The babies turn 8 months today. I know everyone says it, but I can't believe how fast it's gone. And while I'm sad that they are growing up so fast, I am so enjoying each new stage they reach. So here's a summary of what they are up to at 8 months.
Micah:
- Loves the cats! Squeals when he sees them. And if he's crying, I pretty much just have to ask where the kitty is or let him see the cat and he calms right down. The few times I've let him pet the cat, he grabs a fistful of fur and pulls. We need to work on that one.
- Loves his daddy! Glen gets the same squeal out of Micah when he gets home from work. He'll watch as Glen walks around the room putting things away.
- Loves Luke! I was taking some pictures of the boys last week and had Micah sitting on the floor while I went to get Luke. As soon as I set Luke down next to Micah, he went crazy, reaching for Luke, kissing Luke's shoulder, squealing. So cute!
- Still lays on his belly and flails his arms and legs. Occasionally he will propel himself forward or push himself backward, but still no crawling. I'm alright with that...as long as he'll learn it eventually.
-Says "na na na na", "mmmmmmm", "ma ma ma ma ma", and several other combinations of sounds.
- Sits up perfectly. Still tips over sometimes though.
- Fickle about eating. The last two days he's eaten solid food just fine, but that was after about 3 days of refusing anything from a spoon. It's pretty cute when he clamps his mouth shut and turns his head away. Much cuter when he actually eats, though. Seems to really like pears. When he wouldn't eat anything else, I was able to get him to eat pureed pears.
- Mostly seems to like baths. He's bathing in the big tub now. We have a bath seat that hooks onto the side of the tub and keeps them upright in the water. He really doesn't like it when I turn the faucet on and acts like he's scared. When I take him out of the bath seat and let him sit in the regular tub part, he splashes like crazy. And squeals. :)
-Slept last night until 5:15. He did have a couple wake-ups, but was able to get himself back to sleep every time within a few minutes. Except for once at 9:00. I went in to him and uncovered him, gave him a little cuddle and he went back to sleep.
Luke:
- Loves Micah. He loves making Micah laugh. Yesterday I caught him throwing his hands down, to which Micah laughed. So he did it again and Micah laughed again. I got it on video.
- Has been a finicky eater. We're on day 5 of a good eating streak after several days of refusal or spitting. I haven't found anything he won't eat lately, except green beans. I need to try them again and see if he's changed his mind.
- Army crawling after toys and Micah and the cat. He pulls himself with his hands/arms and pushes a little with his feet.
- Doing so much better with sleep. After he eats in the middle of the night, we've been able to lay him down awake in his crib and he lays there quietly until he drifts off to sleep. He's also usually falling asleep at nap time within a few minutes.
-Yesterday I was remembering the first 4 or so months of his life when he would scream anytime he was riding in the car. I'm so glad that's over. He can find and put in his pacifier now when he wants it. I can't remember the last time I had to reach back and try to comfort him while in the car.
- His hair is getting pretty long in front. It's almost to his eyes, which means I think I'm going to have to give him a trim soon. I definitely don't want a straight across blunt cut across his forehead. I don't know how I'm going to do it.
- Had his last physical therapy session with Marge this week. Only because we're moving away. She said she typically works with kids 6-8 weeks and then takes a 2-3 month break. Sadly we'll have to find a new therapist once we get to Texas. Marge is happy with his progress, but is still concerned about his torticollis. She left me with stretches and exercises to help him with this while we are between therapists.
- Has outgrown the baby bathtub in the sink and is now using the bath seat in the big tub. He doesn't sit up well enough for me to just let him sit in the tub except when I can have both hands ready to grab him at any instant. When I do let him sit in the regular tub, he loves to splash.
-The nursery ladies at church talk about how he's always trying to figure things out. I'm noticing that at home too, he really studies his toys and using his fingers to study them. They also talk about how busy he his and how much he rolls around. Yep, that's my boy. Actually, he got that from Daddy.
-Is right this minute trying to escape from the bouncer. He pushes with his feet so his hips are in the air and he turns his body sideways. He's a strong little guy.
I need to weigh the boys. But I'm going to publish this now so I don't lose it (like has already happened once today). Maybe I'll also figure out an easier way to add pictures so I can add lots of them.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Catch Up
The boys are keeping me busy, busy, busy. Though I realized today that sometime recently things have started getting easier. I don't really know when that happened, but it must not have been too long ago. Maybe sometime this seventh month of their lives. While it doesn't feel as exhausting, they maybe are keeping me busier...or more vigilant. Now that they are rolling proficiently I really can't keep them in the same place for very long. They are also seeming to get bored quicker so I'm spending more time trying to entertain them.
