Muffin's Oven has moved...sort of. We now have our own website. Please update your bookmarks!
www.BartosFamilyCircus.com
The new site is actually directed to the old one so you can still access this site from the "muffinsoven" address but since some settings on the site have changed, I wanted to have the blog reflect the changes in our family. (Mom, don't try to understand what has happened, just save the bookmark) :)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Photo/Video Montage
This is what our house sounded like for the first two months.
Alice loves performing but never cooperates when the camera is on.
Coop and Ben enjoying the activity mat.
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| A friend of mine told me this is how she fed her twins. I tried but it did not work for us. |
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| Alice telling Cooper that he was allowed to use her baby toy. |
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| Aunt Cindy with Alice, Ben, and Coop |
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| Ben and Coop - 6 1/2 weeks |
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| Ben and Coop - 6 1/2 weeks |
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| John and Tom doing a morning feeding. |
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| Alice enjoying the Bridge Street fountain. |
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| Cooper - 8 weeks |
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| Ben - 8 weeks |
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| Alice and her "moogit" (music) |
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| Ben - 9 1/2 weeks |
Post from 5/17/11
I wrote this post almost three weeks ago but forgot to post it… (original date 5/17/11)
I was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled cesarean section delivery on April 7th because my blood pressure was beginning to elevate. At that point, I was 36 weeks (measuring 43 weeks!) The surgery was routine and there were no complications. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever experienced and may blog about it at another time, just to have it documented. The only troublesome aspect of the surgery and initial recovery was a bad reaction I had to the pain meds. They made me ridiculously sick and zombie-like but once I realized what was going on, I get them changed and started to feel better.
Ben and Coop did great right from the start. They were only the slightest bit jaundice but recovered quickly. They had great first baths from Dad and settled into the nursery until I was moved from the OR recovery into my room. Alice waited patiently to meet her brothers and was very excited to finally see them. She was very sweet but was a little rough in the beginning. She wanted to pick them up like her dolls and was a little grabby but she relaxed about them rather quickly. She kept saying “don’t cry, it’s ok” while patting them on the head.
The boys and I came home on Sunday afternoon and began to settle into our routine. The boys were eating every 2-3 hours around the clock and sleeping constantly. For the first few days, Alice was acutely aware of their crying and got a little upset when they started. The first two nights were rough for her. Each time the boys cried, Alice would start crying too. I went in to see if she was ok and she would tell me, “My brothers are crying. They need me.” Awww, so sweet. She had very diva-like behavior for the first week or so – tantrums at dinner, throwing things, hitting us and her classmates, and being defiant in general. She was still good with the boys but was obviously having a hard time sharing me as well as dealing with the change in the house and the disruption to her sleep and play schedule. After about two weeks, she started to lighten up a lot. She tends to ignore the boys and goes about her day which is helpful to us. All in all, she has been very good aside a meltdown here and there; she has been a great little girl and a very helpful big sister.
My Mom was here for the first five weeks, and my sister-in-law, Cindy, is here for two weeks. They have allowed us to get larger chunks of sleep at night by taking the overnight feedings. Of course, this has not worked out quite as planned as the boys often want to eat at the same time. It takes about an hour to feed, change, rock each baby and ready them to go back to sleep or whatever…times two! Then we have about an hour to sleep/shower/grab something to eat/do a load of laundry/etc. before it starts over again. The amount of food they boys have been eating at each feeding is increasing but oddly enough, the length of time between feedings is not….maddening. I have no idea how we are going to do it once the last of our live-in help leaves!
Three weeks into our life as a family of five (and on my birthday), Huntsville was hit with major tornados. We lost power on Wednesday evening, just as Alice was singing Happy Birthday to me over cake. We proved to be exceedingly lucky as the damage was devastating and very close to our home (significant damage only 4-5 miles away from our house). We were without power for 5 days but thankfully, we have a gas hot water heater with a pilot light so we were able to make bottles for the boys, shower, and wash dishes. We made our meals on the grill and used flashlights and candles to get through the nighttime feedings. I am sure, by now, you all have heard about my realization that with no electricity I had no way to use my breast pump….and my adventures in the Lowe’s employee break room. This is definitely one birthday I will never forget!
