More kids, more pages on this blog. This, however, will certainly be the last one. Just like the other three, the twins are getting their own space on here, too. But since life gets in the way of this blog more often than not these days, they’re going to share a page. Sorry, guys.
And the title, The N/A Chronicles? That stands for The Nat/Avit Chronicles, not The Nonalcoholic Chronicles. Life with 5 kids without some cocktails here and there? Not a chance. So check back here to see how the story of our twins unfolds.
(FYI, because I write so much about these kids, their pages are all broken into yearly chunks so as not to crash my site. I’ll keep the current year on the main page for ease of use. Enjoy!)
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January 31, 2018
Welcome to the world, Nat Jennings and Avit Jerome! I had no idea what life with twins was going to be like and, quite frankly, it scared me to death, but from the moments I bet both of you, I was instantly, madly in love. Nat, you were born at 5:02 p.m., and Avit, you were born at 5:12 p.m. It was a long day, but you both got here safe, sound, and healthy. You were perfection from the start, and we were so, so happy to welcome you into our family. You completed it and made us a family of 7!
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February 1, 2018
Happy 1 day old, little ones! Grandma Jenni and your big brother and sisters came to the hospital to meet you today, and they were all in love with you from the second they saw you guys, just like Daddy and I were. Nat, you’ve been quiet from the start, and Avit, you’ve been our loud little squawker. It’ll be fun to see how your personalities develop together and apart.
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February 2, 2018
Welcome home! Daddy and I brought you two home mid-day today to start life at home as a big family of 7. We hope you love it! It was so cold today that we didn’t take pictures on the front porch with you like we did with your brother and sisters when they came home from the hospital, but don’t worry, it doesn’t mean we love you any less. It means we didn’t want you to freeze! Avit, Daddy did attach the GoPro camera to your car seat to record the trip home, though, just like he did for Morrison. So you can see your first moments at our house in the background. And just like the others, you’ve both been asleep pretty much the whole time so far. We know that will all change soon, though!
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February 3, 2018
As expected, and just like with all the other 3, our first night at home with you guys was very, very long. You apparently forgot all that good sleeping you did the first couple days and were up pretty much every hour all night long. Ugh. You’re both sleeping in a pack n play next to the bed in mine and Daddy’s room. We have the bassinets from that pack n play set up for you in the living room, and so far you’ve enjoyed sleeping in those out there during the day.
For me, the swelling in my feet and ankles has gotten ridiculous! I was warned this would happen after all the fluid that was pumped into me from the IV the day you were born, but man is it disturbing. Thankfully it’s not painful at all. My hands are still terribly swollen, too, but that burning, stabbing pain has subsided. Now my hands just go numb often, which can be painful in its own right, but not so painful as before.
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February 4, 2018
Last night was better, but this feeding and changing two babies through the middle of the night is going to take some getting used to!
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February 5, 2018
Nat, your belly button scab fell off today. That’s way earlier than I expected and definitely the earliest of any of the kids.
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February 6, 2018
1st checkup (newborn wellcheck) with Dr. Cafaro. All looked good, and you’re both gaining weight. Stats:
Nat
- Weight: 6 lbs. (5%)
- Height: 19″ (7%)
- Head: 33.5 cm (9%)
- BMI: 11.7 kg/m2 (10%)
Avit
- Weight: 5 lbs. 12 oz. (3%)
- Height: 18.5″ (2%)
- Head: 33.4 cm (7%)
- BMI: 11.8 kg/m2 (11%)
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February 7, 2018
Happy 1-week birthday! You celebrated by having your first baths at home – little washcloth baths on the kitchen counter. Neither of you was a big fan, but you did like having your hair washed under the running faucet, just like at the hospital.
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February 8, 2018
Nat, you had to go to the outpatient lab at the hospital with Daddy to have another heel prick blood draw. A fatty acid level from your newborn blood screening that they did at the hospital after you were born came back elevated, so the test needs to be redone. Dr. Cafaro is not worried about it at all, though, so hopefully all the results come back clear this time.
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February 9, 2018
Nat, I started giving you your left arm out of the swaddle at night to see if it will help you settle better. You like to squirm around, grunt, make your guttural little kraken noise, and wake back up to cry each time after changings/feedings at night.
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February 10, 2018
I gave both of you your left arms out of the swaddles last night. Your sleeping during the day is so great, but your sleeping at night is terrible.
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February 11, 2018
Second kitchen-counter baths for you two today.
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February 12, 2018
Avit, your belly button scab came off last night.
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February 13, 2018
Grandma and Grandpa Rau came to meet you two tonight, and you both loved being held by Grandma the whole time!
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February 14, 2018
Happy 2-week birthday for your first Valentine’s Day! It’s Daddy’s last day home off work, and we will definitely miss having him here every day. Nat, your bloodwork came back clear and normal, so we were very happy about that.
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February 15, 2018
Today was your guys’ first car ride to school to pick up Lana. You did great! Mrs. Koch peeked in to meet you guys when Lana came out, too, and she was so excited to get to “meet” you. You guys have been a fan favorite from the start.
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February 19, 2018
You guys had a good 4-hour sleep stretch last night, from around midnight to just after 4:00. Thank you! Grandma Jenni came back up for the week today to help take care of all of you – hooray!
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February 20, 2018
Unfortunately no good sleep stretches last night for you guys. Thanks a lot.
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February 21, 2018
Happy 3-week birthday!
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February 22, 2018
Nat, I think you have completely forgotten how to sleep at night. You were up for 2.5 hours last night fussing and eating after starting off with a good sleep stretch from about 10:00-1:30.
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February 26, 2018
2 good sleep nights in a row. Thank you! You guys got in some good 3-4 hour stretches, and I was only up about half an hour at a time.