The big news is that Luke started army crawling last week. I had left the boys in the living room on the area rug and went into the kitchen to do something. I heard the sound of hands slapping the tile which always makes me think someone is crawling, but I knew that wasn't the case. When I came out of the kitchen, Luke was halfway between where I left him and where I was standing. I was shocked. He was chasing this little rolly toy and every time he touched it, it rolled further away from him. It was quite amazing. He doesn't get anywhere fast, and he hasn't left the living room except for that one time, so I really haven't done any baby proofing.
Eating is going better. Well, they flip flop with their issues. I had them both eating well, and then Luke started gagging on his food again. Then they were both eating well and then Micah started refusing to open his mouth. We have an evaluation set up with an occupational therapist for next week. I start to feel like OT is a waste, and then we start having issues again. At least if she says there really is nothing to worry about, I can let it go and just continue to plug away. I'm hoping she can give me some kind of guidance as far as introducing solid food, transitions to table foods, etc. I've been continuing to make our baby food. So far the boys have had green beans, squash, yams, sweet potatoes, avocado, peaches, pears, apples, banana, and a combination of pears and bananas and bananas and avocado. Most meals I mix in oatmeal with the pureed food. I tried giving them plain oatmeal with breastmilk and they both gagged on it. I guess it's that bad. I pureed some mango today to try with them. It's a little more textured, so I'm not sure what they'll think.
Sleep is improving. I hate to write that, but we've had several days of gradual improvement, so hopefully I'm past the point of jinxing myself. We started a new program that has us stay in the room with them while they go to sleep. We decided to take 30 minute shifts until the boys were asleep. The first night it took 1 hour 15 minutes for Micah to fall asleep (Luke was less than that). The second night it took Micah 1 hour to fall asleep (Luke was less than that). The third night was 15 minutes. The fourth night was less than 5 minutes. Tonight it was more like 10 minutes I think. We are doing the same thing at nap time and that's gotten so much better too. I thought I would really miss rocking them to sleep, but that hasn't been the case. I'm enjoying my extra time that I'm not rocking them. Middle of the night wake-ups are better too, though we'll be working on that a bit longer. I'm not ready to drop the night time feeds, but the last two nights the only wake-ups have been to eat. Luke ate twice last night and Micah ate once. It's seeming that once Luke wakes up, whether it's the middle of the night or early from nap time, once he's awake, he's not going back to sleep, unless he eats (which I don't do at nap time). I don't know what we're going to do about that. I'm not sure how long he would cry if I didn't feed him at night - at least an hour, we experienced that a couple nights ago. It doesn't make sense to have him cry for an extended amount of time during the middle of the day. The author of this sleep program says early wake-ups from naps are common for up to a month. Yikes! At least he's sleeping longer than he was before we started this sleep training. We took his paci away again. It's so hard to know that if he had it, he'd calm down and go to sleep, but we also know he wouldn't sleep as long if he had it. I guess the good news is that we won't have to wean him off it later. What else? We decided to keep them in the same room. I was worried about them waking each other, but it has only been a problem a couple times. I wanted to be able to stay beside both of them as they were falling asleep, which meant keeping them in the same room. I think it was a good decision.
I'm not sure what we're going to do about the middle of the night feedings. I know they probably don't need to eat in the middle of the night, but I think they truly do wake up hungry and I hate to deny them milk if they're hungry. I've thought about making them wait an extra hour each night until they've waited all night, but I don't think that's going to work. I've thought about offering them a bottle instead of nursing. If they're truly hungry, they'll take the bottle (they still hate the bottles most of the time). And just maybe they'll decide that if they can't nurse in the middle of the night, it's not worth waking up. I think that approach would require that Glen get up and give them the bottles and I hate to ask him to do that, especially during the week. If I only had one baby, I think I would continue to feed them at night, but with two babies wanting to eat one or two times a night, it means I'm still getting up 2-4 times each night. Better than what it was, but still not getting me the sleep I need.
I love my boys so much. This is such a fun age. I love watching them interact with each other. And I love watching them try to figure things out. And as I watch their little personalities, I wonder if they'll remain the same as they grow. Micah is a little more timid when it comes to rough play and loud noises. Luke seems to embrace the wild play a bit better. Luke really studies things and watches toys as he plays with them. The ladies in the church nursery call Micah "the Supervisor" because he's content to just watch everyone else. God has blessed us so much with Luke and Micah. I know I didn't deserve such a gift, but I'm so incredibly grateful that God gave them to us to raise.
