[jenedens6102]

Laurie, what are laundry, dinner, housework? Those words are almost foreign to me these days. Probably because I am working 10 hours a day. By the time we get home Ethan gets his bath, his last bottle and starts to fall asleep. Of course I don't put him down until he's asleep because of his reflux. Then once he's down I don't want to make too much noise and wake him up or I need to go to bed myself. These summer hours take a big toll on me, by 9 p.m. I'm ready for bed! I love the new pictures of the girls. Where have the three months gone? I love the pictures of them together. I also try to take as many pictures of Ethan smiling as I can, it's precious!

[amfandrmf]

Jen, I'm glad Ethan is feeling better. And, yes, I did get pics! I also have one of Mila with one of our cats and one of Maddie when she fell asleep in her playcenter. I hope your able to share those pics of Ethan with Eva sooner than a year from now. Would love to seem them.

Laurie, I'm so jealous that you're able to take a vacation. We really can't afford anything right now. At least until we know how much I'll be making and how many hours I'll be getting. I think we're gonna wait until next summer to try and make any trips. Where are you looking to go? I don't know if you remember that one place I recommended - WI Dells with all their waterparks. Well, with the storms we've been having and all the flooding, their lake where they have water shows and different kind of events became a sink hole and took out 5 homes! There is no more lake! I can't believe what this whether is doing to us. Crazy, crazy. I love the pics of the girls! That dress is just precious! I wish I could catch the girls smiling on camera. I think I'm enjoying myself so much when they're reacting and smiling that I don't even think about the camera.

Father's Day Maddie and Mila turn 3 months too! Jen, I know what you mean about time flying. Soon, they will be walking and talking! I just love all their precious milestones and all their new experiences. So fun.

[lauriej79]

Anna - I don't think that Mila looks that much bigger than Maddie. Avery's extra weight over Presley is in her head and jaws! She has sure got the checks. They are really filling out.
Jen- Do you stay exhausted? I do, and I'm not even working all those hours and the babies sleep through the night. It is awesome! Their last bottle was at 10pm last night and DH woke them up to feed them at 7:30!! I couldn't believe it but I woke up this morning and realized that I had not been up all night to put a pacifier in or pat a butt or anything! It was crazy. Now if they would just go to bed a little earlier.

[jenedens6102]

Anna, how precious are Maddie and Mila? Too cute! I love the one with the cat. My cat likes to stand guard over Ethan but doesn't really have anything to do with us when we have him. The dogs are the same way, they spend more time out then in now - which is fine by me. But it is funny to get up around midnight and see our cat laying on the floor facing the crib watching Ethan sleep and making sure he's ok. When he cries, the cat comes to my room as though to tell me "hey, come on!" What a neat day for your DH that the girls turn 3 months on Father's Day - I didn't even think about that until now.

Laurie, I am so exhausted. Right now I'd give anything for a nap! Two to three weeks a month in the summer I work 10 hours a day (well 9 technically because of our hour lunch) and get a half day on Friday. So while I hate getting up at 4 a.m. every day I love getting off at noon on Friday to spend extra time with Ethan. He's sleeping through the night now too. He takes his last bottle between 6-7 and goes down around 8 and doesn't get up until I wake him up. Or if he has the opportunity to sleep it's normally about 6:30-7 when he wakes up on his own. I don't have to get up for a pacifier as he rarely takes one but he gets restless from time to time and I have to go in, reposition him and then pat his butt three times and he's good. The ped said that sometimes they are regressing back to being in the womb and all of a sudden they dream that they are in that tight and cramped environment and want to kick out and stretch out. Makes sense since what he's doing is bringing his arms and legs in then kicking them out. Good thing he's got a nice cozy mattress because he drops those heals so hard he'd have bruises otherwise!

Are any of your little ones trying to sit up on their own? When we are holding Ethan in the nook of our arms he tries to sit himself up. He does pretty good too except that I sit him back and tell him he's getting too big for his britches! What about rolling over? Ethan's cousin Eva can roll from her back to her stomach. Ethan doesn't even try, either direction. But he's laughing and she isn't even giggling yet - just shows that every baby (no matter how close in age) is different.

[amfandrmf]

Laurie, I agree! When you look at Maddie and Mila its not as obvious about their weight difference. But, when you pick them up...wow! Major difference. Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna break Maddie because she's so much lighter. Avery has adorable cheeks! Who did she get them from? Do you know who they look like? Have you decided? Looks like your girls are still sleeping great through the night! Our girls go to bed around 8 p.m. and the longest they've gone without a bottle was 3:30 a.m. They can't seem to make it longer than that, but its still fine with me. I'm always so tired, I go to bed at 9:30 p.m., so I'm still getting plenty of rest. Do you have them sleeping in their cribs now? Do they ever wake each other up?

