Made in India

Two and a half next month

2012-01-20T19:36:00.017+10:30

Busy month as usual. Boys are definitely becoming more independent and have no issues with telling you what they want. Alex is very good at "STOP" accompanied with the arm out, palm forward signal I use with them when they're mucking around on a height (ie the change table). Other frequently voiced words are "stuck" (enough said, we have boys), "careful" (Alex's personal mantra while he's running in circles) and "car!!!!" or "bus!!!!" (while we're out driving around). Daddy/mummy is still interchangeable as far as they're concerned and we get called either. We have no idea where he got it from but Alex yelled "spida SHOO" when he saw a tiny spider in the bathroom recently. Nik reckons it's not from him as he's so quick at exterminating them that he doesn't get a chance to say anything now - lol. Even funnier was the wriggle Alex attempted laying flat on his back mid nappy change to get away from it. Again, no idea where he got that from. Both dudes mimic being on the phone and Alex has definitely caught us out a few times when we though he was really talking to someone as you can hear him having a full on conversation. The "ok, bye" bit before he puts the phone down is priceless. Tajy has finally got some volume into him and I'm pretty sure he's said a few things this week that we've given Alex credit for. Will be interesting to see (hear) what Tajy's voice is actually like.

Something new, and interesting this month was Alex thinking other people were Nik and I. He got confused with another guy in the supermarket after Nik wandered off to get something, and he really thought I was a politician on tv even though I was sitting right next to him. You could literally see his brain ticking away when he realised there were two versions of daddy (and then two versions of mummy a few days later) to try and work out who was the right one.

Off to the play cafe again tomorrow so they can burn off some energy. And I'll continue to fight my urge to try out the super slide after reading of Mike and Mike's adventures with a plus size bottom! Going to get heights and weights checked next month as they've both definitely shot up again.

And that will do from me. Nik's watching Mama Mia and I have a burning desire to go sing along to some Abba songs. Ciao!

The daily paddle after lunch and snooze.

Rest time with Lily.

New olympic sport?? Nappy box racing.

Superhero in action. And recovering below.

Making breakfast this morning.

Welcoming 2012

2012-01-01T17:38:00.002+10:30

Alex celebrated the new year by dacking Tajy. What an auspicious start to 2012...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T16:59:00.006+10:30

Men in long red suits with long fuzzy beards don't make a lot of sense when it's stinking hot and everyone is wearing the bare minimum, but it is a great excuse for an annual photo. Think our Santa is so skinny as he would have sweated a lot over the past week! And do we like Tajy's bling? All his own doing.

Pressie time was a huge hit today and Tajy has nominated himself official present unwrapperer. He couldn't give two hoots about anything until there was not a shred of paper left to be seen, as evidenced by Alex enjoying the train set while Tajy was hidden away in a corner unwrapping Alex's gifts.

New trampoline is about four times bigger than last years version, but still low to the ground so little people can get up themselves. A huge hit that will be used for years and years (as the suggested age group is 3-10). Group pressie which was secretly erected by Santa's official helper (daddy) at 10pm last night. Also noticed a new trampoline in the neighbours yard this morning. No idea when they put it up as it definitely wasn't there when we came inside last night.

And finally back to the pressies - books (planes and boats for Alex, very clever shopping by mummy) plus various land and sea creatures.

Merry xmas everyone. We hope you've had a lovely day!

Two and a third

2011-12-20T15:35:00.015+10:30

The month of the hollow legs - these two are starting to eat us out of house and home! Isn't that meant to start around puberty? If yes, someone forgot to pass the message on here. Good news is fruit is still high on the agenda (huge plus seeing it's summer here) so it's quick to throw them something out of the fridge - including grapes grown here and not imported from the US like they have been for the past few months. Apples are a big hit, as you can see. Gave Nik the next high GI lesson the other day, so hopefully that helps everyone go more than two hours between meals.

Random events over the past few weeks:

* Alex pats the chair if he wants you to come and sit with him
* both boys are much happier to have their teeth cleaned now we've purchased battery operated tooth brushes for them
* Taj has taken over the reigns and now says 'gonk gonk' when asked what noise a duck makes as Alex now responds with 'quack quack' or 'cuckoo cuckoo' - still no idea where he got the last one from, and still upset that I can't get him to say gonk any more
* Taj goes to bed first at night, so Alex turns on his music seahorse while I'm putting Tajy in and gives him each of his Pooh Bears (accompanied with squeak, squeak, squeak noises as he bounces the toy up Tajy's body) before he'll head into his own room for the night - all was going well with this until Alex realised there were two spare Pooh's on Tajy's bed, so Tajy got buried under four before we moved the reject models
* Martian still appears to be the language of choice at times, as Alex will repeat and repeat 'a-but abo-dee' accompanied with a point in the relevant direction when he wants you over there
* Tajy has realised he's got more chance of getting up/over something if he throws his leg up first
* we've started water awareness sessions again and Alex loves it this time (no more trying to climb around your head), to the point he now willingly jumps off the side into the water and getting out is now the problem - and not getting in
* puzzles (jigsaws in particular) are required daily
* Tajy has wavy hair and those floppy ears are still floppy
* Alex is still airplane mad, with his latest favourite being "copter bane" (helicopter plane)
* be quick if you have to get on all fours in this house as you either get slapped on the butt (accompanied with "bum") or you get climbed onto for a horsey ride; occasionally these get merged and you get a "bum neigh"
* Tajy's squeal is so high pitched I reckon it could deafen someone
* the boys currently have co-ordinated scun knees

Playdoh is our new discovery, and it has to be the real stuff (or the home made version) as others are literally cheap and nasty - hence Alex and I having blue fingers for a day.

Xmas is going to be a quiet affair again this year. Nik's hung decorations (all out of little arms reach) but no tree and no visit to Santa (yet - might get there tomorrow). And not putting the tree up was an unknown blessing as the ceiling in our double car size garage decided to fall down over the weekend (apparently they just do), and it would have hit the ground if it hadn't landed on the xmas tree box which was still on top of the shelves as well as the top of the roller doors. They're going to have to take it out fully to replace it (took them five hours to temporarily reattach it on Sunday), so definitely time to get in there and empty out all of the stuff the boys have grown out of. Might be able to put the cars away again... And speaking of cars, Nik has finally got away on his annual fishing trip (the one he had booked for June but had to cancel as I ended up in hospital) - so it will be interesting to hear his review on our new Hyundai Tucson when he gets back. Think he's going to be giving that 4WD button a workout!

Two and a quarter

2011-11-20T05:43:00.042+10:30

Not many photos this month - a combination of needing a new memory card for the camera and not getting out much due to both boys being off. Tajy started with a cold that he gladly shared with his brother, which resulted in a quick trip to hospital for Alex after I noticed a rash and hives appearing and disappearing at great speed all over his body (turns out it was roseola caused by a virus and nothing to be concerned of, which was great as we were starting to think he was allergic to a lot more than we already knew about) and has been topped off by Alex having severe gastro for the best part of a week (a result of the hospital visit??). We must give Alex acting lessons before we have to take him to emergency again as he raced up to the triage desk with a huge grin yelling "hi!!!!", so it was good there were only a handful of patients waiting as I'm sure we were given a low priority number as a result of one not-very-ill-looking child. Is he too young to learn how to fake a limp or hold his tummy or something? Ha ha. Alternatively, matey boy, could you just wait until the doctor or chemist is open when you next have a problem?

Both boys are just about good now, which is well timed as we spent yesterday driving around in our new car. We traded in the family car that we purchased just before the boys were born, and have ended up with the SUV that we nearly bought but didn't as we were attempting to save a few $s at the time. False economy there as we ended up with a lemon (classic example: the windscreen decided to spontaneously crack two days before we traded it), so we decided to cut our losses and buy a car that's nearly new so it won't cost us anything for repairs for a while. And we all love it. Except maybe Alex as the headrests on the front seats are solid, so he has to lean into the middle to see out the front window. Still laughing that Nik thought driving 1500 km (935 miles) to drop off our old car and back in the new car in 27 hours was an exciting outing... Can't half tell he's home full time.

Managed to get the boys weighed last month and Alex was just under 15kg, with Tajy around 13.7kg. No idea of their heights as they were both taller than the ruler available, but we must get this checked soon as Alex would only be an inch or so off a meter now. So had to laugh when I was chatting to a girl who works with my sister (we work for the same organisation) who's 4yo daughter weighs 16kg! I'm going to put this down to our two being boys, and not the fact that Alex particularly is huge. The size difference was clearly noted by my nephew last weekend who agreed with me that we could get away with saying the boys are brothers that are close in age, and not twins.

We had another member of the wildlife attempt to join our happy household again this month - a snail. I'm happy to report that it didn't become a permanent family member and it was duly evicted after Nik found the boys playing with it in the lounge room. Baby Bird is still with us and sings up a storm ALL day. Lily is still camped out permanently in its vicinity, except when she's in our bedroom hiding from the boys.

Speech is kicking along well still, with Tajy coming out with more and more - again which he doesn't feel inclined to repeat too often. It's definitely words but it's more like sounds if you don't listen closely enough, such as "ar" being star and "rar" being car. The one thing I hope he forgets is 'quack quack' as Alex is now saying that correctly, instead of his incredibly cute 'gonk gonk' when you ask him what noise a duck makes. Was very impressed with Alex the other day when he was looking at whatever and then told me the number and the item without counting, ie 'two shoes'. He loves to count and point, so actually coming out with the number was a real achievement. Books are a huge hit with both, with Alex frequently coming to see what Tajy and I are reading and hanging around until we finish. Books for me (at least the pleasure variety) are about to become a thing of the past as uni starts again next week. So, so glad I've nearly finished. But the hardest thing I've faced lately? Trying to come up with a unique name for each of our monthly blog posts as this is the only place we refer to exactly how old they are!

The concentration...

and evidence that Tajy did survive after burying
himself for the nth time in the swimming pool come ball pit.

Two and a bit more

2011-10-20T05:12:00.018+10:30

Gosh, this age is getting more fun by the month - and I think a lot of it is what parents normally go through when their bubs is around 18 months on, but I'm guessing we're a bit delayed due to the slow start with speech. Tajy continues to come out with new sounds and comes out with a few words (which he says for a day and then won't repeat), and has mastered those few very frustrated noises when he can't do what he's trying to and we haven't cottoned on quickly enough. Luckily the frustration is being demonstrated by a whinge or two, and no throwing said little body onto the floor and having a total meltdown. Yet. I'm still holding out the belief that the "terrible two's" is actually from 18 months to 2.5 years, so we're nearly there! But knowing that the cause of most of the meltdowns during this period is due to lack of ability to communicate, I truthfully don't think we're going to miss this delightful stage...

Alex, on the other hand, is doing enough talking for both of them. Shapes are his current thing and he gets super excited when he finds a star or hearts [sic] shape in whatever he's looking at. Circle is also still a huge hit, so gold stars for mummy for sticking hundreds of circles on the feature wall in their bedroom before they were even born! I still get the job of putting them to bed (around 7:15pm now) and getting them out of bed (around 7am), and Alex delights in pointing out all of the circles on the wall right above his cot to me every day. "Circle (point), circle (point), circle circle circle (super excited point at a big circle that I've stuck a smaller circle and then tiny circle on the top of )". And yep, the boys go all night and have since they were one. We continued to do a dream bottle for a while, but that stopped a few months back now. The boys sleep with whoever is the favourite (Pooh Bear x 2 for Taj, currently no-one for Alex but Elmo is still within arms reach and 'ted bear' is up on the shelf) plus their Fisher Price seahorse which plays beautiful lullabies when you push it's tummy. We hear these randomly being played during the night, so the boys self sooth when they need to. The sea horse's tummy lights up while the songs are playing, and Alex (as usual) has great delight in pointing out to me that their is a 'hearts' printed on it. Think he turns it on just as I walk in each morning purely to show me!

Pointing out body parts is also a fun game in this house (eyes, nose, hair etc), with the pointing either being to your own features or that of the closest toy/parent/sibling you can reach. They both crack up laughing when we get to the lower extremities as we shake legs and then do the compulsory tickle of the feet. I was going through parts with Alex a few weeks back ("where's your nose?"), to which he'd repeat the word and touch said item - and I then realised that Tajy was also doing the pointing even though he was off doing his own thing. So now we all do it together.

New funny boy thing this month (I'm still quite sure that a mother would never come up with half things a Mr Mum does) is Alex now copies Nik when he's pretending to sleep - or is really trying to have a nap, which I'm quite sure would be highly unsuccessful most times with our two around. Alex's version is to say "night night", lay down (or pretend to fall asleep sitting up with his head tipped over to the side) and then snoring. All three of them think it's hilarious, so Nik yells out "night night" from where ever he is and Alex responds with a loud snore.

Tajy is in about month three of his "I must be connected to my mother at all times stage", so he's either sitting on my lap or walking around with me holding hands unless he's scored whatever toy is the most prized possession without his brother realising. This child is sneaky! Had a huge laugh when I realised that Alex now isn't letting Nik out of his sight, but at least he's not permanently attached to his dad. Yet.

What else? I've been reading a bit as I'm not studying this semester, and the funniest baby/toddler books ever are my latest discovery - Vicky Iovine. She writes the series 'Best Friends Guide to ....' and they're hysterical. Started with her third book (toddler) and have just finished her fourth (getting your groove back). We've also got a new addition to the family this month - Baby Bird. It's a canary which was definitely someones pet that we assume somehow got out and decided to keep flying into our house instead. So Nik caught it, we shoved it an empty cage from the parents and the cat hasn't budged from its vicinity since. Looked in the paper for a good two weeks after we found him, but nothing in the lost notices. Nik's decided now that the previous owner let the bird out on purpose as it sings and sings and sings. And sings. Even with a sheet over the cage. And the name for the newest addition? Courtesy of the chatty child first time he saw it - "BIRD!!!!!!!! BABY BIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". It stuck.

Time for the compulsory photos over the last month...

One way of keeping your brother away from the toy cars...

I think this is the look of a happy little Vegemite face,
but could be wrong.

Shoes with no feet in them - not good!!!

Tajy deciding that his lunch will be more palatable
if he adds water.

Quick or the dead - Taj demonstrates the lunch
steal from his unsuspecting brother.

Boys were given their first balloon-on-a-stick
at the shopping mall, HUGE hit.

Latest bargain buy from a garage sale - $10 bike
that somehow fits two.

Taj modelling his bday pressie from Miss A.

Fashionistas...

Two and a bit

2011-09-20T18:56:00.009+09:30

Loving this stage - we're up to the everything has to be right in the world so all shoes without a foot in it have to find their owner quick smart (think Cinderella - Nik is very thankful that I don't wear heels) and every door that is normally shut must be shut quick smart if it's been left open thank you very much! Tajy thinks getting dressed or undressed is a hoot, where Alex hates anything going over his head. But then there's not much use putting something on him that has a zip as he'll undo that quick smart. Good thing it's getting warmer here, especially as the only place these two want to be is outside.

Alex is coming out with a new word daily, and my personal favourite is still "gonk gonk" - you know, the noise a duck makes. We say "quack quack" to him or ask what noise a duck makes, and it's always "gonk gonk" back. So be it. "Bane" is also a favourite, so it's great that we're on the flight path so lots of planes ("bane") fly over. The other super cute thing is that Alex always says hi to whatever it is first (stuffed toy, real live animal, picture in a book) - so it's always "hi cat", "hi dog" etc. Tajy's still observing and secretly practicing, and our bet is that he's going to come out with full sentences when he can be bothered. Clever little dude is letting his big brother work it all out first again. Eating is good. Sleeping is good. Life is great.

Loving the spring weather.

LOL - didn't even realise it was me in this photo
with Taj (my new hair colour is still confusing me);
cheeky Alex with Nik.

Tajy in the shower, and Alex pointing out to Nik
that he was taking too long to get him undressed
to get in the shower (the green is his jumper, and the
neck hole is around his waist).

Two

2011-08-20T19:07:00.044+09:30

I'm sure all parents say this, but how is it possible that my baby (babies in our case) is two?? There are so many similarities to when they were newborns, but in other ways they are so grown up that it's hard to fathom that they were ever so tiny. We've gone from no teeth to 16 being through on both (Tajy won that race). Alex is now officially off the height chart where Tajy wasn't even on it to start with. Instead of us having to push the music button on whatever item, they both now put the selected toy onto the floor and do the one foot stomp to turn it on. We've gone from little movement to full on squirm to crawling, walking and running - and now we're back to crawling if a sneaky manoeuvre is required to get past us. They now do the dancing and singing (Alex will happily start 'row row row your boat' off), and favourite songs are still Twinkle Twinkle and Hokey Pokey. Cuddles are still high on the agenda, and they'll both give you a kiss. Or put your forehead down so you can receive the kiss if your name is Taj. They love interacting but are happy to do things on their own. They love to play jokes on us (even though Nik is still good at hiding and jumping out when one of them walks past), with Alex's current favourite being saying the wrong thing such as circle when he knows it's a square so he can put both hands over his mouth and go "he he he". Taj has the ability to talk (we've sprung him whispering words a few times), but appears to be letting Alex work it all out first. Even though we're still required for nourishment, they're both Mr Independents and give you back their bottle or put it on the cupboard when they've finished. Or let you know they have no intention of eating it if your name is Alex (that "no" word is starting to feature). So happy birthday dudes, and please don't grow up too fast. And thank you once again for the privilege of being your parents. We're honoured.

