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Eight Weeks Old

The bean is eight weeks old. I'm pretty sure it happened overnight, but that's probably because I haven't slept in eight weeks, so the last two months have been one long night.

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Maybe it's the whole third child thing, or the fact that we've had so much going on, but I've done very little writing about LB thus far. I really want to absorb this peanut and everything she has to offer. But to be honest, I've been exhausted and just surviving most days. Three kids is seriously no joke. I really felt like I had it together with the twins -- even at the very beginning -- but three has sent me reeling.

So I'm going to make a concerted effort to capture her little moments, hopefully as well as I did for her sister and brother. Lauren already has as many (if not more) nicknames as her siblings -- Lola, Lola Bean, Lola Burger (any Nantucketeers reading?), LB, beaner, porkchop, baby Lala, I'm probably forgetting a few.

We are still Sleepless in Saratoga. Seriously this kid has set a new world record for crying at night. I am literally runnin on dunkin. Horrible. We're currently turning to alternative therapies to help her with the screaming fits - Webster chiropractic, cranial sacral therapy and Bowenwork. After we make it through a few appointments I'll share the effects it has had on her disposition, in case our trials and tribulations can be of help to other sleepless sets.

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Scheduling

Given that I am the militant mama, who lived and died by a schedule with the last batch of offspring, I have not done much to schedule her thus far. Much of this has been because we've constantly been in a state of transition since she was born. But it's also because the twins were able to drive their schedule since they were my only children; whereas the bean needs to adapt to the schedule that our family already has.

We moved into the new house last week and her room is finally (somewhat) set up. So I plan on rereading a few chapters out of BabyWise and a few other books that I used with the twins and coming up with a plan for her starting this month.

We have a huge issue with daytime/nighttime confusion and she is still in that super sleepy newborn phase. During the day I wake her up to eat every 2-4 hours (depending on what is going on and where I am with the other kids). After she eats she's usually held while I'm running around, or she's in a carrier, or her car seat, or the swing. This is in huge contrast to what I did for the twins and I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. But I'm sure it will.

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Crib Transitioning

Poor peanut hasn't even had a bed. She's either in a swing, a rock and play (not as awesome as people proclaim) or our bed (don't judge until you have three kids). I'm so excited that her crib is finally set up, now I just need to actually find and put bedding on it so that we can use the darn thing. Baby steps, people. My plan is to move her to her own room later this month.

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Colic

Porkchop definitely has colic. I'm 98.4% sure that it's a result of my oversupply, so I have been trying furiously to combat this issue. We've also been giving her chamomile supplements which has helped a ton! Way more than colic calm or gripe water or mylicon. At her 2 month well baby visit (which happened at 7 weeks) our pediatrician said I could steep a chamomile teabag in water, just until the water changes color, and then give her the tea in a bottle. Roughly 3 ounces does the trick. Mommy drinks wine and baby drinks tea, and we all sleep happily ever after.

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Breastfeeding

I'm still plugging right along. I forgot how much I hated nursing until I was nursing again. I will say that this time has been more enjoyable - at times - when the twins are already asleep and I'm not yet asleep. I never got to cuddle a baby and relax while s/he was eating. With the twins it was all business, so it's nice to have that downtime with LB.

Once again I have been dealing with a major oversupply. In the first three weeks the baby was home I banked over 200 ounces of milk and I wasn't pumping to bank milk. All I was doing was pumping off the side that she wasn't eating on. Which, I learned the hard way, was not the way to handle my supply at all. I am blessed to feed her so easily, but it's been hard to balance the discomfort and juggle feeding her and keeping up with her siblings. I have learned that my best recourse is block feeding again. So I feed in 12 hour blocks and only relieve the other side when necessary. And I'm finally -- after a full week of this -- regulating down to normal. Lola is not coughing or sputtering or drowning and she's been a lot less gassy and fussy. Hallalujah! Cause this momma can't take any more crying.

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Baby Carriers

I bought a Ergo before LB was born and I LOVE it so much more than my Gemini. My friend Rebecca loaned me a sling so that I can wear the baby more easily and even attempt to (gulp) nurse in public, like...really public. I put the baby in the sling and she folded in half. I stopped putting her in the sling until I watch some videos and learn what to do to avoid a baby sandwich again.

