Dear 3 Boys

With the holy season of Lent here, Easter is just about one month away!  And thankfully, Spring is officially here, too!  Every holiday, I always think about what traditions I want my family to have, to remember, and to hold onto.  Baking with my kids is something I enjoy thoroughly, as it brings us together in preparing and eating.  I decided to start a new Easter tradition for our family this year, and so I tested out Easter Bread "nests" with my Kindergartner after school - the bread came out so delicious, and we had so much fun together, that I am sure this Easter tradition is something we will continue every year.  One of my most prevalent challenges with my 6-year old son now is getting him to persist through a task that he says is "too hard for me."  He wanted to give up when he struggled to roll his dough and was frustrated making his first "braid" with the bread, but, together (with lots of praise, patience and gentleness) we managed to finish wh...

I gave birth to my twins at 38 weeks into my pregnancy, which is considered full-term for twins.  And much to my surprise and shock, I got the twin birth I had sort of "dreamed of" after what felt like a very difficult pregnancy compared to my singleton experience, and having had preeclampsia in this pregnancy - still don't even know how I managed to work at all or care for my then 4-year old (though I admit, many Netflix shows were watched and I pulled David early from his Pre-K-3 program as I just couldn't keep up any more).  On April 28, 2017 I gave birth vaginally to twin boys - Twin B, being delivered breech!  (A double whammy of a vaginal birth for one twin and c-section for the other was my worst nightmare, so I was thankful to avoid surgery)  We were truly so lucky to have had such a positive birthing experience and wonderful doctor delivering Adam and Matthew at NYU Langone Hospital.  However, just a few hours after their birth, one of the nurses in my...

Going back in time a bit to share a sample of our schedule with our twins, Adam and Matthew, with you all from the 12-18 months age range.  This was certainly not an easy time for us because it was just full of some major transitions.  Besides the fact that the boys were walking like pros by month 11, this next phase of life was full of major transitions for us that would prove we went from babies to toddlers:  1) this was the time we went from two naps to one, 2) we transitioned from formula to cow's milk at month 13, and finally 3) we were experiencing a burst of language and saying many of our first words, feeling frustrated when we couldn't be understood. Before I share a sample of our schedule, I want to reiterate what I mentioned when I first blogged about our schedule from that 8-12 Months range, which you can go back and re-read by clicking here .  It is unrealistic and almost impossible to follow a rigid schedule every day or even expect your days to be...

The transition from infant to toddler is such a big leap, and one of the greatest events that really will change life is the switch from formula to cow's milk.  I did this once already with my first child, and guess I learned a lot just through trial and error.  We didn't have the best experience switching over to formula with David - poor little guy dealt with tons of constipation issues, but we eventually got there and things were ok.  I wanted to share about this experience because the topic of switching to cow's milk is one I often get asked about. Back in the days of first-time-mom life, I used to live on my Babycenter Birth Club community and by the advice of my pediatrician and mother.  Nowadays, as a mom of twins plus one, I am much more open to listening to others, reflecting on my first experiences, and I guess I've developed somewhat of a mom tribe to lean on for advice.  When I transitioned my twins to whole milk, it was a whole different tactic f...

I have 3 sons - they are all special to me in their own ways and have their own personalities I so admire.  David always seeks to please me and is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met (as a toddler he would let every child slide down the slide in front of him before taking his turn).  Adam is so quirky and constantly smiling, even when he can tell I'm frustrated.  And then there is Matthew, the toddler with the most serious stare-down you've ever seen who is totally fearless (at birth he even decided he could handle being on his own in the NICU for nearly a month without his twin or Mama!). There are so many dreams and hopes we, as mothers, have for our children.  As David nears the end of his Kindergarten year and approaches his sixth birthday, I can't help but feel my baby and preschooler are no longer there - he doesn't want to sleep in my bed anymore, he wants his hair styled, and he can ask me questions that really make me think before I answer....

One of my resolutions and goals for 2019 is to really help my children gain more independence and become more self-sufficient.  I know they're still so young to do a lot on their own, but even the littlest things can make a world of difference to a mom of twins plus one.  Just getting out the door to go for a stroll could take me about 20 minutes of just getting ready to head out, with 3 jackets to put on, 3 zippers to zip, 3 pairs of shoes to put on, bottles to make, snacks to bring, etc....and then at least get shoes and a coat on for myself! As a first-time mom, I can admit that I dealt with a lot of guilt over returning to work teaching full-time when my son, David, was just shy of 6 months of age.  And that guilt of working full-time just kind of added on for me moreso as time went on.  I wondered if he was getting enough attention from the other family members watching him, if something was missing for him emotionally since his mom wasn't always there, or ...