4 Months Old

The girls have changed so much since I last posted about them.  Last week, they turned 16 weeks old and had their four-month well visit with their pediatrician.  They officially have their four-month birthday this Friday.  And they have changed so much in the last month ... I have feeling this will be a very long post. 
About a month ago, I moved the girls out of the mini-crib beside our bed and into their separate cribs in their nursery.  They did beautifully that first night and, as I suspected, they sleep much better apart.  Instead of going 4-5 hours a night the girls now sleep a good 7 hours straight. 

I cannot complain at all about their sleeping habits at night, and we are slowly establishing a nighttime routine.  They get fed usually sometime between 6:30 and 7:30pm.  Then, when Will heads up for bath, storytime, etc, I take the girls up with me.  While Ellis handles Will, I give the girls a full bath or half bath (neck and head over the sink), depending on how tired I am.  :-)  The girls love bath time now too.  I love to watch them kick and smile and coo in the bathtub.  And I am very eager for the day when they can sit-up and I can bathe both of them at once.

After bath time, they get in their pajamas and usually at least one of them is ready to fall asleep right away and the other follows a little while later.  They sleep on their boppy lounger (best thing EVER that I bought for the twins) or in their swings.  Between 11 and 12, Ellis handles their "dream feed" and swaddles them up (Carter with arms out and Catie with arms in) and puts them in their cribs.  Where they sleep until anywhere between 7 and 8 a.m.  Hooray!!!!!!!!  I feed them quietly at that hour, and they go right back to sleep for another cat nap of an hour or so.  So I have mornings to get a few things done before the day slips away.

The girls still take random cat naps here and there, but are slowly getting more in a routine of 2 naps a day.  They take their longest nap in late morning and mid afternoon.  And they sleep in their swings - the Fisher Price Little Lamb swing is awesome.  HUGE thanks to Henry and Carlisle's mommies for letting me borrow their swings.  The girls both fall right to sleep in them if they are tired enough and could care less about the swing we had for Will.  Here is Miss Carter sleeping away in the swing:

Isn't a sleeping baby the cutest thing?  It was a sight to see both girls asleep in the 2 swings, swinging away in their room, but I have since moved one of the swings to our room for Catie to nap in.  She is a little more testy about taking naps (just like her brother was), and she needs to cry a little bit before she falls asleep.  And that would wake up her sister.

Both girls are still on the Neocate formula, but I am going to try and move them to Similac Sensitive formula in a couple weeks.  They are also taking reflux medicine that seems to finally have resolved all of their reflux issues.  They both have problems having regular BMs - Carter more than Catie.  So I have to give them this terribly sticky medicine twice a day.  This is becoming a problem around here because they are getting worse and worse about taking it.  Carter gets a whole teaspoon twice a day ... its aggravating to get that much in a baby who is not really interested in it.  (And that medicine makes their poop smell NASTY.)

The girls still do not drink a whole lot of formula (on average Carter takes 3oz and Catie only 2 1/2), but the doctor was not worried because they are still growing in the right direction.  He declared them looking great and healthy at the last visit.  And here are their tiny stats:

Catie - weight: 9lb 15oz - less than 5th percentile
            height: 21 and 5/9 inches - less than 5th percentile
            head circumference: 14 and 1/8 inches - 10th percentile

Carter - weight: 11lb 3oz - 10th percentile
             height: 22 and 1/2 inches - 5th percentile
             head circumference: 15 and 1/2 inches - 10th percentile.

The doctor said we could try rice cereal, but we both agreed that it was doubtful they would take any.  Even though they are 4 months, they are still preemies that are a bit behind their peers.  He said lots of premature babies do not eat solids until about 6 months.  I've got some to give it a try in the next week or two anyway - just to see what they do.

Both girls are smiling, cooing, and laughing up a storm.  Carter gave me a big belly laugh they other day.  I forgot how sweet it was to hear that kind of a baby laugh.  And I finally got some pictures of Catie smiling!

This one just cracks me up!

Carter's favorite "toy" is to stare at people's faces.  She smiles and laughs the most at silly faces and noises we make. 

Catie not only looks like her brother but has the same habits and likes and dislikes that he did.  Its uncanny how similar they are, and she is clearly more his twin that she is Carter's.  While Carter tends to be the more independent of the two, Catie is more needy of attention, gets offended more easily if you leave her alone for a minute, and likes to be held a lot.  And her favorite toy is this star on a playmat that plays music and lights up. Just like Will did, she kicks, coos, and smiles at that thing for a long time - sometimes as long as half an hour.  

