November

It's been a while since I've posted to the blog. Not because there hasn't been anything to post but because we have been so busy. There have been alot of baby firsts over the past couple of months - first teeth, first meal, first DaDa & MaMa, etc.,

Rowan had been drooling for a while now and we were expecting teeth at any time but while we had been watching Rowan, Gwen had a tooth break out without any fan fair. Ed was sitting with Gwen making her giggle when he noticed a flash of something white and there is was on the left side. And just last week at the girls 6month Pediatrician appointment, Ed was rubbing Rowan's gums when he felt something sharp - two front teeth.

Rowan has been talking up a storm -babbling constantly. She also loves to study her hands - rotating them, bending one finger in at a time. It's amazing how much they are both growing and developing. Gone are the newborn days for eating, sleeping, crying now their days are full of play time whether it's eating, playing it a toy, even nap time - everything is fun for them.

Pediatrician Appointment

Visited the pediatrician today - the girls are getting bigger. Gwendolyn is now 14lbs 12 oz and Rowan is 15lb 5oz. There is less than a 1lb difference between the two. They also received their 4month shots - neither took them very well. Lots of screaming. The Dr. commented that Rowan is rolling over rather early but we're not to worry that she now prefers to sleep with her face planted in the mattress. Gwendolyn is following her sister in the rolling over department - she is completely rolled over with the exception of her head. She gets very frustrated that she doesn't have the strength to lift her head to complete the roll over. They both love to practice their rollover in the crib at 5am - and when there done they scream to be turned onto their back. Where they promptly roll over again.

Labour Day Weekend

On the Saturday, we packed the girls up and headed off to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). For those of you not from Toronto (or not familiar with the CNE) - its a fair - originally an agricultural fair but has now morphed to an amusement fair with rides, games, shows, etc. Its an 18 day fair taking place every August concluding on Labour Day weekend with a weekend long air show.

Since we only live about 1/2hr walk from the fair we headed out with the girls in their stroller walking along the lake. We arrived at the CNE just in time for Ed and I to grab some lunch from the food pavilion (a couple of Gyros) and sit outside in the shade to enjoy them before it was time to fed the girls. After lunch we walked around the fair for a bit and then headed back home along the lake while the air show was going on. Everything was fine when the planes were propeller but as we were approaching the house, they brought out the jets and the noise from them kept startling the girls and after a couple of planes having gone by Rowan and Gwen were in a crying frenzy.

Sunday, Kelly and Tracy had a drop in for friends and family to say goodbye before heading of to PEI. The house was full of people - and the girls attracted a lot of attention. Unfortunately, the girls were a bit grump as they had a bad night. Rowan has learned to rollover from back-to-tummy when ever she pleases - which is all the time whether it's day or night. After a while of being on her tummy she cries for someone to roll her back (as she can't do tummy-to-back on demand) - which is fine during the day - but at 2am isn't quite as cute. Of course she thinks it's a great game and full of giggles which make it hard to be mad. However, on Saturday night we tried the old "let them cry it out" - hoping she would find a comfortable position on her tummy and go back to sleep. It didn't work - she started crying hysterically which woke up her sister. So we don't be trying the "let them cry it out" theory again - unless we first separate them. Lessoned learned.

Rowan was back at Sick Kids for another check up on her hip - her brace has been off for two months now and everything still looks good. She'll have to go back for another visit at a year just to make sure that as she learns to crawl and toddle everything is growing correctly around her hip. It's alway upsetting going to Sick Kids as all the patients are children (hence the name of the hospital) and while we're in the waiting rooms we invariably get into conversions with other parents. And listening to their stories always grounds us (and stops us from getting frustrated with the waiting times.).

The end of August also meant the end of our night nurse, Hyacinth. The morning she left I had a mild panic attack as I realized there would be no guaranteed full night sleeps coming up. Even though for the month of August the girls had been sleeping pretty much through the night - knowing that Hyacinth as coming a couple of nights a week was a comfort. However, Ed reminded me that it wasn't going to be like it was before Hyacinth was here where the girls were getting up 3 times a night and we were getting little to no sleep - the girls were only 5weeks old when we first hired Hyacinth. The good thing is Hyacinth isn't leaving the country - if we need her back for a couple of nights if things start getting rough she is still around. She has also offered to baby sit if we want to go out for dinner and a movie. Which is a wonderful idea - it seems like such a long time ago that we use to go out all the time. Seeing movies right when they were released (now I'm not sure what's playing) and we ate out more than we ate in. So I'm anxiously working on date.

