Madeline and Molly: Ten Months

Madeline and Molly,
You are TEN MONTHS old today! Double digits! What FUN we are having these days as y'all are all smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses.  Everyone who meets you comments about how happy y'all are and asks what my secret is.  No secret, y'all just are the sweetest babies on the planet and I'm the luckiest mama in the world.

We are following the same 4-hour schedule from last month with the big difference being that I am no longer tandem nursing you.  Y'all got so big and busy that it just turned into pulling each others hair, fingers in each others faces, and me acting as referee.  At first I was annoyed that it would take longer (and thus be longer to keep Carter entertained) but it has turned into the very best decision.  Molly is so very busy and hates to stay still long enough to nurse, so me being able to give her all my attention helps keep her nursing longer.  And sweet Madeline just closes her eyes and rubs my back the entire time.  I love getting to hold each of you in my arms, versus laying you on a pillow I had to awkwardly hunch down over.  And it gives me one-on-one time with each of you that I wasn't getting while y'all were tandem nursing.  Whoever wakes up first from their nap gets nursed first and whoever is more tired at night goes to bed first.

Y'all are still great eaters and sleepers, thank goodness.  We have yet to find anything y'all flat out refuse to eat. Bananas still are not a favorite, surprisingly.  We are going through blueberries and grapes by the truckload and sweet potatoes still remain the food to end all other foods.  Y'all take two 2-hour+ naps everyday and finally kicked that last cat nap right before bedtime (unless we are in the car and y'all still sneak naps in like champs.)  

Madeline Kate,

Maddy Kate, Maddy Girl, Mads Pads, Magellan, Sister Girl, Sister Bear...you are still our sweet sister.  You love to cuddle and be tickled and are the most interested in anything Molly has.  You wait like a cat stalking prey for her to pick out a toy she likes and then you pounce, taking it all for yourself.  Even some toys that we have two of you will take from Molly to keep for yourself. This trait makes you sound anything BUT sweet, but I like to think that you are just watching out for sister and want to do whatever she is doing.  At least that's what I will tell myself.  :)  You are happy to sit back and watch what is going on around you and spend a lot of your awake time doing your own thing.  

You've earned yourself a new nickname this month...Magellan.  You are so good at (army) crawling that we literally have to search the house for you sometimes. You explore all day long, which is probably how you have managed to stay so skinny.  When you are not stealing toys from Molly you are traveling around the house.  And when you crawl you stretch your left arm out and use your hand to pull while bending your right arm and using your forearm to propel yourself forward.  I need to get a good video of you doing this to capture how FAST you zoom across a room.  I can see where you are thinking about starting to pull up on some items, so that will be our next big milestone.

Speaking of milestones, you are finally sitting up! With the help of our OT, Tina, you are now sitting like a champ.  Not well enough for a shopping cart, but enough that you sit up in your (infant) bathtub and long enough that I don't have to sit next to you while you are playing on the floor.  Now we are just working on you transitioning in and out of the sitting position, to both the right and left sides.  You are also eating much better off of a spoon, which was something else we have been working with Tina on.  Along with eating more from a spoon you also are actually consuming more of the food from your high chair tray, versus shoveling it at your face and letting most of it fall into your chair.  I'm actually going to be a little sad when you stop spilling food at all because you get SO HAPPY when we take your high chair tray off and you get "second dinner" from the food that has fallen into your bib.  You literally let out a squeal and sit for a few minutes eating what's in your bib.  So cute! 

Like I predicted, your "tongue sucking" is starting to fade away, although not gone completely.  You L O V E your blanket you get at naps and night and close your eyes and roll over as soon as we hand it to you.  And that weight check we were stressing over so much a few weeks ago? You totally dominated it.  I'm thinking that first weight they took where it looked like you may have lost weight was wrong, otherwise you gained 12 ounces in 3 weeks, which is pretty impressive.  Basically, you are perfect in every way.