Holiday snaps

2011-08-20T08:49:00.011+09:30

That was a quick week away! Lots of fun was had by all, and it was definitely topped off by the arrival of Cailyn. Congratulations again Kerrie and Mark!!! Agree fully with Meg that this is the most anticipated baby in blog land.

A few quick photos of the holiday before we blog again later today as there are a couple of birthday boys in our house...

Fruit bun, yummo.

Games room at hotel was good for burning

energy before bed.

Our 'bed' for the last week - so funny watching these
two wrestle in grobags, even funnier watching
Alex dive over Tajy and out of view (ie off the mattresses).

In the 'pool' - double spa bath in our apartment.

Boys making their own fun
(and yep, the kitchen was that small).

On the incident free flight coming home.

Holiday update

2011-08-16T17:04:00.004+09:30

So how are we going on our first holiday in two years? Alex vomited ten minutes after taking off, decided to vomit when we put him in the cot at the hotel and again when we took him out of it - so we've thrown the mattresses off the single beds onto the floor in the dining room and I'm camping out with the boys. We went to Movie World today and when we got a "oh no" from Alex when we were on the train ride, we quickly took him off. Lol!!

Super funny thing is we booked a two bedroom apartment so we had different rooms to use, and we've ended up living (literally) in the living areas and have banished Nik to the bedroom from 6pm when it's wind down time. And what does Nik think about this? Not a lot when we've got a whopping tv in the lounge room that he can't watch as it will disturb B1 and B2, and the colour tube has gone in the pissy little tv in the bedroom so he's been watching black and white every night.

Had a quick play date yesterday with twins and triplets born in Delhi, which was great. I can't remember our two being that little, and I'm sure the other parents can't fathom that there's will get as big as our two.

Will post some photos when we get home.

Two-next-month

2011-07-20T21:11:00.003+09:30

Two out of four of us ended up in hospital this month, so the last few weeks (for me) and week (for Alex) have been a bit on the quiet side. I ruptured a hernia (did anyone pick the last blog post didn't contain the usual level of detail?) and ended up in hospital the next day to get it repaired. All good now, except I wasn't allowed to pick up the boys for a month - so Nik's done the lot. He was VERY happy when I got the all clear from the surgeon today. Alex tripped over outside and slashed his eyebrow open, so off to emergency with him too. An hour later we were introduced to skin glue (they prefer not to stitch above the eyes now) and less than two hours later we were all home. No sedation, nothing. Just sterile super glue and no shower for 24 hours. We were told that it's going to scar, and we agree. And we're sure he's going to look even more rugged with his first visible accident. We also agree that it's going to be the first of MANY with these two.

Before, straight from hospital and a week later. Amazing!
[I'll restrain from posting photo's of my belly]

Alex's great love is counting, and he'll count anything. His dinner (while emptying his bowl/plate, and then putting everything back in). stacking cups (sorry Tajy, they're no longer your domain), whacking himself on the head (whack "one", whack "two") and everyone's fingers or toes. He's also been busy playing with his skin glue over the past few days, and loves poking it and then saying "ow". Makes a difference from him walking around alternating between saying "sorry" or "oh no" to everything, including when he's realised something is 'wrong' - such as us leaving a door open. He's had a mega growth spurt and we're sure there is more than 5cm difference between them now, and his weight - according to the Children's Panadol bottle - is between a 3 and 4 year old. Umm, they're not even two yet. And Tajy's not little... We realised how little they weren't when all three came to get me from hospital as it's the first time the boys have been in the double stroller for a while. Tajy just fit while Alex looked rather wedged in. Knew we liked using shopping trolleys for a reason when we're out and about! Looks like another item for eBay shortly.

Both boys are quite happy to stand on your foot if you're in the kitchen and they can't see what's going on. Alex has cottoned on to stand back so you can see better, but Tajy hasn't worked this one out yet. Probably as he's lurking around me in a hope of being picked up and sat on the bench - which hasn't happened since my surgery. Think he's going to go into shock when I lift him up shortly

The chalkboard (or any wall they can get to)
is still a big hit.

Tajy is still busy doing his own thing, and freely lets you know when he's frustrated. Still no development on the speech front, except for dad-dad-dad or mum-mum-mum. He's just worked out how to jump (have to laugh when Nik has them marching around the house in a quest to get Tajy to bend his knees), so he's taken this one step further and loves jumping up on the lounge and doing a sit drop or tummy flop. Matey, these are moves for that trampoline which is right outside the backdoor. I'm not sure who the biggest fan is (the boys or Nik), but we now have what feels like a zillion match box cars all over the house. Tajy still loves laying on his belly and playing, and is now frequently found with a stash of cars under and/or around him.

Alex is absolutely fascinated when a plane flies over our house, so he's going to just about have kittens when we head to the airport to go on our holiday in a few weeks time. We've ended up booking a two bedroom apartment and think that we'll throw the mattresses on the floor and sleep with a boy each. We may be pushing our luck trying to get them to sleep in a strange cot when they are used to nothing but their own house. They'll both definitely be gro-bag'd so they can't wonder around. We still have absolutely no idea what we're doing for their birthday, so we'll keep it low key as we arrive back home the day before. They'll get presents if nothing else as the xmas toy sale catalogues have all been released here in the last month, so we've stocked up.

Two-in-2-months

2011-06-20T22:43:00.008+09:30

Glorious sand.

Relaxing.

Backpacks on, let's go!

Discovering drawing...

which may have not been such a good idea.

On your bike - big and little.

Let me help push you Tajy...

whoops!

Successful pushing after a change of bike.

And relaxing. Again.

Two-in-3-months

2011-05-20T19:56:00.034+09:30

Escape artist at work.

The unbelievable has occurred - we're starting to say "the boys will be two soon". How on earth is that possible?!? I know we were at the birth etc etc, but surely that wasn't two years (minus three months) ago? But it must be as Toby is about to turn one and Kerrie/Mark are aiming for Alan to be born on our boys bday, and it definitely won't be their first as I remember that one. I also remember declaring that no bday parties at our house again for a V E R Y long time.

So what have we been up to over the last month? I've started doing a different job at work, so have spent the best part of the last two weeks interstate. We're getting very good at identifying when the boys need to speak to mummy (Nik sends me a text message, I ring on the house phone so he can put it onto speaker) and the boys come over for a chat. I'm sure they think I'm in the phone, so it's a bit of a joke that I've put my shrinking cap on and hopped in (for everyone without toddlers, the cap comment is in reference to a BBC kids show called "Grandpa in my Pocket"). I've also been filmed signing nursery rhymes, and I'm quite sure the first time I see myself on the huge tv I'll be straight on to Jenny Craig to sign up. One of the deals with me taking the job was to ensure that we had lots of quality time on the weekend, so after the boys have their 18 month shots tomorrow (yes, I know we're late) we'll go and do something fun. I'm sure that having needles shoved into them won't meet the definition of 'quality' for B1 and B2, but it's something we've elected to do - so immunisations it is. I think we'll make a bee line straight for the park as it's going to be a balmy 25 degrees C here, so we need to enjoy the good weather while it lasts.

Heights and weights finally got checked last week, and Alex put on 350 grams since they were checked six weeks earlier. He's now up to 13.27kg and is still on the 75% line. After shooting up 4cm in February he hasn't grown at all, which might not be a bad thing seeing he's now on the 97% height line. Nik didn't think much of this until I pointed out that only 3 children out of every 100 who are the same age are taller. Alex is officially a big boy, but with zero fat on him. Taj is the one with the baby pot belly, but when he's laying down and breaths in he goes so flat you feel like you should just about be able to see through him. Tajy put on 170 grams, which brings him up to 11.89kg. He's still on the 25-50% line, which he's been hovering around for the last six months. Tajy's up to 85cm in height (a 1cm gain), which leaves him on the 50-75% line.

Language is still officially lacking in this house (but Nik did get an "all gone" from Alex yesterday as he shoved the last mouthful of whatever it was into his mouth), but the exciting thing for me is that Alex is also starting to work out the match-the-shape type games. Tajy has got these from day one, but it's so exciting to see Alex finally cotton on too. Watching his face as he studies the shape and then work out where it goes is a joy. Tajy is so over matching that he's decided it's more fun to try and stack the shapes into a tower instead. I think we've got an engineer or construction worker on our hands. I can see Alex doing something like Cirque du Soleil as he's so in control of his body, or he's going to be an escaped convict as Megan predicted after he first broke out of Alcatraz. Um, what else?? Taj has really got into hats this month and will happily wear one all day (backwards of course) where they last for about two seconds on Alex before he rips it off. And we definitely have boys as climbing on things and pushing things is standard, or climbing under or around things - such as behind our corner lounge (so they go in one end and come out the other). The ABC song is a huge hit with Alex and they both love carrying three or four things simultaneously. There's a lot more playing between the two of them, and Alex is definitely the more caring of the two and will happily share his drink bottle if Tajy is having a hissy fit, or get Tajy's teddy if it's bottle and bed time and we haven't found it quickly enough. So, so beautiful.

Alex mid jump.

Downward dog with a degree of difficulty
of 10 (performed on outdoor furniture).

Tajy just doing his own thing
(complete with carpet burn on the side of his head,

one of the side affects of having boy twins).

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T06:18:00.016+09:30

... and that's to all that are mummy's already, and even more so the mummy's-to-be in our fabulous online community. Not long now Kerrie!!!!

I just woke to find these beautiful chrysanthemums from my boys. This is definitely the flower of choice here for M Day, which I reckon is because they're beautiful and we call our mother's "mum" which, if you haven't picked it, is the same spelling as the end of the name.

Have a great day girls. Let there be many breakfasts in bed and tonnes of general spoiling.

Twenty months (updated)

2011-04-20T19:30:00.042+09:30

Over the past month we've discovered that:

Alex reacts to fresh tomatoes (he turns the same colour as one and gets hives, even when he only eats half of a cherry size tomato). Have researched it all now and hopefully this doesn't occur with cooked tomato or he might have to say bye-bye for life to a lot of yummy Italian and Greek food. Lucky that pizza is great with a bbq sauce base;
Taj has graduated to full cows milk;
we're going to have a future star of Puppetry of the Penis (Google that one if you dare);
Alcatraz is still highly useful and is now onto its next iteration fiercely guarding the tv in the lounge room;
Tigerlily is super happy as we've put a cat door into the laundry door (within the house), so she now has another place to duck into when she gets sprung lurking during the day;
Alex is really heavy;
Taj wants you to put something onto his head (hat, bunny ears - see below) if he stands in front of you and puts his chin onto his chest;
we're so in need of a change of scenery and/or break that we've been mad enough to book an interstate holiday in August, so it's going to be interesting to see how many bags we need to go anywhere - and how long it takes to pack. And we officially know we have children now as we both were just about giddy with excitement when we booked a hotel with a kids club;
a never ending summer is great when it means you can go outside multiple times a day and little people can attempt to burn off some steam.

Alcatraz version 38. And yes, Alex now climbs inside.

Video stream on the baby monitors - first time they've

both been sleeping the same way at the same time in eons

(Tajy, on the right, normally sleeps across the end of his
cot with Pooh Bear firmly squished under his belly).
And we have video monitors as it was impossible to tell
who was making noise when we had audio monitors
and they were sharing a room.

One super unimpressed child (with a lot of teeth)

- Taj letting us know it's only acceptable to put on his bathers
if he's in the water within the next 5 minutes.

Alex modelling their highly practical swimwear.

"Why, hello cat."

Nik thought it was a clever idea to buy stools

for the boys to stand on, even more so when he

realised he could soon delegate the washing up.

Nice and warm Alex. It's starting to get cooler here at night.

"You eat it, I'll consider it" - Tajy making me try his lunch first.

And for Edward and Paul. Be glad you have girls when
it comes to things like trying to take cute photos at Easter:

You have less than 10 seconds to take that shot...

I don't think so...

Perfectly acceptable!

Nineteen months

2011-03-20T15:07:00.034+10:30

Love, love this picture. Nik was feeding Taj.

Alex climbed up and made himself comfortable.

At lunch to celebrate my sister's 25th wedding anniversary.
Taj chucked on her shortly after this was taken,
and Alex got grandpa on the way out.

Twin wrestling - tell me Taj isn't enjoying himself
(click on picture to make it larger).

Taj loves to stack...

and stack...

and occasionally taste test the stack.

Probably the lowest thing Alex has climbed all month.

Go horsey daddy!!

The quick or the dead - Alex discovering iceblocks.

The chain gang.

Mr "tree hugging hippie" Taj

So have we noticed that the boys are wearing similar outfits in a few of these photos?? Nik is doing it on purpose as I won't dress them the same and make sure they look different every time they leave the house, so he's digging out similar outfits and then coming up with arguments such as "they're different shades of green" when I comment. Loved yesterdays logic - "Alex's orange is more faded". From now on I'm only going to buy each outfit in one colour so he has to come up a new way of entertaining himself. Not sure if it was the intent, but it has resulted in me not knowing which child was which for a split second. And it definitely is only a temporary confusion as Alex is now 5cm taller than Taj after growing 4cm last month. Taj grew 2cm but finally, finally caught up with some of the weight difference after putting on around 500gm vs Alex's 30gm. The weight difference is now 700gm, which is the closest it's been in over a year. We started swimming lessons with them a month ago and you really noticed how similar they are in size (ignoring the height) as they both fit into their one piece bathers nicely, with Alex perhaps stretching the legs a bit more. Taj loves, loves the lesson and spends the entire 30 minutes laughing, even when he's under water. Alex spends at least 15 minutes trying to get out by climbing up whoever is holding him and then wrapping himself around their head. Needless to say, we now swap children midway through the lesson in an ongoing quest to continue to provide them with two parents.

In the 20 minutes since I've been on my laptop loading photos for this blog post Taj has walked past pushing a truck, Alex a shopping cart and Taj returned dragging the toy vacuum behind him. It's either non stop or passed out with these two - and there's very little in-between, except with a tv show or two that they're fascinated with. They're both getting into detail though, and stacking cups (or stacking anything if your name is Tajy) and those wooden boards with the cutout holes that you match up with the corresponding shape are a huge hit. Things with wheels are also very popular, as demonstrated by Taj who just went back down the hall pushing a train. Had to laugh the other night when Alex found one of my hair elastics on the lounge and raced over to place it on top of my head. Now that's attention to detail! Alex still loves, loves playing "where's Alex??" when he's standing right behind you but you pretend you can't find him. He gets really cheeky now and if you don't find him according to his timetable, he sticks his head around so you can see him. Too cute. This happens most nights during bedtime routine now, and seems to have replaced 'gro-bag chasey', but that could be because there's not much of the gro-bag dragging around on the floor (before putting feet in and zipping fully up) due to the growth spurts. I've just ordered the next size of winter weight bags and got them used from the UK, paying on average AU$25 including postage as it's the wrong season over there. Seeing they cost around AU$70 new here I have zero problems with the bags being pre-loved. Will be interesting to see if the chasey game kicks off again as there will be lots of length dragging on the floor behind them now. Something that I'd love to continue is how Alex gets himself into final-bottle-of-the-day-with-mummy position. I'm sitting on the floor with my legs open in a V, so he walks up to me, does a 180 degree turn, throws himself backwards onto me and slides down onto the floor. Head goes on my left leg and bottle goes into his mouth with my right hand. Taj is already on my left (strapped into his chair), so I get to do my multi-tasking trick too with feeding both at once.

A language other than Martian is finally appearing and Alex is great at asking "who's this??" and "what's that??", accompanied by arms out, elbows bent, palms facing upwards in that classic shrug position. He loves it when you count or do the ABC song, and will grab your finger to point at a particular picture of fruit in one of their books waiting for you to say the name. Taj isn't bothered with anything other than mum and dad yet, which is fine.

And happy anniversary Debra and Greg. Can't believe it's been 25 years since your big day, and I'm sure you can't either.

Eighteen months

2011-02-20T18:49:00.013+10:30

This month we:

popped through lots of new teeth and body hair
- with Alex getting hairy everywhere and
Taj finally getting eyebrows (sort of)

had more visitors from overseas, this time the China contingent

(Nancy, on the left, lived with us for a few years when she
first came to Australia to study when she was 15)

celebrated with Alex when he finally found a

bucket (or laundry basket)
which fit over his boof head

enjoyed being outside in our frog pool

challenged dad to see if we could empty new look
mini Alcatraz quicker than he could get all the balls back in

gave Taj a vaccuuming lesson before giving him
a licence to operate his very own

had a wheelie bin race

and played hide and seek.

The one thing the boys haven't done is vocalise much else in English (other than mum, dad and Alex's new one of "uh oh" which he normally lets out at the correct time - which is normally when he's trashed something). But they're both great at Martian, with Alex having perfected at least 100 words. If only it was a language used more frequently on this planet...

