If at first you don't succeed...

...try again in a couple months...

Most of the new things we've tried recently have flopped big time.

Target brand...lots of gas, lots of poop. Andy went out to get Enfamil right when he got home from work that first day after using Target. Poor Gamma had to change 4 Owen poops. And both D and Owen were so gassy all day...really upset stomachs. I think they are still trying to get it out of their system. That sucked.

We got through 2.5 feedings with the fast flow nipple before concluding that we needed to switch back to slow. Neither of us could imagine getting through a nighttime feeding with the fast flow...there was too much mess...and we felt like each baby really needed to be held upright for a LONG time afterwards...pleasant during the day, but not all that fun at 1am/4am. Dear Playtex: Why do you only make Slow and Fast flow nipples? Where is Medium? Sincerely, Mom whose babies' cheeks hurt

We are undecided on the removal of the inclined sleep positioners. This one is a serious Catch 22. I brought them back in the middle of the second night. Each time I came in to feed the babies their heads were lying in a wet spot...they had spit up after the last feeding. Once, Dylan was crying shortly after being put to bed and I realized that he was lying in wetness...I merely moved him over an inch and voila, back to sleep immediately...clearly that was uncomfortable. However, this morning they were up early again and both of them had both legs through the slats of the crib...they slid down and kicked through the breathable bumper! So...without the positioners they spit up and wake up in the wet spot...with the positioners they slide down and wake up with their legs through the crib...so what works?! Tonight I am trying sleep positioners with their heads together the long way of the crib.

The sleep sacks work ok, but we haven't mastered the timing of getting them in them. It turns out that we need to dress them in the sleep sacks before the last feeding, but sometimes we're not sure if it will be the last feeding until it's done...5/5:30 may or may not be the last feeding, or we might end up clusterfeeding around 6:30/7. If they fall asleep for the night and are not in their sleep sacks then we don't want to risk waking them up by putting them in the sacks. But, when the timing works, the sacks work well...the added benefit is that they are zipped in so they stay in them all night versus the swaddle, which they wiggle out of in like 5 minutes.

Ethan's new thing is smelling. He says to everything, "I smell it!" He wants to smell things that smell and things that don't smell...and not just once. Soaps, eye cream, lotions, saline solution, my coffee, his toys, floss, my sleep solution book...I hope this is just a stage. This all started with getting on his Learning Tower next to the sink and asking to smell the spices on the spice rack above the sink...he calls them "ices"...I made a pot roast one day when Ethie and Gamma had been at her house. When they walked in the door to our house Ethan said, "It smells like ices."

Dylan and Owen woke up from a nap around 5pm tonight and were frantic for their next bottles. Both of them were screaming and I realized that I was unprepared for the next feeding...clean bottles, but no formula made...I had used naptime to wash bottles and play with Ethan...my bad, I guess...there is never enough time. While I was starting to make formula, Ethan ran to the couch to give the babies their paci's and then ran back over to his Learning Tower to push it over to me and "assist", yelling "I'm coming babies, I'm coming babies" the whole time.

Not only does his pick up the things we say, like "I'm coming babies", but he's mimicking the things we do too. Not only does he try to smell my saline solution, but he tips it upside down to put some on his finger and then puts his finger in the corner of his eye and blinks. Most mornings he is in the bathroom with me when I put my contacts in...He is also getting a lot more interested in his potty. Every parent knows that it is nearly impossible to go to the bathroom alone. Ethan comes with me often and we'll sit on our respective pottys together...he'll ask for some TP and pretend to wipe! We'll let daddy explain why boys stand.

My sister started a blog recently. Go check it out...she's cool and knows lots of good stuff about baseball and baking decadent treats. Lefty's Hot Stove

This is where I landed at 5:30am on Sunday...not a bad way to start the day...a tad early though!