Madeline 10 month Stats

Weight: 15 pounds 13 ounce (3%ile)

Length: 28ish inches

Eating: nursing 3 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 11am, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 9:00-11:00am, 1:30-4:00pm

Diapers: size 3 Huggies

Clothes: 3-6 months

Teeth: 4 on top, 3 on bottom

Food: everything, favorites are sweet potatoes, grapes, pasta, and macaroni 

Favorites: sleeping, Daddy, Carter, Molly, riding in the Ergo, eating blankets, chewing on cords, all food, being outside, being "thrown" up and down, exploring, 

Development: scares easily, crawling, holding her own bottle, sitting up 

Milestones:

11/27- first Thanksgiving 

12/1- upper lateral incisors

12/11- lower right lateral incisor

12/17- sitting up unassisted 

Molly Ann,

Molly Girl, Molls Balls, Molly Mae, Sister Girl, Sister Bear...you are rotten.  You have us completely at your beck and call, and know exactly how to work us in which you get your way.  You know what you want when you want it.  And you are N O S E Y and know where Madeline and Carter are at all times; I can see in the future you always being the one to tell mw what the others are up to.  You want to always be in the middle of everything and get upset when we walk out of the room without you in our arms.  God forbid you crawl and follow us! You can crawl, you just don't do it as much as Magellan.  You prefer to be carried.  And spoon-fed.  And have your diaper changed immediately after it is dirty.  I guess I'm calling you a princess.  

You and Madeline have really started to "play" together for short periods of time and it is just my favorite thing to watch.  You are very interested in her and touch her whenever she is within arms reach.  You love to lay in the bed next to her or Carter and laugh at everything they do.  You have not mastered the "gentle" face touch, so I don't think they are as interested in you are you are in them.  You always finish your bottle before Madeline in the morning and Carter has taken to talking to you while you lay on your boppy waiting for Maddy to finish.  Carter always says "I talk to Molly" and then leans over your face and blabbers gibberish until you laugh at him.  I can see the two of you getting into a lot of trouble together in the years to come.  

You are not quite sitting completely unassisted, but are so close.  I just don't think you are interested enough in sitting still to truly master this milestone.  You crawl just fine, seem to be interested in pulling up, and love to "stand" on our legs.  I know you will eventually sit up on  your own so I'm not stressed over it, but it would be nice to be able to get all three of you bathed at one time.  Or go out to eat without infant carriers.  Or use one of those monster shopping carts at Target or HEB.  Just saying.  No pressure.  None at all.  

I'm beginning to think that you would prefer to be done nursing altogether.  You bite me constantly, you would rather do ANYTHING else than lay still in my arms, and would drink both yours and Madeline's bottles if I let you.  The only time I feel like you nurse really well is at night when we are alone in the dark room and you nurse until you fall asleep.  So that makes me think you are interested in nursing the rest of the time, just maybe too distracted.  If you were a singleton I would probably just stop nursing and use my freezer(s) stash to bottle-feed you until your birthday.  But since Madeline acts like she wants to nurse until college, selfishly, I'm going to continue to nurse you out of convenience for myself.  I don't think I can keep up with a sippy for Carter, a sippy for you, pumping for both of you, and nursing Madeline.  It makes me crazy just to think about it all.  We are almost done so I'm going to push forward and see where the next two months take us.

Molly 10 month Stats

Weight: 17ish pounds

Length: 28ish inches

Eating: nursing 3 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 11am, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 9:00-11:00am, 1:30-4:00pm

Diapers: size 3 Huggies

Clothes: 3-6 months

Teeth: 2 bottom

Food: everything, favorites are sweet potatoes, grapes, pasta, and macaroni 

Favorites: sleeping, Carter, your paci, jumping in the jumper or exersaucer, riding in the car, being paid any amount of attention, food being fed to you, bath time  

Development: crawling, holding her own bottle 

Milestones:

11/27- first Thanksgiving

Our sweet babies at ten months

Madeline and Molly: Nine Months

Madeline and Molly,

You are NINE MONTHS old today! The time is going by so quickly but we are having so much fun watching y'all grow up.  Everyday just keeps getting better as y'all are doing more developmentally and as your personalities really start to shine.  Life with three kids is so enjoyable and the very best part is watching the relationship form between y'all and Carter.  

