Categories
Babies Family/Travel Travel

Babies First Trip

This was my pack list put together after googling {& subsequently freaking out} last week. Thank goodness  my parents’ came down Friday night to help us get organized & packed up Saturday morning.

Clothing/Accessories 
Dressy Outfits {x3 for Suz, x2 per baby}, Casual Outfits {x6 for babies}, Jackets {didn’t bring}
Underwear, Nursing Bras, Socks {4}, Pajamas {2 Per Baby}
Sunglasses, Suz sandals
Purse + Diaper Bag, Jewelry/Watch
Feeding
Breast Pump & Accessories, Suz snacks
Bottles, Nipples {10}
Bottle Brush, Dish soap, Cleaning Tub
Enfacare, Brestfriend Pillow, Boppy
Burp Cloths {4}, Bibs {4}
Toiletries/Bath
Shampoo, Conditioner {sample size baby wash}
Make-Up Bag/Shaving Kit, Hair Products
Tooth Brush, Tooth Paste
Entertainment
Books, Rocking Chair, Lovey/Blankie/Wubbas
Diapering (In Addition to Diaper Bag)
Disposable Changing Pads, Diaper Cream?
Box of Wipes, Diapers {25}
Baby Gear
Baby Carrier (Ergos) {we ended up leaving these at home}
Car Seat (& Car Seat Base)
Pacifiers & Pacifier Hooks
Baby Monitor {didn’t bring}
Bedding
Travel Crib {didn’t use since hotel had two}, Travel Crib Sheets (2), sleep sheep/giraffe
Swaddle Blankets
Medicine
Tummy Medicine, Prescription Medicines, Baby Tylenol {didn’t have to use thank God}

Crazy right? But we pretty much used everything. And were very glad for the extra bibs & clothes as Lucy went through three outfits before 1p Sunday.

Papa visited the babies while they were in the NICU was didn’t hold them until Saturday.

Papa & Zachy poo

He was so great with them!

Papa holding Lucy for the first time

The babies made themselves right at home at his condo. We set up blankets & the rocker & boppy on the floor for playtime &  napping.

Nothing like full bellies & comfy spots for napping

They did great at the hotel for Mom & Dad Saturday night. They woke for their dream feed at 4 then slept again until 730/745a. Zach & I rocked side lying feeding for the first time. They had a blast playing on the bed while Mom & I were getting ready.

Good morning babies!
Zach & his brunch attire
Lucy spit up on her brunch dress before we left the condo building.

The babies were the hit of Cypress brunch. Mom & Papa carried them everywhere wanting to show them off. It was really cute.

Lucy & her Pops at brunch

Lucy loved the attention & Zach slept through most of it. 🙂

Papa entertaining Lucy & saying bye before we left

We stopped by to see Jenny & the trips & buy 6-12 month clothes on the way home where Zach was the entertainment & Lucy pooped! They did great sleeping most of the car ride home. One successful trip down, lots more to go!

Categories
Everything Else Food Travel

B & Kevin’s Couples Shower

Beth {who ended up sick & unable to attend}, Kelly, Kim & I {& technically our spouses} gave our good friend B & her hubby-to-be an uptown Charlotte shower Saturday night.

The hostesses & the bride-to-be

We went with a luau themed drinks & dessert party.

All set up & ready for the guests!

For the drinks part served: Diana’s punch aka spiked Hawaiian punch, red & white wine, sodas & water, & had a 1/4 keg of Miller lite.

Cookies, Brownies, Dessert Sliders & Lemon Squares

Our desserts included: chocolate chip cookie bites, brownie bites, strawberries, pineapples, marshmallows, pretzels & melted milk chocolate in a chafing dish for dipping all the above.

Melted chocolate goodness for all!

We also had lemon squares with blueberries & raspberries, dessert sliders & vanilla cupcakes.

G cupcakes!

We decorated the cupcakes with mini umbrellas, hung Chinese lanterns, had wreaths made of the umbrellas & had bright flowers throughout. Oh & gave the happy couples lais!

They were a trip opening gifts~ taking their time & being so sweet!

The happy couple & the pitcher I gave them.

Laughing & joking & being so happy to have all their favorite people together in one place.

Party group!

Based on this crowd & party, I know the Apr wedding is going to be a blast!

B’s bridesmaids
Categories
Babies Family/Travel Travel

The New Suz

The new Suz is much like the old one. Likes fun, friends, & traveling. Loves owls {especially on baby clothes!}, pizza, college football {Go Pack!} & beer. Enjoys reading, reality TV, sleeping & shopping.

The new Suz though has been working her way out of the haze of the first 18 weeks as a mom of two babies. The haze of little sleep, lots of family taking over her house help, & too much TV. Not enough of seeing friends or beer & no travel.

But I’m beginning to feel like me.

Me, who’s got a handle on breastfeeding & pumping at work for twins.

Me, who, thanks to daycare wearing the babies out, is consistently getting 5-7 hours of {sometimes broken up} sleep.

Me, who’s learned that time chillin on the couch reading or watching TV can only come after bottles are washed & prepared; cloth diapers are washed, dried & packed for daycare; clothes for babies are set out for the next day.

