old.

No sign of teeth yet! Their gums don't still feels soft.

Lots and lots of cruising. Hannah can stand up un supported. Aaron can take few steps while holding his hands. I wonder if they would be walking by their first birthday like their big brother Ayden.



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Time flies too fast

Before I know it, it's already time for the twins to have their first solids. When Ayden was about to have his first solids I researched into all about weaning and first foods. As now I am an expert, or so I like to think I am, with the twins I just did exactly what I did for Ayden. First taste was organic cereal mixed with breast milk followed by a fruit purée. And in the case of the twins, their first fruit was apple.

As usual I went excited with making purees. I don't know why I like it so much, I just do! I like the idea of feeding nutritious food to my babies that I made myself and its just so easy to do and freeze. As a working mom, the whole Annabel Karmel method of pureeing and freezing them into cubes is a life saver.

And of course I also went crazy with booster seats, just like I did with Ayden. Aaron got his own seat which looks just like his big brothers' and Hannah's got a pinky one which comes with a mini booster for her dolly (not in the picture).



I'll cherish this moment forever as weaning is my most favourite milestone and these babies will be our last, it's also my the last time I will ever be making purees for my babies.

Love you lots my precious.

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My birth story of my twins

I promised my birth story of the twins. I was so uncomfortable during my leave before I delivered that I really did not have patients or creativity to blog about it. So now since the babies are out and the dust has settled somewhat, here goes my birth story.
I started my maternity leave, or rather, sick leave when I was 33 weeks. I really was too heavy and cumbersome to plod to work. My colleagues were literally begging me to go home and rest, not because they feel sorry for me, but they really were worried if I was going to go into labour!
So gladly I told my boss that I would like to start staying home until I delivered, and gladly he allowed me.
So stayed home I did.
I was not sure if it was a mistake it the right thing to do. I was more uncomfortable lounging at home than sitting on my office chair! I could not lie on the couch because the weight of my tummy literally squeezed the air out of me, same goes lying in bed. Sitting up was the most comfortable position, for about half an hour at most before I have to shift positions again. Getting up is worst because I have to heave ho myself out of the chair, which used a lot of my inner thigh and hip strength. I could not even get up to get a glass of water, I had to ask the kind assistance of our nanny to do so. I could not fetch my son from school as I fear that my tummy would not fit into the driver's seat in my car. All I could do was sit but changed positions every half hour or so.
Then I found something to distract me. Paint by numbers! I've always wanted to try it!
I bought Van Gogh's starry starry night, which was apparently medium in level of difficulty and started working on it.




The blank canvas
I wake up quite early in the morning as I could not sleep long anyway, because sleeping is the MOST uncomfortable position to be in. So I would start painting early in the morning, with some breakfast in front of me. I would paint non stop for 2 hours straight and not even realise that time had flown by! I'd stretch for a bit in between and maybe take a shower or get something to drink just to get some blood flowing and easing my back for a bit, then I'd continue painting until Ayden gets home from school and continue again the next morning.




Half way through!




All done!
So I managed to finish starry starry night in 5 days and decided to do a other one. By that time I was already 35 weeks and getting way to heavy and uncomfortable. I bought a really cool New York City one with front view of a traffic scene.




This is only how far I got!
The same week, I went for my check up and my doc says, ok, I can deliver the babies this week. They are above 2kg and everything looks ok. We scheduled the delivery for Friday morning, I would be 36 weeks by then.
So Thursday morning I went to the hairdresser to get my hair a good wash, as I am not suppose to wash my hair for a few weeks after I deliver (Chinese confinement rules). I did some last minute packing,made sure everything via ready at home to receive the babies and made sure Ayden's gift from the twins was wrapped and ready for him to open after I deliver. It's an old Malay tradition where if you have an older child expecting new siblings, you prepare a gift for him saying that it is from his new sibling so he does not get too jealous or unhappy when they arrive.
We were all terribly excited. We checked into the hospital at noon on Thursday, just because the room was an awesome room. Almost like a hotel suite which a separate dining and living room from the hospital bed room with an LCD tv in each room. My parents came in the evening too, also to enjoy the room haha! We are an amusing family. Then later that night my aunt and grandma came too just for fun. So everyone was having a good time and the babies had not even arrived yet!