Daily Routine

A lot of people ask us what our day is like with the girls - because the girls are changing constantly our routines also change and need to be flexible but in order to get things done in between feedings we have to plan our day in advance because if we don't before you know it you look back on the day and realize nothing got done.

Right now our routine is:
5:30 - 7:00am Girls wake up for first feed. It's usually 5:30-6:30 but once they did sleep in to 7am so I included it as I hope they will do it again. Right after the first feeding Ed and I shower and have breakfast while the girls play together in one of their cribs. If it's a work day, we pack-up the girls and walk Ed up to the Subway and I grab my morning Latte at Starbucks.
10am Time for the girls second breakfast. It typically takes me about an hour to feed both girls - they each take about 1/2hr.
11am-12pm The girls get play mat time while I check my email. After I've check my email - I give the girls some tummy time.
12pm -1pm The girls usually fall asleep on the mat and I take the opportunity to grab some lunch.
1pm The girls have their lunch.
2pm-4pm This is my time to get something done whether it's taking the girls out on Roncesvalles, update the blog, etc. The girls usually nap in the stroller.
4pm The girls have their afternoon meal.
5pm-7pm This time is usually the busiest as Ed comes home from work, we prep dinner, bath the girls, some more tummy time, Ed runs (and the girls and I go for a walk).
7pm The girls get their dinner.
8pm The girls bed time.
8:30pm Ed and I have our dinner.

For the most part this has been our routine for the past month. The girls are sleeping well at night - we don't need to give them a night feed but they do tend to wake up at times between 2am-3am not hungry just to play - we just sooth them back to sleep. But occasionally we have had the whole night uninterrupted.

Nap time right now is problematic - I haven't really established napping times or napping locations. I typically let them fall asleep where ever they are at that moment. And sometimes they don't fall asleep at all - or just one does. I do like it when one is asleep and I get to have one-on-one time with just one baby without having to worry about the other one.

The house is also starting to fill up with baby stuff. We try to keep it to one area downstairs but as we acquire more stuff it spreads out. We've been able to keep the third floor study and den baby free so we can retreat there in the evening when they are asleep. But we are starting to realize the house might be a bit small once they start to crawl. There are also areas that need to be modified to make them baby friendly and things packed way for bit unless we want them chewed on or banged on. But I think we have a little while before this happens so we're not panicking yet.

Weekend Update

(Picture: Rowan) Friday night we went to Aunt Kelly's for dinner - where we were joined by Ed's cousin Lyanne and her family. It's was a busy house. Kelly and family are moving to PEI in September so these family times will become fewer once they have moved. However, PEI is a beautiful island and I'm sure they are going to have a wonderful new life and of course we now have a new vacation spot to take the girls. I've only been to PEI once when I was about 10 - and all I wanted to visit was L M Montgomery's home where she wrote Anne of Green Gables. Now that I'm older it will be great to go back with the girls - this time I'll have a better appreciation for the all you can eat lobster dinners. (Picture: Aunt Kelly with Gwendolyn)

On Saturday we did a bit of shopping for the home - we needed new outdoor lighting. Afterward we dropped by Ed's work as he need to pick up some work for the weekend. (Picture: Rowan with Daddy)

(Picture: Daddy introducing Rowan to the Linux Penguin Tux)Sunday was Ed's Birthday - the girls took their Dad out for breakfast where they treated Mom and Dad to an uninterrupted meal. Our one challenge with going out for meals with the girls on Roncesvalles is the size of the restaurant are long and narrow which makes it difficult to maneuver the double stroller. However, because the girls get up early to feed (no more sleeping in on the weekends) we can go out for breakfast early before the brunch crowd arrives. In the afternoon Ed went for a long run and I walked with the girls. The heat wave has broken so it's nice and cool for taking the girls out. (Picture: Rowan and Gwendolyn all dressed up ready to take Daddy out for his birthday lunch)

Four Months

(Picture: Tummy time for Rowan and Gwendolyn)This girls are now almost 16weeks old. As I've mentioned in previous postings since their birth we have become mini celebrities. Everyone wants to stop and look at the girls and we get the same series of questions. The first question - or ice breaker is "Are they twins?" - sometimes I'm tempted to say NO to to see how they respond - but I realize they are just using this question to start the conversation. The second question is "Boys, girls or one of each" and then the third question, "Are they identical" and the fourth "How old"". Sometimes people go further and get a little more personal with "Cesarean or natural birth", "Breast or bottle".

