Week 27-28 Slideshow

Growing Babes

Sometimes, when I forget how little my babies once were, I might just decide to go ahead and make them try on their hospital hat. Oh my!!! How big they are now! And how hysterical! Josh looks like an elf! We could barely get it on his fat little head. TeHe!!!

Before...

6 months...

25-26 Week Slideshow

Look at us - we're sitting up!

Well, only for a little bit. Actually, we are sitting up as long as the toy in between our legs interests us. After that, we tip over like a teapot, short and stout. But we are doing good now! Yippee! These milestones are progressing nicely.

We're 6 months old!!

Boy, I rough time this month taking their 6 month pictures! I now officially have a pair of wiggle worms! They were much more interested in being on leather (loved to keep touching and feeling it) and were obsessed with playing with their 6 month sign. So, natch, I did a slideshow to show you guys how funny it was. Thats at the bottom...and a few of the best from the shoot :) YAY!! They're half a year old!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?????

26 Weeks - Update on the Babes

26 Weeks Old!

26 Weeks. *sniff, sniff*. This week my sweet precious angels turned 6 months old. WHAAATTTTT? How have I only known them for 6 months? How have I already known them SIX WHOLE MONTHS! In one thought, I cry when I think of how small and precious they were, and then in another thought I am so excited about planning their 1st birthday party and how much fun they will be at 1, 2, 3, 4 years old, etc. It is all going extremely, extremely fast. I am just trying my best to keep up and hope I don't miss one second of this incredible journey!

Feedings: Well, my frozen milk is now all gone. And if were ever at my house and saw my freezer, you would be shocked at this statement. I had bags, and bags, and bags of frozen milk. It took over half my freezer. And its gone. I only have a few bags left. The fenugreek isn't working quite so well. I am going to ask my pedi about getting something else to help increase my supply. I don't know how nursing moms do it. I KNOW how much I am getting b/c I pump, so I KNOW that my supply isn't keeping up with them. They currently are drinking 60-62oz per day, and I am pumping around 50oz, sometimes more. I just wonder what nursing mothers do. Are they just feeding them what they make? What is its not enough and how would you know? Its very odd to me. I know the old "they have enough wet diapers, yadda, yadda", but I know my babies (esp. Josh, natch) that would still be hungry if he only got 5 or 6 ounces, which would mean more feedings. I degress...anywho....the solids are going spectacularly. As I mentioned before, I am making my own baby food from all organic fruits and veggies. I have always not been a big believer in the "organic craze", thinking it was really just alot of hype, and a way to get them to charge more and make more money. However, if you read this article, like I did, you would change your mind. So, I have been making lots an dlots of it, and now my freezer than was once stocked with frozen breastmilk is now stocked with individual servings of baby food! We are doing an every four day switch-up with foods, to avoid any allergy concerns. So, so far my babes have enjoyed pears, bananas, apples, peaches, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and avocados. They love it all!! We are eating it twice per day now, and next week I think I am going to move to three times/day

Waketime/Napping: We have gone back to being pretty good here again! Woohoo! At exactly the 1:30 mark of waketime, we start the nap process: diaper change, sleep sacks, song, and maybe a story. So, its usually around 1:45 for them to go to sleep. Naps are anywhere from a very random 2 hour to an hour at length.

Nightime: Woohoo!!! Dropped the dreamfeed!!!!!!! So, now they are going down at 7:30 and sleeping to 7ish. Sometimes earlier. Jules will ALWAYS start stirring at 5-6. One morning last week they slept until 7:30 and I had to wake them, so I figure they will lengthen their nighttime again, it will just take some time to adjust. I have also been adding a little more to their daytime bottles to make up for the dropped feeding.