Seventeen months

2011-01-20T19:10:00.031+10:30

I think the last month has been the best yet. The boys individual personalities have kicked in big time and they're both just so funny. Incredibly tiring as they just never stop (I'm sure Stephanie was writing about our two when she did Micah's latest update, so much so that I nearly just pasted their blog address here and said "ditto"), except we have the tag team issue when they either work together to achieve something or one distract whichever parent is around and then the other gets up to no good. And it's not always Alex either!! The cat has got very good at hiding and is very happy we've got child barriers she can duck under to escape instead of child gates that go to the floor which would neatly trap her in.

Alex is still on the 75% weight, 90% height charts (12.21kg, 84cm) and Taj is on 25-50% weight, 75% height (10.87kg, 82cm). We think Taj has cracked two molars where Alex cracked one last month. Everything else medically is great, and they've got their next shots in 2 months.

We had a VERY special visitor last weekend - and it was the "man on the ground" that assisted us during our pregnancy. I work with Susila (on the right holding Alex) and Shaila (on the left) was her boss when she lived in Mumbai, and it was Shaila that helped us when we needed help with translation and making additional payments and delivering a fruit basket and so forth. Even though it was a very short meeting, it was great to finally put a face to the name. And thanks for the gifts Shaila!

As usual, Alex is into, under or on top of everything - whether it be a bar stool, the dining table, his brother (very handy step!) or a cardboard box. We (I) learnt the hard way recently to not move anything of his without him knowing about it as I told Nik to give his cot a quick 90 degree turn and move it away from the window during summer. All well and good until I took him to bed and he decided that he didn't like the change or it was bad feung shui or something and promptly vomited all over the floor. Nik took him in his room heaps the next day to acclimatise him to the change and all was going well for the night time bed routine for about 10 minutes until he again decided to vomit - this time in my face. Needless to say the cot was instantly moved back and it's been peaceful again since.

Alex has also decided that he needs to help out with everything, and vacuuming his favourite activity (after playing hairdresser, to the extent that he pulls out my hair elastic first so he's got more to play with; he's as equally fascinated by Tajy's eyelashes) - whether it be the full size vacuum, the dust buster or their toy vacuum. Nik has a great laugh whenever he starts to do the floors now as he purposely moves the toy vacuum to the furthest point away first, and then cacks himself watching Alex sprint off to get it so he can 'help'.

Taj has realised that looking cute is all he's required to do. No working up a sweat for this young man! Or at least not when a camera is around as Nik assures me it's Tajy that climbed the bookcase to get whatever off it was off the top that was so tantalising. Lucky for us we've already attached this bookcase to the wall and it's not very high (only has one shelf). The rest of the time he's busy "posting" envelopes into HIS red folder (heaven help us if Alex goes anywhere near it). Taj was super impressed when an envelope he nabbed off the bookcase that had arrived in the post that day rained glittery hearts and the like on him when he shook it. I don't think Nik was anywhere near as excited after having to pick up 20 or so tiny little shapes in double quick time, and before they got stuck to little feet and ended up throughout the house.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T18:14:00.008+10:30

We got a bouncy castle thing to play with inside

(and Nik got injured pumping it up; try pushing that over you two)...

we met Iggle Piggle and got a mini 'radio'...

we got some more building blocks from

grandma and grandpa

(and from some fabulous friends overseas)...

we had a jump on our very own toddler size trampoline

(with full safety net in an attempt to minimise accidents,

or maybe legal cases, by the manufacturer)...

we had a swing...

and then we ditched all of it to play with the BEST toy of all time -
cardboard tubes out of the wrapping paper rolls.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have as much fun as our two did today, and will again tomorrow when we do it all again.

Sixteen months

2010-12-20T17:30:00.017+10:30

Heights and weights were checked two weeks ago and Alex was up to 11.93 kg - a gain of 720 grams in six weeks. I didn't think much of this until the nurse commented that at this age toddlers put on between zero - 50 grams in a month. Taj gained 570 grams so tried to not be outdone (he's up to 10.7 kg now), but this wasn't enough to keep the weight difference between them under the 1 kg mark. Alex is now 83cm tall (he's hit the 90% line for the first time) and is now on the 75% weight line. Taj is 80cm (50 -75% line) and has crept up slightly on the weight line also (now between 25 - 50%). So they're growing nicely! And Alex definitely has the boof head as the bucket Taj is modelling above doesn't fit. All else is going well, and we don't need to take Taj back to the opthamologist until he's two (he has nystagmus; his version is where the pupils vibrate sideways). My dad also has this, and it can be either hereditary or a prem issue. As a teenager I always used to jokingly blame my dad for all of the things wrong in my life (being short sighted (thank you laser vision surgery), having the most awful sneeze in the world (which he also does, so I must have copied it), being short etc etc) - so now Taj gets to blame grandpa for something too, much to my mum's delight! The opthamologist commented that at two years of age the bridge starts to narrow and go forward (which takes about a year) and this will aesthetically make the shake appear less. Somehow I don't think it's going to change much as Taj is definitely his dad, and Nik has a very wide bridge. I'll make sure Nik comes to the next appointment so I can point out the obvious. Speaking of obvious, the obvious that finally clicked with me is why Taj is seeing so much more now - and that's because he's mobile. The opthamologist explained to me eons ago that vision is linked with physical ability, and babies can't see more than they can reach - which explains why Alex has been able to see us standing at a distance for a lot longer than Taj has (as he walked three months earlier).

Alex is still everything physical (including full on throw yourself on the floor melt downs, including while we were at the opthamologist as I left him with my sister and could subsequently hear him while I was on the next floor up) while Taj is too busy putting things together to be worried much about anything else. But he has realised it's a lot easier, and less painful, to turn around and get off the lounge feet first. Alex has really discovered kids tv this month and his favourite, to the degree that he forgets to blink while watching it, is 'In the Night Garden'. Seriously, what a weird show. It was the emergency run to Kmart yesterday to get a few dvd's so we can keep our bedtime routine intact after we realised the tv station has changed the start time by an hour starting next week. Rumour has it that Santa is bringing an Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy for Alex for xmas, and Santa's shopping assistant had a great laugh at Nik's expense and purposely bought the very noisy, singing and talking versions. The boys are watching it now (Taj stops building whatever he's up to every so often to have a look), so it's a great time to be able to jump on the computer and catch up with the world.

After Igglepiggle and friends go to bed, it's off with the tv at 6pm and on with the stereo for some music and reading time until 6:30pm. Alex has worked out how to control the stereo so he picks which songs he wants, so it's good that I still like 90s hits such as Venga Bus and Mumbo No 5. It's then gro bags on (the kids sleeping bags they sleep in, but only zipped a tad at the top so their feet are still out and they can walk around - they definitely look like a bride walking down the aisle with their 'train' dragging on the ground behind them, or until Alex stands on Taj's (on purpose) and stops him dead in his tracks), relaxing baby music on (we still start with that bizarre animal tune), catch Taj and pop him in his chair for a bottle while Alex sits in between my legs with his head resting on my thigh for his. Half an hour or so later it's zip up the gro bags and into bed for very tired little boys, and sigh of relief time for mummy (or daddy if mummy has gone awol and he's had to take over the bedtime shift).

I checked with the nurse when she was here at the beginning of the month and, on average, 18 month old kiddos can speak about 10 words. I don't think we'll be achieving this as both boys regularly only speak two words - variations of dad and mum mum. It's lovely that they say mum, except they only say it when they're starving as one of the biscuits we have here for babies are 'Baby Mum Mums', so the boys now associate that word with food. They both understand more (especially "cat" which always ends up in a child with a spinning head trying to locate Lily), but haven't managed to verbalise it continuously yet. Taj has a sound for every expression so you know exactly how he's feeling, and his surprised sound is just delightful. Alex is great at singing along with songs, in particular the ABC song and Old McDonald. Wonder if the boys are doing secret twin stuff and communicating in their own way the rest of the time?? They're both great at the verbal gestures (not the one or two finger variety yet though) and point, wave, clap and blow kisses repeatedly.

Something the boys have discovered this month is that working in tandem gets better results - such as one distract dad while the other trashes something, or both work together and destroy whatever the target is (including pushing the cubby house over in Alcatraz). Good thing no little fingers or toes got squished in the process.

Other developments include Alex finally cutting another tooth (a molar) as he's been dribbling for months and the boys have started to use a fork and spoon at meal time (not always with a lot of success but we're getting there). Taj is now drinking a combination of stage two formula and cows milk, and we've started giving him the iron drops prescribed about a year ago as he's been even paler than usual and had what looked like huge bruises under his eyes the other weekend. An unexpected bonus was Nik winning a chest freezer through a radio competition last week, and it's something he's been after for months - and even more so after the freezer component of our fridge started to play up a few weeks ago. I didn't believe him when he rang to tell me (and pointed out that if he's purchased it with a credit card I'm going to know as it will be on the statement), so not only did he email me the notification he even made me pick up the voucher. We contacted the store and they're going to let us credit it to a more expensive purchase, so we're looking at buying a vertical freezer with about double the capacity. That just leaves us to get a new fridge sooner or later (we'll get an all fridge version now), and we'll hopefully be set to store enough that two hungry toddlers/school children/teenagers are going to consume.

We also managed to fill up the memory card for our camera this month - with a mere 800 photos taken in about six months. And like most new parents now, we haven't made copies for eons. Good thing that I'm onto my third "let's get everything electronic into a hard copy book" and I've included lots of snaps, as well as emails and these all important blog postings that capture the milestones (hence the level of detail).

Escapee - part 2

2010-11-30T19:21:00.012+10:30

Alex escaped from Alcatraz again today, and he may have got away with it for longer than he did if he hadn't gone tearing down the hall (past the lounge room where Nik was feeding Taj) waving his arms above his head while yelling at the top of his lungs. Stealth is the goal Mr Escape Artist! Think I'm going to find the video camera set up in the family room tomorrow in an attempt to film the great escape as we're not sure how he's doing it.

[and thanks for the insight anonymous person from Mumbai (is my heckler from the US on holidays, or do they have a friend posting unwanted comments on their behalf??) - I never realised we were meant to baby proof the house so the "poor little buggers" could run free, instead of keeping them "copped up in that bloody alcatraz shit you've got going on". I'll also let my back to being very healthy, always happy cat know that it's time she's put down and that she's in for a "damn good afterlife" because this one has been oh so horrible. You are so right that I've always put my needs before hers. Hence her never receiving treatment for any of her ailments or specialised imported cat food or anything. I'm sure our vet has suggested we let her go as she's in too much pain at least... how many times was it? Oh yeah, NEVER. Grow a pair and post with your name. And then come over and sit with one of the boys while Nik works with the other (just about the only time they're in Alcatraz) or has to go to the bathroom (alternatively I could buy some adult diapers for him), and then come and chat to my vet about Lily being the most loved, spoilt cat of all time who is in zero pain. Even better, go away like I told you to last time.]

Escapee!!

2010-11-23T13:53:00.008+10:30

LMAO - Nik just rang to say he left Alex in Alcatraz while he put Taj to bed, and he came out to find the so called impenetrable fortress empty and Alex happily sitting on the adjacent lounge playing. Think Harry Houdini is going to be spending most of his time in the holding yard (ie lounge room with high gate) until we get a chance to baby proof the rest of the house.

[and what makes this even funnier is I was emailing with Amani who had just said "so cute, I have to say I am particularly fond of Taj, he just has a look of something peaceful and profound, he is your sensitive little man. Alex just looks extremely funny, bold, clever and out there. He will be your politician (or criminal)". More likely escaped criminal. Directed her to this post and got the response of "LOL ... let's just hope he was in jail as a political prisoner with a human rights agenda and not a drug trafficker". Still laughing.]

Fifteen months

2010-11-20T15:02:00.046+10:30

This month has been all about discovery - working out that coming down feet first off the lounge is less painful (Alex); not yet realising that if you're planning on coming off the lounge head first, at least aim for a pillow (Taj); no need to chew watermelon as you can just pop it in your mouth and squish it (both); if you tip things over like toy tubs you can climb on them (Alex); if you then stand on whatever it is you've up-ended, it's easier to throw toys behind the tv (Alex): working out which shaped block goes in which hole is all about examining the block first by turning it over and touching all of it (Taj): sometimes brute force works just as well and you fluke getting a block in (Alex); it's easier to walk if you bend your knees (Taj); don't leave Taj unattended with a sippy cup as he think's he's an entrant in a wet baby competition (his version, for now I'm sure, of a wet t-shirt competition); if two little people run towards each other, it's inevitable that sooner or later they're not going to stop in time and bounce off each other (both laughing) and there's no way I'm sitting down in the bath (Alex). The refusal to sit during splish splash time resulted in a new shower head being purchased (one of those that's on a bar so you change the height), and now both little dudes have showers only. Taj still likes to sit down and play at times, while Alex stays on his feet - and his version of playing is Nik changing the water stream to massage and then to jet and then to pulsate etc etc. Main issue we're facing now is Alex cracks a wobbly if you get him out in less than 15mins, so we'll get a timer shortly and put it in the bathroom and he's going to learn very quickly that when that bell goes off, so does the water. We still dry the guys on the change table we have in the bathroom, but I can see that becoming redundant too soon.

The other discovery this month has been books, except they both think that every book that's ever been published has interesting things to touch on each page (like soft, fluffy fabric if it's a picture of a cat or a sheep, or corrugated paper if it's something wavy like the ocean). The look of disappointment on both their faces if every page is smooth and only has pictures is priceless.

We've also learnt if you're going to teach your children a new trick, it might be worth mentioning it to your significant other. Case in point - I thought Alex was having seizures as he would walk around, stop and then throw his head and shoulders back in slow motion (think someone overacting getting shot in a really bad western) and it turns out Nik taught him to do this. I got my own back as after the boys have had their last bottle before bed (which I do while Nik's out getting some fresh air) we have a game in an attempt to get a burp or two out where while I'm sitting on the lounge they stand on my lap (one child at at a time), we count ONE - TWO - THREEEE and I then tip them over onto the stack of pillows I've got next to me. As a result, every time Nik said "threeee" Alex would fall over and he'd have no idea why. LOL!!!

I think it's time to go back to school as I thought 1 + 1 = 2, but the boys have assured me 1 + 1 = 4. As in one biscuit in this hand, one in that and two for my bro. So none of this attempting to give a child one thing each (biscuit, teething ring, whatever) as one ends up with both and the other none.

If we could ask the boys what their greatest achievement has been in the last month, I'm pretty sure Alex would respond finally breaking free of the stroller and now walking around the shops etc. We've got the boys a monkey and a dog backpack type harness and Alex is in love with both. If we let him, he'll even drag one around the house or have the strap part looped around his neck like he's wearing a fancy scarf. Taj is happy to be pushed still. Clever boy!

Both boys have now discovered the cat and she's the first thing they look for each morning when I get them out of bed. If they're lucky, Lily will stay still long enough so they can pat her - or, even better, she'll do that full body rub cats are great at against whichever boy I've placed on the floor next to her. Good think I'm holding on as she'd just about knock them over. Health wise she seems to be doing ok, and she's now also decided that our new king size bed is fantastic and has claimed the spot between my pillow and the edge of the bed. Why?!?! Isn't there enough room to sleep by my feet? I'm short. Not sure if having ongoing human contact is the attraction or the super silky sheets, but whatever it is I regularly wake up with a face full of cat.

And some learnings for other parents this month - buy high chairs that are dark (I'd buy black if we were purchasing them again) as lots of baby food (recipies and pre-prepared) are tomato based and it stains everything. Also, put a cloth bib on under one of those rubber bibs (that has the bucket on the front to catch stuff - great invention!) in an attempt to keep bubs clothing dry.

At the park - you can not get Taj off of this bouncy dolphin.

Alex on the slippery dip.

Practising driving...

and practising waiting.

Squirmy baby cuddle with Alex...

who's happy to chill with dad.

Taj giving us the hint that he's ready for bed
(he's buried under their gro-bags).

101 uses for chairs.

Those eyes are ridiculously blue.

Taj has heard there might be a job opening

(on the Top Gear tv show, UK version).

Boys will be boys

2010-11-13T19:05:00.009+10:30

Thought it was cute when Stephanie posted recently that Micah laughed at his own fart, but then Alex thought he'd show me he's also full of testosterone tonight by lifting his leg and then letting one rip. Charming! Don't think anything much is going to surprise us with this one as he is an exhibitionist, as demonstrated by the quick duck into Tajy's room while doing the nudey run to the bath most nights so he can throw a few poses and perve at himself in the mirror. Very good thing we gave him the bedroom with no reflective surfaces - lol!!

Fourteen months

2010-10-20T19:52:00.025+10:30

So what have we been up to in the last month? Taj started walking last week, which is just about three months to the day after Alex (or Speedy G, as in Speedy Gonzales, as he's now known) took off. Alex finally, finally cut his next tooth (they're both up to eight now) but is still dribbling enough to fill a reservoir. They've both shot up in height and it will be interesting to get their measurements again on Friday, especially after Taj lost weight last month due to becoming so active after mastering the furniture cruise. Alex has a belly and a fat face again (hints that another growth spurt is just around the corner), and Taj is super lean. They're both eating stacks and watermelon would be their choice for every meal if they were consulted. Nik transitioned Alex onto cows milk in one day with zero issues (he didn't even start with half formula, half cows milk) but then I realised we've got 18 tins of formula stacked under Taj's cot so now Alex gets some bottles of formula and some of cows milk. And if he's really lucky, some with Akta-Vite chocolate powder mixed in.

