PRE Irene...

Irene didn't cause us much woes, but nevertheless... I had prep'ed like a mad woman. I had volunteered through work for Katrina and was in Katrina-land for almost 1.5 months (soon after), and I KNOW how bad it can get. I had even packed bags, loaded up a tote with food and what not. But, fortunately... we didn't have to use any of it. We still have light, water and gas... and I am hoping we don't loose any while the authorities are fixing it for others.

So that was that! A relief. Of course Thursday and Friday before the hurricane were spent in stores trying to bulk up on bare essentials under the hope that I could chill on Saturday! I was so wrong!! Saturday was very eventful!

I am thinking that the cold/cough that was going around our house - I picked up on it. Normally, no big deal! But, I had a super stiff and sore back of my neck, shoulders and ears. I thought I sprained my neck while running around, but I realized that it hurt when I swallowed anything (even my own saliva). So, I ran to the doctor first thing in the morning on Saturday - because I wasn't sure what the heck was going on and didn't want to risk it through any crazy weather. Since, most people had panicked like me - it took for ever at the doctors office. I am fine now with the antibiotics the doctor gave me. When I had decided to go to the doctor, I also figured that our non-kiddo car died on us. Perfect! We got the battery changed on Saturday, but that wasn't the culprit and now it is sitting in the shop again. Anyways, that was still okay!

Then late in the afternoon, kids were doing their own silly stuff and all of a sudden RM started crying while holding her left hand (at the wrist) and sometimes keeping that hand limp!! She just wouldn't stop! Finally in 1.5 hours we decided that we had to run to the urgent care to figure out what the heck was happening before Irene hit us. Off I went to the doctor. It was a dislocated shoulder!!!

Around a week ago, we went for a walk while holding their hands. And they both tried to escape by trying to let go of my grip. I didn't let them go and RM decided to just plop down on the road (yes, we were walking on the side of a road close to our house (with in our community) - no side walk here - I thought the wise thing to do was to not let them escape on the road). We came home and RM started crying while holding her left wrist (just as I described above). But, she was sooo very sleepy, that she slept off, and then nothing for a week. Absolutely nothing. No signs of pain, no limpness, perfect use of her left hand - as if nothing had happened. It appears to me that something had actually happened that day, and it somehow went away and then she was playing around pre-Irene and her shoulder popped out again!

I have had dislocated shoulders thrice when I was younger - so I am very careful (never lift kids by their arms or swing them either). It looks like my daughter takes after me!

She is fine now and we are giving her Ibuprofen as per the doctors recommendation. I have never been pro-leash... but after this episode, I think may be I should get one for worst case situations - airport, fair (i.e.: super crowded unfamiliar places).

This probably sounds like a bitchy post and I know millions are in a worse off condition right now, but I just had to vent a little!

17 Months!

The duo turns 17 months today! One month shy of 1.5 yrs - unbelievable!

-RM has all 16 teeth, RT is popping 4 to make her total count of 16.

-Our little people can identify A to Z. As in not each letter, but they identify it when they see it anywhere (tv, toys, songs). RM's favorite is "E" and RT's is "G". They will point out any letter and keep saying E/G.

-For them cow goes - Mooo, goat goes - Maah, elephant goes - huuu (with trunk in the air), puppy goes - wooowooo, tiger and lion go - khaaw (with a deep sound). We saw 4 deers very up close on one of the trails by our house. The kids were enchanted by them. RT calls Deer as "Dea".

-RT tries to repeat quite a few things after us. RM is catching up. He is more vocal than he was last month. I feel like RT is usually a couple of weeks ahead of RM (walking, climbing, speech). The way they refer to certain items keep changing... like diaper went from dia-dia to dibar to bar.

-RT is obsessed with "Wheels on the Bus go round and round". She will make me sing it or play the song at the drop of a hat! They both can pretty much act out the whole song. Thanks to it, they can also identify a bus, viper, wheels (on toys, cars, pictures).

