Here we are again, another month come and gone and my babies are seven months old. (wiping a tear away). I just love the baby stage so much. I love all the stages but the baby stage just seems to go by so fast and I am doing my best to savor the sweetness of the first year. I find it hard to believe that this time last year I was just now getting to know my babies a little better, finding out at a sixteen week elective ultrasound that we were having two sweet boys. And now we are only five months away from one year old! These two awesome little boys are growing and developing at rapid speeds. Every day it seems there are doing something new.
Rory has had quite the month. About two and a half weeks ago we were in San Antonio visiting my parents. My aunt and I had taken the twins to see my grandmother and while we were there, my aunt noticed that Rory had sprouted his two first teeth! Now I like to think that I keep myself very aware of my children’s development and I KNOW I am constantly checking them for new teeth so I can anticipate discomfort. Rory had shown NO signs of pain or discomfort nor had I felt even the slightest bump on his gums so these teeth literally must have sprouted overnight….but there they were. First teeth always make me a little sad as I mourn the sweet gummy smile. I love the jackolantern grin that goes along with new teeth two but oh how I miss that gummy smile! Rory’s teeth are still just for show as he continues to be exclusively breastfed.
Rory has been quite a “Mama’s boy” since birth but lately he is especially unhappy if I walk away from him, even if I get up from the floor just to sit on the couch a few feet away. His no longer newfound freedom of crawling is not wasted on the desire to stay close to me. I will walk into the downstairs playroom area to change Patrick leaving Rory in the living room and I will hear his protest then look down to see him (successfully) following me. I would have to say that my attachment parenting with this one was a success. He is well attached….as he should be at this age. He is also quite a big fan of his big brother and it is totally mutual. They are starting to play together which is so sweet. Elijah has this garden playhouse that we brought back down to the living room recently. My parents got it for him when he was six months old and he and Rory love to play in it together. Rory and Patrick also play nicely together with the busy zoo. Rory is a very active little baby and he loves interacting physically with others. I’m wondering if we may have a little athlete in him.
Rory’s growth has slowed as it tends to do around this age. He is tipping the scales at 15 pounds 14 ounces. I’m not sure about length but I’m pretty sure that is increasing because he is looking leaner to me lately. It must be all those extra calories he is burning from all this crawling! He really wants to pull up but he hasn’t figured that out quite yet. He does this sort of downward dog/upside down “V” position that makes me think he really wants to figure out how to stand. He will walk when holding on to my fingers and always has this HUGE smile on his face when he is doing it. Rory loves love LOVES his baths. As soon as he sees the water he starts kicking his feet wildly and as he and I sink into the water (we co-bathe) the movement just gets faster and the smile bigger. He is a water baby just like his brothers.
Some of Rory’s favorite things are Mama’s milk, busy zoo, garden house, his big brother, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, Happy by Pharrell, being worn (especially in my natibaby wrap conversion mei tai!), baths, cuddles (he is a total cuddle bug!) swimming pools, dancing and bouncing, being naked and his nightly massage. He DOES NOT like mama walking away….and really that is it. He is a pretty happy guy and if I am with him, paying attention to him he is really nothing but smiles. He is really such a joy and a blessing to our home and I love his sunshine personality.
Patrick: Early in this month, Patrick started crawling and has quickly caught up to his twin brother in efficiency and determination. He seems to really enjoy the freedom crawling has given him and will make his way clear across the room in no time at all to capture his purple chewy octopus (a favorite toy of his) or chase down the cord to my computer (unfortunately another favorite). Although he is quite the chewer, chomping down on anything he can get his hands on, I have seen no sign of emerging teeth. I am grateful I get to enjoy his gummy smile a bit longer. Elijah did not get his first tooth until about 8 1/2 months so we really COULD have a while longer to wait which is fine with this mama, desperately trying to hold on to babyhood a little longer! Although about a week ago, Patrick had a low grade fever (around 100-101) and was super fussy through the night which is unusual. I thought for sure we were dealing with a tooth cutting through but morning came, the fever subsided and we still don’t see even a bump on the gum line.