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February 27, 2018
I spoke too soon. Back to bad sleep last night.
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February 28, 2018
Happy 1-month birthday, little ones! Personality-wise, you guys have totally flip-flopped from your first days of life. Nat, you cry much louder and are harder to settle when you get worked up. Avit, your cries are loud, too, but a little more subdued, and you seem to be a little calmer overall. I know it’s still very early to tell a whole lot, though. You’re both still as cute as can be!
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March 5, 2018
You two have been something else the past couple days and nights. It’s pretty much nonstop fussing, eating, crying, bad sleeping. Growth spurt? Full moon? I don’t know. I hope it’s over soon, though.
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March 6, 2018
Finally some better sleep last night. I got you swaddled and into bed a little earlier – after your 7:00/8:00 feeding. You both had your second bath in the bathtub. You love them!
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March 7, 2018
Happy 5 weeks, Nat and Avit!
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March 10, 2018
I’m noticing you two have *somewhat* of a nighttime pattern – changed and swaddled for your bedtime feeding anywhere between 9:00-11:00; sleep 3-4 hours; then sleep in 2-3 hour increments between that first night waking and morning; usually up between 6:30-7:30 a.m.
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March 11, 2018
Avit, you smiled at Daddy this morning! You guys are so funny – for the past week or two I’ve been taking pictures of you after I put you to bed, because every night you end up in the same position, no matter how I lay you down. You turn your heads the same way and position your unswaddled arms the same way. It’s so funny. I have no idea if it’s a “twin thing” or just a coincidence, but we’ll see how long you keep it up.
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March 12, 2018
1-month checkup. All looked great, but Nat, your head is getting flat on the right side. Dr. Cafaro isn’t worried about it right now but wants us to start turning your head so you look to your left more to correct it. I’m getting you a little head-positioning pillow to help, too. Stats:
Nat
- Weight: 8 lbs. 9 oz. (4%)
- Height: 20.8″ (5%)
- Head: 36.5 cm (10%)
- BMI: 13.9 kg/m2 (10%)
Avit
- Weight: 8 lbs. 3 oz. (2%)
- Height: 20.5″ (2%)
- Head: 36.5 cm (10%)
- BMI: 13.7 kg/m2 (8%)
It’s so funny seeing the percentiles so low, because all of the other kids have always been at the top of the charts. You two are perfectly healthy, though, so you can stay as little as you’d like.
Auntie Mer came into town today to help for the week – yippee!
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March 14, 2018
Happy 6 weeks! Nat, you rolled over from your stomach to your back when I had you on our bed today, but I think it was a fluke. You were more just stretching out and tipped over, so I don’t think it counts as an actual roll. You guys really haven’t had any tummy time yet. I’m not worried about it, though, because you’ve both been able to hold your heads up from the day you were born.
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March 16, 2018
Really bad sleep the past couple nights. You guys have been alternating instead of waking at the same time, you’re incredibly restless all night, and I think you both have colds because you’re very snorty all night, too.
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March 17, 2018
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, you tiny little leprechauns! I put away your bassinets from the living room and brought up our good old froggy chair. You guys have seemed pretty restless and not too happy in the bassinets lately, so I figured maybe a little better vantage point to look around will be better. I bought a little bouncy seat from Della’s Brownie troop rummage sale this morning for $5, so we have 2 seats for you guys. More bad sleep last night, but I angled your mattress by rolling up a blanket to put under the head side of it, so you were at least less snorty than the past couple nights.
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March 19, 2018
Back to some better, more normal sleep last night. You had your usual 2 wakeups before morning and were up right after each other, so I didn’t have random half hour intervals all night long again. Avit, you got a little squirrely around 5:45 this morning, which is 45 minutes before my alarm goes off, and I knew you didn’t need to eat again, so I just put you on my chest in bed with me for the duration. I swaddled you both fully again last night with both arms in, seeing if maybe that would help, so I’ll continue it for a little while. If you keep sleeping better with both arms back in, we’ll stick with that again. Nat, you’ve been doing a great job of just putting yourself to sleep with no pacifier while sitting/lying in the froggy chair today. Way to go, little kraken!
I think I might start giving you each a little bottle of formula for your bedtime feeding, then pumping before I go to bed, then nurse you at night as usual. That way I’ll be able to build up somewhat of a frozen milk stash, because I’ve been able to store zero so far. You guys eat all the time! Maybe that will fill you up for a little better sleep, too. You have each taken a bottle so far, so I’m not worried about that part. I tried to start giving you vitamins in a bottle of half milk/half formula, but you both hated them and barfed it all back up. So, even though I’m supposed to be giving them to you daily, you guys haven’t been getting vitamins. So sorry. The other kids rarely got them either, for the same reason. This 100% breastfeeding is a lot of work and getting pretty tiring. So we’ll see if this works well or if I just go back to nursing you exclusively.
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March 20, 2018
I never did this for any of the other kids, but I put you guys on a feeding schedule today. The nursing on demand was just getting old, even though you’re only 7 weeks old. So you’ll be getting bottles at 7:00, 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00, and then I’ll nurse you through the night. I’ll pump either just before or after each of your feeding sessions to keep my supply matching your eating and to keep you having almost all breastmilk. Today we started with the 1:00 p.m. feeding, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m giving you 3 oz. bottles – 2 oz. breastmilk and 1 oz. formula if mixed, otherwise all breastmilk. The bedtime bottle for sure will be mixed, and I’ll see what works best for mixing any of the others. Now I’ll be able to give you your vitamins, too – I’ll split the daily dosage between 2 bottles so one whole one isn’t totally tainted with their gross flavor and color. Good luck (to all of us!)!
Nat, I swear I got a little smile from you today – so cute!
