Developmental Milestones

Gavin rolled over yesterday....5 times in a row! It's our first developmental milestone. My husband was trying to get him to roll, and I was busy explaining why it was just too early for Gavin to roll over, seeing as it's technically only 3 weeks past his due date, when he threw his head to the right and his body followed. "It's a fluke," I said. "Beginner's luck." Gavin proceeded to roll over 4 more times, and then twice more when my parents came over. I hate it when I'm wrong.

Addendum: I think Charlotte might have smiled today, too. It was as she was looking at the ceiling fan, which was not turned on. Yes, she thinks the motionless ceiling fan is more entertaining than me.

My 3am Prayer

My 3am prayer sounds like this. Ironically, it is also my 1am prayer, my 2am prayer, my 4am prayer.... You get the idea.

Dear God,
PLEASE let the babies sleep for a three-hour stretch. I really, really need some sleep. I hardly recognize myself when I look in the mirror anymore. I know you have a lot on your plate, what with the war and global warming and all, but it would sure help me out if you could make my babies sleep.

As I pray, I think about Marcia Cross. I think about how she is probably NOT reciting the same prayer. I think about how she is probably sleeping away while her nannies and night nurses tend to her twins. And I am jealous for just a moment.

pajancky and other Goodyear-isms

My family is big on making up our own words. At least, I think we make them up. We have been using these words for so long, they have actually become a part of our vocabulary, and the line blurs between what is a real word and what is a "Goodyear-ism." For example, the gook that gets stuck in the folds of a baby's neck? That's pajancky*. When a baby spits ups during feedings, that's a blickey. And when a baby is agitated, kicking his or her legs and fussing, we say that baby is rutchy.

I hesitate to use these words in front of strangers because I'm not clear anymore if they are actual words or not. My hesitation stems from an incident that occured when I was in sixth grade. A friend and I went to Woolworth's, where I was looking for pom-pom socks, and smugly asked the cashier where the "mum-mums" were. The cashier, of course, looked at me like I had three heads, and I couldn't understand why this person had no idea what mum-mums were. It was only then I realized that a significant portion of my vocabulary was purely made-up.

Have you ever read the children's book, Frindle? It's about a boy who is interested in the way that words are created, and he decides to conduct a little experiment. He begins calling his pen a "frindle," much to the dismay of his English teacher. The word catches on, and before long the entire country is using "frindle." Several years later, the word becomes official, and is included in the dictionary.

The other day, my husband mentioned that Charlotte had pajancky in her neck and needed a bath. I think that word has some potential. Who knows?

* Spelling is best-guess. I've never seen it written.

Calling all Mothers...

I'm curious to know if any mothers out there could sense what their childrens' personalities would be like while they were infants. Let me explain. Gavin ALWAYS has his hands clasped in tight fists. I mean tight. It's difficult to pry his hands open. When he is eating, his body is completely tense. Again, his hands are in tight fists, and his entire body is completely rigid. If he is nursing, he holds on to whatever he can. (Usually he has some piece of my bra in one fist, and my skin in the other fist). I've joked with my family that Gavin is all-business when he eats; he's a serious nurser. I like to call him "the tax attorney" of breastfeeding. What I'm wondering is this: because he seems like such an intense little person right now, does that mean he is going to be an intense adult? I should add that I am completely in love with Gavin...I wouldn't change anything about him, nor would I want to change his personality when he is older. I would just like to know if there is any correlation between behaviors displayed in infancy and behaviors displayed later. Comments, please.

Just incase you were wondering, Charlotte is the complete opposite. She falls asleep every time she nurses, only to wake up screaming 20 minutes later because I had the audacity to put her down.

Have a look at these pictures. You'll see what I mean about Gavin.

I asked for it...

In 1981, my parents gave me a copy of "Charlotte's Web" for Christmas. I read that book until the edges of the cover were worn and dirty. I still read the same copy aloud to my class every year. Because it holds such memories for me, I decided that if I had a daughter, I wanted her to be named Charlotte. (That, and the fact the Charlotte sounds really good with Chermela!)

