Blake & Amanda: September 2015

My little sweethearts reached 7 months (4.5 months adjusted.) It is so fun to watch them grow and learn. A couple weeks ago they reached a big milestone, starting solid foods! Under the direction of our pediatrician and their NICU dietitian, we were told to start solids when they were at least 6 months actual age, able to hold up their heads really well, and showing interest in eating. That time has come and it has been fun having them try new things. We were told to start them with proteins like beans and beef, but honestly I was afraid of having that stuff puked all over me and wanted to start with something less icky to see how they handle it. We decided to try oatmeal mixed with breastmilk first and it's gone well. They've also tried apples. Jensen loves them but Everett isn't a fan. We started Everett about a week earlier than Jensen because he was showing interest earlier, but they are both enjoying it now. Everett gets mad at me if I'm not spooning it in fast enough. Today we tried beans! Then maybe if I get really brave I'll try giving them beef. Protein is very important to preemies, so I'll be making that a priority. Speaking of food, these boys can eat. They regularly eat 5-7 oz whenever I give them a bottle. Jensen has even taken 8 oz! I don't know how they can fit that much in their little bodies. Their dietitian said it's common for preemies to have big appetites because they're trying to play catch-up. They don't have another doctor's appointment until late November, so I won't know how much they weigh for a while. But I feel like they've got to be growing like weeds because of how much they eat. They've moved up to 3-6 month size clothes a few weeks ago finally.

It's really fun that they are doing their own thing. I guess I never thought too much about it, but even little babies have their own unique way of doing things. For example, Everett is really into grabbing his feet and trying to get them in his mouth, but Jensen couldn't care less about his own feet. He wants to grab other things instead. They have the cutest little expressions, like how Jensen raises his eyebrows when he looks at you and how Everett bobs his head around when looking at things. Everett thinks it's fun to bounce forward and back when he's sitting in our laps. They are both really good at standing now as long as we balance them. Blake likes to help Jensen 'walk' all over things, like onto my face and any other ridiculous place he can find. Everett sucks on his bottom lip a lot lately and it is adorable. They are getting good at laughing. Jensen seems to want us to tickle him whenever we undress him and they both like how daddy's beard tickles them.

Is it getting any easier being a mom of twins? No. In fact it seems to be getting harder. They want to be held constantly (while I walk around, not sit down of course) and want to have 100% of my attention, which is of course impossible. We hit a bit of a rough patch when I got really sick for a couple days and then Everett stopped napping well (which was the only thing keeping me going because Jensen is the worst napper ever) and we had a few bad nights where we didn't get much sleep, so all of us were very grumpy and it was taking everything I had just to keep going. It seems like Everett is starting to go back to his old napping pattern so I'm really hoping that everything is settling down again. It's amazing what a difference it makes in my life whether he takes good naps or not. Although today Everett has been really grumpy so his naps have been terrible again. He seems to be getting a cold or something. :(

Everett has hit 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a couple of times since starting solids, which is amazing! Unfortunately, Jensen still isn't lasting more than 5 hours max so we haven't been able to enjoy it yet, but hopefully soon. I'm really looking forward to sleeping more haha.

They're such cute little guys. :) Here's the photo montage of what they've been up to the last month: