For Sandy’s return to work, we are Caroling

A carol is a festive song often with a dance-like or popular character. We were singing carols today as the boys turned 8 weeks old and Sandy returned to work. She began her leave on extended bed rest prior to delivery and then took two weeks vacation after her 6 week maternity leave. With the current 24/7 demands of the twins and Sandy retuning to work, we knew we needed help at least until the babies learned to sleep through the night. Daddy Dave has to sleep sometime. Panic was beginning to set in as Sandy’s start day approached, but all was saved when we were introduced to Carol Cox. Having raised her own twin boys who are now in college, Carol was looking for something fun to do. She agreed to stay 8:00 am to Noon with the boys Monday through Friday, which allows Daddy Dave some rest. In our home, this makes her a popular character worthy of festive songs and joyful dancing.

Dad, let’s talk eye to eye

A milestone was reached Tuesday when Benji raised his head up to say hello to Daddy Dave. Mom and Dad had worked with the boys earlier in the day during an extended tummy time with little success. However, after finishing his 7:00 p.m. bottle rather than lay his head on daddy’s chest Benji raised his head up and looked around for several minutes. Both boys are growing larger and stronger everyday and should be moving furniture in no time.

Growing like California Raisins

Our boys are already small, purple and wrinkled. All they need are a few singing and dancing lessons and they’ll be ready to audition for the California Raisins. Created by the California Raisin Advisory Board, the rhythm and blues musical group stared in commercials singing “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. Their commercial success inspired a wide variety of merchandising, from toys to Raisins images on every conceivable medium: lunch boxes, notebooks, clothing, posters, etc. Wildly successful, the California Raisins reportedly grossed more in 1988 than the Californian farmers made selling raisins. No matter what they choose to do, we are raisin’ our boys to dream big.

Hey Cutie, show us your twins!

Something has come over Sandy lately. She has always been so modest, but lately another side has emerged. As hard as it may be to believe, she is showing off her twin lumps of joy to anyone who shows interest. Without hesitation she will uncover and put them out for view. It’s true, she has a name for each one and she’ll even let some people hold them…in public. Sandy and her twins are very popular and as word travels more people are asking to see them. I bet she would steal the show at a NASCAR race.

Swinging Success

At Grandma Karen’s suggestion we purchased a baby swing to the delight of twins and parents alike. The swing essentially gives us another set of arms that can rock one baby while we address the other. Both boys enjoy the relaxing ride that often helps them fall to sleep. It has six speeds, a tray table, and a mobile with bears. Interestingly, it plays carnival and classical music. I would think it would play Swing Music, you know, Benny Goodman or Tommy Dorsey. I wonder if the manufacturer knows that there is a whole untapped market for daddy sized versions. I’d take a Frank Sinatra model.

Happiness is a warm sleeping baby

Both boys will sleep on our chests, but Trey seems to enjoy it more. It’s amazing how much heat thEse little fellows generate. It is important to keep their finger nails filed because they will both reach up and grab my collar for support and painfully scratch my lower throat. They have also discovered the chest hair sticking out of my collar and will grip it with those little hands and pull, usually while I’m asleep. Perhaps it’s their revenge for my snoring. Even with these little discomforts, it is absolutely delightful to feel their baby breath while sleeping on my belly.

The Prince(s) and the Pee

All that milk we drink has to go somewhere. On an average day, we will each wet about eight diapers, which means Mom and Dad will endure 16 diaper changes a day. We will consume this package of 40 diapers every 2-1/2 days. Sometimes the diapers don’t catch everything; when our bladders are exceptionally full we will overflow our diaper wetting all our clothes and blankets. There are also occasional instances when the warm air hits our naked gun just right and it goes off. That happens a couple of times and someone tags you with the nickname Mr. Sprinkles. Does anybody else think that’s unfair? I do.

Got milk? We do! Hip Hip Hoorah!

