Time to Celebrate
Everyone celebrates the first birthday of a baby. I happily celebrated the 6 month old mark. We were well out of the stages of newborn and small infant and well on our way to becoming toddlers.
Starting Solids
So, it is common to start babies on rice cereal as their first ‘solid food’ between four and six months. I wanted to start earlier, but after I started I realize how much work it is. The monotony and tediousness of bottles is easy compared to fixing breakfast and spoon feeding and cleaning up messy babies and then cleaning up the mess that’s been left behind. Sigh. But I didn’t see that point. I wanted to start rice cereal as early as possible. I started the day the babies turned four months old.
How do you make rice cereal? I had no idea, so I read the back of the box. A tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with a few tablespoons of formula or water. Once they get used to the consistency of very thin rice cereal, then you add less water so it gets a little thicker. Gradually, you work your way to a mush type consistency that holds its shape on a spoon.
My girls had a tough time keeping the thin stuff in their mouths for a while. I was quite frustrated. After several weeks, I felt we were ready to try our first non rice cereal food: Carrots.
Starting Veggies & Fruits
I was prepared. I had gone to the store with all my coupons and bought out the Gerber section of Stage 1 foods. I bought applesauce, peaches, carrots, green beans, peas, squash, and sweet potatoes. I looked at the Stage 2 selection and couldn’t wait to get started there: so many of my favorite foods were on those shelves. Stage 2 has choices like apple strawberry banana, apples and cherries, banana and orange medley, pear pineapple, sweet potatoes and corn, and many other mixes. Stage 1 looked boring in comparison. But I guess you have an entire life to eat crazy combos of food, so starting out slowly is wise.
Some people tell you to start with green vegetables, and then move to yellow and then start fruits. This was also the advice of my mother and her reasoning was that the sweet fruits are easily likeable, green veggies aren’t. Starting greens and moving on seemed logical, but I still gave them carrots first.
Others say start fruits first. My pediatrician said yellow veggies first, then green, then fruit. Oh, whatever! Start what you want or if you follow your pediatrician’s suggestions to the letter, go with that. It didn’t seem to matter. They liked carrots, liked green beans, hated peas, hated bananas, and loved applesauce. They would not eat adult applesauce but scarffed down the baby applesauce. So much for saving some money.
I would split one tub of food between them and that would be a good meal, at first. Then, it wasn’t enough. I’d use rice cereal as ‘filler’ so I didn’t have to use two tubs of food. Rice cereal was also a buffer if it was a tub of peas or bananas. I’d start with feeding them a few bites each of rice cereal. Then I’d mix in some of the food and do a few bites of the mix. I’d slowly add in the rest of the tub of food until it was more food than cereal. It took a few months to be able to eat one tub of food and one to two tablespoons of rice cereal.
One thought on using rice cereal as filler: My kids both were good weights by the time we started solids. I wasn’t worried about feeding them to put weight on as much as getting them good nutrients. If you feel so inclined, don’t use so much rice cereal and go with two tubs of food. I just didn’t want to afford it and we weren’t suffering any because of it.
If you feel the need to make your own baby food, go for it. I was working full time and Ryan was working part time. We could barely keep the house clean and the laundry folded without me making time and messes for baby food grinding. I never once thought about it actually.
The twin mom online group I belonged to actually got me thinking about home made baby food: and not in a good way. All those twin moms were stay at home organic types who were teaching their kids sign language and would go for walks twice a day. They wrote about their morning routine and how pleasant it was to take a leisurely stroll to the farmers market to pick out produce to grind into wholesome slop for their kids. They talked about their high-end strollers and their fuel efficient vehicles. They would share stories of how they pureed organic this and that and put it in the freezer and how much their kids just loved it. Organic-Schmorganic! I figured, I don’t eat organic, so I shouldn’t freak out about giving my kids only organic foods.
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but it truly bothered me that all these moms were the ‘norm’ and I was the minority who gave babies packaged food. Well, I guess I have to prioritize and kitchen slave of organic produce is not a priority. Laundry and dishes and working 40+ hours a week to pay the mortgage, unfortunately, are. So, I had to let the twin moms know.
“Anyone NOT into organic everything? Don't get me wrong, I don't feed my kids chips and soda, but I'm just not an organic person. I don't eat it, and I'm not going out of my way to feed it to them. And since I work full time and my husband stays home and has a home business, we don't have time to make our own baby food. I don't even have time to bake like I used to. My husband put the KitchenAid mixer (my first baby) in storage. ARG! I just want to make sure that those who aren't organic homemade baby food makers are represented here. Shout out to the working moms!”
