11 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

It has been a busy and somewhat stressful month. The biggest thing that has happened is the girls ended up with RSV. They had so much congestion that they would vomit atleast once per day. In fact, this lasted for two weeks. So needless to say, sleeping hasn't been that great. However, I am pleased to announce that the girls are now healthy (knock on wood). With that being said, here are the "milestones" this past month that I can remember with my foggy, tired, brain!

Kamryn:
• 18lbs 1oz. Note: This measurement was when she was sick. In fact she lost 9oz in one day when she had RSV
• Was on steroids to clear her lungs and also received a shot in her leg for an antibiotic
• Went to the doctor daily for 4 days straight!
• Developed a rash with her new helmet, so we had to get it adjusted
• Learned how to walk behind her push toy
• Seems to be the dominant twin. She is strong willed and will also throw tantrums already
• Likes to pick on Laityn and gets jealous if she has something she wants
• Eats a ridiculous amount of food - loves crackers, bread, fruit, veggies, pasta, ho hos, soup, puffs, pancakes, and bacon
• She will continue to eat as long as there is food on her tray and she gets mad if she runs out
• Learned to clap and will do it on cue
• Pretty much skipped 9 month clothes and are now wearing 12 month
• Has 7 teeth

Laityn:
• 18lbs 2oz
• Made a trip to the ER with rapid breathing due to the RSV
• FINALLY started babbling!
• She likes to speed crawl and will do this with her head down, which results in her doing headers into random things
• Is a nice, clean eater. Kamryn smashes everything and shoves it into her mouth
• A low maintenince baby who will be content playing with her toys
• Accidentally fell down the stairs. Fortunately she was only scared and nothing major happened. Mommy had a heart attack though!
• Loves looking outside
• Hates getting her diaper changed
• Bathtime is one of her favorite things
• Has not figured out a push toy yet, but does cruise along the furniture
• Has 6 teeth
• LOVES all her food - crackers, bananas, pancakes, and pudding!

This has been a difficult month. I knew it would be hard when both girls were sick - I just didn't know it would be this hard! Fortunately things are turning around and we have our sweet girls back! They have a love/hate relationship with each other. Most the time they play, other times they fight and swat at each other. I just kinda laugh, but in the back of my mind, I think this is just a preview of whats to come!! 

10 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

What a busy month we had! The biggest thing was both girls can now crawl on their knees and they are super fast! The like to be in the bathroom and look into the bathtub, and pull themselves up on everything. They definitely like to explore and follow each other around the house. They also like to play "games" where one will take off really fast, and then turn around and see if the other is following or not - kinda like cat & mouse!
Kamryn:
• 17lbs 12oz, 28" long
• Starting to grow into 9 month clothes, but continues to wear a variety. The onesie in the pictures is 3-6 months, pants 3-6 months, and jacket is 6 months.
• Still wearing size 2 diapers!
• Got both bottom teeth this past month
• Loves toast, pasta, carrots, peas, and anything with noodles...and the occasional oreo ;)
• Also likes her snacks like puffs, crunchies, and whatever else we give her
• Dislikes rice cereal!
• Babbles
• Starting to cruise around furniture
• Has broken the BluRay player because she pulled it out of the entertainment center
• We tell her "no, no" and she turns around with an innocent look and smiles
• Still hates her carseat
• Likes to chew on her toes
• Received her helmet and will wear it for 6 months. It doesn't fit quite right, so we may be getting a new one
• Sleeps from 7-5:30
• Takes a morning & afternoon nap

Kamryn

Laityn:
• 18lbs
• She seems to be a little shorter than Kamryn
• Still wearing size 2 diapers!
• Got both bottom teeth this past month
• Loves toast, pasta, carrots, peas, and anything with noodles...and the occasional oreo ;)
• Also likes her snacks like puffs, crunchies, and whatever else we give her
• Babbles
• Starting to cruise around furniture
• Ofter pulls on Kamryn's helmet or hits it
• Doesn't babble yet
• She likes to scream and play really loud!
• Has one of the funniest laughs I have ever heard

• Sleeps from 7-5:30
• Takes a morning & afternoon nap
• Had her 2nd ear infection this month

Laityn

 The girls also enjoy being outside and being at home with their mama! They love their big sister and
"tormenting" her. Yes, its starting already! Love ALL my girls to pieces!

Birthday Parties

Macyn has gone to three birthday parties this past month! One involved a trip to Chucky Cheese with friends, a pony ride, and a visit to the doll house for a tea party! Here are some pictures.

Friends getting ice cream at Culvers

Riding Oreo

With her baby doll for the tea partry

9 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

9 months old already! We have had some ups and down this past month, but just looking at how far these two have come, overshadows some of the downs. Both girls enjoy crawling (on their tummies) anywhere and everywhere....the bathroom, bedrooms, mudroom, behind the couch, table, and everywhere else in between. They are also starting to pull up onto their knees on things as well. They like to follow each other where ever they go....they are pretty much inseparable!
They have started to eat some finger foods, but we are under specific rules of no dairy or other allergens, so they eat meat, puffs, toast, and other small things. They do pretty well and they enjoy the tastes of all their new foods.

