Answers

Thanks for participating in my Questions post. I really appreciate it. :)

Now for the answers.

Q: When do you go back to school again?
A: August 13th… Friday the 13th! We have 6 days of inservice (teacher training, meetings, planning, etc.) and then the students finally start on the 23rd.

Q: Do you know what classes you are going to be teaching this year?
A: Algebra 2, Statistics, and College Algebra. I’ve taught Algebra 2 and Statistics quite a few times, but only taught College Algebra for the first time this past spring. And I only made it through the first three months before I went on maternity leave, so that class will take a lot of work.

Q: Are your parents all unpacked yet (ha ha :)?
A: (Answered by my mom) Are the parents unpacked? Good one, Janina. Nope, I'm playing on the computer. But I did get my new desk two days ago to help me to start getting more organized. Haven't found my iron yet, but have found lots of other interesting things, like Xmas decorations. Nearly every box has a surprise for me.

Q: As a frequent guest at your house, are there any "stories" dealing with food preparation? Should I start brown bagging it?
A: Thanks, Dad. I seem to be keeping it together in the kitchen… when I do cook. So, no worries there. However, if the brown bag contains ice cream, then bring it over!

Q: Did your washing machine survive the great explosion?
A: YES! Thank goodness. I bought my washer and dryer at a discounted scratch and dent store shortly after I moved into my condo (2003). Glad to see them holding up.

Q: Do you start them out in similar outfits each day, or do you just use what's clean :)
A: Since I do at least one load of laundry every day, usually all but one or two of their outfits are clean. I prefer to dress them in the exact same outfit or coordinating outfits if there isn’t an exact match. I think it looks cute, plus it’s much easier to pick out the same outfit twice. Some days they only match for a couple of hours, but most days they make it to bedtime.

Q: What are some of the differences you are noticing in the boys now that they are a bit older... personality, sleeping, eating, etc?
A: (Ooh; a compare and contrast question. My English teacher friends would approve.)
They seem fairly different to me, but compliment each other so well.
Personality/Sleeping
For the first month of so, Aiden was the feistier one, while we could just put Reid in the Pack N Play and he would babble away or fall asleep. Aiden spent a lot of time crying. Now, parts of their personalities have switched. This past week I’ve been working on figuring out when they need to take a nap so I can try to get them into their cribs when they’re ready to sleep. I’ve noticed that I can just put Aiden into his crib and he almost always nods off on his own right away. As soon as I place Reid in his crib, he starts whimpering and then cries. I give him a chance to “cry it out” for just a little bit of time (5 minutes or so?) and then I go back in and pick him up. (I actually learned that technique from you, Colette! I remember that’s what you did with Lila when we stayed at South Padre.) Most of the time, he falls asleep on my shoulder within a couple of minutes. A lot of my non-twin books suggest using a form of “cry it out” to help babies learn how to comfort themselves. My dilemma is that if I wait too long, Reid will continue to cry while Aiden sleeps. It would be ideal for them to sleep at the same time since I feed them at the same time. Yesterday, Reid did fall asleep in his crib at one naptime without crying or my comforting him, so hopefully that trend will continue. I’m going to keep working on it, but it may be something that Eric and my parents will do a better job of accomplishing once I go back to school. The fact that the boys have been sleeping 9-10 hours at night for about a month now makes the lack of nap coordination not such a big deal to me. That being said, Aiden still needs his comforting time. He seems to be a little fussier in the afternoon, so I’ll hold him while I sit on the floor with Reid. During that time, Reid is usually content to squirm around on the floor. When Aiden is upset, he goes from zero to “car alarm” in seconds. But once he is comforted, he’s back to flashing his huge, dimpled grin. In the morning and after napping, Aiden is all smiles when I go in to get him. Reid’s reaction is mixed. Sometimes I get some cute grins out of him and other times he’s all about conveying how unjust it is that his slumber was disturbed.

Physical Development
It’s been fascinating to see them develop at almost the exact same pace. Their eye focusing developed at the same time. Sleep length changes happened at the same time. Smiling, “talking”, sucking on a fist… check, check, and check. About the only differences have been Reid being taller and heavier.
Reid also has a strong falling reflex which wakes him up in great distress if he’s not snuggled tightly in his wrap. Aiden can have his arms free all night, squeal, and squirm from one end of his crib to the other and he never wakes up.

Eating
Right now they are only doing one bottle per day and end up eating about the same amount. It will be interesting to see if this is true when they start eating from bottles when I’m at school.

(Sniff, sniff. This is when I start feeling sad about going back, because so much of our bonding time has been connected to nursing. I actually like to burp them because that gives me a chance for a little snuggle time. Time to go buy a Powerball ticket or pray that my Etsy sales start averaging more than $0.99 per week.)


(Don't worry. Aiden wasn't being squished. I also touched this photo up a bit. My stretch-marked belly was hanging out a little too much.)