Finger Foods
Night feeding, cutting back
Then every 3 hours, on the nose until 5 months old. Hoped for sooner, no way.
At 6 months, it varied. Sometimes 6 ounces would only last 2 hours. Sometimes 4 ounces would last 4 ½ hours
.
Sleep-6 months old
Our routine.
8-9am wake up, morning meds, play
diap
Bath Rings
Once the babies outgrew the kitchen sink for bathing, we had to move to the ‘big girl tub.’ I considered investing in a deeper, larger kitchen sink like I had wanted since I moved in, but diapers are expensive, clothes are grown out of quickly, and I didn’t have that much disposable income. So, it was time to figure out how to bathe two babies in a regular tub. Sigh.
I had heard about bath rings, but didn’t do any research about them. It seemed to me that bath rings would be for overprotective parents who worry about their kids touching a speck of dirt, or not having their hair done, or wearing socks that don’t coordinate with their outfit. Bath rings seemed a bit much. Little did I know.
The first few tub baths were scream fests. Of course, I had to bathe each baby separately while the other one played in her crib. Neither of them was sitting up on their own yet. They weren’t even close to that. So, I hated that we outgrew the kitchen sink so soon. I had a baby bath sponge that I laid in the tub and laid the baby on. It seemed once they were lying down in the tub, the sounds or the echo from lying in there made it scary. The girls loved baths in the sink, but they were sitting up. I can’t take so much time as to bathe them separately. I had to do something. Wait! What’s a bath ring again? Hmm.
The trusty internet showed the few different bath ring chairs with different options and features. They all seemed fine. After all, the kids only use it for maybe thirty minutes per day. I wasn’t about to spend $20 a bath seat for the kids to hate them too. I went to the local second hand kids stuff store. They had two of the big, bulky, clamp over the side of the tub bath chairs for only $10 each. Okay, fine. We’ll try them out.
What a difference!
Both girls felt very confident and secure in their bath ring chairs. I also felt calm about bathing them both at once. The only issue was getting around the cross bar to wash their privates.
JAN 18--------ALMOST 6 MONTHS
Tonight's a big night at our house!!! The first night they will be in separate cribs. HA! We'll see how it goes! It's probably WAY past time for this move, but ...
Sitting up, rolling over, etc - Chloe will roll from tummy to back if she's bored with tummy time. I've seen her a few times roll from back to tummy. Ady doesn't like to roll, I guess, because it's very rare. Neither of them is even close to sitting up on their own. We tried to eat in the high chairs a few days ago, but were slip-sliding all over the place. Both girls like to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. They can actually wiggle a few feet from the starting point doing that. I'm not worried about developmental delays because I know they're making up for it in other ways. They all catch up eventually.
Feeding & sleep schedules - OY! My girls still will only take 4oz, SOMETIMES 5oz, per feeding about every 3-4 hrs during the day. It's crazy to hear some of your babies taking 6-8 oz several times a day. I'd estimate my girls at 16lbs each. Shouldn't they be eating more? A few times they've taken 6oz but then spit up like crazy. I also wonder if they are sleeping enough. Here's our schedule, tell me if you can help -
9-10am - wake up
11am - eat, then play (2 Tbs oatmeal mixed with 3 Tbs formula & 1/2 jar of veggie or fruit, top off with 3-4 oz of formula)
1pm - nap (usually 1 hr, sometimes 30 mins, sometimes 2 hrs)
2-3pm - eat 4oz, sometimes 10 min nap, play
5-6pm - eat 4oz, short nap (30 mins or less), play
8-9pm - eat 4oz, sometimes 10 min nap, play
10-1030pm - scream until they get another 4oz bottle, quick nap, play
12midnight - 4oz bottle w 2-3 tsp rice cereal, go to bed "for the night"
4-6am - wake up fussy, we've been trying 2oz to 'satisfy' them and fall back asleep til 7-10am
Part of the not enough naps problem is - I'm getting ready for /at work from 3pm-midnight, so DH is in charge. He hates CIO. I don't mind too much because they settle down after 5 minutes or less, but he's annoyed. I'd like to ask him to force them to 'take a nap' but dont know how it will go. We've never put them to sleep for naps in their crib - for some reason I've felt that they will think it's night sleep time rather than nap time. We do naps in the living room. But I think I'll try forcing a *crossing my fingers* long nap in the crib somewhere between 5-8pm. Or should I just put them down for the night a few hours earlier and use CIO. HELP!!!!!
