6 Months Old: Then and Now

Half a year has flow right on by!! So very hard to believe we just wished the twins a happy 6 month birthday on November 4th! Our little peanuts are growing at a rapid pace and making great strides in their development.

They had their 6 month doctor visit today. They're no longer on Zantac for acid reflux! Yeah!! Here are the 6 month stats with percentiles: Lucy weighs 15 lbs (30%), is 23 3/4 inches tall (less than 2%) , and has a head circumference of 17 3/8 inches (93%). Cameron weighs 15 lbs 4 oz (10%), is 24 1/2 inches tall (less than 2%), and has a head circumference of 17 inches (45%). Dr. Emm said they continue to look and do great!!

We're making our way through veggies! They've tried sweet peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. Cameron has no problem eating any of the veggies but Lucy is a whole other story. So far she hates all the veggies except squash. After having a few bites of carrots, peas, or sweet potatoes, she turns her head, clamps her mouth shut, and starts fussing until we give her cereal instead. We knew from very early on that she would have a strong opinion about many things in her world. We laugh about how one of the nursery nurses described Lucy when she was hungry one time and said "she's madder than a hornet." :-) She lets us know when she doesn't care for something or has a need she would like met. On the flip side though, she gets very excited, smiles readily, and laughs at so many things. The twins still have rice and oatmeal cereal daily along with their veggies. Fruit is coming up next! I have a hunch miss Lucy will enjoy fruit. They are very interested in the process of meal time and both like to grab the spoon at times. If Jeremy or I are drinking or eating something while holding one of the twins, they will reach out to touch whatever we have. Aside from the food department, they are having 6, 4 oz bottles daily.

They do awesome with their sleep routines some days and other days, not so much. Pretty much every night they are in bed between 7:15 and 7:45 p.m. On an awesome sleep night, they stay asleep until 5:00 a.m. or longer. On a not so awesome night, they wake up several times for a variety of reasons. It's been a tough month with colds, congestion, and more teething symptoms for Cameron; all of which make sleeping hard for them. Overall though, we're thrilled with their progress and the fact that they sleep through the night a couple nights a week or more. Lucy is still transitioning out of sleeping in her infant carrier. We start her laying flat in her crib at night and she usually ends up in her carrier by morning time. It's still a work in progress. They both nap laying flat in their pack n' plays during the day. Most days consist of 3-4 naps a day.

They're currently in size 2 diapers and just switched to 6 month clothing. Some of their 3 month clothes still fit but for Cameron particularly, most of the 3 month clothing is too short.

We retired their baby swings and bouncy seats this month and got out their jumperoos and exersaucer. Lucy has mastered jumping in the jumperoo which is really funny and cute to watch. Cameron hasn't quite figured out how to jump in the jumperoo but loves it if we do it for him. They both figured out how to turn around in their jumperoos or exersaucer. Some days they strategically face themselves towards the TV. It amazes me how much they suddenly enjoy their toys. They want to grab and touch everything! Musical toys are a hit this month which is lots of fun. They enjoy watching the dogs run around and think they are pretty funny. They still enjoy being read to, which I love. Cameron and Lucy can sit by themselves for a few seconds at a time before toppling sideways. Cameron is still the master roller. Overall though, they seem to have the most fun laying on their backs playing with toys or being entertained by someone. Cameron finds Lucy very entertaining. He watches her then smiles and laughs! It's the sweetest thing to see! They hold hands on occasion or just watch one another to see what the other is up to.

We took them shopping for the first time this month. The only place we went was Hobby Lobby and they did great. They rode around contently in their stroller. We took them to their first birthday party. Our neighbor Scarlett Milligan turned two and the twins even got to bring home party favors. Lucy was a tad overwhelmed by the crowd at first but then settled down and stayed contently with Jeremy and I. Cameron let our friend Felicia give him a bottle at the party. It seems like Lucy startles more easily and is starting to get scared by strangers or faces she doesn't recognize. Cameron pretty much takes it all in stride so far.

It's so crazy to us to think about how far the twins have come since they were born. We watched the video from the day they were born and it literally feels like yesterday. Not to get too emotional here but I remember going into labor on Thursday evening and being so excited to know our twins were finally ready to enter the world. We knew we would soon be able to see their sweet faces and snuggle them in our arms. Right after birth we grew so scared to learn Cameron had breathing difficulty at first and was being given oxygen. I wasn't allowed to hold him like I was Lucy until several hours later. After that scare was over, we thought everything was fine but then they had to have feeding tubes and had to stay in incubators for 12 days. We were nervous/scared during that time and had no idea when our hospital stay would be over. The twins had a very hard time gaining weight at first and could not hold their body temperatures. Little by little though, their little bodies figured everything out and they started thriving. In the grand scheme of things though, these initial limitations were peanut size problems compared to what many babies deal with who are born early. 6 months later, we have 2 perfectly happy healthy little ones who are full of life and personality!!! Cameron and Lucy, boy how you both have changed in the past 6 months!!!

