Paisley's first laugh!

Paisley and Adalyn had bathtime today and Michael and I were able to witness the first laugh out of little Paisley Michaela. I was sitting on the floor next to the tub and washing her head when she gave out a little giggle. I did it again and she laughed again. She then continued to laugh a few more times, which just melted our hearts. It was so adorable! Michael was right there next to me when we were bathing her and happened to have the video camera going, so we were able to capture the moment. I am adding a bath pic to this post, but it is from a few weeks after the first laugh:) I'm so glad that we were both there to share that exciting milestone together. Looking forward to Adalyn's first laugh and many more fun milestones ahead!

Where does the time go???

A&P are 16 weeks old tomorrow! Wow, has the last month flown by. Good news is that the girls are growing out of their extreme fussiness. It's been about 2 weeks now that they have been smiling more and seem to be a lot more comfortable. They are taking gas medicine and a mix of Nutramigen and Gentelease formula...everything else we have been able to stop (ie: reflux medicine, colic medicine).

We are trying to figure out the ideal bedtime schedule for them as they are super fussy around dinner time until they go to bed. Hey, we'll take it over them crying non-stop all day long:) Right now they go to bed at about 8:30 or 9 and wake up between 3 & 4 and then sleep for another 3 hours before waking up for the day. We're hoping in another month or so that they will be sleeping through the night. They take about 3 solid naps each day and then the evening nap is usually very brief as they scream for a while without being able to comfort themselves to sleep once they wake up. I think it's because they know dad is home and want to maximize their time with him:)

They have grown so much lately, I just want to freeze time. They are enjoying their vibrating chair, swing, and toys so much! They swing their arms and legs and get so excited to see all of their toys and books. They are holding their heads up really well and I'm sure it will be just a matter of weeks until they can fully do this on their own.

Adalyn and Paisley noticed each other for the first time that I have seen this week. I was nursing them and heard them release from the boob to smile at each other. They cooed and giggled a bit and it was the most adorable thing ever. They have done it one other time since then, but it's hard to get Michael to move quickly enough to see it too!!!

Today is officially my separation from Target to stay home with these beautiful girls. It is bittersweet to leave the work world, but I know this is a decision that I could never regret. I am so lucky to be able to be home and spend this time with them and to have a husband who sees the value in it too! I am such a lucky momma!!!

Daddy's birthday and Halloween are next weekend. The girls and I will have to make a cake for dad to celebrate the big 32. Nana bought them Happy Halloween onesies and tu-tus and they are looking forward to seeing all the neighborhood kids in their costumes:)

Another Reflux Medicine

Adalyn and Paisley had their 2 month Ped appt. on Friday and the doc recommended we switch from Zantac to Prevacid for reflux. She wants us to try that for a week and then if it works, we keep moving forward and if it doesn't, we try something else. She really wants to get them off of the Nutramigen that costs us $35 every few days and we'd like that too. However, not sure I want to be switching around formulas again!!! We'll see if the Prevacid works and go from there. Unfortunately, the girls hate it. It is refrigerated and they have to take 2 ml of it, which doesn't seem like a lot, but when you are squirting it into their little mouths, it just runs down the sides.

The girls are continuing to get more and more interactive with us and their surroundings. I put them in the Bumbo chair for the first time this morning and they seemed to like that for a little while. They can't completely hold their heads up, but they are really close. I bet in another couple weeks they will have that down. It's fun to see them having a new view of life when they can sit up and it's also nice relief for me to have something else that they can sit in so one can play independently while I play with the other.

So, although they are still pretty fussy day to day, they are getting more personality and the smiles keep us going:)

Cabin time at Papa's!

Last week, Michael convinced me that we should pack up the girls and head to my dad's cabin for a day or two over Labor Day weekend. I was a little hesitant about going up there because the girls have been so fussy that I was worried it was going to be a nightmare being away from all of their stuff. He promised if they were too crazy, we could come back as soon as we needed to.

