The Mountain Millers: Twins -- Six Months!!

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Twins -- Six Months!!

Our little babies are six months old and they have developed SO much this past month. They are halfway to one year... wow, we have kept them alive for half a year. Praise God!

For comparison:

Twins as newborns

Twins at three months

Twins at six months

Howard as a newborn

Howard at six months

Caroline as a newborn

Caroline at six months

Weight:

So it turned out that Howard had a doctors appointment on his sixth month birthday, so we were able to get really official weights and lengths for both Howard and Caroline. They weighed them with clothes and diapers on and Howard weighed 18 pounds, 5 ounces.

And little Caroline was a healthy 16 pounds, 4.5 ounces.

My dad says that, generally speaking, you take a babies birth weight and double it for their six month weight, and triple it for their one year weight. Howard was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and Caroline was 6 pounds even. They have both more than doubled their weight six months later. I am so proud of how healthy and chubby they are.

Length:

SO long!!! Too long for their bassinet. Caroline still fits in hers BARELY -- when I just need to put her down for a minute or when she sleeps later than her siblings... but Howard made it abundantly clear he was too long for the bassinet by waking up EVERY TIME I put him down in there to sleep. We went to Vail for the mountain games and the twins had to be in separate cribs because they didn't fit in the one travel crib we had... so they were in two cribs, and he slept like a dream. So, from that night on, two cribs it was, and no more bassinet, which means they are now sleeping in their own cribs in their nursery instead of our room -- so, long story to answer that they are both long.

Officially, Howard measured 25" and Caroline measured 25 and 1/4" -- which goes to show you how inaccurate baby heights are when they lay the baby down and try to stretch out their little legs because Howard is taller than Caroline... but not according to this doctor's measurements.

Clothing size:

Howard is fits pretty well in 12 month clothes. Some 9 month shirts, pants, and sleepers fit, but rompers and shirts with onesie snaps need to be 12 month. Also he wears size 4 diaper.

Caroline can still wear a few 6 month dresses and outfits, but she has outgrown 6 month onesies and sleepers. With Tracey, I pretty much skipped over 9 month sizes and took her straight from 6 month clothes to 12 month clothes, but Caroline definitely is fitting in that 9 month size. Most of the 6 month clothes she has outgrown, she has outgrown in the length. She wears size 3 diapers.

Eating:

Six months of nothing but breastmilk. I just want to take a second and take a little pride in that. I knew that was what I wanted to do with twins, but I also learned very early on, that sometimes plans change based on the needs of the babies. For example, both Howard and Caroline were given supplemental bottles of breastmilk for their first five weeks, which involved my pumping in addition to breastfeeding them. At the end of the first month, I didn't know how long we would be able to breastfeed, or breastfeed exclusively, or if we would ever get off bottles and be feeding from exclusively from the breast. Thankfully, by two months, I was able to feed all breastmilk from the breast, and things have continued to go smoothly ever since.

It will be time to start solids now that the twins are six months old, but a part of me is not ready. I really feel like we just got the hang of breastfeeding, and I really feel confident in our routine that I'm not overly anxious to change things. But, I do want them eating some solids before I head back to work in the fall, so by solids are on the horizon.

Sleeping:

Caroline is such a champion sleeper, and I ADORE her for it. I will say, Howard has begun to sleep at night, and take naps better now that the babies are in their own nursery and in their own cribs.

Caroline will often sleep from 7:30pm-5am, and after a quick feeding, 5:30am-8:30am. Then she'll take a morning nap, and often an afternoon nap.

Howard prides himself on watching everything going on around him, and does not want to sleep if anything excitng is going on. He is usually asleep around 8:30pm, but some nights he repeatedly wakes himself up until 10:30 or 11pm. Then, he occasionally awakens for a 3am feeding, but not usually when we are at home. Then, he'll eat at 5am, and usually will go back to sleep from 5:30-7:00. I am learning that if I can get him down for a morning nap when Caroline naps, he is a happier baby, but it takes some serious coaxing to get him to give in to that morning nap.

There have definitely been nights when both Tracey and Howard are refusing to sleep and Caroline is sleeping soundly through all the commotion, when I have (jokingly) told Hubby that Caroline is the only child we are financing through collage... student loans and work study for Howard and Tracey as they wouldn't let us get any sleep, but full ride for Caroline, who stayed sound asleep.

New things/discoveries/accomplishments:

Sleeping in their own cribs
Sleeping in their nursery
Howard jumping in the exersaucer
Howard pushing backward in the walker
Caroline's fine motor skills
Babies sitting up at the table and playing with spoons
Howard blowing bubbles
Jumping in our jumping swing
Mama having help with a few summer mother's helpers who come over a few times each week
First Father's Day for Hubby with three children
Howard can roll over from back to front regularly -- and often does so in his sleep, but he hasn't mastered going from front to back yet.
Caroline plays with her feet all the time

Personalities:

Howard observes everything that goes on around him, and he does not want to sleep through any of it! He really reminds me a lot of Tracey when she was this age. He will wake himself up and refuse to sleep, but is just as happy as can be as he's refusing to sleep. He loves to be held, especially when he's tired and loves to chew on Mama's shoulder and cheek when he's being held.
Caroline is such a sweet baby. She still has a smile for everyone, including Howard and Tracey and remains completely content with whatever she is playing with. She does not insist on being held nearly as often as Howard or Tracey do. Because Caroline is such an easy baby, she sometimes comes with Mama to meetings where the other two kiddos stay how with Daddy. Daddy doesn't watch all three very often by himself, and so Sweet Caroline is often the natural choice for going with Mama because she is such an easy-going little girl.

Likes:

Being held
Pacifiers
Nursing
Eye-contact and funny voices
Baths and showers
Playing with Tracey
Playing with each other
The excersaucer/walker toys
Sucking on each other's fingers
Cousins

Dislikes:

Being hungry
Carseats after long trips

Special Memories:

We're now getting to the point where having two babies actually works in my favor. There were several times this month when Caroline has had a blow-out messy diaper while we were out and about. So, Howard ended up wearing just an undershire, and his polo shirt when to dressing his sister, since her clothes were unwearable. He's learning how to literaly give the shirt off his back to help his sister.
We were able to go up to Vail to the Mountain Games and recreate a picture that we have taken up there for the past four summers.
Having outdoor spring family pictures taken