KJandSH

One of my colleagues has a son who locked his grandma out of the house when she went to get the mail and got naked in the middle of the floor and played with his poo.

Kids try your patience sometimes, don't they?!

I hope everyone and your babies are doing well. We have been cold and virus central this past few weeks. Blech! Last week I took Iseul to the doctor for a cold (which Haneul also had). This morning I took Haneul to the doctor for a 104 degree fever (and Iseul has now developed a fever). Of course, the only reason to really go to the doctor is to make sure it's not an infection or something serious, because all they do is tell you to keep the babies hydrated, use the humidifier, and children's tylenol if necessary.

In Korea they give people shots of some sort when they go to the doctor/hospital with a cold, so my DH always thinks that it is ridiculous that they don't do the same here. I think he is starting to 'get' that people shouldn't be overmedicated though.

Take care and stay well!

Kristi

Gemmacat--Your daughter is adorable.

I also make my own baby food, but have used gerber peas and greber green beans before because for some reason Haneul and Iseul don't like my homemade versions of those. Maybe it's the texture? Anyway, since they decided to like avocado I stopped worrying about them eating green beans and peas so much.

Do any of you use the wholesomebabyfood.com website? I really like it.

And speaking of making baby food, that is what I need to start doing right now. Later!

Kristi

Marilyn--I don't think that there is really quick way to get your breasts to stop producing milk. I think that many recommend that you just pump enough to be comfortable and let the milk production fall off on its own. I also have heard that if you put cabbage leaves inside your bra it helps to lessen your milk production for some reason. You use a fresh cabbage leave and then get a new one once it becomes limp or wilted. You could try going to la leche league's website or kellymom's website to find out more info.

The only other way I have heard that you can stop producing milk is via injection of some medicine. I know that my mom was injected after she had me because she didn't plan to breastfeed. But if you haven't heard of that yet, there may be a reason that it is not popular anymore (side effects, etc.)

Lyuba--You never know when you might have that baby. You could progress quickly, or not. I was 3 cm dilated from week 34 until week 38 with my twins and got a big lecture from a doctor in the practice about how I should stop work immediately or risk having my twins prematurely. I had so much guilt, but felt I had to work until week 36 (for financial reasons and because I'm a teacher and they didn't have a sub for me yet). Well, I didn't have my baby until 38 weeks 1 day, and even then I had to be induced. Craziness! I was *extremely* uncomfortable for weeks. Probably because I was having non productive contractions for weeks that were waking me up every hour on the hour at night. But it was all worth it when I have birth to over 14 pounds of babies.

Kristi

Goodness! This thread is hopping now!

Back to the topic of sleeping through the night. A lot of people recommended "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to me and I like parts of it. It helped me understand the sleep transitions that babies go through in terms of the amount of sleep they need and when they sleep. The sleep patterns in the book hold pretty true for my babies. For example, they went to bed at 10 or 11 when they were very young, but somewhere around 4 months, their bedtime moved up significantly, to about 7 p.m. Now they sleep from 7 p.m. to about 7:30 a.m. Until recently, they would wake up to eat once around 3 or 4 a.m. These days they are waking up for a feeding about 30% of the time. It is a lot easier on me now that they are sleeping later because instead of nursing them at 3 a.m. and then pumping at 6:30 a.m. before I go to work.

I feel like the darn breast pump is my mortal enemy these days, but that is another story!

I think babies aren't really capable of sleeping through the night until a certain age because their tummies are too small and can't hold the necessary food for them to go without eating for 12 hours or so. It was right around 9 months for us that Haneul and Iseul 'slept' through the night. And I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they are eating 3 meals of solid food a day.

RE: Teaching kids different languages. Our daughters will definitely learn English and Korean because those are our native languages. I am a Spanish teacher, so I will teach them Spanish as well. In the past I considered speaking to them in Spanish only, but I've found that since it isn't my native language, it doesn't feel natural to me. So I'm going to look into it a bit more and talk to other friends who are language teachers and see what worked for them. I do know that we will do a lot of supplemental schooling in Korean because we are living in the U.S. and, although my husband speaks only Korean with them and is a stay at home dad, he is not nearly as verbal as I am. I'm hoping that we will spend a lot of summers in Korea too.

Well, time to visit with my mortal enemy, the pump! TGIF tomorrow and I can breastfeed rather than pump during the weekend.

Kristi

So glad you're O.K. Hope that your family and friends are holding you tight and helping you get through the scare of the accident. Take care!

Kristi

Hi there!

Some of you mommies (and mommies to be) need to come on over to mommy corner!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1458658

I'm happy to see that we have so many happy and healthy babies here (and on the way too).

Kristi

Thanks Anne!