Hey, did you realize that we are each currently drinking 2/3 of a quart of milk a day? That’s equivalent to 24 of the 32 ounces in this can. That much milk weighs about 1-1/2 pounds. Since I, Benji, weigh only just over 6 pounds that means I’m consuming about ¼ of my body weight in milk each day. If Dad did that he’d be drinking over 7 gallons of milk a day. Trey is drinking as much milk as me plus several ounces of water daily to control his calorie intake. Growing boys need their milk, and we love it. We wear little white milk mustaches all the time.

He aims, lets a long one go and scores

By reorganizing the laundry room we inadvertently created a challenge too tempting to deny. During bath time Sandy noticed that Benji’s gun looked locked and loaded just nanoseconds before he fired. Eyeing the newly relocated coffee mug tree, he arched a beautiful rainbow shot that hit the near cup dead center. Daddy snapped this photo just before removing and cleaning the wet cups. As if playing a baby version of the match-shot game, brother Trey took the challenge and let go the same shot just minutes later during his bath. The cups were in the dishwasher, but the mug tree got hosed down thoroughly. Mom and Dad have now moved the mug tree and are looking for trigger safeties for their little marksmen.

Coyote Tranquility

Wikipedia defines the term "coyote ugly" as urban slang for a situation that results in waking up next to an ugly bedmate after a night of drinking; in such a situation one might prefer to chew off one's own arm, like a coyote with its paw in a trap, rather than wake up the bedmate.

Similarly, we would like to create the term “coyote tranquility” to refer to the situation where a fussy child is finally sleeping in your arms after hours of rocking and comforting, and despite your own intense pain and discomfort you would rather chew off your own arm rather than risk moving it and waking the little screaming banchee.

Wonder Twin powers, activate!

To be a superhero you have to have super powers. Twins are known to develop a secrete language between them. So when our friends Joan Hunter and Julie King came over Friday morning to baby-sit, we wondered if they passed on any wonder twin powers to the boys. To know twins Julie and Joan is to know they communicate on a high, often unspoken level. Because babies soak up information like sponges, perhaps they picked up Joan and Julie’s secret language skills. Much can be learned from these sisters who were kind enough to stay with the babies so that mom and dad could catch up on lost sleep. Joan and Julie are superheroes in our book.

Sons set majestically by Dawn

In Western folklore it is believed that evil spirits, demons, vampires, trolls, and even Satan are obliged to disappear at dawn for, being creatures of darkness, they hate light, especially that of the sun. It is for this reason that females named Dawn signify strength and the ability to fend off evil and protect the human race against vampires and evil trolls. That’s terriffic, but all we asked our friend Dawn Beckgerd to do was help us get our little night crawlers to sleep all night. Remarkably, the boys slept much better last night and no trolls bothered us.

Has anybody seen my baby?

Let me set the scene. Laundry in full production, two babies crying, one in my arms, warming new bottles, and the phone rings. I dispatch the caller while grabbing the fresh bottles and completed laundry. Moving the lot into the nursery I set down the basket and administer a bottle to Trey who is screaming in the crib. Once he is settled, I realize I no longer hear Benji crying. Turning I momentarily panic as I don’t immediately see my other baby. At second glance I see the little chameleon camouflaged in the laundry basket playing 'possum. Apparently the warm clothing suited him just fine. One day he’ll be great at hide and seek.

A finer reputation to live up to

Yesterday we suggested superhero names for Benji and Trey should be Stinkyman and Mr. Sprinkles, respectfully. Perhaps this was a parental mistake. Apparently trying to live up to these reputations, today Benji made air bubbles in his bath, and Trey hosed down the cabinet door. As parents we should have set their reputation aspiration’s bar higher. After all we want them to achieve success and distinction in whatever career they choose. Hoping for high academic achievement, let’s call them Professor Stinkyman and Doctor Sprinkles.

You call them bibs; we call them superhero capes

Brothers David and Benjamin Edds appear by day to be ordinary infants, but by night they transform into superbabies of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of daring-do. The boys possess superior gifts and the self-mastery necessary to transcend the external human bureaucratic-administrative framework. Their many deeds have led people to call them Stinkyman and Mr. Sprinkles.