Patrick continues to be my deep thinker, studying everything from afar and close up with this contemplative look on his face. I sometimes feel like he and I have conversations with just looks although he loves to “chat” and frequently says Mama. His verbal attempts seem to be very intentional in that they are sort of soft and conversational with less of that “big emotion” that we see in his twin. Though Patrick does have some big opinions about what he likes and does not like and will get easily frustrated when we are unable to understand his communication. For example, if Patrick is fussing and you try to give him a pacifier…and that isn’t what he wants…..he will purse his lips and turn his head while shrieking. “Nope, Mama try again” he seems to say. Patrick still seems to be a gentle soul and lover of animals. He still adores Wrigley and will gently pet him and touch his face without needing any prompting. Wrigley is always a surefire way to make my smallest boy smile and laugh.
Patrick enjoys being worn but also likes his independent time physically separate from Mama. He likes to explore the world with his eyes as well as his hands and likes the freedom facing the world. He enjoys his Mama time but really loves his Daddy and brothers as well. He is pretty content with whoever is holding him as long as they let him look around and face them. Patrick loves to look at faces.
Patrick has had some more sleep challenges this month. If he goes to bed after Rory (with Mama), he is often a chatterbox and I have to run him out of the room until he calms down so he doesn’t wake his brother. It s not that he is fussing, he just wants to talk. And this is often when he will choose to practice saying “Mama”. I thought I could resolve this by putting Patrick down and letting Rory stay up a little later but then Patrick wakes up in the middle of the night and starts his vocal play once more. The saving grace has been the pack n play in the living room. I will often use that to separate the babies at night so they don’t wake one another up. Naptimes are separate too. If they need to sleep at the same time, I will put one in the rock n play in the master bedroom. I know that eventually they will need to sleep in the same room at the same time and figure that we will start working on that once they outgrow the rock n play….which is probably pretty soon. Eeeek.
Patrick’s growth this month has not slowed as much as Rory’s and they are now just a pound a part with Patrick weighing in at 14 pounds 14 ounces. Still my small guy, but not looking so small to this Mama anymore. Though he can still squeeze into some 3 month outfits. We are getting a lot of wear out of baby clothes this time around.
Patrick has become quite the champion nursling, no longer struggling with a weak latch. His continues to be exclusively breastfed and the plan is to delay solids until he and his brother are a year old. At that point we will start our babyled weaning but I plan on full term nursing which I hope for us means until about two.
Initially when Patrick came home, it was brought up to us that we needed to keep an eye on him for developmental issues and he was even evaluated at about six weeks (he passed with flying colors!). As I watch him grow and develop it is becoming clearer by the day that this is not a concern for us. He is meeting all of his milestones ahead of schedule and has such a strong and determined little body and mind. I will probably still have him reevaluated around nine months (I am a type A personality after all) just to make sure we are still on track but I feel confident that our strong, brave boy has overcome the odds and shows no signs of his birth trauma.
Some of Patrick’s favorite things are his purple octopus, Mama’s cell phone, Mama’s milk, Wrigley, Daddy, his brothers, tummy time mat (though it is now a crawling time mat), sitting at the table in his high chair, talking, baths, mirrors, nightly massages, going outside to watch his brother play and swim, music especially Happy by Pharell, kisses especially on his neck and tummy. Patrick does not like diaper changes, not being understood or getting dressed.
It is just incredible how I see these two totally different little personalities emerging! Even as I photographed them for their seven month photo shoot, you can see the difference in the looks and demeanor!
My cousin made the boys these hats and I LOVE them!
Such a jovial smile
Elijah is just the best big brother! He loves the twins so much.
Such a sweet gentle boy
My “tiny male Angela” as my friend calls him.
I love that gentle smile.
Howdy
Full of smiles this morning
I’m totally bias but what a beautiful baby I have!
Eyes for big brother
Contemplating….
This baby just melts my heart
Mama, you are so funny!
Okay one more big brother snuggle!
Big smiles from my Rory
Such a happy baby!
My sweet guy.
SO full of big smiles
There are those two tiny teeth peaking through!
Rory loves to laugh!
Love his crazy hair!
His hair sort of looks red in pictures. Sometimes it looks blonde. Sometimes brown. It will be interesting to see what color it turns out to be.
A serious moment between giggles.
Sweet boys, the past seven months has been such a beautiful and exciting adventure. I could have never imagined that I could love so much three totally different people. My boys (including their Daddy!) are my life and it is a beautiful life. God has blessed our family immeasurably and I am so grateful for the joyful little beings that fill our home with such love.
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