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March 21, 2018
I don’t know if it was the schedule, the little bit of formula you got mixed in yesterday, or just knowing you were totally full at each feeding by knowing you were drinking the majority of what I would pump so as much if not more than what you ate while nursing, but your sleep was the best it’s ever been last night. Avit, you woke for exactly the 1:00 and 4:00 feedings; you did have another squirrely spell around 5:45 and you’d busted your right arm out of the swaddle so both were loose, so I wrapped that one back in and just laid you on our bed swaddled, and you fell instantly back to sleep. Nat, you slept all the way until 4:00 and skipped the 1:00 feeding all together! You did take a lot longer than Avit to fall asleep, fussing, squirming, and needing your pacifier until about 11:30, but still, dang! Then you both woke for morning a little before 7:00, right on time for your first feeding of the day. Wow!
So today your bottles went like this – 7:00 all breastmilk, 10:00 all milk, 1:00 milk/formula mix, 4:00 all milk, 7:00 all milk, 10:00 milk/formula mix. I bumped up the bottle size to 4 oz. for the later feedings, so your mixed bottles are now 3 oz. milk and 1 oz. formula. Nat, you seem to take longer to drink the whole thing, so I may just give you a little less than Avit. I have had to wake you for most of the feedings today, so hopefully your sleep tonight goes well again, too. I definitely need it, because I got to bed far too late last night after getting both of you down then pumping one last time. Fingers crossed!
Happy 7 weeks! Avit, I finally got the teeniest of smiles from you today, but it was so adorable!
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March 24, 2018
I opened savings accounts for you two today – very exciting news.
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March 26, 2018
I’m changing your bottle schedule just a little – now they’ll be at 9:00 a.m. (half milk/half formula), noon (3 oz. milk/1 oz. formula), 3:00 p.m. (3 oz. milk/1 oz. formula), 6:00 p.m. (half milk/half formula). Then I’ll nurse you at bedtime, overnight, and morning wakeup feeding. The bottle times are a rough estimate – feedings can actually happen anywhere around those guidelines. And I’m only pumping twice a day instead of at every bottle time – late morning and late afternoon.
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March 27, 2018
Some things we’ve noticed about your personalities: Nat, you take a pacifier better, burp better, and stay awake looking around calmly better. Avit, you take a bottle faster, calm better without a pacifier, and seem to look all around better. Both of you are pretty calm overall and can usually put yourselves to sleep for naps with a pacifier in your little chairs or on the couch/boppy.
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March 28, 2018
Happy 8 weeks! I took all 5 of you to the zoo today, and it was your guys’ first time there and first time being outside in the big jogging stroller.
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March 30, 2018
You guys are getting so big! I moved you up to size 0-3 month clothes this week.
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March 31, 2018
Happy 2-month birthday!
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April 1, 2018
Happy Easter! You guys slept your longest stretch last night, from between 8:00-9:00 until almost 2:00.
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April 4, 2018
Happy 9 weeks! You both had your best sleep yet last night. Avit, you went down around 8:30, and Nat, you went down around 9:00, and you both slept until 3:00. Then you were up every 2 hours until about 6:30. We had your 2-month checkup today, and here are your official stats:
Nat
- Weight: 10 lbs. 14 oz. (13%)
- Height: 22.5″ (21%)
- Head: 38.2 cm (18%)
- BMI: 15.1 kg/m2 (17%)
Avit
- Weight: 10 lbs. 2 oz. (4%)
- Height: 22″ (8%)
- Head: 38 cm (14%)
- BMI: 14.7 kg/m2 (10%)
You had your next round of vaccines, and you handled them so well. You cried for just a second and then were fine! Great job, you healthy little babies!
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April 5, 2018
Unfortunately the good sleep we were hoping for after your shots yesterday never materialized. You guys slept really poorly last night, which didn’t help the mastitis that started in me last night as well.
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April 6, 2018
You both have been much more smiley and “talkative” these past couple weeks.
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April 8, 2018
You guys slept terribly last night – up alternating from 11:30-4:00. Ugh. I got a big twin z nursing pillow today for bottle feeding you guys at the same time, and it’s working great so far.
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April 9, 2018
You just keep growing! I finally emptied the newborn clothes today and brought up the 3 month ones.
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April 11, 2018
Happy 10 weeks! I rolled up muslin blankets to hold your bottles for feeding in the big nursing pillow, and it worked pretty well. I have you guys up on the chaise part of the couch, and it fits perfectly across there. Your sleep has still been bad lately, though.
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April 13, 2018
Avit, you saw your reflection in the mirror in our bedroom for the first time today. You both are getting even more smiley and making hi, g, and coo sounds.
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April 14, 2018
Nat, today was your turn to see your reflection in our mirror. You guys are so funny. I’m going to try putting you both to bed after your last 6:00 bottle now and dreamfeeding you when I go to bed instead of just kind of guessing at your bedtime each night. It’s too hard not having you on a consistent bedtime routine.
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April 15, 2018
I got 2 bottle-holding clamps off Amazon today to hold your bottles when you’re in the big nursing pillow, and they work amazingly well! No more having to stretch across both of you to hold bottles.
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April 16, 2018
You guys follow faces now with ease and return our smiles. You love watching people!
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April 18, 2018
Happy 11 weeks!
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April 20, 2018
You both sucked your thumbs yesterday or last night. Hooray! I would much prefer that to pacifiers.
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April 23, 2018
Avit, you did great at bedtime tonight – you fussed for a little while quietly, then got yourself to sleep. Much better than your screaming fit last night when we had to bring you out to the living room. Putting you two to bed after your 6:00 bottle then me pumping later in the evening and skipping your dreamfeed has been working ok the past couple nights. I put you back to sleep with your pacifiers if you wake before or around 11:00 because I know you don’t need to eat again yet, then you usually don’t wake for a feeding until 1:00-2:00 sometime.
