Liva and Laia are 7 months today (and my dad is 62). They are absolutely lovely - though both with a terrible cold.
They interact quite a bit by now. They have invented a game which basically consists in taking whatever the other one has in her hands, be it a toy, a pacifier or whatever. We assume it's a game because they never get upset or start crying while "playing". Another thing they do quite often which is really cute is that Liva makes sounds and Laia laughs at them. Liva can make more sounds than Laia, and Laia seems to find Liva's sounds quite funny.
They both love the cats and try to touch them all the time. The cats are great and often let the girls touch them. They don't do anything when the girls pull at their tails or grab their fur so hard they pull out a handful hair. Poor cats!!
Both girls sit really well, and can almost get back into sitting position after falling over. They can both move around by rolling over, Liva can move forward by moving her body like a snail. They still can't crawl, they get up on all fours and then don't really know where to go from there. Laia crawls backwards and then gets really annoyed at not being able to go where she's trying.
They eat really well with a spoon now, are both eager to eat themselves, especially Liva. We let them do whatever they want when we feed them dinner, which normally results in food everywhere. They eat mashed potatoes and carrots for lunch, blended fruit for snack and porridge for dinner - bottles the rest of the day. They still have dinner around 18:00 and sleep around 19:00. They sleep through the night, wake up around 6:30. It's lovely for Albert and me to have the evenings for us.
They no longer grab things with their whole fist but can use their fingers only, especially Laia can get a hold of the tiniest little thing with just her fingers. They use both hands, and move objects from one hand to another. Laia stretches her arms upwards when she wants to be picked up, I've only seen Liva do that once so far.
We go for a walk every day and the girls love it. We go after their morning nap, if for some reason we don't go they get all cranky and restless. If they are cranky in the morning it's enough to just get the stroller ready, that already calms them down. Sometimes I put them in the stroller long before I'm ready to go, then they sit there and wait for up to 15 minuites - but they're happy! :)
I'm still fat - at least compared to my normal weight... I'm totally addicted to chocolate, and though I try hard I just can't control myself... I'm really sad about not being able to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes, and hate myself for stuffing my face with chocolate all day. The other day I even though about taking up smoking again, after about 6 years of being a non-smoker. Luckily I could at least resist that. I'm still hopeful and do believe that one day I will somehow get back to my regular weight.
Albert and I are doing fine - I think pretty much the same as before the girls were born. Some days we argue and hardly feel like talking to each other, some days we are just too busy to do anything, some days we can't get enough of each other, some days we are both so tired that we get silly and everything and anything just makes us laugh. But most importantly, every day we love the girls more and more, and for that reason we love each other a little bit more as well - even when we're arguing and not talking. We need each other, we need the girls, and the girls need us. I don't think one of us could function without the other three, and that's how it should be in a family.
ALMOST 7 MONTHS - 24 January 2011
Last night, after putting Liva and Laia to sleep, I hopped on a bike and rode to a supermarket to buy pizza. On my way home I got eye contact with a mother walking with her children, and suddenly realized that she of course had no idea that I too, am a mother. And suddenly it made me realize that sometimes I don't feel like I'm a mother... I don't know - am I supposed to feel different? Older, more mature, more responsible? I guess I've become a bit more responsible since I wore a helmet rding my bike... I feel proud of being the mother of Liva and Laia, even when they're not with me. I feel people can somehow see that I have these two absolutely wonderful girls at home.
But riding a city bike with my helmet on at 20:30 on a Sunday night through the streets of Barcelona, with a bag with 2 pizzas, a pack of chocolate cookies and a pack of chocolate, knowing that I'm heading home to an evening on the couch with Albert, in our sweatpants with our blankets and the cats, made me feel like I was 19 years old going to my boyfriend's house, not 36 and a responsible mother. What a wonderful feeling that was! How many twin moms can enjoy an evening on the couch with pizza and chocolate in the arms of their husband, knowing their twins will be asleep until about 6 o'clock the next morning?!?!
But riding a city bike with my helmet on at 20:30 on a Sunday night through the streets of Barcelona, with a bag with 2 pizzas, a pack of chocolate cookies and a pack of chocolate, knowing that I'm heading home to an evening on the couch with Albert, in our sweatpants with our blankets and the cats, made me feel like I was 19 years old going to my boyfriend's house, not 36 and a responsible mother. What a wonderful feeling that was! How many twin moms can enjoy an evening on the couch with pizza and chocolate in the arms of their husband, knowing their twins will be asleep until about 6 o'clock the next morning?!?!
ALMOST 7 MONTHS - 23 January 2011
Combining working life and being a mother and wife is not as tough as I had anticipated - at least not yet... I manage to get about an hour of work done during the day while Live & Laia sleep or play. Thanks to Heather, our babysitter, I can go to meetings and get other things done without feeling bad about it. And since Liva & Laia are so wonderful and sleep from about 19:00 to about 6:30 every day, I can get work done in the evenings, which is great! Yesterday Albert took them both to his mother's house for almost 4 hours, giving me loads of time to work, and every Saturday afternoon my mother-in-law comes and takes care of them. That is worth gold, and is probably a huge reason as to why Albert and I are still doing so good together! :) As soon as she arrives we leave the house and spend the afternoon together. We go into town, look at shops, buy things, have a drink or go out for dinner. We're always gone long enough for the girls to be asleep by the time we get home. And the best part is that we all love the situation - my mother-in-law is thrilled to be with Liva & Laia for a few hours, they love being with their Iaia for a few hours and Albert and I love being able to leave the house and know that our daughters are happy and in good hands!
Last week I took Liva and Laia to the park and for the first time ever pointed out the animals - ducks, geese, dogs, pigeons, etc, as well as people - kids playing football, bicycles, etc. The LOVED it! They sat in their stroller and observed everything. Every once in a while they'd suddenly see each other and start laughing. Today we all four went to the park, first we stopped at a little café where Albert and I had brunch, then we continued on to the park. Liva & Laia were asleep but woke up while we were in the park. We fed them, then looked at all the interesting things before heading into the center of town to stroll around there for a while. We were gone for more than 4 hours, Liva and Laia were happy and enjoying themselves the entire time. We have really been blessed with sweet, easy, happy girls!!
Last week I took Liva and Laia to the park and for the first time ever pointed out the animals - ducks, geese, dogs, pigeons, etc, as well as people - kids playing football, bicycles, etc. The LOVED it! They sat in their stroller and observed everything. Every once in a while they'd suddenly see each other and start laughing. Today we all four went to the park, first we stopped at a little café where Albert and I had brunch, then we continued on to the park. Liva & Laia were asleep but woke up while we were in the park. We fed them, then looked at all the interesting things before heading into the center of town to stroll around there for a while. We were gone for more than 4 hours, Liva and Laia were happy and enjoying themselves the entire time. We have really been blessed with sweet, easy, happy girls!!
ABOUT 6½ MONTHS - 17 January 2011
What a total luxury having a babysitter is!!:) Heather came today for 1½ hours while I was home. I got to organize the house a bit, clean the kitchen and do some laundry without worrying about the girls being OK. I know this might not sound special at all, but when you have a room in your house which has been a mess for months, and has just been getting worse and worse because you can't seem to find time to clean it, and then use the excuse that "it's already so messy anyways" to just drop all your junk there, you just can't imagine what a relief it is to finally be able to organize everything.