The more recent question that people have been asking is "Do they have different personalities". The the answer is a resounding YES - and their personalities have been different since before they were born. Throughout my pregnancy Gwendolyn (or Beta as we called her prior to being born) was always flipping around - one week head down the next week head up. And she was constantly kicking. Near the end of my pregnancy when there wasn't enough room - it felt like she was curled up under my ribs constantly kicking and flipping around. Well she is the exact same now - constantly kicking and flinging her arms around. When we put her down on the activity mat, we have to keep an eye on her as she'll squiggle and wiggle all around the mat and sometimes off the mat or smashed against her sister. And she has this little impish look that tells us that once she figures out how to walk - she is going to be running everywhere (not walking because that will take to long).

Right now Rowan (previously known as Alpha prior to birth) is the talker of the two. She loves to babble and she uses her voice when she wants something - attention, food, etc. She is also the great thinker and very conservative when handing out smiles. However, when she does smile her whole face lights up and her mouth opens with this great toothless smile and squeals with delight.

The baby books talk about babies having different cries and that every parent will start to identify their cries and understand what they want. Well, I guess I'm not a very perceptive Mum - as all their cries sound the same to me which I translate to "Mum, I'm not happy so do something about it. Figure it out !!!" As an engineer, I'm very algorithmic about it.



If no to all the above questions then she must be tired - put her in the magic swing and send off to sleepy land. Unless magic swing is already occupied - then she must want to play with Daddy (because every great Engineer knows how to delegate). Ed has great techniques to sooth the girls that I can't seem to duplicate. He talks with them (he gets into great conversations with them where they both babble back and forth), dances with them (or to them) and when they are fighting going to sleep he strokes their head and slowly sends them off. (Picture: Gwendolyn in the magic swing)

However, these are their personalities right now but they are constantly growing and changing and it's fun guessing what they will grow up to be like.

August Update

(Picture: Gwendolyn)August has been a very busy month for us. The Civic Long weekend brought lots of visitors - Brenda from work visited on Sunday up from London (London, Ontario). Was able to get caught up on work news (too my surprise, apparently the Bank can survive without me!). Brenda and Karen were very helpful in relieving me of my daughters - even offering to help with the feeding. Beware if you visit and offer to help that I will take you up on that offer :) (Picture: Brenda and Karen with Rowan and Gwendolyn)

Julie and family visited from Ottawa - it was incredibly hot. Walked over to High Park where the fire department had brought in one of their pump trucks and were spraying water for the children to run through. It looked very tempting to join in. Julie brought us a swing - which is a magical device - put crying baby in swing and in less than a minute baby is distracted by moving mobile - 5min later - baby is asleep. It's fantastic - especially during the week when I'm home alone with two babies crying. I can even time it so one is asleep in the swing while I'm feeding the other. Once finished, I turn of the swing and let the other baby wake up and then feed her. It's certainly changed my day.

The following weekend we ventured out on our first road trip to Ottawa with the girls. It's a five hour drive and we tried to schedule it so we left immediately after their morning feed so we only had to stop once on the way up - but like all great plans, I forgot to take into account the amount of time at Budget arranging for the rental and summer Friday traffic. At the first rest stop - there were so many people we ended up feeding the girls in the car. We also brought with us far to much stuff for the girls. But now I know that we can pack lighter next time. Mum and Dad had setup a nursery in one our old bedrooms - converting the top of a filing cabinet into a change table and happy campers/playpens for the girls to sleep in. We were worried that the girls wouldn't sleep very well - given the road trip and the strange sleeping area - but they went down at the usual time and slept the whole night waking up at 6am (and kept their schedule the entire weekend).
Saturday morning, Ed and Grandpa watched the girls while Mum and I did a bit of shopping. In the afternoon, the girls attended their first birthday party as my Godson was turning 3years old. The house and backyard was full of kids running around with water guns. They had set up a slip'n slide in the backyard and series of other games for the kids. The girls were dressed up in their party dresses looking very cute - and once again as soon as we entered the house we had to give up the girls.

