Laughing Babies & Au Pair updates

We've never posted a video on here before, so hopefully it works! Last night, the babies really had some big belly laughs at their silly mommy.

We also decided to make a match with an au pair from Germany. Her name is Theresa. We've met a couple of times over the phone and skype, and have emailed a few times as well. I think it's going to be a great match for us, and we're excited to invite her into our family this August.

One last news - Will decided to roll over last night from back to belly! So, they've both accomplished the goals of rolling in both directions. They don't do these activities frequently, but at least they've done them!

April update

The babies have now passed their half-birthday! They were 6 months old on April 6. They had their 6-month check at the pediatricians last week, and they checked out well! They are really closing that gap with adjusted age vs real age. Will is now 16 lbs, and Liv is 14 lbs. They are both 26" long. Looking at percertiles for comparison, Liv is 54% for height, and 9% for weight, and Will is 28% for height, and 17% for weight (all up from their last check!).

They are both on a special formula now (Nutramagin), as they have digestion issues with milk-based formulas. I'm no longer nursing. Will continues to love baby food - we even have him eating chicken now! As I said in the previous post, I'm making my own baby food, which is continuing to go well, although I must say it was pretty disgusting to make pureed chicken. Liv is still not a big fan, so we're going a lot slower with her. So far she seems to like bananas, but everything else is a bit of a struggle. We'll keep working on it! Will is really good with his hands, so we've let him start to experiment with water in a sippy cup. He gets frustrated with it though, because he'll lift it to drink, but miss and instead hit his forehead. Practice makes perfect, little buddy!

Kiss me!

Liv has learned to roll from back to belly. She does it quite frequently now. Oddly, she's forgotten how to roll the easier way (from belly to back), so she'll get frustrated once she gets "stuck". Will is a bit lazier, and not trying this feat yet. He likes to sit, and even though he can't sit on his own yet, I think he'll do this sooner than Liv.

Marie leaves at the end of June, then her sister Elsa will be here for 8 weeks after that. At the end of August, we'll be getting a new au pair, this time through an agency. I'm in the middle of interviewing now. We were so lucky with Marie; I'm hoping we can be that lucky again with this new girl. I'm interviewing girls from Germany, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. By the next post, I'll have more news on this! For any of you ever considering an au pair, it's really a great way to go. For two or more children, it's cheaper than daycare, and you have someone there so you don't have to transport to and from daycare. You can also have a flexible schedule. Brent and I are not private people, so we love having another "family member" here with us.

Since the last post, Mamaw and Aunt Amanda have visited on separate occasions! It was so nice to have them here. We really wish we all lived closer!!! Grandpa Nemo will be here at the end of next week. Aunt Christine will be back mid-May to help Marie watch them while we attend wedding festivities for Uncle Dave and Aunt-to-be Lauren.

Out for a walk with my friend, Ella!

Precious!

March update

Liv and Will are quickly approaching their half-birthday! They will be 6 months old on April 6th. How time flies! Will is now over 15 lbs, and Liv just over 13 lbs. They both have great head control now. Just a couple of days ago, they decided to both roll over from tummy to back - just seconds apart from each other! Their hand-eye coordination is improving daily - they are really able to see something they want and reach for it, even sometimes grabbing it and then quite proud of themselves!

Liv has had a bit of a rough go lately. For the past couple of weeks, she's had diarrhea, and after testing her diapers at the doctor's office, we found out that there was blood in her stool. So, after a couple more visits, the belief is that she has a late-developing milk allergy. We switched her to a special formula, and I stopped nursing her (which was a really sad day for me!). She's getting better (no more blood), but she still has many dirty diapers every day, which has led to a horrible diaper rash. We give her "naked time" on the floor every day so the wounds (yes, they seem like war wounds to me) get some air for healing. She loves it, although Marie is probably getting sick of doing laundry constantly since she pees through many towels & blankets during her naked time! We're also trying different diaper rash cream remedies, so hopefully it will be better soon!

Will has been eating big boy food (Liv will too, once we get her all cleared up!). He's a fan. I'm making homemade baby food for him, which is a lot easier than I expected (and definitely cheaper!). So far, he's enjoyed sweet potatoes, peas, pears, and butternut squash. We're skipping the rice cereal and oatmeal for now, which I know is the typical first food for babies, but the latest medical journals are saying that these should actually come later because they are harder to digest.

Marie continues to be a God-send. We can't imagine our lives without her, although we will soon enough - she has to leave at the end of June. Her sister will be coming to fill in for about 8 weeks after Marie leaves, but then she's back to school as well. We're hoping to find another au pair to start in the fall, but we just can't imagine anyone as wonderful as Marie.