It was my mother-in-law's birthday today, she came over for dinner. Unfortunately she finishes work too late to see the girls, but we had a nice evening with her. One of the presents we gave her was a calendar with photos of the girls, she loved it!
Since I've been working all weekend on my translation, which was due this morning, I haven't done any work at all today. And now I'm going to go to bed and read a book - another luxury!! I have 3 books to choose from - another luxury! - I wonder which one it'll be.
It was my mother-in-law's birthday today, she came over for dinner. Unfortunately she finishes work too late to see the girls, but we had a nice evening with her. One of the presents we gave her was a calendar with photos of the girls, she loved it!
Since I've been working all weekend on my translation, which was due this morning, I haven't done any work at all today. And now I'm going to go to bed and read a book - another luxury!! I have 3 books to choose from - another luxury! - I wonder which one it'll be.
ABOUT 6½ MONTHS - 14 January 2011
Do you know those days when you just suddenly realize how lucky you are, and how wonderful life is? Well, I've just had one of those days!
Though I only slept about 4 hours last night because Liva was having stomach cramps, I lay on the couch with her in my arms at 5am, and felt helpless but so lucky to have two such wonderful girls! We both managed to fall asleep, and at 8am Albert came in to wake me up. He had fed Laia and needed to shower and get ready for work. He normally leaves the house at 7:45 to be at work at 8:30, but today he arrived late because he had to help take care of the girls. That made me think how lucky we both are to have such flexible jobs, and how lucky I am to have a husband who takes so much part in the girls and our little family.
Liva clearly felt much better, and the three of us spent the morning playing. After their nap and my shower we went for a short walk in sunny, warm Barcelona. We live very close to the Sagrada Familia but I don't go there often because of all the tourists. However, I decided to go today. The building never ceases to impress me, and I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to live in this incredible city and enjoy the nice weather in mid-January.
Shortly after we came home, Heather came. Her first day yesterday had gone well. I left to go to a meeting a the school where I am employed, and it felt really good to be back and to see everybody. But it felt even better that it was only for an hour and then I got to go back to my girls. How many people work in a place that let you work from home for 9 months after having had babies??
I spent some time with the girls before Albert came home from work at 15:00, then I went to teach his brother English. At first it was quite awkward because we know each other so well, and because we've never spoken English together. But after a while we got into the teacher-student mode, and 1½ hours flew by.
When I came home I was greeted by three hugely smiling faces - my loving, beautiful family! Albert and I bathed the girls and got them all ready for bed together, then I cooked a nice dinner while he cleaned the apartment a bit.
After dinner I had to work on my translation, I have a huge project due on Sunday and am only half way through. Albert came in every 30 minutes or so to ask if I was OK and if I needed something. Though it's annoying having to work in the evenings, at least I'm doing something I enjoy doing, and it pays well.
I have love, jobs that I like, lovely colleagues and the world's best family - also including my parents, brother, his family, in-laws etc. And we're all healthy and happy! What more could anyone ask for?? And what have I done to deserve it all?
Though I only slept about 4 hours last night because Liva was having stomach cramps, I lay on the couch with her in my arms at 5am, and felt helpless but so lucky to have two such wonderful girls! We both managed to fall asleep, and at 8am Albert came in to wake me up. He had fed Laia and needed to shower and get ready for work. He normally leaves the house at 7:45 to be at work at 8:30, but today he arrived late because he had to help take care of the girls. That made me think how lucky we both are to have such flexible jobs, and how lucky I am to have a husband who takes so much part in the girls and our little family.
Liva clearly felt much better, and the three of us spent the morning playing. After their nap and my shower we went for a short walk in sunny, warm Barcelona. We live very close to the Sagrada Familia but I don't go there often because of all the tourists. However, I decided to go today. The building never ceases to impress me, and I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to live in this incredible city and enjoy the nice weather in mid-January.
Shortly after we came home, Heather came. Her first day yesterday had gone well. I left to go to a meeting a the school where I am employed, and it felt really good to be back and to see everybody. But it felt even better that it was only for an hour and then I got to go back to my girls. How many people work in a place that let you work from home for 9 months after having had babies??
I spent some time with the girls before Albert came home from work at 15:00, then I went to teach his brother English. At first it was quite awkward because we know each other so well, and because we've never spoken English together. But after a while we got into the teacher-student mode, and 1½ hours flew by.
When I came home I was greeted by three hugely smiling faces - my loving, beautiful family! Albert and I bathed the girls and got them all ready for bed together, then I cooked a nice dinner while he cleaned the apartment a bit.
After dinner I had to work on my translation, I have a huge project due on Sunday and am only half way through. Albert came in every 30 minutes or so to ask if I was OK and if I needed something. Though it's annoying having to work in the evenings, at least I'm doing something I enjoy doing, and it pays well.
I have love, jobs that I like, lovely colleagues and the world's best family - also including my parents, brother, his family, in-laws etc. And we're all healthy and happy! What more could anyone ask for?? And what have I done to deserve it all?
 |
| Laia & Liva |
ABOUT 6½ MONTHS - 11 January 2011
Today is my birthday - 36! My first birthday as a mommy :).
The day has been wonderful so far, white chokolate croissants and coffee for breakfast and then off to a friends house to see little twin girls. These girls are now about 3 months old but were about 2 months premature, so can do more or less what babies of 1 month can do. They were so small and so sweet, but once again I'm so happy we're past that baby stage. Liva and Laia sit really well and can play on their own for longer and longer. They interact more and more, giggle loads when they look at each other.
Liva has started moving around, she can twist and turn her body to roll in any direction she wants. She can put herself on the playmat to play, or roll to the other side of the room to grab something she finds interesting.
Both girls love the cats and want to touch them all the time. But they pull at them, and the cats go running. Liva tries to move herself to where they are, but as soon as she's close the cats move.
Yesterday we hired a babysitter, she'll come approximately 6 hours/week, starting this Thursday. She'll have a set timetable and be here when I have class or meetings at the school where I still oficially work. If I don't have meetings she'll still come, that'll give me a chance to get out a bit and do other things. Or organize the house, or whatever. I'm sooooo looking forward to having a bit of help!
We interviewed quite a few people, and were not really happy with any of them. We had said we wanted someone who speaks Catalan or Danish, since we don't want to confuse the girls with too many languages. An American girl also replied to our add, but at first I told her no. However, after not really liking any of the people we interviewed, and the one we kind of liked couldn't do Thursday evening, which was one of the most important times that we need someone since I teach 2 different classes, we decided to contact the American girl. She's great! She was so comfortable with the girls, and they both loved her straight away. Lately Liva has been quite difficult with strangers, and cries when she's with somebody she doesn't know. But not with Heather, she just smiled at her. That kind of did it for me!
I also think I've managed to finally convince Albert that we get a cleaning lady. So far he's said he'd rather do it himself than pay someone to come and do it. And to be fair, he has been really good, most weekends he's cleaned the whole apartment. But now it's really difficult to find 2 hours to clean, and since he doesn't see the girls much during the week he wants to be with them at the weekend, not clean.
Oh yes, back to it being my birthday... Well, on Tuesdays I teach, so when Albert came home I went to my class. When I came back my mother-in-law was here with some presents, and the sushi take-away Albert had ordered came. So all in all a lovely day! :)
The day has been wonderful so far, white chokolate croissants and coffee for breakfast and then off to a friends house to see little twin girls. These girls are now about 3 months old but were about 2 months premature, so can do more or less what babies of 1 month can do. They were so small and so sweet, but once again I'm so happy we're past that baby stage. Liva and Laia sit really well and can play on their own for longer and longer. They interact more and more, giggle loads when they look at each other.