Here Catie is looking up at that star.

But Carter loves to kick on the playmat with that star too. 

The girls still could pretty much care less about each other and are not playing with or staring at each other yet.  They do get upset of they are awake and you pick up one and walk away.  The other usually will start to cry.

They have found their hands and are playing with them in front of them or stuffing them in their mouths.  One day, a few weeks ago, Catie was sucking on her thumb perfectly.  I admired how cute it was, and then promptly removed the thumb and stuck her paci in.  Much easier to take the paci away later on than getting her to stop sucking her thumb.  Neither of the girls are reaching for toys yet, but I suspect that will happen any day now.

Speaking of pacis, Catie loves hers and always needs it to fall asleep, especially at nap time.  Carter, on the other hand, hates them and almost never ever takes them.  Sometimes, if she is really tired and will not stop fussing because she is so tired, I can hold the pacifier in place until she falls asleep.  But that is rare.

Whew -- I know I am missing something.  Such a long post and so much to say.  Hopefully, I will post little tidbits here and there more often.  But the girls are doing great and are just so cute -- I love to scoop them up and cover them with kisses!

Help Wanted!

Yes, I know it has been forever since I posted anything about the girls. Yes, they are 16 weeks old and just had their 4 month check-up and have changed lots and lots. And yes, I hate that I have not kept up with their changes and updates, etc better on this blog. But hell yes, our lives are beyond crazy nowadays and I'm lucky the bills get paid on time and I have clean clothes to wear. Sometimes, when the girls are both crying, and Will is whining for something, and the phone rings and the oven beeps because dinner is ready -- all at the same time (seriously, this has happened) -- I truly wonder what the scene would look like to an outsider. Its video like that that they should show to teenage girls to help prevent teenage pregnancy!

So, an update on the girls with pictures is coming soon. Because they are freakin' cute nowadays and growing so fast.

In the meantime, I REALLY need HELP! Does anyone out there in blogger world know of a good seamstress in the area? I have this idea of making the girls baptism gowns out of the material from the train of my wedding dress and lace from my mom's wedding dress. We do not have heirloom baptism gowns in the family and I think this would be a great way to start. But I can not find ANYone that could make them for me. I'm not thinking of anything complicated, but do need someone who knows what they are doing and is reliable, especially because of the sentimental value of the material.

Does anyone out there know anyone? Or know of anyone who might know of someone? I've tracked down all my leads but had no success. I can't believe this is that hard....

Its Off!!!

This morning, Will's cast came off!! HOORAY! It is absolutely remarkable how quickly a 3-year-old's arm heals. (The doctor said an adult's arm would take three months to heal the same break.)


By this past weekend, Will could move his arm in all directions and would proudly swing it over his head! He was so proud of himself being able to do it and would readily show anyone who asked how his arm was. We were pretty confident the doctor would clear him to get his cast off and could not wait for it to happen.

This is Will at my parent's house on an afternoon of trying to keep him occupied as he spent 2 weeks away from school (and a third week of half days). You can see how much fun he has playing with his Bapa who constructed this spaceship for Buzz out of a plastic box and cardboard.

Will was supposed to get his cast off yesterday, but the doctor was called into emergency surgery. To help me out (for an unexpected afternoon of all 3 kids) and to curb Will's disappointment, my parents came over to help out. Bapa put up a tent in the living room (long story...) and, although it made me cringe to have it up in the house!, Will had a blast in it all afternoon.

This morning, we headed to the orthopedist. The x-rays showed remarkable improvement from the one taken only 2 weeks ago. Off came the cast and on went a temporary cast. It is basically a hard mold that goes on the side of his arm, and we wrap it with ace bandages. He will wear it for probably another 3-4 weeks. This cast will still protect his arm from re-breaking, but will let us take it off for baths, sleeping at night, swimming in the pool and, most importantly for Will, playing on the beach!!
Tonight, Will was very timid and afraid when we took the temp cast off for bathtime. But he slowly got more and more confident that he could, in fact, move it without it hurting. After about a half hour or so, he finally got in the bath. And that boy had SO much fun in his bath tonight.

We are so happy to have a pain-free boy who we can pick up and get huge bear-hugs-around-the-neck from again! :-)

Pictures from this Weekend

Bapa let us borrow one of his cameras so that I can finally get some cute pictures of my girls before they grow up on me. Carter is in white and Catie is in pink for most of these pictures. Clearly, I need to make sure to snap some more pictures when Catie is smiling too!

This weekend, Will got to play with his cousin Anna a lot and I think both kids really enjoyed it. I was a little nervous about having 2 3-year-olds and 2 3-month-olds all afternoon, but it went very well!

Anna stayed with us some on Saturday and Sunday while Uncle Clarence coached and Aunt Kathy watched Kate play in the All Star softball league. The playoffs have been just a few minutes away from our house. Kate's team is just 2 games away from a state championship and we are so proud of her!!

Doctor Visits Galore

Will's follow-up visit to the orthopedist on Tuesday went as good as it could. The doctor liked the way his arm looked in the x-ray and scheduled us to return on July 20th for the cast to come off! Will will get a removable cast then and will be able to play at the beach, swim in a pool, etc. I think he will have to wear the removable cast as much as possible for another 5 weeks or so, but at least he will be able to play in water and enjoy the end of the summer. Although he is getting really bored at home (despite my best efforts), his arm is getting better and better.

Then, I had to take the girls to the pediatrician yesterday. Fun times. Their tummy issues still have not resolved. Carter still gets reflux toward the end of the day, and Catie has been refusing to eat more than about 2 ounces each feed. Also, they are only going poop about once a week - can you imagine?! Anyway, the doctor was not too worried because they are still growing great. Carter weighed 10lb 9oz and Catie weighed exactly one pound less at 9lb 9oz. Carter is now in the 10-25% percentile range for weight. Catie is just getting on the curve. The doctor changed their reflux medication and gave me some fun medicine for their poop problems.

I am SOOOOOOOO ready for all my children to be okay! Ellis and I realized that we really know an awful lot about the the hospital downtown - in the span of 3 months, we've visited the NICU, the Children's Hospital ER, the Children's Hospital, the kids' pediatrician about 20 million times, and the pediatric orthopedist. Sigh. Enough Already!!

I am also very ready to find my freakin' little camera. The girls are just adorable right now - smiling, cooing and kicking. But my Nikon is broken and I can't find my back-up. I need some pictures!

Broken

It has been a long time since I have blogged, particularly since I made any update on the girls or Will. But there is, sadly, a very good reason for this. Poor little Will broke his arm last Sunday. Not only has it been super hard hearing our poor boy cry out in pain so much, but its been really rough dealing with a little 3 year old in pain and in a cast in the middle of summer with 3 month old twins.

Last Sunday night, Will was throwing a tantrum and he pulled and twisted away from Ellis in the middle of it in such a way that he broke his arm. It all happened so fast. Ellis immediately whisked Will to the ER and I met them there as soon as my parents arrived to watch the girls for me. We had thought that he had dislocated his elbow but, unfortunately, the x-ray showed a break.

The whole thing has been so traumatic and terrible. Ya'll please send up prayers and happy thoughts that Will's arm may heal soon. Amazingly, the orthopedist told us that he was so pleased with how Will's arm set in the cast that he thought it would be healed in just 3 weeks. I am trying so hard not to be too optimistic - we are supposed to be going to the beach in 4 weeks. However, other doctors and nurses we know do not think 3 weeks is too short of a time because Will is so young and his bones are still growing so quickly. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that we get good news -- we go back to the ortho for a follow-up x-ray tomorrow.

Everything about this has been very hard. This family has been through an awful lot in the last 3 months, but we come out of each challenge stronger and happier together. If anything, this incident has reminded me how fragile life is, how quickly it can all change, and how thankful I should be every minute for the health and wonder that are our children.

Will has been a trooper despite the pain I know he must have felt Sunday at the ER for his temporary cast and Monday when he got his permanent cast. Despite it all, he has been so incredibly cute. He totally hit on the x-ray technician in the ER when the medication hit him - he told her about the new Toy Story movie, asked her if she had seen it, and then told her that he would take her to see it the next day. He refers to the guy who put his cast on as "The Fixer." And he insisted on walking by himself all the way from the ortho's office to the car (a really long way down a long long building). He walked extremely slowly and got smiles from everyone who passed him.


His pain is now finally subsiding and he is able to do a lot more on his own. He has adjusted to his arm in a cast very well and is having fun staying home with mommy and his sisters. I am so glad because this past week has felt like a month, really. It has been very difficult keeping a 3 year old occupied so that he did not hurt his arm more and could stay relatively still (on top of having 3 month old twins to take care of). He has watched a whole hell of a lot of TV this past week.

Here he is dancing the hokey pokey in his spiffy cast. Will chose purple for Buzz Lightyear (who is lime green and purple). He calls it his "Buzz Lightyear arm." (My expensive Nikon camera is broken, won't flash, and I'm totally untrained to know how to fix it - thus the blurry pictures. Sigh.)