Liv and Will continue to have many visitors. Aunt Christine came to visit during her spring break, and Mamaw arrives tomorrow. Aunt Amanda will visit in a couple of weeks during her break from work. At the end of April Grandpa Nemo comes. Fun, fun, fun!

Back home again in Indiana...and now back in MA

Wow...it's been a really long time since I've updated this. Sorry, followers! We had a crazy few weeks of traveling to Indiana, going on a ski trip, and general everyday life! And coming up for the next month, we have Aunt Christine, Mamaw, Grandpa Nemo, and Aunt Amanda visiting!

Liv and Will made their first plane trip a success! Marie and I were very exhausted by the time we made it to Greenfield, but the babies were very well behaved. They adjusted to the new environment very well. They met so many family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) and friends. Such social calendars these babies have! They missed their daddy, though!

They are now just over 5 months old. Will weights ~ 14 lbs, and Live ~12.5 lbs. They had their 4 month check the day before we went to Indiana. Both are doing really well! They are starting to close the gap (slowly) on their prematurity, no longer coming in at 0 percentile, but ~20% for height and 5% for weight. Way to go, babies!

The best news is that they are consistently sleeping through the night. It's been 5-6 weeks now. They go to bed around 8pm, and typically sleep until 6am. It's wonderful! We're trying to work on a nap schedule, with moderate success.

They have both been working hard at strengthening their necks, and I promised them they get big boy / big girl food if they continued to do well...so, we tried rice cereal for the first time yesterday. Didn't go all that well, although Will was a bit more interested in it today. We'll keep trying.

They really "talk" all the time now, as well as smile and even laugh! It's so fun to have that interaction with them.

Misc. pictures below!

Woo hoo!!!!

Each night, they have been sleeping just a little bit longer. Last night, they went to bed around 7:45pm, wide awake, cooing and looking around for quite awhile, and eventually put themselves to sleep. They did not wake up until 6:15am!!! THEY BOTH SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! We're not expecting this to happen every night quite yet, but for now, we will celebrate!

I still have to get up in the night to pump because I get too uncomfortable otherwise, and have a really hard time getting back to sleep. If only I could turn off my brain! Until then, I'm getting about 6.5 hours of sleep at night, and I'll take that!

Back to work

I started back to work last week! It's really weird, working from home with the babies just in the other room, having to ignore them when they cry! I have a very understanding manager, so still able to nurse them during the day, which is nice. They seem to be adjusting just fine... :)

They are down to eating 6 times per day now. They take their bottle around 7 or 7:30pm, and typically in bed around 8pm. They are getting up around 2 or 3am to eat, then back to sleep until 6 or 7am (actually went to 8am this morning!). We're loving this schedule! Now, if we can just eliminate the 2/3am feeding, we'll be in heaven! Will now weighs 12 lbs 4 oz, and Liv weighs in at 10 lb 13.5 oz. Each day, they seem to be a little less fussy and a bit more interactive. It's so much fun when they "talk" to us!

Oma and Papa chatting it up with Will.

Aren't they the cutest babies you've ever seen?!?!

Liv, with her "determined look".

Daddy spending some QT with Will and Liv.

We love bathtime!

Sleep!

I think it's happening. Everyone please knock on wood. They are getting closer to sleeping through the night. We're down to getting up only once in the night. It might take awhile to get rid of that one, but it's much better than the 3 times per night we used to have! It took a couple of weeks of trying a new schedule with them, and it seems to be working. I go to bed early and take the early morning feedings, and Brent stays up later to do a bottle late night and then can sleep in a bit. I'm so thankful for Brent doing that late feeding...I'm finally sleeping, and feeling like a human again!

They are down to eating 7 times per day, although I think it might move to 6 very soon because they are not seeming as hungry for the next feeding as they used to. Will is now up to 11 lb 8 oz, and Liv is 10 lb 3.5 oz.

Will is starting to spend a few minutes a day in his bumbo seat. Early Intervention said he was big enough to start short sessions to strengthen his neck. Liv still has a little growing to do, but she'll get there!

They are both cooing and smiling just a little more each day. I still feel like a lot of the day is about preventing/calming a fussy baby, but that's getting less and less all the time. It feels like they should be further along by now, but I have to keep reminding myself that even though they are 3.5 months old, they're really just about 5.5 weeks adjusted age.

Marie can handle it all!

First walk of 2010!