 

These little incubators are where they spent their first 12 days. The quilts were given to them from the nursing staff as part of Project Linus. We brought the quilts home and have used them for photos and play time. One day we will put the quilts on their beds once they are out of their cribs.

So tiny!! Those hats seemed huge on their little heads. I used to be able to snuggle them both while laying on my lap with ease!

 

One of our first days at home with the twins. In these 2 pictures, they were both still wearing preemie clothing and preemie diapers. We were headed to a doctor's appointment for the twins. Jeremy looks like a giant!

 

 

Fast forward 6 months...and we have happy, healthy, chubby cheeked, little pumpkins getting ready to celebrate their first Halloween!

 

Fun with toys!

 

Jumperoos are fun!!

 

They're not so tiny in our arms any more!! :-)

 

 

Cameron is all smiles!! Above he is getting some good laughs while daddy tickles him. Below, he is laughing because he thinks Lucy is just so fun to watch!! 

 

 

Classic Lucy food shot. I think she is saying, "sweet peas taste like dirt." :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 month puppy dog shots!

 

 

The puppy dogs have some serious size competition!! :-)

 

The twins are 5 Months Old!

Time is flying by! The twins turned 5 months old on October 4th. I seriously have no idea where September went. They've grown so much in the past month though, I barely know where to begin. Let's see...

They're still eating cereal and doing great with it. Lucy has learned to like the rice along with the oatmeal cereal. Cameron LOVES both. He becomes quite upset once he realizes he's not getting any more cereal at a feeding. It takes him a couple minutes to realize he's full. Aside from that they're still getting bottles with breast milk and formula. They take 6, 4 oz bottles a day and have cereal twice a day. Sleeping is going really well at night. Some nights they still wake up in the wee hours of the morning hungry (around 3 a.m. give or take). Other nights they make it all the way through until at least 4:30 or 5 a.m. They always go back to sleep quickly after their feeding. On week day mornings we wake them up at 5:45 a.m. for the day. On weekends they typically sleep until 7 a.m. Cameron has become quite good at rolling from his back onto his tummy. So good in fact that he does his trick in the middle of the night and then can't seem to flip himself back over. He ends up fussing until we go in and flip him to his back again. One night he did this about 5 times. Silly boy! Lucy will roll over on occasion but mostly just kinda rolls from side to side. She found her feet this month and loves to lay on her back and grab them. She figured out how to pull off her socks and then of course they end up in her mouth! That's another big thing this past month, everything is going in their mouths. Bibs, burp rags, toys, and their hands quite frequently! They haven't had any teeth pop through yet but they sure seem to have all the symptoms of teething. Cameron really goes to town on his hands and he likes chewing on teething toys, too. I'm guessing he'll have a tooth pop through first. Lucy loves to look around at everything and everyone. It's hard to keep a bottle in her mouth at meal time because she's so busy trying to look around at everything! Cameron loves to watch tv. If the tv is on in the family room, he will reposition himself so he can watch it. He takes after his daddy who will seriously watch anything on tv ;-) Lucy also enjoys staring at the tv at times. Many days, I end up turning it off so the twins focus on other things. Both Cameron and Lucy like being read to but books are holding Cameron's attention the longest these days. He sat contently looking at the pages while I read 7 books to him the other day.

The acid reflux has taken a major turn for the better!! They both still spit up some but it has improved greatly! Lucy has had reflux the worst but I know she feels better than in prior months. She's so much happier lately!! Jeremy and I joke that she and Cameron switched places. Lucy is suddenly more laid back and very quick to smile or laugh. Cameron becomes fussier quicker nowadays. I think this is partially due to possible teething. Cameron seems to study people and things a bit more than Lucy. Once he warms up to someone or something though, he laughs readily and will flash some smiles. Cameron battled his first cold this month and dealt with a runny nose off and on. Knock on wood, so far neither one has had much more than a runny nose. We run the vaporizer for them nightly and use saline drops as needed.

Cameron and Lucy started enjoying their baths more this month. They really like it when I pour water on their toes and tummies. Both usually smile and laugh a bit throughout their baths. We have a good bath time routine going where I bathe one, then Jeremy gives me the other twin to bathe while he puts the first twin in their pj's. After they're both dressed and smelling like the sweet babies they are, we play in the nursery for a short bit and then they fall asleep pooped from their day. Usually one of us rocks Lucy for a few minutes and then puts her in her crib so she can fall asleep. Cameron has to be walked around for a few minutes and then we lay him down when he's out. Lucy is still sleeping in her car seat in the crib but we're working on transitioning her from that since her reflux is doing so much better. Hopefully by 6 months the car seat is gone and used only for car rides!!

They visited the pumpkin patch this month!! We took them to Rader Farms with my parents and my sister. They rode around the farm in their stroller and ended up falling asleep. We put them in blue jeans for the first time which I think is the cutest thing ever! Wearing blue jeans isn't exactly a milestone but its fun to see them in big kid clothes. ;-) They had a big play date with some of my friends and their little ones. Kelly, Lea, Kristy, Laura, Kristen, Liz and I all got together for pizza and watched the little ones run around and play. Okay, so the twins were held the entire time but it was fun to watch the 1+ year olds and get a pretty good idea of what the twins will be up to next fall. Jonah Hunt, Jameson Weber, Reagan Rudicil, and Cora Jackson are all adorable and were fun to watch.

We're already a few days into the twins 6th month and getting very excited for their first Halloween!! We're still a few weeks away but their costumes are all set for trick or treating!

5 months!! Almost as big as their puppy dogs!! 



 

 

Cameron quickly decided sitting up was for the birds. Flop - onto his tummy he goes!!

 

 

Mmmm..yummy puppy dog arm!

 

 

 Rader Farms! First pumpkin patch trip and wearing blue jeans!

 

 

Cameron's all warm and toasty in his puppy towel after a bath.

 

 

Lucy is a squeaky clean little ducky!

 

 

Hanging out in Cameron's crib watching the mobile!

 

 

They really started to pay attention to each other this month!

 

 

Play seat with LOTS of toys to look at :-)

 

 

Just rolling around!

 

 

Cute lil butts!!

 

 

Daddy and Lucy

Mommy and Cameron

 

A few more shots from the Rader Farm trip.

Cereal Time!!

The twins had their first bite of food on September 9, 2012! They had rice cereal...yum yum!! Cameron absolutely loved it! Lucy had a love hate relationship with it. As in she loved to hate it. ;-) Both of their first bites brought on somewhat surprised and confused faces. It was so funny to watch their little mouths try to work the cereal around as they figured out what to do with it. By the second bite Cameron started kicking his little legs and making num num type noises as he grew more and more excited for each new bite. Lucy's reaction was the exact opposite. She grew increasingly fussy as each bite was put in her mouth. She managed to swallow some but truly did not enjoy the taste. We continued to give them rice cereal each subsequent night and the feedings were pretty similar to the first. Cameron ate the cereal like he'd been waiting for it for months and Lucy acted like we were feeding her something awful. Our routine has been to give them the cereal around dinner time. On September 16 they both tried oatmeal cereal. The doctor recommended oatmeal cereal as an alternative to rice cereal. He said some babies hate the rice but love the oatmeal. Lucy is one such baby. We gave her oatmeal again tonight and she really liked it. We even got some smiles out of her during cereal time! We plan to continue with the cereal after dinner for a bit longer before trying vegetables. Our little babies are growing up a teeny tiny bit!! It's hard to believe we're already starting to feed them with spoons while they sit in their high chairs. :-) 

 

Yummm..what is this stuff?!

 

 

 

Seriously, I don't want any more...

 

 

 

So good, I have to eat my hands between bites!!

 

 

 

Nope, still not enjoying it.

 

 

 

MORE!!!

Finally, cereal success for Lucy! Oatmeal cereal is delicious!!



4 Months Old: Giggles, Grins, and Baby Babbles!

The twins turned 4 months old on September 4, 2012!! And boy has this been an exciting month for them!! They had their 4 month doctor visit complete with 2 more shots for them and an oral vaccination. They handled the shots about as well as the last round! Luckily my mom came to the appointment with me and helped console them after their shots. Cameron was super sleepy after we got home and Lucy developed a fever again. As for their stats, drum roll please....Cameron has finally surpassed Lucy in weight!! When they were born Cameron weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and Lucy weighed 4 lbs 15 oz. They both lost a fair amount of weight while in the hospital and Cameron has stayed behind her in weight. Until now that is! He weighed in at 12 lbs 8 oz and Lucy weighed in at 12 lbs 6 oz!! Lucy is 22 inches long and Cameron is 23 inches long. Both of their heights put them at less than 2%. For weight Lucy is at 15% for girls and Cameron is at 5% for boys. Dr. Emm said they both look great and are doing well developmentally. He gave us the okay to give them rice cereal and then vegetables shortly after that. Our plan is to give rice cereal a try on Sunday since both Jeremy and I will be home at dinner time and we'll have time to have fun with it. Things are about to get real messy during Bradley family dinner time! ;-)