Jen, I'm glad you liked the pics. Flick is our most docile (sp?) cat. You can do anything to him. I know all of our animals will be great with the girls when they start pulling tails and ears. I'm not worried one bit. I'm actually excited for that point because then the animals will feel more involved. I love that your cat is so adorable with Ethan. Maybe once Ethan starts crawling and interacting with him, the cat will want more and more to do with Ethan. Our girls don't try to sit up at all, but they both are trying to roll. They haven't rolled over yet, but they definitely will rock and move around their playcenter. Or, when Mila is laying on our stomach, she will rock and flop off of us now. So, we have to be much more careful with her now. She hasn't completly rolled over on her own yet.

[evita]

Hello ladies, i have been MIA for a while...had some guests at home and was busy with Eva. Yesterday was her checkup and another round of vaccination and things are on track. She is weighing 11.24 lbs now ! Unfortunately, i stopped breastfeeding her and on the advice of the pead i would be starting her on weaning foods and water after four months mark. She was down with a bout of cold recently but is better now.

I love all the pics of cute babies out here...it is nice to see how much they have grown.

[jenedens6102]

Here are Ethan's pictures he had taken at JC Penney about three weeks ago. Dh had to scan them in so we'd have them. Unfortunately though when he scanned our two family poses they came out in PDF format instead of JPG and we can't resize them to fit But I hope you enjoy the ones we could resize of Ethan.

[amfandrmf]

Evita, sounds like a lot has been going on with you. How is Eva been doing with the bottle? I hope she took to it okay. I can't believe in less than a month, you'll be starting on foods and water. Isn't it just amazing how the time flies?! I think we'll find out at our 4 month appt if our doctor wants us to wait on foods or not...since they're preemies it may be closer to 6 months before we can try it out.

Jen, I love Ethan's pics. Adorable, adorable...I can't believe that was three weeks ago! Such a handsome little man. Oh, and congrats on your 3 month birthday, Ethan!!!!

I hope all DHs enjoyed father's day! We had a great weekend, even though I couldn't wait getting back to the girls when we left for dinner and a movie. I feel like I want a break at times, but then when I get it I just miss them so much that I do all I can to get back ASAP.

Great news...I got the job I wanted!! I had an offer with the hospital and at a different company, but the hospital still had way better benefits. After weighing pros and cons for both jobs, it was a no-brainer. So, I'll be working in the pediatric clinic and get to see beautiful babies every day! It's a small clinic with only two pediatricians and I'm sure I'll get to ask them questions whenever I'll need to for the girls, so that will be nice. I don't start until July 7th, so I get three more weeks with the girls before going back to work. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I've never left anyone alone with the girls for more than 4 hours, so all these 8 hour shifts are scaring me. I guess we all go through this eventually, huh.

[jenedens6102]

Anna, congratulations on getting the job you wanted and it sounds perfect. Definitely going to be a nice environment for you to be in. I can relate to you on wanting a break but then when I get it all I can do is think of Ethan and I rush back to him. I do that even when we are home and DH takes him for me so I can do some cleaning and such. Like Saturday morning, it took me all of 30 minutes to do the dishes because I had to go out in the living room and kiss him five times! I just miss him so during the week that all I want to do on the weekend is spend every waking moment with him.
I'm glad you liked the pictures. He already looks different from them and that was three weeks ago. They are just growing so fast!

Evita, amazing that the time is flying and soon Eva will be starting on foods and water. I'm excited to get there because I can't wait to see how Ethan responds to foods and to see the messy faces he'll have. How is Eva adjusting to weaning?

AKK, how are your two little ones? I think about you often and hope that you are feeling better.

Laurie, the girls amaze me! What's new this week?

Chrissy, if you are lurking we'd like an update on Alexander too!

[crissa]

hey ladies....

all of the pics of the babies are adorable.......jen, your little man is sooooo..........handsome!!!

anna and laurie, your daughters are beautiful!!!

evita- i can't believe eva is starting on food...yeah...alexander will start on rice cereal in about 2 weeks, after his 4 month check up......i haven't given him water yet, but i do give him chamomile tea........

so, i have a question....how are your munchkins sleeping????? do they sleep through the night....alexander still gets up for a feeding....he goes down at 9:30 wakes up around 3:30 for a feeding, goes back to sleep till around 7.......does this sound normal...this is the first week in his crib......any pointers on getting him to sleep throught the night?????i'll take it!!!

