24 Weeks Old

By Cyndi
Monday May 30, 2011

It has been a busy week.  (I need to realize that this isn't busy, it is our normal now.)  Here are the highlights ...  lots of pictures & a video too!

Jason came all the way from California to help decorate Tyler's doc band!

Jason & Tyler

Tyler's first visit to Zatinya ... one of our favorite restaurants in DC

Awesome dinner in DC with Jason

Matt, Zach & Jason

 

Meigs and his ball

T & Z hanging out pool side at the Isaacs'

The Leesburg Mommies!  Finally everyone could make it for a picture (except Raegan)

We had a fabulous weekend with Jason.  He spent his last day here cooking Thai Red Curry, Lemon Blueberry muffins, Chocolate cookie dough (not baked yet), & Mee Goreng (Malaysian spicy noodles).  It's tradition that each time Jason visits, he cooks ... the food is fabulous and we have restocked our chest freezer.  Thanks for traveling to see us and finally meet T & Z!!!

23 Weeks Old & Baby Food Making 101

By Cyndi
May 24, 2011

Most of Saturday, I was in and out of the kitchen doing Baby Food Making 101 with two friends who were kind enough to come over and lend a hand.  The boys have been eating fairly well (with a little extra work from Matt and I) and were mostly quiet while we pureed.  I am interested in making as much as I can on my own because then I know exactly what is in it and how much money it can save us.

Here's what I started with:

As much as I can, I will buy organic.  It is a little more expensive, but healthier for the boys and if I'm spending the time to do it myself, I might as well buy the best.  2 bags of green beans, 2 bags of peas, 3 lbs of sweet potatoes, some carrots & a butternut squash.

I baked the sweet potatoes & squash for 75+ min & steamed the other veges (saving some of the water from below to help with pureeing later.

Then, with the help of Kelly, Stacie & an immersion blender, this is what we ended up with.  They were a huge help since I had no clue what the consistency needed to be.  Plus, Peyton (Kelly's daughter) & Lincoln (Stacie's son) had fun playing. Then they went to the freezer:

I bagged each by food and have over 100 servings of baby food purees!!!  To my best estimates, it costs around $0.14/oz to make it on your own, purchasing organic vegetables.  To buy Earth's Best organic stage 1, it is around $0.22/oz through Amazon subscribe & save (and more expensive than that at Babies R Us at $0.28/oz).  It wasn't that hard, but the one mistake I did make was I mixed the sweet potatoes & carrots together so now I need to make more of those two.  You can only do one food at a time for a few days to ensure no allergic reactions.  In a few weeks, I hope to do the same thing with fruits.

I had a good time and in a few months when they are eating two cubes at each meal, two or three times per day, the saving will add up!  Hopefully I will still have the time, but I think if I do one food per night, especially the nights Matt is home, we should be able to continue!  And hopefully no more mixing the foods together.

Other than that, Matt and I went to temple on Friday  night.  They had a family night with appetizers and then a family service.  The boys did great and enjoyed watching all the people walk by them.  We "missed" the service because we had to feed them, but listened to it while in the lobby.  We met some more families & had a successful night out.

On the sleep front, the boys have been waking up around once per night.  We rub their back and they fall back asleep.  Not sure what has changed, since their eating has been better than before, but at least only one of us is up for a few minutes.

Last "event" of the week, was ....... we tried rice cereal!!  I think the pictures explain it all!!  We are not sure how much actually stayed in, but we will keep trying.  Hopefully in a week or two, they will get the idea!

Really??!!  This was supposed to be good.  Get me out of this chair!

22 Weeks Old (5 Months)!!

By Cyndi
May 17, 2011

The boys turned 5 months on Friday and didn't think anything of it. They were fitted for their doc bands on Tuesday and have adjusted well. Matt took them back on Thursday for a slight adjustment, but they don't seem to mind it at all. Let me try to explain how the doc band works. The band does NOT squeeze their head to reshape it. It "holds" the sides that are not flat so encourage growth in the sides that are flat. There are no red marks on their head when we take it off. It is almost like the sides on which are already full they are laying on a pillow all of the time. Each week, we will go back and they will evaluate their overall head growth and remove some of the inside padding to encourage more growth in the areas we want.

