[jenedens6102]

Great thank you!

[amfandrmf]

Jen, I can't believe Ethan is teething! I think our girls are, but I'm still not completely sure yet. They are sometimes fussy, but haven't been crying in pain. They also are drooling and always want their fist in their mouth.

Laurie, we tried rice instead of oatmeal yesterday with the girls. We didn't put it in their bottles...we just fed them with spoons. They both LOVED it! You gave me inspiration to try it out and see how they would act. Mila has been watching us with curiosity when we're eating. I was planning on going right to oatmeal, but when we went shopping I found a brand that had the same amount of iron in the rice as the oatmeal. So, I wasn't as worried about the constipation. We plan on feeding them again tonight. They slept great last night too! We got a total of 8 hours of sleep! They woke up for one feeding around 3 a.m., which is longer than they normally make. Hopefully, we'll have the same results tonight.

OK, here are pics of the girls smiling. I spent a day trying to get them smiling for the camera. It seems whenever they're smiling and happy, the camera is never around. I also haven't been able to get them on camera smiling together. I think Mila laughed last night too! It was quick and short, but DH and I swore we heard her laugh while watching her pooh.

Oh, and we took our first outing to the zoo today. The girls were so great! Mila just took everything in and didn't make a peep the entire time we were there. Maddie fussed a little because we had her in the back seat of the stroller. I don't think she could see as much, so we spent most of the time carrying her. She was happier when she could look around at everything. It rained a little, but it wasn't too crowded and we were able to make it through the entire zoo in 3 hours. Which was pretty good considering we went with their uncle and cousin who is 3 years old (he likes to take his time).

Hope you girls had a great weekend! Any fun outings?

[lauriej79]

Anna - That is great! I am so glad the girls liked it. I wasn't scared to try at all. I feel like they will let us know if they are not ready (food wise that is). Neither of our girls thrust their tongues out or anything. I know what they say too about them sitting up but our pediatrician said not to worry about that as much as long as they could hold their own heads up. I sat them in the bumbo seats to feed them and they did great. Maybe it will help with the sleep.

I am currently weaning the girls off of the 5th feeding. They have been consistently taking 4 feedings of 6-7 ounces. Right now we are on 8am,12p, 4pm and 8pm. I am loving it!

The pictures of the girls are great! You are right about it being hard to get both of the girls to smile. I can't even get them to both look at the same time! They are really growing though!

We took ours to the pool today and they loved it. It took them a couple of minutes to get used to it but then they just floated around. It was too cute. I will say though that it makes me second guess going to the beach with them without DH. My brother and his family will be there and my parents but 2 babies is just a LOT of work. It was fun though.

The last pic is so cute to me. It was after their big swim. Avery never even made it into her clothes she was so tired. They had a big day!

[amfandrmf]

Laurie, it looks like the girls had so much fun! Isn't it just amazing how they can just zonk out after a big, busy day? Our girls had a big weekend and both nights, they just went right to sleep after their last feeding without any rocking or fussing. They don't really nap well if they're not at home, so when we're out and about all day they are just ready for bed by 8 p.m. So, did you have swimsuits for the girls and did you put them in anything for floating around the pool? Just trying to get ideas since the girls will be going to the beach in a few weeks. I can't wait to see how they react to the water! I love the pics. They look so adorable.

So, we had so much fun at the zoo yesterday that DH wants to go again on Thursday. We got a zoo pass, which is great because it pays for itself within two visits. So, now we can go for even just an hour whenever we like. Our Milwaukee County zoo is only 20 minutes away, which is perfect for us. DH has decided that he wants to go every other week...I guess we'll see how long it takes for him to get sick of that.

[lauriej79]

Yes, they are in their swimsuits in the picture of the 4 of us. They came from childrens place. I have a couple of close-ups of them I will have to post. We actually just held the girls in the pool. If I could find a pool that had good support I think they would do fine but it is just finding it. The ones I have seen are definitely for bigger babies like what we would need for this time next year.

I haven't been to the zoo in soooo long. It would be nice to go again sometime. I totally agree about naps. Our girls were both just ill last night. They basically never slept more than 45 minutes to an hour each time they napped so they were exhausted last night. I couldn't even get Avery to finish her last bottle DH said he didn't hear a peep out of them until he work them up at 8 this morning! They sleep at least 2 1/2 hours straight in the morning and in the afternoons they sleep at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours. That didn't happen yesterday.

[amfandrmf]

I'll have to check out Children's Place. We have a hand-me-down one for Mila, but I don't think I'll find one that fits Maddie. She still drowns in her 0-3 outfits! What did you use for diapers? Sorry for all the questions, but I can't seem to find ANYTHING for their size. The little swimmers are all bigger sizes, so I guess I'll just have to keep them in their diapers.

[jenedens6102]

Beautiful pictures of all four girls. I just love to see updated pictures. Precious. I especially love the one of Presley and Avery just passed out after their long day!

Anna, we actually found today that not only does Ethan has a good bump of a tooth on the lower right side but also the lower left side. Poor boy. Luckily he was just fine tonight, wanted his pacifier a lot more then normal but he just chews on it. Hey, if it helps I guess it's ok for now.

[amfandrmf]

So, today I took the girls to the fertility clinic. I couldn't wait to show them off to my RE and the nurse who was always there for me. They were excited to see the girls and the girls both received a pink teddy bear from them. I feel guilty that I forgot my camera. But, I promised them that this wouldn't be the last time they see the girls. So, hopefully, I'll remember it then. It's amazing the relationships you build going to this clinic. I had treatments there for a year before I got pregnant. I considered it my second home back then. Ahh, memories...