-RM can properly jump with his both feet in the air at the same time. He will say "Pop" (from Pop goes the weasel) when he jumps! RT pretends with her hand in the air and sometimes one foot in the air.

-RT can properly spin balls and disks/rings. He throws a ball (to a great distance) in a very well coordinated way.

-They both can identify: head, hair, eyes, nose, teeth, ears, tummy, belly button, hands, feet (and almost chin) on themselves, other people and other objects (baby doll, puppy).

-It's amazing how much they can co-relate and identify random things. Like the Veg Straws at Costco or a bicycle in a store (after seen older kids ride it around our place).

-We did a couple of 1 nap days successfully this week. Once RT was over her cold, she could manage staying up through an early lunch, followed by a 1-2 hour nap. I am hoping that will become a routine slowly.

-RT just went through a phase of non-eating (rather bad eating) for almost 5 weeks. After the diarrhea, we were hit by cold/cough and teething! We have had a long couple of weeks. I am just hoping things will settle in a little. It also means that we didn't try milk in a sippy cup!

-For now, RT seems to be more dominating. She will grab whatever she wants from RM, where as RM will not try to pull anything away from RT. He will many a times start crying and run over to me. A very tricky situation to handle. I don't want to teach RM that it is okay to run back to RT and grab things from her, but at the same time, I don't want him to learn that it is okay to be at the receiving end. How do you handle such situations?

We are renting a house in the mountains with some friends for the long weekend. I am a little concerned about the sleep situation. But it will be a good practice to see how things will go when we go on Vacation in October (more on that later).

We go for RM's eye check up (as recommended by the Neuro specialist as a check for NF) on Friday, September 02, 2011. I hope the appointment goes well.

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Everyone stay safe with Irene headed to the northeast. I hope it is not going to create a big mess around the coast.

CD 777

Yes, that's approximately how long it has been since I saw AF last - around 777 days (2 years, 1 month and 17 days... not counting the bleeding (lochia) after c-section in March 2010 and bleeding/blood clot/ER visit at around 8w pregnant... and oh yes, I stopped breastfeeding in January 2011).

I just finished my first cycle on BCP last week and AF visited right away. I felt so freakin' sick. I was nauseous (never had that before), crampy and had a head ache! LOL - it felt like puberty - only almost 2 decades later. Not fun to have the monthly AF - I definitely did not miss the outwardly physical aspect of it, but I am hoping that regulates my hormones a little!

Naps - 11 to 5

Well, sort of!

As I had mentioned before, RM is pretty much on one nap. He used to go in with his sister between 1030 and 1130 depending upon how sleepy they "looked" and then they both would be out in 1.5 to 2 hours. Of which RM used to chatter away atleast 30 min. And then both went in again at around 4'ish... RT took her 2nd nap and RM used to be out in 30 minutes if he hadn't napped by then. 99% of the time RM used to be perfectly alright with one early nap - no fussiness before bed... which is not the case with RT. She can be supper fussy even after 2 naps if their bedtime is delayed (which normally it is not) or is over tired.

Anyways, so RM decided he is done with 2 naps (or so I think... unless its teething (he has already popped 16 teeth!!) or something else). For the last two days, he went in with his sister and did not sleep in the morning. The first day he was in for 1.5 hours, more than half of which he was playing and the remaining fussing! He came out when his sister woke up. Yesterday, I gave up and took him out after 1 hour. And then he has been sleeping at around 0100-0200 pm for 1.5 to 2 hours. After which he is done with his nap for the day. That is followed by his sister's second nap. So technically we have been napping between 1100 am'ish to 0500 pm'ish for the last two days!

I know RT can do 1 nap, but as I said, she can be super fussy with even 2 naps.... so she can, but she is not ready to completely transition! Aah... so now I need to figure out how I am going to handle this. I am going to experiment with not letting RT sleep in the morning and then doing an early lunch and then putting them both in for their naps. Now here is hoping that they sleep for at least 2 hours, which will help RT not take her 2nd nap and still be fine!

Any twin mommy tips will be greatly appreciated!