Holy Stinky Spit-Up, Batman!

So, avid readers of the Goddard Twin Blog may have noticed that we haven't been posting too much lately. The reality is that our posting seems to be directly proportional to the number of hours we have slept in the preceeding days. Lately, there hasn't been much sleep at all around the homestead. Until about 3 weeks ago, we thought we had the perfect sleepy babies. They went down each evening as though by magic -- After a big meal, they would fuss for 30 seconds while Chris swaddled them, but as soon as their heads hit the crib and we turned on their "Ocean Sounds" white noise, they were asleep -- before Chris had finished tucking them in together. We were in this pattern for months... then a few weeks ago, the boys seemed crankier at bedtime -- even though they were clearly tired. We did more rocking and cuddle time before bed...eventually, we started putting them to bed in their bouncer seats, then in their bouncer seats with the vibrating mechanism on...things just kept escalating. The last week things have been really tough.

The boys just couldn't seem to settle at night -- no matter what we did. They were clearly exhausted -- even overtired. We would feed them, walk them, wear them, sing to them, bring them to bed with us. It didn't matter what we did, neither of the boys could settle. We might be able to put them down, but 20 minutes later, they were up and screaming in a way we had never heard before. Eventually, the only way we could get any sleep at all was to swaddle the boys in their swings on high each night. They still woke up every few minutes, but were able to fall back asleep without crying as long as they were in constant motion. During the day, the boys would only sleep for a few minutes at a time. Where they used to each take 2 hour naps, we were lucky to get 20 minute catnaps out of them -- and these would only happen when they were laying on their tummies. Pretty soon we were all asleep on our feet all the time... Images like this became the norm:

Chris & E in a rare moment of common slumber

Kathy kept thinking this was pre-teething pain and talked with the pediatrician's office about potential remedies... We tried them all with no success. Finally, Chris pushed for a pediatrician's appointment. We agreed that the boys seemed like they were in pain and not getting any better. So today we both went to the pediatrician. He immediately told us this was unlikely to be teething, but instead he thought it might be something else in their tummies. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised based on the boys' recent diet:

Gabe and E sit down for Thanksgiving

The pediatrician started asking us questions -- Have we noticed any more spit-up lately? Actually, Gabe seems to spit up after every meal...sometimes out of his nose. Does their breath and/or spit-up smell funny? Yes -- we have been bathing the boys twice as often because we can't seem to get rid of the spoiled-milk-spit-up smell. Do the boys seem to prefer any positions? Yup -- sitting up, standing or tummy-time only. The verdict?!? ACID REFLUX! Usually peaks around 4 months; common symptoms include discomfort laying back, spoiled milk smell, more frequent regergitation (occasionally), lack of weight gain, increased parental concern and a strong feeling that the babies are in pain.

We were SSSSSOOOOO glad we went to the doctor. We now have some samples of baby Previcid and are hopeful that sleep will once again return to the Goddard home...just in time for the Christmas Holiday! We sure are looking forward to it: Gabriel and Elias model their super-cute Christmas attire (Thanks Anna & Aunt Rachel!)

This year we wish for peace on earth...and hopefully it will begin in our house! :-)

Merry Christmas!

Fishy Business

Note to self: Babies + Aquariums = Watery goodness

Chris and I have looked forward to having kiddos for a long time so that we don't have to feel awkward about visiting child-oriented places without a child in tow. For years, we have had a running joke about our imaginary "little Jimmy"s bad behavior -- we'd had to just lock him in the trunk while we toured the zoo/children's museum/kiddie park. The boys are still pretty small to legitimize our attendance at the science museum or Where's Waldo art gallery. The Aquarium, however, is a different story!

In fact, one of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Long Beach Aquarium. When you think about it, it makes sense. Even though the boys aren't consistently rolling over or reaching for objects, they have the key skills you need for an exciting Aquarium experience: (1.) track colorful objects with your eyes, and (2.) React!

Elias contemplates life under da sea

It is hard to tear my eyes away!

Fish enjoy their observation time in the Baby-arium (while Gabe puts on a good show)

Long Beach Dub-le All Stars

WE SURVIVED OUR FIRST FAMILY VACATION!!!!

That's right! We packed up 150+ lbs of crap, drove it all an hour to the airport, unloaded it, parked the car, navigated security, rode on a plane, got a rental car, drove to the hotel, went to the beach, went to the aquarium, saw cool cousins, went to Hermosa beach, walked around a ton, went to lots of different restaurants, watched movies, re-packed 130 lbs of crap (we were light a couple of diapers), checked out of the hotel, drove to the airport, unloaded and returned the rental car, checked in, navigated security, rode on a plane, re-loaded the car and drove an hour home...with two infants!!!! In retrospect, I'm pretty sure this qualifies as clinical and legal insanity...or extreme stupidity... but either way, we had a pretty good time doing everything. :-) The boys did great on the plane and in the airport; it was harder for Chris and I to manage all their stuff! It was pretty comical trying to get 2 carseats, the stroller, two diaper bags, and a pump through security while balancing two babies and trying to make sure we had our keys/phones/shoes/jackets/baby carriers/breastmilk out and on the conveyer.

Below is photographic evidence that we acutally pulled this off:


Family photo off Ocean Blvd in Long Beach -- taken by very kind transient guy with dog.

Chris and Gabe's Beach Sunset Self-portrait

Chris and Gabe in front of light house

We decided to splurge on a hotel room for this trip; Kathy was paranoid about germs from a dirty room, etc. It ended up being a TERRIFIC decision. With naps, etc. we ended up spending more time in the hotel room than we have on any other vacation and it was terrific to be in a spacious, clean, aesthetically pleasing room. The boys enjoyed having a "play bed" while we were there with lots of fluffy pillows and room to stretch out!

AAAHHHH! This is the life!