I am glad that Damion is eating his new formula. It must have been a worry to have him not accept it at first. Has your pediatrician helped you out with any free formula? Ours put us in touch with an Enfamil rep who gave us a free case for each baby. I used a fair amount of it when I was having breastfeeding problems in the beginning. You might ask if they have something similar if they haven't already helped you out. I'm always looking to save money, as I'm sure most people who are just starting out are also.

I'm going to post over in the baby corner and try to get some of the mommies to come over here. It looks like a lot of people are due to have babies soon!

We just had our 9 month appointment today. Here are the girls' stats.

Haneul: 19 lbs. 1 ounce and 29.5 inches tall. Head circumference is staying at 25th percentile.

Iseul: 21 lbs. 4 ounces and 31 inches tall. Head circumference staying at 50th percentile.

They are both tall babies and great weights (especially for twins). They are eating 3 meals of solids a day and still nursing about 5 or 6 times a day when I am at home. They take 2 bottles of expressed milk with Dad or the sitters when I am working.

Babies are such a joy. I know you can all appreciate this and hope you are enjoying your beautiful babies right now. (I will be in a moment when they wake up from their nap).

Speaking of which...do any of you know when babies switch from 2 naps a day to just 1 nap a day. Someone told me that it happens around 9 months, but no sign of it yet here.

Kristi

Best not to mess with Group B strep! One of my twins got it and was in the NICU for 11 days. Unfortunately, I had although I had tested negative twice during my pregnancy.

Kristi

Marilyn--I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I hope that you and your loved ones can find solace in each other and that the therapist you are going too will be a big help to you all. You are in my thoughts.

Kristi

We need more mommies here! Babycorner is so active, why isn't mommy corner? (Probably because we are all too busy!)

Update on Haneul and Iseul. They are doing great. The were 9 months old on the 29th of December. Iseul is standing for about 5-7 seconds unsupported. Haneul isn't quite there, but she holds on with just one arm to a chair or whatever is around her. Both are crawling *very* quickly and getting into everything. They are sweet, happy, and charming babies and I'm so thankful for them.

I've been off of work for the past two weeks (I'm a h.s. teacher) and it has been wonderful being with them.

Eveline--I'm also still nursing. Haneul and Iseul eat 3 meals a day, so that has helped take some pressure off of me in terms of pumping enough at work. Just before break I had a week where I was sick, tired, and stressed and not pumping enough milk. I had to break into the freezer supply, but even that upset me because the babies were also sick and I knew they would do better with my current milk with the antibodies fighting the cold. But I had to remind myself that I was doing my best and that as moms, we sometimes expect too much of ourselves.

Anne--Haneul also had a dairy sensitivity, so I had to cut out dairy from my diet for about 5 months. After a while, I added baked goods with milk and noticed she was o.k. with that. Then just this week I tried cheese and milk again and she is fine, so I can have dairy again! I think we will wait to introduce yogurt and cheese to both girls, but the good news is that a dairy sensitivity is something that a baby does outgrow, often before 12 months. It is not like lactose intolerance. So, you might want to try to add in regular formula after a few months when Damion's stomach is a little more mature. Anyway, something to ask your pediatrician about because I know that nutramigen and similar formulas are very pricey.

I'm so sorry that Damion had that medical issue. I hope everything is resolved now. It sounds like it was a bit of a scare and tough on you and him.

I am also making my own baby food. We try to save money when practical, which is why I have become so gung-ho on breastfeeding and making my own baby food. And I am also very into it because in a lot of ways it is easier and of course healthier.

Have any of you used the wholesomebabyfoods.com website? It is a great resource for making your own baby food.

I've found it is not too time consuming to make my own food. Most things are so easy to make--just boil or bake for a while and then puree. I did get an immersion blender, and that has made things much easier than using a blender. Some things I just mash with a fork (avocado, banana, papaya, ripe pears). And the babies love mango and prunes which are super simple to make. I buy frozen already cut-up mango and just puree when it has thawed. With prunes you just add warm water and then puree.

Take care all and hope you had a good holiday. I am attaching two pics, one of Haneul and one of Iseul, that we had on our holiday card.

Kristi

Anne--I know it's a shock, but just think how your babies will be able to be so close since they will be very close in age. Just make sure you take good care of yourself because, as we all know, pregnancy takes a toll on the body. Good nutrition, rest, and lots of TLC from your hubby are important!

Our girls had their 4 month appointment today. They are 90th and 95th percentile for height and weight (Haneul--15 lbs. 7 ounces and 24.5 inches, Iseul 16 lbs. 4 ounces and 25 inches). I can't believe I have such big twins!

The bad news is that Haneul probably has a dairy sensitivity because she has tested positive for blood in her stool, so yours truly has to avoid dairy in my diet since I am exclusively breastfeeding. I just hope she doesn't have problems with soy too, although I guess there is always rice milk.