David 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0

Throughout the years people telephoning the house would ask which David they were speaking with, and the smart aleck son would reply, “I’m the new and improved version”. Well, there’s a new kid in town, and that wise crack is obsolete. The newest version, David 3.0, obviously embraces the original formula, David 1.0, and that’s ok with the namesake 2.0.

Another Fun Day at the Edds Home in Stereo

It’s amazing how quickly total peace can become absolute chaos. The challenge of caring for twins is flow management. At six weeks old they are still on a three hour cycle around the clock, and it’s important to stagger their cycles. Trey generally wants to eat on the threes (3:00, 6:00, 9:00 & 12:00) and Benji eats in-between (1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:30). This gives us about 90 minutes to change, feed, play and put-down each baby before the next one is ready. Getting off schedule can mean both babies are needy at the same time, which is difficult for a single caretaker. When this happens, you might as well pick up the camera.

Turning 40 – It’s all about the journey

Today I turn 40….days old. They say 40 is the new 30, but I just don’t know. I mean, I’m losing the hair I was born with, and none of my old clothes fit anymore. In my younger days I’d stay up all night every night effortlessly, but I just can’t do it now like I used to. I’ve heard it said that the “just woke up” face of your 30's is the “all day long” face of your 40's, and that worries me. I’m hitting the bottle more and more everyday to such a degree that I have to wear diapers. But, I’m not getting older, I’m getting better. My eyesight is keener, and my muscles are stronger at this stage of my life than ever before. Forget 40; consider me 39 and holding.

Classic Rockabyes, Baby

Certainly we want our children raised on the classics of all kinds, both traditional and post modern. Uncle Steve, always one to deliver a unique, thoughtful gift, gave the boys a classic Christmas present, two CDs of lullabies made from classic rock songs. They are so cool! The Beatles CD is as wonderful as you might expect because the Fab Four’s music was so melodic to begin with, but the real surprise is the Rolling Stones CD. Put in the context of nursery rhymes, these song titles take on ironic meanings; Let’s spend the night together, I can’t get no Satisfaction, Mother’s little helper, Time is on my side, Start me up, and You can’t always get what you want. As you can see, the boys love them.

The girls can’t stay away

Sure, we think they’re cute, lovable, cuddly, delightful, appealing, charismatic, fascinating, congenial, wonderful, amusing, enjoyable, interesting, magnetic, captivating, mesmerizing, sweet, intriguing, adorable, charming, magnificent, and amazing, but we’re their parents; we’re supposed to think that. So when other people agree with us, we feel so proud and validated. Here the boys are charming Andrea Pollard, her daughter Caroline, and her sister Dawn Beckgard. You know what they say about blonds.

New reader poll - Your vote counts

Look on the right column for a new blog reader's poll. Please vote for the famous duo our boys most favor Bo and Luke Duke, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, or Starsky and Hutch. Afterwards, check the vote tally. Voting ends January 31st.

Starting a diet in January is common, but at five weeks old?

We visited our pediatrician Tuesday for the boys' one month checkup. Coincidentally, January 8th was Sandy’s full term due date so it was an interesting benchmark to compare our 5 week premature babies to full term ones. Benji reported a very respectable 6 lbs 3 ozs, up one pound since our last weighing three weeks ago. Trey had gained a remarkable two pounds over the same period, now tipping the scales at 8 lbs 3 ozs. While this puts his weight very comparable to Sandy and Dave’s at their births, Dr. Neel was a little concerned about Trey’s rapid weight gain. Knowing that to refuse his intense thirst would mean trouble, Dr. Neel suggested we alternate bottles of tap water with those of formula. This would allow the same volume of liquid and cut calorie intake in half. Maybe Daddy Dave should try the same diet.