Liva has started moving around, she can twist and turn her body to roll in any direction she wants. She can put herself on the playmat to play, or roll to the other side of the room to grab something she finds interesting.
Both girls love the cats and want to touch them all the time. But they pull at them, and the cats go running. Liva tries to move herself to where they are, but as soon as she's close the cats move.
Yesterday we hired a babysitter, she'll come approximately 6 hours/week, starting this Thursday. She'll have a set timetable and be here when I have class or meetings at the school where I still oficially work. If I don't have meetings she'll still come, that'll give me a chance to get out a bit and do other things. Or organize the house, or whatever. I'm sooooo looking forward to having a bit of help!
We interviewed quite a few people, and were not really happy with any of them. We had said we wanted someone who speaks Catalan or Danish, since we don't want to confuse the girls with too many languages. An American girl also replied to our add, but at first I told her no. However, after not really liking any of the people we interviewed, and the one we kind of liked couldn't do Thursday evening, which was one of the most important times that we need someone since I teach 2 different classes, we decided to contact the American girl. She's great! She was so comfortable with the girls, and they both loved her straight away. Lately Liva has been quite difficult with strangers, and cries when she's with somebody she doesn't know. But not with Heather, she just smiled at her. That kind of did it for me!
I also think I've managed to finally convince Albert that we get a cleaning lady. So far he's said he'd rather do it himself than pay someone to come and do it. And to be fair, he has been really good, most weekends he's cleaned the whole apartment. But now it's really difficult to find 2 hours to clean, and since he doesn't see the girls much during the week he wants to be with them at the weekend, not clean.
Oh yes, back to it being my birthday... Well, on Tuesdays I teach, so when Albert came home I went to my class. When I came back my mother-in-law was here with some presents, and the sushi take-away Albert had ordered came. So all in all a lovely day! :)
6 MONTHS + 1 WEEK - 6 Jan. 2011
Happy Three Kings to all of you who celebrate it today!!
What a weird day!!!! After all the tension there's been between Albert and I for the past month, all the emotions just took over this morning after him and I had given each other presents, so on top of not sleeping a lot last night and all the stress just being too much, I suddenly started crying this morning. But after a shower I felt much better.
We got to my mother-in-law's around 10:00, and as always my brother-in-law and his family were late - today about 30 minutes. It gave us some quiet time with the girls' grandparents which was nice. There were loads of presents, way too many considering the amount of people we are. My sister-in-law got mad about it and started telling my mother-in-law off. Then my father-in-law joined in, and next thing I know, everybody is arguing. My father-in-law said he would not put up with such behavior, and left... Poor man is 73 years old and lives over an hour away. The rest of us tried to have a nice day, though with tension between my brother-in-law and his wife. I felt soo bad that I forgot all my anger towards Albert for a while..... At one point my brother-in-law made a comment which pissed off his wife, so she took their 1 month old baby girl and left. After 30 minutes or so, she came back. We sat down to have brunch, but by now everybody was in a pretty bad mood. As soon as we were done eating, my brother-in-law and his family left. My 4-year old nephew wanted to stay with his grandmother, and I really don't blame him! Albert and I stayed as well, the girls napped and ate, and in the afternoon we went for a walk around Barcelona. It was nice!
All evening I've been steaming vegetables and making puré for the next few days. I've read it can be frozen, so I have tomorrow's puré in the fridge and the freezer full of tupperware boxes. I'm looking forward to seeing how the girls will react. I'm hoping that a heavier lunch will make them sleep a bit more in the afternoon, and then stay awake a bit longer - eat later and not wake up at 5:00 for their bottle.
This morning I managed to get them to sleep until 6:30 before they ate, but I was up twice before 6:30, and the girls didn't go back to sleep after eating. The ideal would be that they sleep about 1 hour longer!
We ordered high chairs for them over the internet while we were in Denmark. But since we weren't home we had to have them delivered in January, and since the company we ordered them from are shut the first week of January we don't have them yet. I hope they'll come next week, I really miss having high chairs after having had some for the month we were in Denmark.
What a weird day!!!! After all the tension there's been between Albert and I for the past month, all the emotions just took over this morning after him and I had given each other presents, so on top of not sleeping a lot last night and all the stress just being too much, I suddenly started crying this morning. But after a shower I felt much better.
We got to my mother-in-law's around 10:00, and as always my brother-in-law and his family were late - today about 30 minutes. It gave us some quiet time with the girls' grandparents which was nice. There were loads of presents, way too many considering the amount of people we are. My sister-in-law got mad about it and started telling my mother-in-law off. Then my father-in-law joined in, and next thing I know, everybody is arguing. My father-in-law said he would not put up with such behavior, and left... Poor man is 73 years old and lives over an hour away. The rest of us tried to have a nice day, though with tension between my brother-in-law and his wife. I felt soo bad that I forgot all my anger towards Albert for a while..... At one point my brother-in-law made a comment which pissed off his wife, so she took their 1 month old baby girl and left. After 30 minutes or so, she came back. We sat down to have brunch, but by now everybody was in a pretty bad mood. As soon as we were done eating, my brother-in-law and his family left. My 4-year old nephew wanted to stay with his grandmother, and I really don't blame him! Albert and I stayed as well, the girls napped and ate, and in the afternoon we went for a walk around Barcelona. It was nice!
All evening I've been steaming vegetables and making puré for the next few days. I've read it can be frozen, so I have tomorrow's puré in the fridge and the freezer full of tupperware boxes. I'm looking forward to seeing how the girls will react. I'm hoping that a heavier lunch will make them sleep a bit more in the afternoon, and then stay awake a bit longer - eat later and not wake up at 5:00 for their bottle.
This morning I managed to get them to sleep until 6:30 before they ate, but I was up twice before 6:30, and the girls didn't go back to sleep after eating. The ideal would be that they sleep about 1 hour longer!
We ordered high chairs for them over the internet while we were in Denmark. But since we weren't home we had to have them delivered in January, and since the company we ordered them from are shut the first week of January we don't have them yet. I hope they'll come next week, I really miss having high chairs after having had some for the month we were in Denmark.
6 MONTHS + 1 WEEK - 5 Jan. 2011
I took the girls to their 6-month check-up with the pediatrician today. As always, they're doing great - Laia is once again taller (longer) than Liva, she's 69 cm and weighs 7300 gr. Liva is 68 cm and weighs 7600 gr. The doctor said they are quite tall for their age, but we had already assumed so since they wear size 9-12 months clothes. She also said that they are beautiful, that they have a really nice eye-color (it IS really nice, it's like a blue/grey undefined cool color), and that they are quite advanced. Liva can sit really well without support, Laia can shake her head "no" and wave, things 6-months old normally can't do.
We can start with vegetable mash now, that'll be fun!
Tomorrow is Three Kings, a big day here in Catalonia - and the rest of Spain, I guess. Well, probably most catholic countries.... Anyways, we're all going to my mother-in-law's for presents and brunch. It'll be our first 3 Kings with the girls! :)
We can start with vegetable mash now, that'll be fun!
