Really? This is the last week they'll be 8 month olds? But I just wrote about their first week... I don't want them to be 9 months yet!
For a little while now the boys have been "trading" toys. It seems that there's no toy better than the one your brother has. This week marked the first time that the looser in the toy fight got upset. Alex and Zach were sitting on the couch, surrounded by toys and remotes. Zach had the coveted satellite remote and was busy chewing on the end. Alex, unsatisfied by the taste of the Xbox controller, reached out with both hands and procured his brother's. Zach immediately burst into tears. Seriously - tiny little baby tears were streaming down his face. I gave the remote back to Zach but the damage had been done.
Which brings me to a similar topic - their love of the couch. It has become one of their favorite places to play, even more than sitting on the floor. I don't know if it's because they can see around the room better, or it's more comfortable, or it's the only place with a plethora of remotes, or what. One day Jim came home from work to find Zach sitting on the couch in a diaper, while Alex and I played on the floor. Yep, you guessed it. That's the only way (naked and on the couch) that he was happy.
The baby babble continues. Alex prefers "da da daddy" and Zach is all about the "mm mm ma." In fact, they're so set in their ways, I thought I was changing Zach this morning until I heard 10 seconds of "daddy" and realized my mistake. They don't associate what they're saying with me or Jim but it's still crazy cute.
The boys got an inflatable bathtub this week. Up until this point the boys have laid down to take their baths. Over time some problems have developed. For one, Alex constantly splashes Zach, or hits him while doing his full-body flailing, resulting in Zach crying more times than not. They also can't really play or see more than the ceiling while prone. They would get bored and the tears would start. They LOVE the inflatable tub. They're facing each other, have floaty toys to chew on, and seem to think splashing each other is hilarious. What used to be 15min dunk-and-scrubs are now 30min soak fests.
They also got a second toy bar for the van. It's nearly identical to the one we have and was purchased to stave off jealous looks. The worst part about having twins isn't the sleepless nights, crying in stereo, or the diapers - it's having to pick one boy over the other. They get so excited when I pull out that toy bar, I stopped using it at all because of how sad it would make the boy left with a regular toy. I hear happy rattling, crunching, and squeals of glee from the back of the van now.
The boys had their first lunch at a restaurant. We met up with Jim's brother and his family at Sticky Fingers in downtown Greenville. I made them some avocado and packed it on ice. They've also started eating cereal puffs, although I cut them into quarters because I am worried about choking. Our nephews thought the avocado looked like green slime. hehe The boys ate about a half of avocado and I was impressed they managed that much with all of the distractions. Sometimes I can barely get them to take a bite if the cat walks by at home.
Zach really likes the puffs and Alex tolerates them ok. Right now I'm putting them in their mouths, although we scatter some on their trays so they can practice feeding themselves. I don't think either have managed to get one in their mouth yet, though. I held one in the palm of my hand, hoping Zach would grab it. Instead he face planted and licked it off. That boy is a mess. Zach also really likes jarred prunes, while Alex likes the jarred apples. If I switch them, I get a round of sour faces and an instant distrust of the next spoonful.
I wish I could say that we've solved all of our sleep problems but I can't. They still wake up to eat every 2.5hrs and after about 5am they're ready to party. On top of that, Alex doesn't want to nap beyond about 1hr, if at all. He's been acting like his tummy is hurting, although I can't get a burp out of him. He's been throwing up some, too.
The boys have their 9 month check-up this Friday and an appointment with a hematologist early next week. I'm hoping their hemoglobin still looks good. It'll also be interesting to see how much they weigh and how long they are. Their feet are starting to hang over the end of their car seats and I think we need to bump up their exersaucers' height a notch.
2.21.2010
2.14.2010
0
Month 8, Week 2
You can check out the boys' 8th month pictures on their website (pw: jma&z).
This has been another one of those rough weeks, although I don't think it's totally the boys' fault. On Wednesday they had their follow-up doctor's visit about their anemia. Their hemoglobin has gone up about two points, which is a really good sign. They have about 3 more points to go before they're out of the woods. Their platelet count was also up, though. It could be a symptom of the anemia, or something else. We've been referred to a hematologist just to be sure. There's no emergency or anything so it'll be a few weeks before we see him or her.