Below is a picture of the Rowan on the quilt that their Gran completed for their arrival. For the past couple of weeks - the girls have become much more alert and aware of each other. I've gotten into the habit of putting them on the activity mat after their 10am feeding to play (while I check my email) before giving them tummy time (or as Ed calls it torture time). The girls are getting very good at pushing their heads of the floor for a few seconds before it falls back down. Rowan has found a short cut - where she rest on her hands - so I have to keep moving her hands out of the way to encourage her to lift up her head much to her displeasure.

Sunday, Nan arrived to meet the girls .Nan is a long time close family friend who is now officially family as we've asked her to be Great Gran Nan to the girls. Ed and I enjoyed playing the proud parents introducing the girls to family and friends in Ottawa. (Picture: Nan with Rowan)


Ed and I are starting to incorporate some of our old past time hobbies that we have recently been to busy to enjoy. Ed has started running again - he isn't planning on being in any races this summer. I take the girls for a walk while he runs and we meet at the bridge by the lake and walk back together. I've also started reading books again - which may not sound like a big deal but two months ago I couldn't imagine having that kind of spare time.

Baby's Room

We moved the girls out into their own room on Monday after my Mum left. The girls didn't seem to notice but we did - much better sleep now that we're not awakening to every little noise they make. The room looks great - this weekend we're going out to get a second crib. The girls are quite long and when we put them down at night their legs now touch and they enjoy kicking each other. Which would be fine - but they also rotate so some mornings I've come in to find Gwendolyn with this big smile on her face kicking away only a couple of inches from Rowan's face.
Having my Mum here for the week was great - if only for the adult conversion during the day. But having someone to help with feed the girls allowed us more free time between feedings to go out to the mall, walk to High Park and around Roncesvalles. Mum also left us with some meals in the freezer. The girls loved having their Granny here - which I found out the hard way in the afternoon after she left. They were no longer content to let one be fed first and they loved the constant attention but now a couple of days later they have slipped back into their old routine once I assured them that Granny would be coming back.Now that the girls have a steady routine - I've started looking for baby groups to join but they seem to shut down for the summer. I have found that Starbucks is a great place to find other mothers with babies. And having twins attracts so much attention that starting conversations is easy. Plus our local Starbucks is ideally setup for twins - the washroom are large to accommodate a double stroller and they are equipped with change table. They have big comfy chairs in a corner for feeding and the barristers are so helpful - helping me with the doors and bringing me my drink if the girls require attention. It's about a 20min walk up Roncesvalles - up hill one way to I'm getting some exercise was well.

We brought the girls and activity mat - Gwendolyn is doing very well - lifting her head up and pushing her shoulders of the ground. Rowen prefers to be on her back and working on turning over.

As busy was we are with the girls - we still find time to chill out.

Three Months

The girls are now three months old. They are now lifting their heads and becoming much more interactive with us. It has been amazing watching this past month as they become more aware of their surroundings. They smile and laugh a lot - and unlike their parents - they appear to be morning people. The best playing time is right after there morning feed. We've also had to retire some of their clothes - they are now wearing 3-6month clothes.

This past month has been a busy one - it started June 1st with a BBQ hosted by Ed's sister, Kelly where the girls were introduced to Ed's Aunt Adele and Uncle Bill and his cousins Lyanne and Daryll and their family. The house was full of children and lots of arms ready to cuddle the girls.


Rowan's brace came off after 6weeks. We brought her to Sick Kids Hospital where they took an ultrasound of her hip and determined that everything looked normal. As we were releasing the brace she broke out into a big smile and started kicking and laughing. It was wonderful to watch but also a little sad as it was obvious she had been aware of the brace and hadn't enjoyed wearing it. She really enjoyed her bath - the first one since the brace had been put on.

Mum arrived this week to spend time with the girls. It has been a great week. It's wonderful to have an extra set of hands during the day to feed one girl while I fed the other. I'm only worried that they have enjoyed their Gran's hugs so much that they will expect that every afternoon is cuddle time. Gran also has the magic touch in putting them to sleep - they only have to be in her arms for a couple of minutes before they nod off.