Sleeping arrangements have definitely taken a turn for the better. Jeremy is almost never in the nursery recliner any more after getting the twins down. Most nights they sleep from about 8:30 p.m. until somewhere in the 2 to 3:00 a.m. hour. We feed them and put them back down to sleep for a couple more hours. Only twice have they made it to 4:45 a.m., which we consider sleeping all the way through the night since my wake up time is 4:30 a.m. We have random moments of fussiness from Cameron in particular but he's usually consoled with his pacifier and quickly returns to sleep. Lucy sleeps like a champ most nights. According to the doctor's office, most babies start to sleep through the night between 4 and 6 months. I feel like the twins are so close!! I have to admit though, I don't mind getting up to spend a little extra quality time with them. I'm going to miss the extra time with them once they really do sleep through the night every night. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than a little tired some days but I know being tired is something I will soon forget. Lucy had her first cold about three weeks ago and is finally over the runny nose. I thought it was never going to clear up! We have been running the humidifier in the nursery and put saline in Lucy's nose several times to combat the stuffiness. Cameron had a day or two of stuffiness but for the most part has been fine. It will be interesting to see what the winter brings!

The twins "talk" lots now and have so many tales to tell. Lucy gets so excited to share her stories that she feels the need to practically yell them! Cameron is much softer spoken but gets to going with his tales as well. Some of his stories sound quite sad and it seriously sounds like he's saying mama over and over again. The best is when he wakes up and lies in his crib half fussing and half "talking" saying mmmmaamma quite pitifully and babbling. Obviously he doesn't know what he's saying but I have a hunch mama will be his first word! They love to smile and coo while someone talks to them. The best update for the month is they both learned to laugh!!! Their little laughs are the sweetest sounds in the world! Their laughs are probably best described as giggles at this point. Cameron giggled for the first time on August 26 while Jeremy was tickling him. Lucy giggled for the first time on September 2 while Jeremy had her laying on her back tickling her. It's so cute to watch their faces light up and hear their little laughs come out! So far, Jeremy is the best at getting laughs out of them. They both have really discovered their hands. Previously they would suck on their hands when they were hungry but nowadays their hands have become something more. Cameron puts them in his mouth frequently and they both have started grabbing objects with them. Over the past month Lucy has learned to love her bouncy seat and kicks her legs like crazy while bouncing. Cameron is most fond of his little travel swing (that my friend Staci lent us actually) and swings away while holding onto his little monkey blanket or talking to Max the monkey who we hung on the side. One of mine and Jeremy's favorite things to do is sit on the floor with Cameron and Lucy for activity time. This usually includes a variety of activities including time on their play mat, tummy time, practicing standing (which they're quite good at) talking, singing, and reading books. They actually pay attention and seem to enjoy being read to. They look at the pages particularly if they're filled with bright colors. Barnes and Noble and I have become very well acquainted since the twins arrived!

They were baptized on Sunday, August 19. Earlier that week they had an outing to the church for the first time when we went to meet with the pastor to discuss the baptism. They did really well during both church trips and only fussed when we brought them up front for the actual baptism. Can you blame them though?! Who wants to be on stage in front of a few hundred people, bright lights shining down, and have water sprinkled on your head? The service was really nice though and afterwards we had a small gathering at our house to celebrate. Other adventures for the month included a play date with their new friend Jameson Weber, 18 months old. The best part of the play date I think was when Jameson pulled on Cameron's shirt to get him to get up and go with him. Not sure where he thought they were going but it was pretty funny! The twins attended a pool party with us at Matt and Gwen's house but didn't go swimming. Pool time is going to have to wait until next summer I think!! Cameron and Lucy joined us at the dinner table in their high chairs for the first time on August 26. We gave them their bottles and then pulled them up to the table in their high chairs while we ate. They sat contently with some toys. As their uncle Ben says, they look like 2 little old people driving who can barely see over the wheel!! Picture below ;-) Uncle Ben and Aunt Andrea got to spend some time with the twins while Jer and I went to my friend Ally's wedding. It was the first time someone watched them from late afternoon on and put them in bed. They did great (Andrea and Ben did, too! ;-))!

The twins have a cousin now! Her name is Cora Nichole Lang and she was born on August 28. They didn't go to Chicago with us to meet her but will hopefully get to meet her very soon. When they're all a bit older, I'm sure they will have a blast together.

