Still Hating That Formula

Saturday Ed had to go into work for a half day so the twins and I were on our own again.  It wasn't too bad, since mornings they usually sleep and are calm, it's the evening that they get the fussies.  Well this Saturday we were still battling the remnants of that awful formula for nighttime feedings.  I finally read the label on it and apparently this stuff is suppose to expand in their tummy's so they feel more full and sleep longer.  Whatever it does it doesn't agree with Alex.  I had him all dressed for the day and that poor kid threw up chunks at least 6 times in the span of about an hour and a half.  What could I do other than just wait for it to all get out of his system.  By the second outfit change I vowed that Alex would never have one more drop of that formula given to him, EVER!  My solution for the constant outfit changes was to get a shirt on him and immediately put a bib on him to save the shirt.  It's so much easier to change out a bib than a onsie or a shirt.

In the meantime though, I was in the midst of changing Alex, got a onsie over his head and he puked again.  So I pulled it back over his head and threw that one in the wash with the other 20 million he'd gone through that morning.  Of course now is when Calista decides to wake up and is screaming bloody murder.  So I put Alex in his crib with just his diaper on him and went to get Calista.  I got her all changed and dressed, put her in her crib (which she wasn't very happy about), and went back to get Alex from his crib and put some clothes on him.  Then I discovered yet another puddle of chunky puke on his crib sheets... looks like I'm changing bedding today as well now.  I got Alex dressed and put him upstairs on a blanket in the living room and thankfully he fell asleep and Calista was a calm baby in her crib by now. 

Things were now under control, just in time for their daddy to come home.  But it's so much easier when there are two of us because Ed was able to help me get the other crib changed out while I started up the laundry and we both worked on getting the nursery in order again.

By afternoon both of them were asleep on the floor so I took this chance to get out for a little while.  I needed to go and get some party supplies for my Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary party we're having here.  This ended up being a trip from one end of Loveland to the other.  The first place I went to was out of business, the second turned out to be someones home.  By this time Ed was calling me asking when I was going to come home, mind you the twins weren't awake or fussing for him, he just didn't want to be the only one there when they did wake up and started fussing.  So I did a quick stop at Target and at least got the paper plates and napkins along with a couple of large jugs to mix formula in, picked up dinner and headed home.

Saturday night went pretty smoothly once they had all that icky formula out of their systems and Sunday morning found them both in bed with us.  It doesn't seem to matter what side of the bed I'm on, the whole family migrates to me.  Ed kept pulling Calista closer to him because she was hitting her brother with her flailing arms in her sleep... but she just kept heading South.

We got them up and fed, Ed and I had our breakfast and the cubs slept in the living room on the floor.  We were under a bit of a time crunch since Ed wanted to be home in time to watch the Masters and I had to get to a party supply store in Fort Collins.  Plus they both still needed baths and to be fed.  Alex woke up first and we got him squared away and just waited for Calista to wake.  I think we made it out the door by 11:30, not too bad for babies that didn't wake up until 10 a.m.

So I got my party supply store shopping done, hit the grocery store and grabbed some lunch and made it home by 2.  The evening went really well for us, I couldn't believe how calm they both were.  Or maybe they were always this calm and I just never appreciated it as much after seeing how fussy they were on that formula.  But they were so calm that I put Calista in her crib at 9:30 and stayed up to watch Brothers and Sisters and even picked up my beading!  I stayed up until 11, which I paid for dearly at 2 a.m. when they woke up.  But those few hours alone beading at night did my mental health a world of good, so it was a good trade off.

The worst part of motherhood is changing the sheets on a crib mattress!  I think they make the sheets 3 sizes too small.  I know they have to fit snug to prevent SIDS, but some of those are ridiculous!

The best part of motherhood is Sunday morning in bed with the whole family all snuggled up together.

If It Ain't The Kids, It's The Cats!

Thursday when Ed and I went to the store one of the items we needed to pick up was formula.  In fact it's rare we go to the store and don't pick up formula.  On this occasion I happened to spot a different can that stated it was for Night Time Feedings.  Well sign me up!!  We bought a small can of it to try and it's been a disaster ever since.  Alex has had the roughest time with this stuff and Calista has been fussy ever since.  It took us forever to get the kids to go down.  The middle of the night feeding was just as bad with Alex crying out like someone was stabbing him in the gut.  So product review on that... Don't Do It!

But before the formula nightmare we decided to try going out to eat again with the kids.  This time we asked Mom and Dad to join us at where, you guessed it, Chili's.  Chili's seems to be the only place that comes to mind when I think of a place easy to take the little ones to.  They were all dressed up and ready for their evening on the town and were relatively good, that is until the food came.  Alex was the first to start his fussing, so Ed got the waiter to bring us a nice hot container of water to warm up his bottle in while I took him to the bathroom to change his diaper.  The bathroom at Chili's was like ice and Alex was none too keen on that and pitched quite a fit in the bathroom.  Once he was back in the warmth though he calmed down and Ed fed him.  Right about that time Calista started her fussing, so I repeated this with her.  She had the same reaction to the cold bathroom and let out some screams.

Grandpa with a well behaved Alex, before our dinner came.

We got back to the table and Mom and Dad ate their food while Calista and Alex ate their food and Ed and I stared at our delicious hamburgers just sitting there waiting for us to take a bite.  Calista decided that she really didn't want to eat after all so Mom and I took turns rocking her in her car seat while we ate.  Alex calmed right down and just sat in his car seat while Ed and Dad took turns talking to him.

We had two more missions to complete before we headed home.  Go to Target to get more diapers and teething pills for Calista and then off to Carters to buy some new pajama's for Calista.  Target went well, Calista fell asleep half way through the store and Alex was quiet.  At Carters they were both really good too, until we got towards the end.  Calista had had enough of this shopping thing, so I wrapped up my shopping and we high taled it out of there.

I then took a ride home on the Screaming Express.  That little girl cried all the way home!  In fact at one point I called Ed who was driving behind me with no screaming children in his car so he could share my driving experience with me.  He didn't care to and the phone call was a short one.

The plan was once we got in the door I'd take Calista downstairs and nurse her while he got Alex set up with a bottle and we'd just unload the car later.  The plan went off smoothly and they were both down by 9:30.  We forgot about the car and just went to bed ourselves.  Good thing because they were back up again at 1 a.m. still very fussy and screaming from that awful formula we gave them.  It took us over an hour to get them settled and back into bed.  At around 2:15 I think it was we were trying to get back to sleep ourselves when the cats started in.  Lucy and Leo were scratching on boxes, doors, cabinets, anything they could find.  I think our kitties have had enough of not being the center of our universe anymore.  Mental note: Must find some time to pet a cat or two each day.

The worst part of motherhood is having a crying hungry child in your car and no way to take care of him or her until you get to your destination.  Not only is it deafening, it also makes you feel like a bad mother for having a hungry child in the first place.

The best part of motherhood is getting to dress up your children.  I'm just going to hate it when they decide what they want to wear and I can't dress up my little dolls anymore.