Just Bead It

Hi All,
We have a great resource available to us through a local program called Connections. They provide critical child developmental information to parents of children up to five years old. They distribute "Ages and Stages Questionnaires" every three months or so. Each is usually about four pages long and details certain skills that are appropriate for each age set, categorized by communication, fine motor, gross motor, problem solving, and personal-social. It's really a great tool for me to obtain a better understanding of the skills I should watch for and work on with the kids.
We are in the process of completing our 27 month questionnaire. One of the fine motor questions pertained to whether your child could string small items onto a string or shoelace. I had bought a lacing bead kit (Melissa and Doug, one of our favorite brands!) some time ago, but the age range indicated three - six years, so I stored it away. Well, I pulled it out to see what Drew and Bree thought of it.

Drew picked up a shoelace and immediately got the hang of it. He was unstoppable!

As for Bree, she quickly got frustrated and went back to stacking legos.

We waited a day and got the beads and strings out again.  And again, Drew was the Master of the Beads.

Bree could get the string into the hole of the beads, but struggled with pulling the string through the other end. I know she'll get it with a bit more practice. In the meantime, Bree still enjoys her puzzles. We have about ten 24 piece puzzles (age range also 3+) that she likes to rotate . She is really good at putting them together, many of them entirely unaided. In fact, I pulled this one out for her and let her work on it alone. Just a few minutes later, I returned to find this...

Proud Puzzle Wiz!

So, I'm really not at all worried about either of their fine motor skills. Incidentally, they are also very good at making strawberries disappear!

Ch - Ch - Ch- Ch Changes....

"Time may change me, but I can't trace time." - David Bowie

Hi All,
Drew and Bree are 9 months old, and I continue to be amazed at how they've grown and changed. Here is a sample of what's going on in their worlds.

Physical Development -

Crawling: Both Drew and Bree have mastered the army crawl. Both can also get on their hands and knees, and this morning I saw Bree on all fours moving about her crib. Neither of them will do that on a regular basis though.

Pulling Up to Stand: In the past two weeks, this is all Bree wants to do! She pulls herself up on anything and everything now - large toys, our couches, end tables, bar stools, the baby gate. She is so proud of herself and loves being in the standing position. Drew can also pull to standing, but isn't quite as interested as Bree at this point.

Standing: Bree has had some fleeting moments of standing on her own. She is a "no fear" girl and loves to pull up to stand and then let go. She has mastered pulling up and then leaning over to pick up a toy on the floor. I feel my days are numbered before she just takes off running!

Waving: Drew has been waving for some time now. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually trying to "sign" something to me, other than hello or goodbye. Bree has recently started waving too, and she is quite deliberate in waving to other people as well as Mom.

Clapping: This is a Bree favorite! Bree loves patty cake and recognizes the words as her cue to start clapping - it's hilarious!


Eating Habits -

Nursing: We started the weaning process from nursing just before six months and did it very SLOWLY. We were virtually tapering off of nursing up until seven and a half months. And it worked great! The twins seemed to appreciate the slow transition as much as my body did. Every once in a great while, Drew will root a bit as if to nurse, especially when he is tired (but that is rare). And Bree had completely lost interest by the time we stopped.

High Chair Food: Drew is a champ in the high chair arena. He loves most everything we've given him. And he's very skilled at feeding himself; his aim is right on! Bree does a good job too, but clearly does not like some of the foods we give her. The twins have been eating cereal, pureed fruits and veggies for some time, as well as graham crackers and cereal puffs. Applesauce is an all time favorite of theirs. We have also begun to add dairy. They like cheese (diced up) and mac and cheese. They also love the orange veggies - especially squash and sweet potatoes.  We are still experimenting with meats, and Bree is not very open to eating them just yet.

Sleeping - It seems both Drew and Bree have done 180s as far as sleeping. First, I'll say they are both great about sleeping through the night (which has been pretty constant). There are always exceptions, and usually about one or two nights a week, I have to get up with someone in the middle of the night. But, nowadays, Bree is really great about nap time/bedtime. Her nap schedule is like clockwork, and she will typically nap for two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon. She also knows it's time to sleep when we lay her down in her crib and most often, she will simply snuggle up to her dollie and settle in. Drew has decided sleep is for wimps, and will fight any and all nap and bedtime attempts. There are times he goes without naps, because all he does is cry when put down. To make matters worse, this sometimes wakes his law-abiding sister!

Verbal Development -
Words: Bree - Mama, Baba, Bob (we often ask Bree who this is, since she mentions him often!), Kaka (for cracker); Drew - Mom (surely more words to come!)

Motor boat and Tongue Click: Both Drew and Bree really enjoy making the "motor boat" sound by vibrating their lips together and love to click their tongues.

Bathing -  The twins are bathing in the sink for the time being. They have outgrown their infant tub and go directly into the sink. They are starting to really enjoy bath time!

Car seat - Drew outgrew his baby carrier car seat at 8 months, and we transitioned him to the non-carrier seat shortly thereafter. Bree will remain in the carrier seat for the time being. Gone are the days of lugging both carriers around. But, logistically, it's still a bit of a challenge to cart both around until Drew gets stronger at sitting up on his own.

All the changes are incredible. Sometimes, it seems change is the only constant in our lives these days....

35 Weeks Pregnant Update - Mixed Bag

Hi All,
Once again, I'm a little late at posting results from yesterday's appointments. This is mostly because I spent some time with my mom continuing baby preparations and also needed to gather my thoughts on the day's events. In my mind, we received a mixed bag of results.
We started the day with getting our 35 Week ultrasound and seeing the doctor for a pelvic exam afterwards.

Key Measurements from our ultrasound/doctor appointment:

Baby A (girl) Weight Estimate = 4 lbs 11 oz. (8th percentile)

Baby B (boy) Weight Estimate = 5 lbs 5 oz. (27th percentile)

Baby B Heart rate = 130

My Belly Measurement = 39 centimeters

My Pregnancy Weight Gain = 43.5 pounds

We were unable to measure my cervix length during this ultrasound.

The doctor did not detect any further cervix dilation during my pelvic exam.

I was caught off guard when the doctor delivered the news that he wants to move up our c section to next week, instead of 3 weeks from now. While the babies are still growing, they slipped significantly in their percentile rankings. Our daughter fell below the 10th percentile, and he previously warned us that this may warrant further attention. While the doctor thinks the babies could do okay and post good growth rates over the next three weeks, he does not want to take that chance if we do not need to. Basically, what I believe he is saying is that if the babies are far enough along in their development, we can care for them better and with more predictability outside the womb at this point, instead of "hoping" they do okay inside for the next three weeks.

Because of this, we will be performing an amniocentesis on both babies next Tuesday, which will tell us if their lungs are fully developed. If so, we are fine to move forward with a c section at any point after that. The doctor indicated we would look to schedule the c section on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, pending good amniocentesis results. If the amnio happens to show the lungs are not ready, we will wait another week and retest. The other thing we need to be prepared for is the possibility that the amniocentesis could start the labor process. So it's looking quite likely that our babies are coming next week!

I spent yesterday with mixed emotions about this. I was pretty intent on getting our babies to the 38 week mark, or at least 37 weeks, when they would not be considered premature. I've been focused on their birth weights being a key indicator of their health. And I've always thought getting them as close to term as possible was one of the best ways to increase their birth weight. But, I know the doctor is doing what is best for us and the twins. After receiving pep talks from my husband, parents and fellow twin mom, Tracy, I'm starting to feel better about the change in plans.

On the good side, the ultrasound did not detect any stress to either baby. The non-stress test following the doctor visit also ended just fine. So, I think the change in c section date is mostly precautionary.

For now, it is out of our control. We will put our trust and confidence in our doctor and God to safely deliver our precious little ones to us.

On a lighter note - here are more pictures!

We made a 34 Weeks belly cast to commemorate our twins pregnancy. We will look for a local artist to help us paint it.

Valentines flowers for Mom from Dad and the kids.

35 Weeks Pregnant Belly Profile Shots

35 Weeks Frontal Shot - I find it funny that my belly button is no longer in the center of my belly!

Our Developing Babies

Hi All,
I enjoy reading the American Pregnancy Association's website for reference. I thought I would include an excerpt from their "Your Developing Baby" section, which provides a week by week summary of the common happenings in pregnancy. Below is an excerpt for what we have going on this week (30th week), and I can relate very well with the bodily changes they mention.

What changes are occurring with your body?
You may begin noticing that you become tired easily during this last part of pregnancy. This may be especially true if you are having difficulty sleeping at night. Some women are able to experiment with different sleeping positions that make sleep a little easier. If you are suffering from insomnia, and it is becoming increasingly worse, you may want to consult with your healthcare provider. During this later part of pregnancy, you may also experience mood swings. Some of you may have experienced this in the earlier part of pregnancy as well.
Your body is producing a number of different hormones that can cause your joints to become looser. This may result in your feet actually getting larger. Some women report that their feet grow one shoe size during their pregnancy. This is normally a permanent change.*

"Tired easily" is an understatement! I do wake up every 1 -2 hours needing to change sleeping positions. My hips get really sore and need the break.
I will admit to the mood swings, although I think they were much worse in the first trimester. Jim may have a different opinion. :)
Larger feet - I have not noticed this yet. But I do have a friend that told me her feet grew a whole size for each of her four pregnancies!

How big is your baby?
Your baby has now grown to be about 15.15 inches long (CHL) and weighs about 3 pounds.*

What is happening with your baby?
As your baby continues to grow, he/she takes up a larger portion of your uterus. You may not feel that your body can handle your growing baby, but it will compensate by allowing your uterus to extend underneath your rib cage.
Your baby’s eyes are becoming more mature, and now he/she can tell the difference between light and dark. Babies at 30 weeks can even follow a light source with his/her eyes. Once your baby is born, he/she will spend a great deal of time with their eyes closed. This is completely normal. Newborns only have the ability to focus on objects a few inches from their faces. While “normal” adult vision is 20/20, a newborn’s vision is 20/400.*

Knowing the babies could double in size before they are delivered, I have had recent thoughts of "what other space can they possibly occupy?!" I also never knew a newborn's eyesight was that bad. I guess it will be awhile before the babies can enjoy our new Netflix subscription. :)