6-Month Checkup and Illness

Well, first thing's first, the girls had their 6-month checkup today. All is well. Here are the stats:

Frances
Weight: 17 lbs. 13 oz. (80th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 43 1/2 cm (a bit above the 75th percentile)

Grace
Weight: 17 lbs. 15 1/2 oz. (80th percentile)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (70th percentile)
Head: 44 cm (80th percentile)

I honestly think they'd be weighing a bit more, but we all lost some weight after a recent bout with stomach illness (see below). They received their 6-month rounds of vaccinations as well as the flu shot. We also have to schedule an appointment for hearing screening. They passed it before they left the NICU. But I guess the state of Maryland requires that they get tested again before a year old, simply because they were in the NICU and received antibiotics in their first 24-hours of life. So I gotta schedule that. Their next pediatrician appointment is at 9 months. (Nine months... I can't even imagine!? Time is flying by!)

Some developmental things to note this past week:

• Grace and Frances both have their bottom two teeth coming in. Grace's have completely broken through, and Frances has one that has broken through and one simmering just under the gums. Yay! At least this explains the hours and hours of screaming. I'm hoping that subsequent teeth will break through sans as much drama. Please!!!
• Also, we were reading "I am a bunny" - well we don't actually "read" it, we just say "where's the bunny?" and point to it each time. This time Grace pasted her slimey hands on the bunny. We thought it was a fluke, that she was just favoring the left side of the book, but when the bunny was on the opposite page, she was slapping her slimey hand right on him. Frances loves to "turn the page" when we read books. Everyday they are changing. So cute!

Last week was our first experience with a full family stomach virus. We've had the full family cold before, but this really sucked. It hit me at work. Richard had felt sick almost at about the same time I did - but at least he was working from home since his office was closed due to weather. So about a 1/2 hour after Richard and I had complained about our symptoms - he calls me at work and puts the nanny on the phone. She says that Grace and Frances are throwing up and have fevers. Initially Richard and I thought it was food related - at this point, we realize that since the babies are sick too, it's a virus. My co-worker had been out sick for two days with the same symptoms. So yea, I brought it home - nice mommy! Doh!

Anywho, I had to leave work a 1/2 hour early. And SOOO glad I did because the full force of the illness pretty much hit as soon as I walked in the door. Grace wasn't keeping ANYTHING down. Frances and Richard were faring a bit better than Grace and I. Richard had to take Grace to the ER. But they told him, just to keep trying to give her pedialyte - and hopefully she keeps it down - if she doesn't, then we have to worry about dehydration. By night time they each got about 2 ounces they kept down. I was in the same boat. And with the fever and aches and pains. Blah! We all felt like we'd been hit by trucks the next day. Richard and I called off work. But, as my mom says, "there are no sick days for parents." And believe me being sick and taking care of two sick babies - not a walk in the park. The nanny was with us, which helped immensely since we were definitely NOT functioning at 100%. Case in point, I was so weak, dizzy and distracted, that I FELL down the stairs. Seriously. What the heck? I was sooo pissed at myself. Thank GOD I did not break anything. Disaster. So as you can imagine, I'm still feeling a bit sore, but the stomach bug was gone for me by Saturday evening, as well as 4 pounds of weight! Seriously, gotta work on replenishing those fluids! The rest of the family felt pretty okay by Friday evening. And no, the nanny is not sick, she's super human.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned...

So Many Changes!

So many changes in less than a week! Seriously, time IS flying by.

So just since their birthday last Tuesday:

• Grace is rolling over to both sides now (before she tended to favor rolling to her left side). And she's figured out how to combine the back-to-stomach and stomach-to-back rolls!
• Frances is also officially rolling from her back to her stomach! I was so surprised when I turned for a split second and the next thing you know, she was on her belly, smiling at me! I had to stop for a second and make sure it was really her, and that I didn't get the girls confused haha. But now she's a rolling machine. We're kind of panicking - picturing them both moving around like crazy! Baby proofing time is here!
• The girls finished their week of carrots - now we're on to squash - and LOVING it! So yay, carrots and squash on the menu :-)
• Frances has been kicking it up a notch this week, along with the rolling, she can now hold her bottle. They both still prefer that someone else do it, but if left to their own devices they will grab and chug away.
• AND, Grace has been super cranky lately. Not taking naps as easily as she used to (she was our clinch napper!) and today was a particularly inconsolable one. So I checked her gums to see if she was cutting any teeth and voila! There's a little tooth starting to poke it's way through. I can even feel the sharp little edges! Oh my girls are getting bigger every day! (FYI - I did check Frances' gums as well, since she's been having a lot of symptoms too, but I didn't "feel" or "see" anything yet - doesn't mean something's not brewing under there.)

Anywho, a week from Monday will be their 6 month check-up, can't wait. In the mean time, some more videos for your viewing pleasure.

Frances Laughing
Context: Grace had hit herself in the face with her giraffe teether so I said "Pow! Right in the kisser!" and Frances started laughing. The nanny and I figured out it was the "Pow!" that she thought was hilarious. So here's my video of it cracking her up. (This was taken this week.)




Frances Watching Dora.
Context: Frances was watching Dora, and completely zoned in. I was talking to her and she was ignoring me. So I picked up the camera and proceeded to film it. You can see she gets annoyed with me in the end. Already, acting like a teenager. (This was taken Dec. 12, 2010)


The girls are Six Months, Four Days Old today.

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Yay! The girls are 6 months old today. Crazy how time is flying by. So much has changed in just the last month. Lots of rolling (which I haven't taken any video of yet, since I'm wrangling babies hehe). Grace is all about holding her own bottle. Frances isn't really doing it yet, the chub gets in the way! hehe. We had been trying spoon feeding since they turned 5 months, but no doing. Last week the GI said to try some vegetable - and skip the cereal from a spoon (they are getting it in their bottles anyway). And sure enough, Saturday we gave them some carrots and yum-o, they loved it! So now we're going through a jar per feeding, twice per day.

Below is a video of Gracie holding her bottle and below that is a video of the girls eating carrots for their birthday. Sra. Esther and I called it their "carrot cake" - Richard said they should get half a candle for half a year old :-) Enjoy...

Gracie holding her bottle...


The girls eating carrots on their birthday...

A Surprised Gracie!

Here is a video from back in December. Auntie Amy was over and we were playing with the girls in their Bumbos. Grace got surprised when I said, "Get the froggy!" - referencing the rattle Amy is holding. It's a bit grainy because I wanted to add the slow-mo effect, and had to do it in Windows Movie Maker. Anywho, I think you still can see well enough.

Enjoy!

Our Tootsie Roll - Gracie

I forgot to post that Gracie is a roller! They both have been rolling from stomach to back for awhile now. But now Gracie loves going from her back to her stomach. She first did it when my parents were visiting. My dad said "Gracie rolled over!" And we didn't believe him - she had always come close - but just not close enough. Then she was crying in her crib and my mom went to check on her and voila she was face down screaming into the mattress. Yikes! So yea, now we are (overly) concerned every time we hear her cries get muffled (but at least she's still crying right?!).

It's just a challenge putting on lotion or clothes. Oh and you can imagine what fun rolling is when you are trying to change a poopy diaper - yea, not so much. You turn your back and Grace is gone, rolling away. Yesterday we were changing both girls on the floor, and Grace rolled on her belly, and promptly returned to her back - thudding her head on the hardwood floor in the process. Doh!

We are already worried about Frances getting as agile. We know it will happen soon because she gets real close to rolling herself over to her stomach. With this added mobility it is a bit harder being home alone with the girls. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when they are both crawling....... and walking! Omigosh! I'll admit I'm very afraid.

Hopefully we'll survive ;-) Thank God for the person who invented baby gates (aka baby jail hehe).

January Tummy Check-up

The girls had their check-up for their tummy troubles today. They are both doing great. The Similac Alimentum is working like a champ. And the girls are still gaining weight, although not as much this past month as they gained the month before.

We could have sworn Grace looked taller and thinner than Frances but they both measured out equals. They both are 25 inches long and 17.1 pounds. They are between the 75th and 90th percentiles for weight, and around the 50th percentile for height.