The boys are doing pretty well sleeping in their cribs at night, until about 5am. At that point they'll both just cry and cry until we go in and get them. Or, I can get them before they cry and they'll sleep with me for another 2.5hrs. We let them CIO one morning and Alex is still hoarse. I also tried CIO for their naps and it was a disaster. They both cried for over 40min before I went in and got them. It wasn't a mad cry, but a sad one. So we're kind of stuck right now on the whole sleeping thing.
The boys have been acting goofy this week. Both thought today it would be fun to baby babble in a falsetto. All. Day. Long. Sometimes Alex would try to squeal so high, nothing would come out (or maybe only dogs could hear him). They're also still really super attached to me. Even if I just stand to walk across the living room, one or both will start crying. I was reading them books on the floor and every few minutes one of them would lean in towards me for a hug.
For Valentine's Day I made foot prints of the boys with red paint. I had the heels overlap so they sort of look like hearts. I thought it would be easy - slap some paint on their feet, stamp them, and done. So I strip Alex down to a diaper, sit him in my lap, and paint the first foot. He immediately grabs it with both hands and tries to eat it. Uhh... We're now both covered in red paint. I take him to the kitchen sink and hose him off. We try again. I stick a gallon bag over the foot I'm not going to paint first. This distracts him enough for me to paint and stamp the first foot. I swap the plastic bag and repeat. He manages to get the bag off and we're now both sporting some red tribal markings. I carry him back to the sink for another ghetto bath. Zach gets the same treatment.
On Friday we met Jim at Cracker Barrel for lunch. On a whim, we have the waitress bring us a high chair. We sat Alex in it and strapped him in. He immediately burst into tears. Luckily we had a second boy who loved the thing. We pulled him up to the table and Zach just went to town. He tried biting the table, eating the menus, grabbing our plates, and flirting with everyone around us. The whole time Alex clutched Jim - a total daddy's boy.
Sunday night after we got home from Poppa and Granny J's, the boys and I piled on the couch to watch the winter olympics while Jim took a chair nap. I had Alex laying next to me with his head on my arm, while Zach was sitting on my stomach. They were alternating between playing with toys/remotes, and laughing at me while I kissed them. It was one of those moments that just melts your heart and you hate for it to end. But they needed to take their iron and eat dinner.
This has been another one of those rough weeks, although I don't think it's totally the boys' fault. On Wednesday they had their follow-up doctor's visit about their anemia. Their hemoglobin has gone up about two points, which is a really good sign. They have about 3 more points to go before they're out of the woods. Their platelet count was also up, though. It could be a symptom of the anemia, or something else. We've been referred to a hematologist just to be sure. There's no emergency or anything so it'll be a few weeks before we see him or her.
The boys are doing pretty well sleeping in their cribs at night, until about 5am. At that point they'll both just cry and cry until we go in and get them. Or, I can get them before they cry and they'll sleep with me for another 2.5hrs. We let them CIO one morning and Alex is still hoarse. I also tried CIO for their naps and it was a disaster. They both cried for over 40min before I went in and got them. It wasn't a mad cry, but a sad one. So we're kind of stuck right now on the whole sleeping thing.
The boys have been acting goofy this week. Both thought today it would be fun to baby babble in a falsetto. All. Day. Long. Sometimes Alex would try to squeal so high, nothing would come out (or maybe only dogs could hear him). They're also still really super attached to me. Even if I just stand to walk across the living room, one or both will start crying. I was reading them books on the floor and every few minutes one of them would lean in towards me for a hug.
For Valentine's Day I made foot prints of the boys with red paint. I had the heels overlap so they sort of look like hearts. I thought it would be easy - slap some paint on their feet, stamp them, and done. So I strip Alex down to a diaper, sit him in my lap, and paint the first foot. He immediately grabs it with both hands and tries to eat it. Uhh... We're now both covered in red paint. I take him to the kitchen sink and hose him off. We try again. I stick a gallon bag over the foot I'm not going to paint first. This distracts him enough for me to paint and stamp the first foot. I swap the plastic bag and repeat. He manages to get the bag off and we're now both sporting some red tribal markings. I carry him back to the sink for another ghetto bath. Zach gets the same treatment.
On Friday we met Jim at Cracker Barrel for lunch. On a whim, we have the waitress bring us a high chair. We sat Alex in it and strapped him in. He immediately burst into tears. Luckily we had a second boy who loved the thing. We pulled him up to the table and Zach just went to town. He tried biting the table, eating the menus, grabbing our plates, and flirting with everyone around us. The whole time Alex clutched Jim - a total daddy's boy.