Had to laugh when I was told that babies heads start to get bigger from one year of age as the boys were already both on the boofy 97% line, but sure enough it's starting and Alex now looks like one of those aliens whose head is bigger at the top than at the bottom - but at least he's not green! If anyone is green it's Nik as I taught the boys how to climb onto the lounge and there's been a few head first dives off since. It's really interesting to note how they approach things - Alex is super happy to simply run back and forward, have a giggle and a bit of a jump where Taj gets to the end and then tries to plot the big escape or work out how he can climb to the CD player or whatever.

The boys sleeping has been good (except for the first week after we started day light saving), I continue to ruin day routines on the weekends and Lily is recovering nicely and has only had to visit the vets for a routine check-up. We think she's vomiting predominately after eating dry food, so the specialised imported tinned wet food from the US it is. At $5 a day. Million dollar cat is definitely an appropriate name for her!! Nik's still loving our new bed and is busy planning his next fishing trip at the beginning of December (while it's still crab season, not that I think they're going to catch any). I got the results for my latest uni subject and passed, so I've now got five units to go to finish my degree (which will be at the end of next year). And it's spring here, so everyone is happy and out and about. The warm weather definitely makes the nude dash to the splish splash session in the bath more pleasurable for little people, especially as they get to the bathroom under their own steam now. Taj crawling done the hall in the buff is a very funny sight!

Update Friday 22/10 - our home visiting nurse dropped in today, so the all important measurements were taken. Alex is up to 11.21kg (50-75% line) and is 80cm tall (75% line; he's nearly half as tall as me!!!). Taj is 10.13kg (25% line) and 76.5cm (25-50% line). He gained 460 grams in the month, which more than makes up for going backward with his weight last month.

Boys love their bday pressie from dad dad
(which now has two infant swings attached).

Lily putting her servants to work, before checking
herself into Alcatraz while the inmates were on
day release (safest place in the house!).

Alex discovered vegemite, and Taj
demonstrates 101 uses for Cheerios.

Surrogacy in India IS high risk

2010-10-16T19:44:00.019+10:30

There's been a lot of innuendo, heresay, conspiracy theories and the rest over the last few weeks about what's causing an extra level of investigation into new parents trying to leave Delhi. As I keep saying when a new issue raises its ugly head, we need to let it all die down until the party/ies involved can actually share the truth. There's no use the rest of us speculating as, from our personal experience, you'll get it wrong. We knew we had problems with the administration of our pregnancy for one day short of six months, and - nearly 14 months later - I still believe the biggest issue was culture. Just because the people we deal with in India speak the same language does not mean you are on the same page, let alone reading the same book!!! So go with the flow, leave your preconceived ideas at home and be ready for what you were told about prices or leaving the country processes or whatever when you signed up being vastly different by the time you leave. Do whatever you can to protect yourself (such as ensuring at least one of you is biologically related to your offspring, even if this is not a current requirement of your embassy), read every blog and discussion forum you can and then throw it all out the window. And be both financially and emotionally ready to be there for weeks after birth. Enjoy this time because the sooner you get home the sooner work and all of those other pesky things (such as having to do your own cooking and cleaning again) start to intrude onto a life that is now filled 24/7 with baby.

And what's wrong with anyone who's been down this road making a few $s from what they've learnt? We don't bemoan Planet Hospital or any of the other medical tourism companies from profiting from people willing to travel overseas for treatment. The best example I've met of someone using the knowledge they've gained is one of the girls who was a surrogate with the clinic we used (I've got a great photo of her being heavily pregnant chatting to our surrogate very early days into our pregnancy) taking on the role of caretaker for other women offering themselves for surrogacy purposes in Mumbai. She's been there, done that (and got the sari to prove it - lol) and is absolutely perfectly placed to be able to explain the intricate details of what's ahead to these women. Including how to cope going home after birth empty handed. And good on her!!! I was so pleased to see that she'd taken on this new role when I bumped into her just after our boys were born as she'd be excellent at it, and it would be longer lasting financially for her then doing another surrogacy.

The other high risk issue our community faces is the number of multiple pregnancies. I could be way off target, but it feels to me that around half of the pregnancies are now twins - where the twin birth rate in 2006 in the US was 32.1 per 1000 births (or 3.21%). Twin pregnancies are considered high risk worldwide as they face the following medical issues:

Twice the rate of Preeclampsia (compared to singleton pregnancies).
Gestational Diabetes – especially if experienced in previous pregnancies.
Placental Abruption – a condition when the placenta detaches from the uterine wall before delivery.
Low birth weight – twins and other multiples mean there are more babies sharing a small space. Though the babies grow at the same rate as singleton babies during the first 2/3 of the pregnancy, their growth slows down significantly thereafter.
Increased risk of preterm labour (37 weeks is considered full term for a twin pregnancy in western countries; they seem to arrive earlier than this in India).
High possibility of being put on bed rest.
Twin to Twin Transfusion – though rare, it is a very serious condition that happens in identical twin pregnancies. This is a condition where one baby receives more blood and therefore gets bigger than the other, who isn’t getting enough blood.

A multiple pregnancy can also give false readings with the maternal serum screening blood test (from memory) as one twin can have a high result and the other low, and it balances out to give an average reading - where you in fact have a problem.

I'm not trying to scare anyone with this, but I do want to remind everyone that a multiple birth is not the norm and the pregnancy faces many, many risks. Life with multiples post birth also throws up a lot of challenges - including a higher divorce rate. If you have your heart set on creating your family in one hit, why not use two surrogates (while we still can; is that law ever going to get introduced to Parliament?) and transfer only one or two embryos and then arrange for the children to be born on the same day? That way you still get twins but without all of the medical issues that your surrogate may face. And it will probably cost you the same as you won't have a high risk pregnancy and your surrogate probably won't require on-going hospitalisation during the pregnancy and bubs probably won't end up in NICU for as long, which means you also won't have such a huge hotel bill. Just a thought. And this is not a case of the pot calling the kettle black - we thawed three embryos that were made when I was 38 (so my fertility was already in steep decline), we put them all in (it was our third attempt and we'd had at least this many transferred twice before for fresh cycles) and we ended up with twins. Definitely not our plan to have a multiple, but we did. It's challenging to say the least, but we love it.

Poll: any more votes to be cast?

2010-10-04T17:50:00.007+10:30

So far we're sitting at 17 boys vs 11 girls, so we're way over the average of boys (currently sitting at just over 60%). So has anyone not voted yet? Do so quickly so Nik can repost his '13 months as a stay at home dad' update which I got him to remove for a week until we finish this poll. I'm then going to remove the poll from this blog as it's put a bizarre brown stripe in between the blue boxes at the top of the screen.

UPDATE 16th Oct - I'm closing the poll and, after some last minute flurry from the pink gender, we have 23 boys (60.5%) and 15 girls (39.5%) born via surrogacy in India. Now I just want to know how many babies have been born to international IPs in India?? Don't think I'll ever find the answer to that one.

Poll: boys vs girls

2010-09-30T08:14:00.007+09:30

I've either been led up the garden path in relation to the ratio of boys vs girls born via IVF, or the thinking has changed, as the latest Australian study has found that 56.1% were boys!! So assume you're having a boy everyone. I'm going to put up a poll to see if our births in India match this statistic - which I think they might as I can think of more boys that have been born than girls. Please only vote more than once if you've had more than one child born in India.

Baby elbow

2010-09-25T18:56:00.009+09:30

My left arm has been giving me grief for the past few months so I finally saw a doctor yesterday and he informed me that I have tennis elbow, but as it hurts top and bottom (bottom being golf elbow) I've decided I have baby elbow. Where's the warning that comes with these cute little deliveries about things they can do to your long term health!?!? I thought they were meant to cripple you financially, not physically. LOL. You better hurry up and start walking on your own soon Tajy as I'm not going to be able to carry you for much longer. You not putting any weight on in the last month may have been a good strategy after all.

Thirteen months

2010-09-20T19:23:00.031+09:30

Sleeping and eating have featured highly this month, and I think we've all enjoyed it - except for Alex when I had no option but to introduce him to controlled crying as Taj tipped himself out of his chair (he should have been just about asleep after his last bottle of the day), so I had to put him into his cot fully awake to calm hysterical-but-uninjured-still-strapped-to-the-chair-youngest-child. Screaming only lasted 20mins or so on the first night (would have been a lot less if I'd read the book properly and realised you increase the gap between going in by 5 mins every time, and not keep going in every 5 mins) and most nights now lasts for an entire 10 seconds before he can't be bothered. Good thing we've got camera monitors so I can watch what he's up to as he fell asleep sitting up most nights for the first week ("no, I'm not tired - even though I'm asleep with my head in my lap"), so I had to sneak back in to tip him over. Tajy is very impressed that Alex is in bed so early now as it means he gets to go too as he just loves being flat and stretching instead of being strapped into a chair (a bigger one that he can't tip - yet). I have the joy of getting the boys out of bed in the morning and putting them into bed in the evening, and I can tell you that I am now loving the fact that I know they're going to be in bed regardless of what they want by 7pm. Yay, my evenings are free again. Would be handy if I could stay awake past 8pm now... damn relaxation music!! The boys still have one late bottle as a result of being too busy during the day to drink (Alex will only drink standing up accompanied by "mmooooo" noises from whoever's giving it to him if he's awake), which Nik does before joining me in our whoppingly huge new bed. Alex is also a big fan of the extra space as I threw him into it with us when he decided to wake up at 5:30am yesterday morning and he had lots of room to play. I'm loving the bed too, except for the fact I've got nowhere to put my shoes as it's an ensemble and we've lost all that under bed storage. There goes my aspiration of being the next Imelda Marcos.

Not sure if it was the extra teething or what (Alex now has 7, Taj 8) but Taj decided that blowing a raspberry every time he had anything in his mouth was good fun for about two weeks. Yeah, good fun if you're not on the receiving end of whatever it was being sprayed (particularly brocolli). This resulted in just about every meal being finger food only and as a result both of the boys are taking bigger chunks and being a lot more adventurous with what they're eating. I read something recently that you should give bubs as much variety as you can when they're young as they get really fussy between the ages of 2 to 8 years, so introduce stuff early or give up for eons. The other thing we've learnt is to give Alex two of whatever he's eating (one for each hand) or he'll steal Tajy's if he gets the chance. Taj has learnt quickly to break whatever into two and hold a piece in each hand so when Alex gets one he's still got some left. Survival of the fittest kicks in early! The other option we've discovered is to have a picnic on the floor where they can help themselves, and doing this with a pile of Cheerios works fantastically - especially as they're a little bit tacky and stick to little people who roll in them. Nik got to celebrate his second Father's Day with us all a few weeks back, and was super happy when he managed to get away to go fishing for an entire weekend the week after. He even managed to catch something this time, so fish is also something the boys have now tasted. They seemed to enjoy it, but nowhere near as much as eating fruit - particularly banana, watermelon and/or kiwi fruit.

Tajy is still cruising the furniture but is definitely a lot more mobile, and Alex is everywhere. Both of the boys have to be picked up for the family disco session (starting with the bizarre animal sounds tune) so we can all bop along. I love watching Taj while Nik has him as he kicks his legs like he's swimming breaststroke, so Frog Legs is one of his new names. Alex is happy to dance solo after this song and definitely does a lot of mini squats (his version of dancing) to Abba or trashy 80s hits. Boys had their third haircuts today and mullets were on order for both, but especially Tajy as he looked like he had a bowl cut last time with his hairline at the back only covering half of his boffy head.

Update 24/9: Taj is up (down?) to 9.67kg (10-25% line) after losing 90 grams in the month. He hasn't been ill, so we're simply putting it down to becoming super active. He's now 76.5cm tall (50%). Alex weighed in at 10.86kg (50%) and 78.5cm (75%).

Alex in his 'day bed' - one of their fab birthday pressies.

Taj crashed in Alcatraz but ready for that next meal
(check out his right hand).

Mini meatballs, yummo.

And spaghetti - double yummo.

The rest of the 12 month update

2010-09-01T19:26:00.021+09:30

Back to capturing those all important monthly milestones for our records before I forget. Height and weight was more accurately measured last week and Alex is now 10.67kg (still following the 50% line) and 77cm tall (50-75%). Tajy is 9.76kg (he loves that 25% line) and 75cm (25-50%). They both have big boof heads and are bordering on the 97% line. Eating is moving along slowly but nicely, except for when Taj decides to blow a raspberry when he has a mouthful and sprays it all over you. The change over to the new formula went well until we were solely using the new brand and Taj started to vomit after every bottle, so we've gone back to including one scoop of the old brand and it's all staying nicely in (until it comes out the other end...). Due to the boys being prem with an iron deficiency, we're going to stay on formula for the indefinite future as, even though they could transition to cows milk now age wise, formula has higher iron levels than milk. I've been working on winding the boys down at the end of the day when Nik pops out, and we now play baby relaxation music while they're having their last bottles before heading off to bed. Only problem with this is it crashes me out too and I was in bed by 8pm just about every night last week. And guess what? I slept like a baby - lol! Only wish these two would every night, but they're teething so it's all a bit disrupted.

Alex can now jog about 10 steps before throwing himself head first into the lounge (can see him slamming into something hard sooner or later), while Taj is still happy cruising the furniture. Alex loves, loves, loves music and his favourite song is the bizarre animal sounds tune which he bops along to on the baby CD just before the long, long go to sleep song (my personal favourite). We got this CD by joining the Karicare formula club and I'd highly recommend it to all Aussie/NZ parents - it's great. And free! I'm sure I asked for the bear as the gift but got the CD too, so we're happy. And we were even more happy when they sent us two more bears when I pointed out to them that we have twins and they were about to come to blows over the one bear. Both boys are making a lot of noises and I'm quite sure Alex has said Tajy a couple of times. Dad dad is still his favourite and, with most babies, he's very indiscriminate who he uses it to. Taj has managed mum a few times now, I'm sure in an attempt at equality in this house.

The million dollar cat is doing fabulously but is still nervous about eating anything out of a bowl or off a plate (probably as this caused the issue in the first place), so we're continuing to hand feeding her. Her coat is back to a smooth velvety silk (a great indicator of overall health) and she's super happy, which she always is. Unfortunately Lily is also VERY accident prone. Good thing she lives inside as I think she's used up 4 or 5 lives now! The big patient is also doing well, and is eagerly awaiting the delivery of our new king size bed so he can stop sleeping in the lounge room - or so he thinks (insert evil laugh here). We were just going to buy a new queen size mattress but got the ensemble, sheet set, mattress protector plus more for less than half the price of the mattress we have now. Bargain! I think the disrupted sleep over the past year has finally got to Nik as he was super excited when I came home with a copy of our life insurance policy today and he's spent the last hour working out what recoverable illnesses he should aim for (and in which order) to get the highest payout. Great honey...

And the bdays go on...

2010-08-24T20:45:00.012+09:30

We had a few friends and family members over for the boys birthday party on Sunday. Remind me to go to McDonalds or a play cafe in future. We seriously have no time to clean up and cater now, let alone socialise as well. And how fabulous is that blue sky - first sunny day here in months!

Taj munching on a hot dog roll he stole from his dad.

Alex practising his driving skills.

Ice-cream was discovered...

as were cakes with yummy chocolate frosting
("On the count of three, DIVE").

And just when we thought it was all over and these two had been spoilt enough for at least a few years (thanks everyone!!), a mystery box was delivered today. As far as Taj was concerned, I think we took too long to open it...

THANKS Auntie Kerrie and Uncle Mark!!!

One

2010-08-20T11:06:00.023+09:30

What an amazing first year - 2 hair cuts each, 5 different sizes in clothing, 11 teeth (Alex has 6), drinking 126 cans of formula, trying out various solids, messing up at least 3650 nappies, impressive weight gains by all (except for the cat who's lost a kilo in the past two weeks), lots of movement (Alex started walking on his own three weeks ago while Taj perfected cruising the furniture) and many, many hugs, wet sloppy kisses plus oodles of laughter.

Thinking of this huge milestone over the past few weeks has reminded me of a few things that I'd forgotten:

as a teenager I always said I wanted twins (so you got your family out of the way in one hit)
Asha, the fabulous private nurse many IPs work with in Mumbai, was really concerned that we'd given Taj too strong a name (it means crown) - but she then decided it was the perfect name for him as royalty often have to fight to retain the crown, and Taj definitely had to do lots of fighting at the beginning
the locals we bumped into in Mumbai when we were out and about with the boys, as well as the majority of the hotel staff, thought we'd adopted them; we even had one comment about how "European looking" they were
how weird it was going back to the hotel after they were born empty handed but telling the staff who knew what was going on that we'd just become parents to two boys
how glad we are to have got boys as synchronised poo sessions are bad enough, let alone synchronised menstrual cycles
how great it is to just be normal now (or as normal as you can be with a multiple), and how we don't have to tell anyone a surrogate was involved if we don't want to

So happy birthday B1 and B2!! We love you heaps and couldn't think of a life without you. And don't expect this many presents every year...

Grief - the pile just from us (except for the yellow bags).

Very clever friend of ours - matching Pooh bears!

No Taj, first in doesn't mean it's all yours.

A very impressed Alex with his own phone
(hopefully this will save us a few $$s with me
not having to ring people for him to speak to).

Woo hoo! Grandparents have arrived, so more pressies.

"Do you think my brother will fit in here??"

Alex's favourite position - upright.

Thanks for the hats Alexa!

Lily home from surgery for the pancreatitis

(adhesion's blocked her intestine so she couldn't eat)

- hence the shaved patches on her legs and belly.

So don't read it!!!

2010-08-14T07:45:00.015+09:30

Dear Anonymous from New York. Thanks for your insightful comments:

do you really think anyone in surrogacy land cares about Nik's op or your freaking cat?

Do you think anyone cares about what you paid for your vet bill?

God, you are so boring. Remove your blog unless you can contribute something interesting or helpful to those doing surrogacy in India.

So yay, you stretched out with a kid. Snoooooooze.

My update was for people who have been asking me how both the husband and cat are going - and it's much quicker to post once and then anyone WHO'S INTERESTED can read it. I'm pretty sure the title of my last posting wasn't misleading in any way. In fact, the title of this blog isn't even misleading. It's Made (note the past tense) in India. It's not Under Construction in India. And the majority of people find it amusing that the cat sticking her head into my dinner has ended up with such a huge vet bill, shaved belly, imported specialised diet, pain patch (which I'm sure Nik is eyeing up) and the rest.

And "contributing something interesting or helpful"? Read the last two years worth of postings. And then find the blogs from people who are actively undergoing surrogacy and not someone who's babies are about to turn one as life goes on and the content of our posts change (gee, sorry about that). And then bugger off.

As two blogs are created every second, I'm sure you can find something better to read as I'm sure you also won't be visiting the blogs of other members of our graduating class - such as Mike and Mike or Baby Masala or Carrie Jo or bonjour parenthood or Amani - or any of those other unhelpful entries by selfish parents who now only want to talk about their offspring and daily lives. HOW DARE THEY!!!

Patient update

2010-08-13T15:30:00.006+09:30

Everyone is home again and we've only had one operation - which has knocked Nik for a six as they had to do bone grafts in his jaw before being able to put the titanium hardware in for his crown. Love the $5k bill for a tooth we'll never see!! Unfortunately we had no options as his tooth had died and if they didn't replace it it was going to give him sinus problems for life. On top of that, he'd lose the tooth that was next to it as it would become compromised due to having no remaining neighbours. He's passed out on the lounge again, which is probably the best place he can be. Poor boy is starving but can only eat mushy food for three days and he can't find anything that's appealing. If mushy food is good enough for the boys to eat, it's good enough for dad dad too!

Tigerlily made it home a couple of hours back, and to date her vet bill is up to $1300. And the cause of the pancreatitis and subsequent loss of appetite? Highly likely it was eating my tuna mornay last Tuesday. There's been no further mention of surgery as her blood test results are all looking great, so now we just need to get her eating. Anyone who has been to our house will see the irony in this - Lily is a big girl and managed to put on 1kg in the last year alone. So Lily having to be hand fed specialised cat food for intestinal issues (nothing else!!) and given tablets to get her appetite back is funny as.

Boys decided to give mummy a reprieve and we all slept well, until Alex woke up at 3:45am this morning - which he has for three nights in a row now. I thought it might have been because he was starving (I fed him about 600ml of formula + feeds yesterday, where Nik gets about 1000ml in + the food) but nope. He was awake. He had a small bottle and then we stretched out on the floor before I went back to sleep while he played for a bit, and then came over to sleep next to me. So beautiful, but don't think this is going to be a regular occurrence dude! Nik normally gives the boys two dream feeds (those feeds you get in while bubs is asleep), where I managed one before passing out. Think Taj realised that this morning as he'd gone about 10 hours with nothing and was super hungry. Nik's volunteered for night duty again as he wants to reclaim the lounge to sleep on (had to laugh when he staggered out of the bedroom this morning claiming his back hurt as much as his jaw did), so hopefully he can get to sleep a tad earlier as well now by not doing the late late feed. I was hoping we would have dropped this feed by now, but busy boys can not be bothered eating/drinking during the day (when there are things to do) - so getting something in while they're asleep is often the best (only?) bet.

Sleep

2010-08-12T10:39:00.008+09:30

Nik's worked out an interesting way of catching up on some sleep - day surgery in hospital!! So while he's nicely zzz'ing and the cat is at the vet being force fed with surgery on the cards for today or tomorrow (she's just been diagnosed with pancreatitis and has virtually not eaten since her first attack last week; literally thank god that we got pet insurance for her a year ago) I'm full time mum. I'll catch up on my sleep when I go back to work as the boys are both teething and disrupted nights are standard again. Life has certainly changed a LOT in the past year. And, except for the very cluttered house I have a week to attempt to clean before their birthday party, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Teats and cheap formula

2010-07-31T22:11:00.009+09:30

I have been meaning for months to share the teat/nipple update after we'd left the boys on the wrong size and couldn't work out why Taj wasn't taking much - probably because the little dude ran out of steam before he ran out of milk. We ended up swapping to the Avent multi flow teats, which are designed for thicker reflux type formulas but you can use them with normal formula too as we had these in the cupboard as I picked them up for 50% off before the boys were born, and before I had any clue there were different types of formula. These teats have lines on them (I, II, III) and you line that up under babies nose and that's the flow they get. If you're using a normal formula, I is equivalent to a teat that has 2/3 holes, II is equivalent to 3/4 holes and III is equivalent to 4 plus holes. The beauty of these type of teats is that when bubs is over around three months of age you can use this type of teat until they don't take a bottle any more or you have to replace the teats as they chewed on them while teething - which should save quite a few $$s. The only negative we've come up with so far is that bubs can't hold the bottle themselves as they won't know how to align it properly.

I was amazed to see S26 Gold formula available in Aldi during the week for $21.99 everyday price, where it's RRP is $26ish now. Something to keep in mind if this is the type of formula you use/are planning to use and you're near an Aldi. We're about to swap full time to the Karicare we can purchase direct due to having twins as the boys are coping brilliantly with the swap - and we're now up to 1 scoop of S26 to 2 scoops of Karicare. We definitely have to think about the ratios so we put the correct amount of water in the bottles as it's 60ml to one scoop with S26 but only 50ml to a scoop with Karicare. Pays to read labels at times...

Eleven months

2010-07-20T21:09:00.013+09:30

The month of the delightful child - slight sarcasm there! Alex decided to start taking a few steps on his own over the weekend, they both decided to cut multiple teeth simultaneously (and, if I'm not mistaken, they're all different teeth) , they both had their first haircuts, they both had non stop colds, the holding yard gate got replaced as one of the wooden bars got broken (in an attempted escape?!), hair pulling his reduced (probably as a result of the haircut and Alex having mittens on most days), wrestle mania has become the sport of choice (Alex seems to bring it all to a sudden halt when he pins his brother to the floor and won't get off) and Taj finally, finally has decided to open his mouth when you wave a spoon with something on it in front of him. His favourite is yoghurt or custard, which is probably because it's super cool on his aching gums. Still have to laugh that the little dude decided to go from no teeth to four teeth in one hit, and very glad that Alex is now getting a middle tooth at the top and not just the fang teeth which were already on their way down. Interestingly, twins start teething an average of three months after a singleton - so Tajy's not overly late with this milestone. Alex went backwards with his weight this month courtesy of the gastro bug, and I can't remember how much Taj increased but it wasn't much. The bonus has been that they're still wearing the same clothes that they were two months ago. Yay! I haven't had to bag up anything that was too small since posting parcels around the country a few months back. Now that the month from hell is over at work we'll get onto arranging those all important first birthday celebrations, which none of us can believe is just next month. Seriously, where has the last year gone?!

Lily deciding if she should pounce on the latest item
to be poked out under the new gate (it's a foot).

Lounge lizard (happy to report he hasn't donged
Tajy over the head with the plastic hammer - yet).

Two toofas.

Formula discount for Aust multiples

2010-07-11T19:47:00.013+09:30

Really interesting letter to the editor in the multiple magazine I received last week - Nutricia (who make Karicare) offer a discount on their forumla for families that have had a multiple. You need to prove that you are a parent of many by emailing birth certificates or a letter from your doctor/nurse stating you have twins or more and are choosing to bottle feed, and from what I can tell you then get an account created where you then simply ring up and order (min 12 at a time, which will last you 4-6 weeks with twins) and they deliver it for an additional $11. I rang them last week 1800 060 057 to have a general chat and the prices I was quoted was:

STAGE 1
$159.60 - gold ($14.20 each incl delivery)
$127.20 - standard ($11.52 each incl delivery)

Gold formula seems to be well and truly over $20 a tin now on special (think it's around $25 normally), so this is amazing. Even more so as I've added the $11 delivery fee into my calculations above. We've used S26 Gold since birth, but for these prices I'm going to explore swapping. The boys may not like it, so I asked for samples which they're happily sending to my local pharmacy so we can give it a go before committing. The boys are still on stage 1 formula as they didn't tolerate changing to stage 2, so this could be the perfect opportunity to change both brands and stages as we can only use stage 1 until they're 12 months old.

This offer is definitely open to Australian families, and I think it will be for NZ residents too as the lady I spoke to on the help line told me that all calls are answered in NZ (which I sort of guessed as I left a message and they rang me back on my mobile and I could see the '64' country code at the beginning of the number).

Hope this saves a few of you some $$s.

[and yet another great reason to have all of your babies delivered on the same day if you're using multiple surrogates]

The plural of tooth

2010-07-05T19:24:00.006+09:30

Nik realised on Saturday that Taj has started to cut his first tooth. We thought the little dude was not enjoying life due to a non stop runny nose, an ear infection (which explains why he was so clumsy) and a reaction to the antibiotics and/or either of the nasal sprays he's on but nope, he thought popping a tooth through would just make his day. And why not make it even better by doing two simultaneously - one top and one bottom on the same side, this is going to look very funny - as Nik discovered this morning. Off to the chemist to get more pain relief and teething gel...

The mum test

2010-06-29T20:34:00.006+09:30

One for Amani - our newest mum. Congratulations guys on the long awaited arrival of Toby!!

I was out walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. 'Why?' my daughter asked. 'Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs,' I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, 'Mumma, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart.' I was thinking quickly. 'All mums know this stuff. It's on the Mum Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mum.' We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. 'OHHH...I get it!' she beamed. 'So if you don't pass the test, you have to be the dad.' 'Exactly,' I replied with a big smile on my face.

Ten months

2010-06-20T08:32:00.007+09:30

Not much new to share seeing I've been a prolific blogger lately, except for the compulsory weight, height and eating updates. On 4th June (one month since the home nurse visited) Alex was up to 9.76kg and was 72.5cm long, making him just over 50% for weight and smack on the 50% line for height. Taj was 8.67kg and 70.5cm, so he's in the 10-25% and 25-50% ranges. All good there. Two more months until the boys have their next paediatrician and opthamologist appointments, and then another month until their next immunisations (we're a month behind with these). Don't think we'll bother taking Alex to get his eyes tested after the next appointment as he has xray vision, especially when finding the remote control for the tv is high on his agenda.

Eating seemed to go backwards there for a while, but has increased again over the last week. Both boys are doing cereal for breakfast and having something solid to eat around 4pm. They're still on around 1000ml of formula a day. Alex is incredibly nosey and wants to check out absolutely everything we dare to think we can eat or drink in his vicinity, so he gets a few extra tastes than Taj does. Both boys love the mini rice cakes with apple juice that I discovered at the supermarket the other week. Alex thinks it's pretty cool that he can shove the whole biscuit in his mouth in one hit, even though he does regularly try to insert it vertically before realising a horizontal approach might prove more successful. Crusts of bread are also popular. Seeing it's mid winter here, we're going to wait a few more months before introducing the Sassy brand teething feeders I'm itching to use (you fill the mesh bag up with fruit or veg, screw it onto the handle and then give to bubs to go nuts on). Or maybe yet another trip to Babies r Us is in order so I can buy those just about full body plastic bibs.

And they're off!

2010-06-15T20:09:00.017+09:30

In a quest to stop Alex pulling his brothers hair (which is often at the perfect height to pull himself upright), I thought we'd invest in a walker (but lock the wheels into place!!) so he could use that to get to standing. Big mistake. Big, BIG mistake. Not only did he make it to standing in about, oh, 5 minutes, he's now realised that if he pushes it moves - even with the wheels locked. Even scarier, we're already getting "look dad dad, look mum, NO hands!!" (with lots and lots of arm flapping).

Beep beep - out of my way

Taj, not to be out done, thought he'd pull himself up to standing too. No big deal I hear you (some of you) say, but seeing he hadn't made it to standing at all this was a huge achievement. It's amazing watching these two and how differently they approach things. Alex works out what absolutely everything is, does and why, where Taj watches and then just does the final action. Crawling was a great case in point. Alex did the downward dog and the on all fours to half roll to sit and everything else he could come up with for weeks, where Taj'y went straight from leopard crawl to crawl and still can't twist sideways to get to a sit position. And the only downward dog Taj has managed is when he's crawling over your leg to get to whatever on the other side and he gets stuck half way!

Same jacket, different child - one of the benefits of same sex twins

We put Taj into his own room over the weekend so they stop disturbing each other at night and the big winner, other than the electricity company, is the cat. She is loving the heater being on all night in her favourite spot, even more so as we left the single bed and super fluffy blanket she's claimed in there. No complaints re snoring child from her!

And some random cuteness, including the much requested Alex toof shot which we finally got about two weeks ago. No teeth for Taj yet.

Clucky

2010-06-13T08:25:00.005+09:30

I realised during the week, and before my blog/thoughts got hijacked from my anonymous comment poster, that I'm clucky - and it's the first time ever. I now fully understand the emotions that women go through when they experience that over whelming desire to procreate. I met Nik just after my cancer episode so having children the natural way was already not an option for us. Even when we researched and filled out reams and reams of paper for adoption processes and foster care and everything else we could come up with in an attempt to fulfill my need to nurture, I was never clucky. Any stong emotions during our four IVF cycles? Nope, except for the amazement that my ovaries were still working and we actually managed to create embryos. During our pregnancies? Nope. Grief when we miscarried the first time and then solely focused on trying to get our second pregnancy to the viable point where nothing could go wrong, either intentionally or from mother nature. So getting clucky now really came out of the blue for me. There are SO many babies about to be born within our virtual surrogacy world that the thought of having a tiny baby again is pulling at my heart strings. Luckily (unfortunately?) we have zero money left to try again, so I will very happily stick with our two and watch all of the new arrivals with awe and amazement. But be warned if you're in Australia, you may get a visitor when you arrive home with your precious parcel/s!!!

So HUGE congratulations to all of the parents-to-be, and hang in there for everyone else still trying. Your time will come!!

To my anonymous poster

2010-06-11T18:59:00.014+09:30

Please don't leave comments on our blog unless you are willing to also leave your email address so I can address the issues that you have raised. I know we're blessed, life hasn't been all roses (but who's is?) and - read this entire blog very, very carefully - there has been ZERO comments regarding the agency we worked with since we got home with our boys. We also haven't been on tv for well over six months and our story is just about impossible to find on their website, so someone obviously has a LOT of spare time if we've just been "exposed to your circle of friends". We're so much yesterdays news that I couldn't even find a link to this blog on the tv website now. The boys will know their full story, including the fact that not everything went to plan but that's super ok as we got them and love them more than anyone else has been loved before. We didn't go on tv to make "a buck" - we went on tv to educate law makers and let other people in Australia know that surrogacy may be an option for them to create a family too. And while you're rereading our 100+ entries please also take note that as well as capturing the achievements of our boys, we continue to help others also hoping to achieve this dream. We don't discuss in depth what we experienced (even my family realise they don't know the half of it) as it's not going to benefit anyone. What we do do is to talk about how to minimise some of the issues that we and others have experienced. I hope this doesn't disappoint your friends who are already so "shocked and speechless".

As is our practice this post will be deleted in a few days time as it's got zero to do with why we blog (to capture milestones and help others).

The great wall of Alcatraz

2010-06-05T08:07:00.007+09:30

In an attempt to reduce the grabbing fistfuls of hair while climbing up on each other, further renovations took place to Alcatraz yesterday - a dividing wall (or solitary confinement, as I'm sure it's more fondly going to be known).

What the?!?
Do you think if we work together we can get it down??

And yes, Alex is standing. I go away with work two weeks ago and they both decide to crawl, and I went away again this week and he's now standing with the help of whatever he can hold onto. And nature has provided again - he now has cheeks so fat he looks like a chipmunk. Which is good, as he lands on his face as often as on his butt when he comes crashing down.

[and to my anonymous comment leaver, after being told to choose between living or keeping my reproductive system 11 years ago anything these two do is a "big deal" to US. I am celebrating our boys achievements through this blog and am fully aware that some kids walk at nine months. And yes, they do go outside and play and will eventually eat dirt. The look on Alex's face when an ant walked past him for the first time a couple of months back was priceless - and I so look forward to experiencing the world through their eyes further. What's lovely for me is these guys have caught up and are right on track after being born prem.]

Sleep deprivation

2010-05-27T10:21:00.007+09:30

My darling husband just called to ask if I knew that Alex can now say dad, to which I responded yes as he rang me at work two days ago to tell me. His response: "and you trust me to look after the children..."! We both agreed that today's conversation never took place.