Me, who’s looking forward to our first weekend away this Saturday. With my parents’ help, I’ll have a night of fun & friends, showering & celebrating B & Kevin’s upcoming wedding. Shopping for the bridesmaids dress. Chatting & laughing & drinking {just a bit} with college friends.

I’ll be back Sunday afternoon. I imagine I’ll be travel weary but with a happy, refreshed heart. {& with lots of photos from the shower & of the babies hanging out with their grandparents & great-grandfather!}

Categories
Babies Photography

Zach: Four Months

Zachy poo is still our little guy. At his four month appt this week, we learned he’s still not quite on the growth charts for weight for his age. Our pediatrician isn’t concerned since he’s gaining weight well & following his own growth curve. Zach now weighs 11lb 7oz {which is almost triple his birth weight}. He did make the chart for height though! At 23.5 inches, he’s around the 15th percentile. Definitely our lil bean pole.

We’ll continue to fortify his pumped breastmilk bottles for daycare with a teaspoon of preemie formula. He’s taking bottles fairly well for daycare. We feel like his reflux is getting better but daycare has laughingly mentioned him being a lil high maintenance {we think due to him taking breaks & needing to be burped multiple times a feeding}. Our breastfeeding relationship has been awesome lately. He’s doing great there.

Zach loves his wubbanub. So much so that we’ve recently bought back ups. So now he has a tiger & a monkey to suck on. You’ll be pressed to find a photo of him where the wubba isn’t close by.

He goes down great around 8-10p & likes to sleep on his side.  Zach’s yet to completely sleep through the night, but for the most part, I’ve gotten to enjoy he & I’s quiet time nursing around 330a. We’ve gotten it down pat: disposable diaper change, nursing, him sitting up/burping while I pump, then both of us back to sleep for another hour or two or three {my dream!}.

Zach is our tummy time champ. With a boppy under him, he’s holding his head & chest up looking around. He likes the bouncy seat, play mat & the little swings at daycare too. But his teachers say & we know that he likes to be held best. And with his gummy tongue out smile or tiny pouty lip & batting those long eyelashes, we will gladly plop him in our laps or next to us in a boppy. Or his favorite is standing & squatting while we hold him up. The doctor was impressed with this development skill of his.

I recently gave up squeezing him into NB clothes & packed those up for his two sets of to-be twin boy friends. He’s now wearing 0-3 clothes well, Carters skinny 3 month fit great & he’s growing into some 3-6 outfits of which onesies can act like shorts too.

We’ve kept Zach in Huggies Natural diapers at night but he wears cloth diapers during the day. Skinny sized AppleCheeks diapers {review to come soon!} & our two Itti Bitti diapers fit our lil guy so well.

Categories
Babies Photography

Lucy: Four Months

Miss Lucy girl keeps us on our toes. She loves people & doesn’t like being alone or unwatched. Her ‘chatting’ has reached new levels. It’s hilarious, unless it’s 3a like now & she’s ooohhhing & cooing. But she’s so cute & smiley about her chats that you can’t be annoyed.

I think she’s discovered her fingers within the past week or so. All the sudden, she’s staring at them in addition to shoving them in her mouth. She’s also an occasional thumb sucker as well as enjoying her wubba which she likes but can live without.

Lucy has adjusted to daycare swimmingly. Eating for others? No problem. She takes all of her four ounces bottles. Then coming home & switching back to the boob like the eating champ she is. She’s gotten pretty efficient breastfeeding – ten to twenty minutes. She’s started this thing of spitting up. More after the fact than immediately that we plan to ask her pediatrician about Wed {we asked he called her a Happy Spitter & said no worries}.

Speaking of the pediatrician, at the appointment yesterday, she weighed in at 13lb 11oz & was 24.5 inches long. I believe that’s in the 25-50 percentile for her actual age & more like 50-75% for adjusted age! Because of her on-the-chartness, we no longer have to fortify her bottles. Yay Lucy!

Our baby girl will sleep 6-8 hours straight. Earlier this week, she was exhausted from daycare, fell asleep at 7 & decided 330 am was a good time to get up for the day! But typically she’ll fall asleep on the way home from daycare, nap for a bit in her car seat or swing while I unpack from the day, nurse & hang out for a bit before going to sleep between 8-10p & getting up between 5-730a. I’m quite thankful for this sleeper!

She has fun playing on the play mat {although still not a tummy time fan}, will tolerate a bouncy seat & our infant-to-toddler rockers. Daycare says she likes the excaucer but we haven’t put ours at home together yet. She loves the swing, especially if she can glimpse a view of the TV from it. Girl is a fan of football already. Not sure if its the green grass background or just colors in general but it cracks us up.

Lucy wears mostly size three month clothes with the occasional 0-3 & 3-6 mixed in. I’ve been trying to work in NB dresses as tops/tunics with baby jeans or leggings, but she doesn’t like tight necks over her head.

She’s still in size 1 baby dry disposables for overnights. But cloth diapers all day at daycare {post on this to come!} & evenings & weekends home with us. As of this week, we’re officially calling her as outgrown the XS Thirsties covers. The M Bumgenius AIOs {thanks for letting us borrow Poe} fit her pretty well already even though were still squeezing her in the size 0 kissaluvs.

Happy four months {posted six days late}, baby girl! {updating with photo later I promise}