5 months sounds so big!
This has been the BEST month yet!! {well, at least the last week and a half ;) }
First things first. The girls started taking prevacid after their appointment. I felt like it really helped control their reflux during the day and during the night. BUT they still weren't sleeping well.
Michael and I were both up with them almost all night, every night. We started working in shifts; I went to sleep soon after Bryson went to sleep and the girls were down and he would be "on baby duty" from 10-2 and then we switched. I was up with the girls after 2 and he would sleep. If both of them work up crying, then we both had to be up. And guys, when I say they were crying, I'm talking full on body flailing, tears flowing, screaming crying. I could never ever have survived without Michael. He was is my rock. I spent so many days in a complete daze from only getting 2-3 hours of sleep most days. That's just not going to cut it when I have to take care of 3 kids during the day. It was so bad that Michael was seriously looking into a night nanny for a few weeks just to give us a bit of sanity...and sleep.
I was on board with the nanny, but I knew that even if we had someone here with the girls, it wasn't going to fix the original problem....whatever it may be. It would just buy us time and allow us to catch up on sleep. Even though I coveted sleep, I needed to fix their problem.
Since I felt like their reflux was under control, something else had to be the problem. After really thinking about it, I truly felt like they just needed sleep. Desperately. They just didn't know HOW to sleep. They had been "sick" basically their entire short little lives {RSV, thrush, terrible reflux} that I (we) always rocked/patted/shushed/helped them go to sleep. They didn't know how to sleep and it was my fault :( Yes, I know all "the rules" about babies and sleep. I've read it a million times. I just couldn't bear to see my girls screaming when the nasty bubbly acid could have been making its way up and down their tiny bodies causing awful discomfort.
After researching several different methods of sleep training, I picked the one I thought would work best for us, watched a ton of videos, got Michael on board with "the rules" and started it the next night. It was ROUGH at first. Really rough! But amazingly enough, it was amazing! They each only woke up THREE times that night. BLISS!! The next night got even better and now, they maybe cry for a couple mins and then fall asleep. We have to go put in a paci every once in a while, but that's nothin'! They both only eat once in the middle of the night, which I don't mind one bit. I'm usually only up for a little over an hour and then we're all back asleep again.
Since we started sleep training, they go to sleep at 6:30 and sleep about 10 hours, eat, then go back to sleep until 7:30. Their naps still stink, but I'm still holding out hope they will nap longer than 40 minutes one day ;)
The girls are starting to get a little more active. Madelynn is rolling both ways now and Em has done it a couple times again.
They both love to sit and stand up! They're actually getting pretty good at sitting on their own for a few minutes in a tripod sit :) Strong little girls!
They LOVE bath time! ;)
They also love their big brother! they are almost always looking and smiling at him. He most definitely returns the love. He absolutely adores them!! He wants to help do everything for them.
I think (hope!) with a little more time, they'll come around to bottles. Emily has actually taken a few ounces from bottles on a few different days!! And Madelynn doesn't scream when it's in her mouth anymore...progress! Ha!
They nurse every 2.5-3 hours during the day and start grunting and wiggling as soon as I set them on the pillow to nurse :)
I LOVE those eyes
I really feel like I'm not making enough milk for both of them throughout the day. I wish I could just know for sure. Gah! Thankfully, They do love solids! We got the official "ok" for oatmeal and veggies at the 4 months appointment and they love their food! Madelynn took to it really quickly and Emily had to figure out her tongue, but now, they're all business. They eat oatmeal and a veggie twice a day and love carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn & butternut squash. But, they are SO darn messy when they eat that they have to be completely stripped down and then hosed down in the sink afterwards! haha They scarf the food down, but when I turn to feed the other one, they shove their hands in their mouths and then wipe their hands aaaaall over their bodies!
I LOVE those eyes
I really feel like I'm not making enough milk for both of them throughout the day. I wish I could just know for sure. Gah! Thankfully, They do love solids! We got the official "ok" for oatmeal and veggies at the 4 months appointment and they love their food! Madelynn took to it really quickly and Emily had to figure out her tongue, but now, they're all business. They eat oatmeal and a veggie twice a day and love carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn & butternut squash. But, they are SO darn messy when they eat that they have to be completely stripped down and then hosed down in the sink afterwards! haha They scarf the food down, but when I turn to feed the other one, they shove their hands in their mouths and then wipe their hands aaaaall over their bodies!
I LOVE watching the girls interact. Every single time I nurse them, they hold hands or have their hands all over each other's heads. They navigate towards each other on the floor and have kind of started "playing" with each other. They're both getting good at grabbing toys and have started putting a couple toys in their mouth. Therefore, they grab each other and put each others body parts in their mouths :) It's precious!
I know I've said it before, but it continues to amaze me how similar they are.
They are mirror images of each other when they're playing on the floor and eating. They poop within minutes of each other most of the time. But they also have precious individual personalities.
Emily: is the talker. Well, it sounds more like a bird squawk, but still. She's in a hurry to go nowhere, but doesn't like staying in the same spot very long. She's decided that she likes to move and be change positions often. She doesn't like to be left alone and she will definitely let you know that! She really likes to play in the jumparoo and walker and make the toys sing. She gives the most adorable smiles and wiggles and shakes and gets so happy in the morning when she sees me coming to get her up from her crib!
Madelynn: is the mover and groover. Since she figured out how to roll, she is quite content being on the ground rolling around. She has started interacting with toys and loves the little stuffed doggy that sings and plays music. When it goes off, she'll grunt and shake her body trying to get to it. She's been chewing on her hands and clothes for a month, but just recently started chewing on toys. She really enjoys jumping in the jumparoo to make it play music. She's a little more stingy with her smiles and coos, but they are so sweet when she gives them!
Bryson had been in school up until the beginning of July. Since the girls started sleeping SO much better and I'm finally starting to feel like a normal person again during the day, we decided it was time that he stayed home with us full time. I was craaaaazy nervous about how he would be, but he adjusted great! We all try to get out of the house in the mornings to keep us from getting stir crazy. ;)
There are days {HA! Pretty much everyday!} when it is a circus over here, but I really really enjoy being with all my babies everyday.
I even got a little crazy and took them all to the grocery store. Bryson hasn't sat in the shopping cart since a little after he turned 2, so the fact that he asked to sit in it completely blew me away!! But it made the trip so much easier and quicker :)
We love getting in some Alicia time every week! The girls are anxiously awaiting Baby Aubrey!
I even got a little crazy and took them all to the grocery store. Bryson hasn't sat in the shopping cart since a little after he turned 2, so the fact that he asked to sit in it completely blew me away!! But it made the trip so much easier and quicker :)
We love getting in some Alicia time every week! The girls are anxiously awaiting Baby Aubrey!
And getting to play with cousin Ellie! I really can not wait until they really interact and play with each other! :)
This has been the best month yet with the girls and I am so excited to see what's in store for this next month!!
Happy 5 months Emily and Madelynn!!