I should have been a carrier tester or something. With three kids we've blown through the Moby Wrap, a knockoff Peanut Sling, a Bjorn, a Gemini and now an Ergo. And my friend who loaned me the sling also gave me a Mei Tei and one other carrier to try so I can attempt to nurse on the run without (literally) hanging out there. Maybe I can muster up the energy for a full review on all of them since I've worked my way through eight to find one that works.

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Siblings

Lo loves her brother and sister. When they stick their chubby faces in hers she smiles and coos. Melts my heart. They love her too. Reese and the baby are next to one another in the car, and Reese holds Lola's hand every single time we drive anywhere. They give her hugs and kisses like crazy and try to rock her in her swing or RNP if she's crying. Even though I have siblings, I wasn't close in age with any of them and so our relationships were very different. I love seeing my kids together. It is exactly what I wanted for my life and theirs. And while life is challenging some days, I really can't imagine it any other way.

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Here are Bean's stats through her last well baby. She is leaps and bounds bigger than her brother and sister were at this time. I guess that's what happens when you don't have to share your food?

Birth: 7 lbs 2 oz (37%) | 21.5" (>97%)

Hospital Release: 6 lbs 14 oz (26%)

1 week: 7 lbs 3 oz (30%) | 20.25" (66%)

2 week weight check: 7 lbs 9 oz (28%)

1 month: 9 lbs 3 oz (46%) | 21.5" (58%)

2 months*: 10 lbs 2 oz (53%) | 22.25" (69%)

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* our pedi does the 2 month well baby as close to 6 weeks as possible since that is the earliest that they can vaccinate for whooping cough, so Lola's 2 month stats were taken at 7w, 1d.

Nine Month Well Baby

Reese

Birth: 6 lbs 1 oz (10%) | 19" (34%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 11 oz (5%) | 19" (30%)

Birth: 6 lbs 8 oz (16%) | 19.5" (43%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 15 oz (7%) | 19.5" (39%)

1 week: 5 lbs 13 oz (5%) | 19.5" (32%)

48 Hour Repeat Weight Check: 5 lbs 14 oz (4%) | 19.5" (28%)

1 month: 7 lbs 5 oz (13%) | 21.25" long (69%) | 14" head (19%)

9 months: 19 lbs 13 oz (39%) | 30" long (93%) | 17.5" head (26%)

Milestones

Ryan is officially rocking on all fours. He has been for about a week now and, if his sister's progress is any indication, we have about two more weeks before he's full on crawling. He's much more aggressive with his attempts, throwing his arms out trying to move forward even though he falls each and every time. He's also much more frustrated by his inability to get up and go, which is evidenced by the amount SCREAMING happening in our house.

Reese is cruising the furniture, standing while only holding on (to us and other objects) with one hand and walking behind her dinosaur with ease. I think she'll be walking unassisted by ten months. Which blows my mind.

Ryan is up to four teeth and is working on number five. Reese is still stuck at two teeth, but her top two are close to the surface.

Both babies have mastered the pincer grasp and are skilled in the art of single blueberry pick up and eating :) They are able to put their toys away in boxes and buckets, but much prefer to take them out and shake them all over the place.

Both babies are learning to wave, although Ryan uses both hands. Which is kind of funny. It looks less "hello" and more "jazz hands". I'll take it.

Reese is trouble on two legs, pulling, standing, climbing and exploring the world around her. She is more focused and has recently become quite shy. If I want her to clam up, the easiest way to do so is to put a camera or a stranger in front of her. Whereas Ryan, who used to be my bashful baby, has become extremely social. His personality really emerges when he's around new people and in new settings.

My goal was to do away with purees by ten months, and as of this month we are officially on table foods. The kids don't want anyone else feeding them. They still let me give them cereal and yogurt in the morning. But only after they've had ten minutes to feed themselves berries and fruit. Ryan is a picky eater and will reject a food based on color or texture alone. We call Reese "Mikey" because she'll pretty much eat anything you give her.