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April 24, 2018
You two have had tears for about 2-3 weeks now. It’s so cute – Della and Lana somehow learned that newborn babies don’t shed tears yet, and they’ve loved telling me that you have them now. You are both very smiley and talkative with your coos.
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April 25, 2018
Happy 12 weeks!
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April 26, 2018
You two had your worst night of sleep in a very long time, if ever, last night. You started waking up at 10:41 and I was up until 4:00 messing with your pacifiers between feedings. No thank you!
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April 27, 2018
What gives? Another terrible night. I tried not giving you pacifiers, since the dropped it/got it game was the problem the night before, but I finally caved and gave them back by the early morning hours. But even they didn’t seem to help. So that’s it. You’re done with pacifiers. You didn’t get them all day today. You cried for long stretches when you were tired and took no good naps while we weren’t walking to/from school. Here we go…
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April 28, 2018
Much better sleep last night! You were only up for your usual 2 feedings with no crying in between. Thank god!
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April 30, 2018
Happy 3-month birthday! Avit, I have upped you to 5 oz. bottles in the past couple weeks, and Nat, you still get 4 oz. I just make a big 9-oz. bottle for each feeding, then split it appropriately. It’s easier using the bottle warmer that way, too.
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May 2, 2018
Happy 13 weeks!
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May 5, 2018
I took you two on your first run today. I did Run the Bay, the annual 5K that goes right by our house. You each got your own side in the stroller and slept the whole way.
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May 7, 2018
Avit, I had to use the bottle clamp in the stroller for the first time for you today. You slept so well this morning for a nap finally that I didn’t want to wake you for your morning bottle. So I brought it with us because I knew you’d want it right away once you were fully awake, and sure enough, about halfway to school when we were picking up Lana you started screaming because you were hungry. It worked pretty well, and then you were back to sleep.
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May 9, 2018
I’m wondering if you two are going through a 3-4 month sleep regression right now. The past couple nights, one or both of you has woken up right when I try to go to bed between 10:00-11:00, and you won’t go back to sleep without nursing, even though you absolutely do not need to eat then. After that, you haven’t been waking at the same time throughout the night, so I literally feel like I’ve been up all night every night. And Avit, your napping has been absolutely horrible the past couple days, practically nonexistent. Today you did a much better job with an actual morning and afternoon nap for a good couple hours, so that’s a monster improvement. Both girls got rides home today, so we weren’t interrupted with trips to/from school, and maybe that was the key. I just pray your nights get better soon. I fall asleep pretty much every time I nurse/burp you both, and I really don’t want to have to sleep under babies forever. Don’t worry, I haven’t dropped either of you yet. Just kidding – I sit way in the middle of the bed so no one will be falling on the floor, ha!
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May 31, 2018
Happy 4-month birthday, little ones! You guys are getting so big! Each of you weighs between 14-15 lbs. I’ll be very curious to see how much you’ve grown and what percentile your measurements are in at your checkup next week. Avit, you are so close to rolling – you plant your little feet and arch your back, and I’m just waiting for you to either topple over or propel yourself over. Nat, you don’t do that as much, but you spin yourself. I’ll look in your crib at night and you’ll be completely spun from how I laid you down. And I just started laying you long-ways in the pack n play instead of across it since you’re both getting so long. You’re not my tiny newborns anymore!
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June 4, 2018
4-month official stats:
Nat
- Weight: 14 lbs. 15 oz. (38%)
- Height: 25.5″ (62%)
- Head: 41.2 cm (33%)
- BMI: 16.2 kg/m2 (24%)
Avit
- Weight: 14 lbs. 8 oz. (27%)
- Height: 24.5″ (18%)
- Head: 42 cm (59%)
- BMI: 17 kg/m2 (45%)
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June 17, 2018
Avit, you rolled over from your stomach to your back today! You were on a blanket on the living room floor in front of Nat in the jumper, and you did it twice in a row. Nice job! Nat, I know you’re not far behind by the way you squirm around, too. Avit, you also like to suck in your lower lip and chew on it now, plus the slobber factory is starting, so you guys might be starting to work on some teeth in there already. I took both playmats out of the living room and brought up the jumper and both bumbo seats, so it’s time to get you two a little more physical activity.
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June 19, 2018
We left on our first family vacation with you guys today, our first major trip as a family of 7. You both did great! We drove up to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jeanne’s house in Eau Claire to spend tonight, then we’re continuing north to a little cabin for the next 4 days after that. Welcome to our Wisconsin family road trips!
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June 24, 2018
Avit, you rolled back to front today now. Way to go, because that’s the hard one!
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June 30, 2018
Happy 5-month birthday! You both love blowing spits and fake coughing to talk. Avit, you’ve now just started scooting yourself forward once you roll onto your stomach. You are definitely on the move! Nat, you’re still much happier lying still and looking around, but you do love being in the jumperoo and sitting in the bumbo chair.
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July 4, 2018
Happy first 4th of July, little ones! I walked you up to the parade in the running stroller, and we stayed in the shade the whole time because it was blazing hot. Nat, you had a huge poop blowout while Mr. Hector and Miss Clara were holding you, so Daddy had to walk over to the grocery store to get a roll of paper towels to clean you up with. For some reason I didn’t take the diaper bag, because I honestly thought we wouldn’t need it. Oops. Then you guys laid in the new playpen during our front yard party later in the afternoon. Avit, it was then your turn for the giant poop blowout in your bed overnight, so that was fun to clean up at 6 in the morning. I also switched from the slow flow to the medium flow nipples on your bottles today, and it definitely helps feedings go much more quickly.
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July 5, 2018
Nat, you are so close to rolling now, too! You get the whole bottom part of your body over, then just don’t flip your head and shoulders all the way over for the full roll. Soon, though, I’m sure.
