The Cousins Have Arrived!

Lila May and Evan Michael McNamara were born on Wednesday, October 14. (They were so close to sharing my birthday!) Alanna's water broke at the hospital after her regular check up, and things went very quickly after that. She didn't even have time for any pain medication. In other words, she delivered twins naturally! I can't even imagine... Even though they were born almost five weeks early, Lila and Evan are doing really well. Carter and I drove down to Chicago last Tuesday to meet them and didn't get home until last night. Lila came home last Friday, and it sounds like Evan will be home very soon.

Of course I'm not surprised, but Alanna and Mike are awesome parents already. I am in awe of their dedication to those babies. When they were both in the hospital - and Alanna and Mike could have actually gotten some sleep - they spent all day and most of the night with their babies. They didn't want to miss a feeding or even just a chance to hold them. Now that Lila is home I think it's even more difficult for Alanna and Mike. They are happy to have Lila home, but they don't want to leave Evan "alone" at the hospital. They are so much stronger than they realize.

Carter really didn't know what to think of Lila. In fact, he pretty much ignored her; he would look at anything and everything but her. Maybe he doesn't want to share Alanna and Mike with any other babies. I know Carter is going to be very close to his cousins though. I can't wait to watch them grow up together, and I love sharing the miracle of motherhood with my best friend and sister! And now I understand how much Alanna and Mike love Carter. I did not to leave the twins. Today Jeff called me from work and mentioned going to Chicago this weekend...

Sleeping and Eating Update

Carter turned four months on September 13. That night, for the first time in over a month, I put him in his crib. It was a long night, but Carter did sleep in his crib all night. The next three weeks were very difficult. Carter slept through the night twice but was up several times during the other nights. When he woke up during the night he was mad and crying, so I usually had to feed him in order to get him back to sleep. He was like a newborn again! Things started to improve, and then Carter came down with a cold. He started out in his crib but seemed uncomfortable sleeping flat on his back. So I put him in his swing, thinking that I would only need to do it for a night or two. Well, each night got worse; he spent less and less time in his crib and more and more time in his swing. Even after his cold had cleared up, he still wouldn't sleep in his crib.

Last night was the worst! I put Carter to sleep at 9:00 P.M. He "talked" in his crib for a little while and then started crying. I let him cry for ten minutes and then went in to comfort him. He calmed down and fell back to sleep as soon as I picked him up, but he started screaming as soon as I put him back down in his crib. This pattern continued for hours. At 2:00 A.M. I finally gave in and put him in his swing. He fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until 9:00 A.M. I really don't know what to do. I'm frustrated that after weeks of no sleep we're back where we started. I'm going to keep trying to put him in his crib, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. And I'm not going to let him cry himself to sleep. I know some people might disagree with me, but I guess I don't think there is anything wrong with Carter knowing that when he cries someone will respond. And my doctor has assured me that you can't spoil a baby...

On a happier note, we started feeding Carter rice cereal and even some level one baby foods. My hope was, of course, that a little "food" would help him sleep. That hasn't been the case, but it has been fun to watch Carter eat. He isn't a big fan of rice cereal, but he has enjoyed some of his baby food. We're trying a new fruit or vegetable every three days. So far he has liked carrots and squash the best. My mom said Alanna and I were the same way. We ate so many orange vegetables that our skin actually started to turn orange!