Three months old...

Elaina in the bumbo seat

Curious Caroline

This picture is a priceless example of their current personalities! Caroline is just chilling out and looking around while Elaina wails because she is scared of the wind, the grass, her own voice, etc and just wants to be snuggled!

It's always better when we're together...

I can't believe that my babies will be three months old tomorrow (the 20th)...it seems like they were just yesterday squirming around inside of my huge, miserable body! They are beyond precious and have truly completed our hearts :) Here is a little update on them (although I am sure you mostly just want pictures)...


They both weigh a little over 12 lb now (according to our scales). I am not sure of the length because they will not cooperate for that! They are wearing size 2 diapers and their 0-3 month clothes are getting snug.


They are eating 2-3 oz every 2.5-3 hours during the day. Their "bedtime bottle" is usually 5-6 oz. They eat on average 16-20 oz/day. They can both be very fussy eaters, but I am hoping this improves with time. As of this week, they are getting 100% formula (Similac Sensitive RS...liquid kind only, no powder). I am grateful to have been able to pump breastmilk for them for the first three months, but the time commitment was just too great to continue pumping with three little children needing my constant care. Now we move from time commitment to financial commitment, haha! Formula right now is about $9/day...$270/month! As they start eating more, that number will easily rise to about $360/month...yikes!


Thankfully, they are good sleepers and put themselves to sleep fairly easily. At night, they have been (keeping my fingers crossed here) sleeping for one 8.5 hour stretch followed by one 3-4 hour stretch. They take 3-4 naps a day ranging from 45 min to 2.5 hours. I usually wake them up at the 2.5 hour mark if they are still asleep. Elaina will only sleep on her stomach, so we ordered the Angel Care breathing monitor to help put my mind at ease since stomach sleeping is associated with SIDS...it works great! Caroline will only sleep swaddled and on her side supported with sleeping wedges. They both need their pacis to sleep and their heartbeat bear/fan on for background noise. They will also nap occasionally in the swings. They HATE their carseats and for that reason we are basically on shut-in status :)


They both smile all the time and have laughed out loud several times...it is adorable! They can lift their heads very well and raise their chests off the ground during tummy time. They have both accidentally rolled over once. If they are anything like Rosalyn, they may be on the late end of normal with motor skills like rolling over, crawling, etc (which is just fine with me...less kids to chase!).


We do not have a real "schedule" yet for daytime...I just follow their cues and it seems to work so far (but I do keep them on the same schedule if that makes sense...always feed them at the same time, try to nap at the same time, etc). The only time of the day I am super strict with is bedtime and wake up time. Our normal bedtime routine is:


5:30 pm--quiet play
6 pm--Rosalyn snack/Babies bottle
6:20 pm--Rosalyn bath/Babies bath
6:45 pm--everyone dressed/in bed--read to Rosalyn, shush/give pacis to babies
7 pm--everyone asleep! I love having them all in bed by 7 pm...Jason and I get to eat dinner together and I have time to read, blog, play on internet, shower, etc before going to bed around 10 pm. I try my best not to do any chores after the kids are in bed.


We usually always get up at 7 am to start the day! So, I guess between 7 am-7 pm kind of varies each day (but it is still the same basic routine).


Things they both love: bathtime, being cuddled/talked to, watching big sister Rosalyn, trying to watch tv when I am not looking :)


Things they both hate: carseats, having fingernails clipped, cold baby wipes, tummy time


Caroline is a mellow little baby and reminds me so much of Rosalyn as a baby. She is calm, collected, and willing to just "hang out." She will happily lay on her playmat and watch Rosalyn or look at toys for 30 minutes without a peep. She has a slow easy smile and is just the sweetest little baby ever. She often has the cutest little curious expression on her face as she looks around at her surroundings. She is not very picky and likes to be held and talked to, but also likes to be alone at times. Caroline prefers to fall asleep on her own in her bed and will greatly protest being rocked to sleep (again, a lot like Rosalyn). She can get pretty loud and upset without warning if you let her get overly hungry or tired, but usually she is a very happy baby.


Elaina has turned out to be the little firecracker (despite my earlier predictions). She is my most "high maintanance" baby and can be extremely fussy sometimes, but is also very quick to give the biggest toothless grin ever! She definitely wears her heart on her sleeve...smiles and cries very easily. I joke that Elaina thinks she is an only child or a princess...she would prefer to be held 24 hours of the day and at times will wail indignantly before her body even touches the bed when you begin to lay her down. However, when you pick her back up she is all smiles and snuggles! She is also very easily frightened...loud noises, sudden movements, etc really startle her. A few days ago she passed gas loudly and startled herself so much that she began crying! We also are amused by how finicky she can be...even at just 3 months I have to arrange her covers a certain way (so that she can hold on to the edge of the blanket) or she will refuse to fall asleep. She is a funny, precious baby--fussiness, finickiness, and all :)


So, that is our little update! Also, in case you ever wonder, these blog updates are so lengthy and detailed because I save them as a journal for Rosalyn and the babies (I know that most of you readers don't really care about all those little things!)