7 Months

Every month I say it, but I can't believe that my babies are growing so fast!  And every month becomes my new favorite age.  I love how the twins are so interactive.  They try to "talk" to us and squeal with excitement!  I love watching them explore and take everything in all the time.  They don't seem to interact with each other much, but they do like to go for the same toy at the same time!  Rhys also seems quite obsessed with Rhett's helmet.  She is always trying to grab it, lick it, play with it, etc.  She is so funny!  7 months is a great age...

Let's start off with a cute pic of the twins on their 7 month birthday!

Schedule: 

7:00 a.m.  Give Rhett reflux meds/Nurse Rhys

7:30 a.m.  Nurse Rhett/Rhys plays

PLAYTIME! (tummy time, read books, bouncer, practice sitting)

9:00 a.m.  Nap  (Rhys sleeps 1.5-2 hours/Rhett sleeps 1-1.5 hours)

*Rhett wakes and does therapy/play with mom while Rhys finishes her nap*

11:00 a.m. Nurse

11:45 a.m.  Lunch solids

PLAYTIME! (sometimes go on a walk, exersaucer, sit on back porch, books, etc.)

1:00 p.m.  Nap (Rhys sleeps 2 hours/Rhett sleeps 1-1.5 hours)

*Rhett wakes and does therapy/play with mom while Rhys finishes her nap*

3:00 p.m.  Nurse

PLAYTIME! (usually go on a walk and check the mail, tummy time, playmats, etc.)

4:45-5:15ish  Catnap (if needed.....babies take this nap maybe 5 days out of a week)

5:30  Dinner solids

6:00  Start bedtime routine (baths, books, swing)

6:30  Nurse

7:00  Bedtime

Sleeping:

We had a rough 3 weeks or so with the babies' sleep.  At the time, we had no idea what was going on, but now we know that teething was the culprit.  Thankfully, this phase has passed and we have our great sleepers again!  The babies usually sleep 12 hours at night, and anywhere from 2.75-4.5 hours during the day.  Rhys still loves her naps and bedtime and starts sucking her thumb just as soon as she lays down.  She is also now sleeping on her stomach 90% of the time.  Both babies wear sleep sacks for all naps and nighttime.

 Rhys loves her sleep sack

Rhett in his sporty sleepsack

Feeding:

The babies are still nursing 4 times a day (around 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 6:30 pm).  They have solids twice a day.  We have introduced a couple of new foods this month.  Some of our new foods are barley and spelt cereal, peas, carrots, green beans, and mango.  Sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, and oatmeal are still the favorites around here.  There are "meals" when the babies take only 2 or 3 bites and don't want any more, and there are times when I have to make more food because they can't seem to get enough!  I was worried about them eating enough and my pediatrician eased my worries.  She uses the motto, "Eating before one is just for fun!" to mean that anything before the age of one is just a bonus, and that they are getting the majority of their calories from breastmilk at this point.  The babies are also drinking a little bit of water after each meal.  I am still making all of the baby food, though it is getting harder and harder to keep up.

Sizes:

Rhett 

*weighs approximately 19 pounds

*9 month clothing

*size 2 diaper (size 3 at night)

*wears size 1 or 2 shoe (super WIDE feet!)

Rhys

*weighs approximately 16 pounds

*6 month clothing

*size 2 diaper (size 3 at night)

*wears size newborn or 1 shoe (TINY feet!) 

 What We've Been Up To at 7 Months:        

TEETH!  

Rhett has one tooth on the bottom and Rhys has both bottom teeth.  We suspected that Rhett was maybe getting a tooth because he was a little more fussy, clingy, drooling everywhere, etc. and he was waking in the middle of the night a couple of times.  And then the little white demon finally showed itself!  One day, randomly, I noticed that both of Rhys' bottom front teeth were in!  I couldn't believe it since she never showed any signs.  And wouldn't you know it, her teeth are so tiny, and actually much smaller than Rhett's.

