Parenthood! We've got it figured out.

Psych! First of all, we are out of control with the videos. But I know if I were in your shoes, that's what I'd want to see. Second of all, thanks so much to all who responded to my billion and one questions. I got lots of good advice. For the most part, responses were quite varied, which tells me no matter how you parent them, babies and kids are pretty dang resilient. That's a relief.

The babies turned one month old on the 23rd! Can you believe it? I can't. Time flies when you are sleep deprived. Isn't that how the saying goes? So, as of Monday we went to on-demand feeding, which so far hasn't made a difference. They continue to wake up every 3 hours on schedule. And they pretty much wake up at the same time. They are twins, after all. They grunt in their sleep at the same time, the same pitch. Creepy. I suspect they communicate that way right now. In grunts. They also cry at the same time. And sometimes they, uh, eliminate at the same time. But they don't really like to be in the same crib. They will somehow gravitate toward one another, no matter how far apart they are placed. And you might think, "oh, how sweet." But once they get to each other, it's pretty much 100% WWF.

I stopped nursing because Maddy's latch became so unpredictable. I figured it was time to stop when I took up the habit of praying intensely that she would latch on every time I fed her. I started dreading nursing her, because of the pain. So I use my trusty medela double electric breast pump. Advantages: a predictable latch! less pain, and I know how much milk the babies get. Disadvantages: I suspect I'm making less milk, and there's no skin-to-skin bonding of nursing the babies. Oh, and it takes more time. But we are making it work. Does anyone know if it would be worth it for me to rent a hospital grade pump? We do supplement with formula. I've come to peace with this, finally.

Babies have started sleeping in our room, in their sleeper, with Philip and I. Philip gave up his night shift, and we're sleeping in our room as one big happy (tired) family. The first night was a disaster. But the second was better, so we have hope.

Their first Halloween is right around the corner! Our plan is to camp out on our porch and lure trick-or-treaters with a large supply of chocolate and candy corn. We're hoping to make it to Target some time this week to see if they have something suitable for the babies to wear as a costume. Maybe little hats or something? Any ideas on homemade costumes for newborns?

Oh, I had my last doctor's checkup. We took the babies upon Dr's request. This was quite a hassle, as you can imagine (double strollers are pretty much the equivalent of Cadillacs), but so worth it. The Dr stared at them for a long time. Made me feel really proud, and gave me a warm fuzzy to think we may have given him some job satisfaction that day. Anyway, Dr said I looked great, which was good news. I feel great, but I had no idea how much pregnancy changes your body. Never thought I'd say this, but I think I understand why women get lipo.

One last thing: this is such a fun time to watch the babies grow! They are trying to coo, and reaching for things, and more and more alert every day. People said they change quickly, to cherish every moment, and I'm starting to understand that. I'm starting to understand that parenting a newborn is an organic thing, not about pushing them to get older and more independent. More about relishing how precious they are right now.