Well we are five months into this twin thing and I have to say, it is awesome. Even with the rough nights that have become the norm lately, I would not trade it for all the lactation tea in china. Tiny smiles are so plentiful in our home and when I look at those two tiny faces both of which are often smiling up at me in adoration, my heart just melts into a puddle and I know that every minute I DON’T get of sleep is totally worth it. These two sweet boys are beginning to explore their world more and more every day and although they are proving to have very different personalities, there is one thing that I am so thankful that they share with their older brother and that is their sweet dispositions. My three boys are just filled with so much joy, it often makes me feel like the “blessest” one of all. They have sweet, gentle smiles, musical chuckles and very big emotions which is a great thing though sometimes makes life……interesting. They are developing at a rapid pace now and it is hard to keep track of all the milestones and developments!
RORY:Rory is now just under fifteen pounds. My sweet Baby A wants to be mobile so bad! And he actually manages to use the skills he has to do just that. He is proficient at rolling every which way and will use this skill to move clear across the room. I call him my little rolly poley. He can sort of do this shuffle crawl kind of thing….like sort of slither but his main mode of transportation is the roll. He continues to stand while holding my fingers though his upper body has the most strength. Hand eye coordination is incredible and he has perfect aiming when wanting to explore with his mouth.
Rory is such a pleasant little guy. He smiles and laughs so easily, all you have to do is look at him and his face will erupt in a grin or a chuckle. He is quite social and a total cuddle bug. He is happy cuddling up (mama’s lap is his favorite) and just having close contact. (As I type this, Rory is in his excersaucers staring at one of the toys, making shrieking sounds and laughing this big belly laugh. I just love being around him!) Rory’s emotions are BIG. If he is nursing and I move in a way he does not like, he will let me know with a brief somewhat girly scream or yelling sound. Chip and I (and a few other people) have definitely heard him say “Mama” and “Mom”. He will say it (loudly) if he wants me and reach for me. I do believe he knows that word is associated with me and therefore am tempted to actually count it as his first word.
I am working on trying to get Rory to sit up and he is close. He will sometimes stay upright for a few seconds before toppling over and can hold himself up for a few more seconds when he leans on his arms and hands. I predict he will be sitting up on his own by the end of the month. Rory has begun to “help Mama” when I change his diaper as I taught Elijah to do at this age. He will grab his feet when prompted as I wipe and change him. He thinks this is really funny and will laugh and smile at me through this process. He also thinks getting his clothes changed is really funny.
Sleep. Ahhh. Sleep. We have hit a bit of a wall with sleep. Rory gets really tired but fights sleep, arches his back, kicks his legs…thinks he wants to nurse but then pushes away. I am dairy free, gluten free, soy free……for my own health as well as the health and comfort of my babies. And he doesn’t show signs of tummy issues beyond some minor reflux at other times so I believe this is just him fighting sleep. It has become really difficult to get him to nap regularly or go to sleep at night. It will sometimes take me two hours to get him down and then after a couple of hours he will wake up about every hour for most of the night. It’s been rough. I am hoping we are just getting to a “wonder week” and that this new trend will pass. There are times he will fall asleep on his own but it not something I can count on which is a little frustrating. I feel bad that he is not getting the sleep I feel he needs and this is one tired Mama which I don’t mind, except I want to be able to give 100% to all three kiddos. There are days sleep just falls into place like it had before and I have faith that we will find that rhythm again. In the meantime, I am learning to manage it as best as I can and give Rory a little extra coddling at night. He still co sleeps with me all night long which I love and it makes it so much easier to catch him when he wakes up before he has a chance to wake up Patrick. I just love cuddling up next to his cute little body.
Rory love to chew although he doesn’t really seem to be in the throws of teething quite yet. Although he enjoys exploring with his mouth, it does not seem to be a source of discomfort for him as it was for Elijah at this age. Still, I am armed with my essential oils known to help teething (Clove and a mix called PainX) as well as hylands tablets and a crazy assortment of teethers my mom sent for the boys plus lots of hand me downs from Elijah.