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July 7, 2018
We switched you guys from the pack n play in our bedroom to the crib, because you’re getting so big! Avit, you steamroll all night long, ending up in totally different positions constantly. I swear you wake yourself up trying to roll as much as possible. Nat, you are much calmer in sleep and will stay in the same position all night. You crazy little beans.
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July 8, 2018
Nat, you slept until 4:45 last night! However, Avit, you did not. You were up before midnight, and I had to nurse you back to sleep. You definitely don’t need to be eating then. Then you were up 2-3 times again before morning. Let’s even it out, you two.
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July 10, 2018
Avit, you have a 10:30 p.m. witching hour that is crazy. You start screaming but never really open your eyes, so it’s better to calm you in your crib than to pick you up and disturb you more. Daddy holds your pacifier in and rubs your belly, and I hold your pacifier in and cradle your face and head, both shushing you back to sleep. It takes a few minutes for you to cry and work through it, but once you realize you still have your plug in your mouth, you will usually snuggle your blanket into or over your face and finally quiet. But man oh man, those are some long minutes. What’s wrong, my love? Natty Nat, you do a great job of sleeping right through it. Many times I’ve gone in to find Avit screaming right in your face, and you were still sound asleep.
I took all 5 of you to the zoo again today for Tuesday zoo-day, and you guys had your first ride on the choo-choo train. Avit, I carried you in the carrier, and Nat, Della held you on her lap for the train ride. She was so excited. She held you for a little while in the line while we waited to board the train, but you got heavy so I held you on my hip with Avit in the carrier. You guys loved looking around at everything as we rode around the zoo grounds. You’re fitting right in to our outings!
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July 15, 2018
Nat, you rolled tonight, back to front! I put you in bed on your back, and when I came back after finishing giving Avit his bottle, you were on your stomach, big blue eyes looking all around. Way to go, my love!
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July 19, 2018
Today was your guys’ first trip down to the beach at Big Bay. Your sisters and older brother and I found tons of sea glass, something I’m sure you will enjoy doing in a few years, too.
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July 20, 2018
You went to your first Brewers game tonight, and you lucky little ducks got to “watch” it from a suite. And by watch it, I mean get changed into your jammies and sleep through it. 😀 You both did great, though, falling asleep in your stroller and staying asleep pretty much the whole time. We forgot to grab first game certificates for you, but we’ll get those at a later game to fill out for you.
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July 30, 2018
Avit, you had your first taste of oatmeal tonight before your bedtime bottle, and you loved it. You just wanted to grab the spoon and shove it in your mouth yourself, so I’m sure it could have had anything on it and you would’ve done the same thing, ha! Nat, you were sleeping, so you’ll get your first taste another day.
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July 31, 2018
Happy 6 months, you two! It’s hard to believe you’ve been here with us for half a year.
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August 1, 2018
6-month well check stats:
Nat
- Height: 27″ (67%)
- Weight: 17 lbs. (40%)
- Head: 43.2 cm (45%)
- BMI: 16.4 kg/m2 (25%)
Avit
- Height: 26.5″ (44%)
- Weight: 17 lbs. (40%)
- Head: 43.6 cm (58%)
- BMI: 17 kg/m2 (40%)
Everything looked great, and Dr. Cafaro was so happy you’re both growing so well and so much better than many twins.
***
August 5, 2018
We head to Grandma and Grandpa’s house today to kick off our Peoria trip this week, and you guys will get to meet a bunch of new family – Aunt Sherry and Uncle Nate, Brianna and her family, Ashlynn, Grandma Ruby, Uncle Bill, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Margaret. They all love you both so much already and can’t wait to meet you!
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August 11, 2018
You guys went to your first Murray family picnic today, and you were a hit! Everyone loved meeting you, holding you, feeding you, and you both even napped in the stroller. Last year you were in my tummy at that picnic, right after we learned there were 2 of you in there!
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August 12, 2018
Avit, you are getting so ready to crawl. You pushed up onto all fours on my bed and in the living room and started rocking back and forth, and you can even get your knees to scoot a little bit while you do it. Look out! I also set up the second jumperoo that Terri gave us yesterday in the living room, taking out the bouncy seat and froggie chair. You guys are getting so big! I gave the bouncy seat to a neighbor who’s having a baby almost the exact same time next year that you guys were born this year, but we’ll save froggie since it turns into a little chair for you.
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August 14, 2018
You guys both had your first bites of sweet potatoes this afternoon. Nat, this was your first taste of solids, and you loved them! Avit, you weren’t too interested.
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August 17, 2018
Avit, your first tooth is just about to poke through – bottom front left.
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August 18, 2018
Nat, your first tooth has already fully poked through! It’s your bottom front right. Avit, that bottom front left tooth is now definitely poking through. Here come the chompers!
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August 21, 2018
Your fist trip down to Silver Lake today to meet Miss Susie and Mr. Kurt. You guys did great! Miss Susie has known me my whole life, and she was very excited to meet you two!
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August 24, 2018
Nat, you were “talking” in your sleep tonight – you yawned then blew a big raspberry with a couple little coos. Such cute little sounds!
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August 26, 2018
I gave both of you solids late this afternoon to try to help fill you up overnight. You had sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and bananas, but neither of you really liked any of it. Great.
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August 27, 2018
Avit, you slept until 6:00 this morning from 7:00 last night! And Nat, you woke to eat just before 1:00, but then made it until 6:00, too. Awesome! Maybe the little bit of food yesterday really did help. Nat, during the day today you did well eating bananas and sweet potatoes again, but Avit, you still don’t really want any of it.