Birthday in the Basement

Today, August 8th, was Grandmother Karen’s birthday, and all planned to celebrate the occasion at a nice local restaurant, however Mother Nature altered our plans. About 4:30 pm the tornado sirens sounded as dangerous storms threatened. Accordingly, the party moved to the basement into Daddy Dave’s office. Technically this was not the boys’ first bunker party. While Sandy was very pregnant, an early November tornado forced us into the basement where we played board games by candlelight until the power was restored. That storm caused major destruction downtown about one mile from the house. Last night’s storm was less serious and all found the bunker cozy and safe. Sometime later, after the all clear was issued, the party moved belatedly to the restaurant. No visit to Owensboro is complete without a basement visit. Happy birthday Grandma.

Service above and beyond the call of duty

Sandy’s dad Jim Roe is a veteran Navy fighter pilot of the cold war era. Danger is his middle name. He routinely handled one of the most difficult challenges of that profession, landing early jet airplanes on moving aircraft carrier decks at night. When at sea, he had to be ready to quickly answer the call of battle, around the clock.

This training is serving him well as a caretaker for his new grandsons. At the first cries of hunger, Granddaddy Jim is up piloting a fueled bottle rocket with a target setting for the DMZ (Da Mouth Zone). He’s not only an aviator, he’s also a commando who takes his assignments seriously. He effortlessly slips in undercover and disarms any dirty bombs threatening the civilians. Thank you for your service Captain Granddaddy.

Dos Amigos Nuevos Visitan El Toribio

Trey and Benji were developing a little cabin fever, so we decided to introduce them to the pleasure of dining out. Their first venture was to El Toribio, a great little Mexican restaurant around the corner from our house. Our friend Gabriel posed with us. He lobbied throughout Sandy’s pregnancy for us to name a child after him.

From Dreams to Miracles

My sons, your Daddy knows that you are too young to remember this New Year’s Eve, so he wants to record this event for future reference. Today the University of Kentucky played in a football bowl game, a rare occurrence. Last year Mommy and Daddy had dream seats at the UK bowl game in Nissan’s corporate box compliments of their friends Al and Lisa Bell.

He couldn’t imagine better seats, but this year he had one much more valuable and difficult to obtain. His miracle bowl game seat was at home with you guys, his little miracles. It should be noted that during the game’s first half Daddy was at Target shopping for your diapers and formula….. with coupons. This shows not only a measure of his true devotion to you, his sons, but also the degree that he is totally wipped by your mother. Luckily he was home in time to share most of the game with you and see UK not lose on the game’s final play.

The New Baby Boom

According to recent research, there are currently about 482 births per hour in the United States. BabyZone reported in 2005 the birth rate was higher than it had been in 30 years. Certainly the Edds family is doing its part. In less than five years David and Ondra have added two daughter-in-laws and three grandsons to their family. Preceding our boys’ birth by 16 months, young cousin Levi Beckley Edds was the first to make the folks grandparents. I think they are going to have to invest in a bigger Christmas tree in the next couple of years.

Pictured here from left to right is Benji with Grandma Karen, Levi with Grandma Ondra and Trey with Sandy.

Shower the People

Remember in high school how you would get a song in your head in the morning and hum it involuntarily all day? It was usually the last song you heard on the car radio just before entering school. Whether you liked the song or not, you just couldn’t get it out of your head.

At the 20-week ultrasound, immediately after learning the twins' gender, the nurse warned us of the special diaper-changing challenge baby boys offer. Despite precautions, I believe everyone in the house has now been personally christened by one or both boys.

As for me, I keep humming this James Taylor tune, "Shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. Things are gonna be just fine if you only will."

The non-stop around the clock pajama party

Any baby is a blessing and twins are twice as nice, but they require twice as much care as a single baby. Since a single person can generally only attend to one baby at a time, it’s better if the twins are not crying at the same time.

While one person can efficiently manage two babies if they are on different cycles, the weakness of this system is the caretaker never gets a break. As soon as one baby is settled the other is ready to be changed, fed or held. Luckily Sandy and Dave have had plenty of help around the clock these first few weeks watching the boys, and it’s been great fun. Guests dropping by the house any hour of the day might well find someone asleep, someone awake, and someone sleepy and still dressed in pajamas.