Alex and Jim, with Zach sitting like a big boy
Sunday night after we got home from Poppa and Granny J's, the boys and I piled on the couch to watch the winter olympics while Jim took a chair nap. I had Alex laying next to me with his head on my arm, while Zach was sitting on my stomach. They were alternating between playing with toys/remotes, and laughing at me while I kissed them. It was one of those moments that just melts your heart and you hate for it to end. But they needed to take their iron and eat dinner.
2.09.2010
0
Month 8
This is a late posting since we were out of town last week. My Grandma was in the hospital where they discovered inoperable stomach cancer. We drove down to Florida to visit one last time. Plus, I wanted her to meet the boys.
Jim, Lucy, the boys, and I left 10pm Tuesday evening for Bradenton. Alex and Zach slept all night, with the exception of 2 stops for food. We checked into the hotel around 8am, unpacked, and everyone took a nap. A little before lunchtime we went to Grandma and Don's house to visit. Grandma was resting comfortably in bed with some oxygen. We took the boys in and she immediately brightened up. She's always loved little kids, so to have two there gave her something to focus on. The boys were on their best behavior once we got the seating arrangements straightened out. They weren't too sure about having my family hold them.
Grandma kept talking about how she had always wanted twins but never got them. She held out her finger once and Zach tried to chomp it. Jim pulled him back at the last minute. Alex was enthralled with her blanket and kept trying to pull it up to his mouth. Both boys wanted her remote SO bad. Jim offered up his cell as a distraction. Pretty soon I hear a faint "Hello?" and realize one of the boys had just called Jim's brother. Oops!
The boys even ate lunch with her one day. We took their highchairs in and put them next to her bed. I sat between them and fed them avocado. They were very careful not to make a mess and seemed to enjoy the attention. It was hot in Florida so the boys ran around in t-shirt onesies. Grandma remarked how soft their skin was and how chubby their legs were (in a good way). She even managed to sort of hug and kiss one boy while I held him for her. Both boys showed off their jumping skills on her bed and shared their toys with her.
The last couple of days we were there she was too tired to see them anymore. She was sort of in a twilight where she wasn't fully asleep or awake, plus she was taking morphine for pain. She could hear them playing in the living room, though, and at one point told my parents to stop talking so she could listen. hehe Typical Grandma, bossing everyone around.
Overall I think the boys had a really good time on the trip. At the hotel they slept with me in one bed while Jim used the other. It was just down the street from the house so we went back there for naps during the day and bedtime around 7pm. We went to Whole Foods in Sarasota and got them avocado, bananas, and mango. I took our little electric chopper thing with us and made them fresh food for lunches and dinners. They tolerated the avocado and didn't really want anything to do with the rest. We discovered that they only really like avocado when it's cold. Room temperature apparently didn't taste as good. Don had never had mango or avocado so we gave him a sample. Thumbs up on the mango, not so much on the avocado.
While we were down there the boys learned some new tricks. Alex likes to stick his tongue out now, especially when he's concentrating on a toy. He's also taken to shaking his head from side to side. We're going to check with the pediatrician, but Dr. Google says it's a normal developmental thing and he'll outgrow it. Zach has started clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. Both boys are becoming excellent sitters. Alex has been rocking on his bottom a little and has fallen on his belly trying to get to toys. Unless his arms are pinned, he can roll over on his back. Zach expects me to retrieve him from his tummy and waits.
We have whining. Constantly. Without end. Alex started first with the "mmmm mmmm mmmm" while he beckons me with arm flapping and hand waving. Zach thought it looked like fun and picked it up soon after. Initially I thought it was cute, kind of like them saying "mom" without the "om" but that was when they did it occasionally. Now it feels like they never stop. Today it was driving me crazy, especially since I was trying to get a couple of things done, like laundry so there aren't two naked boys running around. Alex will even "mmmm" while I'm holing him because he wants me to walk him around.
We're going through CIO round two. The boys are good at going to sleep in their cribs, just not staying asleep there. They want to sleep with me and their level of anger gets pretty high around 4am-5am. Last night I took the baby monitor into the spare bedroom with me so Jim could get some sleep. I also closed their door, which I hated doing because it gets cold in there, but they don't just cry - Zach screams and Alex yells at the top of his lungs.
