Twin Mum Diary - Liz Dees

Hi, my name is Liz and I live with my partner Kari and our 9.5 month old twin girls Poppy and Minni. We live in Helsinki, Finalnd, so I guess you could call me a Britt Abroad! We moved here just 3 weeks before the girls were born, and they were 5 weeks early so we were cutting it fine! I am enjoying life as a twin mum as well as living abroad and find Twinsclub an addictive godsend, so here's my diary!

Sunday.
Today was Mothers Day here in Finland, but my partner was working and I had been warned that the ice hockey final games were today, so not to expect too much of a Mothers Day! All said today was alright though. The girls were pretty quiet this monring and let me stay in bed until 8am!! I got up to feed them their morning milk out of guilt that they might waste away to nothing! 9am I decided to indulge myself in a portion of fruit crumble and custard left over from last night's tea, yum yum! Very nice breakfast! 10.30am, and time to give the girls their morning porridge and rice (Poppy has baby rice as she's allergive to wheat and milk protein). They also get a small bottle of milk now, they guzzled the lot, must be going through a growing phase. 11.30 and time to go in the playpen, we have a big wooden one so plenty of room to roll around etc while Mummy does the washing up.

12.30 and girls already getting tired of rolling around, so nap time. Minni went to sleep straight away and slept for an hour, but Poppy took half an hour to settle then slept for 1.5 hours!. Time to watch some telly and have a relaxing cuppa. So lunch for Minni at 1.30pm and 2pm for Poppy, all bleary eyed after her long sleep. They got home-made chicken and zuchini today, the zuchini was a bit of a strong taste for them I think, but they ate it anyway. They finished off with some diluted apple juice. Then Kari comes home, armed with roses, cards and sweeties for Mothers Day, ahh how lovely. It was such a nice day today, 21 degrees and sunny. We took a blanket outside and let the kids play in the fresh air for a while. They needed sunhats and cardigans though. Came inside at around 4pm and Kari got into the playpen with them for a while (keeps him out of trouble too!).

5pm, a little later than usual we fed them their supper, baby rise mixed with pureed fruit from the jars. Gave iron drops then cleaned their teeth while they were still in their high chairs then it was just about time for settling them to bed, and after some bouncing on knees, tickling and giggling, they drank their milk. Minni went to bed at 6.30pm and Poppy at 7pm. Minni's really good at droppign off to sleep fairly quickly, but Poppy sometimes takes a while and tonight was no exception. Finally it's time to get out the computer and check emails, and of course Twinsclub, while Kari seems to find a never ending supply of sport on the telly.

So I am writing this at 9.30pm, and it will not be long before I'm in bed, 10.30pm at the latest unless one of my friends come online and keeps me chatting. The girls are bound to wake me at around 6am, but I try to pacify them til 7am if I can, sometimes with no success. Well let's see.

Monday
Girls woke me at 7am. Kari was due a well deserved lie in so I fed the girls their morning milk. Then back to bed for a wee lie in myself. 10am oops! Better get up and give the girls their breakfast. They are so quiet in the morning these days. Still Kari was happy to have such a good lie-in. Pretty normal day at home. Di the washing up while Kari put the nappies on to wash. Got into the playpen with the girls for a while, then Kari left for work at Midday. Poppy have a 1 horu nap, then it was lunch at 1.30pm. They had tatties and neeps today (potato and turnip for those who don't know the scottish names!). Minni must have bit her tongue while nibbling on the bread I gave her cos she howled and set Poppy off too!. So I had two hysterical babies for a short while at lunch, the neighbours must think I'm torturing them! Then Minni had her nap and slept for 1.5hrs til 4pm! Poppy had a dressing up session while Minni was napping, trying on a pretty little dresss a friend sent in the post. She loves dresssing up and getting attention. h e k i d s p l a y i n t h e f r e s h a i r f o r a w h i l e . T h e y &

Nice to see her looking girly, as I'm guilty of dressing Poppy in boyish colours usually. Helps tell them apart if you colour code them! 4.30pm, and suppertime, followed by iron drops and teeth cleaning as usual, although Poppy nearly fell asleep in her highchair. So thinking she was tired, I started to give her her bedtime milk at 6pm, but she was not going t odrink it and wanted to wriggle and play instead. So I gave up after a while and decided to feed Minni instead. But halfway through feeding Minni, Poppy had a screaming strop in the playpen. It's always a bit tricky settling them to bed on my own. So once Minni was in bed, Poppy drank most of her mild but was so exhausted after her strop she fell asleep in my arms. Still at leaset they were both asleep by 7pm. I felt like we should have gone somewhere today, glad I didn't though as we had a thunderstorm in the afternoon. So writing this at 8pm and haven't take a look at Twinsclub yet....next job to do...!

