Calling all recruits, they're winning the battle :)

Have you ever had a day (and I'm sure you have) when you look at the babies and think "YOU WIN" just let me have a moment without a pee, grunt, poop, cry or some other noise that prevents you from totally relaxing?

Well that's today. We're nearly 7 weeks (on monday) and up until now i've shed a tear or two, but have tried to laugh about things but today Noah did NOT sleep for the entire day and as I type this he is grunting in his crib and rooting even though he has been sucking and eating none stop all night.

At one point DH and I looked at eachother and I think we're officially losing our minds. I feel as though my brain and body have flown the coop !!

Why the hell is Noah not sleepy yet? Is that normal? No matter what we do he is grunting or crying away. And now I hear Sophie adding to the mix. :girl_devil:

OK, i've vented.... I feel a little better but not a lot :headbang:

 

Aww, sorry to hear about your rough day! I can tell you though that our boy Brandon was a huge grunter and grunted all of the time in the NICU (the nurses called him "dramatic", ha) and he grunted for several weeks after he came home from the NICU. He usually did it while sleeping or slumbering. It was so weird! But then it just stopped. Thank goodness! I also remember thinking early on that they just weren't napping near enough and something had to be wrong. After all they were just tiny little babies and I thought all they ever did was eat, sleep, and poop. Well I found out that they can also have really erratic sleeping habits especially in the beginning, and the often times do more crying that sleeping then too!

I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you, but just know that your babies are fine and they will hopefully get past this poor sleeping and grunting spell soon! And several months down the road you will probably find yourself trying to talk some other new twin mom off the ledge Hang in there momma!!

 

I still have those days but they are less frequent thank god!!
I hope tomorrow is better for you and its good that you are able to laugh most days. Sometimes my DH and I found our selves laughing even when it wasn't funny but it kept up going.

 

We are 12 weeks and I STILL have those days, but throw in a 2 yr old who also battles for my attention. I feel your pain. I also have a grunter, Nathaniel. He has always grunted. I call him my vocal one. Sorry no advice here either. I am told it gets easier. I am starting ot see that, but those days are still few and far between

 

Oh yeah, Quinn was a grunter, for months. And then one day she just stopped. Now she screams, I think the grunting was preferable :gah: She also used to alway have her hands moving, like she was trying to sign to us and we just didn't understand. They are almost 5 months and I still have days like yours. I've been puked on, pooped on and they are crying for no reason, and all of a sudden they've stopped sleeping through the night. My hubby and I are exhausted and I truly feel like "they've won". But then I look into those beautiful blue eyes and my heart melts with love and I know one day this will all be over and I will wish I could have all the moments back, even the crappy ones.

 

We've had those nights too! Not fun but I know this will pass, our little Edvin is a power napper if he's not in the buggy or carseat. Right now it's 7:19 am local time, and I've been up with Edvin 4 times to nurse and then brought him up to play at 6 am his brother on the other hand has only nursed twice last night and is still snorring away! :lazy:
I love these threads where mom's with older twins can remind us that we will survive even though sometimes we feel outnumbered and overwhelmed :hug:

 

Do you know how to swaddle ? Wrap them up as tight as you can and then put them into bed. Or try a bath during the day with that lavender stuff. Or a glass of wine for you....

 

At the beginning the prefere tight, contained spaces just like when they were inside. It makes them feel comfortable. Of course there are days when they don't sleep well, or not at all, but it's easy to get into a bad sleeping habit like this.

If everything else fails, take turns with hubby to comfort him and that way you both get a little time for yourselves.

 

Nathaniel does the hand movements too. His fingers even go a mile a min like he is trying to tell you something. I remember the screaming stage with my oldest, I'll take the grunting......

 

:hug: I still have THOSE days. Twins are tough, no doubt about it.

With the grunting, have you investigated some possible reflux??? That was our first sign that they had it. It appeared at 6 weeks for us and the grunting and crying was non stop. But that is the same as the 6 week peak for fussiness. So it could be coincidence.

 

I'm with you on the grunting... and screaming... This little one is constantly grunting... and crying everytime I put him down. he's definitely got some reflux. I don't think it's as bad as my other ds had it, just because he's not spitting up as much. My twin ds spewed all the time. So frustrating. But this little one has a very hard time falling asleep...it's that cycle of eat, grunt, fuss, cry...maybe burp or spit up...maybe not.. eat some more...and it goes on for hours until he finally passes out. I had a lousy night last night. He took until 10:30 to finally pass out, then he did do a stretch of 4 hours which was awesome. But then he only took cat naps the rest of the night which leaves me exhausted with the rest of the kids today. ugh.

 

Not to hijack the post, but he could have silent reflux. Just because he is not a huge spitter doesnt mean that his reflux isnt just as bad or worse.

 

Ya know, now that you mention it, I guarantee that is why Brandon grunted so much in the beginning. Later on he was diagnosed w/ silent reflux and put on prevacid and thickened formula, which help immensely. Brandon's silent reflux symptoms were occasional arching and crying while eating, hoarseness, constant coughing and hiccuping, "wet burps" (just knew he spit up on me, but would look and often times nothing on my shoulder), constant fussiness and not wanting to sleep or nap. I might be forgetting a few symptoms, but those were the biggies for us.

 

I am having the same issue with my son... and a lot of my friends suggested growth spurt... He's cranky, restless, eats all day it seems like, not sleeping well, wants me constantly... I know it sounds strange, but I remember this behavior a few months back and maybe they're right... Cause it did go away before... then again, maybe teething... I'd say pediatrician time. Just to be sure.

I forgot, he's grunting constantly too...

 

The day we hit that wall, I looked at my husband, and said "i guess one baby would be easier than two" he just deadpanned back at me "that it why babies usually come in a one pack" we burst out laughing, and after a few minutes of uncontrollable laughter, we were over it.

now when we see that wall coming up on us, we say something stupid and goofy to each other, laugh, and get on with it.

 

Just reading your post almost makes me cry because I SOOO know how you feel. My Sophie and Ethan are only 14 weeks and I can tell you that it *DOES* get better. Those days are much more few and far between! 6-10 weeks were the worst for us and then things started s-l-o-w-l-y getting better. Both of my babies have reflux, one with 'silent' and the other with just plain old severe reflux! Twins are definitely tough but I know, from experience with my first (who was a singleton) that it WILL get better and you will reclaim your life again, although it seems hard to believe! Hang in there!

 

ds also grunted, screamed, fussed due to reflux. he is now on hypoallergenic formula and is a whole different baby.

 

Thanks Ladies!!! :ibiggrin: Today was a good day! Crazy how it fluctuates, every day is SO different.

We have Sophie who has "silent" reflux but we've figured out how to help her without meds and then Noah who is on ranitidine and was on Nutramigen but we found he had really frequent poops and gas and so we just put him back on gentlease and crossing my fingers he seems more calm. Still grunting and wriggly but better!

Amazing what a little sleep and fresh air (got out for a walk today) can do for one's psyche :ibiggrin:

I wish we could all have a huge get together. We're all going through such a unique experience and singleton moms don't always get it !!!

Hugs to all and thanks for the words of support :clapping:

Anna