Rory continues to be my champion nursling and is still (and will continue to be for a while) exclusively breast fed. We know Mama’s milk is the perfect for him and his brother and want to keep them on that and only that as long as possible. My goal is to delay solids until one year but we will see how everything goes. Rory LOVES to nurse and would be happy staying on my lap all day and nursing and cuddling. Though he loves visiting with his Daddy and watching and interacting with his big brother and twin brother. Our little social guy is just the life of the party.
PATRICK: My tiny Baby B is now just under thirteen pounds. His lower body strength continues to amazing me. He loves to stand and had very steady legs when doing so, even when just holding on to fingers! He continues to roll every which way but is often quite content to stay in one place and quietly observe or play with whatever is in arm’s reach. He is amazing at maneuvering the excersaucer.
Although Patrick has not shortage of smiles and giggles, I see him often looking quietly reflective. I predict him to be my deep thinker. I see him doing a lot of observing. He loves to look out the window and is fascinated by his big brothers. Patrick’s smiles and giggles are just melt your heart. You have to work for his a little but they are plentiful and I am telling you, that smile of his is going to be swoon-worthy. Even at just five months old, there are certain looks that I see in him and I just think…..he “gets” it. Our Patrick is what they call an “old soul”.
I’m trying to work with Patrick on sitting up unsupported. It will probably be another month or so. His interest is mainly in standing and that is where most of his strength is though I know it is important that we don’t skip any milestones like crawling, etc, so I do what I can to encourage the motions that will lead to this.
Patrick can get quite fussy at times. Inconsolable fussy which just makes me so sad because he has the more severe GI and reflux issues. We manage it as best we can through my diet and some herbal supplementation but sometimes, all you can do is hold him and comfort him and let him cry in your arms. He handles it well and it is not an all the time kind of thing. But when it happens it just breaks your heart. I have found that stripping him down naked and giving him a massage with lavender and jojoba oil calms him down and gives him some relief. Oddly enough, Patrick basically sleeps through the night waking only once normally to nurse around 1 or 2 am. He has been sleeping in the crib and/or rock n play next to the futon where I sleep with Rory. Because he is sleeping through the night it has been easier to manage Rory with just the two of us in bed so that Patrick isn’t disturbed. I am sometimes able to bring Patrick in bed with us after his middle of the night feeding but I am hoping this little hiccup in nighttime sleep passes and the three of us can bed share once again regularly. Otherwise I plan to alternate babies so that both can reap the benefits of co sleeping.
Patrick definitely has something going on under his gums. We aren’t teething per say, but he loves to chomp down on his teething toys and I use lots of the teething oils on him. With Elijah I mixed the oil with the carrier every time I needed some. I got smart this time and premixed a batch which I put in a small amber glass spray bottle that I can spray on my finger as needed and rub on his gum. I have found that if I spray it all over my knuckle then let him chew, that works the best. He has slightly more discomfort (it seems) than his brother but our lives aren’t really disrupted by teething quite yet.
This little boy loves to look at faces. There are times when we try to cuddle him and he will twist his whole body around so that he can look at the face of whomever is holding him. Then if you turn him toward you he will erupt in a huge smile. He really likes to connect with people first in a quiet way and then rewards you with a sweet toothless grin, often with a mouth containing a finger or two. Patrick’s legs are almost constantly moving. He loves to kick and kick and swing his legs. And then out of no where, he will stop and just stick them straight out in front of him. He finds this position especially appealing when he is in his swing….which just cracks me up. You look over and here is this tiny baby looking out the window with his legs flexed perfectly straight out in front of him. He is such a funny little guy.
Patrick is “talking” a lot. His babbling is very “structured” and soft…..like a real conversation. His speech perfectly reflects his personality…very gentle and intentional.