Here are a couple pics.....excuse the food!  HA!  Tim took these while I was feeding the babies one afternoon.

 Rhett's first pearly white...

    Can you see my tiny teeth?

SITTING UP!

We are getting better and better at sitting up.  Rhys likes to play sitting up and I usually just put a boppy behind her to make her fall a little softer.  Rhett doesn't love sitting yet, but is getting better.  I have to remind myself that his helmet is heavy and it is hard for him to hold his head up straight, which makes sitting a challenge (and a workout!) for him.  But he is a trooper and working hard.

 Rhys sitting and playing with one of her favorite toys

Look at me!  I can sit up!

big kids sitting up!

Favorites:

Rhett - Loves bath time, going on walks, and sitting in his bouncer.  He would much prefer to sit still and just watch everything that is going on.  He loves to eat sweet potatoes, pears, and sip water from his cup.  He loves to be talked to and gets really hyper right before bath time.  His favorite toy right now is his turtle that plays music.

Rhys - Loves scooting around!  She is rolling everywhere and doesn't like to be still.  She loves music and books.  She likes to eat bananas, carrots, and avocado.  She is very independent and easy going.  Her favorite toy right now is her box of shapes (and she really loves the green square!)

Some of my favorite pics from this month:

sleepy girl sucking her thumb (and yes, she is wearing Rhett's hand-me down pajamas!)

Rhett and daddy on Aggie game day!

 Rhys in her stylish fall hat

just being cute!

sleepy Rhys fell asleep in the pile of laundry

we love watching Aggie football!

Mommy and Rhys

Excited to see what the next month holds!

Halloween 2011

Now that we have kids, I think we appreciate holidays so much more!  Even holidays like Halloween!  Of course we had more fun than they did, but that's okay, right? 

When trying to decide what kind of costumes we were going to get the twins, we decided to make it easy and incorporate Rhett's A&M helmet.  So he had to be a football player.  And what does every good football player need?  Why, a cheerleader, of course!  My mom ordered Rhett this little jersey and Rhys wore an A&M dress she already had, complete with a big maroon bow!

Let me introduce you to the cutest, happiest, funniest, and most adorable baby A&M football player and cheerleader....

Our First Halloween!

We got the babies dressed up and went to our church's annual "Trunk or Treat."  Several families decorate their cars with a theme and pass out candy from their trunk.  Our church cooked hot dogs, rented a bounce house, and had other games for the kids to play.  The weather was nice and cool and so we walked around and visited with lots of friends.  The twins enjoyed looking at all the other kids and their costumes.

Here are some of our friends and all our kids!  I'm sure we will many more pics like this in the years to come!

  Greg with Rhett, Misty with Rhys, Allison with Beth, Bruce, & Jon with Peyton

Happy Halloween everyone!

Pumpkin Patch

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and visit a pumpkin patch!  Rhett and Rhys were very interested in looking at all the pumpkins.  We could hardly get them to look at the camera!  We had been there about 5 minutes or so, and I put Rhett down, turned to get the camera, and he had already picked up a handful of dirt and hay and put it all over himself!  Rhys wanted to touch (and lick) everything.  We spent about 30 minutes taking pictures and I was exhausted when we left!  

Here are a few of my favorites:

Rhett's New Trick

Rhett is drinking out of a straw!  It is so funny.  So I am a major nerd and read lots of books about different baby/parenting philosophies, and I read that 6 months is a good time to start introducing a sippy cup with a little bit of water.  We bought several different kinds and the babies just weren't interested in them at all.  Then I found this straw sippy cup at Target and thought we would try it.  It has a button at the bottom of it where you can push the liquid up the straw to "get them started."  Rhett caught on the first try!  Now he just sucks away.  He loves water!  He gets a sip of water after his solids twice a day.  

Rhys, on the other hand, can't stand the cup or water.  She cries when she sees any sippy cup and pushes it away.  We will keep trying but she is just not into it right now.

