Life Lately

Y'all, I'm afraid I am going to become one of those bloggers. You know the ones: once active blogger turns occasional blogger, a.k.a. she used to blog about a variety of things, but now all I see are an occasional "check-in" post or monthly photos of her kids. I really don't want it to be that way, but it might just have to be for awhile.

Because y'all. Twins are kicking. my. butt.

I'm so tired. I barely know what day it is. My days are a constant cycle of diaper changes, feeding, tummy time, rocking babies to sleep, wash bottles, throw in a load of laundry or run to pee really fast before it all starts over again. Oh, and eat. Don't forget to do that. And I feel like I have reached some sort of higher mama level because I make sure to get a shower in every day. It's not because I have the time; it's because it makes me a better mama...because it makes me SANE.

Please don't misunderstand me. Life is good right now. I am loving being home taking care of my babies, and I am beyond thankful to be a mama. But it is crazy hard. BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO OF THEM. Anyone who thinks that having twins is just double of everything...LOL. Sorry to say, but it's way more than that. It's exponentially more of everything. I am not really sure how that math works out, but it's just how it is.

So blogging is a little on the back burner these days.

It's just a season, so eventually I will go back to regular blogging. But for now, my goal is to get in Eli and Maddie's monthly posts {because I want to be able to look back and remember this time because so much of it is just a blur right now} and my monthly iPhone Rewind post {because it's easy to just dump photos}. 

So this is actually a bonus post past my goal! This is one of those "check-in, I'm still here" posts. I thought I would answer a few of the common questions we get from sweet friends and family who check in on us to make sure we're still alive :)

How are you sleeping? 

Sleep? I have a vague memory of what that is...ha! We are getting some sleep, but it's still very little. Eli and Maddie will sleep their longer stretches at night {praise Jesus!}, but they are still not super long stretches. I would say we might get a 3-4 hour stretch of actual sleep once during the night. Otherwise, it's about a 2-3 hour stretch at a time. And it's definitely not restful. Babies are loud when they sleep...who knew? Oh, and that whole, "sleep when the baby sleeps" adage just doesn't apply the same way with twins. There's always someone awake, so good luck with that.

Are you able to get out of the house?

Sometimes, but it's for short stretches, and we usually don't get out of the car. Until they go longer between feedings, it's just too much of a hassle to leave our home setup. And the times we have been out of the house have been all together {me, Mike and the babies}; I once made it to the post office and Sonic by myself. It took me twice as long to leave the house than we were actually out of the house. And I made it out for a mall walk with Laura last week. But it's going to be awhile before I can conquer outings by myself. 

Are the babies on a schedule?

They are on a loose schedule. Meaning, we don't have a timed schedule {example: waking at 7am every day}. Instead, we have a baby-led schedule. From day 1, we worked to get them on a similar feeding schedule. When one woke up to eat, we would feed the other as well. Even if it meant waking a sleeping baby. I know. Parenting no-no. But there is no way we would be surviving if we had not done this. They usually eat every 2-3 hours, so whatever time that is, and it changes every day. So I can't really give you a "good time" to visit, or tell you when babies might be awake or sleeping. I have no idea, because it changes every day.

Do you have help?

Yes and no. The first few weeks after we came home from the hospital, we had family with us around the clock. It was a HUGE help, because we needed it more than we realized. And even now, we have family and friends who are available to help whenever we need it. I have a lot of people I could call at any time, and I know someone would be able to come same day. But I knew at some point I would have to go it alone, and so I chose to tackle it head on by myself starting in December. There were a lot of reasons for that decision {needing to establish our schedule, my personality wanting to figure out how to do it on my own, wanting to bond with my babies, etc.} Am I crazy? Probably. But I think we're doing ok. And I am eternally grateful that I have the help I need at just a phone call away.

So how do you do it by yourself during the day?

Jesus. That's no joke. The Lord has been gracious to give me the strength and sanity to make it through the day, and on the days when I don't have either, He offers grace. It's really hard, but we're surviving. My type-A personality has been put to the test, and the Lord is challenging me in countless ways. We are finding our "routines" and it's a huge blessing to get to be at home with my babies. Even if it is really hard.