Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas outfits!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Who has all the toys?
As observed from Grandma... who has all the toys?
Monica on the left, Stella on the right.
Monica on the left, Stella on the right.
--
_____________________
Elizabeth Stubblefield Loucks, MSc, MBA
betsyruth@gmail.com
Cell: 401-580-8075
Friday, November 19, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Monica flies
Dawn and Barry- this file is attached as well a posted on our blog so hopefully you can see it. Hope it lends some cheer today.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
four month check up
Stella:
24 inches long (52nd percentile)
12 lbs, 10 oz (27th percentile)
can't remember head circumference, but it's 47th percentile
Monica:
25 inches (73rd percentile)
12 lbs, 11 oz (33 percentile)
same head circumference percentile!
Healthy babies. All else checked out well. They're reaching their milestones, holding heads up when on bellies, babbling in baby goos, eye contact, reaching and grabbing... Vaccines were probably more painful for me than them, but there was quite a bit of crying, poor little things.
24 inches long (52nd percentile)
12 lbs, 10 oz (27th percentile)
can't remember head circumference, but it's 47th percentile
Monica:
25 inches (73rd percentile)
12 lbs, 11 oz (33 percentile)
same head circumference percentile!
Healthy babies. All else checked out well. They're reaching their milestones, holding heads up when on bellies, babbling in baby goos, eye contact, reaching and grabbing... Vaccines were probably more painful for me than them, but there was quite a bit of crying, poor little things.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
new parents' first night out...
So one of the most wonderful baby gifts we were given was from Janice and Jim Ware, who offered to babysit Stella and Monica while we went out to dinner at one of Providence's best restaurants, on their tab! So, this afternoon I snuck out of the house to the local Harley Davidson dealer and bought a sleek black helmet. Why? So that I could double on Eric's scooter! So at 6pm tonight we took off on his little red "Buddy" scooter and followed the river around to Bacaro. It was a perfect evening- cool and calm, the sun was setting and turning the trees red along the dark river. IT was scary at first- but then I got used to holding on to ERic's waist, resting my chin on his shoulder and smelling the cool fall air. We pulled in to Bacaro and I felt like Tom Cruise's girlfriend from Top Gun, stepping off the motorbike with my cowboy boots on, pulling off my helmet and shaking out my hair... ah yes, next stop, Italy!!
We had an incredible meal- mostly tapas, although we did start with an heirloom tomato and corn salad. Amazing. Finished with a raspberry crostada and a capuccino. Then we walked to Water Fire, on of Providence's most wonderful events- where they light huge fires in cairns along the river, and pipe in mid-evil sounding monk music. Gorgeous and spooky and meditative.
We came home before 9pm though because we missed our babies, and were ready to come back to them and go to sleep.
What an evening. How lucky we are.
We had an incredible meal- mostly tapas, although we did start with an heirloom tomato and corn salad. Amazing. Finished with a raspberry crostada and a capuccino. Then we walked to Water Fire, on of Providence's most wonderful events- where they light huge fires in cairns along the river, and pipe in mid-evil sounding monk music. Gorgeous and spooky and meditative.
We came home before 9pm though because we missed our babies, and were ready to come back to them and go to sleep.
What an evening. How lucky we are.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Dimply buns
Jen Ciplet to make us!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
what's this? a quiet evening?
well, look-a-here. Eric and I are sitting quietly in the livingroom. No one is crying, no one needs a diaper change, no one needs to nurse. Just now, anyway.
A lovely bit of peace.
But we have loved the mayhem too...really!
The girls are 3 months old now and are really changing quickly. They discovered their hands this week; Stella tries to get them both in her mouth at once, and Monica stares at her loosely closed fist, pondering her previous lifetime.
They both smile all the time now- Stella proudly shows all her gums and Monica squinches her nose up to add effect. It works wonders on sleep-deprived parents.
Today I finally did something I've been looking forward to for months... I took the girls and the dog out for a stroll. Yes, it was raining, but...as they say, there is no such thing as poor weather, just poor preparation. So with the rain cover on the double stroller and my raincoat and cap, Kasha and I set out with Stella and Monica tucked in little blanket cocoons, looking out at the world as if they'd never seen it before. Well, I guess they haven't!