It figures that the birth of my daughter coincides with the release of "Charlotte's Web" in the movies and on DVD.

My 3 year old cousin, Gage, was coming to visit the twins for the first time on Sunday morning. He asked his mom (my cousin Jenn) before they left: "When are we going to go see Charlotte and the pig?" Judging by the way Gavin eats, I think Gage got it right. :)

Mother's Day

It was very surreal for me to wake up on Mother's Day morning. For the past three years, Mother's Day has been difficult. It was a reminder of all of the meds, shots, procedures, etc... that I was dealing with, as well as a reminder that I didn't know whether or not I was ever going to become a mother. But yesterday was different. I woke up excited, like you do on Christmas morning. Michael and my family made a big fuss over it being my first Mother's Day, and even though I had a total of maybe four hours of fragmented sleep, I was feeling happy. Peaceful, even.

It's difficult to hold on to that feeling of peace when the babies are going through their nightly "colicky" time. Juggling two screaming babies AND trying to eat dinner is a challenge. Last night I scarfed down a slice of pizza while rocking Gavin and watching the Sopranos, and royally burnt the roof of my mouth in the process. Not much of a multi-tasker. But despite the sleep deprivation, the hunger pangs, and all the crying (from both the babies AND their mother), I've never been more content. There's nothing quite like the feeling I get when one of the babies is crying, and I pick him* up and put him against my chest, and he lets out a deep, satisfied sigh. It's almost like he's saying, "There you are, Mommy. What took you so long?"

On another note, I am becoming a master at one-handed typing, In fact, I composed this entire post with one hand while holding Gavin. (Michael always winds up with Charlotte, as she is more easily consoled. Doesn't seem fair, does it?)

Anyway, I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day. You deserve it.

* Or her, depends on who is screaming the loudest.

Hungry

I love how my husband thinks the babies will eat on a predictable schedule, and that they inherently know this schedule. Consider our conversation at 7:30 this morning:

Me: Tulip is crying. She's hungry. Will you go get her?
Husband: She can't be hungry! She just ate! It's not time yet!
Me: Okay. I'll let her know.

Bookies

May 8 is right around the corner...the babies' original due date. Can you believe it?!? I would be the size of a small country by now. I keep wondering about all of those developmental milestones that may be a little bit delayed in Charlotte and Gavin. They seem to be doing so well, so I have a good feeling that they won't be too delayed in anything. I keep catching myself saying 'normal babies': i.e, 'Normal babies smile by 8 weeks.' Then I remind myself that C. and G. ARE normal -- in fact, they are extraordinary, because they are really thriving despite all of their obstacles!!

We had a well visit on Friday, and they continue to gain weight steadily. Charlotte weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. (a gain of 20 ounces in 2 weeks!) and Gavin weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. (a gain of 23 ounces in 2 weeks!). It's pretty incredible. I actually have to wash fat rolls in their necks when they are in the tub. YES, FAT ROLLS IN THEIR NECKS!!

They are beginning to sleep for slightly longer stretches (slightly longer = 4 hours or so). I can't tell if Michael and I are actually sleeping more or just becoming accustomed to sleep deprivation.

The babies got their first cold last week. How, I don't know, because I sterilize all of their bottles and pacifiers daily, and the Purell flows freely in the Chermela abode. We got our first lesson on those lovely nasal aspirators to suck the junk out of their noses. ('Bookies,' as Joey calls them.) They seem to be on the mend. We all survived.

What has surprised me the most is how much I like to dress them alike. Of course, 98% of Charlotte's outfits are pink (she is definitely my daughter) and Gavin's are almost always blue, but they coordinate, and I love it. If I'm still dressing them alike when they go to kindergarten, someone please smack me. But right now it's cute.

I will post more photos of my big, fat babies as soon as I recharge my camera. I can't seem to find the time to run into our office and plug it in!

Congratulations to Kelly, Rob, Sydney, and Katey on their new baby boy/brother, Nicholas Robert! I can't wait to meet him!