Tomorrow is Three Kings, a big day here in Catalonia - and the rest of Spain, I guess. Well, probably most catholic countries.... Anyways, we're all going to my mother-in-law's for presents and brunch. It'll be our first 3 Kings with the girls! :)
6 MONTHS + ALMOST 1 WEEK - 3 January 2011
Happy new year!! Liva and Laia celebrated their first new year's eve in Denmark - sleeping :). We went to my brother's house, and all just managed to stay awake until midnight. We drove home shortly after midnight, watching all the forework - it was beautiful. The following day my brother drove us to the airport, we flew home without problems, and were picked up in Barcelona by Albert's brother. It's sooooo good to be home! All day yesterday the sun was shining, the heating was off, doors and windows were open. After a month in cold and snow that was much needed!
I had hoped Albert and I would be back to normal being back home, since Denmark had clearly been dreadful for Albert - it was too cold, he was bored, he felt unwanted at my parent's house, my family is weird, we only did things I wanted to do... Now that we're back home and he has seen his family I figured he'd be OK again, but I was wrong - he still complains, now it's his family who's weird and I can't seem to do anything right lately.
Today the normal life starts again, maybe getting back to work, out of the house and away from us will change him back to normal - though it's a sad thought that he has to be away from us to be happy.... We'll see how things go the next few days.
It's amazing to see how much the girls have changed the month we've been gone, I'm only just noticing it now that we're back with their "old" things - they don't feel like playing with the toys they have here, they don't like sitting in their bouncing chairs, they can't fit the majority of their clothes.... They seem happy to be home as well and are very smily today - yesterday was a tough day, but they must have been tired from the trip on Saturday, and it must be strange for them to suddenly be back here after a month in a different place - they had probably gotten all used to living there now, with my parents around most of the time. By now Liva sits for about 1 minute before falling over, and Laia has started putting herself on all fours, eager to crawl. She doesn't know how, yet, and lifts both arms at once or shoots forward with her little bum, but she's getting there.
I start working today as well, and since I work from home I have to be very disciplined. That'll be completely different to anything I've ever done before!
I had hoped Albert and I would be back to normal being back home, since Denmark had clearly been dreadful for Albert - it was too cold, he was bored, he felt unwanted at my parent's house, my family is weird, we only did things I wanted to do... Now that we're back home and he has seen his family I figured he'd be OK again, but I was wrong - he still complains, now it's his family who's weird and I can't seem to do anything right lately.
Today the normal life starts again, maybe getting back to work, out of the house and away from us will change him back to normal - though it's a sad thought that he has to be away from us to be happy.... We'll see how things go the next few days.
It's amazing to see how much the girls have changed the month we've been gone, I'm only just noticing it now that we're back with their "old" things - they don't feel like playing with the toys they have here, they don't like sitting in their bouncing chairs, they can't fit the majority of their clothes.... They seem happy to be home as well and are very smily today - yesterday was a tough day, but they must have been tired from the trip on Saturday, and it must be strange for them to suddenly be back here after a month in a different place - they had probably gotten all used to living there now, with my parents around most of the time. By now Liva sits for about 1 minute before falling over, and Laia has started putting herself on all fours, eager to crawl. She doesn't know how, yet, and lifts both arms at once or shoots forward with her little bum, but she's getting there.
I start working today as well, and since I work from home I have to be very disciplined. That'll be completely different to anything I've ever done before!
6 MONTHS - 29 December 2010
HAPPY ½-YEAR BIRTHDAY LIVA AND LAIA! We're still in Denmark and it's freezing cold and snowing, so we don't do very much, which is why there haven't been a lot of posts this month. My parents have looked after the girls twice while Albert and I went to Copenhagen, Albert went to Copenhagen one day on his own, and to Elsinore as well. Though we're on holiday I still get up with the girls every morning, so far Albert has only gotten up twice so I could sleep in... I had hoped it would be a little different since we're both on holiday, but I guess I was too optimistic.
We had a wonderful christmas eve at my brother's house - lovely food and everybody was happy. We did a Catalan tradition of the caga tio, and the Danish tradition of walking around the tree while singing carols. Liva & Laia were asleep but my brother's kids were up and enjoyed the evening. We all got really nice present, the girls got some great toys, clothes, Hello Kitty bedsheets and some books.
The girls are enjoying being here, they love the fact that there are so many people around them all the time. They both have 2 bottom front teeth and it looks really sweet. Liva is getting really good at sitting, sits on her own without any support for a few seconds before falling over, and can sit longer and longer every day. Soon she'll be sitting all on her own. Laia doesn't want to sit, she wants to stand and walk. She can't stand without help, and doesn't understand the concept of holding on to furniture yet. So we have to support her. If we put her standing on the floor she tries walking, but of course her little muscles and everything is not at all ready for walking yet.
We can only leave them alone if they're playing on the floor or securely fastened in a bouncing chair - Liva fell off the couch some days ago... Luckily there's a rug just below the couch so she didn't hurt herself, but cried because she got a shock, poor girl!
Liva still yells, now only when she's happy. Though it can get really annoying it is also very cute.... They both babble loads, and love looking at each other - it makes them laugh. Sometimes if one is crying and there's nothing we can do to make her happy, it helps putting her close to her sister.
They are long, thin girls and already wear size 9-12 months. They eat mashed fruit every day, and solids for dinner, but still only the powder we mix with their milk. When we're back in Barcelona they have a doctor's appointment for their 6 month check-up, I hope they'll be allowed to eat more varied food then.
They are starting to learn to drink from cups and really enjoy that. Their sleeping and eating pattern hasn't changed much, the have dinner around 18:00, sleep around 19:00, wake up between 5:00 and 6:00 for a bottle. If they wake up close to 5:00 they go back to sleep until 7:00/7:30, if they wake up closer to 6:00 they often don't go back to sleep again. During the day they're awake 2-2½ hours and then sleep for about 45 minutes, in the afternoon they sometimes last longer than 2½ hours.
They are fun, more and more every day, and I still enjoy every minute I spend with them, and of course they are just beautiful! :)
We had a wonderful christmas eve at my brother's house - lovely food and everybody was happy. We did a Catalan tradition of the caga tio, and the Danish tradition of walking around the tree while singing carols. Liva & Laia were asleep but my brother's kids were up and enjoyed the evening. We all got really nice present, the girls got some great toys, clothes, Hello Kitty bedsheets and some books.
The girls are enjoying being here, they love the fact that there are so many people around them all the time. They both have 2 bottom front teeth and it looks really sweet. Liva is getting really good at sitting, sits on her own without any support for a few seconds before falling over, and can sit longer and longer every day. Soon she'll be sitting all on her own. Laia doesn't want to sit, she wants to stand and walk. She can't stand without help, and doesn't understand the concept of holding on to furniture yet. So we have to support her. If we put her standing on the floor she tries walking, but of course her little muscles and everything is not at all ready for walking yet.
We can only leave them alone if they're playing on the floor or securely fastened in a bouncing chair - Liva fell off the couch some days ago... Luckily there's a rug just below the couch so she didn't hurt herself, but cried because she got a shock, poor girl!
Liva still yells, now only when she's happy. Though it can get really annoying it is also very cute.... They both babble loads, and love looking at each other - it makes them laugh. Sometimes if one is crying and there's nothing we can do to make her happy, it helps putting her close to her sister.
