Luci and Nicholas at Six Months (*Updated)
10 Comments posted by Kristi on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Luci and Nicholas are six months old today, and there have been lots of changes since last month.
Also, several friends with twins have told me that twins who share a room learn to sleep through eachother's cries. I haven't found this to be the case at all. When I hear one of the babies crying (or even moderately fussing) on the monitor, I'm busting into their room faster than you can say, "Please dear God, don't let the nap end!", to grab the awake twin and sprint with him/her down the stairs in order to preserve the sleep of the other twin.
Luci's sleeping still remains a mystery to me. At times she seems to fight sleep. She's exhausted, and crying with her eyes closed, but she just will not settle, no matter what we try to do to help her. I'm very anxious to hear what her pediatrician says this week when we visit for their six-month checkup.
Other changes this month include more enjoyable tummy-time, both babies rolling from tummy to back (no back to tummy rolling yet, though), and the start of solid food. More on this to come later.
After a winter that seemed to last six years, spring is inching its way into upstate NY, so I am getting them outside, along with Isabella, as much as possible. I have been cooped up much too long inside a fast-becoming-waaay-too-small house, so anytime the weather is even moderately nice (Read: Not hailing and thunderstorm-free) I bundle up the kids and head out. We're taking lots of walks now, and with Isabella, Luci, and Nicholas (and the twins' infant carriers) loaded onto my gigantic, 35-pounds-when-empty stroller, I'm pushing close to 100 pounds, so hello future gun show! I've also taken a few more trips with just the kiddos and no extra help, and surprisingly, the world kept spinning on its axis. As this is essential to my freedom, the more trips like this I can take, the better.
(Shannon-check out the shoes! They live again.)
They've reached the stage where nursing is boring and they often spend a lot of time pulling away and looking at what's going on in the room, or the ceiling, the windows, etc. I rememeber feeding Isabella in the dark in my bedroom when she started doing the same thing. Oh, and Luci has begun the charming habit of biting me while nursing. She doesn't have teeth yet, but I have my suspicions that both she and Nicholas are teething. Of course, I thought Isabella was early on too, and we all know how that turned out.
Their fine motor skills have really developed over the past month, with Nicholas just a bit ahead of Luci. They can both pick up toys and play with them, and Nicholas especially is chewing on just about everything.
Their fine motor skills have really developed over the past month, with Nicholas just a bit ahead of Luci. They can both pick up toys and play with them, and Nicholas especially is chewing on just about everything.
Luci has developed an odd pterodactyl cry that is quite amusing the first time, but run-out-of-the-room-with-hands-over-ears annoying the 16th time. Both she and her brother are becoming increasingly vocal, which is fantastic, just not at 2am.
This past month, I achieved what I once thought impossible and have put the bambinos on a napping schedule. And I have them napping in their cribs rather than the swings! They nap at 9am and again at 1pm, just as Isabella did. Unlike their big sister, however, their morning nap is generally the longer and better one of the two. They will often nap 1.5-2 hours, but in the afternoon, one or both of them is up much sooner. Isabella would nap a painfully short 45 minutes-1 hour in the am, and then 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon.
Nighttime sleeping is improving. There are fantastic nights where each one is up only once after a 10-11pm feeding, and then there are horrific nights when they're up constantly and won't settle back down. Nicholas, especially, seems to have a hard time settling back down at night, but will conk out immediately when placed in the swing downstairs. Hence, the hubs and I often sleep a floor away from eachother, since he hits the couch while Nicholas swings the night away.
Also, several friends with twins have told me that twins who share a room learn to sleep through eachother's cries. I haven't found this to be the case at all. When I hear one of the babies crying (or even moderately fussing) on the monitor, I'm busting into their room faster than you can say, "Please dear God, don't let the nap end!", to grab the awake twin and sprint with him/her down the stairs in order to preserve the sleep of the other twin.
Luci's sleeping still remains a mystery to me. At times she seems to fight sleep. She's exhausted, and crying with her eyes closed, but she just will not settle, no matter what we try to do to help her. I'm very anxious to hear what her pediatrician says this week when we visit for their six-month checkup.
Other changes this month include more enjoyable tummy-time, both babies rolling from tummy to back (no back to tummy rolling yet, though), and the start of solid food. More on this to come later.
After a winter that seemed to last six years, spring is inching its way into upstate NY, so I am getting them outside, along with Isabella, as much as possible. I have been cooped up much too long inside a fast-becoming-waaay-too-small house, so anytime the weather is even moderately nice (Read: Not hailing and thunderstorm-free) I bundle up the kids and head out. We're taking lots of walks now, and with Isabella, Luci, and Nicholas (and the twins' infant carriers) loaded onto my gigantic, 35-pounds-when-empty stroller, I'm pushing close to 100 pounds, so hello future gun show! I've also taken a few more trips with just the kiddos and no extra help, and surprisingly, the world kept spinning on its axis. As this is essential to my freedom, the more trips like this I can take, the better.
They are still very small when compared to full-term babies, Luci especially. They're both still in Size 1 Huggies, and wear 3-6month clothing, although some bigger- and some smaller-sized clothing fits them. I'll update this post Friday with their weights when they have their checkup.
In general, I feel a lot more calm this month. I wouldn't say we're approaching anything near "normal" and much about our life is still in a constant state of chaos, but I don't feel as anxious or overwhelmed as I did even as recently as last month.
So...
(Shannon-check out the shoes! They live again.)...Happy Half-Birthday, Babies.
*********************************************************
*At their six-month checkup today:
Nicholas weighed 11 pounds, 15 oz
Luci weighed 11 pounds
Both babies are still off the chart for both weight and height (meaning below the 5th percentile) but they are growing on the curve at an appropriate rate.
They're so cute. I'm glad about the nap schedule, that's a great first step. I hope nights get more consistent soon.
Great update. thanks.
Hurray for recycling the shoes!
Six months?! How did that happen?
"Please dear God, don't let the nap end!" I have prayed that prayer many times.
Nicholas just has the best smile!
That is awesome that things are getting better... I remember that cry... Lore would do it... and then roar at us... crazy kid lol... I can't wait to see how much they weigh at their appointment...
I'm so glad to hear that you're seeing some daylight!! It makes me so happy for you. And man are those kids cute. They have to put a HUGE smile on your face. ;) Congrats on making it a FULL HALF YEAR. What a milestone for all of you.
Happy 1/2 Birthday!
I loved this post! I can totally see the light beginning to push through the cracks!!
I will never forget taking my 3 out in public for the first time alone...granted no twins...but terrifyingly gratifying nonetheless. Nothing freaks me out more than not being able to 'do it by myself'. I guess I never grew out of my 'twos'!
Yay, Kristi. Your children are so ridiculously beautiful. Nicholas looks just like Isabella!
What great pictures! We have a yellow blanket very similar to the one in two of the pictures. It was made for me when I was little.
Six months already? Yikes.
is it just me, or does Nicholas smile in every photo these days?
I'm really happy that things are starting to improve for you, even if only by a little each week. Those are great pictures!