2 questions

Hi everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to know when does everything "kinda" feel normal again regarding the babies? To be more specific, when do they just feel like part of the family and you just go about your day like you have always done things this way???

Also when have you guys took your babies on a trip or long outing? We want to go to the beach for 3 days during the July 4th holiday, they will be about 7 weeks...is this too soon? My parents have a place there so it would be more like at home and not a hotel room!

THANKS!!

 

i think things started to feel "normal" for me when the girls started STTN (between 6 & 7 months old) - before that it just seemed like i was on autopilot. there are still some times though that seem totally surreal. it's hard to believe i have TWO babies. there are days i feel like i'm somehow accidently living someone else's life. but most days, i can't imagine anything different.

as for taking a trip, i think whenever you feel up to it is a good time. we went on our first vacation when the girls were 6 months old & just got back from our second. it's a lot of work taking LOs out of town, but i think it's worth it. have a plan ready but be prepared to be flexible & you'll do fine.

 

My boys are just under three months now and we all feel pretty normal again. They are on a pretty reliable schedule and life has settled into a routine. We took the boys on an overnight trip to a friend's house (so also no hotel) when they were five weeks old and that went beautifully! We scheduled driving times to coincide with nap time/night time sleep. I was pretty anal about keeping their schedule intact as much as possible. As long as you really plan for all contingencies (bring lots of extra clothes, diapers, spit up cloths, etc.) and leave lots and lots of time for moving about with two babies and loads of stuff, you will enjoy yourselves tremendously - it felt so good to me to be mobile and out with the little ones!!

 

I started to feel more normal around 6 months.

As for traveling I would say go for it if you want too. I was in no shape to travel at 7 weeks, but if you are then do it. GL!

 

Goodness I felt like a million bucks pretty early on. Hubby and I had some figuring out to do after the girls were born. We literally had to learn a whole new way to communicate, beacuse everything we now talked about was baby related! This was an easy transition for us though. I think it's because we developed a 'game plan' while we were still pregnant. In it we wrote down, to the letter, how we wanted the babies dealt with and trained from the day they were born (sleep conditioning, naps, feedings, ect.). We knew what eachother expected and we knew what we expected from the babies. We never waivered from the game plan. As a result they slept trhough the night at 7 weeks of age (8pm-8am). They still do this and take 5 hours worth of naps during the day as well. I can't believe when I read that some people have to wait until 6-7 months to get them STTN! My heart goes out to those people, I could never! Mostly because when they slept through is when things got a little more 'normal', as we were now keeping 'normal' hours.

We started going to the mall, church, family dinners and on shopping trips together as a family when the girls were 5 weeks old. This is when, if we wanted to do dinner with friends and couldn't find a sitter, they came along. If we wanted to shop for new kitchen tile at Home Depot, they came along. Those 'everyday' tasks that I think you're referring to. They spent the night at my Mom's for the first time when they were 8 weeks old. We did an overnight camping trip when they were 9 weeks old...I think? I say go for it. Life can't stop just because you had a couple of babies LOL. That's the way we always look at it. However, we do maintain their schedule no matter where we are.

I think you will be feeling normal again real soon, in the next month or so. Heck, hubby and I went out on our first date when I was just 6 days PP! We bowl on a bowling league, and while I had to sit out for a bit due to my c-section, I could go to hang out and we had dinner beforehand. We got out once a week the whole first 2 months. That was HUGE at making us all feel normal again too! I couldn't wait to run out of that house for a couple of hours! Hang in there, it will NOT be that much longer, so long as you work at it and stick to a plan

 

Well, for me it took me a lot longer to feel normal but I was also diagnosed with PPD so that did not help. Anyway, by the time the girls were 3.5 months old I felt mostly back to my old self, I was able to get out with them alone and felt confident that I could handle meltdowns etc. I was bottle feeding so that helped as I wasn't worried about having to tandem feed them in public, I know that would have been hard for me.

We took them on our first road trip when they were 4 months and it was fine. I honestly wouldn't have felt ready before that but that doesn't mean that you can't do it. If you feel ready and you have family there I say GO FOR IT! You'll probably enjoy the visit and have a nice break with others holding the babes so maybe you can shower before 5pm or even have a cup of coffee before it gets cold. Have fun!

 

We took the girls out of town for 2 nights when they were 6 weeks old. They were still getting up frequently during the night and so it was rough. Plus it was day light savings time and i lost an hour of sleep and it wasn't good! That being said it wasn't bad either. I think it would be fine to go. We recently took the girls out again to houston at 12 weeks, i think and they did good then too, but at that point they were STTN so that was a big help..

As far as feeling normal. I agree that STTN was the best thing and helped out TREMENDOUSLY! I felt alot better after that. I felt like i was able to get out more with them and can go out most days and as long as i plan it around them I am good. DH still i feels a little akward somedays but i think that is because he isn't home with them all day..