Kristi

I found out at US appt. yesterday that we're expecting a boy! Hubby is so proud. My mother already has two grandsons (1 from my only bro, 1 from my only sis) and we were hoping for a girl so she'd finally have a granddaughter but we're adding boy #3 to the pack.

I knew when I found out I was pregnant it was a boy (I told hubby and we put a friendly wager on it). Did any other moms or moms-to-be have that gut feeling and were correct on the gender?

i also really wanted a girl, but just 'felt' my baby was a boy...

and he is!!

on a roadtrip

just chillin'

Let's see--I thought I was having one boy and ended up with 2 girls! I don't think my gut feelings are very accurate.

Everyone thought I was having a boy--my mom, my elder sister, that little 'test' where you take a necklace with a pendant and hold it over your belly. Maybe twins just throws everything off.

Kristi

Hi Kristi,

I am happy that the twins are doing well, thank you so much for the advice

I have a Madela Lactina Select, it is a rental my insurance covered it. Before I was discharged The hospital arranged for it as well as all of my other home care. Eventually I will have to return it. I hope that my insurance covers it when I have to buy one. I need something to increase my milk supply, I had heard about the Fenugreek being used. honestly I need to increase my pumping sessions....I don't pump every 3 hours as suggested. I only pump 3-4 times a day:blush: I will ask the lacation consultant about taking the hebs to help my supply.

I use fenugreek and alfalfa pills and both have helped my supply. I think alfalfa works best for me. Also, oatmeal is supposed to help. And lots of women find that they need bigger flanges fir their pumps and that helps them pump more. The 'standard' size included with a pump is very often too small. (I keep meaning to buy bigger ones, but haven't done it yet.)

you might try checking out "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" from your library. It has lots of great info on bf'ing and pumping--and even hand expression of breastmilk (which I am determined to figure out so I don't have to keep lugging my pump around.)

Eveline--Thanks for the props for breastfeeding. I'm really glad I've stuck with it, because breastfeeding is really easier than formula feeding in the long run, especially for twins. No heating up bottles and I can easily feed two at once.

Kristi

Savanphil/Tonya--Glad that your little Zakery and you are o.k. What a scary time you went through!

One of my twins(Haneul) was in the NICU for 12 days with a group B Strep infection and I had a hard time building up my milk supply since we got off to a poor start breastfeeding with her. Her sister had a good start, fortunately, but I still had to work to get my supply up for 2 after Haneul ended up getting a fair amount of formula.

Question: Did you get a prescription for a breast pump (like the Medela Pump In Style)? You should be able to get a free breast pump because you had a baby in the NICU. If you didn't, you may be able to get reimbursed retroactively.

Also, if you can, ask a lactation consultant about fenugreek or alfalfa pills. I've used both and found that alfalfa seems to work best for me. They are just herbal supplements, so most people say they are o.k. to use. You should ask because you had a preemie if they are safe though.

I know some people have had a lot of success with the prescription drug 'Reglan' for milk production too. I wish you the best. I know it is really hard to pump for your baby and not be able to fully supply him with milk. I hated the pump at first because I could never get as much as I wanted to. Right when I was super frustrated with the pump, at 6 week, Haneul decided to learn how to latch on. That was a fantastic day!

Eveline--Glad to hear that your baby was going through a growth spurt and now you have a bit of rest from the constant breastfeeding. Believe me, I know what it's like to constantly breastfeed all day long and it is so difficult! I do not fault you at all for trying some rice cereal with your breastmilk. It's nice that you can put off using it for now though.

It used to be--even 8-10 years ago--that doctors said that babies could start solids at 4 months, but I know that 6 months is what they say now. My doctor said, umprompted, that I could maybe start at 5 months. I think she feels sorry for me breastfeeding twins and also knows that I am going back to work then. I'm going to try and stick it out until 6 months if the girls are happy until then. I'm building a stockpile of breastmilk in the freezer now, so hopefully I will have lots saved up when I go back to work in September. I want to breastfeed them until they are at least a year old and would love to be able to skip formula, but I know that it will likely be hard to pump enough for 2 babies while working a full-time job.

I have pretty big babies for not yet 4 monthers--One is 16 lbs. and months and the other is at least 14 lbs. They've both more than doubled their birth weights. They like to eat A LOT, but we've gotten down to feedings every 2 hours or so during the day and that has been a major relief.

Kristi

I asked my OB about the lunchmeat thing and she thought it was a bit overzealous. She said that she would just avoid things with nitrates like salami and hot dogs. My best friend's OB told her to just zap the lunchmeat in the microwave for a bit and then it should be fine.

Congrats to all the newly preggo ladies.

