no news = good news

Not much is new here.  The kids are eating, pooping, sleeping, and growing as planned.  The screaming seems a bit less lately - or I am slowly growing accustomed to it.  Zev's stomach has been a bit better as well, in part due to the Happy Tummi Pouch (thanks, Boston Grandparents!).  Consequently, the parents are doing decently as well.

Sound asleep as mom pumps, after they woke us up for the 3am feeding.

In recent days the progress has been ... anything but boring.  On Friday the boys showed clear signs of developmental progress.  Usually, a walk puts them to sleep instantly.  This time, they stayed awake, squawking periodically, for he first 25-30 minutes.  Since they were not screaming full blast, and not directly into my ear, I was OK with that - which is more than can be said for my walking partners, a nearly one year old and his father.  Then teamwork kicked in.  Benjamin fell sound asleep, while Zev began yelling regularly.  Not at the top of his lungs, but just loud enough to annoy me and still keep his voice to keep going indefinitely.  After another 25 minutes or so Zev fell asleep.  Little more than ten minutes later Ben woke up and started his shift.  At this point I bid goodbye to my partners and headed home.  Only right next to our house did Ben finally fall asleep as well.  Total walk time: 75 minutes.  Time both boys slept at the same time: about 12 minutes.

The following 24 hours were impressive.  While the boys do sleep better now that their bed is inclined (mad props to Alla, the real engineer in the family), they took turns demanding a lot of attention.  Eventually, one reaches a final state...  Beyond frustration, beyond anger, beyond rage and desire to inflict severe pain on fellow (adult) human beings.  Beyond that there is numbness, when one does not care about anything, hardly noticing even the piercing screams of a baby who is hungry and dirty and won't eat until clean and won't quit yelling while being changed.  There is nothing there, and only a weak, distant glimmer of hope for a sweet release of death.  Death here is defined as a state where no one can pee, vomit, or shit on you.  Nor can they vomit or pee all over their suit and diaper, right after you got done changing both.  A state where no one wakes you up.  Ever again.  Doesn't sound that bad, does it?
The help of family nearby (thank you grandparents Rita and Tolya and aunt Vika, and all else who allowed them to help us!) and a few hours of sleep drown out the seductive, whispered promise of a 124 grain hollow point.  One feeding at a time.  Some food, a cup of coffee, and one feels almost human again.

Our nanny, and now Alla, both claim that the boys smile socially (ok, have done so at least once) and track contrasting objects with their eyes.  I am not sure, I suspect they are both a bit biased.  The boys do look at the face of whoever feeds them rather intently, and tend to look away if you do - for sure.  They also had their first skype session, to the delight of the Boston grandparents.  Yay technology.

Today, much ahead of schedule as we were told, we put each of them for a few minutes into the play area.

Ben, exploring the psychedelic colors around him

"This is kinds kewl..."

After about 5 minus Ben decided he had enough and started hollering.  Naturally, no pictures of *that*.  We figured, 5 minutes was too much.  Zev got about two - long enough for me to take a few shots.

"That yellow orange thing is kinda neat!"

"On a second thought, I don't trust it as far as I can through it.  And I can't through very far, can I?"

Following the overstimulation... I mean, play time, the boys headed downstairs.

Taking it easy, letting aunt Vika, mommy, and daddy eat breakfast in peace.

fundamentals of specialization and team work

Let me preface this by stating that this night is going decently, and the most recent feeding, the one that just ended, actually went very smoothly.  The previous 48 hours, however, have been... challenging.

The boys have worked out an excellent routine, where by they can maximize the time they can keep us up, while actually eating well and resting well enough to keep gaining weight.  Simply, after a meal one falls asleep (usually Ben) while another spend 30-40 minutes demanding to be help upright (usually Zev) while quietly vomiting on the shoulder of the person holding him.  Then they they switch.  After the 40 minute each, they would actually maybe sleep for 30 minutes, and then start the wake up process, where one wakes up and gets just noisy enough to demand attention.  Once soothed and sleeping, his brother would take over.  This shorter cycle would last for 20-30 minutes, at which time they are due for a feeding anyway - this is when they would both fall asleep deeply, and be righteously indignant when they are woken up and offered food.

