Mega-post 6.23.12

I'm sorry that I've kept you all in the dark for the past month! The funny thing is, I don't think it's because I've been too busy with the boys, but more of a technology issue...my iPad won't upload photos (which I know everyone wants) and to use my computer, I have to go sit at my desk and there always seem to be other things that I'd rather do. But I'm back, so here's a refresher on what you missed in the last month - sorry if I jump around!

6.11.12

Andrew 6.7.12

John 6.7.12

John & Andrew are growing like weeds!  They just turned five-months-old yesterday which is so hard to believe.  At their four-month appointment in May, their weight had skyrocketed from barely being on the charts at 2-months to the 80th & 65th percentile.  Andrew is still the bigger of the two at 16lbs 6 oz, and John at 15lbs 6 oz.  I'm guessing that they're close to 18 pounds by now...they sure feel like it!  They're both in 6 month clothes already, so it's been sad to box up all those tiny newborn & preemie outfits.  The doctor actually recommended that we water-down their formula a little to cut back on calories. If a chubby baby is the worst of our concerns - I'll take it!

Speaking of food, we have also started the boys on baby food.  So far they've only tried sweet potatoes and carrots, and seem to like them both. I've been making all their food and it's surprisingly really easy.  I figure we spend 30-60 minutes preparing our own meals in a day, so why not be willing to do that once a week for them?  I did have one blender incident that resulted in carrots on our ceiling, but I've learned my lesson - ALWAYS keep the top on while the blender is running.  I'm trying to master the art of spoon feeding them both at the same time when I'm home alone, and some days go more smoothly than others.  I've been bottle-feeding them both on their Boppy pillows for months, but the spoon seems to add a new level of difficulty.  So far my strategy has worked pretty well - I still use the Boppy's, get one bowl & one spoon (figured they'd share germs anyway), and alternate mouths as fast as possible!  I suppose a high chair would work just as well, but they're still in boxes in the basement.  They typically do very well but lately seem to enjoy smearing their messy bibs all over their faces.

Which leads me to another development - I think the boys are teething.  I really do think that God blessed us with incredibly good babies who rarely cry and are easy going most of the time.  Lately they've been crying more than normal, drooling like crazy, and will gnaw on just about anything (like plastic bibs).  We have  Orajel on hand and it does seem to help.  So far (knock on wood), it hasn't affected their sleeping habits.

I'm trying to remember when it started, but the boys have been sleeping through the night for months.  We give them their last bottle between 8:30-9:00 and they're in asleep in their cribs from around 9:30 to 7 or 8:00.  For a while, their morning wake up time was closer to 6:00 but it seems to get later each week.  They usually love to giggle & smile when they first wake up which is a  nice way to start the day.  They still nap on & off throughout the day, but don't have a designated nap schedule yet.  For now, I let them sleep wherever they fall asleep (floor, Boppy, bouncy seat, etc) instead of taking them to their cribs.  I probably need to start changing that, but for now, it works.

Good morning!  5.16.12

They each sleep in their own cribs, but have fun playing together

5.4.12 Napping on their Boppy pillows

Napping in bouncy seats

Both boys also needed their hair trimmed, but I don't really consider it their first haircut.  They both seemed to lose all or most of the hair they were born with.  John lost his hair all over, but had a few long stragglers, so I trimmed those.  Andrew lost all their hair on the sides of his head, leaving him with a thick stripe down the center.  His mohawk was so long that it looked more like a comb-over, so I trimmed it a little just to make it lay better.  Unfortunately, the thick, strong hair that I had during pregnancy is also falling out by the handful, but I hear that's normal too.  The boys' hair is all starting to come back in and John's almost looks a little darker, and Andrew's a little lighter, so they may end up with very similar coloring.  For now, they both still have very blue eyes that don't look like they'll change.  Ryan & I both have hazel eyes, and we've heard that babies eyes can take up to a year to change, (Nurse Lisa even said one of her children's eyes changed at three years) so who knows.

Whew, this is long and I haven't even mentioned any of the fun stuff we've done in the past month.  I'll wrap up this post and start a new one. It's 8:38 am and the boys are still sleeping...I doubt I'll get another full post written before they wake up, so I'll put it off for another time.  Hopefully it will be soon though.  Enjoy your weekend, friends!