They are long, thin girls and already wear size 9-12 months. They eat mashed fruit every day, and solids for dinner, but still only the powder we mix with their milk. When we're back in Barcelona they have a doctor's appointment for their 6 month check-up, I hope they'll be allowed to eat more varied food then.
They are starting to learn to drink from cups and really enjoy that. Their sleeping and eating pattern hasn't changed much, the have dinner around 18:00, sleep around 19:00, wake up between 5:00 and 6:00 for a bottle. If they wake up close to 5:00 they go back to sleep until 7:00/7:30, if they wake up closer to 6:00 they often don't go back to sleep again. During the day they're awake 2-2½ hours and then sleep for about 45 minutes, in the afternoon they sometimes last longer than 2½ hours.
They are fun, more and more every day, and I still enjoy every minute I spend with them, and of course they are just beautiful! :)
5½ MONTHS+ - 19 December 2010
Denmark is wonderful. There really isn't much to tell, we're enjoying the snow and not having to work. Albert & I went to Copenhagen one day without the girls, that was really nice! We went for lunch, bought pants for me (yes, my idea of losing enough to wear my regular pants by now didn't quite work.... I was sooooo sick of wearing my maternity pants, which are all too big, and it's too cold to wear skirts here!), had gløgg and æbleskiver ( you have to be Danish to know what that is, and how wonderful it is!:)), and just walked around enjoying the city. Another day we went to meet up with one of my best friends, her boyfriend and their 3-month old son in Tivoli, that was really nice as well. We've been to Elsinore, with and without the girls, we've seen my brother and his family a few times, today we went to a farm with my brother, my nephew Simon and my parents, and when we came home my sister-in-law and niece also came. We all had dinner together, first time ever with the girls.
Liva and Laia are really happy these days, laughing and giggeling all the time, They both have colds, especially Laia, and it disturbs her sleep. But she's a trooper and does great. They both have two teeth now, their bottom front teeth, and it seems there's another one on the way at the top. Feeding them dinner is pure pleasure lately, they do so well with a spoon, and most of the food actually lands in their mouth instead of on their clothes, high chairs, the floor, etc.
On Friday it's Christmas Eve, I am so looking forward to that. Tomorrow we're going to Elsinore again with the girls, to buy the last few christmas presents. Tuesday my brother and his whole family are coming again, Wednesday and Thursday we don't know yet. Friday we'll all be at my brother's place. It'll be the first year that we celebrate christmas just the four of us with our families, in the past it's always been with aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Right now I'm looking at the snow outside, the fire in the fire place and enjoying my husband, parents and (sleeping) daughters, thinking how wonderful life is! :)
Liva and Laia are really happy these days, laughing and giggeling all the time, They both have colds, especially Laia, and it disturbs her sleep. But she's a trooper and does great. They both have two teeth now, their bottom front teeth, and it seems there's another one on the way at the top. Feeding them dinner is pure pleasure lately, they do so well with a spoon, and most of the food actually lands in their mouth instead of on their clothes, high chairs, the floor, etc.
On Friday it's Christmas Eve, I am so looking forward to that. Tomorrow we're going to Elsinore again with the girls, to buy the last few christmas presents. Tuesday my brother and his whole family are coming again, Wednesday and Thursday we don't know yet. Friday we'll all be at my brother's place. It'll be the first year that we celebrate christmas just the four of us with our families, in the past it's always been with aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Right now I'm looking at the snow outside, the fire in the fire place and enjoying my husband, parents and (sleeping) daughters, thinking how wonderful life is! :)
ALMOST 5½ MONTHS - 11 Dec. 2010
We've been in Denmark for about a week now, and it's wonderful!
The trip here went fine, when we finally got to go on Monday. We were standing in the check-in line at the airport, when the check-in lady from the business counter came and said she recognized us from Saturday, she'd check us in at the business counter since there was nobody there. That was really nice of her! We got on the plane without problems, Liva fell asleep before take-off, Laia was awake. They had put us in different rows since it's not allowed to have 2 babies in the same row - safety regulations... But we were told they'd try to put us together, though the plane was quite full. Laia started getting restless and crying. As mentioned before, Albert doesn't have much patience when they cry and he gets annoyed. The girls notice this, and cry more. So the first 10 minutes in the plane were a bit of a disaster. But the stewards managed to find a way to get the 4 of us sitting together in 1 row with nobody else, Albert could put Laia more comfortably and eventually she calmed down and fell asleep. Around the time she fell asleep, Liva woke up. She was awake the entire flight while Laia slept the whole time. But there were no problems, we were picked up at the airport by my sister-in-law and arrived at my parent's house fine.
These days we've just been enjoying the snow, and being together as a family. My parents took care of the girls one afternoon while Albert and I went to Elsinore, this weekend my parents are in Hamburg and we're enjoying being just the 4 of us here.
It's so sweet seeing how the girls are bonding with Albert, now that he is home all the time and has time to play with them. They love being with him, just now when Liva woke up from her nap I was sitting with her while Albert was next to us making funny faces at her. Liva reached out her arms towards her daddy and smiled big-time when he took her. They have been playing for the past 20 minutes, and Liva loves it.
It's great having all this time together as a family, and for me and Albert to have time for each other.
I have to work a bit every day, I'm doing a translation. But it's OK, I work in the evenings after the girls are in bed, and only a few hours. The rest of the time I spend with my family, probably the best family in the world!
The trip here went fine, when we finally got to go on Monday. We were standing in the check-in line at the airport, when the check-in lady from the business counter came and said she recognized us from Saturday, she'd check us in at the business counter since there was nobody there. That was really nice of her! We got on the plane without problems, Liva fell asleep before take-off, Laia was awake. They had put us in different rows since it's not allowed to have 2 babies in the same row - safety regulations... But we were told they'd try to put us together, though the plane was quite full. Laia started getting restless and crying. As mentioned before, Albert doesn't have much patience when they cry and he gets annoyed. The girls notice this, and cry more. So the first 10 minutes in the plane were a bit of a disaster. But the stewards managed to find a way to get the 4 of us sitting together in 1 row with nobody else, Albert could put Laia more comfortably and eventually she calmed down and fell asleep. Around the time she fell asleep, Liva woke up. She was awake the entire flight while Laia slept the whole time. But there were no problems, we were picked up at the airport by my sister-in-law and arrived at my parent's house fine.
These days we've just been enjoying the snow, and being together as a family. My parents took care of the girls one afternoon while Albert and I went to Elsinore, this weekend my parents are in Hamburg and we're enjoying being just the 4 of us here.
It's so sweet seeing how the girls are bonding with Albert, now that he is home all the time and has time to play with them. They love being with him, just now when Liva woke up from her nap I was sitting with her while Albert was next to us making funny faces at her. Liva reached out her arms towards her daddy and smiled big-time when he took her. They have been playing for the past 20 minutes, and Liva loves it.
It's great having all this time together as a family, and for me and Albert to have time for each other.
I have to work a bit every day, I'm doing a translation. But it's OK, I work in the evenings after the girls are in bed, and only a few hours. The rest of the time I spend with my family, probably the best family in the world!