We missed the arbitrary milestone of waving and playing patty cake, but both babies can give you a kiss on the lips if you ask for one and both can hug you if you say "give me a huggie". I guess in our house kisses and hugs are more important than hello and goodbye. (Or maybe I just never leave my kids, ever, so I never thought to teach them such things as I'm leaving and I'm back, ha!)

Reese said her first word a few weeks ago (it was mama, love her) and continues to babble regularly. Ryan mostly grunts and squeals. I'm thinking he may go to high school sounding like Forrest Gump. They love to get millimeters away from one another and scream as loud as possible and then break out into laughter. Our house is loud beyond loud.

I thought eight months was really hard, there was a lack of mobility mixed with a lot of frustration and a dash of inability to communicate. Now that the babies can point, move toward an object they want/need and are generally a lot less frustrated life has gotten easier on the ears (and patience). I'm really looking forward to these last few months before they turn one. Their development is crazy right now and I'm amazed that my babies are becoming little people.

People say you can see a baby's personality emerge in this first year, but I'm not sure I agree. I think I'm just getting glimpses of what they'll be like as people. But I'm on the cusp of really seeing them and knowing them. And that's so exciting.

Six Month Well Baby

Reese

Birth: 6 lbs 1 oz (10%) | 19" (34%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 11 oz (5%) | 19" (30%)

Ryan

Birth: 6 lbs 8 oz (16%) | 19.5" (43%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 15 oz (7%) | 19.5" (39%)

1 week: 5 lbs 13 oz (5%) | 19.5" (32%)

48 Hour Repeat Weight Check: 5 lbs 14 oz (4%) | 19.5" (28%)

1 month: 7 lbs 5 oz (13%) | 21.25" long (69%) | 14" head (19%)

Milestones:

Both babies can sit unassisted and they can both roll belly to back and back to belly. Reese can roll across the room. Ryan just learned how to roll to his belly and is still in the turtle phase (where he rolls, forgets how to roll back over again and then flails his arms and legs while crying). Reese went through this phase for nearly 5 weeks, so I'm really looking forward to reliving it with Ryan right now. Sigh.

As of this week Reese has figured out how to pull up to her knees and crawl backward. At first I thought she did it by mistake. Until she did it again 30 minutes later. I'm thinking she'll be fully mobile shortly, but she tends to make small steps toward a milestone and then stop. So who knows how this will go?

{ see my teeth? }

Ryan has two bottom teeth, and according to our pediatrician the two top teeth are pushing against the skin right now. Reese is working on her two bottom teeth, and judging by her fussiness and the swelling in her mouth, I'd say we're a week or two away from seeing them cut.

Both babies can move objects between their hands and Reese is particularly good at using just two fingers to manipulate toys and objects. Both babies have found their feet (and lately have taken to chewing on their toes, which is both cute and disgusting at the same time). Ryan will turn his head when he hears his name. Reese turns toward you when you talk, but I think the poor kid has so many nicknames that she still doesn't know her real name is Reese :)

Reese is all about pulling up to her knees and walking. If I put her feet on mine and hold her hands we can walk all around the house together. She is very good at walking with her green dinosaur too. Her new favorite thing is the jumperoo. Now every toy she stands in or sits on she tries to jump. It's quite comical. Ryan recently started putting weight down on his legs and will stand for brief periods of time. But he's much happier to sit and even happier to lie.

Reese is still my auditory and tactile baby. She loves textures and music. We spend many afternoons listening to the 80's and jumping. Ryan is still my visual baby - he loves books and toys with bright colors. He is my more observant child. He studies your face, the room, a toy. He's constantly trying to figure out how things work. Reese is the more independent child and will get lost playing with a toy and chatting away by herself. She is very focused on one thing, whereas Ryan is taking in everything.

Reese is very social and very curious. She will touch your face and constantly reach for whatever is in front of her. Ryan is more bashful and cautious. He smiles and hides his face when he's in new situations. He's slow to explore new objects and scenes. Both babies will hug you if you hug them. Ryan is particularly cuddly. Reese is too interested in moving about now to be held for too long. But if you are holding her, she will grab your face and kiss you. Granted it's an open mouth half kiss/half lick, but I'll take it. Ryan likes to be kissed, especially on the tip of his nose.

