PlAyiNg CaTcH uP....

the loves' of my life are FIVE months old already.

how can this possibly be?
they say it flies by, well, i'm here to tell you my friends, they aren't joking around about it!
indeed. indeed it does.

like the title of this blog says, i'm playing catch up.
catch up on my boys and their haps the last TWO months.

here goes....

THREE month highlights consisted of....

the boys had a bunch of special visitors & their first head colds {ugghh} in the week of their 3 month b.day & the week after {week 13 &14}.
my dad flew in to meet his only grand kids - think it was a mutual love at first sight! my mom had a birthday, they met their great aunt, uncle and second cousin and the tulsa clan came down for a day...whew - what a busy 3 month b.day week for the lil's.

sweet holden started sneezing and was extremely congested the end of week 14. poor baby boy. his brother got the same nasty head cold two days later.
we got into the ped first thing on monday morning.
just a head cold - nothing we could do but wait it out. {we did give them some natural herbal drops found at the health food store}

at 15 wks the boys weighed:
L: 14.3lbs
H: 13.11lbs

FOUR month highlights consisted of....

switching pediatricians and mommy leaving the boys.
we loved our first ped, but had some issues come up that we didn't see eye to eye on. the main one being vaccines. {ugghh!!!}
so, for our 4 month check-up we saw our new one.

and we LOVE her.

she came highly recommended {thanks amy}. she practices holistic medicine combined with modern and WORKS WITH YOU on vaccines.

boys stats: {4mths and a week}.
L: weight: 15lbs 6oz height: 25 1/2 inches.
H: weight: 14lbs 15oz height: 25 inches.

the BIG trip.....

mommy left them for the FIRST time a week before they turned 5 months.
yes, left them in very capable hands. but nonetheless, LEFT THEM for more than 4 hours!
wow - this was H.A.R.D.
like harder than hearing i had to go on STRICT bed rest at 28wks preggo.
like harder than trying to mentally prepare for a c-section.

it was H.A.R.D.

but, we all made it. and the boys were SUPER DUPER happy to see us. like smiles for days. adam and i had a great time in seattle. we LOVED every minute of being with my family and hated leaving them as i know it will be a LONG time until we are all together again.
and this breaks my heart!
gma and gpa walters said 'they had the time of their lives.' ....this makes me happy!

SO....i learned from this experience that:

• I AM A CONTROL FREAK when it comes to my boys. like 4 pages of typed notes that i left with them kind of control freak.
• although nobody can love and care for my boys the way i do....they can come awfully close!
  
• it is a good thing to leave and take time for myself {every once in awhile}.
• it is a good thing for my boys to bond with other family members - especially g-parents.
• i am SO thankful for loving, supportive, bend over backwards kind of parents that adam and i have!
• I LOVE AND MISSED MY BOYS SO SO SO VERY MUCH!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

now for the journal part of the post {b/c this is the boys' baby book}.......

Schedule:

we are still following a eat/wake/sleep schedule. the boys are eating anywhere between 4-6oz 5 times a day. we still start our day at 7:00a and end between 6:30-7:00p. you boys still take 3.5 naps a day. you two are trying to fight your last nap, which it is about time to drop this nap, but geesh if you don't get this nap in - it's not a fun night! this time of the day is still a work in progress.

Feedings:

• i fill the bottles with 4oz BM and 2oz formula. i have gotten the pumping down to only 4 times a day, it's really not that bad; a small sacrifice which i am more than willing to continue....we are well on our way of reaching my short term goal of pumping until they are 6 mths old {and i am determined to reach my long term goal of a year}.

• at 14w5d we dropped the dream feed. we had originally planned on doing this feed until they were 16w, but it seemed to be interrupting ledger. {they are sps'd to stay asleep during this feed. ledger began to wake up and cry - he was MAD that we had gotten him up....done with that}. so, since the end of their 14th week they have been sttn from 7:00p -7:00a without a 'top off.'