[amfandrmf]

Jen, thanks, I'm very excited to start the training next month. I'm really going to enjoy the next three weeks though. I don't have to worry about job searching anymore and I can just concentrate on getting things done around the house and spending tons of time with the girls. So, have you taken Ethan in any water yet? I have a hand-me-down bathing suit for a 3-6 month and I don't know if I should get another one. Next month, we're hosting DH's family reunion and it will be in our local park on the beach. I don't know if I should introduce the girls to the water completely or just dip their feet in the water. Just wondering if Ethan's gone swimming yet.

Chrissy, its great to hear from you. I can completely relate about the sleeping pattern. I think our girls may be teething now because they did well for awhile during the night, but now they are just so fussy. They use to get me up for a 3:00 a.m. feeding and now its even worse. They now get me up around 1 or 2 a.m. and then around 5 or 6 a.m. I'm so exhausted...I just hope this gets better soon. So, sorry but no advice for ya. I could some as well.

[adwalker]

Can I join you ladies? I was on the April due date thread, but had her in March too.

Madison has slept through the last 2 nights, I hope this lasts. She has not really developed a pattern yet. Some days she will sleep all day and night and other days she is up all day. Anyone have theirs on a "set" schedule in the day?

She had her shots today, she is sleeping still. We are a bit behind due to my other daughter being in the hospital. I hope she continues to do well today.

Anyone have a problem weaning from BF? Or Advice? She just doesn't like formula. I have given up for now, but she will eventually need to go to formula.

Amfandrmf, I am so glad to see you and your babies doing so well!!!

I will have to refresh myself, I haven't been on in awhile with everything that is going on here at home.

[amfandrmf]

Adrienne, its so nice that you are joining us! I haven't heard from you for such a long time. How is everything going? I'd LOVE to see pics of Madison. How is she doing? I completely understand the non-schedule days. My girls have never been consistent. I try and get them on a schedule, but it just causes them to fuss even more. So, I'm just going with the flow right now. Some days the girls will sleep most of the day away and only be awake for a few hours. Other days, they will barely nap at all. Now, our nights are getting bad again as well. I don't know what to do. I think if I keep them active during the day, so they don't sleep the day away that they will sleep great at night...not the case at all. I think they might be teething because they haven't been this fussy for quite some time. I'm glad Madison has had a couple of good nights for you.

How is your other daughter? I hope its nothing too serious. How are your other children adapting to having a new baby in the house? Unfortunately, I can't comment on the BF. I wasn't able to with the girls. I can't imagine how hard it must be with her not wanting to transition to formula. I hope someone else has a good answer for you here.

[jenedens6102]

The more the merrier - welcome Adrienne. I didn't have any trouble weaning Ethan from breastfeeding - he eats like his dad so he's not picky.

Anna, I have not taken Ethan swimming yet - I'm dying to but just not yet. I want him to have a little more control first. Plus the water is still a bit cold right now, at least it is here.

Chrissy, so good to hear from you. Ethan has been sleeping through the night for a good month now. He takes his last bottle between 6-7 or so (depending on the day) and falls asleep within the hour and sleeps until I wake him up around 5:45 the next morning. However, he's a very restless sleeper starting around 2:30. As for positioners I have a small one from Wal-Mart that just hugs his sides to keep him from rolling. He is now starting to somehow (our magician) wiggle out of it while staying in the same place. But we also found that laying him on his side to start was better then laying him flat. We rock him to sleep so he's used to being held and not flat. The sleep positioner helps him to still feel like he's being held. He tends to roll himself onto his back before I get into bed. But when he starts to kick and get restless (while eyes are still closed and he's sleeping) I will sometimes put him back on his side, pat his butt and within a minute he's back to being comfortable. Oh and on the rice cereal, I've heard from a lot of mommies that this caused their little one to get really constipated. Might want to mix a fruit in or just keep an eye on it. After Ethan's one bought with constipation I'm not going to even attempt rice, we are going with Oatmeal but not for another month or so.

[adwalker]

I just went back and looked at all the pics. Those are all such gorgeous babies!!! I will have to add some pics of Madison. I have yet to catch her smiling on camera, and I don't think it will happen today, she is pretty fussy.

I have alot of respect for the twin mommies, I don't know how you do it with 2!!!

My other daughter ran into the side of a truck that was going about 35 MPH. (Sounds better than saying she was hit by a truck!!) She was life flighted to Children's Hospital in Columbus. She ended up with a minor brain bleed. She had to be in the pediatric intensive care unit, which I couldn't take my breast fed baby in there, so I had to take turns with my DH cuz he couldn't feed the baby. It was a mess!! I am just soooooooooooo glad that she got sooo lucky. She was only in the hospital for 4 days and is doing really well now. I have to remind her that she still has to take it easy!!

Jen, who watches your LO while you work? How is that working out for you? I am sorry if you already covered this before. I tried to go back and read, but time is limited here!!