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August 28, 2018
Avit, your 2nd tooth is just about to poke through – bottom front right. Nat, your 2nd tooth is through, probably poked yesterday – bottom front left.
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August 30, 2018
Nat, you were so exhausted when you woke up from your pre-bedtime nap tonight, but you still ate a whole cup of sweet potatoes and a container of bananas for dinner before going back to bed. Great job! You are much more interested in eating from a spoon than Avit is right now.
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August 31, 2018
Happy 7 month birthday, little ones! I took all of you to the zoo one last time for the summer today. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it much more next year, when you’re actually sitting up looking around the whole time.
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September 1, 2018
Avit, you sat up by yourself today!
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September 2, 2018
Avit, you rolled off the big double twin pillow we use for giving you guys your bottles up on the living room couch today. I was just waiting for this to happen and hoping it wouldn’t. You have been turning yourself over in your hole of the pillow when you’re done with your bottles lately, but I was hopeful that you wouldn’t actually roll all the way out. Today you finished a bottle and rolled off the side by the window, landing right down on the floor and the vent with a thud. You weren’t even fazed! Daddy ran over and grabbed you right away, but you didn’t make a peep – you were just down there looking around.
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September 3, 2018
I switched you two up to 6+ months pacifiers today and got ones that have a thinner connecting part to the knob part, and you both noticed a difference right away. You kept spitting them out, and it took a while for you both to actually want to suck on them. Thankfully you did, because I threw all of your other ones away already.
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September 9, 2018
Nat, you’re starting to sit pretty well when I put you in a sitting position. You’re still nowhere close to getting there by yourself, though.
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September 16, 2018
Avit, you pulled yourself up to standing next to the coffee table in the living room today. Yikes! You are definitely a mover.
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September 30, 2018
Happy 8 month birthday! Avit, you are literally 1 knee “step” away from crawling.
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October 1, 2018
I tried giving you guys Cheerios this morning in another attempt to get some solids in you since you’re both still waking up at night (sometimes WAY too many times! i’m looking at you, nat), but neither of you had much interest, surprisingly. You can’t do the pincer grasp very well yet, which I assumed you could. Solids just aren’t fun with you little ones. I started giving you both a fifth bottle today in the hopes of filling you up with more milk instead and switched your bedtime bottle up to 8 oz. instead of 6 oz. like all the other bottles are. I hope something works soon to get you guys sleeping all night long!
Avit, you were chewing on the coffee table today while sitting up on your haunches. That’s not a toy, you little stinker!
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October 5, 2018
We drove down to Grandma’s house this afternoon to get ready for our trip out to Tucson tomorrow so you guys can meet Great-Grandma Barbie and Great-Grandpa Bob. Avit, you finally fully crawled on Grandma’s living room rug today!
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October 6, 2018
Your guys’ first flight today! O’Hare to Tucson, almost 4 hours. Nat, you did great on the airplane, sleeping on Grandma’s lap for 2 hours. Avit, not so much. I had you in a carrier as we boarded, you fell asleep before takeoff, slept a little while, but were then up again practically right after takeoff. You did not go back to sleep for the entire flight and screamed/cried and squirmed for a large portion of it. That was so much fun. Hopefully you’ll do a little better on the way home.
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October 7, 2018
Avit, you have 4 teeth about to come in! Top front right is poking through. Top right next to front one and top left on other side of front one are getting ready to poke through. Bottom left first molar is just barely poking through. Wowzers! No wonder you drool like a faucet and are crabby often.
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October 8, 2018
Avit, you made the whole trip to Tucson worth it today. Grandma Barbie got down on the floor to play with you, and you absolutely loved it. You played with all your toys with her and a couple cloth bags she brought over, and you kept crawling over and snuggling up in her lap. It truly looked like you recognized her by the end of your play date. 🙂 I know she loved that so much, so thank you!
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October 9, 2018
The flight home from Tucson today went much more smoothly than on the way out. Avit, you slept on Grandma’s lap for much longer than you slept on me on the first flight, and Nat, you took another great nap in my lap. Thank you, little ones!
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October 10, 2018
Avit, your top front left tooth is just about to poke through now, too. Geez! Water works in there.
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October 15, 2018
I put one of the pack n plays back in our bedroom to split you guys up tonight for the first time – Nat, you get that since you move around so much less, and Avit, you’re staying in the crib. Avit, you steamroll all over Nat all night, so we’ll see if this helps either of you sleep better through the night. Nat, your new routine of waking up early every night for a small bottle sometime between 8-11 has gotten very annoying. And you did that tonight still, so the sleeping separation hasn’t helped that. We’ll see what the rest of the night holds.
If sleep is still not great like this, I’ll put you both back in the crib. I was kind of sad to split you guys up, and I’ll happily save the space with 1 bed again if 2 doesn’t do anything to help.
Avit, you can now hold your bottle by yourself when I put you in the big double pillow for feeding. Awesome!
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October 16, 2018
Well, Nat, you hated being down in the pack n play last night, so I’m switching you back into the crib and putting Avit in the pack n play. Avit, you will be closer to the foot of my bed in there, though, because you will simply try to pull everything off my little bedside table if I keep the pack n play by my head. No thanks. I’ll get it right one of these times!
Avit, your top left front tooth is now poking through.
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October 17, 2018
Nat, your screaming for a bottle 3-4 hours after you go to bed every night is getting so horribly annoying. I’m currently trying to let you cry it out, but you’re now going on half an hour and have woken Avit up twice. Ugh! Fortunately he is able to put himself back to sleep at night. You should take a lesson. If you guys would only eat your solids during the day, maybe all this wouldn’t happen and you’d both actually sleep all night!
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October 21, 2018
Avit, you were sitting on the kitchen floor today, “talking” to and laughing at the baby pictures of Morrison that are on the refrigerator. So cute!
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October 22, 2018
Nat, your next tooth is poking through now – top front left.
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October 28, 2018
Today was your guys’ first trick-or-treating, and you did great! It was rainy and cold, but you rode along in the stroller and didn’t make a peep. You were both garden gnomes, and it was hilariously adorable! Nat, you wore the red costume that we had for Morrison a few years ago, and Avit, I got a blue one off the local kids’ Facebook site for you to wear. I put your skeleton footie jammies on underneath them to help keep you guys warm, but your little legs and feet were still pretty cold when we got home and I changed you out of them. Sorry! I will call it a success, though, my littlest loves.
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October 29, 2018
Nat, you have another tooth coming through now – bottom left, next to the front one. More top ones are so ready to break through, too. You are now good at scooting backwards and pushing up, and today you pushed up onto all 4s for the first time. Are you getting close to crawling, too? Maybe all of this commotion in your little body explains your terrible sleep. You’ve reverted back to being up pretty much every 3 hours after bedtime, always wanting to eat. Yuck! If it’s close enough to morning when you wake up, which is the point when I won’t feed you again, I just turn the TV on and play a baby show until you go back to sleep. It pretty much always works. I could sleep through a hurricane right now, so it certainly doesn’t bother me!
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October 30, 2018
Nat, another tooth! Top front right is breaking through.
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October 31, 2018
Happy 9 month birthday and first Halloween, you little pumpkins!
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November 4, 2018
Nat, here comes another tooth – bottom right, next to the front one is poking through. Just a couple more on top, and you’ll be matching Avit’s toothy little grin.
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November 5, 2018
9 month checkup this afternoon, and all looked good. The fact that you guys still really don’t eat many solids wasn’t that big of a deal at all; the doctor just said you’ll soon start needing more nutrients than what the breastmilk and formula give you now. I’m sure it’s contributing to the fact that neither of you sleeps fully through the night, but whatever. That’ll come. Nat, your spastic leg jerks are nothing to worry about either, fortunately. I mentioned that you do it a lot, kick your legs out straight and just kind of spaz, and she did say that particular straightening is sometimes a symptom of cerebral palsy. But she checked your reflexes and looked at your legs a while and said no, there’s nothing wrong. That’s just you, sweet little Natty Nat. Here are your official 9 month stats:
Nat
- Height: 29″ (74%)
- Weight: 19 lbs. 3 oz. (40%)
- Head: 45 cm (48%)
- BMI: 16 kg/m2 (19%)
Avit
- Height: 29″ (74%)
- Weight: 19 lbs. 14 oz. (53%)
- Head: 45.5 cm (63%)
- BMI: 16.6 kg/m2 (34%)
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November 8, 2018
Avit, you now like to wave. Whether you’re actually trying to wave or just moving your hand around, it’s hard to tell. But either way, it’s very cute. You’re also loving standing at the glass sliding door in our condo up north, watching the deer and squirrels.
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November 9, 2018
Avit, you like to hold your bottle with one hand now while you’re drinking. Too cool for school. I saw you let go of the couch while you were playing with Daddy’s little tripod today so you were standing on your own. Wow! Also, you slept from bedtime until 5:51 before eating 2 nights ago, and last night you slept all the way until 6:30! Please oh please oh please keep it up! And teach your twin brother how to do the same. Nat, you’re doing so much better sitting! You haven’t pushed into sitting on your own yet, but when we put you sitting you stay there for a long time now, playing with your toys. You are very close to crawling, too. You’ve been getting up on all fours and rocking constantly, and today I saw you kind of hop-scoot across your pack n play while on your hands and knees. You’ll be chasing Avit in no time!
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November 16, 2018
Nat, your next 2 teeth are coming through now! Both top, either side of the front ones.
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November 18, 2018
Your first time seeing Santa! You guys both did great, and we actually got a fantastic picture of all 5 of you. Then we went to Rock Bottom for lunch, your first time there as well.
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November 19, 2018
Nat, you’re sitting now, too! You pushed yourself back into sitting from being on hands and knees a couple times today, in the living room by the jumpers and in the dining room. You guys are both finally doing well eating solids, too, so hopefully your sleep will start getting even just a little better. It’s still not good!
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November 22, 2018
Happy 1st Thanksgiving, little ones! We are down in Peoria at Uncle Nate and Aunt Sherry’s house, and you are having a blast. I brought the “Baby’s 1st Thanksgiving” bib and hat set, but you two had to share it for our family picture (minus Daddy since he couldn’t come) – Avit, you wore the bib since you slobber so much, and Nat, I had to lean the hat behind you on Della’s arm in our picture because it was too small for your head already. We’ll go visit Grandpa Frank and his family tomorrow, and you two are soaking up the family love. Nat, you crawled for the first time today, too! Just your first couple little knee “steps,” but you definitely did it. Great job!
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November 28, 2018
You guys are finally eating! Last week I started making myself take the time to feed you at regular meal times, and now you’re doing great. You’re really good at eating some things on your own like Cheerios and puffs, some pasta, bananas, tiny pieces of cheese, mashed potatoes. And you’ve gotten WAY better at taking baby food off the spoon. In fact, I finally worked through all of the baby food we’ve had in the cupboard for months.
Avit, you are starting to stand on your own now. Starting a few days ago, I’ve seen you stand against something, let go, and turn around to grab onto something else without going down to the floor first. I’m sure walking is just around the corner!
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November 30, 2018
Happy 10 months, you little goofballs! Avit, you took a real full step today! You were standing at the short couch and I was sitting on my couch, and you turned toward me, let go, and took one real step before going back down to the floor. Wow! Here we go…
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December 2, 2018
Nat, I think we can call you a full-blown crawler now. You do a funny little half forward scoot/half crawl, but you are on the move! Today you got yourself from the Bucky rug in the play corner of the living room all the way over to the coffee table and from the middle of the dining room into the back bedroom hallway. Way to go, little one! You also have started fighting back when Avit tries to take toys from you, ha! The past couple days I’ve seen you try to muscle your way onto some part of him when you two have been playing next to each other. Payback for all those nights he slept on top of you!
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December 4, 2018
Ok, Nat, you made it all night last night without a bottle. SEE?! It can be done! That was the first time in 2 months that you had no bottle overnight whatsoever. I told Daddy that us having to give you a bottle not only shortly after bed but also almost every middle of the night is absolutely ridiculous, and it’s ending. Starting last night. You woke at your usual 8:30, but I gave you your pacifier and you just went back to bed. Then you woke again around 9:45 and we just let you go. I got into bed shortly after 10:00, and you cried off and on until probably 11:00ish. So it took almost an hour and a half, but you finally put yourself back to sleep. You would do your typical cry for a few minutes, stop for a few minutes, then start back up again, but finally I could hear your slow, even breathing of real deep sleep. You woke once just before midnight so I nursed you then, Avit woke once sometime thereafter to nurse also, but then you both slept until I got up at 5:45. Avit was still asleep but you sat up and started squeaking at me in your crib, so I just put on Little Baby Bum and went out to get ready for the morning. Even with the hour or more of off-and-on crying, it was a million times better simply because there were no bottles involved. And you didn’t wake up soaked through with pee because you’d drunk so much during the night. Now let’s see how long this all-night sleeping takes. It’s 10:00 right now and you’re starting to cry for the first time, so we’ll see how it compares to last night.
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December 14, 2018
All right, babies, the time has come. You MUST start sleeping through the night. I am not nursing you overnight anymore, you’re not getting any bottles overnight anymore, and you’re going to figure out how to sleep from bedtime until morning, or at the very least figure out how to put yourselves back to sleep if you wake. Beginning last night, we let you just cry for the most part when you cried. Which was often. Daddy and I would go in to give you your pacifier and lay you back down, but that was it. I finally left the room and slept on the couch since I’m not night feeding you anymore (freedom!!), because your incessant crying is super annoying. I got you each another plug at CVS last night so you both have 3 in your beds to find, and I added an extra nightlight to our room in case it was the dark that bothered you when you woke. I don’t know, anything. So last night was the first time I didn’t nurse you overnight, and guess what? You both survived! It’s a miracle. Now, for the love of god, just SLEEP THROUGH! Also, Nat, you’re getting much better at crawling with actual crawling knee “steps” instead of just scooting your knees along. Great job! I’m sure all this new activity is contributing to your poor sleep – your little body is doing a lot of new stuff, but eating in the middle of the night is one activity that is ceasing. It’s actually probably been doing more harm than good, since it just disturbs your sleep and has been unnecessary for months now. Oh well, live and learn. Then sleep!
You both waved at me today, though, which was one of the cutest things ever and totally unexpected. I got a new stocking hat and gloves and was trying them on. I walked into the living room, held up my hands with the new gloves on, and Avit, you stood next to the coffee table and mimicked my hand gestures, waving right back at me. Nat, you were sitting at my feet between the couches, and you raised your arm and moved it up and down, too. I loved it!
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December 19, 2018
Stop the presses! Hold the phones! You both slept all night last night without waking up once for a cry or a pacifier or anything! That deserves repeating. In all caps. YOU BOTH SLEPT ALL NIGHT LAST NIGHT!!!!! And it was glorious. I am certainly not holding my breath that it will happen again anytime soon, but now there is living proof that it can be done. Finally!
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December 23, 2018
Nat, you’re catching up! You finally pulled yourself up to standing today, too!
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December 25, 2018
Merry 1st Christmas, my 2 littlest lovebugs!! I’m so excited to spend this day with you, wide-eyed wonder at all the festivities. I was so happy to peek out the window this morning and see a white Christmas! You guys spent the unwrapping flurry in your jumpers, and you had no idea what was going on. You got new bibs and little shaker toys from Santa, and you’ve been thoroughly enjoying the shakers since. Nat, yesterday I woke up and you were standing in your crib now – not wasting any time. You need to work on getting down, though, because you have no idea how to do it and just scream instead. You guys had your first pickles today with dinner, and you actually loved them. A few sour faces to start off, but then they were inhaled. I’m so much more comfortable this year than last before you guys were born, and it is so much more fun with you on the outside! And thank heavens, but so far your sleep overnight is getting better and better. Please keep it going – my Christmas wish was granted!
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December 28, 2018
Avit, you are now walking more than just a step or two. You walked across the dining room from the art stand to the opposite wall, you take running steps with things in your hands, you walk to us with multiple steps. So I’m sure it’s just a matter of weeks, if not days, before walking becomes your preferred mode of transportation over crawling. Right now you do still like to drop down to crawl as fast as you can instead of continuing to walk. Nat, you have finally figured out how to get back down to the floor from a standing position against something instead of just screaming until someone helps you, ha!
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December 31, 2018
Happy 11 months, little ones! And Happy 1st New Year’s Eve! You did not come close to seeing the midnight ball drop, THANKFULLY, but we did get a bunch of pictures of you cuties today. I noticed we didn’t have many of you on Christmas, and I’m sorry about that, but hopefully we got some good ones today. We took your 11 month pictures this morning, we tried to get some with your 1st Christmas hats on (even though they’re way too small!), we took some family pictures tonight before you went to bed, then we took some pictures of just you 2, me, and Daddy. You are so cute, it’s hard not to snap as many as possible! There are just a few hours left in the year of your birth, and it has been absolutely amazing having you in our family. You have more than completed it, and I love it. As Della said when she was little, Happy Nu-Nu!
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