Naps:

• holden struggled with the 45 minute intruder his whole 3rd month of his life. almost every single nap - it was a struggle. a crying struggle. if it weren't for some of my friends who i emailed in shear desperation, i don't think i would have continued the cio! thank you dear friends for the encouragement and reassurance - you saved my life during this phase! {fast forward to now.....i lay him down and he is a happy camper, like LOVES his bed and LOVES his sleep. such a happy baby which equals a happy mommy! SO....cio works friends - it just may take some time!
• holden was in a swaddle for all naps and overnight until the week of their 5 month b.day (21 wks). this week i put him in a sleep sac for naps; which he did awesome in! but, i still have him in a swaddled at night....guess i'm just not ready for this yet. soon, very soon,
  
• ledger never was interrupted by the 45 minute intruder, nor did he have to 'learn' how to cio. he was always my sleeping angle....that is until now! you may remember reading my post on ledger ruining our perfect sttn steak??? yes, dear sweet ledger struggled with rolling over and waking himself up from that first night until week 20. he also is VERY VERY aware of his hands, feet, voice - oh my does this boy LOVE to hear himself talk - oh so cute but, it interrupts his nap. so, i now am messing with ledge to try to get him to calm down in his crib as he thinks it's playtime.
  
• ledger also went through a rough patch during nap time during his 18th week. like freak out crying as i laid him down. so NOT ledger. so, i went to my bible blog for help and came across THIS website....INTERESTING, VERY INTERESTING!
  
• ledger has been in a sleep sac since he started rolling over for all naps during the day, but was sleeping in a swaddle at night up until week 20. so now he is officially a full sleep sac kind of baby!
  

New Skills:

• feet - oh my, ledger has found his new favorite toys and i think he loves that they are attached and with him at ALL times. so fun watching him play with these!
• they are both grabbing for things and trying to get them in their mouths. sometimes this is a success, but not always. keep trying babies, practice makes perfect!
• their favorite thing to do is stand up and play 'so big.' they LOVE standing! such strong babies.
• voices - they love their voices. and we LOVE listening to them!
• smiles and laughs are coming more and more....sometimes even on demand - LOVE IT!
• they are waking talking instead of SCREAMING....thank you sweet boys for this.
• they both give us the biggest smiles when we go in to get them from their cribs - melts our hearts every time....this NEVER gets old!
• they are both SO aware {reference the article i attached above} of everything these days. people, smells, voices, toys, books, their hands/feet, ki'ya.....you name it. this stage is SO fun. there's nothing like watching two little babies discover the world. i am SO SO SO blessed to be able to capture all of this!
  

Extra Tid Bits {because this post isn't long enough}...at FIVE months:

• you boys are lov'n the exersaucers - so fun to watch you guys play and jump in them.
• i LOVE that you grab my shirt while i feed you - melts my heart. i also LOVE how you guys look up at me and smile mid gulp.
• ledger, you have started 'blow'n rasberries' - you think this is so funny.
• let the diaper wars begin {ledger}. enough said.
• ledger, you have found your brother and you are very fascinated with him. it's the cutest thing to watch you try to figure him out. i can't wait to see how you two continue to build your life long friendship.
• you both LOVE showing off for us...your favorite thing to do is hit your chests or stomachs {wherever your hands land}...we call this your ape call.
  
• ledger, you can roll from your belly to your back and vise versa. holden, you haven't even tried either way yet. come on baby...it's your turn!
  

wow- that was A LOT of info....thanks for stick'n with us if you are still reading.

to my boys:
you two are my world. you make each and every single day worth waking up in the mornings to go see your sweet faces. to see those smiles and to hear those voices. you give me pure and utter joy each day. i have said this before, and will probably say it a million more times - i feel so lucky, blessed and honored to be your mommy. to love on you. to teach you. to hold you. to hug and kiss you.
as my sister said to her husband this past wknd during the closing of her vows:
you {boys} complete me!