Cranky Babies

The last few days have been a little rough. Claire has always been a bit colicky, but she is usually manageable. The last few days however, she has been crazy at night. Last night she was crying for about 4 hours and screaming at the top of her lungs for roughly 2 hours. I was reading that colic peaks at 2 months (which is exactly how old she is) so maybe we are just at the worst part of it. We attempted to feed her partially broken down formula with no success, so next we will try the totally broken down, hypoallergenic formula to see if that works. It may not, but it is worth trying.
Alice has also been unusually grumpy these last couple of days. Our theory with her is that her casts are getting too tight. Her little thighs are popping out of the top of them, so you really can't blame her. She absolutely hates sitting up, because it pinches her. Luckily she is getting new casts tomorrow, so hopefully she will feel better soon.
When they are unhappy, both of them just want to be held. Up until this point I haven't held them both at the same time because their necks were not strong enough and I couldn't give them the support they needed. This week I have felt more comfortable attempting this with great success. Holding them both at the same time is so much better that leaving one to scream until the other is consoled. Juggling babies leaves everyone frustrated.

Thanksgiving

Yes, we did have Thanksgiving at our house. I know it sounds crazy, but we actually found if quite nice. My parents and Janell came up as did Marc's parents, sister and nephew. Dinner was great. I was really only in charge of the stuffing. The rest of the meal was brought by everyone else. We decided to have Thanksgiving at our house a long time ago and it turned out for the best. Because of the girls, it is much easier for people to come to us, then for us to go anywhere. After dinner we played the Wii and a new game of my Mom's, the Farming Game. It was really fun. The Farming Game is like Monopoly meets Settlers without the hostile takeover. It was a fun night.

Moving Up (and out)

It took two months, but yesterday we put away the newborn clothes and are now into 0-3 months!

Casting

As many already know, Alice was born with clubbed feet. Today she had her first casting. The process of fixing clubbed feet is a 3 year process. Over the course of about 6 weeks she will have a series of casts that will stretch and move her feet into a normal position. After the 6 weeks, she will have her Achilles tendon released and then have another cast for 3 weeks. When all this is finished she will get braces for her feet that she will wear full time for 2-3 months and then just at night until she is about 3 years old. When all is said and done you would never know she had clubbed feet. We also found out that it is better if both feet are clubbed because the foot will be smaller as well as the leg. So if both are clubbed then she will still be symmetrical instead of having one leg smaller then the other. It is a good thing that she is such a mellow baby. The doctor was warning us that most babies scream the whole time they are being cast and are really fussy for a few days after. Alice was so calm throughout the casting. She just laid of the table and looked and Marc and I. The only time she got upset was when they turned her so she couldn't see us, but even that just lasted for a few seconds. The doctor and nurse kept commenting on how well behaved she was and how she was one of their favorite patients. It is nice to have a child that everyone loves. It is a good thing that all of these medical problems have happened to Alice and not Claire. Claire would not be able to handle anything that Alice has gone through. She would just cry all day. She cries a lot anyway, but that has more to do with her sensitive tummy.


One nice thing about the casts is that they aren't too noticeable when she has an outfit on.

Baby Torture

My family has been putting together a calender for my brother Caleb who is on a mission in Korea. So I have been taking lots of funny pictures of the girls and thought I would share some of the funniest ones.

Outing

Yesterday the girls and I went on our first non-essential outing. I had a dentist appointment in Provo so my mom met me there to watch the babies while I had my teeth cleaned. (No cavities, thank you very much). Then I went to Utah Valley Hospital to say "Hi" to some friends of mine and begin exploring employment opportunities. After that, we went back to my mom's house and hung out for the rest of the day. My friend Su dropped by with her little boy and it was fun to catch up with her. My mom thought it was hilarious how much junk I need to take with me to be gone for the entire day. I needed the car seats, stroller, boucey seats, food, diapers, extra clothes, and blankets amoung other things. My Trooper was loaded to the hilt with stuff just to be gone for about 12 hours. When I went for my first ultrasound the Perinatologist asked me if we had a big car. I now understand why. My mom, Janell and I then headed up to North Salt Lake for my cousin Mackenzie's baby shower. It was fun to see her, and the girls got lots of attention from all the ladies. It is always fun to have babies at a baby shower. For the most part the girls were well behaved. The only real problem we had was with one of the rear windows in the car. Awhile back the windows in the car stopped working and it cost too much to have them fixed. So my dad rigged them to just be closed all the time. Apparently the window had slipped out of place and could no longer stay up. It was late, we needed to get home and it would be too much trouble for my husband to come and rescue us. Instead, my mom covered the window with a plastic garbage bag she had in the trunk of her car and away we went (after Claire needed a bottle in the parking lot before going anywehere, and there is no messing around when Claire decides to eat). I just drove slowly and went through town instead of the freeway. Luckily it wasn't too cold yet, dispite being after 9:00pm. We made it home in one piece, but I'm not sure we will be making a venture like that and time soon. I was way too tired at the end of the day.

Weighed and Measured

We had another doctor's appointment today. We were very curious to see how big the girls have gotten, mostly Claire. So, Claire weighs 7 lbs 6 oz and is 20 inches long. Alice is 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.25 inches. It is not surprising that Claire has passed Alice, but interesting that they have flip-flopped from their birth stats. They are both very respectable birth weights now and Claire is actually on the charts (7th percentile), Alice is still off the regular charts and only in the 10th percentile for weight and 40th for height when adjusted for her gestational age. I just hope that the treatments in the hospital haven't stunted Alice's growth. I guess we shall see.

I Voted Today

Today we got about 5 inches of snow at our house. The first real snow storm of the season. Apparently it only snowed in the valley, but that is the 'charm' of living in the canyon. Sandy was kind enough to come up and watch the girls while Marc and I went to vote. She then spent that afternoon with me and the girls. It is so wonderful to have family that is willing to help. When I am by myself I can get absolutly nothing done except feed and change the girls. When Sandy is here I can clean my kitchen, pick up the house and do laundry.
On another note, today is the girl's due date. This means that all of their development should be calculated from this day. We have an appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday, so it will be interesting to see how big the girls are. Looking at them, I can't imagine carring them to term. That would have been just aweful. Claire had her hip ultrasound yesterday and that was normal. We had that done because she was breech and there is a family history on Marc's side of congenetal hip defects. Alice had her hips scanned while in the hospital and hers were normal also. I feel so lucky that the girls are as healthy as they are. Dispite Alice's problems, they are remarkable healthy and beautiful.