9 months old!

Hilarious because the twins are almost 17 months old BUT posting these drafts like a crazy person  ;)


My sweet babes were 9 months old on January 27th.  We actually had a well visit with the doctor so YAY for no sickness!


FEEDING:  Both babies nurse 6 times a day and they are getting solid foods twice a day now also.  We started with solids in the evening because Lonnie is home but now I give them something for lunch also.  

Benton:  This boy loves to eat.  He nurses great but when he is done he is done.  He doesn't linger anymore.  He just hops off and is ready to do something else when he is finished eating.  And he lets me know when he is hungry.  He is happy all the time so if he is fussing it is because he wants to eat.  He has bitten me a couple of times and there is no pain like the pain of a bitten nipple.  Man.  It caught me so off guard the first couple of times it happened that I literally squealed and scared him and Emery.  Blakely never did this so I'm not sure what to do about it.  He isn't making it a habit just every so often he bites down right when he latches on.  Whew...lets move past that before we get top teeth, okay buddy?  

He LOVES solids.  The only thing he has turned his nose up at is broccoli.  I just added a little bit of carrots to it and he ate it fine.  I have started giving him some lumpier purees and some lightly mashed rice to work on textures and he does well with that.  I don't think I could pick out his "favorite" food with now as he will eat anything you give him.  Ha!  I added in the lunch time solids a few weeks ago because I thought he was ready and starting to depend on the solid foods a bit more and I was right.  He scarfs it right down.  When he is ready for another bite he slaps the tray on his highchair over and over until you give it to him.  He doesn't like when he has to wait for sister to take a bite!  

Emery:  My sweet girl likes to linger while nursing unlike Benton.  I usually have to set him down so he won't try to pull her ear or poke her in the eye while she chills out for a bit.  I tandem nurse during the day and I nurse them individually (lying down) for the first feeding in the morning.  I really enjoy nursing them individually because it is so much easier!  But it would take up so much of my time to do it like that every time so I just enjoy the times when it does happen.  

She is finally starting to enjoy eating solids.  Up until the last couple of weeks she would eat a little bit but she could really go without it.  She didn't care one way or another so if she wasn't in the mood then there way NO WAY you were getting her to eat a bite of anything.  Now she is consistently eating every evening and even most lunches also.  It's like my girl finally got hungry!  She is so so messy.  I call her my little moving target when feeding her.  She will open her mouth but then she moves her head side to side and up and down.  It;s almost like she is so excited about it but doesn't know to be still so I can get that spoon in there!  

SLEEPING:  Oh I don't even really want to type this because I don't want to jinx it but the babies have slept through the night (800am to 7-730am for the last 5 days).  All the praise hands and heart eyes.  

Benton:  Oh little man.  You are the sweetest boy and you sleep so wonderfully during the day.  But you have nearly killed me with your night sleep...or should I say night wakings.  Whew.  Mama has been oh so exhausted.  Like I don't remember ever NOT being exhausted.  One night you started screaming about 1000pm when I had just laid my head to the oh so comfy pillow.  I literally started crying.  I told Lonnie I couldn't do it.  There was no way you were hungry, you had a clean diaper and you weren't sick.  I knew you lost you pacifier but I can't give that thing back to you 4011 times a night.  WHYYYY were you screaming??  Typically I would let you fuss for a while but when you started screaming I would come in because the thought of you waking your sister and then having 2 screaming babies overwhelmed me.  But that night I didn't do it.  I let you cry.  Your sister woke up and you both cried.  Then the greatest thing happened.  After about 10 minutes of on and off crying your hand came across your pacifier in the bed.  You brought that thing to your mouth, laid right down and went back to sleep.  Once you stopped crying, Emery did too and went back to sleep.  So the next day I went out and bought a LOT more pacifiers and you sleep with about 10 in the bed with you.  You know to search around until you find one and you usually fall asleep with one in your mouth and at least one in your hands.  Pretty cute.  

We had a few more nights where you would wake up and cry a little but nothing terrible.  Nothing that lasted more than 5 minutes.  And Emery hasn't woken up since that very first time.  And for the last 5 days you haven't even been waking up at all.  So YAY!  Please keep this up.  I know you don't need to nurse in the middle of the night so let's just stay on this awesome sleep train.  I feel like I could run a marathon!  ;)  

Emery:  Oh my good little night sleeper!  You only wake up in the night if you are sick or getting sick (which we have had a lot of that the last 2 months).  At night you go right to sleep when we put you in your crib and you only move a little bit during the night.  

But you hate falling asleep for naps during the day.  Oh girl.  You could be the nap fighting champion.  We have gotten better at this though.  Usually for morning nap you don't fight it anymore and you go right to sleep.  The afternoon nap is usually a different story though.  You are typically so so tired so you just scream and scream.  I try to pat you on the back and that usually works but sometimes I just have to let you cry and then you fall right to sleep after a couple of minutes.  Once you do go to sleep you sleep great though!

DAILY ROUTINE:  This is the first month where I feel like I can say we actually have a daily routine.  I mean we have had a routine going but some days there were 2 naps and some days there were 3.  Some days there were 7 nursings and some days there were 6.  I think most of the disarray stemmed form the fact that both have been sick for the past 2 months.  That always throws things completely off.  BUT!  We are on the mend and the schedule is working really well.  Which I am sure means y'all are going to change it up on me next week.  ;)

700-730am:  wake up and nurse
730-900:  play time
900-1100 or 1130:  nap
1130:  nurse
1200 or 1230: eat solids
200:  nurse
200-400: nap (Benton usually wakes up about 4 and Emery usually sleeps until 430 or 500)
430:  nurse (sometimes I have to nurse Benton before Em wakes up because he is READY)
530:  solids
630: nurse again (I would like to cut this nursing out soon.  I think if they can eat at 500 and then again at 800 with solids in between I will.  I tried one night and they were PISSED by 700 and hungry so we aren't quite there yet.)
830: nurse and bed time

A FEW THINGS THIS MONTH:

The biggest thing this month is that I now have 2 very much crawling all over my house babies.  I can't take my eyes off of them or they are in the next room.  I lost Emery for about 3 minutes the other day.  I was panicked even though I knew she could only be in the kitchen, living room or dining room.  She is so fast!  

The other big thing this month is they both had RSV.  Ugh.  We had just gotten healthy and then 3 days later, BOOM.  It happened on the weekend and, of course, Lonnie was out of town.  I had to take them to the children's urgent care clinic and sure enough it was RSV.  Their oxygen levels were low but not super scary low, Benton's worse then Emery's.  It hit him harder than her, overall.  They got breathing treatments and her levels came right back up and her wheezing stopped.  Benton's came up but not perfect and he was still wheezing so he got a shot of steroids.  Emery also had another ear infection (her third) which I knew was going to happen because if you have ever had a baby with RSV then you know the amount of snot that pours out.  Benton's ears were fine at that time but when we followed up with our regular pediatrician 2 days later they were not.  So both babies are back on antibiotics (their third round and i really hate that) so now they both have thrush and a wicked diaper rash.  BUT!  They are not snotty and only have a small cough so they are on the mend.  I know this is going to be it.  They are NOT going to catch any more junk.  Please.  I am so happy to have my happy smiling babies back!  


Emery got her second tooth 1-11

Emery started officially crawling on 12-31

Benton officially crawls 1-12 but still forgets and army crawls anyway.  

Emery tried to pull up

Emery learned how to go from laying down to sitting up first but they now both do it all the time.  

Benton gives the best slobbery kisses

they both love when Daddy gets home.  

had to lower both cribs bc they get on their knees and lean over the rail.  

put 5 pacifiers in each crib and letting them cry

Benton can pat a cake

Emery pulling up some.  Benton not yet although he is sturdier on his feet.