Want to have a good cry?

I found this and it made me bawl my eyes out.

Motherhood... It Will Change Your Life
By Dale Hanson Bourke

from Everyday Miracles and Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul

Time is running out for my friend.

We are sitting at lunch when she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking
of "starting a family." What she means is that her biological clock
has begun its countdown and she is considering the prospect of motherhood.

"We're taking a survey," she says, half jokingly. "Do you think I should have
a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say carefully.

"I know," she says. "No more sleeping in on Saturdays, no more spontaneous
vacations..."

But that is not what I mean at all.

I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what
she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical
wounds of childbirth heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional
wound so raw that she will be forever vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking
"What if that had been my child?" That every plane crash, every fire
will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will look
at the mothers and wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child
die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think she should know
that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will immediately reduce
her to the primitive level. That a slightly urgent call of "Mom!" will
cause her to drop her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career,
she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might successfully arrange
for child care, but one day she will be waiting to go into an important business
meeting, and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use
every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure he is all
right.

I want my friend to know that everyday routine decisions will no longer be routine.
That a visit to Mc Donald's and a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's
room rather than the women's room will become a major dilemma. That right there,
in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence
and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that danger may be lurking
in the rest room.

I want her to know that however decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess
herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure
her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but will never feel
the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value
to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her
offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not so much to accomplish
her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My friend's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the ways she thinks.
I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful
to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his son. I think she should
know that she will fall in love with her husband again for reasons she would never
have imagined.

I wish my modern friend could sense the bond she will feel with other women throughout
history who have tried desperately to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your son learn to hit
a baseball. I want to capture for her the laugh of a baby who is touching the
soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real
that it hurts.

My friend's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.

"You'll never regret it," I say finally.

Laughs and Leg Strength - A post of pics

Nowadays, Wake time (which is apparently every 15 mins) is spent giggling and laughing, whether it's at their silly Mummy and Daddy or at each other.

They have also discovered their bouncy Tigger, which they adore as they both love to stand and 1) my arms get tired and 2) I can't hold them both at the same time. I am planning on picking up the rainforest Jumperoo to give variety and so they both have something to bounce in.

And just to show how much they've grown....

I think I'm in love!

I woke up this morning at 5am feeling refreshed.
"Yes," I thought, "they're back to sleeping through"
As any mother would I went in to check on them and everything was fine, so I wonder back to bed and snuggle in with Baker Bob.
I wake again at 7:15 and still not a peep out of them! I get all excited and thought I'll get up and sterilise all the bottles ready for today.
I get out to the kitchen and they're already done!
Something's not adding up
I wake Adam.
"Did you get up last night?"
"Yeah to the boys."
"What time?"
"2:30, feed Manning, settled him, feed Lincoln, settled him, was up for a couple of hours"
"Oh, I didn't wake up to them?"
"No and I thought it better you sleep since you have such a rotten cold."
I think I'm in love!

Heifers

The boys had there MCHN appointment this morning.
Both Manning & Lincoln are weighing 7.020kg!
They have quickly caught up the 3 weeks "prem" and are now big fattys, quite a bit above the average line.
Manning's length is 59.7cm and head circumference is 41cm
Lincoln's length is 58cm and head circumference is 40.9cm so Lincoln has almost completely caught up.
We discussed Manning teething and his bottom front teeth buds are just visable under the gum. We also discussed introducing solids which I'm a bit weary about. She said it's fine to give them tastes of things at this age and start them on solids at 4 months but I'm not too sure.
Baker Bob's all for stewed apple (one of HIS favourite desserts) but I don't think I'm ready. I suppose the question is are the boys ready?

They got quite a few pressies for Easter, which Baker Bob and I will have fun eating for them.

On Easter Saturday we had a BBQ for all the family on my side that hadn't meet the boys could come and meet them, so easter weekend went well except I've come done with a horrid cold and I'm praying the boys don't catch it. No kisses from Mummy for a few days!

Here's a photo from Easter Morning.

The Monster and egg were from the Easter Bunny and the chicks and ears were from Mummy and Daddy. (Their shirts read "Easter Bunny Rocks").

Almost 3 Months

I can not believe how quickly that time has gone!

I knew it would go quickly but not THAT quickly. I feel like I missed out on a lot of them growing up already, even though everyday when Baker Bob gets home from work he is bombarded with about 50 new photos I've taken that day.

Tuesday next week they have their next MCHN appointment for a weigh in and I know they have grown so much. They were both in 00000 when born, now Manning is moving into 00 and Lincoln is in 000.

They can both hold their heads up pretty well. Manning can sit for a little while by himself before toppling over and Lincoln can roll from belly to back. They both "talk" their heads' off, constantly telling me big long tales about their days in that baby talk that's so cute.

They both have big blue eyes that change to grey depending on their moods. Manning's hair is mousy blond and Lincoln's is a brunette but has a golden sheen to it. They love their rainforest animal friends and their Lamaze soft animal pram mates. They love riding in the car and going for walks. Manning absolutely adores metal music. Baker Bob had Avenged Sevenfold DVD playing earlier and he was glued to the TV. If I tried to move him, he'd cry. He sat in his rocker kicking his legs about and throwing his arms in the air until he fell asleep.

They are still on 4 hour feeds. The issue we are having at the moment is that they keep wanting to have their 8 hour night sleep after their 6 o'clock feed instead of their 10 o'clock. So we are arguing about that at the moment and unfortunately they are winning. Manning has completely weaned himself off the breast. He is such a guts, it just doesn't flow fast enough for him. I was able to trick him into thinking it was a bottle for a little while with a nipple shield but he soon clued on and now he just has formula.

Lincoln is still breastfed and topped up with formula but he's heading the same way as Manning. He's started to get frustrated with the breast after a while too so my supply is slowly dropping.
I am a bit upset but my first breastfeeding goal was 6 weeks and I meet that and my second goal was 3 months which I'm going to reach (with Lincoln at least), but I very much doubt I'm going to make my next goal of 6 months.

They are still sleeping in my room of a night but as of this weekend we pick up their second cot so when I put them into separate cots they are moving into their room. I imagine this is going to cause some adjustment issues. They are still being wrapped as well but they are getting so big I'm not sure that's going to last much longer. That is definitely going to cause issues. They know if they are wrapped and have their dummies then it's sleep time and they usually self settle pretty well. They may have a grumble just after I've wrapped them as if in protest because they know they are going to bed but lay them in their cot and their eyelids get heavy almost instantly.
So over all we're travelling pretty well. I just wish they didn't grow up so fast!

Here's a recent pic: