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Hey everyone, my name is Shannon White. I am a native Phoenician living in wonderful North Carolina with my Australian/American husband. He was fortunate enough to be born in HI to Australian parents then raised in Melbourne, Australia. My main job is taking care of my boy/girl twins, Blake & Madison while my second job is as a photographer. I work whenever I can fit it in around the kids needs. My husband is a police officer and part time photographer for our wedding jobs. Our kids came to us after almost 5 full years of trying (with the help of a super ovulation cycle). Having twins is exactly what I always dreamed and hoped it would be, and I get to see my childhood dream of having a twin brother acted out in my kids. We love to travel anywhere we can as often as our budget will allow. The kids have already been on 12 trips in their 13 months including 5 trips by plane. My family blog is picture heavy with lots of thoughts on random topics and life events. http://whitehouse3.blogspot.com. Trying to only pick two pictures to go along with my post was beyond difficult. I hope you enjoy my post!
Post #1: Why every month with twins gets better and better!
by Shannon
The first month were so excited to meet our kids and spent our time working out how to take care of twins while seeing tiny glimmers of their personalities. My whole philosophy in life was to get to at least 6 hours of sleep in every 24 hour period! I watched a lot of TV the first few months with 2-3 hour feeding sessions (no kidding! my kids were slow eaters) and staying in bed until those miraculous 6 hours were reached. The second and third months each saw a tad more sleep. Blake often found Madison whenever they were near each other yet he could also sleep through her reflux irritated crying.
By the time they got to 3 & 4 months they laughed more, ate a little bit faster, puked a little less, and could hold their heads up all the time. They still traveled well with great naps. They ‘lost’ each other completely yet loved to cuddle with their daddy especially. At around 5 months the process of getting to know Blake and Madison really started. Madison had almost kicked her reflux. My guess is she found so much relief she has been calm and mostly content every since. We affectionately call her our Little Lumpa Love which also may have something to do with her, ehm ehm, large booty. Blake learned to sit during their 6th month while expanding his range of expressions designed specifically to entertain and amaze.
The cold winter arrived during their 7th month. Little Lumpa Love, Madison, finally learned to sit up. They began to interact more with each other including some toy stealing. Madison loved to watch her brother explore all the stuff around them as she sat contentedly in one spot. By their 8th month they looked at least a year old because of their large size which is somewhat of a prideful thing for me since we are large tall people. Guy taught them how to kiss with a big open mouthed ‘aaaaawwwwwweeee.’ Nothing melts my heart more then a little reciprocal love.
On one trip during their 9th month I put them side by side in a glider chair for their dinner. Blake kept interfering with Madison by reaching for her bite or putting his hand up to her face. She smartly grabbed his arm and pinned it down between them the rest of the meal. It was so cute and funny how he just let her hold down his arm. By 10 months Blake has added a bunch of new expressions and funny things to his cuteness repertoire. Madison learned she can put just about anything non edible in her mouth. My favorite was the soap Blake opened for her in our hotel room. She loved it. I guess we wont be washing her mouth out with soap when she says a bad word.
The 11th month brought us a realization of how different they are, and how they will constantly surprise us. We thought Blake would love the ocean and Madison would hate it. She loved the ocean including sitting with the waves crashing into her up to her chest. He screamed and needed cuddles. So then we thought she would love the slide while he wouldn’t. Wrong again. She cried, and he laughed hysterically. The magic one year arrived along with a switch in their brain causing them to learn at an ever increasing rate. They crave the outdoors, adventure and finally figured out how marvelous books are. Maybe in a few more months they’ll let me read them a whole story.
We are now in their 13th month. As I sit here writing this post Madison is busy entertaining me with her chair antics. She loves her space saving feeding chair we keep on the living room floor (best purchase other then the stroller), and she will climb into and out of it often through the day. Every few times she has a bit of trouble getting turned around to sit in the chair. She will fuss and scream while trying to get her foot out from under her booty. I will give her verbal encouragement. When she finally gets that foot unstuck her joyful and pleased expression is such a pleasure to see. Now Blake just came over to her trying to climb in the chair with her and give a double cheek grabbing kiss. I can’t wait for next month’s growth and adventures!