Down dog

2010-05-26T15:51:00.006+09:30

Think we should have discouraged Alex from that downward dog yoga pose as all he wants to do now is pull himself up to standing with whatever he can grab, which is normally one of us sitting on the floor with our legs in a v shape in an attempt to catch him and/or give him something half soft to land on. Main problem for us is when he decides to grab you in the chest region when he's pulling himself up - yowsa. Luckily there's no body piercings in our house! So baby, what happened to crawling for a few months? Seriously would have thought you'd do it for more than a week before moving onto the next challenge. I know it's fun to have your legs straight and your feet on the ground, but... Really, really hope your brother isn't watching or I'm going to have to give your dad dad a full body wax this weekend so there's less for you two to grab on your way up. Good thing that it's cold here so less flesh, and therefore less body hair, is being flashed.

Nine months

2010-05-20T20:49:00.010+09:30

Busy, busy month – or has it more accurately been busy, busy last couple of days as I’ve been interstate with work so the boys decided they should try a few new things out in my absence. Such as crawling (both - what the?!?!), climbing over his brother (Alex), clapping (Taj), pulling himself up to standing holding onto whatever he can (Alex), hair pulling (Alex), pinning his brother to the ground (Alex), waving (with two hands, it's very cute - Alex) and some ‘mmm’ sounds finally coming out of someone’s mouth (Alex).

After two months of plodding away, Alex has finally mastered being mobile and seems more confused that he’s able to than pleased with himself. The last few weeks have been spent working out how to get from crawling over to a sit, which was really interesting to watch. He started off just trying to twist his bum to the side, and eventually changed this to lifting up an arm and the same leg and then twisting to the other side. He soon discovered it was easier again if you started off higher, so the starting position changed to the fabulous downward dog yoga pose before the turn got thrown in. Or he just stayed there (with his head on the floor between his hands) if he realised he was too tired to do anything other than have a good cry. Took him about a week to work out how to sit side on, and from there it was a quick trip through sitting facing forward to crawling. And holding on to whatever and jumping his legs up to a standing position which, I’ve now realised, is probably what the downward dog was about in the first place. There’s been a few head bumps as expected, so its great nature has ensured there are no teeth, or not many, to knock out and/or injure while all of this is going on. Apparently Alex’s favourite position is now sitting upright leaning on the lounge between Nik’s legs. I’m looking forward to seeing that.

As usual, Taj has been observing all of this and went straight from laying around to crawling – both leopard and with his belly off the floor. None of this wasting two months practicing crap stuff! He’s getting straighter when he sits and no longer has his head between his knees on the floor, so it’s probably only a week or so until he can do that on his own as well. I have no idea where the clapping came from, but Taj decided to demonstrate it with their grandma on Saturday and he now claps every opportunity he gets. Only time it’s a bit dangerous is when he’s holding onto a toy which isn’t soft, such as their abacus.

The boys were weighed and measured two weeks ago and we think the nurse must have bought different scales with her as Alex had only increased 230 grams and Taj 300 grams in a month. This is more like a weekly weight gain for these two! Alex is now 72.5cm long, a gain of 2cm and 9.1kg in weight. Taj grew 1cm in the last month and is now 70cm and 8.3kg. We took him for the latest ophthalmologist appointment last week and all looks good, except I’m still slightly confused about the comment that his eye isn’t so turned in. Um, are we talking about the right baby here? Thought we were seeing this specialist due to Taj’s shaky pupils.

Alex’s second tooth popped through two days after his first, and we think something might be happening again soon as the constant drawl is back. He’s decided that he wants some food for breakfast, so now polishes off about half a jar of fruit and cereal before accepting his first bottle for the day. Taj is happy to suck away and is not interested in solids since he’s been taking around a litre of formula a day. Regardless, he usually gets a few spoons shoved into him whenever we feed Alex so he continues to get used to the varying tastes.

Nik took Saturday off and went fishing with some friends to give him a breather before I headed away with work. Had to laugh when Taj let out “dad dad” as soon as he saw he’d come back. Thanks baby! No mum mum or anything like that for my full day effort. Nope. Just a "hiya" in your own way.

We received federal funding for extensions to Alcatraz a few weeks back, as well as to construct a temporary holding yard. Construction work has been completed and the new structures tested thoroughly with one unhappy baby put in one and the other in the other so Nik could have a shower during my absence. Well thought out honey!

Double the size Alcatraz, with jumping frames now inside.

The holding yard (lounge room complete with gate).

Sorry Taj, still no escape...

but why would you want to when you've got a visitor?

Taj putting his time to good use,
even if the book is upside down.

Alex chatting with new friend.

Day parole inmate under supervision by Lily...

and very tall supervision at the zoo.
[yep, we have two single stollers as well as the double]

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T17:45:00.013+09:30

We have a dilemma - who gets to take it easy on M Day when you have both Mum and Mr Mum in the same house? In reality no one as kids, as everyone with a family will attest too, are relentless. So I've cooked breakfast, vacuumed, mopped, washed, folded up washing, shopped, bathed a baby, fed multiple babies (or was it just the same two multiple times?) and all the rest. I was incredibly spoiled though this morning when the boys gave me a huge framed print of the first photo we had together as a family. Nik was really generous and even offered my pressie to me at 3am while I was up helping, to which I responded that it would probably be good if I had my eyes open first. Apparently the other option for a pressie was a voucher for a day off but it was decided I didn't need that as I get to go to work five days a week. Um, thanks. The print is the one that I'm grinning like a cheshire cat in the NICU after we finally got Taj released to us and will now be the official start to our family photo wall. I'm sure we'll be able to fill that up quick smart. My other pressie is a roast dinner, which Nik is in the process of cooking. So what did Nik get? A lovely mummy card with 'Mr' added everywhere. As in "It's good to have a Mr mummy who hugs me when I'm sad, a Mr mummy who will understand if I'm a little bad" and so on. There's a market here Hallmark!!

I've decided that Mothers Day should be more a day of reflection than pampering, and my reflection was kicked off first thing this morning with a surrogacy story on the front page of our paper as the first baby has been born since surrogacy became legal here. I've also had reminders every time I opened the microwave as I had an amazing butter chicken last night, which was really similar to how the Fusion restaurant next to the Sun n Sand hotel in Mumbai made theirs. The boys have probably been reminiscing too as I'm pretty sure they've had curry flavour formula all day! I've been reflecting on the fact that we achieved the unbelievable goal of becoming parents, that the boys are biologically ours (I now understand how rare this is with Indian surrogacy), that we've made some incredible friends around the world during this process and how much our social circle has changed here at home. There is not one part of our lives that have not been changed, and for this we'll be forever grateful. Even if we are currently (still?) knackered.

So happy M Day to all the Mum's, the Mr Mum's and to those Mum's-in-waiting (of either sex). It will happen!!

Sizes and stages

2010-05-02T08:00:00.017+09:30

There are so many sizes when it comes to babies it feels like you're constantly shopping for new stuff (and bagging up and trying to give away outgrown items), which I know is a habit I'm going to have to break soon as when these guys hit 1 year they should be in a size for 12 entire months. Isn't that a novel thought! The boys would have been in six sizes by then - from 00000 to 1. Seems our sizing is loosely based on weight, so a 4kg baby is in size 0000 where as a 8kg wears 00 etc. And then you have to factor is seasons so you have short/long sleeve/leg in the right size during the right months. Arrgghhh.

The other obvious thing that you have to change as baby grows is nappies, so we're always happy when Taj hits the next weight achievement as it means they're in the same size for a while. With that said, the bargain hunter in me couldn't help stocking up when BabyLove was on super sale recently and we now have about 15 boxes in three different sizes in the garage. We were given a fabulous gift of boxes and boxes of Huggies from one of the girls I work with in Canberra, so we use them at night and the BabyLove during the day when Nik (one of the perks with me going to work!) changes them more frequently. Huggies has a brilliant website and lots of offers where you send bar codes in and simply pay for postage, so make sure you keep cut off those codes before recycling the trillion empty boxes fellow Aussie parents. So far we've received a play tent, a photo printed on canvas and two fabulous vtech toys (the baby laptop and baby's first phone).

And, what's ended up being the one we sorta missed and/or forgot about, there are different sizes in teats. You know, those all important things that babies suck the formula out of on their never ending bottles. We've got Avent bottles and started with the 1 hole teat (newborn flow) and then moved to 2 holes (slow flow) about five or so months back. Would have been good if I'd revisited the packaging in the meanwhile as not only does it state how many holes, it also gives the recommended age for each and by now we should well and truly have been onto the 4 holes (fast flow) which is recommended for 6m+. Whoops! No wonder Taj wasn't taking much at each session - he simply ran out of energy to such any harder. We changed teats as soon as we realised this and the little piggy now finishes 180ml bottles in about 20mins, where before Nik was pushing him to take 60ml every hour or so. Will be interesting to see how much weight he's gained in the last month as he's now consuming a lot (around 1200ml a day). After revisiting the Avent literature I'd actually start with the 2 hole teats, which they recommend for babies 1m+, as both this size and the 1 hole are "ideal for newborns and breastfed babies of all ages". As the majority of the babies born in our surrogacy community are exclusively bottle fed, there's no need to try to mimic the flow from the breast so the smallest teat really isn't needed. Or if it is, it's for an incredibly short time.

We're also trying to move the boys to Stage 2 formula again as, after another quick phone call to the manufacturer, they recommend changing one bottle each day to the new formula (in the morning) - increasing the number of bottles per day by one every three days or so until you're using the new formula exclusively. Would have been good if they'd included this information on their packaging!

Eight months

2010-04-20T20:11:00.020+09:30

Mobility has again been the feature of the month, even if Alex has decided to stop his crawling efforts since that exciting new toy (ie tooth) appeared last week. Unfortunately the dribble hasn't reduced that much, so it's probably a good thing that we now have multiple layers of covers on the floor in the areas they play in. Knew that queen size padded quilt I bought in Bali years ago would finally come in useful, but didn't think it would be as a mat on the floor! Alex still prefers to spend most of his time on his hands and knees, where Taj log rolls everywhere or does circles by moving his hands while his hips and legs stay on the floor. We must time him as he is super fast doing this and I reckon could do the full 360 degrees in less than 15 seconds. Taj also sleeps on his belly during the night now, and occasionally throws in a half circle while he's asleep. He's also finally stopped the tongue thrust, which is making their token two meals a day tad easier to get into them. Alex continues to love his food while Taj thinks it's just play time (ie food in mouth, fingers into mouth to pull food out, wipe fingers on whatever is in reach). We're primarily using prepared baby food at the moment and going through around a packet a day, which in effect is two packets over two days as they get something fruit based for breakfast and something with vegies for lunch. From what I've read, their formula intake will start to decrease in a month or so, so at this point they're both still taking around 900ml a day. We moved to stage 2 formula a couple of weeks back but they both bought a lot of it back up, so we're back to stage one formula until they turn one (which is ok with the manufacturer). And if you ask Nik he'll tell you that they're taking their formula over way too many feeds as he can't get them to take a full bottle at one hit at the moment as there are just too many things going on to distract them.

We saw the paediatrician a couple of weeks back and he's so happy with both of them that we don't need to see him again until the boys are one. Alex is up to 9kg now and Taj has hit 8kg. We did get their heads measured and they're both around 75% on the chart, so yep they do have boofy heads. We had their next blood tests taken straight after the appointment and the iron levels have decreased slightly for both of them, so we've now got iron supplement that we're meant to be administering twice a day. As it's to be given half an hour before a meal, we're going to have to plan out when they're going to be given it as most of the time we feed on demand. As the dose is only 0.5ml each time, I'm not too fussed that we haven't started yet. Taj is off to see the ophthalmologist again next month re his shaky eyes.

The boys got introduced to Alcatraz recently, which is the all essential play pen to keep mobile multiples in! As you can see below it comes complete with exercise yard and there has already been attempted escapes recorded, but at this stage it's just a cute foot or hand sticking out. We're sure there will be a lot more escape attempts when they're old enough to realise they can achieve more if they work together. Our token 'make the house safe' attempts will kick in in earnest once they discover they can achieve more if they use each other to climb on.

Alcatraz

Good try Taj, but there is no escape...

no matter how cute you are.

Prison complex including exercise yard.

Time out for a bounce and good behaviour

is a highlight of the day.

Alex celebrates his release by balancing on one foot...

while prisoner 598372 gets all the noisy toys due to
his cell mate being otherwise occupied.

BOOM

2010-04-17T06:28:00.006+09:30

We had an earthquake here last night, which explains the sonic boom that dragged me out of a deep sleep and continued going for a few seconds after I was conscious. Nik knew something was up as the cat was freaked, but even more interesting he saw both the boys start to move around in their cots (via the video monitors) before the boom actually erupted. Waiting for the morning news but it appears there weren't any injuries or property damage, which is great. It registered as 3.8 on the scale and was the largest we've had in 20 years. I'd agree with that as waking me is near on impossible when I'm not "on duty" (which I haven't been at night for a few months now), so it would have to be something earth shattering - and in this instance it literally was.

We have a tooth

2010-04-15T16:13:00.008+09:30

Or more precisely Alex has a tooth. It's at the centre bottom and its neighbour isn't far away. It's great to finally achieve something after he's dribbled enough over the past few months that we could have filled up buckets and watered the garden. Seriously.

[thought I'd be a bit funny with the title of this post as the text message the family received when we met Alex was "we have a boy", which was followed up with a phone call when we finally met Taj and realised that we had two boys so we could share the laughter around the world - so much for our order for two girls!]

Blow out - (hopefully) false alarm

2010-04-09T06:43:00.016+09:30

After a LOT of phone calls from Mumbai to Delhi yesterday, our new parents managed to get onto the right person in the High Commission and the citizenship was issued in the afternoon after being lodged just over two weeks ago. Turns out that they are attempting to finalise straight forward citizenship by descent cases within two weeks, and they're allowing themselves another two weeks if there are delays with the DNA testing. The problem with this case is that the staff member processing the application was a local (a fair whack of the staff are as the majority of the citizenship applications they deal with are from Indian citizens - I was the only caucasian person in the waiting room the day I visited) and I've been told Indian's follow rules step by step. Procedure states 28 days, so it's going to take 28 days. A bit of training is taking place in Delhi (again) about how babies born through surrogacy arrangements can be processed quicker. This is all great to know, but what is needed is a contact we can go to if cases blow out over 14 days where there's been no delay with the DNA test. I'll work on this and forward the contact details to one person in each of the active surrogacy in India discussion forums so they can forward the information when it's needed. We won't post it anywhere as, with all government departments, contacts are going to change regularly. Unfortunately citizenship still needs to be finalised before a passport will be issued, so we have to do things in order.

My suggestion yesterday about checking, double checking and triple checking your paperwork and lodging it asap in person is still appropriate. What's hopefully changed is the amount of time Aussies will need to be in India after birth, so I'd now aim for 4-5 weeks if everything goes smoothly. If you manage it in less time than this, gold star for you!!

Blow out with Aussie citizenship process

2010-04-08T13:11:00.014+09:30

Today's update from new parents in India is that the Australian High Commission are sticking fast with their 4 week processing time frame for citizenship by descent applications.

My advice to new parents is to make an appointment and fly to Delhi to lodge everything (best internet site for flight comparison purposes is Cleartrip, but you'll need to ring to make a booking if you don't have an Indian issued credit card) as soon as you possibly can ~ and then sit back and wait. You can lodge the application before the DNA results come in, so do so and make sure you have absolutely everything as it appears they're starting the 4 week count again from when it has all (except the DNA result) been received. Check, double check and triple check that you have absolutely everything required before heading anywhere. Interesting thing with this case is that the parents already have one child born through a surrogacy arrangement in India through the same clinic, so it's not like the High Commission don't know who they are or have a whack of info about them on file (from when their first baby was born) which is still relevant.

Until we can get some changes made to this processing time, I'd start planning that you'll be away for SIX weeks after birth if there are no complications. This will give you two weeks to get the birth certificate and DNA results and four weeks for citizenship/passport purposes.

New jab to beat cerebral palsy

2010-03-30T12:08:00.006+10:30

I know we don't want to think of any of our much-longed for babies being born early, but we should - and treatment like this should be available. Please, please talk to your clinics and make sure your obstetrics team are aware of these studies and have the injections on hand. Cerebral palsy is for life, so anything that can be done should. Especially when it's this simple. And if you're lucky enough to not need this, someone else in our surrogacy community might.

WOMEN giving birth prematurely [in Australia] will receive magnesium sulphate injections before delivery to prevent cerebral palsy in their babies, under new guidelines released.
More than 600 children in Australia are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year. More than a third are related to pre-term birth.
University of Adelaide Professor Caroline Crowther, from the Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, said there was overwhelming evidence over the past 14 years that magnesium sulphate was effective in protecting extremely premature babies.
Cerebral palsy and cognitive dysfunction are the most frequently occurring neurological impairments associated with pre-term birth.
Magnesium sulphate therapy involves giving doses to pregnant women by injection in the 24 hours before they give birth.
This would apply to women having babies at less than 30 weeks, either through spontaneous early labour or by early caesareans because of complications.
Magnesium is vital for normal cell function. It may protect against destructive molecules that can harm cells. Its exact role in protecting the developing brain is unclear.
Side effects of the treatment for the mothers include flushing, sweating, nausea, vomiting, headaches and palpitations. Researchers, however, have found no increase in major complications in mothers because of magnesium therapy.

From: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/new-jab-to-beat-cerebral-palsy/story-e6frea83-1225844961997

Seven months

2010-03-20T19:06:00.025+10:30

We've finally moved into autumn here, but you'd think it was spring with the rate these two are developing. I'm sure they're both growing quicker than weeds. A week ago Alex weighed 8.32kg and was 69.5cm long. He's now 50% on the weight chart and between 50-75% height. Not bad seeing he started off 3% weight and 1% height. We regularly get told that he's going to be a big boy, and I'm starting to believe it. He's solid muscle without an ounce of fat - and you can feel his hip bone and bottom rib when he's laying down. Taj, on the other hand is typical baby shape and has a lovely fat belly. A 48 hour detox would do him wonders! He's now weighing 7.58kg and is 67cm long. He's hovering around the 25% line and is just over for height and just under for weight. Taj wasn't even on the charts at birth, but is following a nice trajectory regardless. We must get their heads measured next time the home nurse visits as they’re looking pretty boofy at the moment, but it's probably normal. We're off to see the paediatrician at the end of the month and I'm sure he's also going to comment on how well they're going, and we'll get the next update on when/if iron supplements are going to be required. The boys had their six month immunisations this week so we'll wait until next week to do the blood tests. They both did well with the shots but we really don't want to push the friendship too much as squeezing blood out of a heel looks rather painful.

[apologies in advance if this is an extra long posting - state elections were held here today so Nik's avidly watching the tally room results on tv, which means my Brothers and Sisters marathon has been rudely interrupted; would be a great night to study but I'm having this semester off]

Nik's been working on solids twice a day with the boys now as Alex is really enjoying his lunch - and apparently (yeah right) my sweet potato is the favourite. Have a look at the photos below to see if you agree. Neither of them seem to like rice cereal but Nik's persevering with that as a mini breakfast. I've read somewhere that it can take up to 10 attempts to successfully introduce a new food. Even though Taj only takes about a teaspoon, it's either filling him up or something else is going on (teeth? still none for either of them) as he's dropped from taking about 900ml of formula a day to 600ml - and that includes feeding him 2 or 3 times while he's asleep. They both really want a bottle when they finish their jumping session in the morning and afternoon, but they still don't take much more than 120ml at a time. Seriously guys, do you realise you should be on 260ml plus a hit now? I'll show you the formula can if you don't believe me.

Luckily the sleeping has improved and they're both generally sleeping through from around 8pm to 5am ish, with one or two night feeds before midnight (where you pick them up, feed them and put them back still asleep – don’t burp them!!). I'm really glad they decided to go to sleep a bit later as they were crashing around 5:30pm, which means they'd be out of it before I made it home from work. And yes, I did make it back last week and haven't had a day off since. It's been tiring, but no where near as bad as when I attempted to go back a month ago. The boys staying up later means I get to do a bath, play and feed while Nik does whatever chores he can come up with which gets him out of the house. I joke that it's like the Flash speeding past me as I walk in and I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration - even if he does wait 15mins before doing the bolt. Alex now sleeps on his stomach, which we’re fine with as he has the strength to get himself out of trouble. Taj still generally sleeps on his back, but sometimes on his side. If nothing else his head is now to the side, so hopefully that flat spot might start to fill in. Apparently in 25% of cases it doesn't, so it's a good thing he's got a nice head of hair which will hopefully somewhat camouflage the flatness.

Both boys have been busy being busy over the last month, but more so Alex who has decided that getting into another room (under his own steam) is becoming a high priority. So we’ve had the lay on the belly and lift the bum stage, ditto plus bend a leg under stage, the sky diving stage (on the belly, arms and legs off the floor - demonstrated below), the chest off the floor and hands plus everything else on the floor stage, ditto and push yourself backwards stage, ditto and then balance on your hands and feet stage and now we’re up to the ditto but arms spread very wide and rock side to side stage. I only saw this yesterday and didn’t think much of it (truth be told my exact comment was “what IS Alex doing??”), until Nik got me to look from the other end and I realised that he was leopard crawling with his legs in conjunction with the rock (as in lean to the left, bring the right leg up). I am constantly amazed of the knowledge that babies are born with as we’re definitely not teaching him any of this. Taj is going about things in a different order and so far spends most of his time on his belly balancing on his hands with his chest up, or nose dived into the mat bringing his legs up (either directly under him or in the leopard crawl motion). Interestingly, Alex works and works on things where Taj watches from the comfort of his chair and then does whatever it is within two days of trying it for the first time. He's definitely the master of language still and loves to have huge conversations with anyone who'll respond back, including the radio when he's in the car. The most beautiful thing they've decided to do simultaneously is to start to look for each other and hold hands whenever they can. Truly heart melting.

And finally, one for Johnny - I got asked last week if we had to give our babies Indian names as we had an Indian surrogate and the boys were born there. What the?!? Um no, we both just thought Taj was a really cool name. And Alex is just SO Indian. So Indian that our doctor can't remember it so calls them Raj and Taj instead. Lol!!

Alex and Taj today

The belly sky dive

Taj with his dad

Lunch

Do you REALLY want twins?

2010-03-19T09:42:00.008+10:30

Saw this on one of the current affair programs recently: Parents of twins 'more likely to divorce'. Think the title says it all!!

A hard day at the office

2010-03-09T18:35:00.002+10:30

What’s a Dad to do!!! 6 months down, a life time to go.

2010-03-03T12:59:00.008+10:30

Let me be the first one to say, giving up my own business to be a stay at home dad is the best decision that I could of made. Sure, some times the boys drive me around the wall and I wonder what the hell I am doing but when it comes to the crunch I would not have it any other way!!! At the moment I have Lisa here part time for only a few more days, but soon she will be back at work (attempt two) and I will be doing it mostly on my own which will be a challenge. But it's a challenge that I'll happily meet as I'll be able enjoy spending time with Alexander and Taj, watching them smile and giggle, roll and try trying to crawl (granted Alex can only seem to go backwards and Taj specialises in nose diving the mat), and watching them learn new things every day. Just looking at their little faces as you introduce them to solids, or when you are giving them a bottle at 2am, makes it all worth it.

But of cause it does have its draw backs as well. You don’t get to go out as much as you use to. But that’s with any new parent, male or female. You also get very grumpy a lot, but with an understanding wife like I have, she helps me get through it and supports me in every way. I think the thing you miss out on the most is sleep. You know, going to bed at say 10pm and getting up at 6am. Now its going to bed whenever and getting up not long after that. Not sleeping much does have its advantages as I get to watch every new DVD out there, and then watch them again a few days later.

To see these wonderful little boys look up at you with that wonderful smile they have, makes me think about all the things that we went through to get them! The ups and downs, the pain and stress. I would not have changed a thing if it meant that these boys would have turned out any different.

During the whole pregnancy we met some wonderful people, with whom we are still in contact with every chance that we get. Some now have their own children and some are still trying. To those people which we call our dear friends, I thank you for all your support, your letters, your presents and the maple syrup... But most of all I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of our lives, and I look forward to our joint holiday in 2014.

So to my wonderful baby boys Alexander and Taj, I say thank you for joining our family, thank you for completing our family and thank you for being you. To my fantastic wife I say thank you for giving me the best gift that you ever could, and thank you for being one hell of a mother. Alex, Taj and I love you more than words could ever say. I am so looking forward to the years to come.

Nik

Over rover

2010-02-22T07:42:00.021+10:30

Spoke to soon - Taj decided that he can roll after all, and has been demonstrating his ability since Saturday afternoon. Thought he was rolling to his right side but noticed this morning he's rolling to his left (which is the same side as Alex is). Very important stuff to note so we can correctly place them on their play mat in an attempt to minimise collisions.

Six months

2010-02-20T06:28:00.017+10:30

Happy half birthday guys!

It’s been fun and games in our household over the last month, and we finally attended a social event with the boys (a wedding) last weekend. Even then we only stayed for the ceremony as it started at 5pm and was 90mins out of town. No baths for tired boys that night. Nik’s great at taking them both out and about a few times a week, and even manages to squeeze into the back seat of the car between them when they decide they both need feeding at the same time.

Alex now weighs 8kgs and Taj is around 7.3kg. The gap between them really surprised me as I was sure that Taj had a huge weight gain last week (I swear his head got an inch bigger since I saw him awake on Tuesday morning to seeing him again on Friday night) and they’re both now wearing the same size. Looks like boof boy Alex has decided to add his weight in muscle and nothing else. The fact he’s gone up another size in nappies should have alerted me to this. Taj may be behind in weight still, but he's definitely winning the hair growing competition (both length and thickness). Surprisingly, they've both got virtually the same hair colour - which I would never have expected considering how blonde Taj was as a newborn. Good thing that his eyebrows are still fair so people who don't see them often can tell them apart.

Both boys have certainly found their voices, and Taj decided to throw in a few arm gestures for good measure while he was telling me what he’d been doing during their outing yesterday. They both think shrieking is pretty funny even though we tell them that only girls shriek, and unfortunately they love to do it at the same time. Alex still loves to laugh. The favourite toy continues to be those rings that you link together. And yes honey, I finally agree that you can't have too many of them (they're currently hanging on their bouncer chairs, their car seats and the stroller). They're both starting to respond when you call them by name. Their voices certainly get a workout when Nik attempts to give them a taste of rice cereal or baby food before we get the a-ok to start solids from the paediatrician next appointment. I was happy to hold off until they reached six months as they’ve now linked starting solids too soon with food allergies. Both boys have had cradle cap and crap skin, so I think we’re in for a few ongoing issues as it is without causing more problems for them.

We’re up for blood tests again in the next few weeks to see how their iron levels are going. We’re still expecting to have to add iron supplements, but the longer we can hold off (to avoid the constipation issue) the better. Both boys have been checked by the ophthalmologist recently as Taj’s pupils vibrate at times (before he manages to lock his focus on), and we got the all clear on this. Turns out both boys have a slight astigmatism but nothing to worry about at this point. We need to take Taj back in three months as his pupils now seem to wander more than vibrate before he locks on. He can certainly see (we get a great reaction when we hold a bottle up in front of him), so it looks like this is another one of those fun prem issues.

Taj has finally worked out how to roll onto his side and can tip himself over onto his back if he’s on his belly, but not too often as he hasn’t worked out where to place his arms just yet. His neck strength is certainly building. Alex seems to spend all of his floor time on his belly with his legs kicking around in a breaststroke style motion. If he manages to find something to push off of, he can move – but it’s more of a leopard crawl than anything as his belly is still firmly on the ground. He gets so frustrated when he can’t achieve what he’s after, but is luckily easily distracted by tossing a muslin wrap over him or a toy in his general direction. I’m sure we shouldn’t have started the “peek a boo” game with the wraps, but it’s so cute (and effective!) that we’ll continue to do it – but only with something thin enough that they can breath through as Taj now decides it’s more fun to leave the wrap over his face than pulling it down again. Alex is working on pulling himself up to a seated position by holding our hands. It's not going to be long until he can do that one by himself.

I’m madly cramming for uni exams after finally lodging my last assignment yesterday (I’m typing this while listening to an audio lecture, talk about multi tasking!) and am incredibly grateful that I’ve had the last week off. My only distraction (other than the usual two suspects) has been seeing an ad on Thursday advertising George Michael concerts that I had absolutely no idea were about to take place. Seriously, how do I not know this considering just about all I’ve done for the past six months is sit on my butt while watching tv?!?! Mr Michael is my all time favourite artist and it’s been 22 years since he visited Australia, so of course I had to take an hour out of my cramming to see how I could swing attending. Concert in Perth is today so no good (you nearly got a house guest Amani!), concert next Saturday is in Sydney and the cheapest ticket available is $300 (and flights would cost around $700) and the final concert is in Melbourne the evening of my last exam which is due to finish at 5:10pm. If I wrote bloody fast and hightailed it to the airport, I could catch a flight straight away ($250 return) and would get to the concert just before Georgie boy started if there were no delays and I had a taxi waiting for me when I arrived. Unfortunately it’s all a bit dicey so I’ve decided it’s either defer my exam (I’m sure this is a valid reason, lol) or I just get to buy his concert DVD instead. As we’re only on one income and I'd also be up for taxi and hotel costs, I think I already know what the answer is.

Got a numb bum so time to stop typing, but first here’s a few recent snaps of our half birthday boys. And a question – do two half birthdays equal one??

Alex at the wedding - looks like he's not to enamoured

with the though of matrimony yet.

Taj modelling his wedding outfit. Didn't manage any photos

on the day of him as he was not a happy chap.

I think we're in trouble... Alex working out his butt
needs to go up if he wants to move.

An unimpressed Taj trying the orange stuff.

Alex demonstrating his latest mode of transport.

HC in New Delhi

2010-02-19T07:47:00.004+10:30

I've just received a great email from Deb with the twins, and they're still in Mumbai - primarily as there is "a new guy in the citizenship department in Delhi and he's not as together as the previous guy, who W had a pretty good relationship with. It took the new guy 12 days to make the blood test appointment for W in Delhi so that set us back a while". So a quick heads up for any Aussie's with babies due soon: things may not go quite as smoothly with the High Commission as they have to date. W had to have his DNA testing done in India as he was already there when the change to the procedure came through, so having the testing of the parents-to-be in Australia before you go will at least minimise this delay.

K-nackered

2010-02-11T21:06:00.004+10:30

I am officially k-nackered: the level you get to when you're so past exhausted you didn't think it was humanly possible to achieve (that's why it's k-nackered with a separate k, and not just plain old knackered). Not only did I make it to work on Monday, I've been interstate for the past two days and I am trashed. Slept brilliantly without any interruptions both nights (except for not being able to get the temperature correct in my hotel room the first night) but I am still stuffed. My work brain kicked in nicely (much to my surprise), but I didn't realise how tired I would be simply by using it again - as in so tired I could easily have fallen into bed at 7pm last night. Had a great chat with my boss yesterday about how I'm going to finish the two subjects I'm currently doing at uni as well as everything else, and we've decided that the best plan is for me to go on leave again until after exams. So after I knock off tomorrow I don't go back again until 9th March. Woo hoo! It's probably a good thing that I am going in tomorrow as I left my charge card in the taxi in Canberra so had to pay cash for my taxi when I got home - which means I now need to claim the reimbursement as well as fill in a tonne of forms re my lost card. Did I mention I was stuffed?! But not as much as my darling husband who's had about 4 hours sleep since I've been away. Think I know who's on night duty tonight...

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

2010-02-07T21:01:00.013+10:30

Talk about reality check - it's finally hit me that I'm returning to work tomorrow. When I planned my leave, six months off seemed like ages but it hasn't been and I'm not ready. But will I ever be? The boys are so much fun that I don't want to leave, but we're only on one income and it's mine so I have zero choice. But how am I going to fit work in when I'm constantly behind with housework and studying and everything as it is? And what on earth am I going to wear?!? My plan of living in shorts and tracksuits was great and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, but in reality it's meant that my butt has expanded as I haven't been squeezing myself into anything to realise exactly how slack I've been. My feet are also going to be protesting loudly as I've worn Birkenstock's or just gone bare foot since August. I've so enjoyed my never-ending summer as we missed most of winter last year when we were in India for the boys birth, so having no shoes on has been a valid option. And one that I've happily continued since being home again (as you take your shoes off when you enter a building in most places in Mumbai).

Think I better go find my work bag and the ironing board and all of those things that I put away a life time ago. Including my make-up bag. Never thought I'd ask this, but can I even remember how to apply mascara?? And where's my watch and engagement/wedding ring? Next is to track down my carry-on suitcase as I'm flying interstate on Tuesday. But first I'm going to put together a HUGE pile of photos as I won't be able to turn around and look at H&D anytime I want. Just got a bit teary typing that...

The jump room

2010-02-07T16:19:00.003+10:30

So much for having one child in the swing while the other one jumped - we now have two jumping frames! Alex loves jumping onto the blue rubber mats as it makes a great thud noise while Taj's favourite is the music mat as we have it set to funny noises every time he lands on the blue feet in the middle. Yet another room in this house overtaken by these two.

Um, where's Alex??

2010-02-05T07:49:00.016+10:30

Nik gave me the "you're required" three rings on my phone at 5:55am this morning (I was zzz'ing in bed, he was crashed on the lounge with the video monitors) as someone was stirring. So I staggered out, took note that there were no little people sleeping in their chairs in the lounge room with dad and tried to focus on the monitor to see if I needed to go get someone or if they were just tossing and turning in their sleep. My "um, where's Alex??" question resulted in Nik bounding off the lounge and racing down to their room within a split second. Turns out the little devil not only rolled onto his belly in his cot (even in his sleeping bag), he then somehow manoeuvred all the way down so he was well and truly stuck at the base of the cot and there was no way he could roll back over - all out of view of the camera. So yes honey Taj was stirring, but that's probably because his brother was just about screaming the house down by this point and they do share a room.

Random recent photos - play time, story time and squirmy cuddle time:

Who knew a clown nose from the $2 shop could be so much fun!