Laura--I was very sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Take care.

Kristi

Rach--Glad to hear that you didn't have to be induced and that your labor progressed quickly. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy!

CanadaLaura--I'm sending good though vibes your way. Think positively and let us know how everything turns out.

Tsunami--congrats on the pregnancy!

Savanphil--You're really getting close to the end. Try to get as much rest as you can. I'm not a nap person, but I took a lot of naps those last few weeks of pregnancy and I'm glad I did.

Kristi

This is interesting. My husband and I plan on living in Korea for a while in the future. Korea also does not allow dual citizenship and, in addition, they require that citizens periodically return to Korea to retain Korean citizenship. So my husband has to make sure he spends time in each country to retain his Korean citizenship and make sure he doesn't lose his status as a permanent resident (he ultimately wants to retain his Korean citizenship rather than becoming a U.S. citizen).

Kristi

Well, I send out the I-751 petition today without the affadavits and feel so good to have it sent in. Thanks for everyone's responses. It is a relief to get it in since my husband's card expires on July 7th and I don't have lots of free time to get this stuff around with 2 month old twins!

Kristi

Thanks to all who have replied. I put 'should have' in quotes and Yodrak is right, it does not say that. It was confusing to me the way it is stated on the instructions, because it falls under a bullet point as if you need to have affadavits. It's great that they are not required.

Kristi

Rach--I didn't have an incompetent cervix, but a twin pregnancy. I felt like your doctor stated..worried about everything I did possibly causing pre-term labor. But once I reached 36 weeks, I just couldn't wait for the babies to be born so I could be comfortable again. Then I had to be induced at 38 weeks. Even my doctor couldn't believe that I went that long.

Savanphil-Thanks! We thinks out little ones are sweet and beautiful!

CanadaLaura--I remember waiting for my 1st appointment. It seemed like I had to wait forever and I was so impatient to hear the baby's heartbeat. It turned out there were babies, but we only ever heard one heartbeat up until my 20 week appointment with the ultrasound.

Marilyn--I don't think it's terrible that you wouldn't necessarily want to breastfeed. I think everyone feels like that who knows how difficult breastfeeding and pumping can be. I pretty much just tried to make it through one day at a time until 6 weeks. Even now I have a hard time breastfeeding although my babies have good latches, etc. now. It's just a lot of work and I literally breastfeed every hour during the day when the babies are awake. It might be my supply I guess.

One of my babies had group B strep and was in the NICU 2 weeks so I had to pump for her until she could latch onto the breast (up until 6 weeks--she had nipple confusion). It was so hard pumping--and so discouraging when I sometimes just got drops of milk. Babies are more efficient than pumps, so it's much easier to nurse the baby directly.

If I had to pump again like that, I think I would go crazy and probably give up breastfeeding. I think the only reason I didn't give up this time is because I had one who did breastfeed well and I felt that my breastfed baby would be healthier or smarter than my non-breastfed baby, whether that is true or not.

Anyway, my twins had their 2 month appointment on Wednesday. They've oth gained 5 lbs. since birth. Haneul is in the 75th percentile for growth, weighing 11 lbs. 2 ounces and measuring 22.5 inches. Iseul is in the 90th percentile weighing 12 lbs. 14 ounces and measuring 23 inches. So I guess all of that hard work is paying off. I couldn't believe they were so big at birth and I can't believe they're so big now!

Take care all!

YuAndDan That first link you posted is where I found that you MAY send affadavits, but they are not required. The second link looks more like what USCIS says.

We have lots of evidence, including the birth certificates of our new twins. I feel like our evidence is strong enough without the affadavits. If I have to have affadavits, I will have my parents and a friend of mine write them up, but it seems to me that 'hard evidence' like birth certificates, bank accounts, etc. would be more trustworthy in the eyes of the USCIS than letters from my friends and family.

Kristi

On the instructions that come with the I-751 from USCIS, it says that 'you should have at least 2 affadavits from people who have known you since your conditional permanent residence status was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship'

On the visajourney directions it says 'if you are short on documents that have both of your names listed on them you MAY include affadavits from people who know you as a couple.'

So, are the affadavits actually required? I have plenty of other evidence and would like to skip them if I could to get the paperwork out quickly.

Any personal experiences of people who have NOT done affadavits and had their petition accepted and did not hear from USCIS that they were required?

Kristi

We'll be sending ours out no earlier than a month before the card expires (since I haven't sent it out yet and the card expires on July 7th). Good to hear that it won't be a big problem.

Having new babies makes it hard to get this stuff around, right?!

Oh--looks like he info is on the accompanying pages to the I-751 document. Forget it!

Kristi

I was wondering the same thing. Could you let me know what address you decided to send it to?

Kristi