The boys have been growing like little weeds. Coop has easily doubled his weight in the last six weeks - he is a meatball!! He is a great eater and an even better sleeper. He is an extraordinary vocal little guy - grunting ALL THE TIME. At first, we thought he was especially gassy but it seems as though he just likes to grunt. He sleeps with his arms over his head so he has earned the nickname 'Super Cooper'.
Ben, my little guy, is proving to be a little more needy. He seems to have a bit of reflux so he spits up a lot and needs to be upright for at least 30 minutes after he eats to help curb it. He wants to be held constantly and is very impatient. If he opens his eyes and you are not standing in front of him with a bottle, he screams like he has not eaten in days!
More to come…
I was admitted to the hospital for a scheduled cesarean section delivery on April 7th because my blood pressure was beginning to elevate. At that point, I was 36 weeks (measuring 43 weeks!) The surgery was routine and there were no complications. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever experienced and may blog about it at another time, just to have it documented. The only troublesome aspect of the surgery and initial recovery was a bad reaction I had to the pain meds. They made me ridiculously sick and zombie-like but once I realized what was going on, I get them changed and started to feel better.
Ben and Coop did great right from the start. They were only the slightest bit jaundice but recovered quickly. They had great first baths from Dad and settled into the nursery until I was moved from the OR recovery into my room. Alice waited patiently to meet her brothers and was very excited to finally see them. She was very sweet but was a little rough in the beginning. She wanted to pick them up like her dolls and was a little grabby but she relaxed about them rather quickly. She kept saying “don’t cry, it’s ok” while patting them on the head.
The boys and I came home on Sunday afternoon and began to settle into our routine. The boys were eating every 2-3 hours around the clock and sleeping constantly. For the first few days, Alice was acutely aware of their crying and got a little upset when they started. The first two nights were rough for her. Each time the boys cried, Alice would start crying too. I went in to see if she was ok and she would tell me, “My brothers are crying. They need me.” Awww, so sweet. She had very diva-like behavior for the first week or so – tantrums at dinner, throwing things, hitting us and her classmates, and being defiant in general. She was still good with the boys but was obviously having a hard time sharing me as well as dealing with the change in the house and the disruption to her sleep and play schedule. After about two weeks, she started to lighten up a lot. She tends to ignore the boys and goes about her day which is helpful to us. All in all, she has been very good aside a meltdown here and there; she has been a great little girl and a very helpful big sister.
My Mom was here for the first five weeks, and my sister-in-law, Cindy, is here for two weeks. They have allowed us to get larger chunks of sleep at night by taking the overnight feedings. Of course, this has not worked out quite as planned as the boys often want to eat at the same time. It takes about an hour to feed, change, rock each baby and ready them to go back to sleep or whatever…times two! Then we have about an hour to sleep/shower/grab something to eat/do a load of laundry/etc. before it starts over again. The amount of food they boys have been eating at each feeding is increasing but oddly enough, the length of time between feedings is not….maddening. I have no idea how we are going to do it once the last of our live-in help leaves!
Three weeks into our life as a family of five (and on my birthday), Huntsville was hit with major tornados. We lost power on Wednesday evening, just as Alice was singing Happy Birthday to me over cake. We proved to be exceedingly lucky as the damage was devastating and very close to our home (significant damage only 4-5 miles away from our house). We were without power for 5 days but thankfully, we have a gas hot water heater with a pilot light so we were able to make bottles for the boys, shower, and wash dishes. We made our meals on the grill and used flashlights and candles to get through the nighttime feedings. I am sure, by now, you all have heard about my realization that with no electricity I had no way to use my breast pump….and my adventures in the Lowe’s employee break room. This is definitely one birthday I will never forget!
The boys have been growing like little weeds. Coop has easily doubled his weight in the last six weeks - he is a meatball!! He is a great eater and an even better sleeper. He is an extraordinary vocal little guy - grunting ALL THE TIME. At first, we thought he was especially gassy but it seems as though he just likes to grunt. He sleeps with his arms over his head so he has earned the nickname 'Super Cooper'.
Ben, my little guy, is proving to be a little more needy. He seems to have a bit of reflux so he spits up a lot and needs to be upright for at least 30 minutes after he eats to help curb it. He wants to be held constantly and is very impatient. If he opens his eyes and you are not standing in front of him with a bottle, he screams like he has not eaten in days!
More to come…
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