6 Months - Sleeping, Slurping and Sipping

Well, we are here already - at the half way mark to one year! The days and weeks are just flying by, and soon the twins will be walking and talking. Thankfully for now they are still immobile. :)

And not quite sitting up on their own. :)

Our biggest change this month has been to start on solid food. We are still nursing a lot and taking a few bottles a day to supplement, and have tried avocado, bananas, cooked apple and runny oatmeal. Today we experimented with fresh orange juice (an acid free type that is often given here as one of the first "foods"). We are not having a lot of success, but they're getting the idea slowly. 

It looks like we are transitioning to two naps a day and it's becoming harder and harder to keep the two girls on the same schedule. They are just so different! Lisa is our cat-napper who we can't get much more than an hour out of, and Leila seems like she would sleep all day if we let her. Actually, using the term schedule isn't really accurate - what we have is a very fluid, flexible sort of rhythm to our day. It works for us and has enough structure for me right now. Nights haven't been the best either, but we seem to have turned a corner recently - I actually had one night with a five hour stretch! I'm hoping the addition of solid food will help them get through the night without needing to nurse.

When Lucas was born, we were far from family and so David started making videos of him, every day to share with our friends and family. (You can check out those videos here)

When Elena was born, we were closer to David's family, while mine was still far away in Canada - and I think we made four or five videos of her first days. (You can find more videos of Lucas and Elena here)

Predictably, the twins being the babies in the family are desperately behind in the video department. So I finally managed to piece together a little video of their first six months. 

Double Blessings from Taara Portela on Vimeo.

Five months - Rolling, Rotating and Raspberries

It's been a pretty quiet month here, mostly because of all the sickness we've dealt with. Lisa and Leila were the best sick babies ever! They handled their chicken pox so well and we are so glad to have that chapter behind us.

Lovely photos taken by someone at church this week!

Increasing mobility has been the big thing these past few weeks. No more leaving the baby on the sofa to grab a diaper, wipes or clothes, lest a baby roll off! Leila can turn herself onto her belly in a matter of seconds. Lisa is still working on this skill, she prefers to rotate around on her back.

Remember how they used to sleep like this all night long?

 Now this is how they wake up!

This month they'll definitely be moving into their own cribs. Unfortunately we can't fit both cribs into our bedroom, so it seems fairer to move both babies into their own room, rather than keeping one with us and one on her own in a separate room. Sleep hasn't been the best this month either, which is keeping me from making the switch. Both girls are waking up at least twice a night. I'm thinking the kicking and moving around doesn't help! Hoping they'll start sleeping better soon.

Just a usual afternoon in the Portela household. 

Both girls are expanding their vocal abilities, and Lisa has perfected the raspberries. Leila loves to laugh, especially at Lucas' antics. Both the older kids love to play with the twins, although Elena is still learning how to be gentle. The twins are dying to sit up and are holding and playing with more of their toys. Next month we'll begin a gentle introduction to solids.

I just can't quite believe they are almost half a year old! The 3 - 6 month age is one I absolutely love (more so when the baby is sleeping at night, but I've gotten so used to it, I can hardly remember how many times I've been up by the next morning).

You think it's hard to get a good photo of one baby,... try it with two! 

Four Months - Turning, Toys and Tummy Time

Yup, it's that time again; another month has flown by and my little girls are already a third of the way to being one! It's been a pretty normal month for us; older kids in school, easy days at home. The girls had a bunch of vaccinations and did really well. Now we only have to go back in November.

Their doctor is on holidays right now, so we didn't get to a four month check-up, but I'm going to say they've definitely been gaining weight. Some days I just can't believe how big they are getting already. We've had some of that normal four-month sleep regression which isn't so nice, but Leila seems to be settling back quickly and hopefully Lisa will follow. For now they both still fit in the same crib at night, but now they move so much that one sometimes wakes the other up.

Development wise, we've seen the usual suspects this month - babbling a lot, grinning and giggling, starting to grab at toys, beginning to roll over. Leila has managed to master the art of rolling from her back to her stomach but can't get back around. Lisa is still working on it. They love interacting with people and don't like being alone. I guess it's good they have each other!

Leila in mid-turn

Lisa holding on to one of her books. 

Enjoying Sunday afternoon with Great-grandma and Grandpa

We're still on the basic 3 hour feeding schedule, and I think we're about 70/30 in regards to breastmilk and formula. It's sure going to be interesting to start the two of them on solids in a few months.

Leila makes the best faces! 