The specialization stems from the ever more refined gastronomical tastes.  Zev has stated clearly that if he is offered breast at the start of a meal, he refuses the bottle after (he does just fine if offered bottle right away).  Benjamin, on the other hand, is so frustrated (and frustrating) at the breast, that he receives both mom's milk and formula from bottle only.  Zev also has developed a noticeably more gassy and sensitive stomach, which helps him a lot in the routine outlined above.  About two weeks ago, while replacing Zev's poopy diaper for the second time in 7 minutes, I said: "Are you serious?  You pooped again?"  To which Alla coolly replied: "Thank you, daddy, for your digestive system."  Ouch.  True, so double ouch.

stroller, round 4; new skills

Round four of the stroller bout started with the darn thing delivering a nice 1-2 combination.  The stroller is very well designed, including shock absorbers and wheels with inflatable inner tubes.  Which is all fine and dandy, until  said wheel find a thorn and goes flat, hardly a dozen miles into stroller life.  Following a customary bout of panic, I did what I do best: consulted wise friends.  I was told to procure a substance called SLIME (I am not kidding), inject some into the wheel and all shall be well.  Procuring the substance (indeed, very green and oozing and thick), I followed the instruction to the letter and, to my surprise, we were mobile again in less than an hour.  Thanks, G!  We were startled by the attack, but recovered nicely.

In the mean time Alla finally got a definitive response from totsy.com, the vendor who sold us the stroller.  They absolutely cannot procure the car seat adapters.  For which they are very sorry, and therefore they are refunding us the full price of the stroller, which is a chunk of change.  Upstanding guys.  Decidedly, round three goes to us.

I remember reading somewhere that kids learn very quickly even at this early age.  Well, our sons (same as other babies, I am sure) are great at multitasking.  For example, they routinely manage to hiccup, eat, poop, and scream at the same time.  The have recently added to their repertoire coughing while eating (sometimes while pooping, but that is irrelevant), which produces a very nice misty spray of formula.  Since at the time they are usually looking up, at me, and I am looking down, at them...you can figure it out.

Other than that things are progressing as planned.  The kids are growing; we are working to preserve their health and our sanity.  There are no changes in either - at least that I can detect at this point.

It occurs to me that earlier in this entry I plugged a commercial product and a site.  I was not sponsored to do so.  Which is a shame.  Corporate sponsorships are always welcome here.

toys arrive

Recently Victoria came over for a night time feeding.  Clearly, she has not lost her touch.  Vika, you are hired!

Twins feeding twins

The Boston grandparents sent us a couple of very cute toys

Benjamin with a polar bear cub

Zev with a wolf

visits and lessons

Recently our dear friends Yulia and Jaime (formerly known as Y and J) spent a week in Portland and had several chances to interact with the boys.  As did their parents.

The first visit was brief and full of excited energy.

Yulia's dad Joseph holding Ben, Yulia looks on

Yulia with Zev

The second visit was more substantial and required preparation.

Benjamin resting, deep in thought

Zev practicing Latin dancing in anticipation

Having rested, the boys received their first lessons.  I always thought that either my father or I will be the first to teach them, but I was, as always, wrong.  The boys received their lessons in Spanish and boxing that day.

Ben practicing the "jab-jab-cross" combinations with Jaime

Zev, receiving his Spanish lesson from Rita and thinking: "WTF?  It's bad enough mom and dad speak some weird mixture of English and Russian, now I have to learn Spanish too?  This is tough!"

Finally, lessons over, it was time to rest.

