The Mountain Millers: Twins -- Seven Months

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Twins -- Seven Months

Well this past month flew by... probably because we were traveling, visiting family and generally having a lot of fun. Howard and Caroline are seven months old -- they will be a year before I know it.

For comparison:

Twins as newborns

Twins at seven months:

Weight:

We think both Howard and Caroline are staying pretty stable at 18+ and 16+ pounds respectively. We didn't notice a huge growth spurt or change in clothing size this month... but with their now eating solid foods regularly we'll see what the next month brings.

Length:

Again, I think they're staying pretty steady at the moment because neither Howard or Caroline have outgrown their footsie pajamas in the past month. But, I do think Howard is outgrowing some of his onesies -- I noticed in one picture I took this month that it is becoming pretty low-cut. Time for bigger tee-shirts.

Clothing size:

I feel like I'm a broken record this month, but size-wise, not a lot has changed this month. Howard is still wearing the same clothes -- a mix of six, nine, and twelve month clothes, and size four diapers.

Caroline, likewise hasn't changed a lot in size this month -- still wearing six and nine month outfits, but I did recently move her up to size four diapers.

Eating:

We have officially introduced solid foods. We are doing baby-led weaning again, which is what we did with Tracey. That basically means that we offer Howard and Caroline small pieces of food, for them to play with and feed themselves as much as they want, or as little as they want... and still continue to nurse as much as they want.

We started both babies with soft bananas, and Howard devoured it, while Caroline liked to play with it. I will say, with Tracey we were very careful about introducing new foods and kept a careful list of what she had tried and when. With Howard and Caroline, they try new foods all the time because I offer them whatever Tracey is having for dinner.

It was really hard to make the adjustment to feeding two babies solid foods. Now, I think I have a good system set up, and they are getting better and better at feeding themselves every day, but we had a few rough weeks when we were in transition.

Now, Howard and Caroline have tried all of the following, and possibly more:

bananas, peaches, applesauce, pears, watermelon, cantaloupe, baby puffed cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, spaghetti, bread, crackers, peas, green beans, corn and pancakes.

Sleeping:

We really had a set back in our great sleeping routine this month with our travels. By the time we got home, both Howard and Caroline had gone from sleeping through the night before we left, to waking up twice or three-times each night to feed. Now, we've fixed that a little but they still are not back to their amazing sleep routine that we had before our trip.

During our travels, Howard especially got in the habit of falling asleep in our bed, and still has a fit when he realizes he is in his crib. Thankfully, he does not not nurse all night the way Tracey did in our bed at his age, but it still has changed our nighttime routine significantly.

A few days ago, I received my fitbit weekly summary in an email and it was amusing to me, so I took pictures of it on my phone... the first picture just says that its a summary of my weekly stats. The second picture says that my average sleep duration is 2 hours and 34 minutes. Yeah.

New things/discoveries/accomplishments:

They can scoot backwards in their walkers
Both babies can roll in both directions
Both babies love being on their tummies to reach toys or relax
Both babies are eating solid foods and feeding themselves
Both babies love to play with their feet
They have both begun sleeping on their tummies
They both went to the nursery room during the church service for the first time
Their Mama got hand-foot-mouth disease for the first time
They took a bath together for the first time (they were always bathed or showered separately before now) and now they get a bath together almost every day, and sometimes with Tracey too -- that's when the real crazy comes out
Caroline is beginning to sit up on her own -- for a few seconds anyway

Personalities:

Howard really wants to move. He loves to bounce and jump, he rolls everywhere, and he wants to crawl. He frequently lays on his stomach and kicks his feet and bobs his head -- its his way of trying to move. He is also turning into a real Mama's boy. He has a lot of fun with Daddy and Tracey, but when he's upset, he wants Mama, and he loves to cuddle. He does not want to nap or fall asleep when there is the chance that something is going on. He watches everything, and will not fall asleep if there is something interesting to watch. He often needs to be either rocked to sleep, or cuddled in order to relax and fall asleep.
Caroline remains such a sweetheart. She still sleeps well and adores Tracey and Howard. When either Tracey or Howard and looking at her and making eye contact, she breaks out the BIGGEST smile and then just laughs. She is the easiest going of the three, and often does not mind for new people to hold her. What i did learn this month, however, is that, while I think of Caroline as my easiest baby... when I am not home, she is the hardest baby. This month whether she was left with Hubby, St. Louis grandparents or Michigan grandparents, Caroline was always the one sobbing when I got home, and when I took her, she stopped crying within seconds. So, while she adores Caroline and Howard, there is a touch of Mama's girl in her too.

Likes:

Playing with each other
Pacifiers
Nursing
Solid food
Bath time together
Playing with Tracey
Playing with each other
Swimming
Watching new things and people when we're out and about
Crackers
Cousins

Dislikes:

Being hungry
Carseats after long trips

Special Memories:

We got to spend time at my childhood home for the last time and spend time swimming and playing there as a family before my parents sell the house at the end of the summer.
Tracey is really coming into her role as the big sister, telling me who is crying and when to check them... or telling me to stay put because she is going to check them. She also keeps track of whose passie belongs to whom and dictates what they play with at times. On the downside, they have started grabbing her hair, which she does not appreciate.
Spending time with our St. Louis family and cousins -- those kids really have a blast together
Great-grandpa Jacobs and his gal came to visit and spend some time with us out here