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Debi is a SAHM in NJ (very soon to be PA) to nine kids, 5 adopted & 4 biological. Although her last pregnancy was planned, twins were the unexpected result and they have completed her home-schooling family. Their blog is all about their journey through autism, learning & physical disabilities, and finding their way through the teen years & pre-teen years while raising two toddlers all at the same time. Please visit them at Who Says 8 Is Enough, http://bouffard11.blogspot.com/
Kim, a first time mom to 1 year old boy/girl twins, has not only survived the first year but thinks it’s much more rewarding than she could have ever anticipated. Spending her days in Marketing and nights/weekends relishing in the life of being a mom of multiples, Kim finds such humor and passion in balancing her career and family. You can read more about her inspired balance (aka family blog) at www.kimandceasar.blogspot.com where she has a new found love for writing. Kim is amazed at how natural writing has become since motherhood entered her life. A little bit about the family: Married 8 years to her college sweetheart, Kim & her husband (Ceasar) spent the latter few years trying to get pregnant. After acupuncture treatments and an organic diet , they got the life changing news …twins! Pretty incredible. Kim thinks her husband is amazing and his comical yet genuine approach to fatherhood would make for the perfect “guest blogger”…they make a dynamic team.
Post # 3: A picture is worth a thousand words
by Kim
The water cooler conversation today is all about Jon and Kate Plus 8. I can’t tell you how many times I get asked if I watch that show. The answer is always no. I watched it once and I just didn’t like the “job feel” that it portrayed for families of multiples. I totally get it. 8 kids, that would require a job like atmosphere to get through the day. I will not even try to understand or judge their situation. However, I don’t like the picture it/the media is painting for families of multiples…especially marriages of multiples. So, I want to take this opportunity to paint my family picture. I believe it’s such a pretty one. Yes, all families have their struggles but if you put the daily nuances aside, I bet most of you could paint a really beautiful picture of your family of multiples. Colorful at that!
June 21st is quickly approaching and many families will celebrate Father’s day. I think we will celebrate all week. I believe that Father’s of multiples should get the entire week. By no means am I saying that Father’s of singletons are not deserving of their special day. They absolutely are. BUT…when you are a Father of multiples, there is no easing into this new role. They are right in the thick of it from day one. Changing diapers, feeding every other hour, giving baths…Ceasar was playing dad AND mom while I was in recovery from my c-section. Fast forward 1 year and he is still feeding meals, changing diapers, cleaning bottles and everything else you can think of. We share all responsibilities. So, when our daughter (Tristen) is being held by Ceasar and someone says, “aw, she wants her momma”…we just look at each other and laugh because as much as I would like to think that is true, we know the deal. She knows and loves us equally. Yes, I’m her mom but just as frequently and deeply, he’s her dad.
A while back on my family blog, I decided to post an entry about Fatherhood. I thought I would share with you the Q&A portion of it:
“These are the best days of my life”
Since I am always giving MY insight on this blog, I thought I would ask Ceasar some questions on fatherhood to give you a glimpse into his thoughts today.
What was your first thought when you found out you were having a baby? I felt the greatest amount of accomplishment when I found out we were pregnant. We tried for a year and a half and though I never gave up hope, getting pregnant become this place I knew existed, I just didn’t know how to get there. I was very excited and didn’t think I could wait 9 months for the baby.
What is the most challenging thing about having twins? Obviously, being able to physically take care of two instead of one is the greatest challenge. When I’m alone with them, my fear is that one will need special attention. So, what do you do with the other one? But so far, so good. The most challenging thing with having twins for me is being able, physically able, to hold them and love on them at the same time. But I know this will be less difficult once they are able to grab and hug daddy’s neck.
What are you most excited about? Everything. The next kiss. The next hug. The first words. Bedtime. Waking them up in the morning. Their laughter. Their cry when they want to be held. A smile on their faces. The next time their little hands touch my face. I am excited about them making eye contact with each other again. These are the best days of my life! Thank you God.
And that is my family’s simple yet beautiful masterpiece.