Giggle time with dad

No, I don't have enough things to play with - Taj

Alex multi tasking - tummy time while reading

And more twins

2010-01-31T19:06:00.006+10:30

Congratulations also goes to Todd and Alper (from the US) on the birth of their twin boys, as well as Niels and Alexander (from Europe) who are celebrating the arrival of their pigeon pair all this week. Is there something in the water in Mumbai?!? Things are looking GREAT for you Kerrie and Mandy!!!!

New twins

2010-01-22T20:31:00.015+10:30

A huge congratulations to Deb and her husband on the arrival of their pigeon pair in Mumbai last Wednesday. Alya was out first and weighed 2.45kg, while little brother Zaal was 2.18kg. Two very healthy babies who didn't require any time in NICU at all - well done everyone. Still can't believe your surrogate made it to 36 weeks! It's even harder to believe that you've got their birth certificates already. Hopefully the rest of the Australian citizenship process also goes this smoothly.

Five months

2010-01-20T06:28:00.023+10:30

I feel like starting off "I can't believe another month has gone already" but I've decided not to as I'm sure the next 20 years are going to whizz by, let alone the next xx months. Boys are fabulous and are still pure delights. They're both pretty well still on the 120ml feeds (we can occasionally trick Alex into taking more during one of the night feeds when he's three quarters out of it) and feeding is still every three hours or so. Alex has now slept three times for more than five hours overnight but I don't think we can actually claim it as an achievement as the only reason he stayed in bed for so long was me. I am seriously immune to most baby noises they make now and can sleep through just about anything, which is not good when we've had a shift change and I'm in charge. Whoops! Both boys are so busy moving (Alex with the rolling, Taj doing anything he can with us supporting him) that they burp themselves now. Added bonus is we haven't had any projectile vomiting for a few weeks. The boys were weighed yesterday and Alex is now 7.24kg and Taj 6.49kg. They saw the paediatrician last week and he's really pleased with their progress, but we're off to see an opthamologist shortly as Taj's pupils shake before he manages to focus at times. Looks like it's just another prem issue but better to get it checked out to be sure. They had their four month immunisations last week and were both off colour for a few days, which we think is also due to sore gums. We can't see any teeth poking through just yet but there have definitely been a few red cheeks. And lots of dribble, which is probably also a side affect of them both still loving to suck their fists. Taj was very generous and shoved his hand in Alex's mouth the other day during a play session on the floor, so Alex took the opportunity and had a free suck. Both still have blue eyes but Alex is starting to get some brown flecks in his, so I'm pretty sure his days are numbered. I've got hazel eyes and Nik has green, so it will be interesting to see what colour they both end up with.

I'm back to work in two weeks and am seriously not ready. I feel like I'm constantly behind with uni and housework and exercising and just about everything, so being out of the house for 40+ hours a week is going to prove challenging. I'm definitely having to write lists so I can attempt to get the main things done before I go awol and will be busy selling the next round of things on eBay in an attempt to declutter before I disappear. It's amazing how much stuff the boys already don't use and/or are too big for. Lesson for all parents-to-be: check the maximum weight on equipment before you buy anything. We love our rocker chairs (which the boys just about live in as they get fed in them and nap in them during the day) but only just realised they have a 9kg max weight limit. That's only a six month old baby! Luckily the local second hand baby shop managed to get two of the 'infant to toddler' chairs for me which will last the boys until they're 20kgs, and for only $30 each (new is around $100). We've stolen another idea off you Mel!

Other new purchase is one that Nik was violently opposed to, but is already his favourite - the jolly jumper. Both of the boys just want to be up and you either have to hold them yourself, or get something to do it for you. We elected for the later (as it's going to be a tad hard for Nik to hold both for hours on end when I'm not around) after being advised not to get the exercise saucer things as they can cause spinal issues. Nik wants to know if he can hang them both on the same spring at the same time so he can read the paper undisturbed.... Um, no. You either hang the second kiddo off a door frame or get another free standing frame. The crying that would result after two little heads banged together would not be worth it. And do you really think you're going to have the time to read the paper at all?!?! So here we are, one very happy and one very confused child during their first bouncing session yesterday.

Taj post bouncing session (complete with dribble), Alex ready-ish to go.

Alex spent most of his first session (20mins) trying
to work out who was holding him.

My most favourite shot of boof.

Fun weight lifting for dads.

Impressed Taj - gets to suck the harness while bouncing
(we had it on back to front).

Did the instructions come with warnings about
cute pokey out ears being a potential hazard?

DNA testing for Aussie babies-to-be

2010-01-13T08:56:00.008+10:30

Just found this on the Australian High Commission in Delhi's website re the compulsory DNA testing our babies born via surrogacy arrangements in India must undergo before being granted Citizenship by Descent (as it proves at least one of the parents is biologically related):

DNA testing - procedure for India Before you leave Australia
1. Choose the laboratory you would like to use – DNALabs or Genetic Technologies.
2. Contact the laboratory and ask about the testing procedure, the expected timeframe for obtaining the results, the cost involved and any other questions you have. The Australian High Commission is unable to provide this information.
3. Arrange for the Australian citizen biological parent to undergo DNA testing in Australia. Note: Australian citizen biological parents should undergo DNA testing in Australia and before travelling to India. Processing delays will result if the Australian citizen biological parent/s undertakes DNA testing while in India. This is because DNA testing of Australian citizen biological parents must be witnessed in New Delhi under the supervision of an Australian Government Official from the Australian High Commission.
4. Decide whether you would like your child to undergo DNA testing in New Delhi or Mumbai.

If you want to do the DNA testing in Mumbai, the current (new) process is you contact a particular doctor for an appointment, fill in a bunch of forms (which you had to do anyway) and take a qualified lawyer or Notary Public to the appointment with you to witness the test and sign some of the paperwork. We have to arrange this person and the Aust HC can't help. The DNA samples will be sent back to Australia for processing the same day.

Citizenship is still processed in Delhi, but the completed application/s can be sent there by courier before the DNA results are back so there may be no need to travel domestically, or it could be a quick day trip is still required for passports (which isn't mentioned). As the process is obviously evolving, keep up to date with the latest by visiting http://www.india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/vm_surrogacy.html regularly.

No idea when they changed the process, but yay!! Common sense finally prevails.

And the little one said...

2010-01-12T21:12:00.007+10:30

...roll over, roll over - so Alex followed instructions and decided to roll today. And then did it twice more for good measure. The first time (just after lunch) he looked like he was going to dislocate his shoulder getting his bottom arm out, but apparently the two rolls tonight were much more elegant and he was incredibly pleased with himself (as evidenced by his huge grin). So far he can only roll from his back to his front, so it will be interesting to see how much longer it takes for him to link a few rolls in a row and/or roll back over to his starting position. Nik reckons I'm going back to work at exactly the right time. And the unexpected bonus of all of this? The child is so knackered from all the physical activity he's been sleeping for hours. Yay!!!

BPA in baby bottles - findings

2010-01-11T16:15:00.007+10:30

Dr Google has certainly had a workout in this house today, and I've learnt that the issue with BPA is that it leaches with extreme heat. So unless you have BPA bottles everyone, do not heat or sterilise them in the microwave or put them in the dishwasher!!! In fact, just about everything I'm reading is saying to wash your bottles in hot soapy water (let them soak for about 5 minutes first) and simply rinse. That's it. If you really must sterilise, you can boil - but isn't that also extreme heat?? Or is it ok as that's more gradual?? Aaarrrrggghhhhh. Teats definitey need sterilising. It's just the bottles that's up for debate.

Long and short of it is we're going to buy some replacement BPA-free bottles off eBay as Taj is still using the tiny 4 oz Avent bottles we had with us in India, so they can hit the bin. Some of the bigger bottles we have in the cupboard are just about brand new, so we'll start using them as well when the new BPA-free bottles arrive from the UK. In the meanwhile, we'll try and get the guys to take the formula at room temperature (we add the boiled water to the bottles once they're cleaned and add the formula once it's feed time so they're already at room temperature). If no luck, I've bought a glass jug so we'll tip the water out of the bottle and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds or whatever before tipping back into the bottle and adding the formula. If we'd just used the microwave to heat the bottles I don't think I'd be worrying about replacing anything, but I'd say it's the 6 minutes of zapping each time we sterilise (normally twice a day) which may cause the problem. Apparently the only safe way to heat up your bottle is gradually in hot water.

So is this a baby problem only? No. High levels of estrogen have been found in urine through the BPA leaching in most adults worldwide as BPA is used in a LOT of plastic products and even tin cans (they line the can with the plastic to stop rust and contamination of the food).

BPA in baby bottles

2010-01-11T10:00:00.009+10:30

Grief - they've had all over the morning shows here today that they've now found evidence that BPA (commonly used in plastic products that are clear, such as baby bottles) leaches when heated and there is now "compelling evidence the chemical is linked to breast cancer and sex hormone imbalances, and is particularly linked to adverse health risks to babies". There's calls for these bottles to be removed from shelves after the chemical has already been banned for use in Canada, the US and other countries. Why is Australia so behind at times?!? I knew there were some issues with BPA but I thought it was a personal choice issue, not scientifically backed. Even the manufacturer of the chemical now refuses to sell it to anyone wanting to use it in products designed for kids under 3 years. There is no concern with teats as they're made from silicon.

You can check if your bottles contain BPA by looking at the recycling code on the bottom of the bottle (in the triangle shape), with '7' being the main culprit. Interestingly, not one of the 25 various Avent bottles we have has the recycling code on it, where the bottles we bought in India that Taj was used to from the NICU does have the symbol - and it's definitely a 7 in the middle of it.

I can see a quick shopping trip coming up today. There's no way we can afford to replace this many bottles (we have 16 on the go at any given time - is it too late to induce lactation?! lol), so I'm thinking a BPA-free container to heat the water in and then tipping the water into the bottles we already have before adding the formula may be the way to go. Any other suggestions anyone?? Or do the boys now only get room temperature bottles except during the night (in the new BPA-free bottles I'll buy a few of) seeing it's summer here...

A morning of firsts

2010-01-08T07:59:00.016+10:30

The most beautiful moment just occurred - I was sitting on the floor in between the boys in their rocker chairs doing the first feed of the day, and when I sat Taj on my lap for the compulsory burping session Alex turned his head to look and gave him the most stunning smile. It would have been really interesting to see what Taj's reaction would have been if he was looking in that direction... The boys have been starting to acknowledge each other slightly, but this was definitely the first time I've seen any facial expression on either of them when they're looking at the other. I so wish my camera was within arms reach so I could have captured it!!

Alex has literally been jumping out of his skin lately and it's like he's got ants in his pants. He's standing (with help), and taking steps and then sitting for a bit before laying down and trying to roll. It really feels like he's just doing something the whole time, so hopefully he'll start to wear himself out and start to sleep for longer than 3 hour blocks overnight. And it's not just physical movement that's occurring big time as you can now hear him doing his vocal exercises at the other end of the house. It's all very cute until he decides to try an incredibly high pitched and loud squeal while you're holding him. Taj isn't much behind with the constant activity and touched his toes with his fingers the first time this morning. Think he's one up on Alex with this achievement. He also loves standing and sitting but can't quite work out the rolling thing yet, probably due to not quite having enough neck strength to lift his chest off the floor. Taj definitely has a softer voice and his current favourite word is "goo". Think we say 'good' to him too often! You definitely need to buckle them into any chair you put them in now as bouncing on their behinds is also high on the agenda. Another favourite activity of both is sucking their hands, so much so that Alex has a permanent red mark on his right thumb and first finger from having his fist shoved down his throat. Favourite toy for both currently are the rings that you link together that we now have hanging in multiple places they can reach them. Alex thinks they're pretty good to suck on while Taj thinks they make pretty good bangles. On that note, I must go see if he's got himself stuck again. Of if he's decided to cover his head again with his muslin wrap.

We're just starting the first heat wave of the year here, so the boys will shortly be putting to great use the toddler pool they got for xmas. I promise to take some cute snaps and upload them. I've got another uni assignment due today (submitted one yesterday), so I'm going to have a weekend of doing zip but playing. I'm going to get my fill in before I go back to work in around three weeks time.

Crying baby, gotta go!

Back again - forgot to include the progress update. The boys were weighed and measured on Tuesday and Alex is now up to 6.87kg and is 63.5cm long. He's on the 25% line for both measurements, so is nicely in proportion. Taj has caught up slightly (probably as Alex has been too busy sucking his fist and/or talking to bother about taking his bottle) and now weighs 6.19 kg and is 60.5cm long. He's tracking on the 10% line for weight and the 3% line for height. Taj knocks off the entire 120ml just about every single feed and finds a clenched fist more useful to rub his eyes when he's tired than sticking down his gob. The other thing that has been growing is their hair, but not enough yet for Taj to loose his bald old man look from the back. Current length on top is about 1cm so it's just starting to stick up. I'm starting to think Alex isn't going to be as dark as I first thought, and Taj is looking pretty similar - but maybe with more of a reddish gold tinge. Eyes are still blue for both of them, but we're pretty sure Alex's have looked a bit green over the last week. I really want Taj's eyes to stay blue but am not holding out much hope for either of them (as Nik's eyes are green and mine are hazel).

Firsts

2010-01-01T01:11:00.002+10:30

The first day of the first month is a great time to pause to remember what we've achieved in the last twelve months, as well as think about what we've got to look forward to. There are a LOT of firsts on the radar for us this year. First solid foods, first night without anyone waking up for a feed, first words (Alex is doing his vocal exercises in the background as I type this), the ongoing race to see who's the first to roll and then crawl and/or walk, first one to pull the cat's tail, first teeth... We are so looking forward to it all!! Looking backwards, Farah's LMP was around this time (the date kept swapping from 1/1 to 25/12 on the subsequent scans) which meant we were in discussions about how many embryos we'd thaw and what the back up plan would be if not many/any survived. We decided to defrost ice ice babies Huey, Dewey and Louie with all three embies surviving (which is great as there is up to a 50% loss), and a stress free (ha ha) 32 weeks later we welcomed Alex and Taj into our hearts. Wonder if I'd have got my girls if we'd named the embryos April, May and June instead?? Regardless, we couldn't be happier with our lot and are eagerly looking forward to the next 12 months of firsts and 25 years of them living under our roof as I'll be up for retirement then so they're on their own - which we know won't happen as I didn't move out until I was 29, but it's going to be a nice ongoing joke (threat?) with them.

So happy new year everyone, and I hope the next 12 months are as eagerly anticipated for you as they are for us.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T06:52:00.008+10:30

Xmas boys Alex and Taj

One of the great benefits of living in Australia is that we get to kick off the silly season before most of the world, and it's time to do it again. It's amazing how different the lead up has been than in previous years, even though these two aren't old enough to understand diddly squat yet. Not only did the tree go up, presents have been wrapped and placed under it about two weeks ago. The fact that they're all for Alex and Taj (from their dad...) is irrelevant! We celebrate xmas over two days so I'm always known to be wrapping presents for my family get-together on xmas day itself, which I'm sure I'll still be doing once the hurricane which is about to hit our lounge room is cleared. We're having lunch with my parents and our great neighbours at our house today, which will be fun. The turkey is ordered from our favourite chicken shop and the ham is in the fridge, so now it's just a case of getting those vegies into the oven. I'm very glad that the weather has turned cool again, except for the fact that the cold merry-go-round is still going round in our house and Alex now has it. After two weeks off dosing Taj up on stuff, we're getting experts at it all. We'll spend Boxing Day with my family tomorrow (at my brothers mini farm an hour out of the city), so there's lots of extra people to hold sooky babies if need be. Somehow the fact that they're both not 100% is going to be irrelevant!

To our friends still waiting for their babies, Santa wants you to know that they're coming - he just ran out of room for them all in his sleigh!!! Everyone in the world deserves to be as truly blessed as we have become this year. It wasn't without it's incredible hurdles, but it really is like child birth (or so I'm told) and you forget. Or it dims. Or you become so bloody busy with stuff that you never even imagined that you are seriously left with no time left to do anything.

I'm off to enjoy the first of MANY beautiful celebrations with my boys. Alex has been fed and is back in bed, and number two is now stirring. I'm going to enjoy some quality mummy time with Taj too before Nik wakes up and our crazy day kicks off.

We wish you all a truly beautiful day spent with amazing family and friends. And goofy hats.

Typical child - the wrapping is more interesting than the present!

He's on his way

2009-12-24T08:49:00.010+10:30

Obtaining that elusive first xmas shot has proven to be not so easy, which I'm going to put down to Taj having a touch of bronchitis and Alex being way too busy to comply with sitting still (he found his hands last week and is now grabbing everything, including tops (he's very good at exposing boobs), as well as starting to wave 'bye' on Tuesday) - and not complaints about having fuzzy hats shoved on their heads when it's pushing 40 degrees. We'll try again today to see if we get better results.

In the meanwhile, the boys have been avidly following Santa's flight path at http://mirror.airservicesaustralia.com/santa09/santa09.asp to see when he's expected to arrive at our place tonight, even though all of their pressies are under the tree (we arranged a pre-delivery as Australia Post have been on strike). And they're ready, thanks to the fabulous Jackie who's mum has been busy and made this for us (we're sure with the help of her beautiful grand daughter Alexa) and posted it from Dubai while visiting: