Monday, February 28, 2011

(Grocery) Shopping Chronicles

With two babies, you have to be creative in how you shop, if you are going to dare attempt it on your own ;) I think I have tried just about every way you can imagine to take both babies shopping.

  • Both babies in cart (Only works for smaller trips... as you can see, not much room for groceries. Picture taken about a month ago):
  • Both babies in stroller, momma carrying a shopping basket (Easiest to set up, but only for very short trips)
  • One baby in Moby Wrap, one baby in top seat area of cart
  • One baby in Moby Wrap, one baby in bottom area of cart (Still not a ton of room for groceries, but I feel like the car seat is more stable. Poor Adam is buried under groceries, but he doesn't mind. Picture taken today.):
I just had to snap pictures of these funny moments.

When I see moms with three (or more) kids, with some/all of them mobile, I just watch and wonder how they do it!!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Sitting Up

My sweet boys sitting up on their own this morning! Matthew on left, Adam on right.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

6 Months

We made it to 6 months! Adam & Matthew are changing so fast, it is truly amazing. (In above picture, Adam is in front in the Moby Wrap, Matthew is on my side)

They:
  • Find, reach for, grab and play with toys
  • Sit up without asssistance for a good amount of time
  • Push up on their hands, lifting their chest completely up (for long periods of time)
  • Can entertain themselves for long periods (my personal favorite achievement, haha ;)
  • Notice each other, smile & laugh at each other
  • Laugh at the cats
  • Pet the cats
  • Are completely captivated by people and their surroundings. Even if they are nursing & dad comes into the room, they both immediately look at him & smile.
  • Grab their toes & chew on them while on their back
  • Flip from front to back easily. Matthew can flip back to front. I am pretty sure Adam can too, but I don't think he wants to ;)
  • Are eating solids. I started them 8 days before their 6 month birthday. So far they are eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, acorn squash and peas. They are also sipping water from a straw or a cup. (They aren't very good at the sippy cup yet)
  • LOVE to stand and "walk" with us holding their hands
  • No words yet, but hopefully soon!
  • Take 2-3 naps a day. Naps are starting to become longer & further apart.
  • Usually sleep from about 7/8pm - 6/7am, waking up only once to nurse.
  • Weigh 14 lbs 9 oz (Adam) and 14 lbs 11.5 oz (Matthew). 5-10th %
  • Are both 26 in. long. 25th %

They are starting to develop their own personalities.

Adam:

  • More even tempered (Slower to smile, but also slower to bawl. Also has a softer cry.)
  • More sensitive. Loud noises or people making strange faces can make him cry.
  • Goes to sleep easier.
  • "Coos" while crying
  • Eats more solid food
  • Less picky about his solid food, except it CANNOT be cold. The moment it gets cold, he rejects it. (But he gobbles down everything that is warm, including peas)
  • Has a big heart. He likes/notices Matthew more than Matthew reciprocates the feelings :) (so far)

Matthew

  • Easier to make laugh, but also gets more upset, and with a louder cry. He seems to experience a wide range of emotions (quickly)
  • "Grunts" while crying. (We can now tell their cries apart on the monitor)
  • Is "done" eating solid foods much faster than Adam
  • Takes longer to go to sleep
  • Sticks his fingers in my mouth while he nurses.
  • Hates peas (so far)
  • Smiles very easily. "Flirts" with all of the girls (really!)

I am so happy I made it to 6 months. So far, every month has gotten easier & more fun. I do still feel overwhelmed at times. And, I admit, I can feel jealous of my friends who have singleton babies. I am jealous they can hold their baby on his own, that they are much more mobile (stick him in a moby wrap and you're good to go), that they can breastfeed one baby at a time (easier to cuddle & bond, and easier to travel).

I was actually having a pity party for myself the morning my mom & I took my precious babies for a walk. After a while of walking, this is how we found them:


They looked so peaceful together, it made my heart happy :) I really really love that they have each other, that they have a built in playmate, that they share a room (so I worry less about them being lonely at night), and that they will (hopefully) be friends for life.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Food, Food, Food

Today, just 8 days shy of their 6 month birthday, Adam & Matthew had their first solid food (whole grain rice cereal). They loved it!

I will admit, my goal was to exclusively breastfeed for a full 6 months. But, the boys were consistenty acting hungry after nursing. I felt I should either give formula or solid food, so rice cereal it was. They couldn't get the food fast enough, it was so funny!

I was excited they took to solids so well. So, I pureed some organic sweet potatoes for them, nixed it with water, and stored it in these nifty containers from Babies R Us for later:



The freezer is filling up fast with baby milk/food :)