Tuesday, November 19, 2013

How can it be? The twins are 2 months old already!

Erin and Elise are getting to be such big girls!  They turned 2 months old on the 16th.  We are so busy every day that the time is just flying by.  They had their 2 month checkup today, and both are perfectly healthy!  Elise no longer has a hip click, which is great news.  They weighed and measured EXACTLY the same, which is just crazy to me.  Last doctor visit, they also were the exact same.  They weigh 12 lb. 3 oz. (83rd percentile) and are 65th percentile for height.  As you can see from the pictures below, they are definitely fattening up!  Seems like all our babies are chunky--even Sophie, though it took her a while to catch up.  Sally was a GIANT baby (always in the 90's percentile wise for height and weight).  I am so thankful to be producing plenty of breastmilk to feed them both.   They are kind of picky eaters though, in terms of position.  Most of the time I feed them on the twin nursing pillow for 5-10 minutes before they are screaming at me (because they want to eat, and because when I feed them, they don't like it in that position). Then, I just have to pump and bottle feed the rest.  It takes a long time to feed them this way!  I had thought it was reflux, but meds were not making a difference, and they take bottles (or eat in other positions) just fine, so we have ruled that out.  The reason I want to use the nursing pillow is because it is really the only way to feed them simultaneously.  Other twin positions require more neck control on their part. It is kind of frustrating, but I guess I am hoping they grow out of it soon.

They eat about every 2-4 hours during the day and usually sleep at some point in between feedings.  They definitely don't have a "schedule" at this point, but at least I can kind of predict how long it will be before they need to eat again.

They eat sometime around 8:30pm for their last feeding of the day, and then I do a "dream feed" around 11.  That just means I feed them when they are sleeping or half awake, depending.  Then, they sleep until around 6:30-8am.  It all depends.   I actually kind of like that their eating and sleeping is more based on a routine than a schedule, because I can kind of tune each day to what I need it to be in terms of what else is going on.  I am so glad they are both sleeping for a stretch at night instead of waking me up in the middle of it!  

The girls tolerate tummy time pretty well for their age. Elise does a lot better job of holding her head up than Erin does.  They are both smiling all the time (real smiles) and cooing and making sounds back at us.  I LOVE getting to see them develop and change.   I wouldn't say they have strong differences in personality yet.  Erin is a little more impatient when it comes to waiting for food.They have almost outgrown size 1 diapers.

Overall, the babies seem like a piece of cake when compared to caring for Sophie and Sally.  I remember when our first two were really little and I thought I couldn't wait for them to be bigger and solve all the issues they had as babies.  I thought there was no way it could be any harder.  Well, it is folks.  Toddlers/pre-schoolers are a whole different ball game.  Less demanding and more independent in ways, but overall, way more frustrating to me.  Maybe this is because I have 2 so close in age.  It does seem so much easier when one of the older girls is off with Ryan or grandparents.   I think what makes it so hard is the defiance, disobedience, and tantrums.  Oh, and fighting.  I hate it when they fight!  If you only have a baby, the only way I can convey the sentiment is like this:  think of the thing your baby does that frustrates you/wears on you the most.  Then, imagine that they are doing it on purpose, just to defy you.  That is what it feels like to deal with a preschooler when they are being difficult.  They just lose all sense of what seems so completely logical to you!  But then, they turn around and do the sweetest/most loving thing and you completely forget your frustration.  We are trying to spend lots of one on one time with the older girls which rejuvenates both them and us as we remember that it can actually be enjoyable to be a parent!
Sally and Elise

Erin

Erin right

Erin right

Elise

Elise

Erin

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