Our Schedule:

7:00- wake/feed 7 oz for Josh, 6.5 for Jules
8:30 - nap (hopefully at least 1.5 hours)
10:30 - feed 6.5 for Josh, 6 for Jules, 1 T each of apples this week (or two ice cube sizes)
12:00 - nap
2:00 - feed 6.5 oz for Josh, 6 for Jules
3:30 - nap
5:00 - feed 6.5 oz for Josh, 6 for Jules
6:30/6:45 - cluster feed 5.5 for Josh, 5 for Jules (I lowered this amount b/c they were eating afterwards and I simply don't have enough milk! ) 2 T cereal for each, and 1 T avocados
7:00 - baths
7:30 - story/bedtime

Outing/Events: This past weekend was Jake's gradmother's 80th birthday. We took the babes down to Waverly at their assisted living home. The babes, of course, were the main attraction. I don't think anyone even noticed we were there! It was also July 4th, of course. We had a great weekend with lots of festivities all around. On Saturday night, we went over to a friend's house for ribs on the grill. On Sunday, Jakes parents came up and we had a big lunch, then Jake and I took the babes over to a friend's house that had a ton of people over. Then Monday we went to the pool. Lots of fun, and the babes, as Jake and I, were exhausted. Most of our outings now are a quick trip to Target, or going to the pool (not by myself though), or going over to a frien's house. I might be lazy, but it is a chore to get them out of the house, so sometimes its easier just to hang at home.

Diet: *crickets*, LOL - I am now back to my pre-pregnancy wight! Woohoo! Now I would just like to lose about 10 more to look like my pre- "ttc" self.

Milestones: Wow....well, let's see! They have both started sitting up! Thats a biggie. They can only do it for a few seconds, so we are working on it. We find that the further you spread their legs, the longer they can sit. I also have been starting to sign with them. Mostly just signing "More" and All Done", when they are eating baby food. Its hard to remember to do it each time, but from talking to other moms, it is really neat for them to learn, so I guess we'll stick with it. They love watching their Baby Einstein videos. They only watch it once per day, but boy, do they love it - especially Jules. She is entranced. They are both now VERY aware of each other - constantly holding hands, feet, touching each other's head, slapping one another, etc. Its so cute and funny to watch. They eat like champs. Josh just sits there with his mouth open ready for food, while Jules keeps turning sideways in her bumpo. They both are little rolly pollies and can both roll from back to tummy and tummy to back. They do it constantly! They are dying to crawl. They both can push all the way up on their arms, and wiggle their legs, they just can't get anywhere! Just now has two white spots on his gums, so I am thinking teeth are coming soon! They both can hold and play with toys very well. Jules can now play with her rattle and loves it! They both laugh, but as a reacting to multiple kisses, and only if they're in a "laughing mood". They are both talkers, but Jules is definately the winner here. She is constantly mumbling and making sounds. (Can you tell she's my spitfire?) They both light up when we come into a room or they hear our voice. It just melts my heart. And for the first time, Jule started crying when someone she didn't know held here. They both are constantly chewing on their hands, so they are teething, but Josh is the only one that has physical signs of any yet. People compliment us all the time on how sweet, happy, and just "good" they are, and it makes my day. They really rarely cry - just when they're tired. Let's hope it stays that way!

23-24 Week Slideshow

Big Steps (not just baby steps)

Big news in the Stribs household- we have "officially" dropped the dreamfeed! Woohoo!! We very cautiously did it two nights ago/ I was a nervous wreck and have been chicken sh!t about doing it, because I was reeeeallly not wanting to do an all-nighter again. so with nervous finger-nail biting, we put them down at 7:30 and took our chances. They stirred around 1:30, but went back to sleep, then stirred again at 5 (like Jules ALWAYS does) then went back to sleep. until 7! Then last night, they went to bed at 7:30, stirred around 2am, then woke up again at 7. *stirring means they kind of start fussing a bit - not crying - just fussing. Usually this takes just a pacifier, and they go back to sleep*

This is HUGE people. That means we are now sleeping from 7:30-7. 11.5 hours!! As much as I love, love, love my babies, it is awesome to know we will have the evening just the two of us to hang out and relax.

So, let's check in on my goals...

Consistently sleep throughout the night - DONE!
Wean the swaddle - DONE!
Move to a 3.5-4 hour schedule - DONE! (now we are going to go to a 4 hour schedule eventually and rop a feeding)
Start cereal - DONE! We have now also eaten bananas, pears, squash, and sweet potatoes!

YAY BABY STRIBS!