The last 12 hours...

A 1/2 of a day in the life of the Licameli twins...
It’s 7am, a bit later than I normally get MY day rolling – it’s been an interesting 12 hours! All day yesterday, I was suspecting that the boys had encountered their first cold. I think I was right. We had a good day yesterday, with the physical therapist coming and working with both boys. They did well and seem to be right on target with their various milestones. By 5pm, their world started to fall apart.

4pm – both boys sleeping soundly in their respective favorite entertainment equipment; a little gurgly in the nose though.

4:30 pm– a friend pops over for a quick visit and they both start stirring;

5pm – JD gets his bottle;

5:30 pm – Cole gets his bottle – and takes only about 2.5 ounces;
As Cole is getting his bottle, JD starts freaking out; not sure what was wrong but he was starting to fuss – getting louder as the minutes progressed;

6pm – JD in a full fledge fit as I try to get Cole to take more food. He refuses so I put him down and pick up JD.
In the meantime, Chuck calls and is on his way – halleluiah!

6:30 pm – Both kids are not happy and Mommy has no idea why; Chuck calls again and says he’s stopped in traffic on New York Avenue; offers to pick up dinner. Now, what a nice gesture but frankly, dinner is the last thing on my mind because I can’t get the babies to stop crying and get happy again; I tell him to call me back in a while and we’ll discuss dinner. In the meantime, grow wings on that car and get home ASAP.

7pm – I take one baby upstairs and find the number for pizza hut – call and order a pizza. It’s an hour and a half wait due to the snow…perfect, by then we’ll surely have the babies under control.

7:15 – Daddy arrives home…phew. He attempts to take both babies and thinks he can calm them. I’ve had to pee since 3pm and now my bladder is about to burst. I run to bathroom. After a few minutes (I enjoyed that quiet time in the bathroom, as short as it was) I sadly realize that C. cannot get them calmed so I go back down and grab Cole. They are still not happy.

7:30 – In an effort to get the night bottles made, I take Cole and swiftly put him in the Bjorn to race around the kitchen and make formula, while waiting for the pizza, while answering the phone and feeding the cats who are screaming that they are hungry. When low and behold, Cole lets out a HUGE burp, followed by that 2.5 ounces of formula that he ate over two hours ago. Nothing like warm regurgitated formula running down the inside of your shirt between your boobs. Hmmm. Puke all over him, me and the Bjorn. How in the heck am I going to get him out of the bjorn, and not get the puke on everything else? I got him out of the bjorn; took off my shirt and threw him in the tub. I’m sure that was a sight – me bathing him, half dressed.

8pm – Out of the tub, toasty warm, in new pj’s, mommy has a new shirt – HE PUKES AGAIN! Aye.

8:05 – we change our outfits again; there can’t be anything left in this poor little boys tummy. Meanwhile, he’s screaming again because he’s HUNGRY!

8:10 – the doorbell rings – shit, it’s the pizza guy. Run downstairs, drop Cole off in his “seat” downstairs, and get the money for the pizza guy. Are you wondering where C is? He’s still downstairs trying to get JD situated – and you know how Men are with multi-tasking? Sorry guys…it’s true.

8:15 – there is piping hot pizza on the counter – that we CAN’T EAT yet. I quickly make bottles and get them in the frig. Cole is screaming so loud now because he’s hungry so I take him up to his room and feed him his bottle (after putting his monitor on and his oxygen). He drinks the whole thing – without puking (or burping).

9pm – Cole is down for the night, and sleeping peacefully. Gurgly in the nose, but nonetheless, he’s sleeping.

9:15 – C. makes JD’s bottle and feeds him.

9:45pm – JD is down for the night, and sleeping peacefully. Gurgly in the nose, but nonetheless, he’s sleeping.

10pm – we eat our cold pizza and by 10:05, I’m falling into bed.

10:15pm-5:30am – We ALL slept through the night!

5:30 am – I had to wake up the boys to feed them. Not a bad problem to have, right?
I wake up Cole first, figuring he must be starving since he’s had 4 ounces of food in the last 12 hours. He takes about 2 ounces, very slowly and is falling back to sleep. In the meantime, he poops and it stinks! I know better than to change him right after he eats because that ALWAYS makes him throw up. So I wait about 10 minutes and get JD up and change his diaper. By that time, Cole is sitting quietly on his boppy, with a big stinky diaper.

5:45 – I pick up Cole to change his diaper, and of course, he pukes up every last drop of the bottle he just took, including his medicine. Shit. He’s covered, I’m covered, and the changing table is covered in formula. We change our clothes again; and Cole goes back into his crib. Within seconds, he’s sleeping soundly again.

6am – JD is wailing in his seat because it’s been 15 minutes now and he’s still not been fed; I re-heat his bottle, and get going feeding him. Within about 5 minutes, I smell ANOTHER poopy diaper. It’s JD. We stop feeding and change his diaper – it was so bad, I couldn’t stand the smell so had to stop mid-feed and take care of it. Minor explosion in his pants, all over his PJ’s etc. Dear God. We change his clothes and get back to feeding.
Oh, did I mention that C. is still sleeping at this point and has no idea what is going on in the room next door?

6:15 am – we’re back in the rocker, resuming JD’s feeding. He decides he’s not hungry any longer and stops eating after 3 ounces. Great. He’s falling asleep again. Without burping. Shit. Burping my kids while they are asleep is never successful, so I put him back in bed. NOT SMART. The second I lay him down, out comes the burp, with about an ounce of formula with it. Why am I so stupid? I pick him up and change his clothes too. Now he’s awake again…and smiling. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

6:30 am – JD is back in his crib and sleeping soundly….BUT, the cats are howling in the hallway because they are hungry too. I run down to feed them, throw in a load of laundry, wash the bottles, start the dishwasher and get to my computer to check email.

And here I sit, writing my blog, because I couldn’t resist getting this down on paper. And actually, this is the last thing I should be doing right now but it's more fun than the other alternatives! This is what parenthood is all about – and I laughed at myself every second while this was all happening. Although utter chaos ensued for a few hours here, it’s what I have waited for – for so many years, I wanted this. And now it’s here, and I love it! JD's smile after his yucky diaper set the tone for the day.

I’m solo today without Jessica so we’ll see how it goes. I’m sure it will be another funny day – especially if the boys aren’t feeling well. I’ll be calling the doc to see if they want to see them. The common cold usually wouldn’t be a problem for a baby but with these guys, we have to be a bit more careful. Wish us luck & I’ll keep you posted.