The big news is that Luke started army crawling last week. I had left the boys in the living room on the area rug and went into the kitchen to do something. I heard the sound of hands slapping the tile which always makes me think someone is crawling, but I knew that wasn't the case. When I came out of the kitchen, Luke was halfway between where I left him and where I was standing. I was shocked. He was chasing this little rolly toy and every time he touched it, it rolled further away from him. It was quite amazing. He doesn't get anywhere fast, and he hasn't left the living room except for that one time, so I really haven't done any baby proofing.
Eating is going better. Well, they flip flop with their issues. I had them both eating well, and then Luke started gagging on his food again. Then they were both eating well and then Micah started refusing to open his mouth. We have an evaluation set up with an occupational therapist for next week. I start to feel like OT is a waste, and then we start having issues again. At least if she says there really is nothing to worry about, I can let it go and just continue to plug away. I'm hoping she can give me some kind of guidance as far as introducing solid food, transitions to table foods, etc. I've been continuing to make our baby food. So far the boys have had green beans, squash, yams, sweet potatoes, avocado, peaches, pears, apples, banana, and a combination of pears and bananas and bananas and avocado. Most meals I mix in oatmeal with the pureed food. I tried giving them plain oatmeal with breastmilk and they both gagged on it. I guess it's that bad. I pureed some mango today to try with them. It's a little more textured, so I'm not sure what they'll think.
Sleep is improving. I hate to write that, but we've had several days of gradual improvement, so hopefully I'm past the point of jinxing myself. We started a new program that has us stay in the room with them while they go to sleep. We decided to take 30 minute shifts until the boys were asleep. The first night it took 1 hour 15 minutes for Micah to fall asleep (Luke was less than that). The second night it took Micah 1 hour to fall asleep (Luke was less than that). The third night was 15 minutes. The fourth night was less than 5 minutes. Tonight it was more like 10 minutes I think. We are doing the same thing at nap time and that's gotten so much better too. I thought I would really miss rocking them to sleep, but that hasn't been the case. I'm enjoying my extra time that I'm not rocking them. Middle of the night wake-ups are better too, though we'll be working on that a bit longer. I'm not ready to drop the night time feeds, but the last two nights the only wake-ups have been to eat. Luke ate twice last night and Micah ate once. It's seeming that once Luke wakes up, whether it's the middle of the night or early from nap time, once he's awake, he's not going back to sleep, unless he eats (which I don't do at nap time). I don't know what we're going to do about that. I'm not sure how long he would cry if I didn't feed him at night - at least an hour, we experienced that a couple nights ago. It doesn't make sense to have him cry for an extended amount of time during the middle of the day. The author of this sleep program says early wake-ups from naps are common for up to a month. Yikes! At least he's sleeping longer than he was before we started this sleep training. We took his paci away again. It's so hard to know that if he had it, he'd calm down and go to sleep, but we also know he wouldn't sleep as long if he had it. I guess the good news is that we won't have to wean him off it later. What else? We decided to keep them in the same room. I was worried about them waking each other, but it has only been a problem a couple times. I wanted to be able to stay beside both of them as they were falling asleep, which meant keeping them in the same room. I think it was a good decision.
I'm not sure what we're going to do about the middle of the night feedings. I know they probably don't need to eat in the middle of the night, but I think they truly do wake up hungry and I hate to deny them milk if they're hungry. I've thought about making them wait an extra hour each night until they've waited all night, but I don't think that's going to work. I've thought about offering them a bottle instead of nursing. If they're truly hungry, they'll take the bottle (they still hate the bottles most of the time). And just maybe they'll decide that if they can't nurse in the middle of the night, it's not worth waking up. I think that approach would require that Glen get up and give them the bottles and I hate to ask him to do that, especially during the week. If I only had one baby, I think I would continue to feed them at night, but with two babies wanting to eat one or two times a night, it means I'm still getting up 2-4 times each night. Better than what it was, but still not getting me the sleep I need.
I love my boys so much. This is such a fun age. I love watching them interact with each other. And I love watching them try to figure things out. And as I watch their little personalities, I wonder if they'll remain the same as they grow. Micah is a little more timid when it comes to rough play and loud noises. Luke seems to embrace the wild play a bit better. Luke really studies things and watches toys as he plays with them. The ladies in the church nursery call Micah "the Supervisor" because he's content to just watch everyone else. God has blessed us so much with Luke and Micah. I know I didn't deserve such a gift, but I'm so incredibly grateful that God gave them to us to raise.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Quick Updates
Micah got his first tooth on Sunday (6/6/10); his bottom right tooth. The left one looks like it's just about to break the surface. I guess it's time to buy some baby tooth brushes and start that with the boys.