Jaime and Zev, both cooked

Ben resting.  Or planning when to use that right cross on daddy...

as things go on

Things continue to roll around here, mostly well, some days smoother than others.  Recently Alla and I had 'achievements' of our own.  For instance, I learned that barking "shut up!" at a screaming infant (almost) never works.  Does make one feel better, however, when dealing with a child that yells because it cannot eat (due to buggers) and yells while buggers are being removed.  Or dealing with a child that is eating, pooping, and yelling at the same time.  Regardless - notice the "almost" in the sentence above?  Barking is now in my arsenal of soothing techniques.  The only downside I see to this is that the kids may think that "shut up" or "be quiet" is their middle name (paraphrased from Jaime).  Alla had a memorable first as well.  For the previous two days Alla has missed no feedings, clearly going for the title of "supermom" (or possibly "insane person" - is there a difference?).  After taking a much needed afternoon nap, I noticed suspicious yellow marks on Alla's face.  "Is that poop?' I asked.  We were in the bathroom.  Alla squinted at the mirror: "Possibly.  Definitely."  While I proceeded to clean it off, Alla muttered sleepily: "Mama does not care about poop as long as mama gets to sleep."

I honestly thought the boys were done with achievements of their own.  I was wrong, of course.  History no longer says who, but someone managed to poop on a wall while being changed in the downstairs bathroom.  The same bathroom, by the way, is small and has lovely flat walls that make the yelling reverberate ever so nicely.  Provoking daddy to bark, among other things.
This morning, around 6:15, I was responding to a noise complaint from Benjamin.  Due to the morning hour I wore no shirt (yes, this will be relevant later).  By now Benjamin has a rep as a serious citizen, who does not call for service unless he really has to.  I knew he was dry (having changed him 15 minutes earlier), and saw no spit around him.  I correctly figured he need to spend a bit of time upright to settle the giant meal he had two hours prior.  What I was not ready for is the fact that Benjamin just needed a friendly shoulder to puke on.  Which he promptly proceeded to do, with substantial volume, and immediately fell asleep, with a sense of complete satisfaction.  This put me in a rather philosophical mood, of course.  It occurs to me, that having children is like college, in some ways: you are up all kinds of odd hours in the middle of the week, and someone might puke on you around 6am.  The difference, I suppose, is that during parenthood you are somewhat glad they did.

stroller gets some use

In spite of still not having car seat adapters, the stroller is seeing regular use.  Recently the Portland grandparents, Rita and Tolya, took the boys for a ride.

across the street, ready for a walk

us vs. the stroller, round 3

Recently I was finally able to beat the stroller into submission - at least partially.  The car seats still do not fit, but the carrycots are in.  On the 5th we had the inaugural stroll through the neighborhood.  

the chipmunks in the stroller - finally!

loaded up and ready to go

Alla was a bit camera shy that day...  I promise to rectify that in the near future.  In the mean time - one more...

out and about - finally mobile!

one month, and counting

I suppose I am expected to write something on account of boys being one month old now.  OK.  I will write that I do not believe in this day being any more or less important than any other.  What?  I really am expected to provide some sort of summation of things thus far?  *sigh*  Well, thank G-D all is well.  There.  I summed it up.

The boys are doing well, even in spite of a few spots of stubborn angry-red rash on Zev's ass and Benjamin's occasional reluctance to breast feed..  So far, both seem to bother us more than them.  The boys have gained weight very well, both are slightly over seven and a half pounds.  The boys have also clearly fulfilled their objective of depositing each of the three bodily fluids directly onto each of the parents.

The mom is recovering very well from the surgery and is looking forward to returning to active life style.  The return to sushi and (sips of) wine has gone wonderfully.  Milk is increasing nicely.  Our mental state, thus far, is satisfactory - in large degree due to the emotional and physical support we receive from friends and family, far and near.

It occurs to me that the above is entirely too up-bit.  Perhaps, it is due to another visit from our friends Y and J tonight, combined with a coffee Alla and I shared unwisely late in the day.  Regardless...  Sleep deprivation is exactly as much fun as I expected it to be and I think about it exactly what I thought I would.  To those who claimed that I will magically decide that it is OK because the kids are my own flesh and blood ... I say, in the words of Zohan: "bullshaha!"  I can't speak for Alla, but for myself I can say that, after a month of this often farqing miserable existance...I am still here.

on records, timing, and sounds

Let me set the mood for this entry.  It is 5 minutes to 2am.  What should have been a smooth, routine middle of the night feeding has lasted just shy of 90 minutes and was entirely too memorable.  The fact that the fancier bottles that we have spilled about as much milk onto the kids as they did into them will be left aside - I will readily admit that was my fault, one way or another.  What was fun was that Zev and Ben decided to set new records (or at least match personal best) in pooping (Ben) and vomiting (Zev) - at the same time.  Of course, they did so after feeding, changing (diapers and suits), and balm application to butts.  In the process Ben managed to actually deposit poop on Alla's shirt and pants (small but observable amounts) and Zev dropped upwards of two ounces onto the suit I had just zipped him into (recall, changing is one thing our boys dislike the most, due to the stage of the undress in the midst of it).
With grim determination and indistinct, yet unprintable, muttering on my part and gentleness (OK, maybe a little less sweet than usual) on Alla's, we set about cleaning up Benjamin, while Zev awaited his turn.  Few minutes later, both disaster areas were clean, swaddled, and put down to nap.

So, in this somewhat less than romantic mood let me tell you about sounds.  I remember reading somewhere about babies "cooing gently".  Having spent nearly every waking minute of the last four weeks next to two babies, I can assure you: babies don't "coo".  At least ours don't.  They do make an impressive array of sounds, from whimpering to whining to groaning, to an ear-splitting, physical-pain-inducing scream, as of a couple of days ago.  While I am happy my sons are developing and exercising their lungs, the toll on my well being (and possibly, that of the neighborhood) while I change them is substantial.  I believe our nanny told us recently that Zev got into a screaming contest with the neighbor's hound the other day.  The contest was declared a draw, with each participant removed into respective corners.  Zev for feeding and massage, the hound for repeated house training and therapy.

With this I bid everyone good night, uninterrupted sleep, and dreams filled with fragrant flowers and peaceful, quite meadows.

first Shabbat; the stroller saga continues

This Friday saw yet another important first for the boys - the first time they were at a proper Shabbat dinner, even if their contribution consisted of sleeping and not making too much of a fuss.  The house was chosen very wisely - our friends R and J are not only observant, but also the proud parents of four wonderful kids, three of whom arrived on one day.  We figured - there is hardly a more multiple-friendly house than theirs.  The food was delicious as always, the company great.  Several hours later we left, well-fed, embraced, calmed, and bearing gifts and sage advice on not only dealing with multiples, but doing so with style and humor.

As another gift on the same night, we were visited by Y and J, another pair of friends, who just got into town.  They came over pretty much straight from the airport.  Their concern about needing a shower was alleviated immediately - there is hardly a more non-shower tolerant house in Portland than ours right now.  These days, if either of us can say with confidence that they showered in last 48 hours - that is a good thing!  Worry not, we do try to time those for the maximum benefit of those we visit or those who visit us.  Unannounced visits, however, carry an inherent olfactory danger.  You have been warned!  J and Y caught the tail end of a feeding, which they cheerfully observed.  They also got to see me clean up a famous Benjamin flood.  I hope that did not discourage them from procreating forever.  Just like in the old days, we drank wine till 4am, catching up and comparing notes.  After 4 Y and J went on to catch some sleep and plan their busy stay.  Alla and I figured on a short nap before the next feeding, but Zev decided otherwise and, not too sleepy yet, we faced the beginning of a new day.

The following ten hours, comprising the majority of the said day, were spent trying to catch up on some sleep, much with the help of Alla's mom who came over and helped.  By roughly 6pm we felt human enough to actually socialize, and went over to Victoria's.  We were greeted by many friends and for a time enjoyed star-status, as did the boys (who, pretty much, slept through it).

In other news, we now know what is up with the stroller and the various miss-matched pieces.  Turns out, we were sent a "plus" model of a stroller, pretty much unavailable in the US.  Which, of course, explains why none of the spare parts fit.  We are now in the process of talking to the seller, finding out what our options are, and answering the general question of "What the f@ck?!"

chipmunks in blue