The Wilker Family: Update on the babies!

I thought I would do a little update on our twinners! Riley and Maddie are about 2 and a half months old and it is quite the adventure. The girls are getting bigger and bigger and I still can't even believe we have TWINS!

Feeding the babies: we began supplementing with formula at about 2 weeks old. That seemed to help the babies and it was good to make sure their tummies were full. We continued to do this: nurse both of them, often at the same time, and then give each of them an ounce or two of formula. It was working but it took 45 minutes to an hour to do it all. I was trying everything I could to up my milk supply but I could tell that going forward that my supply would be a continual day to day struggle. The thought of nursing and supplementing until the year mark was just too much. I really enjoyed breastfeeding my three other kiddos but twins is a whole new ball game. Tandem breastfeeding is time saving but it is pretty tricky and not convenient or do-able when you aren't home. Also I enjoyed nursing my babies to comfort them but with two babies it's just not as feasible. After a lot of thought we decided that formula was the way to go for us.

I never thought we would do only formula, not that it's bad but it's just a whole new world for us. I gradually cut down how many times I nursed a day over a couple of weeks. It actually went a lot smoother than I thought it would and by the time they turned 2 months they were on just formula. Now these girls eat about 4 ounces about every 3 hours... that's almost a small can for every 2 days (yikes!). So far the formula seems to be going well, they had a bit of hard time with some extra fussiness for a while and we tried switching for one day but it was a disaster so we're sticking with what we've been doing.

Sleeping: the babies started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago (about 9 weeks), woohoo! That was great! Their naps during the day are all over the place sometimes short and sometimes long and we are working, unsuccessfully so far, to get them on a better schedule for naps and figuring out a bedtime for them. But all in all I think having them sleep better at night is way better for now!

These babies are just growing and growing and getting chubbier! Their looks seem to be changing a little bit too. At their two month appointment Riley weighed 10lbs5oz and Maddie was 10lbs1oz, exactly 4 pounds from their birth weight for both of them. I can't believe how big they are getting! Maddie lost some of her hair so she is kind of a bald baby while Riley's hair has stayed and is starting to get a little longer. Still the number one way that we tell people how to tell them a part. Although we still think don't think they look alike!

How am I doing? Can I just say that this mom stuff is hard sometimes! Having twins is exhausting... yes it is one more diaper to change, one more bottle to give, and one more baby to get to sleep, but the diapers and bottles seem to be the easiest part, it's all the rest of it that is just exhausting. I'm sure part of that is the other 3 kiddos that also need our attention, so in the moments when the babies don't need me than I am helping them. After all of our family left we had two weeks until school started. It got hard! Not enough hands, every minute spent taking care of kids, bored kids, hormones... good times! I felt silly since I have Steve here to help me. He helps with the babies and takes the other kids to do stuff and is a huge help. There are so many moms that are on their own all day so I feel bad when I struggle, get frustrated, or am so tired when I have someone else to help but it's real life. School started last week and I'm hoping that helps with more of a routine and keeping Preston and Abby a little busier. It definitely feels like we are in the trenches right now and sometimes in survival mode. Some days are smooth but others are just plain hard. Babies can be so tough... feedings, fussiness, diapers, wake times, schedules, naps, bedtimes. It stresses me out but I am hoping we'll get some of this figured out soon, especially with them outgrowing the newborn stage.

This may be hard at times but these babies are such a blessing and a miracle. They are healthy and happy and we all love them so much. The other kids are so sweet for them and I love to watch them interact. They are starting to smile and I try to love on them as much as I can. They are getting big already and I just want to squeeze them to keep them small. We are very blessed!