Micah also has started pushing up onto his knees when he's on his belly. It won't be long before he's up on all fours on a regular basis. Then I will need to worry about crawling. Yikes. I don't want to delay their development or hamper it in any way, but I'd love it if they held off on crawling until after our move next month.
Luke is making progress with physical therapy. He's getting stronger and is sitting up now for several minutes unassisted. I'm so proud of him. The therapy wears him out and he doesn't really enjoy it, but I know he's working hard and he making improvements.
Micah has started squealing when he sees the cats. It's really very cute. Yesterday he squealed when Glen got home. Glen's glad that Micah shows as much excitement seeing him as he does for the cats. :)
We took the boys swimming on Sunday. Well, not really swimming, but sitting in the water. It took a few minutes for them to warm up to it, but then they really got into splashing the water. I took them to a friend's pool on Monday and since there was only one of me, they had to take turns with me. They weren't quite so enthusiastic about it that time. I think they liked being in the water, but there wasn't a lot of splashing or excitement. The one that was left in the pack and play to wait would get fussy. It wasn't the most enjoyable time for me. It was nice to be in the cool water and warm, ok HOT, sunshine, but not the relaxing time I had last summer in her pool when I was pregnant. I think Glen and I will try to take them to the community pool this weekend. It's a nice outing, but not something I can do on my own with two babies.
I just love these boys so much. It's been a kind of difficult couple weeks with the sleep issues, but I find myself feeling all warm and fuzzy when I'm cuddling them, even in the middle of the night. I fantasize about the night I'll be able to sleep all night, or even 4 hours in a stretch, but I bet I'll look back at these past seven months of multiple night wakings and miss it. Does that make me crazy? We're starting a new sleep training program soon. I'm reading up on it this week. We may start it this weekend. Although we have a lot going on and the recommendation is that you stay home for about two weeks while establishing the new sleep habits. So, I don't know what we'll do about that. I don't want to give up outings during the week and on the weekends, but I also totally see the need to teach Luke and Micah to go to sleep on their own and to sleep through the night. I wish all of this was easier.
Micah also has started pushing up onto his knees when he's on his belly. It won't be long before he's up on all fours on a regular basis. Then I will need to worry about crawling. Yikes. I don't want to delay their development or hamper it in any way, but I'd love it if they held off on crawling until after our move next month.
Luke is making progress with physical therapy. He's getting stronger and is sitting up now for several minutes unassisted. I'm so proud of him. The therapy wears him out and he doesn't really enjoy it, but I know he's working hard and he making improvements.
Micah has started squealing when he sees the cats. It's really very cute. Yesterday he squealed when Glen got home. Glen's glad that Micah shows as much excitement seeing him as he does for the cats. :)
We took the boys swimming on Sunday. Well, not really swimming, but sitting in the water. It took a few minutes for them to warm up to it, but then they really got into splashing the water. I took them to a friend's pool on Monday and since there was only one of me, they had to take turns with me. They weren't quite so enthusiastic about it that time. I think they liked being in the water, but there wasn't a lot of splashing or excitement. The one that was left in the pack and play to wait would get fussy. It wasn't the most enjoyable time for me. It was nice to be in the cool water and warm, ok HOT, sunshine, but not the relaxing time I had last summer in her pool when I was pregnant. I think Glen and I will try to take them to the community pool this weekend. It's a nice outing, but not something I can do on my own with two babies.
I just love these boys so much. It's been a kind of difficult couple weeks with the sleep issues, but I find myself feeling all warm and fuzzy when I'm cuddling them, even in the middle of the night. I fantasize about the night I'll be able to sleep all night, or even 4 hours in a stretch, but I bet I'll look back at these past seven months of multiple night wakings and miss it. Does that make me crazy? We're starting a new sleep training program soon. I'm reading up on it this week. We may start it this weekend. Although we have a lot going on and the recommendation is that you stay home for about two weeks while establishing the new sleep habits. So, I don't know what we'll do about that. I don't want to give up outings during the week and on the weekends, but I also totally see the need to teach Luke and Micah to go to sleep on their own and to sleep through the night. I wish all of this was easier.
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