I love how my babies are so different.  It is fun to watch them try and learn new things!

A Few New Things...

This weekend we all got something new...

Tim got some new dress socks.  Exciting, right?

Rhett got a new tooth.
*Disclaimer:  No child was harmed in the taking of this picture.*

Rhys got another chin.  Seriously, look at this chubbiness!

And me, what did I get?  I know I got something new too, but I can't seem to remember what it was.

Oh wait, I do remember.

I got...

a NEW CAR!!!!

Tim surprised me with my new car Saturday night.  I had gone to the Women of Faith Conference with my mom, sister, and some friends, and as soon as we got home Saturday night, Tim told me that he had an emergency at work and needed to drive over to a neighborhood on the north side.  He told me that someone's house had flooded and he needed to go check it out.  Tim's parents were here visiting for the weekend as well, and so Tim's dad decided to ride with him.  This kind of thing has happened before, so I really didn't think anything of it.

What a liar!   And a really good one, I must say!  He was texting me the whole night about what a mess there was and all the things he was having to do, etc.  I believed every word!

A couple hours later, Tim came home.  I asked about the house, homeowners, etc. and he smiled and handed me the keys.  I was in shock!  I went into the garage and found my sparkly new van.

I absolutely love it!  Wow....my life has really changed!  I never thought I would be so excited to have a mini-van.  Welcome to parenthood!

Rhys can't wait for her carseat to be installed so she can go for a ride!

The color is called Blizzard Pearl.  There are so many things that I have to learn about it.  There are buttons everywhere and I don't know what most of them do.  My favorite feature so far:  the side doors open with a click on my keychain! (a very important and helpful feature for a mom holding 2 babies and no extra hand to open a car door)

Thanks, daddy, for our new ride!

Rock & Roll

TWINS ROCK...

AND ROLL!

Rhys is rolling!  It is like it just started happening overnight!  And now she won't stop.  We lay her on her back and she immediately flips over.  It is so funny.  She almost prefers to be on her tummy now when playing.  Sometimes she forgets how to get back over and then she gets really ticked off.  And screams.  And that is not cute, but the rolling is, so it is worth it.  Once she gets tired of being on her tummy she screams and then I help her remember how to flip back to her back.  She will lay on her back for a few seconds and then flip back to her tummy.....play for a few minutes.....and then scream.  Repeat.  All. Day. Long.  Fun times in the Bennett house, I tell ya!

And, what about Rhett, you ask?

Well, let's just say that Rhett is not in a hurry to go anywhere.  He much prefers to lay or sit still.  And by still, I mean still.  He is just chill.....most of the time.  This is how you can usually find Rhett:

He has started rolling from tummy to back.  Not because he wants to, but because he hates being on his stomach so much.   When he attempts to roll, it is in super slow motion.  I say "attempts" because he is not always successful.  He will throw his head back to get momentum.  He gets to his side and sort of gets stuck.  Then he cries and grunts and kicks until he gets to his back.  It is pretty funny to watch!  It looks like this:

 
Several of my friends have babies that are the same age as the twins (and some even younger) and their babies have been rolling both ways for weeks.  Some of them ask if I am worried about them learning to roll over?  Um, yeah right.  Do you really think I want TWO mobile babies.  I do, but just not yet.  And besides, I have other things to worry about.  You know like who pooped and who didn't, how many diapers we have left, and which baby still needs to eat.  But don't you worry, this proud momma will be happy to share with you when we have tackled this skill.  Until then.....rock on!

R.I.P. Swaddle

Rest in peace, swaddle, rest in peace.

We are free!  Swaddle free, that is.

This makes me so very happy.

I mean ecstatic.

Like I'm so thrilled I could do a cartwheel.  Except then I would pull a muscle and would not be able to enjoy my swaddle-free joy so I won't be doing any cartwheels.  But I am truly cartwheel flippin happy.

