I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated this blog. So sorry. Between the holidays, our trip to Plettenberg Bay and the girls just keeping me so busy the time just flies by and each week blends into the next. I'm sure the sleep deprivation has a little to do with it too :)
For some reason the girls are really happy just laying in their cribs talking to each other right now so I'm having a cup of coffee and taking this opportunity to try and write something here!
The girls are getting SO big. I had them weighed a week and a half ago and Caelyn weighed 7.4kg and Kylie 6.5kg. They are now 6 months old (as of Jan. 25th) and are actually starting to fit into their 6 month clothing... especially Caelyn. There are still 3 month things that fit them, but it's getting fewer and fewer. They are both growing really well and in a healthy weight range for their age, but their difference in size is getting greater again. Caelyn has just reached the average line for their age and Kylie is still slightly under. We try hard to get Kylie to eat more, but she just won't. Also, Kylie never stops moving and wiggling even for a second so I think she just burns more calories. We call her Miss Wiggle Worm :)
Both Kylie and Caelyn are at a super cute stage right now and you can see their development grow every day. They are smiling tons, laughing, rolling over and starting to really get around. Kylie can move across the whole room by scooting on her back. They both roll onto their tummies a lot (especially Caelyn), but they get very frustrated that they can't move around once they're there. I'd be lying if I didn't say they are also going through a very challenging stage as well. They are needing more and more attention all the time and get bored very quickly. I've set up what I call the circuit in our living room and move them from station to station in an effort to keep them happy. They are also teething really badly at the moment which is making them fussy and irritable. Caelyn's nose is super stuffy and they both pull at their ears as if they hurt! They shove everything in their mouth and shake their heads back and forth trying to rub their gums. I've tried teething rings, but they seem to prefer my knuckle :)
For some reason they are also sleeping terribly at the moment. We put them to sleep around 7 or 7:30pm and they used to sleep until we'd wake them at 11pm to feed. They ara currently fighting going to sleep and waking up quite a few times for their pacifiers (dummies) until about 9pm. After their 11pm feed they then used to sleep until between 5 and 6am, but have now started waking up anytime from 2am. They used to wake up fussing a little for food, but now they sometimes wake up screaming their heads off and then wake up the other one. They also went from taking hour naps during the day to only sleeping for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. I'm not sure if it's a phase or their teeth, but it's leaving Andy and I pretty tired!
I've just found a teething mixture that a local pharmacy makes that seems to help a bit. I'm not proud that I've resorted to drugging my kids, but they were just getting soooo over tired that I didn't know what else to do.
We used to have them a strict routine, but starting early January we started to let them sleep until they wake up naturally after the 11pm feed. Since they are waking up anytime between 2am and 6am and are now not napping well at all I'm having a hard time getting them on any kind of day schedule that works. I know a lot of people swear by demand feeding, but I've found that for me it leaves me with one baby always awake and my girls just do better on a routine. I just met another mom with twins that told me about this great woman who comes to help you sleep train. If they aren't starting to sleep better by 7 months we've decided we'd try it.
I'm amazed at how much the same they are, but also how different they can be too. They are developing at relatively the same speed, but seem to have very different allergies (such as to formulas) and Caelyn gets car sick where Kylie doesn't. Also, Kylie crawls on her back where as Caelyn rolls to her tummy before trying to move. They seem to flip flop in terms of who is more sociable, demanding, etc so you can't actually say that one is more friendly, cries more etc because they really do take turns. They both will still go to anyone though and are very social. They love being out and about and getting attention from different people :)
I'm still pumping and giving them as much breastmilk as I can, but they're no longer drinking from me. The bottle is just too easy to drink from so the more they got the bottle the less they would take the breast. I am just expressing the milk 6-7x per day and mixing it with formula because I don't have enough. It's a lot of work, but the girls don't do great on formula so I'm going to keep going for as long as I have milk for them. As of now I'm able to give them about 50% breastmilk. I'd love that number to be 100%, but just can't seem to get my milk supply any higher despite all the pumping and medication.
Kylie and Caelyn are currently eating 2 solids meals a day and just LOVE eating their food. I'd say that they might even like it more than their milk. All the books say you'll know how much to give them because the girls will tell you when they are full, but not my girls...they'll just keep eating their solids. They especially love butternut and sweet potato and aren't that crazy about apple and pear. We're now just in the phase where we are introducing lots of different flavors and soon we'll add a 3rd meal (lunch) and some meat. It's a very different story with their milk though... especially with Kylie. We struggle to get them to drink enough milk and they make the funniest faces when we try and give them water. Starting a few weeks ago the girls have begun to get very constipated. I'll spare you the details of what we've had to do to get everything moving again, but I will say prunes have become a good friend :)
Some very good news... the girls got their American Citizenship last week so they are now officially Americans!! YAY! We've applied for their passports and should have them in a few weeks. Once we do we'll be booking our trip back to Seattle and Sun Valley for this coming June. I'm soooo excited to bring the girls home, but am a little nervous for the flight. They'll be 10 months so either crawling or maybe even walking. Either way I think keeping them in their seats on the flight is going to be a big challenge!! If anyone has any tips then please please let me know!!
One of the girls is starting to get upset so I need to run. More as soon as I can!
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