Look at those baby blues! (Lisa)

I love watching my little ones grow and develop, but it's kind of a bitter sweet process as these two are our last. *sniff* - they grow up so fast! I am trying to cherish all the sweet moments of snuggling and rocking them to sleep.

3 Months!

It's 10am, and I'm sitting in my little desk corner, having just nursed Lisa, a recently emptied tea mug on my desk. Leila is still napping away on the other side of the room. Lisa is tucked into my lap, anxious to get onto other things, but maybe she'll let me write for a little while...

Even though this post is, well, almost 3 weeks late, this photo was taken on the exact day of their "3 month-iversary"

Again, I can't quite believe how fast this month has flown by! The older kids are well into their school routine, and we celebrated Elena's third birthday a few weekends ago. I love having my mornings with just the twins, and they enjoy having some time to play safely (i.e., without the threat of the older siblings who are still learning how to love "gently" on their sisters.)

We are getting into a nice routine with these little ones. They are growing and changing so much each day and it's such a privilege to be a part of it. They are starting to interact and "talk" with us, smiling a lot and we even managed to catch Leila's first laugh on camera. It's really too bad that Lisa was wailing the whole time in the background. Lisa's been suffering through her first cold; stuffed up and coughing a lot but I think we're finally on the way up.

At their 3 month check up the doctor was really impressed with their weight gain. Lisa is now 5.4 kilos and 60.5 cm, passing Leila by 0.3 cm. Leila weighs 5.15 kilos and is 60.2 cm.

The biggest accomplishment this month? SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! Let the Hallelujah Chorus ring! Such a pity that it's only Leila who has managed this. It is a real gift though - she usually has a good 10 hour stretch at night. Lisa wakes up once usually around 3 or 4 to nurse, but goes right back to sleep, so I can't complain. Hopefully once this cold passes she'll follow her sister's example.

Since they are still sleeping in our room at night, they are sharing a crib. Pretty soon though we'll have to get them into their own cribs, they're getting so big!

They don't really like tummy time, but are getting stronger everyday. I am so looking forward to them sitting up and being able to play with each other. The other day I laid them down together on the floor and Lisa turned towards Leila and really smiled at her. It was the first time she had acknowledged her sister as another living person. Most of the time they are pretty unaware of the other.

Here's to another great month!

2 Months!

How can it be that my little babies are already two months old? Every once in a while I look at them and just can't believe we have twins! It's been a whirlwind few months, as it always is with newborns. They have grown so much and they are finally fitting into their "newborn" clothes.

The day of their birth - May 20, 2013. They don't look very small here, but they were tiny! 

Love this photo of me and my girls - this was the first time Elena held one of her sisters. 

 We were a little concerned with their jaundice, but after a few times in the sun, it was all resolved. As you can see, the girls really look very different. As the weeks have passed, we've seen their appearance change and their own unique personalities coming out. In two months we've learned a lot about our little ones; we can tell their cries apart! Lisa has a croaky, plaintive cry and Leila is our snorter. Lisa is our spitter and loves to bounce in her baby chair. Leila is very laid back and always falls asleep lying flat on her back. Both love to be swaddled tightly and only rarely use their pacifiers.

 They do everything together. It's really the only way to do it with twins. The older kids are on school holidays for the month of July so our routine has been pretty flexible, but when August hits, I'm sure the feeding/napping/bathing/playing schedule will be a little more structured.

 I get lots of help from the older kids. Still very much supervised, but it's fun to see them loving (gently) on their little sisters.

Here are a few stats on my little ones at the two month mark:
Height: Lisa - 54.5cm, Leila - 55.7cm
Weight: Lisa - 4.06kgs, Leila - 3.77kgs
Feeding: We keep a loose 3 hour feeding schedule, always nursing first, and then supplementing with formula. I had hoped to be able to exclusively breastfeed, but with two other kids to look after I just don't have the luxury to feed all day long, or pump after feedings to try to increase my milk supply. Maybe once the older kids start school I'll be able to try that.
Sleep: They usually nap pretty well during the day, 3 or 4 times. Nights have improved vastly from the first month, but they still wake up at least twice for feeding/changing. Although, last night Leila slept from 10-ish until 4am, but Lisa was up at 2:00. So, hopefully they'll both start sleeping for longer stretches. The girls share a crib in our room, but are getting so long already that I don't think we'll be able to have them sharing a bed for much longer. We're getting their own room set up sometime soon.

It has definitely been an interesting and exhausting couple of months as we adjust to life as a family of six. The twins are such an integral part of our family already, I can hardly remember what it was like to have only two kids.

We are so thankful to God for our little girls and love seeing them grow and develop.