Terrible iPhone shot of us in the room
Early the next morning as early as 5am, the nurses came in to take my blood pressure, basically prepping me for surgery. I was to be the first that morning. Surgery was scheduled at 8am and I was suppose to be at there by 7am. So I took a log hot shower.hubby who spent the night with me also took a long hot shower and got dressed. We were so excited! The long awaited time finally arrived!
I was wheeled down to the OT. There the anaesthesiologist prepared my epidural. It took longer than usual ( compared to my first time with my first born ). As I was bent over the nurse in the OT (and the dr busy poking my spine to get the line in) I saw that they had prepared the warming table for the twins. Pink blanket for the girl and blue for the boy. I was so overcome with joy, fear, sadness, happiness all rolled into one. It was a long journey for us. All our babies were ivf babies and we never ever thought that we could even have one child. We were blessed with Ayden and now we are expecting twins! I cried silently over the nurses shoulder and when the nurse saw me she thought I was getting anxious because of the surgery. In a way I was too!
The epidural this time as very different. Sounds around me suddenly sounded muffled and I was really drowsy. It didn't feel right and immediately told the nurse in case I fell over cos the operating table was really narrow. I remembered looking at the clock, it was already 7.55am. The surgery was meant to start at 8am and it had taken almost 45 minutes to get my epidural done.
They laid me down and I still felt a little panicky. Hubby came in already in scrubs and sat next to me. I was really drowsy then. I also could not breathe properly and I told hubby that. Dr. Guna was already in and ready to perform the c section. I remembered telling hubby, I feel really sleepy. If I fall asleep, please wake me up when the twins come out.
And suddenly... I felt it. A sharp searing pain from below my naval. Like someone used something sharp and glide it along my skin. It was not painful enough to scream out loud, but it was just a little searing pain. I did say aloud "ouch!" and promptly the doctor stopped. Then I told hubby... "Sakit". Then I heard the Anaesthesiologist say, you are meant to feel something but not pain. But I insisted it hurts. The next thing I know, I fell asleep.
In my sleep I remembered telling myself, "oh shoot, the doctor put me down to sleep didn't he". Then I thought, he must have done it for a good reason. Ok if that's the case. I better not wake up before the twins are pulled out or I will feel the pain!
I also had really strange dreams while I was down. Very vivid dreams. It was snap shots of different scenarios. Next thing I know I was woken up in the recovery area. I heard the anaesthesiologist tell me, we had to put you down. You were getting anxious. I was still really drowsy and drifted in and out of sleep. Then I felt I was being wheeled back into my room. I was almost fully awake then.
I saw hubby waiting for me in my room. The room was dim and cosy. Hubby had drawn the curtains so I could rest. I asked him what happened, why I was put to sleep. He said that I was getting panicky so the doc put me down to sleep. Actually he did not notice that I was sleeping until I had not responded when he told me that the twins were out.
Turned out the first twin, our baby girl, was pulled out at 8.22am while her brother followed only just two minutes later! As soon as she came out the pead took her to the warming table and checked her. Meanwhile her brother was already out and the nurse placed him on the other warming table while waiting for the pead to check him. They were both wrapped and brought to me. Since I was sleeping hubby just took a photo with me and the twins while the nurse held them close to my face.



Twin 1 out



Twin 2 waiting for doctor to check him



My first photo with the twins! And just like that, I'm a mummy of twins.




Hannah




Aaron



Both of them together






Their ID tags with birth info


Me tapping on my iPhone telling the world the babies have arrived!


Big brother Ayden opening the present from his new siblings

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3.5 months old

So here they are today! 3.5 months old. Hannah Sofea and Aaron Omar. 4.4kg and 4.6kg respectively. They were both born at 2.5kg.

I have popped... 3 months ago!

A very late announcement indeed. Yes I have given birth on 21 September 2012 to my twins. At 36 weeks I was literally begging my doctor to deliver. So deliver I did with a dramatic birth story that calls for another post just for it.

It's been a challenging 3 months. If you think one baby is hard, try two, or even three. I honestly don't know how triplet moms do it. Twins is hard enough. But the joy and fun also doubles. It's so great to cuddle two babies at a time. To see two gummy smiles in the wee hours of the morning. Ad best of all to watch them play and interact with each other.

Having twins really means you need extra pair of hands to help. Doing it on your own would require you to wear your red underwear on the outside of your pants. Possible but it is dead tiring. Especially when both babies cry t once. It is prime importance that a twin mummy remain calm and attend to each crying baby as calmly as possible. With practice one will get the hang of it. Don't get me wrong, I've got help. My maid is a wonder with the twins. She is ever so patient with them even though they've been demanding all day. Demanding I mean when Aaron has his tummy ache while Hannah just wants to be carried all day. It tires both of us out leaving other chores like preparing dinner almost impossible. But we take it one day at a time.

Now the twins are 3 months old and they are pretty much more independent. You can actually leave them on the play mat for half an hour and they can play on their own. Both are fascinated with their toy mobiles and smiles and giggle with joy at them. We pretty much sorted out Aaron's tummy ache, or at least know what to do so its under better control than the first two months.

So here are the photos from the birth and their first month.



The night before the c-section. More to tell in a separate post on my birth story.



First photo of me and the twins. As you can see I was completely knocked out!



The first few hours after birth



Our daughter Hannah came our first, therefore she is twin 1




Her brother Aaron followed just 2 minutes later.

It was such a joyous moment although I was really groggy all day from the sedative. But it was such a wonderful feeling receiving not one but two babies! They were really sleepy babies in their first few weeks so breastfeeding was easy to do. They were both exclusively on breastmilk the first 2.5 months but now on mixed formula as I could not keep up with their demand when I started work.

So more of my adventures as a twinnie mum and also to a toddler in his terrible two stage in my coming posts!

In the meantime belated Happy New Year!!



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