JAN 25--------6 MONTHS
Deedra - I read your blog. Forgot you were LDS too. HA! I finally have been getting to church lately. My ward starts at 1pm. And since we are night shift types, the 9am thing was not working for us! I was wondering if you thought it would be worth it to get the Bebe Pod chairs at age 6 months. My girls will hold themselves up with hands and arms when sitting, and then cry when their hands slip. I wanted those chairs for Christmas, but no one got them for us. I kinda wanted a twin mom review if they are worth it, if you think your kids will outgrow it soon, etc. How much do they weigh? I just dont wanna buy two of them and in a month have them outgrow it....
I've been feeding rice or oatmeal and a fruit or veggie just once per day. Wonder if I should start a second solids feeding per day. I am not even thinking about giving 2nd foods, but maybe I'll start. I think we're a long ways off from introducing meat. Some moms I've talked to wished they'd not pushed so hard with solids. So, I'm just taking my time. Tried to eat solids in the highchairs, but they are still too little. They like to touch and play with their bottle during feeds, but can't hold it themselves yet.
We're finally sleeping through the night 7-9 hours. But they'll wake up at that time, want a bottle, and then BE AWAKE! I tell them to go back to sleep, but they wont. GEEZ! Still a morning nap of 1-2 hrs. DH doesn't force an afternoon/evening nap while I'm at work, but I've been forwarding him some posts from you guys about schedules and naps and how happy the babies are. Hopefully, he'll be willing to try it.
Question - Do any of you put toys in the crib so when the kids wake up, they can play instead of cry? I know you aren't supposed to with SIDS and all, but I've put in some hand sized stuffed animals, etc. No problems yet. I find they will stay content longer after waking up. I just wanna make sure I'm not doing anything HORRIBLE!
Looking into Refinancing our house since rates are down. OR, we'd love to move out of our homeowners association! That would be much better! Either way, I'll be happy.
FEB 2------6 MONTHS
Hey all! Just got back from a HORRIBLE trip to Salt Lake City (5 hr drive north for us) for my SIL's wedding. Between the awful weather and the girls sleeping like they were only 2 weeks old, I managed to top the whole thing off with more horrible-ness right before the wedding reception.
To preface the story - DH & I bought an older minivan with no keyless entry. My Christmas request from my mom was to get keyless entry installed. It has some bugs - when you start up the van, it automatically locks.
So, the real story: DH and I have the girls dressed in their pretty dresses to match the bride (request of MIL) and loaded to go. I forgot the hair bows in the house. Sent DH to go get them while I'm in the driveway messing with hairbow goop. I have the side door open and I am *suppose* to open the front door before I close the sliding door. Um....yeah, I forgot! So, the van is running, my babies are locked inside. It's snowing, the driveway is steeply inclined and hasn't been shoveled. I'm in a dress and fancy shoes. The spare key is in the diaper bag IN the van. This can't be happening. I'm a 911 dispatcher for crap sake. This happens to OTHER people! Break the window? The heater is on, so they aren't too bad off and we still have to drive 300+ miles the next day. So, the kids aren't in distress so I call a locksmith. ETA - 25 minutes. Sheesh. Now the girls are freaking out: both screaming at the top of their lungs. Okay, time to call in the big guns! I dial the local non emergency police number, tell them my twin babies are locked in the van. They ask me all the questions that I normally ask the idiots who lock THEIR kids in THEIR vehicles. I'm holding it together. DH is ticked that I wanted this thing installed, but he's not mad at me, so it's not that bad. I tell dispatch that I have a locksmith on the way but the ETA is 25 minutes. They say they'll be there much sooner than that - kids locked in vehicles is a top priority type call. Sigh.
Okay. So, now we just wait. I try to stand away so the girls don't see me. Within 10 minutes of locking the girls in the van, the Sheriffs patrol vehicles pull up infront of my In Laws' house. For some reason, as soon as I saw those patrol vehicles, I started to cry. Maybe it was that finally, I could get to the girls. Not hysterical, just shaky voice and some streaming tears. I tell the deputies that I'm a dispatcher and it really sucks to be on the other side of this. They quickly slim jim the doors open and I dive in for my screaming babies. DH calls the locksmith to cancel him. It was upsetting that I couldn't hold them both on that steep driveway. I held Adelyn and tried to comfort Chloe.