Here are some individual updates
Kamryn
• 16lbs 14oz, 28" long
• She is starting to babble saying, "mamamama" and "babababa."
• Learned how to do "SO BIG"
• Loves to eat...anything!
• Holds her own bottle
• Sits up on her own
• Crawls everywhere 
• Loves taking a bath with both sisters
• Went to the doctor to see if she needed a helmet. She will be getting one in two weeks and will wear it for 22 hours a day for about six months
• Was also diagnosed with toriticollis, and we did some physical therapy with her, along with excercises at home. I am happy to say her toticollis has resolved and no longer requires therapy
• Had a repeat heart echo and discovered her ventricular hypertrophy has normalized
• However, the echo discovered a new problem - pericardial effusion. This means she has fluid around her heart, and if there gets to be too much fluid it can cause her heart not to function properly. She has been on ibuprofin to try and get the fluid out of there. We have a repeat echo in two weeks

Laityn
• 16lbs 2oz, 27.5" long
• Crawls on her tummy
• Sits up on her own
• Has pulled herself up on the couch
• Went and checked on her hemangioma, and we will begin to wean her off her medicine within the next few months
• She hasn't quite gotten the pincer grasp down yet
• We found out despite being physically on track, she is now developmentally behind. If she doesn't start to catch up soon, we may need to do some further testing
• We knew she would have the possibillty of being slower, due to the fact that we don't exactly know how long her brain was without oxygen when she was born...just never would have imagined it would show up this quickly
• Had her first ear infection
• LOVES bath time- and splashing!

So this past month we had many ups and downs, and some medical news that gives me a knot in my stomach. I try not to worry and I think what makes it better is being home with two happy girls. They fill my life with so much joy, and it seems to outweigh the "bad" news. I am just so proud of them with how far they have come, even if there are still challenges along the way. One quote I love, "Remember that your child, not statistics will determine her course."

Even if odds are against them, they determine their course. God already knows what course they will be on, and has planned it out already. This is a very comforting fact to get through these "bumps" in the road.

A little behind...

I have come to the realization that I have let this blog "go" for a little less than a month now. Well, I am trying to play catch up, so you may want to check out some posts that I will be back-dating. Enjoy (and I hope I can find more time to update)!

Merry Christmas

Here are the highlights of Christmas this year. For our kids, we decided to go with the, "Something they want, something they need, something they wear, something they read," motto. This cut out a lot of unnecessary gifts, and we put in more thought once we picked things out for the kids!

Anyways, here are some pictures from all of our Christmases this year!

8 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

Our girls are 8 months old! They have seemed to develop a lot since last time I updated, so here is a rundown of what has been going on:

Kamryn:
• She still doesn’t sit up…at all, or make any attempt at crawling. She just rolls and rolls!
• Can hold her own bottle!
• A great self-feeder. I gave her a cheerio the other day and she was able to pick it up and chew it down
• A good eater – she opens her mouth soooo wide!
• Mostly sleeps through the night (knock on wood). Thank you Halo Sleepsacks!
•  Her head is still flat and will be mapped for an orthotic helmet on New Year’s Eve
• She likes to experiment with her voice and will often make up some pretty strange sounds
• No teeth…at all! (and no signs either!)
• Professional present bow-ripper-offer

Laityn: 16lbs
• Had the stomach flu this past month which resulted in vomiting 5x, a trip to urgent care, and a trip to the doctor
• Still has a runny nose and the doctor pretty much said she is just catching everything
• She can sit up for a short amount of time
• When laid on her tummy, she will get up on all fours and rock back and forth. She has also figured out how to inch herself forward, similar to an army crawl
• She refuses to hold her bottle or eat anything unless you physically put it in her mouth
• Her gums have some big bumps and I think she may pop a tooth out one of these days
• She sometimes sleeps through the night, but I think this more due to being sick than anything. Once again – Thank you Halo Sleepsacks!
• Loves her baby food, formula, and some apple juice

As of right now they are a little behind developmentally (not sitting), but in reality Macyn didn’t sit up until 7 months and they are about 6.5 months adjusted. They both like to show their personalities and often get upset if you take a toy or something they really wanted away (like ripping open Christmas presents). I can’t believe they are on the downhill slope of being one already. They are growing so fast! Other than being behind, they continue to have little known health issues. Its always in the back of my mind that they will just do things slower than other kids their same age. I see other babies 1-2 months younger and they are already sitting up, where Kamryn can’t at all. I feel it will be a relief once they can finally hit all their milestones and have the reassurance that they are developing properly. Whether they are behind or not, I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world and I cannot imagine life without both of them!