I Can See the Finish Line!

We are two thirds of the way through with the year of three under three! The twins are 8 months old, and my daughter is two-and-a-half. This is the sweet spot. Let me give you a snapshot of life in the McGuire house.

Abilities
The boys can sit up, crawl, and pull up to a standing position. Big Guy can easily transition back and forth between these positions, but Little Guy still needs some help. They love to sit outside in their wagon and just look around or follow me and Husband all over the house.

They also love to pull up on our ottoman. We have a storage ottoman that we use as a toy chest. The tops of the ottoman are cushions on one side and trays on the other (Kind of like this), so we put baby toys on the trays, and the boys enjoy standing there and playing. New abilities and new ways for them to be entertained means everyone is happier.

The only downside to their mobility is that I can no longer load/unload the dishwasher when they are awake. They climb all over that janx.

Miss Two is almost entirely potty trained now. She has accidents maybe twice a week. The most inconvenient ones are in the carseat. I need to get some piddle pads or something. But most of the time she tells us when she needs to use the potty. 

She's also started to dress herself. It's pretty cute. Basically everything is backward. But we should never do for kids what they believe they can do for themselves. So I usually let her dress herself, and I pretend that it is saving us time.

Nursing
We can tandem nurse again! We went through a very sad period of time (~4 to 7 months old) where the boys were too big for the breast friend nursing pillow, and too small to just sit next to me and nurse. I tried a regular boppy pillow, and sometimes they would tandem nurse on that. Usually though, I nursed one while the other cried. It was pitiful. 

But now! At the glorious 8 month mark! The boys can hold themselves up, and we happily tandem nurse on the couch or on the daybed in their nursery at night. It's lovely. I spend much less time nursing. 

Sleeping
Everyone's favorite baby topic. When oh when will they sleep through the night!?!? 

I keep my boys in their crib from 7pm to 6:30 or 7 am. Little Guy usually wakes up twice to nurse. Big Guy usually wakes up once. Some nights it's scattered, and I feel like I'm constantly putting a baby back to sleep. Other nights they wake up at the same time, and we have a pleasant 15 minute nursing session before they go back in the crib. 

I wish I was getting longer chunks of sleep, but I think my boys still need these night time feedings. They are not very good at eating solids, yet.

Solids
I'm not a fan of rice cereal and jar food. As much as possible, I wanted to do baby-led-solids. Essentially, I wanted to give them the same foods we were eating. Sometimes they do really well with this. They can eat green beans and watermelon like little pros. Usually, though, more food ends up on the floor than in their bellies. This is fine when I'm around, because I can just nurse them after meals. 

Husband likes jar food. It's messy and fun and adorable, and it's a sure-fire way to fill their bellies. The boys will take bottles, but they never seem to drink much from a bottle. So when Husband has the kids by himself, he spoon feeds them the mushy stuff. 

The Mom Life
All of the time I'm saving by tandem nursing is now spent cleaning floors and high-chairs. Gotta maintain a safe environment for the little crawlers. Fortunately they enjoy watching me vacuum, and Miss Two likes to swiffer the kitchen floor.

I do find time to exercise. Husband is supportive of this endeavor. He likes a happy wife. It helps that I usually make time to exercise when the kids are sleeping. Jogging during the Saturday morning nap and then coming home to waffles is exactly what I want every weekend to look like. I have another mom friend who goes to the gym in the morning before her husband goes to work. I like the idea of this, but her kids sleep through the night whereas mine do not. Alas. Maybe in 2016 that can be my routine. 

I also find time to write and read and spend time with my lady friends. I even started working part-time (usually only 6 hours per week) as an in-home counselor. All of this is possible because of my supportive husband. He thinks it's only fair, since I watch the kids while he works, and sometimes work sends him out of town. Plus I try not to schedule my things for times when he would rather be watching football. 

I also schedule time for myself and Husband to be alone together. This is essential. If I were out doing my own thing all the time and ignoring him, he would not be happy. So we have a date night just about every other week while my lovely sister watches the kids. 

Life is so beautiful right now. The chaos of the newborn age is a distant memory. There's more chaos in our future, though. I know it. When these boys start walking, my whole life will change. But maybe by then they'll also be sleeping? Pretty please?