Tuesday.
Girls started being noisy at 6am this morning, after Kari had left for work at 6.30am I gave in and got up to feed them. Their nappies were leaking a bit so I might have to start using disposables at night, I'll see how it goes. Tried to go back to bed but Poppy was not going to let me and seeral attempts to pacify them later, I got up at 8.30am. I konw I'm lucky not to have to do school/nursery run all before work, and am trying to make the most of it while I can. Put a load of washing in then at 9,45am Poppy fell asleep halfway through her breakfast. After a 30 min. sleep whe was back to finish her rice. Found myself watching "Special babies" on the Reality Channel, guaranteed to get me emotional, they always have stories about premature and poorly babies. Reminds me how special mine are. Minni had a little sleep at around 12.

Then after lunch (chicken and carrot today!) I was able to do some clothing alternations work for a friends while the girls played a short while in their high chairs. All went quiet and I caught Poppy falling asleep in her chair so put her to bed, she slept for an hour til 4pm. Minni followed suit and slept in her babysitter for at least 45 mins. Kari came home at 3.30pm. Bathtime at 3.45pm for Minni, then I woke Poppy for her bath at 4pm. Can't let her sleep any later of she will never settle in the evening. We are still using a washing up bowl on top of the washing machine in the bathroom, as the girls hated the baby bath when they were smaller. They can hardly fit in the bown anymore so we will have to go back to the baby bath soon. Two nice smelling babies later, and it's time for tea. Porridge and rice mixed with fruit puree as usual, then the iron drops and teeth cleaning (by our expert resident dental hygenist, Kari!) while I made some home-made soup. We ate and then it was bouncing on kness, ticking and giggling before bed time and milk and bed. Almost didn't have enough energy tonight to blow raspberries on Minnis neck! Again by 7pm they were both asleep, hurray! So as usual the computer comes out and I check my emails, and write this diary. My mother is going to be online at 7.30pm British time, so that's 9.30pm our time. We can have a chat online, much cheaper than texting or a phone call. I had better squeeze a peek at Twinsclub before then.....until tomorrow my friends....

Wednesday.
I have not been well today, a bit of a tummy bug I think. Luckily Kari has had a day off work so was home to take care of the girls. I choose my sicky days well. So while I was trying recouperate, kari gave the girls their morning milk at 8am and breakfast at 10.30am. I helped with lunch at 1.30pm, feeding Minni while Kari fed Poppy. Turnip and Zuchini today, followed by the usual rice cake finger food and diluted apple juice. With Poppy's allergies I am so restricted to what I can give the girls. no bread (unless it's gluten, egg and milk free), no cheese, so finger foods are a bit limited. Had to go back to bed in the afternoon, as the smell of Kari's lunch of chicken and curry sauce was making me feel ill! Why do men eat such things ? While I was dozing later I heard him say to Poppy "Come on, yes you can do it" later I found out that she had got herself on all fours for the first time. She is almost crawling, Minni however is quite lazy and will stay in whatever position you put her in.

We all must have had a bit of an afternoon nap, as I woke just in time to help with tea at 4pm. Again while I fed Minni, Kari fed Poppy and as she was having her small bottle of milk after her rice she said her first word!! Well a two-syllabled sound that she repeated. When Kari held her mild and said Maito (Finnish for milk), she said ta-ta. Then when he tryed to show her how to hold her bottle up to let the milk go intot the teet, as she can hold it and suck but not tip it up yet, she held up the bottle and said ta-ta again several times!! We are convinced she now is calling the milk ta-ta. We will see if she does it again another day.

At 5.30pm Kari went to our sauna session as I wasn't feeling up to it. Major Finnish tradition, every house and building have their own sauna, and as we live in an apartment block we get the use of the sauna every week. Took ma a few months to get in to sauna-ing on a regular basis, but I am totally hooked now. Started to get Minni ready for bed at 6pm as she was looking sleepy, but then would not drink her milk and just wanted to play for a while. Kari was bouncing Poppy on his kneww till about 7pm, then gave her her milk and settled her to bed. So I decided to jump in the bath. However they were both still being noisy by 8pm and we had a bit of a job to settle them . One nappy change, a bit of mile and some calpol later (thinking they might have my bug), and 20 mins of moaning they eventually were quiet and asleep by 9pm. So not much time left for me to check on my email and write up this diary, I am afraid I don't have the energy to check Twinsclub tonight. I had better have an early night.

Thursday
6.30am wake up call. Kari was off work again today so he was able to help me with the mornign feed, one each! Then they went back to bed and slept until 9.30am! I couldn't lie in today so got up to do some sewing. Feeling much better today thank goodness. Breakfast at 10am. Then packed the girls up in their pram to go to our local hypermarket. We have a three wheeler, a bit like the Urban Detour but the front wheel doesn't swivel, which was fine before but now the girls are heavier it's quite difficult to manouver, uphill especially.

