7 Months

I won't lie, the last month or so has been hard. I was discussing with Brad what made it so hard, aside from the obvious sleep deprivation. We decided it's because at some point you're expected to resume normal life. "Sorry, I can't do x, y, or z because of the babies" starts becoming a lame excuse. I assure you, though, for twin parents it really is true. Honestly, I would rather be able to show up for Church on occasion but I really can't most weeks. Lots of people can relate to the time it takes to raise one baby, but two at the same time isn't an economy of scale. I just can't get out the door in twice the amount of time it would for one baby. I find it takes at least three times as long because oh, I forgot a bottle! Someone pooped again! I need to brush my teeth but the other one just pooped! So folks, basically what I am saying is that it's hard right now.

 Anyway, on with my update! This one is probably going to be a long one and have lots of photos. Sorry about that.

If you're friends with me on Facebook you may know that I won a  free mini-session with Teal Tree Studios. Our first attempt was a total bust. Babies were sick with colds and just were not having it. We made up for it with some cute ones in the studio. If you're local, I have some discount cards I can give you. Let me tell you what, I was so happy with Tricia! She is really talented and super accommodating, especially since I wasn't even paying for our session. In short, I highly highly highly recommend her and can't say enough nice things about her. :) All of the pictures in this post are her photos.

Sleep: we're not getting a lot of that. Just is what it is. But the new development in the sleep department is that Amelia will put herself to sleep a lot of the time. Eleanor still is a long way from that, but we're all working on it.

Eating: Solids are going well! Amelia is getting better and better and Eleanor is a pro. We've tried all sorts of things squash, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, peaches, peas, green beans (that was not a hit), carrots, oatmeal, and probably others I'm forgetting. I just introduced sippy cups with water in them to start learning. They're still not quite sure what to do with the cups, but sometimes they surprise themselves and get water out. It usually gets spit right back out but maybe they'll drink it some day.

 Eleanor is the main stinker when it comes to sleep. She gave us about a week of good sleep but resumed her patterns of not wanting to be put down to go to sleep. I'm not certain what else to try that we haven't already and I'm pretty sure we're just going to have to wait it out. She's gotta sleep someday, right?

Eleanor is loving her solids. She picks up and eats puffs and eats pretty much anything I give her. Avocado was the big exception. She left it on her tongue and cried until I removed it from her mouth. Apparently she's just not going to like it. That's ok, I don't really like avocado either. Since we started solids, she's been refusing the formula when I offer it after nursing. This is a good thing because it means she's filling up and getting enough calories from nursing and eating solids, which is what I hoped would happen. She still gets a bottle in the middle of the night because she usually wakes up immediately after I've pumped (have I shared that on here? I wake up at 11:30 or 12 to pump for Amelia. It's the only time I have a chance to get more than an ounce or two) and it's just easier to give her a bottle then. Her latest stats are 25 inches long and 14lbs 9ozs.

She's not crawling yet, but she does manage to scoot a little bit when properly motivated to reach out for a toy. She just rolls everywhere though. She might not need to learn to crawl because she can just roll! She's laughing more and more. Apparently we just weren't amusing enough before. She's overall a very happy baby and is always making smiley faces and making noises. My favorite is when she smiles while sticking her tongue out-- it's so cute!

Amelia is much closer to crawling. She does what I call the "zombie throw". She will be reaching for a toy and will launch herself forward by pushing off her feet. She'll figure out crawling soon and then I'll be in big trouble. She's also laughing so much at everything. If you start laughing she will usually join you. She's also making a lot of screeching noises and blows raspberries all of the time. Her latest stats are 24 inches long and 13lbs 10ozs.

A couple of weeks ago both girls caught a cold but Amelia developed a wheeze. After going to ER and basically being told it was no big deal (most unhelpful thing ever), my pediatrician gave us a nebulizer and after a breathing treatments she was much better. It was not fun dealing with sick babies but going almost 7 months without catching something else is such a blessing. I'm not eager to do that again though.

She's been putting herself to sleep for naps the past couple of days. I get the room all ready by turning on the noise machine, pulling the curtains, getting her in her sleep sack and then I give her the bottle. After she finishes it when she's drowsy but still awake I put her in her crib and she takes her lovey and drifts off to sleep. She stays sleeping for at least an hour and a half too. It's great. It'll be even greater when Eleanor decides to join her. 

Overall, I'm really loving this age. They're run to be around most of the time and even in the sleep deprivation we survive. Someone asked me how I do it the other day and honestly, I don't know. I just do. I don't have any other option really. Even though I'm exhausted and even though I wish sometimes there were multiples of me or that I could hire a mother's helper... I get through it and remember that often the good moments are much more often than the bad moments.