The letter "S" sums up what our past month has been like! Sickness, Sleep, and Safety. I should expound... Sickness - too much; Sleep - too little; Safety - more than enough! There. I could stop my post there. But then we wouldn't have any cute pictures, so I'll keep going :)
My babies are 6 months old, I can't say anything except that I can't believe it! They are SUCH a joy, I love them more each day, each hour. The past month has hands-down been the hardest of their lives (minus the first week at home...nothing on the planet can touch that one!). It started off with them getting their second colds which started with Caden, he gave it to Jenna, then they passed a yucky cough back and forth. All in all, they were sick for two and a half weeks...two VERY long weeks. I honestly can't remember sleeping longer than 3 or so hours at a time before someone would wake up, cough, choke on mucus or need their little nose suctioned out. After we passed that hurdle, the teething monster struck both babies hard. They are trying to gum-destroy anything they can by cramming it in their mouths and gumming it...apparently Caden thinks that includes his sister too...
No teeth have popped thru yet so they are just cranky, soaking wet from drool and NOT sleeping. So add all of that up, times two, and I am worn.slap.out.
I'll get to the "safety" topic at the end. Here is our little update on all other things this past month.
The 6 month appointment went much smoother than the 4 month :) My mom was my special helper this time. The doctor told us some new things we didn't know and alot of things we already knew :) To name a few, he told us that Caden is gonna be a "little guy" with pale, sensitive skin and blue blue eyes. Yep, knew all of that. He thought Jenna had already been eating yellow vegetables because her skin was so "colored" compared to Caden...nope, that's all-natural. The verdict is still out on her eye color...it has darkened alot, but not quite true brown yet. No one told Jenna she was premature when it comes to Height and Weight percentages (see below). The new news is that the kids have allergies! ugh! I was really loosing my mind thinking they were continually sick, but turns out they have the dreaded allergies. Poor things, we take them outside like everyday so no wonder they never got just right. Here is our six month bandaid shot!
Jenna weighed in at an impressive 14lbs 14oz (30%) and measured 25.50 in (45%). Caden is 14lb 11oz (8%) and measured 25.10 in (10%). So even though Caden has been on cereal for 2 months, he still couldn't pass Jenna Girl in weight. So, the Doctor was definitely wanting Caden to weigh more than he did, so Caden is now on the expedited veggie / fruit / solid meal plan. As Ryan said, we know we have a point guard on our hands with Caden or one quick soccer player :) We will see about our Jenna Girl :)
As you saw in previous posts, they are rolling from stomach to back, but not back to stomach yet. They aren't even close! The Ped told me not to worry and to think of them like a month earlier and to give them time :) I also see no signs of them sitting up on their own yet...but again the Ped told me that can change in a day. I am so ready for them to sit up on their own! It will help Caden's reflux and I think they will just be happier over all after they eat when they can stay upright. They have both found their feet and love crunching up and playing with their toes. Caden found his first, then Jenna proceeded about 2 weeks later. Jenna "found her voice" first, then Caden started making funny throat noises about 2 weeks after her!
Food: Caden has really learned how to eat and enjoy his cereal. This all changed when we adjusted their schedule to a 4 hr cycle. I wait about 45 minutes to an hour after I nurse him to feed him his cereal. (It usually takes that long anyway to burp, change and carry both babies downstairs.) He is finally up to 1/4 cup of cereal for 3 meals (8a,12p,4p). I think that before, he was too full and I was feeding him too often so that is why he was so cranky and could never finish more than a tablespoon or so. Now that we have had our 6 month check up with Jenna Girl, she will start cereal this month! This past month, she just sat over in her seat and looked over at Caden and me like "when can I get some of that!?" Once I get Jenna on cereal for about a week, then we are diving head first into the world of Solids for both kids. What a new world I'm about to enter! yikes!
Schedule: The big news this month is that we moved to a 4 hour feeding schedule. Hallelujah...WHY didn't I do this earlier!? It was so natural, they have been ready for a long time so it was easy as pie. Turns out they are eating better and their naps are better. I think I was just feeding them too frequently at the 3 hr schedule especially Caden eating cereal too. I LOVE having the extra hour...the day is a great flow. We are on a consistent 8a, 12p, 4p, 8p.
Sleeping: This is just not a good month to update about this. Since we transitioned to the 4 hour cycle, they take a two hour nap in the morning from 10-noon ; a two hour nap in the afternoon from 2-4pm and Caden takes a ca-nap from 6:30 - 7:30ish and Jenna usually just fights it and stays up. They are down by 8:30 each night and one day, when they are healed from sickness and teething, we hope they will sleep until 7 or 7:30 am. We start our day at 8:00 am still, the are so sleepy still in the morning because they are not getting good, uninterrupted sleep at night. But I'm not complaining about a 8:00 am start time. yea babies!
Clothing: yea for almost being caught up! We are still able to wear 0-3 month separates although I'm taking them out of their rooms and packing them up now. Enough is enough! Plus they are winter clothes so we are getting them out of sight! We are in 3 month separates still, too. They are finally wearing some 6 month outfits..they have room to wiggle, but they are just soooo adorable I can't help but put them in! It is SO fun putting on fun summer outfits and seeing their chunky legs and arms! I'm in love, I'm in love!