This past Wednesday we found we had to take Rowan to the hospital Pediatric walk in clinic as for the previous two days she had been twisting her body in a jack-knife position and turning her head up to the ceiling. She was doing it through-out the day and during the night while in her crib. So off we went to the hospital with Rowan while Mum stayed home with Gwendolyn. The doctor saw her right away and Ed and I sat by nervously while the she was being examined. Once the examine was over, the doctor turned to us and explain that her muscles were developing (right way I jumped to the conclusion maybe it's muscle spasms) - and with a small smile on his face explained that that around this time they start using their new found muscles and flexibility to start rolling over (a condition that will also affect her sister). That's right - Ed and I rushed our daughter to the hospital only to find out she is rolling over. Our only excuse is that we are very concerned parents (very concerned first time parents). Two day's later Gwendolyn started doing the same thing. Now when we put them in the crib - rather than finding them the next morning in the same position - they have rotated and wiggled to different positions.

Next month the girls are off to their first boy/girl party in Ottawa.

Pediatrician Appointment

The girls were at the DR today. Rowan is now 11lb14oz and Gwen is 10lbs. Both are doing very well. They got their first shots - neither liked it, both cried a lot. They have been fussy since we brought them home.

This weekend we work toward putting Rowan and Gwendolyn on a sleeping routing. Friday night we put the girls down at 8pm - Gwendolyn was up for a feeding at 1am and again at 5am. Rowan slept through from 8pm to 4am. Last night they both were fussy after we put them down at 8pm and slept off and on until 11pm when they started crying, we feed them and they went down until 4am.

Saturday morning, armed with the Bjorn carriers we took the girls to the St. Lawrence Market - they slept the entire time. We did some shopping and walked around with them. They always attract a lot of attention - a couple of people asked about Rowan's brace. The brace fits nicely in the carrier, as it allows her legs to stretch out.

In the afternoon, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Tracy and the girls cousins Josh and Jenna dropped by for a visit.

"Taste of Little Italy" Festival

It's been a week since Rowan was fitted for her brace and she has been handling it pretty well. There is the occasional frustrated cry when she realizes she can't stretch out her legs but overall she has been a real trooper. The brace is to stay on for approx. 6 weeks to allow the sockets to grow into place.

Last weekend we walked down to Little Italy for the "Taste of Little Italy" Festival. We planned our walk ahead of time - so we stopped at Starbucks just before Little Italy to feed the girls before heading to the Festival. It was a very hot day and we were worried about how it would affect the girls so we didn't stay long. Long enough to try some calamari, rice balls and look through a couple of shops. I brought a hat to wear in the fall.

This week we arranged for a night nurse to come in the evenings 11pm till 8am, Monday - Thursday to allow Ed and I to catch up on some much needed sleep. Her name is Hyancith and she has been very helpful - it's wonderful to be able to get 7hours sleep. It's also been helpful to get the girls on a routine. They are now feed 6times (down from 8) a day and we are starting to implement a bedtime for them at 8pm. We feed and bath them - and then put them down for 8pm in a dark environment. Sometimes one of them (they take turns) will wake for a 11pm feeding but last night both slept until 2:30 and then slept until 6am. We are hoping that as they get bigger and eat more at each feeding time that we will be able to phase out the 2:30 feeding and get them to sleep the whole night (that is the goal -we'll see how it develops). Usually, one girl sleeps the entire time only waking for feeding while the other is fussy and then the next night they switch. We trying to keep both girls awake from 5pm onward to get them nice and tired.

Week Seven

The girls 2 month birthday is coming up. Sometimes it feels like time is flying, other times I can't wait until they are off to college (those are usually the times when I haven't had much sleep and I fondly remember what it was like to sleep in). The girls have had a busy month with all the visitors.

Aunt Sabrina, Uncle Douglas and Brandon were over from Hong Kong and were down visiting along with Gran and Grampa. The picture was taken in High Park walking through the zoo.

Ed with the girls cousin, Brandon.






The girls in their nice new outfits ready to go out on the town (or a nice walk in the park).

The girls day out

Ed and I are trying to get into the habit of taking the girls for a walk every day around Roncesvalles. I say trying because we think the girls are going through a growth spurt as they have started wanting to be fed much more frequently - sometimes as often as very two hours. They have also found their voice and rather than us having to rouse them for feeding they have become demanding.

The Double Urban Stroller has turned out to be the best purchase we've made. Very maneuverable and so far has fitted through every shop doorway. We brought a body hugger insert for the stroller to provide extra padding and stops them from being jostled about when going over the curbs and bumps.