Bananas and Carrots and Chicken, OH MY!

For approximately two weeks the girls have been hanging out in what Guy Fieri likes to call Flavour Town. After successfully mastering rice cereal we have tried with various success to introduce chicken, carrots and bananas to the girls' repertoire! Here is how our attempts have panned out.

FOOD                ABIGAIL                MOLLY

rice cereal              good                       good   

chicken                   bad                         bad       

carrots                   so-so                      bad     

bananas                  good                       so-so     

We are currently on a steady diet of bottle for breakfast, rice cereal for early lunch, new food trial for late lunch, bottle for late dinner. Food next up for trial in Flavour Town include peas, chicken with broth (since ours didn't pass the taste test, we're hoping another kind will!) and avocados!

 Molly contemplates bananas!

 Abigail shares her views on bananas!

Who Are You? Who Who, Who Who!

"How can you tell them apart?" A popular question we get asked about the Turkettes. Early on, the girls were easily distinguished by the full pound and full head of hair Abigail had over Molly. In recent weeks however, Molly's hair has grown, she is now the same length as her sister and only one ounce lighter. At their six month check up the girls weighed in just over 15 pounds! Although identical, the girls have their own smile, personality, food preferences and favourite songs.

Perhaps this is the teacher in me coming out, but while the girls will always have a strong bond as twins, I want them to be able to be an individual as well. This becomes a challenge when no one knows who you are!! "Who am I holding?" "Which one have I go?" "Hi, Baby!" "Hi Molly and Abigail!" Are just a few of the generic phrases the girls get when people can't tell them apart. I've done a few tricks to help others determine who is who such as always putting Molly in pink and putting Abigail in purple or whatever colour the other matching outfit came in! I try to put them in the stroller or their bouncy seats on the same side or always give Abigail the purple soother. We received two different gifts with the girls' names on them (an awesome picture of their name in cartoon characters and a Baptismal present) that we hung above their cribs so everyone knows who sleeps where. But at the end of the day, these little strategies only work in context and aren't helpful on a day to day basis.

We decided to go for a more consistent visual for friends, family and the girls' future teachers! A quick trip to Caryl Baker Visage at the Pen Centre and the girls are looking stunning with their new pierced ears. 

I make it sound so easy don't I! LOL Thanks to our friends Dave and Natalie who gave us the Baptismal present for the girls of their first earrings. We decided to give Molly pink earrings and Abigail purple earrings. The reasons we choose Caryl Baker Visage is because of their great reputation and the fact that they pierce both ears at the same time. One pinch, one cry and then it's over. I'll admit there was a few times that I thought the idea was a little ridiculous. Actually not that long ago when my own earrings were bothering me one day, I recall thinking to myself what a stupid idea getting your ears pierced was. Who actually thought of the idea of stabbing your flesh so you could wear a piece of metal through it would be fashionable. The few perks that made it easier for us to get the girls' ears pierced included the fact they'll never remember it happening and that they will be too young to play with their earrings or pull them out. Alas, here we are and now all three of the girls in our household have different coloured studs.

I'm pretty sure we were more traumatized than Molly and Abigail. Daddy was a trooper as he was the one who had to hold the girls with their arms down while one lady held their head and the other two ladies simultaneously pierced their ears. The girls reacted similar to their needles and then were smiling up a storm oblivious of their new bling!

Now a little daily cleaning with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip for both ears, a turn of the earrings and we're all set for taking care of our piercings! Determining which Turkette you're holding has never been so easy! Check out how cute the girls look!

 Molly looking cute in pink!

Abigail showing off her purple earrings!

Feeding Time Just Got Messy!

The 6 Month milestone was a big one for the Turkettes! Current talents include grabbing their toes, rolling over with ease, manipulating their soother in and out of their mouths and intensely playing in their exersaucers. Awake time has never been so fun!!

After attending an Ontario Early Years Centre session on Infant Feeding, and our 6 month doctor's appointment and vaccination, the girls were ready to begin life beyond just formula! We decided to start with rice cereal that you add formula or breast milk to. My logic was that it would at least taste similar to what they were familiar with and hopefully be an easy transition for them. After reading countless labels at the grocery store, I settle on the PC Organics Brand of Rice Cereal because it had the least amount of ingredients! 

Armoured with bibs and strapped in their new high chairs (thank you Auntie Michelle) the girls were ready to go for their first step into the world of solids! I'm not sure who enjoyed the experience more, us or the girls. It was amazing to see how quickly their learning curve was. Soon we had little mouths opening wide for coloured spoons and making the cutest faces of confusion once the spoon had left their mouth leaving the cereal behind!

Molly and Abigail enjoying their first feeding of rice cereal!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Abigail, Daddy and Molly

Molly and Abigail surprised Daddy with two books, "I Love My Daddy" and "The Night Before Father's Day". Then the best present of all, a Budweiser Red Light!! Daddy was so shocked that we had thought of a great hockey present for Father's Day!

Am I Feeling Sleep Wise?

By now you're likely thinking I'm obsessed with my daughters' sleep habits. While it may appear that way, I'm more obsessed with the health and well-being of the four members of the Turcotte Family. More sleep for Mommy and Daddy means more patience and better decision making, while more sleep for Molly and Abigail means happy babies, no tears and sleeping through the night. That makes sleep worth being obsessed about!! 