Activities: Whew! What a busy month! We went and celebrated Uncle Jim's birthday and had fun hanging out with Uncle Jim and Ty.
The twins had a blast with new babysitters this month: Jason/Caitlin for us to go to the big Twin Consignment Sale and Brandon/Mary Beth for my birthday dinner with Ryan. They had a blast hanging out with their buds. We are so thankful for family and friends willing to tackle the twins for us to go out and have some normalcy!
We spent ALOT of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. They especially loved sitting outside in their Bumbo seats while mommy and daddy replanted our flower bed. The neighbors loved it too...we got lots of on-lookers and comments as people walked around the neighborhood. They are pretty cute,huh?
As I posted earlier, we had another sleepover at GiGi and Papa T's house. We also had fun at a great playdate with our friends. Caden and Jenna love hanging out with John David and Kailyn. They will be great buds!
Caitlin showing the kids how to go down the curly pole...
My aunt gave us a great coupon to JC Penny so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a Spring / Easter / 6 month pic of the twins. Pictures to be posted later, but let me warn you...you wont be able to handle the cute-ness that was captured. Oh my.
I had my 28th birthday on the 14th and although my actual Birth DAY was super normal and routine...(ummm nobody told the twins it was my birthday and they were supposed to sleep thru the night and be happy and chipper all day!hello!?) I had a good time with my two presents. :)We also had a great Birthday Breakfast with our friends JD and Kailyn. Ryan took me out Friday night so that was nice to get out and just have some adult time. We also celebrated with Ryan's fam at one of my favorite places...IHOP!
My baby sis had a wedding shower that was so much fun! The Twins were the unexpected surprise guests. They were supposed to be here at home with Ryan, but the Tornado's that came through our area this past weekend changed those plans!
Which brings me to the biggest part of the past month. I'm sure you all heard about the Tornado's that hit our area this past weekend. Well, it came a little too close to home on all levels. The tornado that went over Raleigh went right over my parents neighborhood and house. Literally, folks. My mom was home alone at the time and tried to get our dog and Snuggle with her in the bathroom. Chiquita (their outside dog) wouldn't come in so we are not sure what happened to him during those 20 seconds. His house ended up in the woods in the adjacent lot! My Dad was coming home from some errands and got about a mile away...when he tried to get in their neighborhood, trees had fallen (there is one main road in) and blocked the entrance. From the way things looked, he really feared for my mom in the house so he parked in a parking lot about a .5 mile away from the house and ran...ran through the woods going over huge trees and mud. Bless his heart. This is what he found at his house:
It is hard to see, but look down the road and see that big tree across the bridge? Yep...that is where my husband and baby twins were just a few moments before. Makes my stomach hurt to think about it. ugh
Inside, he found my mom hysterical. Not because she was afraid of the noise, weather, damage to the house etc... but because she had just received a text, right before the tornado went over, from Ryan that he was almost to the house with the twins. (Ryan and the twins were headed over there for the evening to hang out...I had a girls night planned with my girl friend). The cell phones all went wacky so my mom couldn't get in touch with Ryan. She was afraid they were under a tree in the neighborhood somewhere! So scary! So where was Ryan? Thankfully, in the protective arms of God! As soon as he turned into the neighborhood, the tornado went over, he saw giant (and I mean giant) trees fall right in front of him blocking the road. He took a second and knew he had to get away from trees so he u-turned and tried to get to a parking lot up the road. Trees had already blocked the streets so he weaved in and out and got in a wide open area. He said everything took 20 seconds at most and it was over. If you still dont have chills, when he turned around and tried to find a way in the neighborhood (he too was worried about Mom since he couldn't get her on the phone), there were trees lying exactly where he had pulled over just a few minutes earlier. All this was happening as I was getting a pedicure in Northwest Raleigh...I had no idea! Everyone was shaken up when we saw the damage and realized the extent of the storm. In fact, my parents live about a mile through the woods from the mobile home park where those four little children died. Just so sad to see the neighborhood I grew up in destroyed! I played with my friends in alot of houses that have trees splitting them wide open now and big trees we used to swing from are covering roads and yards. Ryan, my Dad, some friends from our church and my parents church all came and cut down trees ALL DAY Sunday...just to get the front yard clean and the trees off the house. They are still without power, so please pray that comes back quickly although I'll admit, its been nice having extra arms around here! (they have been staying with us while the power is out).In fact, Saturday night, my mom and sister had to pack suitcases and carry them through the woods to get out to a main road where my Dad left the car earlier. They said they felt like refugees coming out of the woods onto the road. haha wish I could have seen that! I'm so grateful for God's sovereignty and protection! He has been so good to us. In another note about "safety" this month, He protected Caden when he rolled off the couch. Yep. My heart stopped, but he flipped himself and landed on his tummy and just popped up and looked around like it was tummy time! Never cried, nothing! I had just finished nursing them and was laying J down on my right side when Caden rolled right off my left side. We have now moved to me nursing them sitting on the floor...not fun, not comfortable, but necessary.
So....I'm tired just writing about how tired and busy we have been this past month. Looking forward to more warm weather, beach trips and cute summer outfits :)
