Twins 6-Month Update

Well, it's late, but here is my 6-month update, for those who are interested in following the lives of our twin boys.  I think everyone says this at this point, but I can't believe we are halfway through the year already!  Each month keeps getting better and better.  I sure do love these boys.

Eat

Eating actually improved this month.  After coming to terms with RJ’s eating difficulties, I started pumping and feeding him more bottles and just nursing MJ.  RJ became a champ at eating and grew a ton!  By his six month weigh-in, he was up to 15lb,3oz.  MJ continued to grow consistently as well and is a whopping 17lb, 14oz.  This definitely puts him in the 50th percentile now.  RJ also decided to come back to the breast for comfort nursing and nursing in the night.  He even did a few small feeds when we were out and about.  Hopefully this is another step forward.  A big event this month was also cutting out one of the nighttime feeds!  It is not completely consistent, but it is well on the way.  We also introduced a little bit of rice cereal before bed.  This may be the reason the nights are better.  And the boys love it!  All month they would watch me eat and move their mouths imitating me.  So when we tried cereal they were ready to go.  RJ actually took to it faster than MJ, who was a bit skeptical of this food that wasn’t quite mama’s milk, but he soon caught on too.  We feed about 2 Tbsp around dinner time before their bedtime bottle.  MJ is a fast eater and finishes the breast in about 10-15 minutes.  RJ drinks anywhere between 120-160mL from the bottle depending on how hungry he is. 

Sleep

As I mentioned, we worked down to one feed per night after we sorted out our daytime schedule.  We have a pretty consistent schedule going of two big naps (9am and 12pm) that last an hour to an hour and a half, and then a catnap before dinner.  Creating this consistency has also helped the nights go smoother.  We generally try to put the boys down by 6:45/7:00 and hold them off till 2am for a feed, and then have them sleep through till 7am (though it is often 6:30 where they really get going).  I am still pumping during the night once and sleep is a bit broken up because they don’t sleep steadily, but it is a step in the right direction.  

Play

This month was eventful for play.  The boys are so much more interactive and it was great to hang out with them and do new things.  The big thing they learned this month was rolling over!  Well, sort of learned it.  They can easily roll to their bellies, but have not mastered rolling back again.  This was fine for daytime play, but still causes some issues at night if they roll to their belly and want to get back but can’t.  MJ started sleeping on his belly but RJ panics and cries when he ends up on his belly.  They also mastered bringing objects to their mouths (and they eat everything now!), starting at their hands, and are starting to grab at their feet.  Their language has not really progressed.  MJ became a bit quieter as RJ became more talkative this month.  They both like to “sing” to music (and RJ tends to tap his feet to the beat).   They also are starting to raise their hands to be lifted “up” when they are tired of being on the ground.  They notice when we leave or enter the room and especially love to hear daddy’s voice (they stop whatever they are doing - eating, playing, etc. as soon as he speaks).  They are a  lot of fun!

Events

We did not do any major events this month, but got into a routine of taking the boys for a daily family walk at the end of the day.  They are starting to stay awake more during walks and enjoy the fresh air and looking at the trees and sky.  We enjoy the special time as a family walking down by the beach, and into town for a coffee.  We purchased a Bob double stroller and I am excited to start taking the boys for runs soon too.  Oh, we also started to attend a “Mother Goose” program at the rec center.  It is an hour of singing and nursery rhymes for babies.  It is a lot of stimulation but the boys enjoy the music a lot.