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!