5 MONTHS+ - 5 Dec. 2010
We're still in Barcelona.... The Spanish aircontrollers decided to go on an illegal, unwarned strike Friday evening, completely stopping all airtraffic over the Spanish Peninsula. We called the phonenumber provided on the news and were told everything would be OK for Saturday, no worries. We were up until past midnight packing and getting the house ready for us being gone for almost 1 month, we got up at 5:30 Saturday morning, my mother-in-law came over at 7 to be with the girls and say goodbye for a month, and at 7:45 we got in the taxi to the airport. I had checked Spanairs website before leaving, everything was fine with our flight. We had seen on the news that there were lines of up to 100m. at the airport, so we wanted to get there early. The Spanair line to Copenhagen consisted of 3 people, so 30 minutes after arriving we were checked in and past the security control - 2.5 hours before the plane was scheduled to leave. No planes were taking off or landing, but people were optimistic and the mood at the airport was fine. We walked around looking at shops (spent way too much money on things we don't need, as you tend to do when you kill time shopping...), had a coffee, fed the girls who then slept on a bench for about 30 minutes. Eventually the information was that our plane would take off at noon, 1 hour delayed. There was no gate yet, so we walked around some more. Around 11 there was a gate number with the information that boarding time was 11:25. Shortly after there were calls for planes taking off, people at the airport started cheering and clapping. But then things stopped.... 2 planes took off, next thing we know is that all planes for the day are cancelled - including ours. We were told to leave the airport immediately, meaning dragging all our carry-on stuff down to the luggage-claim, finding our 2 huge, heavy suitcases and going back into the check-in area. It looked like something from a 3rd world country; people everywhere, luggage all over the place, chaos, people crying, yelling, sleeping, eating... The line to Spanair was horrifically long, so we decided to go home and call them instead of wasting more time at the airport.
We now have a new flight tomorrow, same time. The aircontrollers are back at work, but it's still chaos since all the people whose flights were cancelled Friday and Saturday had to be rescheduled. We are lucky that we're going for a month, 2-3 days more or less wont make a huge difference, though it's a shame. Dec 6 & 8 are holidays here, loads of people were taking a mini-break for 5 days, which has been ruined by the aircontrollers' illegal strike. But we get another weekend here in Barcelona, my mother-in-law gets another day with the girls, and tomorrow we'll start our vacation - again. We're so lucky that the girls are so good, a day like yesterday is no problem with 2 smiling little angels. We're not at all worried about travelling with them tomorrow, even if the plane will be delayed.
We now have a new flight tomorrow, same time. The aircontrollers are back at work, but it's still chaos since all the people whose flights were cancelled Friday and Saturday had to be rescheduled. We are lucky that we're going for a month, 2-3 days more or less wont make a huge difference, though it's a shame. Dec 6 & 8 are holidays here, loads of people were taking a mini-break for 5 days, which has been ruined by the aircontrollers' illegal strike. But we get another weekend here in Barcelona, my mother-in-law gets another day with the girls, and tomorrow we'll start our vacation - again. We're so lucky that the girls are so good, a day like yesterday is no problem with 2 smiling little angels. We're not at all worried about travelling with them tomorrow, even if the plane will be delayed.
 |
| Barcelona airport 4 Dec. 2010 |
5 MONTHS+ - 3 Dec. 2010
Liva has started yelling - it has been going on for about 1 week now, and it's driving me nuts!! At first it was cute - she had just discovered she could make really loud sounds, and thought it was fun. Laia had her yelling-phase about 1 month ago, it lasted less than a week and she only yelled a few times a day. Liva yells and yells and yells.... Regardless of whether she's happy, angry, hungry, tired, playing, bored, etc, etc, etc. She just yells..... I've tried loads to make her stop - putting my hand over her mouth makes her laugh and yell even louder. Squirting water on her - like we do with the cats when we have to teach them they're doing something they shouldn't be doing - makes her laugh and eventually yell. This morning I "slapped" her with one finger on her mouth and cheek. She was surprised and didn't know whether to cry or laugh - in the end she chose to smile... And then yell some more.
Just to set one thing clear - I would NEVER slap my children! I use only one finger, and I don't touch her very hard. Liva is a very nervous girl, and needs quiet and tranquility around her. She can't handle loud noises and she's very easily shocked/surprised. The doctor told us that her unwillingness to sleep but sleeping like a baby (excuse the pun) when she finally sleeps is a typical sign that she's a nervous girl. She needs to feel safe, know what's going on and what will happen next. For this reason having a schedule is very important for her. And for this reason I had hoped that the element of surprise in "slapping" her with one finger would help her understand not to yell. But so far it hasn't worked...
Laia just woke up and is sitting on my lap, smiling like a little angel. Time to stop and go enjoy my girl, wait for Liva to wake up, and feed them their fruit. Then start packing and getting everything ready for tomorrow - we're off to Denmark for 4 full weeks, all 4 of us!! It's the first time the four of us get vacation-time together, and we're soooooo looking forward to it. We'll be staying with my parents which means help with the girls, which means time for Albert and me to relax and spend some time with each other. I'm sure it'll be the best December ever! :)
Just to set one thing clear - I would NEVER slap my children! I use only one finger, and I don't touch her very hard. Liva is a very nervous girl, and needs quiet and tranquility around her. She can't handle loud noises and she's very easily shocked/surprised. The doctor told us that her unwillingness to sleep but sleeping like a baby (excuse the pun) when she finally sleeps is a typical sign that she's a nervous girl. She needs to feel safe, know what's going on and what will happen next. For this reason having a schedule is very important for her. And for this reason I had hoped that the element of surprise in "slapping" her with one finger would help her understand not to yell. But so far it hasn't worked...
Laia just woke up and is sitting on my lap, smiling like a little angel. Time to stop and go enjoy my girl, wait for Liva to wake up, and feed them their fruit. Then start packing and getting everything ready for tomorrow - we're off to Denmark for 4 full weeks, all 4 of us!! It's the first time the four of us get vacation-time together, and we're soooooo looking forward to it. We'll be staying with my parents which means help with the girls, which means time for Albert and me to relax and spend some time with each other. I'm sure it'll be the best December ever! :)
5 MONTHS+ - 1 Dec. 2010
There's blended fruit all over Liva, Laia, me and half the couch.... The pediatrician told us we could give them blended apples, pears and bananas with the juice of an orange when they were 5 months old. Today was the first attempt. I had put it in bottles with the hole made bigger, Laia did great and Liva, well......
When they got the first taste in their mouth, they both made a funny face. Laia started laughing, grabbed for the bottle with her little hands, placed it in her mouth and sucked almost 200 ml og blended fruit, until there was no more left. Liva gave it a second try, made another face and looked at me as if asking what in the world I was giving her. We kept trying for a while, but when Laia was half way through her bottle, Liva had eaten about 10 ml. I tried spoon feeding her, that worked for a while. When it stopped working, I went back to the bottle. Then back to the spoon. By this time Laia was done, watching her sister being fed and saying Mm Mm Mm Mm, which means "more" "more" "more" "more". I gave her a couple of spoonfulls and she was happy, but I didn't want to give her too much since it was the first time and she had already gulped down all hers. Eventually Liva had eaten about 2/3 and was crying - I don't want her associating eating fruit with something bad, so I decided to stop. Laia was still saying Mm Mm Mm, but she'll have to wait until tomorrow.
While I was feeding them we got a new addition to our family - my sister-in-law here in Barcelona had a little baby girl! :) Liva & Laia now have 5 cousins, Albert's brother's 3 children here in Barcelona Martí (4), Guillem (1½) and Berta (a few hours), and my brother's 2 children in Denmark Freja (4) and Simon (2). It'll be loads of fun when they're a bit older and can play together.