Patrick has been exclusively breast fed since a week after he came home from the hospital and even in that week he only had one or two bottles a day. Nursing him is not always easy. A lot of times I need two hands because I have to hold my breast for him at a certain angle. His suck is not that strong sometimes so it takes him a little longer, he will come off his latch and get frustrated. But we charge through. There are days I think it would be so much easier to pump for him for a couple feedings a day, like those near bed time but it is in my heart for him to be EBF for a year and I am determined. It is important for not only his nourishment and my supply but for our bond as well. And as part of my motherhood testimony. I want to be able to say to other mothers that even though it was not always easy, we did it. With strong nurslings like Rory and Elijah, one who is having trouble and need encouragement might not be able to relate but Patrick and I really have to work at it together and I look forward to sharing that experience. As I always say, he is our strong, brave boy and this is just testimony to that.
Both babies LOVE music. No surprise here. When Rory was a few days old, my mother not so accidently discovered that he enjoyed Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. It is a pretty racy song so I resisted playing it for him. However……I would soon discover that when not only Rory but BOTH BABIES got fussy and inconsolable……if I played that song, they stopped crying. I have tried out other songs, songs less racy that sound similar. Nope. They like Blurred Lines. I tried to find a “clean” version. Apparently there isn’t one. (If I am wrong about this I would love a link to where I can buy one without naughty words in it). This will be one of our family jokes for years to come, how our twins were Robin Thicke fans at an early age. I play a lot of music for all three boys. Music is a part of our regular day. We have lots of different playlists that we listen to throughout the day and I sing a lot of songs with all three of my babies. It just makes our day more fun…more memorable and a lot more pleasant. When I put them to sleep I will often sing I See The Moon, You Are My Sunshine or my own slow rendition of All My Loving by The Beatles. I also have a lullabye CD that I use which my mom had given me for Elijah.
Phew! Lots of updates here but as I stated, this has been a big month of growth and development! I got some great shots on the five month birthday. I took several of them in one of Chips’ baby outfits (which Elijah wore at two months!) at home and later in the day we went to see Grandmother and took some pictures there!
Here is the first comparison shot…..This is Elijah and the twins all in the same outfit of Chip’s from when he was a baby. The size of the outfit is six months. As you can see, Elijah was a bit younger than the twins when he fit into it.
Here is our normal comparison of all three boys at five months old.
Rory is so full of smiles
“It wasn’t me. I swear”
“Hmmm not so sure about this”
I just love his happy personality
Patrick looking quite pensive
He sees big brother behind Mama. (I asked Elijah to help me make them laugh)
That’s it. That’s the smile that will break hearts….except we will raise him to be a sweet boy!
My friend calls him “Tiny Male Angela”. Heehee
I still can’t believe I get to have TWO BABIES!
Big brother is so fascinating
“Dude, don’t say a word…she doesn’t suspect a thing”
My aunt knitted the boys these cowboy boots. They are still a little big but we got some really cute shots.
Grandmother did a great job getting smiles out of these boys.
“You’re so funny, Grandmother”
Time out for some Mama kisses
So lately, Rory does this new thing where he tries to slide down as if he is going to walk away. The problem with this is that he can’t yet walk….or crawl….or sit on his own. But he will just sort of slide down and try to turn around as if he was two years old and was getting down from the couch or off your lap. Well……this is what he tried doing during this part of our photo shoot.
There he goes.
We tried the bouncy seat but he did the same thing. I always try to get the same number of photos (or close to it) of each child but normally one will cooperate more than the other. Fortunately it evens out because it alternates who is being cooperative. Heehee.
I tried to get him in the boots standing but later realized my body was casting a shadow.
Patrick quietly enjoyed watching this spectacle.
This was more Rory’s speed for this particular day
Finally at the end we were able to get him to sit still long enough for some cute smiling shots.
We concluded our photo shoot with some shots of my twins on a date with another set of twins. Heehee. Looks like Rory and Patrick are high fiving one another here. .
Seriously this is wedding montage gold right here!
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