Towards the end of the walk my flipflops started to bother my feet, so I took them off. I suppose I was quite a site as I walked barefoot through the neighborhood with my 85lb dog and my little twins in their bright red stroller. But then again, maybe people thought "gee, that mother of twins got out of the house and all she forgot were here shoes"! Kudos to me.
A lovely bit of peace.
But we have loved the mayhem too...really!
The girls are 3 months old now and are really changing quickly. They discovered their hands this week; Stella tries to get them both in her mouth at once, and Monica stares at her loosely closed fist, pondering her previous lifetime.
They both smile all the time now- Stella proudly shows all her gums and Monica squinches her nose up to add effect. It works wonders on sleep-deprived parents.
Today I finally did something I've been looking forward to for months... I took the girls and the dog out for a stroll. Yes, it was raining, but...as they say, there is no such thing as poor weather, just poor preparation. So with the rain cover on the double stroller and my raincoat and cap, Kasha and I set out with Stella and Monica tucked in little blanket cocoons, looking out at the world as if they'd never seen it before. Well, I guess they haven't!
Towards the end of the walk my flipflops started to bother my feet, so I took them off. I suppose I was quite a site as I walked barefoot through the neighborhood with my 85lb dog and my little twins in their bright red stroller. But then again, maybe people thought "gee, that mother of twins got out of the house and all she forgot were here shoes"! Kudos to me.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Almost five years
providing such a beautiful location for our wedding!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Aunt Karen's duds
shown on the boppy from Karen too.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
More Disco
frisbee team, which I coached last year.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
wondering
still wondering... who gave us the twin nursing pillow and nursing stool? I use them all the time but don't know who to thank...!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
adventures in breastfeeding in Rhode Island
So Rhode Island is amazing.
In less than a year, maybe due to its small size or its quirkiness, Rhode Island has so far been very forth-coming in providing community for me and Eric. And this latest story demonstrates that.
I have been having a lot of trouble breastfeeding the girls. Stella does pretty well, but Monica and I really weren't able to get it right. Exasperated one night at 4am, I wrote down all the things that I was struggling with, and sent it to some friends who have experience breast-feeding. I got some wonderful responses just overnight- some from women who were probably up breast-feeding then too, and a lovely long chapter from my brother's wife that should probably be published somewhere. Maybe in my book on twins, if I write it. ;) It was incredible to get so much support and encouragement from my friends. And I should note that not all of them were geographically limited to Rhode Island, but I was astounded at how supportive and responsive my new RI friends were and are.
The most wonderful thing, though, was that Katie forwarded the message to the RI Birth Network, so word got out that this new mother of twins was still struggling. One of Rhode Island's best lactation consultants, Kathy Moren of "Healthy Babies Happy Moms", a lactation consulting company, emailed me to ask if she could come and help me out... for free. It is clear to me that this community of women- the doulas and mothering "experts" in this network- are truly passionate about what they do, and cannot tolerate a breastfeeding woman in pain! So this community sent Kathy to me, and this morning she spent two hours with me and Monica and Stella and answered each one of the questions I sent in my email. She watched me nurse them both, helped me figure out how to solve the issues, and come up with a plan to get both girls nursing. I already had two pain-free sessions with Monica today, and will be moving towards exclusively breastfeeding her too (Stella has been EBF for about 10 days now). So a combination of using a nipple shield, bottle and pumping will get Monica to have a breast-milk only diet very soon, and to be breast-fed not long after that. What a HUGE relief. I felt better than I've felt in *weeks*.
And to top it off, my marvelous mother in law stayed up with the girls until 1am this morning, so I had THREE HOURS of uninterrupted sleep, which was ... well, for those of you who are parents, you know that at this stage, getting 3 hours of un-interrupted sleep is a reward like no other.
So in the first week of being a mother, I thought a lot about how lonely I would likely feel when Eric went back to work and my parents weren't with us 24/7. I dreamt of some other time when communities were closer, when new moms were taught how to nurse by more experienced moms, when perhaps we'd all sit around together and nurse, kids of different ages running around and playing, when one family would make a big pot of food for the rest of the community to eat- when those kinds of living responsibilities and burdens would be shared. I was sad about this- bemoaning modern society and how we separate the nuclear family from larger families, blood-related or not.
But then here I am now, and I feel SO connected to the other young mothers in this city and beyond. People have been bringing us food, stopping by to chat, getting us groceries, checking in to make sure we're ok. So it turns out that community does exist, and we're lucky enough to have stumbled upon it.
In less than a year, maybe due to its small size or its quirkiness, Rhode Island has so far been very forth-coming in providing community for me and Eric. And this latest story demonstrates that.
I have been having a lot of trouble breastfeeding the girls. Stella does pretty well, but Monica and I really weren't able to get it right. Exasperated one night at 4am, I wrote down all the things that I was struggling with, and sent it to some friends who have experience breast-feeding. I got some wonderful responses just overnight- some from women who were probably up breast-feeding then too, and a lovely long chapter from my brother's wife that should probably be published somewhere. Maybe in my book on twins, if I write it. ;) It was incredible to get so much support and encouragement from my friends. And I should note that not all of them were geographically limited to Rhode Island, but I was astounded at how supportive and responsive my new RI friends were and are.
The most wonderful thing, though, was that Katie forwarded the message to the RI Birth Network, so word got out that this new mother of twins was still struggling. One of Rhode Island's best lactation consultants, Kathy Moren of "Healthy Babies Happy Moms", a lactation consulting company, emailed me to ask if she could come and help me out... for free. It is clear to me that this community of women- the doulas and mothering "experts" in this network- are truly passionate about what they do, and cannot tolerate a breastfeeding woman in pain! So this community sent Kathy to me, and this morning she spent two hours with me and Monica and Stella and answered each one of the questions I sent in my email. She watched me nurse them both, helped me figure out how to solve the issues, and come up with a plan to get both girls nursing. I already had two pain-free sessions with Monica today, and will be moving towards exclusively breastfeeding her too (Stella has been EBF for about 10 days now). So a combination of using a nipple shield, bottle and pumping will get Monica to have a breast-milk only diet very soon, and to be breast-fed not long after that. What a HUGE relief. I felt better than I've felt in *weeks*.
And to top it off, my marvelous mother in law stayed up with the girls until 1am this morning, so I had THREE HOURS of uninterrupted sleep, which was ... well, for those of you who are parents, you know that at this stage, getting 3 hours of un-interrupted sleep is a reward like no other.
So in the first week of being a mother, I thought a lot about how lonely I would likely feel when Eric went back to work and my parents weren't with us 24/7. I dreamt of some other time when communities were closer, when new moms were taught how to nurse by more experienced moms, when perhaps we'd all sit around together and nurse, kids of different ages running around and playing, when one family would make a big pot of food for the rest of the community to eat- when those kinds of living responsibilities and burdens would be shared. I was sad about this- bemoaning modern society and how we separate the nuclear family from larger families, blood-related or not.
But then here I am now, and I feel SO connected to the other young mothers in this city and beyond. People have been bringing us food, stopping by to chat, getting us groceries, checking in to make sure we're ok. So it turns out that community does exist, and we're lucky enough to have stumbled upon it.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
soul arrival- and it takes a village
When I was about 18 weeks pregnant, I was walking across a parking-lot between my doctor's office and my own office, when suddenly I heard two little girls giggling in my head. Like a sound track or something. And I wondered if that was the moment that Stella and Monica's souls arrived in their little bodies- when they committed to their presence on earth. Sounds looney I know, but hey, its how I felt.
So today, (in the wee hours of the morning, I'll admit), I was nursing Stella, and suddenly she looked me right in the eye. It was eye contact. And she smiled. It was really like looking a *person* in the eye. For the past 4.5 weeks they haven't really seemed to *see* us- I mean they take us in the way a pet would, but there was this moment of WOW there is a PERSON in there. There's a little girl with a soul looking out at me. I wonder who she will be, what she will be like.
Monica and Stella are so different. I don't think of them as being "twins" so much as being just two babies that happen to be the same age. They look different, act differently, even smell different (I think its because Stella has deeper fat rolls around her neck and she gets milk caught in there... a stinky cheese baby!! Poor thing. Parents don't have time to bathe her...). Also I am breastfeeding Stella so I spend more time with her. Monica is far from neglected- Eric and my parents have been spending a ton of time with her. But hopefully soon I'll be able to breastfeed here too and will feel closer. (The delay is that she is a little clamper and pretty much put one of the feeding vessels out of commission- but it is finally recovering).
They are growing so fast... quickly approaching 8 pounds each. They both still have the Morrow Reflex- which is a reflex they exhibit when they feel they are falling- limbs come out in a curve and they close on to anything they can reach. Its pretty adorable, although it means they feel like they're falling, which can't be good. :) I have to admit its kind of funny, and really very cute. I'll probably miss it when they out grow it.
We get through the nights OK but not great- the current arrangement has Eric sleeping 8pm-2am, and I sleep 2am-8pm. We both hope for naps later in the day, but that doesn't always happen. At night I feel like I'm on a camping trip- I have supplies for us on the bed side and various sleeping options for the girls, including an auto-rocker which Stella loves, and a co-sleeper fence so that I can co-sleep one of them. I love that. A crib at the end of the bed has two Moses Baskets in it, where I can safely put them when I think deeper sleep is possible. And I have pillows of all shapes and sizes all over the place to help me nurse and bottle feed, which hopefully doesn't happen at the same time but occasionally does- so I have to prop Monica up and fashion a bottle support while I wiggle with Stella to get comfortable nursing. They make such cute little gurgling sounds while they sleep, which actually makes sleep hard for me (thus I have time to write this!). Eric rotates into this scene at 2am, poor guy.
We're starting to feel like we might have a clue about what we are doing, although every day we recognize the steepness of this learning curve. The girls teach us everything we need to know. Well mostly. The rest we learn from their wise grandparents, Dr. Sears, and lots of other books. Also I'm part of a yahoogroups list serve that is incredibly helpful- its for doing attachment parenting with multiples. You should hear what these women have managed to accomplish- a powerful and creative group.
There is this connection to other parents of twins that is wonderful- a friend of a friend who is the mother of twins wrote to me and said "us mothers of twins stick together!" She has been super helpful too- advising on strollers, providing a referral for a night nurse (BRILLIANT- we can't wait to get a full night's sleep!!)... etc.
And we also found an au pair for the summer... her name is Kate and she is *exactly* what I had in mind (without really knowing it). She starts Monday 6 hours a day...and I think she'll teach us a lot.
And... we've had a steady stream of wonderful friends and neighbors bringing us food, doing random errands (like emergence delivery of fans on a 90 degree evening). It TRULY takes a village!!
So we're sorting it out. Its all possible because Eric is really acting like a second Mother- he does everything but produce milk, and he's also starting to go back to work some. I don't know how he does it- I just know I couldn't do this without him. I'm so proud of our partnership- it is really being tested and we're really doing well. Lucky little girls to have Eric as a father!!!
OK I can hear the clock ticking so I'd better get ready for the feeding frenzy which I'm sure is about to start.
Love to you all!
-Betsy
So today, (in the wee hours of the morning, I'll admit), I was nursing Stella, and suddenly she looked me right in the eye. It was eye contact. And she smiled. It was really like looking a *person* in the eye. For the past 4.5 weeks they haven't really seemed to *see* us- I mean they take us in the way a pet would, but there was this moment of WOW there is a PERSON in there. There's a little girl with a soul looking out at me. I wonder who she will be, what she will be like.