I thanked the deputies and then DH and I took the babies back inside so the three of us could stop crying.
So, we were late for the wedding reception because I locked my precious babies in the van. Of course, all the family mentioned something about this little incident when they came over to see how cute the girls were. Sigh.
Hopefully, I'll live that down by the next trip to SLC!
FEB 12--------6 ½ MONTHS
Our 6 month pedi appt went well. DH had to work and my mom just had knee surgery so I had to do it alone. I was really worried about not having someone there to help me, but it turned out fine. Both girls are just over 17 lbs. Pedi said to start sippy cups now which I thought was odd. But they also want the girls off bottles by 12 months. WOW! I was really surprised. They put us on liquid vitamins that both girls just hate. It's funny, but I wish the flavor was better for them.
We tried the sippy cups a few times so far (no valve Nuby brand w silicone spout, so it's kinda like a bottle) but we haven't been too successful yet. Tried some infant juice and that didn't go over well either. I guess it's sour to them. HA!
We just moved to our high chairs a few weeks ago (had been using bouncies). The first few days went really well. They ate the usual amount of 3 tablespoons of oatmeal mixed w 4 tablespoons of formula and 1 jar of fruits or veggies. In the last few days, they just fuss. I don't think they are super hungry, but they are getting more impatient and not waiting their turns. Suggestions?
Having some marital problems. Not bad. I'm just mad that DH is always "tired" or "sick" or "has a headache" and I work fulltime and usually do the nights and mornings (while he sleeps in) by myself. I have to remind him over and over that it's bedtime, or make 5 oz now instead of 4oz. I am starting to feel like he's just my live in nanny. Once I get home, everything is my responsibility. I did tell him this but he just said that it's a rocky time. Am I over reacting? I know that it's not always going to be 50/50, but geez! My parents divorced when I was 14 and I'm so scared that I'll get the same bug my mom had and just leave. But it's tough right now. We've talked, but it still bugs me a little. Maybe I'm just being hormonal. Is that still possible 6 months out?
FEB 17----------ALMOST 7 MONTHS
We're back to awful sleep due to teething. DH & I have been getting up about every 2 hours to fussy or screaming babies. But no hard bumps, or white things yet. I read yesterday that it's okay to give teething babies a dose of tylenol before bed so they sleep better. I just don't feel 100% right about this. Any suggestions?
Anyone still have deep, tender muscle pain at the c-section site? I'm wondering if this is fairly common, or if I'm needing to call a doctor. It's usually fine, but sometimes when I bend over for a long period of time or lean on the counter, it kinda hurts.
Anyone else work full time while DH stays home? (littlebeaner, I know you do, but I recall that you have grandparents there helping out full time too?) How do you work the time when you are both there? Does your DH give you some time to yourself before/after work? When I'm home, it's mostly my responsibility. I've talked to him about it, but I think he doesnt get it. I'm struggling these days because I feel like I do 80% of everything, all the time. HELP!
7-9 MONTHS
These are, by far, the most fun months yet.
Crawling – carpet knees
Cruising – nothing on the couch is safe
Foods to eat – frequency of eating, less bottles
Teething – jagged tooth
Sick babies – croup
Don’t call in sick – stay home
The Long Lost Triplet
Once the babies were old enough to crawl around and sit up, they loved Ginger. Ginger was the funniest thing ever. Ginger was fun to tackle, to pinch, to climb over, to sit on. Ginger was like the long-lost triplet of the bunch. Sure, sometimes she got overly excited and knocked a baby over. Sometimes she’d wag her tail and hit someone in the face. Sometimes she would plow someone over when she was told to “stay” and in those times, she would get in trouble. It was outside for the night.
But when she was good, we’d give Ginger a treat – a rawhide chew. The first few times the babies didn’t care what Ginger had, but babies are inquisitive. One day, we were all in the living room when Ginger impressed us with a trick and got a treat. She excitedly hopped around and found a place on the carpet to start to enjoy the bone. I could almost see the babies using their twin ESP. “Ginger sure likes that treat. It must be good! ATTACK!” The babies swoop in like ants to a melting popsicle. And Ginger did something I’d never seen her do before: she snarled. My patient, loving, kind, wouldn’t hurt a fly dog actually growled at my babies. Ryan immediately leapt across the room and picked all 60 pounds of canine and all but threw her in the backyard. She stayed outside for days for that stunt. She had food. She had water. She had a dog house. She was in the dog house. After that, anytime Ginger got a treat, she was confined to the kitchen via baby gates.