I think that pretty much covers the highlights for the month! If I have time, I'll do a special blog post on how trying food goes for them. I can't wait to see what they think and see if any actually stays in their mouths. Dr. Emm laughed at us and said it would probably be best to try food immediately before bath time. Our dogs can help with clean up (of the floor not the twins). Maybe we have finally discovered Charlie's real purpose in our home!! :-)

First time in high chairs at dinner!



 

 

New buddy Jameson!

Lucy and Molly the monkey. Her snuggle buddy!

 

 

 

Cameron and Milo the monkey (we name their toys if you haven't caught on yet)! He loves this little blanket!

 

 

Cameron is watching his dangling monkey friend Max quite intently. 

 

Discovering new toys!

 

4 month puppy dog shots!

 

One of these months, they will start enjoying these. 4 months does not seem to be that month :-)

 

If they could talk I think they would be saying here, "Seriously dad, can you pick us up and make mom stop taking pictures?!?"

 

Growing boy!!

 

Growing girl!! Not sure if Lucy is impressed with her 4 month sticker or wants to eat it!

Cameron & Lucy: 3 Months Old

As of August 4th, Cameron and Lucy are 3 months old! They're growing lots and continue to brighten our days. I started back at work on Tuesday, July 31st. It was an interesting week! I started the week out exhausted and somewhat grouchy towards our new arrangement but I can honestly say things seemed to fall into place by Friday. I have every Monday off work and then work 4 by 10's, Tuesday through Friday. My mom comes to the house to watch the twins on Tuesday and we take them to an in-home sitter Wednesday through Friday. We all still have a little adjusting to do but I think our new schedule is going to work out fine. No major hiccups to report from the week and we're pleased with how everything went. Well except for my new morning wake up time of 4:30 a.m. I'm actually waking up before my babies!! What's wrong with this scenario?!

Neither Cameron or Lucy is sleeping through the night just yet. Our goal is to have a 7:30 p.m. bedtime but it's a work in progress. Most nights we give them their last feeding around 7ish and then have them down around 8ish. Then they typically wake up in the 1 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. range for a feeding. Cameron is usually the one that wakes up hungry so we wake Lucy up to eat as well. It makes me wonder if Lucy could actually make it through the night if we didn't wake her up. For the sake of consistency though, we still feed them at the same time. Other than that, we might have random fussing here or there for a diaper change, a burp they didn't get out, or they just want to be cuddled. Daddy to the rescue for these moments! He's spending a great deal more time in our bed at night but still frequents the nursery recliner with one of the twins. On most days they take at least 2 good naps and then doze a bit here and there. We continue to let them nap in their pack n' play bassinets. Because of the reflux, Lucy can't lay flat to sleep and Cameron doesn't always sleep the best laying flat either. One day this darn reflux will improve! In the meantime though, Lucy still sleeps in her infant carrier at night, which we set in her crib. Cameron sleeps in his crib which has one end elevated. It helps keep his nighttime meals down. They're both still on the Zantac for reflux. Lucy is the reigning spit up queen. We manage to have a few days where the spit up is minimal but other days she shows off her projectile skills.

Lucy gave her first big smile on the morning of July 9th! I was getting her and Cameron ready for a walk and talking to her which seemed to delight her! It's been a fun month trying to get more smiles out of both of them. They're both really happy in the morning when they first get up and then at other random times throughout the day. Cameron and Lucy are both cooing for us as well. Lucy is the most vocal. She's still the fussiest (I blame the reflux) but also coos the most, too. While driving to the sitter's house the other morning she cooed the whole way there. It sounded like she was trying to sing! Occasionally Cameron lets out some noises that makes us think he's on the verge of laughing.

They attended their aunt Megan's baby shower on July 28th and got to meet some of Jeremy's relatives from southern Illinois. Jeremy's cousin Michelle brought her daughters Hailey and Aniston. The twins really perked up around the girls and had fun "playing" with them both at the shower and then back at our house. New little friends for the twins included Calyn Evans (5 months old) and Jonah Hunt (14 months old). It was fun to seem them around other little ones. Honestly though, I think it was much more entertaining for me than it was for them! ;-) Other than that, they continue to get tons of love from frequent family visitors and some friends of Jer's and mine, too. One thing is for sure, these babies aren't in lack of love, attention, or cuddles!!

One of Cameron's first smiles!

One of Lucy's first smiles!

Love those little butts!

Naptime!

Miss Lucy not wanting to nap...and yes I pulled their hoods up just for the photos!

 Wait, you want us to smile at the camera?!!!

3 month pics with their puppy dogs!

Gaining some size on their puppies!