Here is a tribute to our swaddle journey....

First swaddle EVER

swaddled in the hospital

 We learned about swaddling in one of the classes we took before the babies were born.  Tim was a pro from the beginning!  Here is Rhett sporting a swaddle job by dad.

cute swaddled Aggies

Then we got home and the swaddling continued.  We got better (and faster) with each swaddle we performed.  We went easy on them at first, and gave them some room to move.

Rhys sneaks one fist out of her swaddle

Rhett gets one arm out

Oh, the memories we have with the beloved swaddle.  Here are a few pics from those early days...

the "half swaddle" (lower body only)

tiny Rhys sleeping sweetly in her swaddle

Rhett loved having his hands swaddled out

After a couple weeks at home, we got a little more hard core with our swaddling.  We started using the Miracle Blanket and loved it.  This is a special kind of swaddle blanket made to wrap around the babies.   Both arms down and the tighter the better.  The babies were getting stronger and started busting out of our swaddle jobs.  We may have had some contests to see which "swaddler" did a better job of keeping their baby nice and snug.  I hate to admit it, but Tim was always the best!  

Here is an example of what happens when the baby gets out of their swaddle.  It's not pretty, but it's the truth.

Rhys demonstrating swaddle trouble

We loved using the Miracle Blanket, but the babies kept getting out of it and waking themselves up. Which also means they were waking us up. 

Waking up to re-swaddle crying babies all night long is not fun.  At all.  

We thought it might be a good idea to try to double swaddle them.  We would wrap a regular blanket on top of the Miracle Blanket.  It looked something like this...

This worked for a couple more weeks.  Then our amazingly strong babies were busting out.  Again.  We were desperate.  We needed sleep.

So my mom's friend sewed some special swaddle blankets for us.  The swaddles featured some heavy duty industrial strength velcro.   These were awesome!  So we would use the Miracle Blanket first, and then swaddle them again with the new blankets.  A double swaddle, if you will.

The results...

happy, sleeping babies

We continued to do this double swaddle for several weeks.  Then, about a month ago, Rhys started doing some magic Houdini tricks during the night and every morning she would have one or both arms out of BOTH swaddles.  I knew it was time for her to lose the swaddle.  So we started with naps first and just swaddled her with one arm out.  After she got used to that, we swaddled her with both arms out.  Then after another week or so she graduated to a sleep sack.  Yay Rhys!

Rhett took a little longer and was a little more hesitant to lose his swaddle.  Actually, we would probably still be swaddling Rhett except that he outgrew all of the swaddles.  He was too long to fit in the Miracle Blanket and we would have to bend his knees to make him fit.  I thought about cutting a slit in the Miracle Blanket so his legs could just go through.  I continued to use the velcro swaddle with Rhett, but he quickly outgrew that as well.  Look at his little feet hanging out of the swaddle!  (yes, he is wearing Rhys' pink striped swaddle....it's a twin's life, for sure!)

So, what do you do when there are NO more swaddles to fit and your mom doesn't want to spend any more money buying expensive swaddles online?  You have to learn how to sleep without a swaddle!  And so that is what Rhett did.  

The swaddle was a beautiful thing and gave the babies (and us) lots of good sleep.  We do believe in swaddling and all the benefits it provides.  But we are so happy to be swaddle free!  Why, you ask?

Let me break this down:

4 naps + bedtime = 5 swaddles per day (x2 babies) = 10 swaddle jobs a day minimum

Then add the times that the babies bust out and need to be re-swaddled and the times that we added in a double swaddle....and the times when we had to un-swaddle and re-swaddle to change a diaper, clean up spit up, etc.

That is a lot of swaddling, people!  

I love the swaddle.  I respect the swaddle.  I am a swaddle master.

But I will not miss you, swaddle.  R.I.P.

Goodbye swaddle....hello sleep sack! (pics to come soon)