After shoe shopping we called in to a friends house for lunch, Kari left to go food shopping and I stayed for a while longer. Minni fell aslweep in my friends seat hammock thingy, while her au pair rocked and sang to her. Oh my kingdom for an au pair! I walked back which takes 20 mins long, some lovely woodland paths. It's mid May and the spring flowers have only been out for a couple of weeks at the most. Home at 4pm just in time for tea. 6pm and I had to leave to catch a bus into the centre of town as I was going to see a play this evening. A production of "An Inspector Calls" by an English-Finnish amateur dramatic society. It was very good. Also got to drink a pint of beer in the bar afterwards. Lost track of time though and didn't leave til 11.30pm. Got home at midnight then had a two hour webchat with my mother. So I am writing this at 2.30am. Thank goodness Kari's on a late shift tomorrow and able to help me in the morning. No Twinsclub again, I'll be getting withdrawal symptoms!

Friday.
Oooh! Minni woke us at 6am, luckily Kari was pleased to do the morning feeds. I was able to sleep til 9am. So breakfast for the little tykes at 10am. Waiting to hear if a friend is available to meet me for coffee. Vacuumed the apartment, played in the playpen for a while, Poppy is getting so good at kneeling, and Minni is so good at sitting. Sorry, but you know small things please me! They got tired so it was nap time at 11.30am. Poppy sleeps for 30 mins and Minni for 1.5 hours! My friend cannot make it til tomorrow, so a day in for me. Kari went to work at midday. Poppy got lunch at 1pm, then Minni at 1.30pm when she woken up. Carrot and potato today, followed by diluted orange juice. More playpen activities, read and sang them nursery rhymes from some books we have. Poppy looked tired so she had a nap in her cot for 30 mins. Tea at 4 ish, they ate all their food but are drinking less and less these days.

A friend came to collect the bridesmaids dress I made for her and paid me cash, so that was good (hope the Finnish tax office doesn't read this, ha ha). I was a bit too knackered to play with them too much at bedtime, but tried. Minni was falling asleep at 5.30pm so I changed and tried to feed her bed time milk at 6pm but she only drank 10mls. Apparently she did that last night too. So I hope she's not coming down with anything, she's been eating alright, so I'll see how she is tomorrow. She fell asleep pretty quick, but Poppy wanted to jump around for 20 mins before she would drink her milk, and then she only drank 60 mls, but went to sleep ok. They were on a poo-a-thon today, I think! Poppy dirtied every nappy and Minni most of hers. These guys are put on this earth to try me! At last time to get to the computer. I checked out a website someone recommended for English speaking people in Finland and found it pretty useful. Had a bite to eaet and time to write this diary, so it's 9.30pm and I had better check out Twinsclub before I miss too much gossip! I think I'm becoming a geek!

Saturday
I had to get up a couple of times in the early hours to pacify them then Kari left for work at 6am this morning. The girls started being noisy the minute he had left. So 6.30am I was feeding Minni, followed closely by Poppy. Tried to get them settled again for a lie-in, but Poppy was determined to be up, so by 9am she had won. Still suffering from my late night the other night, but two coffee's later and I was ready to give the girls their breakfast. Put some washing on and got myself and the girls ready to go and meet a friend in the centre. Did a bit of shopping in a craft supplies shop and a fabric shop for some creative projects I have in mind. Then to the cafe, I have the pocket high chairs from jojomamanbebe, so I strapped the girls into them on the cafe chairs. They are so good if you have the right chair. Every time I use them I get people coming to ask me where I bought them from, I have given out the website address so many times I must ask for a commission!

Treated myself to a nice lunch and latte, the girls had chicken and turnip today and diluted orange juice. I must remember to cooke some meat too for them soon. Poppy was being very entertaining making noises and my friends daughter who is 5 days older than my girls has stood up for the first time the day before, how exciting!! We met in the SCBU at the hospital, as her baby was bron early and small too. After much chatting it's finally time to head off home, via the supermarket. An old man on the bus enquiring about the twins' was guessing they were only 6 months old. I was able to tell him their correct age, however my Finnish doesn't quite fully stretch to explaining why they are so small. Although by the time I got home I had worked out the sentence in Finnish! I'll use it next time. Hom ein time for tea at 4pm. Kari was home for a while to help me befor ehe left to go and see the last Arsenal game of the season in the pub! The girls had their usual plus juice today as they hardly ever drink milk at this time, there's no point in offering it. I let them play in their highchairs before iron drops and teeth cleaning, and later thought that they've had no time in the play pen today, whoops! Well I'm sure they are not goin to lose the use of their legs just yet!

Minni again refused her bedtime feed, don't know why, she's drinking and eating well at other times, maybe I'll post on Twinsclub to see if anybody else had had this problem. After a big of a fight she went to sleep. Poppy was good tonight, drank half her milk and settled well.. Yippee! Time to get out the computer! Now I check the English speakers website as well as my emails and Twinsclub, so lots to do! Going to a flea market tomorrow so that should be good fun. Thanks for reading my diary, hope I've not bored you with too many details. I found it good to know how others structure their day.

Liz

XXX

All material contained within this website is Copyright © 2000-2005 , unless stated otherwise or implied. All rights reserved.
Page last updated: 29-Jan-2008

Email Spam/Virus Warning
As a general rule, never open email attachments that have originated from unknown sources or that were not expected.
Twinsclub will not send emails with attachments to you, unless you have requested them.