I told the doc that I cut out the rice cereal in their formula the last week of December. They were getting one tablespoon for every two ounces of formula. So three tablespoons at each feeding, for each girl. The girls were having such a hard time drinking it through the bottle - and still aren't eating from a spoon yet. They were gulping a lot of air that would get trapped in the bottle. And we had to widen even the cereal nipples for it to flow through - and that would cause gulping of air as well. She said we shouldn't cut out the rice cereal completely. So now we're doing one teaspoon for every 1-2 ounces. But I think cutting out the cereal may have slowed down their growth some. We told the GI we've been trying the spoon feeding every weekend, just to see if they are ready. We had been trying just the rice cereal and oatmeal - but she said we could try other stage one foods - since maybe the babies are just being picky. Who knows...

Frances is suffering from really BAD eczema. Even the GI doctor felt so horrible for her. We went to the doctor and she said to apply 1% hydrocortisone cream, she said no lotion will heal parts that are already cracked and oozing. And I bought some Aquaphor to maintain flare-ups behind her knees after the hydrocortisone treatment. So we just have to be stingy so as to not overdose her on the hydrocortisone. Poor baby. She's all scabby and raw - it really does look painful  - and she definitely let's us know when it's bother her. :-(

Anywho we have another follow up with the GI in March. And we have their 6 month check up at the end of this month. Crazy how time flies!

First Christmas and New Year!

"Team Santa" - Frances and Grace, Christmas morning 

The girls survived their first Christmas! My parents and brother came down to visit. The girls had their initial "stranger danger" episode. Although, I think the over stimulation of various activities just added to their crankiness. Christmas morning they lasted long enough for us to get a couple shots of them with a couple gifts (see above) and then they passed out again. Therefore, I opened all the presents - they were able to marvel at them after their nap.

In the evening we had Christmas Dinner. Richard's dad came over and Uncle Edgar, and Rhonnie, as well. And two cute little girls, Katie and Abby. Like I said above, the girls and their "stranger danger" came to the forefront. They cried A LOT. I tried to explain to the two little girls that came over, that the babies weren't crying because they didn't like them, it's just something babies go through. Richard and I ended up having to escape upstairs to get the girls quieted down.

I would say by Sunday they became accostomed to the added company. It was just a lot of "new" people all at once. My brother headed back Upstate early Sunday morning - to avoid the predicted snowpocalypse - which actually didn't hit anywhere relevant - but ya never know with those things.

My folks stayed the rest of the week! Since Richard and I both had to work, and the nanny was still on vacation - my parents took on the baby duty (doodie hehe). They did such an awesome job! It's A LOT of work. It was nice to have 4 adults around at night, man were we able to get A LOT more done.

Grace and Frances in their New Year's outfits

Richard and I both had New Year's Eve off from work. In the morning we had a New Year's photoshoot with the girls. I had bought these flower headbands that were adorably hilarious (see above). Afterwards, Richard and my dad loaded up a bunch of furniture and etcetera to donate to Goodwill and Salvation Army. Seriously we are crunched for space with two babies! So that was a nice weight lifted off our shoulders (again, my parents are awesome!). And Richard cleaned the girls room and I cleaned our room.

Aunt Sig and Uncle Freddy fought off the jet-lag from their recent trip to visit Glenn in Paris -- and came to visit us. They brought over some gifts for the girls, which promptly entered their mouths - as everything does hehe. After they left we did what we always do, take care of babies haha. We had our New Year's cheer around 9:30 p.m.-ish, since we were all dog-tired from a long day (and week, and month -- let's make that 5 and 1/2 months......).

New Year's Day my folks left to head back Upstate. I'll admit I cried after they left. Richard and I both were depressed. Seriously we felt the weight back on. It'd had been a long few weeks. With the nanny being gone and trying to juggle work, and the holidays, it had been nice to have a couple extra hands around to help out. We can't wait for them to visit again, but they might enjoy the "freedom" for a bit longer hahahaha.

So a BIG THANK YOU to Auntie Amy, and Grandma and Grandpa for helping out with everything in December! We couldn't have done it without you guys.