6 months old

Wow, I really can't believe its been half a year since the little ladies decided to make their appearance ;) It has definitely been the craziest and most stressful time of my life, but we are so thankful for where we are now and how far we have come. We are settling more and more into a routine, and the girls are turning out to be pretty good sleepers since we've instituted more of a bedtime/nap routine. That makes for happier babies and happier parents :)

Crop circles around the babies..one of Norah's "creative" games ;) Also, what my living room usually looks like

We had their six month check up this week, and they have both hit the 10 pound mark! Mary finally passed up her sister and weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces, but Vivian isn't far behind at 10 pounds 3 ounces. Their heads are the exact same size and they are just a quarter off in length. They got their 6 month shots and their flu shots, and handled those pretty well. The doctor is very pleased with their progress, and says that we are doing a great job with them!

Whyyyy do you take so many pictures mom??!? Vivian left, Mary right.

We are following with the AEA early access program which helps us track the girls' development. They come out every other month just to check up. So far the girls are doing great and haven't needed any interventions. They had a follow up hearing screen a month or so ago and both passed. We also had an appointment with the developmental clinic at Blank to check how they are progressing. It is standard for all preemies to take part in the program. Overall they are doing great. The princesses were hungry and tired by the time they go to the assessment part, and so did not perform as well as they could have ;) The nurse practitioner gave us some exercises to do and encouraged more of the dreaded tummy time. Vivian does really well with it and holds her head up at 90 degrees the whole time, but Mary gets a little bit more tired and needs more support. Mary also started reaching for things this past week, but Vivian doesn't seem to be interested in that. Honestly though, I'm not sure Norah would have passed the assessment if I took her in when she was a baby...I did little to no tummy time with her and she crawled and walked perfectly fine. Babies develop at their own pace, and the girls improve every day so we're not worried.

Vivian. Not sure why she looks so terrified...

And Mary...who looks like shes gonna cry haha

They are exclusively breastfeeding still, except for bottles of breastmilk when I go to work AKA vacation every other weekend. They nurse frequently during the day, probably every 1.5-2 hours (its their favorite hobby), but go for one 6 hour stretch at night and eat and then sleep for another 5 hours so I really can't complain!! The doctor said we could try cereal/baby food but we aren't planning to start til at least 9 months actual/6 months adjusted. They are growing great on breastmilk so I figure why mess with a good thing? Plus I am wayyy to lazy to actually spoon feed ;) I'll probably wait til they have enough teeth to handle mashed steamed veggies and finger foods. I did that with Norah and it was awesome and didn't require much work at all.

So big!!! Mary left, Vivian right. I usually dress Mary in pink and Vivian in green. 

Speaking of teeth, they each have a tooth poking through!! For both of them on the bottom left. They are constantly gnawing on their fists and are drooling all over.

Booty shot! They are actually getting some rolls!

 They turn into pumpkins by 7 pm, and that last hour from 6-7 is not too fun haha. Generally they will sleep 7 pm- 1 am and then nurse and then sleep again til 5 or 6 and nurse, and then sleep again til 8 or 9. I am in heaven!!  It took a couple of rough nights and a little adjusting for all of us, but we are very happy with it now! Then they nap from 10 or 11 til 1 or 2 and are up for another 2-3 hours and then take a little 30-60 minute nap around 3-4 and then go down around 7. They need lots of sleep still...and since we have been more strict about nap/bedtimes (thanks to daddy) they have been sleeping more and better. We have them in one crib now with a little divider in the middle. I think they like being close to each other. It works great except for when one wakes up and then wakes the other one up. Twins, twins, twins. I do like to keep them on the same schedule though. Otherwise I get nothing done and have no downtime. Its taken me this long to figure out that I prefer it this way. So when one wakes to eat at night I wake the other even if they are sleeping. And they don't even fully wake, just nurse with eyes closed and then go back to sleep. A routine/schedule is a MUST with twins. I was driving myself crazy trying to go by what they wanted. And nobody likes a crazy mommy!!

They still act like 3-4 month olds instead of  6 month olds, which is completely normal since they were 3 months early. I am so ready though to be out of the immediate needs stage. Its like when they need to eat it has to be NOW, when they are tired they need a nap NOW. Playing only lasts about 15-20 minutes and then they want to be held. I'm hoping in another month or so they will be more interested in the world at large and will be more content to play with toys and sit on the floor. You can't blame them..the only things they are really good at are nursing and sleeping;) Oh, and talking...they love to talk and coo. They haven't laughed out loud yet, despite our best efforts. They are a tough crowd! No matter what you do, its just blank looks from two huge pairs of eyes. I think its probably gonna be Norah who finally gets them to belly laugh.

Mary leaning on Viv ;)

Norah is doing well too. She has been at Grammy and Gramps house this past week and is having a great time. I don't think she really wants to come home haha. She's been playing with her second cousins a lot and loving it. Grammy of course spoils her so why wouldn't she want to stay there ;) She says the funniest things these days, and I can't believe my chubby little baby is gonna be 3 in just a couple weeks!! I have missed her this week, but the break has also been very nice.

Sassy little lady

The girls also did qualify for the synagis shots, which will protect them/help them fight against RSV. Its not a vaccine, but a shot of antibodies that will lessen the severity of RSV if they get it this winter. It can be deadly for babies, especially preemies, so I'm so thankful that they qualified. The shots are really expensive, so its a process to apply and find out if insurance covers it. A home health nurse will come every month and administer the shots so we don't have to take them to the germy pediatricians office. We will be laying low this winter and avoiding crowds and mostly staying home and limiting visitors. So basically its gonna be a long winter, but that will just make the spring more exciting!! At least that's what I keep telling myself ;)

Modeling our pretty princess dresses from Grandma. Mary left, Vivian right.

Well, sorry this is so long and kind of boring, but I figured some people (probably only grandparents!) would want the full 6 month rundown ;)

This picture was taken right after bath time. They HATE baths. I mean...screaming bloody murder the instant they hit the water. I have no clue why. Norah LOVED baths...it was the only thing that made her stop screaming in the evenings.  Yet another reason they don't get bathed quite as frequently as Norah did;) #second+thirdkidprobs