Boker Tov (Good Morning in Hebrew) - 

they do not share a crib, I put them together for a picture

They will wear this band for 8-12 weeks, depending on their growth rate, and for 23 hours per day. Could they need a second band? Maybe, but we may (and probably will, because of their age and high rate of growth right now) achieve the results we want with one band. At the end of the treatment, they provide a comparison study of detailed head pictures so you can see the change. I will post them when everything is done.

I have stickers ordered to decorate their bands, so once that is done, I will post some pictures.

Other than the bands, the boys had a good 5 month appointment with the pediatrician. They received one shot, a little crying but smiling within seconds of it being over. Tyler was 13lb 15oz and Zach was 14lb 9oz. So we are officially starting to transition to regular formula. Dr. S also said we can start rice cereal. Not sure if I'm ready to add another complexity to our already crazy schedule, but we will start in the next two or three weeks.

I have also found that shopping online relieves a lot of stress about finding time to make it to stores. It may end up being a little more expensive, but it saves so much time. All right, back to cleaning/organizing the house before naptime ends. Hopefully soon, Matt will guest blog again. I'm sure all of you are bored with my weekly recaps.

Zach in the jumperoo

 

21 Weeks Old & Mother's Day

By Cyndi
May 9, 2011

As I said last week, things have been quite busy here. We have the boys' doc band appointment this week where they will be fitted and we will be educated how to use & clean it. We also have the boys' 5 month pediatrician appointment. Since we split their vaccines, we have an extra appointment (normally there is no check-up visit between months four and six). We will also get their weights which is important since we will slowly be moving off of the higher calorie formula. It is simply too hard to find and very expensive. We buy out an entire store every time we find it, but that usually lasts us less than one week. Since we are almost ready to start solids, we are moving to regular formula.

Mother's Day was fairly uneventful. I had some very poor feedings (similar to Saturday). They have been taking 2-3 oz / feeding, which is about half of what they normally take. I don't know why, but it is extremely frustrating. The last two feedings of the day they make up for it by taking 6-8 oz. It doesn't make sense to me. And usually they nap well before the 10am feeding ... nope, not this Sunday.

Sunday was also a sad day for me. There are generally two days a year most people are the center of attention & "spoiled." Those two days are Mother's/Father's Day & birthdays. Both of these days for me are more sad than anything. As some of you may know, I lost my mom 5.5 years ago on my birthday & my parents wedding anniversary. Mother's Day will never be the same, now more than ever, because I can't share the boys with her. As with my birthday ... can it be rescheduled, please?

One other bit of sad news. Matt had been switching schedules with someone to work a day shift on Fridays. Because of the recent ATC events in the news, the FAA has mandated 9 hours between shifts, which is a problem for the person who Matt would switch with. So, effective this week, Matt is back to work Friday nights, except for a few that he will try to trade if we have something going on. Hopefully the boys are cooperative on Fridays, because I am so exhausted from the week by then. Maybe after they are down for the night, I will enjoy a glass (or two) of wine.

Enough for this week. Tyler is sitting on my lap as I type this and is squirming around. Time for the next feeding ... the story of my life ................................

Meigs enjoying an Aflac duck that he used to play with as a puppy

Ahhh ... tummy time is over!

20 Weeks Old

By Cyndi
May 3, 2011

Wow, what a crazy past few weeks.  I don't know what happened, but it feels like life has exploded and we are trying to pick up the pieces and put it back together.  Let me see if I can recap.

• We survived Passover, changing dishes, had LOTS of maztah pizza & grilled steak
• Follow up about T&Z's heads.  Both places said Zach's asymmetry has improved and Tyler has not changed or gotten worse.  Here's a picture I found online give an example of it:

• We have decided to proceed with Doc Bands from Cranial Tech. for both boys.  The scan is already completed and they will have them one week from today.  This is a short term treatment, around 3 months long, and will help them for the rest of their lives.  They will be required to wear it for 23 hours per day during the treatment.  What's the downside?  Well, $$$$ & our time.  Our insurance doesn't cover this facility and we felt this was the better place to use to ensure great results.  It requires weekly adjustments and its about a 30 min drive from the house.  What's the upside?  The flat spot will be corrected, their ear placement will be straightened and no potential long term affects from their facial features being misaligned.
• One year ago today .... ONE YEAR AGO TODAY ..... we found out we were pregnant ... wow ... I can't even put into words how our lives have changed .... 