Both babies are very vocal and they will "converse" with one another. We also have gotten to the phase of sympathy crying. It's very fun when one baby is in hysterics and the other one fake cries alongside his/her sibling (complete with fake coughs). If it wasn't so loud and stressful it would almost be funny. Almost.

I have two good eaters and two good sleepers on my hands. Both have made their way through almost all of the stage one foods (with the exception of winter veggies like acorn/butternut squash and pumpkin). They love to eat and I love making their food. Mealtimes are really fun, and I'm very excited for the day when we can all sit down at the table as a family. Both babies sleep through the night. Ryan, when he wasn't teething, could go 11 hours. Now he's sleeping around 9 hours per night. Reese is my champion sleeper, she goes 11 hours every night, no problem.

Both babies love water - whether it's a pool, the tub, their backyard "pool". They are splashers and gigglers and toy stealers. Gracie hasn't been so happy to share her pool with the grunions, but she's getting over it. Especially since they like to feed her cookies now :)

Six months is a lot of fun, they are high energy now and I am wiped at the end of the day. But their personalities are really showing through and we are just loving this stage.

Four Month Well Baby

Reese

Birth: 6 lbs 1 oz (10%) | 19" (34%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 11 oz (5%) | 19" (30%)

Ryan

Birth: 6 lbs 8 oz (16%) | 19.5" (43%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 15 oz (7%) | 19.5" (39%)

1 week: 5 lbs 13 oz (5%) | 19.5" (32%)

48 Hour Repeat Weight Check: 5 lbs 14 oz (4%) | 19.5" (28%)

1 month: 7 lbs 5 oz (13%) | 21.25" long (69%) | 14" head (19%)

2 months*: 8 lbs 7 oz (6%) | 22" long (38%) | 14.5" head (9%)

4 months: 12 lbs 14 oz (13%) | 25.75" long (76%) | 16" head (13%)

Milestones:

Both babies smile all the time now and both laugh. I spend most of my
days accidentally making them laugh and then doing whatever it was that made them
laugh another 368 times to make them laugh some more. Ryan is super
ticklish and will laugh like a crazy man if you catch him on the right
day. He's also more physical, so if you shake him around or bounce him
or hang him upside down he laughs like crazy. Joe does this thing where
he uses Ry's little fists to punch things or himself and he'll say stop
hitting yourself and Ryan just laughs and laughs. Reese is more of a
giggler and she will respond to things like light kisses and
raspberries.

{ Four months old - aka the time when we stick everything in our mouths. Cool party tricks include whole fists and large toys. }

Ryan is very good at sitting, I see him being able to sit unassisted here in the next few weeks. Reese can sit when propped in her Bumbo, but is not as steady on her tush without a lot of support.

Both babies can roll belly to back. Reese started doing this at 3 months (to the day) and Ryan started doing this 4 months (to the day).

Reese loves to stand on her feet and practice "walk". She also loves to bounce and has had a lot of fun exploring her jumperoo, although she is still terrified when she finds herself "standing" on her own in the jumperoo. This usually causes her to pull up her legs quickly and flop over like a fish out of water. Very funny to watch. Ryan is still sumo squatting every time you try to put pressure on his feet.

Ryan is still very visual and will reach for things that are out of his grasp and manipulate them. He is loving his exersaucer. The lights and all of the things to touch, tug and explore keep him busy for at least a half hour every day. If he can reach for a toy and put it in his mouth, that is even better than reaching for a toy and just holding it as far as he's concerned. Reese will reach for toys and things just out of her grasp. She's very into textures and is an extremely tactile and auditory baby. Classical music soothes her and she loves toys that crinkle or rattle.

Both babies can hold their heads up during tummy time. Reese loves tummy time and will sit like a little baby turtle on her belly for a half hour or more. Ryan won't do tummy time unless he's on our bed or another soft surface. Put him on the floor and all hell breaks loose. Since I don't like having my bed thrown up on 86 times a day and no matter how many towels/blankets/cloths I put on the duvet he still manages to hurl past the cover and onto the bed - well, let's just say I don't push the tummy time issue too much :)

Both kids are talking up a storm and it's funny to listen to them explore their voices. I love it. Reese has many, many new octaves and some days I can't tell whether she is crying or just chatting. Ryan just breaks out the voice at random times and will talk for an hour straight, he is very funny because he "enunciates" his sounds with his mouth very clearly so there is a lot of lip movement and facial contortion. It's like he's studied the way our mouth moves when we talk and he's trying to mimic it. Reese just hoots and hollers with no regard to lip/face/tongue movement.