When they got the first taste in their mouth, they both made a funny face. Laia started laughing, grabbed for the bottle with her little hands, placed it in her mouth and sucked almost 200 ml og blended fruit, until there was no more left. Liva gave it a second try, made another face and looked at me as if asking what in the world I was giving her. We kept trying for a while, but when Laia was half way through her bottle, Liva had eaten about 10 ml. I tried spoon feeding her, that worked for a while. When it stopped working, I went back to the bottle. Then back to the spoon. By this time Laia was done, watching her sister being fed and saying Mm Mm Mm Mm, which means "more" "more" "more" "more". I gave her a couple of spoonfulls and she was happy, but I didn't want to give her too much since it was the first time and she had already gulped down all hers. Eventually Liva had eaten about 2/3 and was crying - I don't want her associating eating fruit with something bad, so I decided to stop. Laia was still saying Mm Mm Mm, but she'll have to wait until tomorrow.
While I was feeding them we got a new addition to our family - my sister-in-law here in Barcelona had a little baby girl! :) Liva & Laia now have 5 cousins, Albert's brother's 3 children here in Barcelona Martí (4), Guillem (1½) and Berta (a few hours), and my brother's 2 children in Denmark Freja (4) and Simon (2). It'll be loads of fun when they're a bit older and can play together.
5 MONTHS - 29 Nov. 2010
Wow, how time still flies, I can't believe Liva & Laia are already 5 months old! And they are such sweet girls!! They laugh loads, Liva still struggles a bit with laughing out loud and normally ends up squealing with delight instead. They are extremely ticklish so it's easy to make them laugh.
Laia can turn over from her back to her belly, and no longer enjoys laying on her back - she wants to be on her belly all the time now. If it was up to her, she'd be sitting and standing but though she's clearly eager she can't do either without help. Neither can Liva. Liva loves grabbing things - she can pick up fallen things, and takes anything we offer her without problems.
Eating with a spoon is going OK, I've been "cheating" a lot and have been bottle-feeding them instead. It's just too difficult when I have to spoon feed both of them on my own. Yesterday Albert spoon-fed Liva while I cheated and bottle-fed Laia. But when she realized her sister was eating with a spoon, she refused to take the bottle and did great with a spoon. Actually, she normally always does great - Liva was the first to learn, but somehow forgot again. Laia took a bit longer, but now that she's learned it she's really good at eating with a spoon.
They make loads of sounds, even say real words such as "hej", "hola", "ja" and "Laia" (we are aware that they have no idea what they're saying!), and have recently started talking a bit with each other - they will mimick each other's sounds or take turns making sounds. They have also started smiling when they look at each other, but clearly still don't quite know what to do with this other person who's always there.
They also smile when they look at us, it's a wonderful feeling! When they sit on our laps with their backs to us, they turn up their heads and smile at our face. They smile and giggle when we kiss them, and half open their mouth when trying to return the kisses.
Laia loves Tatanka and he loves her! Liva doesn't care much for the cats, Tomahawk doesn't care much for the girls.
I'm also doing good, I've completely recovered by now - except for my body. I'm sooooooooooooooooooo fed up with being "fat". I know I'm not fat as such, but I'm fat compared to how I like to be. I still can't fit my regular pants and only wear skirts or maternity pants, it's sad! One day I managed to squeeze myself into my normal pants, and though I thought I had managed to hide my bulging stomach, Albert looked at me with panick written all over his face and asked whether I was pregnant again. Great, I haven't tried to wear my normal pants since!! And I refuse to buy new pants just because I'm too fat to wear the ones I have.
But when I look at our girls I don't regret for 1 second having gone through all this! They are such sweet girls and both Albert and I love them with all our heart!!
Laia can turn over from her back to her belly, and no longer enjoys laying on her back - she wants to be on her belly all the time now. If it was up to her, she'd be sitting and standing but though she's clearly eager she can't do either without help. Neither can Liva. Liva loves grabbing things - she can pick up fallen things, and takes anything we offer her without problems.
Eating with a spoon is going OK, I've been "cheating" a lot and have been bottle-feeding them instead. It's just too difficult when I have to spoon feed both of them on my own. Yesterday Albert spoon-fed Liva while I cheated and bottle-fed Laia. But when she realized her sister was eating with a spoon, she refused to take the bottle and did great with a spoon. Actually, she normally always does great - Liva was the first to learn, but somehow forgot again. Laia took a bit longer, but now that she's learned it she's really good at eating with a spoon.
They make loads of sounds, even say real words such as "hej", "hola", "ja" and "Laia" (we are aware that they have no idea what they're saying!), and have recently started talking a bit with each other - they will mimick each other's sounds or take turns making sounds. They have also started smiling when they look at each other, but clearly still don't quite know what to do with this other person who's always there.
They also smile when they look at us, it's a wonderful feeling! When they sit on our laps with their backs to us, they turn up their heads and smile at our face. They smile and giggle when we kiss them, and half open their mouth when trying to return the kisses.
Laia loves Tatanka and he loves her! Liva doesn't care much for the cats, Tomahawk doesn't care much for the girls.
I'm also doing good, I've completely recovered by now - except for my body. I'm sooooooooooooooooooo fed up with being "fat". I know I'm not fat as such, but I'm fat compared to how I like to be. I still can't fit my regular pants and only wear skirts or maternity pants, it's sad! One day I managed to squeeze myself into my normal pants, and though I thought I had managed to hide my bulging stomach, Albert looked at me with panick written all over his face and asked whether I was pregnant again. Great, I haven't tried to wear my normal pants since!! And I refuse to buy new pants just because I'm too fat to wear the ones I have.
But when I look at our girls I don't regret for 1 second having gone through all this! They are such sweet girls and both Albert and I love them with all our heart!!
 |
| Liva & Laia |
ALMOST 5 MONTHS - 28 Nov. 2010
A wonderful, wonderful weekend is coming to an end! On Fridays Albert finishes work early, this Friday the four of us went to a mall when he came home. After a while there we went home, fed the girls, bathed them, put them to bed, lit candles in the whole apartment and had a wonderful, quiet evening together.
Saturday morning we moved the girls' bed out of our bedroom into their own room. From now on they sleep in their own room, but for now still in the same bed. They're almost too big to share a bed, but since they'll have to share in December in Denmark we'll wait until January with putting them in seperate beds.
We then went to a Christmas bazaar at the Scandinavian club where we hung up a sign that we are looking for somebody to take care of the girls a few hours a week from January, hopefully we'll get some replies on that. After the bazaar we went to Rabassa, a shop with everything you could wish for for your baby in top quality. Since I know the owners quite well, we get "VIP" service and prices. We bought some things for the girls, went for coffee and a sandwich, and walked around Barcelona. Liva & Laia were in baby carriers on our bellies, dressed in a suit that made them look like polar bears. Everybody looked at them, many people made comments. I'm used to it and manage to ignore most of the looks and comments, but Albert isn't used to it at all and was chocked at the behavior of people - it seriously feels like we are aliens or something straight out of a circus!! But at least all the looks and comments are always positive, and we bring a smile to most people's faces, so it's OK.