• We took the boys to a friend's bbq on Saturday.  We had a fabulous time!  

•  Daddy's choice in outfits one day last week

• Bouncyhouse at Chez Isaacs open during a nice summer-like day ... one day T&Z will be big enough to play in it!!

• The boys have officially been moved to their cribs!  The move was fairly easy and so far so good.  We have a monitor on all night on our nightstand, so we can hear them.  Tyler seems to wiggle all night long, turning himself 180 degrees!  He loves to roll on his side and suck his thumb.  Zach barely moves all night.

19 Weeks Old

By Cyndi
April 26, 2011

This will be short ...

The boys had a great visit with the pediatrician last week.  Weight gain has been good.  Zach gained more than Tyler and their gap in weights is now 11 ounces.  We weren't surprised with this, since Zach, on average, eats 2 ounces a day more than Tyler.  Here are their weights:

	Tyler	Zachary
Birth	4lb 1oz	3lb 14oz
2 Months	8lb 8oz	8lb 15oz
4 Months	12lb 9oz	13lb 4oz

Passover ended last night with a successful dinner out with the Isaacs.  Yes, four adults, one high chair & two slings for T&Z's carseats, lots of bread and no melt downs.  It was hopefully the first of many dinners out as a group!!

That's it for now. 

Tyler Move it brother, I'm trying to roll over! Zach enjoying some tummy time

18 Weeks Old

By Cyndi
April 19, 2011

Where has the past week gone? We had two rough sleeping nights where one of them woke up every hour or two. Why? Well, it was hot on Monday eve, so we didn't use their sleep sacs (babies should not use blankets due to suffocation, so this is a "gown" that zips up and keeps them nice and warm). The next night or two were the rough nights, so we went back to using them again on Thursday night and they were good again! Let's just say, sleep is a requirement for me to function. I truly hope they continue to be good sleepers because it helps me to be a better, more patient, more kind mom. (ummm ... still weird that I'm a mom, just throwing it out there.)

Finally on Sunday, we had some time to take the boys' 4 month pictures. Since they can roll over now, I have to have a second set of hands nearby to help ensure they aren't going to fall off the couch.

Zachary

Tyler

4 months old

Don't forget about Meigs

The boys were able to meet some of the Gimpel NJ cousins as they drove back from a college visit. As some of you may know, I have only a few first cousins. On my dad's side, we consider 2nd & 3rd cousins, like first cousins. I've been to all of the weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, etc. It's quite extended, but we've stayed so close because my Grandpa Max (who we are trying to go see in July in Pheonix) is their great uncle. The good news is my cousin Seth picked James Madison University in Southern/Central Virginia, so they will be driving near us more frequently!! The entire Kuller family (even Val from University of Delaware) came to visit Friday night into Saturday which was awesome. Of course, the boys were smiley. Seth was happy to have a few more boy cousins around (Girl cousin count: 8, Boy cousin count: 3).

Daniel & Jill, Todd, Stacie & Lincoln all joined us for the first night of Passover. We had a full house!! Oh, excuse me, I must also include Atticus, Dan & Jill's puppy. Let's just say, Meigs and Atticus had a great time. The boys have also survived their first Passover seder! Sadly, they were not able to complete the mandatory Four Questions, but we allowed a pass this year.

Meigs' future one year from now, he will be in heaven! Lincoln gave a great belly rub.

Happy Passover!

Over the next two weeks, we have 4 month check-up with the pediatrician, two follow-up visits regarding the boys' head shapes, Matt & Todd bottling beer (Matt's anniversary present from me; I have yet to cash in my afternoon at a spa), Roslyn BBQ (a friend's bbq that he holds a few times per summer that we've been attending since 2006), and possibly an out of town friend's visit. I also need to find the time to fill the chest freezer with easy to prepare food. We are starting to run low and and as we've found out, trying to cook a dinner that takes more then 10 minutes to prepare won't happen, at least not right now. Life is busy, but being able to get outside is awesome.