Doctor Updates:

We asked about starting solids now and were advised to wait until 5 months, at which point we can start rice cereal, and then we were told to introduce other foods at the 6 month mark. Apparently this is to ensure that the babies don't develop allergies. I don't really agree with rice cereal being the babies' first food. But I guess I defer to the expert. I've already ordered whole grain brown rice cereal for their first bite. The kiddos won't have the white stuff first. I have to say though, I was really hoping to start them on something like sweet potatoes.

Ryan is having an issue right now with nighttime sleep and I think that the
kid is just HUNGRY. At first I thought, "oh, four month wakeful" because
Reese got up for like 3 days in the middle of the night too. But Ryan
is going on week three of waking up at 1-2 a.m. and 4-5 a.m. and again
at 7-8 a.m. (which is his normal wake up time). He eats and goes right
back to bed. I know I could try to fight it, but if he's hungry I feel like I should feed him. I've tried
loading him up through the day, feeding more frequently and a sort of
dream feed in that I feed him right before I put him to bed no matter
when I fed him last. Nothing has worked.

Our pedi said that he can make it through the night at this point and that we should try a modified Ferber with him. He also said that Ryan is not hungry, but we're teaching him that when he wakes up in the middle of the night that he gets food :/ So we're going to separate the twins this weekend and Ferberize the kid. I hope it works. I'm tired and tired of waking up three times a night (I don't fall back asleep as easily as I used to).

We asked about running with the babies and were told that they won't be ready for stroller runs until they can hold their heads up steadily which is normally between 7 and 8 months. So I'll be sticking to the gym and gym daycare for the duration of the beautiful spring and summer. But at least we'll be able to run together in the fall. I'm hoping to run the Schroon Lake half marathon again this September, so I'm praying the babies are ready for the jogging stroller by July so we can do training runs together. I can't imagine being without them for so many hours a week otherwise.

And, last but not least, Miss Reese is getting her ears pierced after her sixth monthday. Our pedi recommended waiting until she's had her third Hep B vaccine which we are bumping up from the 9 month well visit to the 6 month well visit. And then my baby gets some bitty bling. In all reality, I'm doing it early so that I can take care of the earrings for her before she discovers she has ears. But, I'm not going to lie, I think she's going to be super cute with tiny earrings.

*
our pedi does the 2 month well baby as close to 6 weeks as possible
since that is the earliest that they can vaccinate for whooping cough,
so the babies' 2 month stats were taken at 6w, 5d.

Seven Weeks

Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of two seven week old babies at the same time? It's ridiculously hard. If anyone has tips, please SHARE!

The babies had their 2 month well baby visit and they are growing like little weeds, I'm so proud of them. Below are their stats for those that are interested.

Happy Seven Week Birthday babies. We love you!

Reese

Birth: 6 lbs 1 oz (10%) | 19" (34%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 11 oz (5%) | 19" (30%)

1 week: 5 lbs 9 oz (3%) | 19" (25%)

48 Hour Repeat Weight Check: 5 lbs 10 oz (3%) | 19" (21%)

1 month: 6 lbs 11 oz (8%) | 20.75" (66%)

2 months*: 7lbs 12 oz (4%) | 21" (20%)

Ryan

Birth: 6 lbs 8 oz (16%) | 19.5" (43%)

Hospital Release: 5 lbs 15 oz (7%) | 19.5" (39%)

1 week: 5 lbs 13 oz (5%) | 19.5" (32%)

48 Hour Repeat Weight Check: 5 lbs 14 oz (4%) | 19.5" (28%)

1 month: 7 lbs 5 oz (13%) | 21.25" (69%)

2 months*: 8 lbs 7 oz (6%) | 22" (38%)

* our pedi does the 2 month well baby as close to 6 weeks as possible since that is the earliest that they can vaccinate for whooping cough, so the babies' 2 month stats were taken at 6w, 5d.