BUT...the weekend turned out to be the best two days the girls have had in many, many weeks. It has to be all the time being held by more than just their momma all day long. Poor Michael usually comes home from a long days work to screaming babies and an overwhelmed wife, so it was great to have papa McKenny, uncle Matt, auntie Julie, uncle Court, and J & B to hold them too!!! We had a super, nice and relaxing weekend, which we all really needed. They slept more than they have in a long time and we are hopeful that they are starting to grow out of their fussy days. It was fun to see more smiles from them and to think that hopefully their little tummies are starting to feel better! Tomorrow will be the true test when it's mom at home alone again:) More to come.

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Baby Girls!

Wow do I have a lot to catch up on since my last blog a couple weeks ago. The girls are two months old tomorrow, which is so hard to believe. They are growing up so fast and have more and more personality each day.


Over the last couple of weeks we have continued to deal with some upset tummies. Is it lactose intolerance? colic? gas? reflux? constipation? These are all potential reasons for the fussy little girls we have had since their first few weeks of life. I just want to squeeze the pain right out of them. It's been really hard to see them uncomfortable and it seems as though everything we try works somewhat for a few days or a few weeks and then we end up back with very fussy babies. Currently, I am on a dairy-free diet trying to see if they might be lactose intolerant and they are on Nutramigen Lipil (a $35 formula powder that lasts us 3 days!!!!) as well as reflux medicine and an over the counter gas medicine. My goal of trying to have them totally on breast milk by 2 months did not happen. I had to stop breastfeeding and just pump for almost 3 days trying to get the diary out of my system. I'm still not convinced it is that, but who knows. It might just be colic, but whatever it is, I can't wait for the day that our little babes are comfortable and smiling more than crying. I can't wait for that day!!!

On a more fun note, the girls have really become more aware of their surroundings. They now make eye contact with mom and dad and others and will give a little smile, which just melts your heart. They grunt and coo a lot now and definitely let us know that they are in the room:) They also love to look over our shoulders at whatever is in sight behind us. Their favorite part of the house to stare at these days are the brown curtains in our living room. They glance over at them with their big bright blue eyes and stare any chance they get.

Adalyn also enjoys her vibrating bouncer that has a monkey and koala bear hanging from it. She will coo and kick her legs and move her arms when looking at them. Paisley likes this pink musical toy that is meant to be a car seat toy, but she just loves when we shake it in front of her.

One other fun thing that happened last week was that they both found their thumbs and began to suck for a few minutes...they haven't really been able to keep them in their mouths since, but it was so adorable. Adalyn found her thumb on Tuesday and Paisley on Friday. I didn't have the camera close for Adalyn, but was able to catch the pic below of Paisley. I love what a chunky monkey she looks in this picture.
We did however get a nice shot of the mohawk Adalyn got from Daddy after bath time last week:) They're so adorable...I just love to kiss their little faces over and over! They definitely bring a lot of joy to mom and dad and we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Eight pounds???

Is it possible that our little babes are 8 pounds already? I jumped on the scale with each of them and it says that Adalyn is 8 lbs, 3 oz and Paisley is 8 lbs, 1 oz. I don't think this is quite as accurate as the scales they use at the doctor's office, but they definitely feel like they are getting up there:)

Yesterday, I attempted to breastfeed only and by the evening feeding, I had to give in and give them the expressed breast milk (EBM) because I was in pain from the non-stop feeding. The girls would eat for up to 30 minutes or more per feeding, which left me pretty sore since I had only been doing 15 minutes up until then.

So, today, I attempted a new schedule of every other feeding and the day went great!!! I breastfeed for 4 of the feedings and then bottle fed them for 3 with EBM and 1-2 oz of Good Start, as needed, followed by pumping. This is just a nice way for me to be able to ease into it and my goal would be to be breastfeeding them fully by their 2 month birthday. We'll see how it goes:)

One month already!!!

Happy one month, Adalyn and Paisley! Wow, has this time flown by:) The girls are getting bigger and bigger each day and their stomachs are starting to get a little more under control now. They still have some episodes of pain now and then, but a lot less than before. The Gerber Good Start seems to be working for now. I am starting to wean them off their formula next week, so we'll see how that goes.