Saturday afternoon my mother-in-law came over to take care of Liva & Laia while Albert cleaned the apartment and I cooked a 3-course meal. We had a friend over for dinner, and it was nice though it got quite late. I have no idea what we would have done without my mother-in-law and our dishwasher! :)
Sunday morning Albert went to vote for the Catalan parliament, buy bread, and get me a coffee. Around noon my father-in-law came over for lunch and in the afternoon my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and his children all came over for coffee and cake. My sister-in-law is majorly pregnant and due in 5 days, so she stayed at home. It was a nice afternoon, Liva & Laia were so sweet and happy and charmed everybody. When everybody had left we cleaned up a bit, thanked god for the dishwasher once again, fed the girls, put them to bed and collapsed on the couch. Now I'll go get my massage from Albert, relax in front of the TV with my wonderful husband for a while, and go to bed. I will cuddle Albert as much as I can, and tell him how wonderful he is!! And tomorrow our little girls will be 5 months old....
Saturday morning we moved the girls' bed out of our bedroom into their own room. From now on they sleep in their own room, but for now still in the same bed. They're almost too big to share a bed, but since they'll have to share in December in Denmark we'll wait until January with putting them in seperate beds.
We then went to a Christmas bazaar at the Scandinavian club where we hung up a sign that we are looking for somebody to take care of the girls a few hours a week from January, hopefully we'll get some replies on that. After the bazaar we went to Rabassa, a shop with everything you could wish for for your baby in top quality. Since I know the owners quite well, we get "VIP" service and prices. We bought some things for the girls, went for coffee and a sandwich, and walked around Barcelona. Liva & Laia were in baby carriers on our bellies, dressed in a suit that made them look like polar bears. Everybody looked at them, many people made comments. I'm used to it and manage to ignore most of the looks and comments, but Albert isn't used to it at all and was chocked at the behavior of people - it seriously feels like we are aliens or something straight out of a circus!! But at least all the looks and comments are always positive, and we bring a smile to most people's faces, so it's OK.
Saturday afternoon my mother-in-law came over to take care of Liva & Laia while Albert cleaned the apartment and I cooked a 3-course meal. We had a friend over for dinner, and it was nice though it got quite late. I have no idea what we would have done without my mother-in-law and our dishwasher! :)
Sunday morning Albert went to vote for the Catalan parliament, buy bread, and get me a coffee. Around noon my father-in-law came over for lunch and in the afternoon my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and his children all came over for coffee and cake. My sister-in-law is majorly pregnant and due in 5 days, so she stayed at home. It was a nice afternoon, Liva & Laia were so sweet and happy and charmed everybody. When everybody had left we cleaned up a bit, thanked god for the dishwasher once again, fed the girls, put them to bed and collapsed on the couch. Now I'll go get my massage from Albert, relax in front of the TV with my wonderful husband for a while, and go to bed. I will cuddle Albert as much as I can, and tell him how wonderful he is!! And tomorrow our little girls will be 5 months old....
ALMOST 5 MONTHS - 26 Nov. 2010
Laia rolled over from her back to her tummy today!! They have both been rolling over from tummy to back for a while, but never the other way. I wasn't even expecting it, they were on their playmat and Laia grabbed hold of one of the dangling toys. Next thing I know she had rolled over using the toy to help her. I praised her bigtime, then put her back on her tummy - she tried rolling over without the help of the toy but couldn't do it, so I helped a bit. She clearly enjoyed it, and got really mad when I put her back on her belly. I helped her roll over again, and she stayed on her belly for a really long time. Clever girl! :)
21 WEEKS - 24 Nov. 2010
AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The girls just don't stop crying!! They are whiny all morning coz they're tired, I put them to bed and they start kicking their legs, waving their arms and screaming hysterically. It happened 3 times yesterday, they'd scream hysterically for about 5minutes until they eventually passed out. At the moment they've been screaming for about 15 minutes, when I go into their room it just gets worse. I refuse to take them out of bed again, they are sooooo tired and shouldn't learn that they'll get their way by screaming.
The hardest part is that it's been like this for 3 days now, and I'm alone with them all the time. Albert has more important things to do - Monday he called me from work to let me know he'd be home late, he had to get his hair cut. Great, I get to feed 2 crying girls who are still struggeling with learning how to eat with a spoon. Yesterday I fed them on my own as well, though after 25 minutes I gave up with the spoon and poured the porridge into bottles.
And anyways, Albert doesn't want to have anything to do with the girls when they are like this because "I can't stand babies when they act like that". Well, neither can I but somebody has to deal with them. That someone then turns out to be me... The other day Albert told me that taking care of the girls is my job, that's why I get paid for being at home with them. This is the lowest salary I've ever earned in my life - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with hardly any help - and no holidays!!
I hope this stops soon and that it's only because Laia has a cold and she works up Liva too with her crying. Thank god we're going to Denmark in 10 days and my parents will be there to help. I really don't know what to do anymore. And just to point out how bad it is, both girls have been crying all the time while I've been writing this, and are still crying... I'll go in there now and try to calm them down a bit, but I am so losing my patience with them that I'm not sure I can calm them down........
The hardest part is that it's been like this for 3 days now, and I'm alone with them all the time. Albert has more important things to do - Monday he called me from work to let me know he'd be home late, he had to get his hair cut. Great, I get to feed 2 crying girls who are still struggeling with learning how to eat with a spoon. Yesterday I fed them on my own as well, though after 25 minutes I gave up with the spoon and poured the porridge into bottles.
And anyways, Albert doesn't want to have anything to do with the girls when they are like this because "I can't stand babies when they act like that". Well, neither can I but somebody has to deal with them. That someone then turns out to be me... The other day Albert told me that taking care of the girls is my job, that's why I get paid for being at home with them. This is the lowest salary I've ever earned in my life - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with hardly any help - and no holidays!!
I hope this stops soon and that it's only because Laia has a cold and she works up Liva too with her crying. Thank god we're going to Denmark in 10 days and my parents will be there to help. I really don't know what to do anymore. And just to point out how bad it is, both girls have been crying all the time while I've been writing this, and are still crying... I'll go in there now and try to calm them down a bit, but I am so losing my patience with them that I'm not sure I can calm them down........
21 WEEKS - 23 Nov. 2010
Laia is fine. She had a regular cold and fever, no big deal. Liva woke up while they were at the ER and wouldn't go back to sleep, I guess she couldn't sleep without her sister. They've never slept apart before... Laia had a fever on and off all day yesterday and no fever today. She's been quite whiny, though, and it's starting to get to me. This afternoon Liva started getting whiny too, so I had two crying girls most of the afternoon. It drives me nuts, we're really soooo lucky that they are normally easy, happy, good girls, coz I would NEVER have survived 2 crying girls!
Today I had a meeting with my boss, from January I start working again. We agreed that I'll work 15 hours/week all from home! :) Beside that I've taken on some classes, and I have translation projects coming in. So basically I can be at home with the girls during the day and work in the evenings and at weekends when Albert is home. In September they'll start in day care, then I'll go back to work for real - though not full-time, I don't want my kids in an institution for 8-9 hours/day! This was just the solution we had hoped for, so we are of course happy!
Today I had a meeting with my boss, from January I start working again. We agreed that I'll work 15 hours/week all from home! :) Beside that I've taken on some classes, and I have translation projects coming in. So basically I can be at home with the girls during the day and work in the evenings and at weekends when Albert is home. In September they'll start in day care, then I'll go back to work for real - though not full-time, I don't want my kids in an institution for 8-9 hours/day! This was just the solution we had hoped for, so we are of course happy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)