Monica and Stella are so different. I don't think of them as being "twins" so much as being just two babies that happen to be the same age. They look different, act differently, even smell different (I think its because Stella has deeper fat rolls around her neck and she gets milk caught in there... a stinky cheese baby!! Poor thing. Parents don't have time to bathe her...). Also I am breastfeeding Stella so I spend more time with her. Monica is far from neglected- Eric and my parents have been spending a ton of time with her. But hopefully soon I'll be able to breastfeed here too and will feel closer. (The delay is that she is a little clamper and pretty much put one of the feeding vessels out of commission- but it is finally recovering).
They are growing so fast... quickly approaching 8 pounds each. They both still have the Morrow Reflex- which is a reflex they exhibit when they feel they are falling- limbs come out in a curve and they close on to anything they can reach. Its pretty adorable, although it means they feel like they're falling, which can't be good. :) I have to admit its kind of funny, and really very cute. I'll probably miss it when they out grow it.
We get through the nights OK but not great- the current arrangement has Eric sleeping 8pm-2am, and I sleep 2am-8pm. We both hope for naps later in the day, but that doesn't always happen. At night I feel like I'm on a camping trip- I have supplies for us on the bed side and various sleeping options for the girls, including an auto-rocker which Stella loves, and a co-sleeper fence so that I can co-sleep one of them. I love that. A crib at the end of the bed has two Moses Baskets in it, where I can safely put them when I think deeper sleep is possible. And I have pillows of all shapes and sizes all over the place to help me nurse and bottle feed, which hopefully doesn't happen at the same time but occasionally does- so I have to prop Monica up and fashion a bottle support while I wiggle with Stella to get comfortable nursing. They make such cute little gurgling sounds while they sleep, which actually makes sleep hard for me (thus I have time to write this!). Eric rotates into this scene at 2am, poor guy.
We're starting to feel like we might have a clue about what we are doing, although every day we recognize the steepness of this learning curve. The girls teach us everything we need to know. Well mostly. The rest we learn from their wise grandparents, Dr. Sears, and lots of other books. Also I'm part of a yahoogroups list serve that is incredibly helpful- its for doing attachment parenting with multiples. You should hear what these women have managed to accomplish- a powerful and creative group.
There is this connection to other parents of twins that is wonderful- a friend of a friend who is the mother of twins wrote to me and said "us mothers of twins stick together!" She has been super helpful too- advising on strollers, providing a referral for a night nurse (BRILLIANT- we can't wait to get a full night's sleep!!)... etc.
And we also found an au pair for the summer... her name is Kate and she is *exactly* what I had in mind (without really knowing it). She starts Monday 6 hours a day...and I think she'll teach us a lot.
And... we've had a steady stream of wonderful friends and neighbors bringing us food, doing random errands (like emergence delivery of fans on a 90 degree evening). It TRULY takes a village!!
So we're sorting it out. Its all possible because Eric is really acting like a second Mother- he does everything but produce milk, and he's also starting to go back to work some. I don't know how he does it- I just know I couldn't do this without him. I'm so proud of our partnership- it is really being tested and we're really doing well. Lucky little girls to have Eric as a father!!!
OK I can hear the clock ticking so I'd better get ready for the feeding frenzy which I'm sure is about to start.
Love to you all!
-Betsy
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Those long summer days
porch. At their doctor's appointment today they weighed in at 7 lb 13
oz and 7 lb 14 oz, which is great weight gain.
e
3 am and both are fed
But must remain upright to prevent spitting up... So a short one
Finger update here...
Finger update here...
Having twins is CZrAZINESS!!! Somany questions. So few answers. Too
many answers are just "you will get through it". Like, you get
through ...well I can't think of the right anaolgy. Thus isn't like
anything else I've done...!
Ok times up, but wanted tob shout out because i know lots of
supporters are out there reading the blog...thank you for your
support! Now will someone figure out how to nurse, pump and bottle
feed and settle 2 girls all night and still somehow get sleep?
Ha ha!
Betsy
Sent from my mobile device.
(401) 580-8075
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Eric and Stella
We are on a steep learning curve. The upshot....SO much learning every
day!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Explosion reported...
carries a loaded weapon. I had to change her shorts and mine.
e
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