[lauriej79]

Just wanted to say hello to everyone. I am over here trying to let my milk dry up and let me tell you it is pure he--!! I was in so much pain yesterday and ended up having to pump yesterday morning just to get some relief. It was so bad I couldn't even pick the girls up. Today is not much better but so far I haven't pumped. I thought about waiting until the weekend when DH would be here more but then I hated to have the long weekend and have to go through this. I hope that maybe it is gone by then.

How is everyone? Jen, I will be anxious to see how long it takes for the teeth to come in. Our girls are drooling like crazy too and putting things in their mouth and their gums are white as well but I don't think they will have teeth any time soon.

Anna - How is it going with the oatmeal? What time are you usually feeding it to them? As far as the pool, I just had to use the regular diapers because they don't make anything small enough for them. That's great that your clinic isn't so far away. Mine is an hours drive and I just haven't made the trip yet.

As promised here are some pictures of the girls holding their heads up. As you can see, Avery has gotten a lot better.

[mthomas1012]

Hi ladies.

Lauri, I cannot believe how good the girls are holding their heads up. They look so old. Now the milk drying up... that was the worst pain to me. Forget the surgery and all those shots, that pain is constant and it hurts. I even got mastitis on one side. I could not lift my arms. It does get better, but it still hurts in the meantime!

I saw your girls in the swimming pool. Did you put sunscreen on them? Some of my friends say not to until 6 months, but we are going to St Augustine for an entire week and I want to bring Maura and Brody in the pool and to the beach. I ordered a tent that has SPF 50 fabric, but I was not sure about sunscreen.

How is everyone else doing? Jen and Anna I love all of the pictures. It is hard to believe this time last year we were all going through in vitro!

Margaret

[lauriej79]

Margaret - It's great to hear from you! Thanks for the compliments onthe girls. I have been meaning to go back and look to find the link to your blog but haven't done it yet. I am sure you babies have grown too!

It was regular childrens sunsreen. The doctor said that they don't make any for babies smaller than 6 months but that I could put just a dab on their leg or arm and wait to see if they had a reaction to it. (They may make some tha you can order but regular stores don't have any). Anyway, that is what we did and they were both fine with it.

Any advice on the milk? Help me please!! How long did it take? I haven't pumped since yesterday morning. It says online that if you have to relieve yourself to go ahead and pump but not empty yourself. I think I am going to have to because I don't think I can make it all night. I didn't realize how bad they were until I got out of the shower. When did you end up stopping? I feel a little guilty but I am trying not to. I have done the best that I can and it would be different if it were saving us a lot of money but it's only actually saving us about $10 per week and that isn't enough to justify an hour each day (I was pumping 3 times for 20 minutes). I was a formula baby and plenty of my friends have done formula too so I'm not going to stress over it.

[amfandrmf]

Laurie, I love the pics of the girls! I can't believe they can hold their heads that well already! That just amazes me. Our girls aren't even close to that yet. When we put them on tummy time with their boppy, they would rather scoot and push with their legs than try and lift up their heads. So sorry for the pain you're going through right now. I can't even imagine what it must be like. I wish I could offer advice on the subject...hopefully, you'll get some relief soon. I don't know how long it takes to dry up, but it can only get better, right?

Hey Margaret, it is nice to hear from you. How are things going? When we took the girls to the zoo the other day, we used sunscreen for children and there were no issues. I think if you just try it on a small part of their skin and see how they react, like Laurie mentioned, you should be fine.

Anyone have any fun plans for the holiday weekend? We're going to the zoo tomorrow, having a bbq at SIL's house on Friday and have dinner with friends (his brother is back from Iraq for a week and wants to meet the twins). Hopefully, the local fireworks won't freak out the girls too much.

[crissa]

hi ladies!!!! OMG!!! all your babies are beautiful!!!!!! everyone seems to be doing great!!!!

alexander had his 4 month appt.today....he is 14.5 lbs, 26 inches...he is a big boy! we started cereal today...hehe, the look on his face was priceless!!!! how is everyone else doing with cereal????

[amfandrmf]

Hey Chrissy, our girls are doing pretty good with the rice cereal. We feed it to them once for their last feeding. Then, we give them a bottle right after and put them to bed. They fuss after awhile because we can't shovel the food in fast enough! They're so use to having the constant flow of the bottle that they're not patient to wait for you to get another spoonful. Maddie actually takes it better than Mila. Mila sometimes still pushes some of it out. We made it a little thicker last night and they didn't even want their bottle afterwards. I don't know if that is an issue or not, but they seemed completely full from the rice cereal. How is Alexander doing? Sounds like he's growing fast...I'd love to see pics!

Sorry, Laurie, I know you had asked about the cereal yesterday too. I just completely forgot to post about it. How are your girls doing with the cereal? Are you feeding it to them every night?

[adwalker]

Laurie, you can take fresh cabbage leaves and crumple them in your hand and put in your bra, it helps dry up much faster. (Sounds weird, but works wonders!!!!) Your daughters are doing so wonderful holding their heads up like that already. Maddie is like Ann's girls. Not as interested. She has decided she would rather lay and suck her thumb. She has found that rather well here recently, it used to be the whole hand...Oh well!

We started rice cereal on the 28th. She likes it pretty well. I thought it would help her sleep throught the night...didn't happen. She still gets up at 3.

Mthomas - So good to hear from you... Your babies are gorgeous!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th!!! Our big fireworks are scheduled for tonight and it is supposed to rain, so we went last night to some smaller ones. It was great because of the crowds and they were further away...not so noisy for the babe.