They also seem to want to eat every hour or two, which is frustrating because I KNOW they aren't hungry. Our trip to Florida and back proved they only really need food every 3-4hrs. On top of breaking those two bad habits, I'm going to start having them sleep in their cribs for naps. If you see me over the next couple of weeks and I look frazzled, you know why.
I posted a few of the boys' 8th month candid shots on their website (pw: jma&z). Alex has such a nice smile and Zach loves to make funny faces.
Jim, Lucy, the boys, and I left 10pm Tuesday evening for Bradenton. Alex and Zach slept all night, with the exception of 2 stops for food. We checked into the hotel around 8am, unpacked, and everyone took a nap. A little before lunchtime we went to Grandma and Don's house to visit. Grandma was resting comfortably in bed with some oxygen. We took the boys in and she immediately brightened up. She's always loved little kids, so to have two there gave her something to focus on. The boys were on their best behavior once we got the seating arrangements straightened out. They weren't too sure about having my family hold them.
Grandma kept talking about how she had always wanted twins but never got them. She held out her finger once and Zach tried to chomp it. Jim pulled him back at the last minute. Alex was enthralled with her blanket and kept trying to pull it up to his mouth. Both boys wanted her remote SO bad. Jim offered up his cell as a distraction. Pretty soon I hear a faint "Hello?" and realize one of the boys had just called Jim's brother. Oops!
The boys even ate lunch with her one day. We took their highchairs in and put them next to her bed. I sat between them and fed them avocado. They were very careful not to make a mess and seemed to enjoy the attention. It was hot in Florida so the boys ran around in t-shirt onesies. Grandma remarked how soft their skin was and how chubby their legs were (in a good way). She even managed to sort of hug and kiss one boy while I held him for her. Both boys showed off their jumping skills on her bed and shared their toys with her.
The last couple of days we were there she was too tired to see them anymore. She was sort of in a twilight where she wasn't fully asleep or awake, plus she was taking morphine for pain. She could hear them playing in the living room, though, and at one point told my parents to stop talking so she could listen. hehe Typical Grandma, bossing everyone around.
Overall I think the boys had a really good time on the trip. At the hotel they slept with me in one bed while Jim used the other. It was just down the street from the house so we went back there for naps during the day and bedtime around 7pm. We went to Whole Foods in Sarasota and got them avocado, bananas, and mango. I took our little electric chopper thing with us and made them fresh food for lunches and dinners. They tolerated the avocado and didn't really want anything to do with the rest. We discovered that they only really like avocado when it's cold. Room temperature apparently didn't taste as good. Don had never had mango or avocado so we gave him a sample. Thumbs up on the mango, not so much on the avocado.
While we were down there the boys learned some new tricks. Alex likes to stick his tongue out now, especially when he's concentrating on a toy. He's also taken to shaking his head from side to side. We're going to check with the pediatrician, but Dr. Google says it's a normal developmental thing and he'll outgrow it. Zach has started clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. Both boys are becoming excellent sitters. Alex has been rocking on his bottom a little and has fallen on his belly trying to get to toys. Unless his arms are pinned, he can roll over on his back. Zach expects me to retrieve him from his tummy and waits.
We have whining. Constantly. Without end. Alex started first with the "mmmm mmmm mmmm" while he beckons me with arm flapping and hand waving. Zach thought it looked like fun and picked it up soon after. Initially I thought it was cute, kind of like them saying "mom" without the "om" but that was when they did it occasionally. Now it feels like they never stop. Today it was driving me crazy, especially since I was trying to get a couple of things done, like laundry so there aren't two naked boys running around. Alex will even "mmmm" while I'm holing him because he wants me to walk him around.
We're going through CIO round two. The boys are good at going to sleep in their cribs, just not staying asleep there. They want to sleep with me and their level of anger gets pretty high around 4am-5am. Last night I took the baby monitor into the spare bedroom with me so Jim could get some sleep. I also closed their door, which I hated doing because it gets cold in there, but they don't just cry - Zach screams and Alex yells at the top of his lungs.
They also seem to want to eat every hour or two, which is frustrating because I KNOW they aren't hungry. Our trip to Florida and back proved they only really need food every 3-4hrs. On top of breaking those two bad habits, I'm going to start having them sleep in their cribs for naps. If you see me over the next couple of weeks and I look frazzled, you know why.
I posted a few of the boys' 8th month candid shots on their website (pw: jma&z). Alex has such a nice smile and Zach loves to make funny faces.
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