While sleeping patterns at night have hit a high for consistency and length, our naps during the day and amount of crying to go to sleep at night have hit a major low. Looking for more advice we contacted Jillian Dowling from Sleepwise, who came recommended from our neighbour. Jillian offers free 15 minute sleep consultations over the phone followed by further consulting if required. I originally emailed Jillian all of my sleep battles and concerns about the girls and then arranged to have a conversation with her. 

While I was rather proud of our approx 7pm-7am sleep schedule, Jillian suggested it was time to drop the 11pm dream feed. I'll admit this feeding was beginning to grow old for me as I often found myself exhausted but staying up in order to do this feedings. Previous attempts a month ago to remove this feeding often resulted in 2am wake up cries from the girls. Jillian assured me that at basically 6 months of age and over 13lbs the girls were ready to sleep through the night without the feeding. And she was right! Shawn and I woke with delight around 7am the next day to our daughters cooing away in their cribs! One comment she made to us really stood out for us; she pointed out that some of our battles getting the girls to sleep could be because at the dream feed, the girls fall back asleep during the feeding and we put them to sleep but for the other bed times we put them in their crib awake or drowsy so we're sending them mixed messages. So far we have dropped the dream feed 4 days in a row and are happy to report the girls are still sleeping through the night and getting the girls to go down for naps has been a bit easier. We're still working on removing the tears from bed time, but we're hoping that comes soon as we continue to stick to our sleep plan. We're definitely getting more sleep, the girls are getting more sleep and for now, that's enough to make me feel sleep wise! Zzzzzzzzzzzz

On the Road Again...(yes we're crazy!)

The Turkettes are on the road again, traveling across Ontario, this time up to Gravenhurst for Daddy's work conference. As we began packing for the trip it has become clear Daddy might be winning the argument for a truck or larger SUV in our future, or I may have over packed, LOL! While Mommy and Daddy each have one bag of clothing and essentials and another bag of books, computers etc, the girls take up the remainder of the CRV with their "essential" items!

What the Girls Packed for Gravenhurst:  
(for future reference for our next road trip!!)

Stroller
Baby Carriers (Baby Bjorn)
Go-Pods
PlayMats
Blankets (for cribs, sheets for cribs, receiving blankets, etc)
Toys (lots of these!! Books, noise makers, teething toys, balls etc)
Diaper Bag
Formula, Jars, Measuring Cup, Scoop, Kettle
Bottles
Sanitation Bags
Face Cloths
Sleep Sheep
Soothers
Video Baby Monitor
Diapers (regular and swim)
Toiletries (baby shampoo/soap, brush, nail clippers, bum cream, moisturizer, colic water, teeth tablets, dropper)

Now for the Clothes:
onesies (6-8)
Sleepers (4-6)
Jogging pants and sweatshirts
red jeans
long sleeve onesies
jumpers
socks
swimsuits
hats
sunglasses

Part of us thinks we're crazy for traveling so much with the girls, but the other part of us is happy to see our girls adjusting to being around our friends and being in different environments! On the positive side, the girls are really good traveling three hours in the car, most of the time is spent sleeping, the rest playing with toys and listening to our musical toys or mommy singing! I'm happy to report that there were no "poo incidents" on this road trip and we arrived in Gravenhurst without a tear shed! That is what we consider a successful road trip!

I'm Pretty Sure the Nurse Laughed At Me!

Yes, this is going to be another post about our sleep training woes and successes! Perseverance has paid off and currently we are winning the sleep battle with our daughters. I'm happy to report that the girls (when finally asleep) stay asleep until will the dream feed around 11pm and then both sleep until 7:30-8am. Hallelujah! I almost feel human again.

Many parents would feel proud of their conquest and revel in their new found sleep gains! While pride is high on my emotional gauge these days, so is determination. The idea of putting my daughters to sleep MINUS the tears from at least one of them is so appealing, I've branched out my support network to include the Parent Talk Line in Niagara. What a fabulous resource, to be able to call with a problem and have a nurse provide feedback and support! The Parent Talk Information Line basically will support parents with any questions related to parenting. Amazing!

Late last week I called and left a message describing my twins sleeping issues and a nurse called me back later that day. She attentively listened as I explained all the books and resources I had read about sleep, outlined the Moms I had networked with, the strategies I had tried, my philosophy of sleep training and finally the successes and challenges I had experienced sleep training the Turkettes. When she could finally get a word it, LOL, she informed me that I was a very well read mother and had made a lot of positive choices for my girls. She also reminded me (at least 3 times) that the girls WERE ONLY 5.5 months and were doing really well so far with their sleep. After few more minutes of chatting I finally said to her "So reading between the lines of our conversation, basically you're trying to tell me that my expectations for my 5.5 month old twins might be a little high?????" LOL She said, "perhaps, haha" But to keep trying all of the great strategies I already had in place and eventually the sleep habits will come.

She made the suggestion of putting Abigail (who often has the more difficult time falling asleep) to bed with a sleep object. We have decided to use the half bear/half small blanket that is easy for her to hold and small in size. Not only is it super sweet to see her clutching onto this little bear blanket while sleeping but it seems to be doing the trick! The nurse also offered to send me a few websites about sleep that may be helpful. When I started to give her my email address... teacher.turcotte@... she burst out laughing! "I could have predicted you were a teacher!" she laughed through her apology! I laughed right along with her! I can't help it if I'm that predictable!

My conversation with this nurse and the resources she sent really helped me feel more confident of the progress the Turkettes have made and that helps ME sleep better at night!