We are officially following a 4-hour schedule now that includes 3 meals and 2-3 naps each day.  Typically y'all wake up at 7:00 and drink an 8-ounce bottle while I pump, followed by breakfast at 8:00.  With the exception of days when we take Carter to preschool y'all will go down for a nap around 8:45-9:00 and nap until 10:30-11:00.  Then the schedule repeats with y'all nursing at 11:00, lunch at noon, and another nap from about 1:30-4:00.  Nurse again at 4:00, followed by dinner at 5:30 and sometimes a cat nap around 6:15.  Y'all nurse for the last time around 7:00 before going to sleep for the night.

My life officially feels like we revolve around mealtime; I'm always preparing a meal, serving a meal or cleaning up a meal.  Y'all are now eating three full meals a day, y'all love to eat and have great appetites! We have yet to find a food that y'all don't like, although you still haven't mastered eating bananas.  This month we tried and liked yogurt, carrots, waffles, toast, mangos, broccoli, mac-n-cheese, zucchini, butternut squash, apples, red bell peppers, raspberries, eggs, clementines, potatoes, chicken, blueberries, green beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, oatmeal, cheerios, squash, scones, strawberries, blackberries, pepperoni, and grapes.  I think y'all might like your veggies a like more than your fruits.  Favorites are definitely sweet potatoes and roasted apples.  We also give y'all a little bit of water everyday and will probably start using a sippy cup soon.


Madeline Kate,
Maddy Kate, Maddy Girl, Mads Pads, Sister Bear, Sister, Girl...you are one sweet, sweet baby.  You are still our more laid-back, "go with the flow" sister and love to people watch (your favorite people being sister bear and brother bear.)  You have yet to meet a stranger and give huge smiles to anyone who will pay you any attention.  You are very interested in what Molly is doing, where she is going and what toy she is playing with.  You have your eye out and let me know if I walk by you without picking you up or reminding me not to leave you on the floor if I pick sister bear up.  You do NOT want to be left out of anything! You are sensitive and can get your feelings hurt easily if we ignore you too long, but are pleased as punch as long as we hug and kiss you every few minutes.  Your laughs are probably the best thing I've ever heard, and now that you are laughing at everything sister and brother do I stay one happy mama.

Baby girl you are crawling! Well, you are army crawling and scooting anywhere and everywhere.  I can't leave you down for a second without you finding a cord plugged into a wall across the room and you are OFF! Zoom! I was actually a little shocked that you started crawling so soon since you are still not sitting up unassisted; I kept thinking that milestone would come first.  And now that you are crawling everywhere you have no time or patience to be still and practice sitting.  For the love! I need you to learn how to sit so we can do a normal bath, sit in a high chair, and sit in the grocery cart.  The day I can take all three of you to the grocery store and only use one shopping cart (instead of pushing one and pulling one behind me) I will be a very happy mama!

We started OT this month with your therapist, Tina, who sees you and Carter.  You have some weird things you do with your tongue/mouth so we are working on those as well as sitting up and fine motor movements with your hands.  One of my favorite things you do is to self-soothe by sucking on your tongue.  It sounds weird to say but that's the best way Daddy and I can describe it.  I'm worried that all the OT work we are doing with your mouth will "cure" your tongue sucking, but that's probably the point.  You don't take a paci anymore but have started sleeping with a small blanket, so maybe that will help you continue to self-soothe.

You have lost a few ounces since our last appointment, probably from all of that crawling, so we are sure to fill your belly all day and will be back for a weight check in a few weeks.  If you had told me nine months ago that my big "Baby A" would one day be my smaller twin I probably wouldn't have believed you.  But you are almost an entire pound less than your sister, exact same in length, and a much larger head.  A long string bean!

Madeline 9 month Stats

Weight: 15 pounds 1 ounce (2%ile)

Length: 27.1 inches (33%ile) 

Eating: nursing 3 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 11am, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 9:00-11:00am, 1:30-4:00pm, and a cat nap in the car occasionally 

Diapers: size 2 Huggies

Clothes: 3-6 months

Teeth: lower central incisors, upper central incisors 

Food: bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sweet potatoes (mashed and roasted), peaches, pears, shredded cheeses, yogurt, waffles, toast, mangos, broccoli, macaroni and cheese, zucchini, butternut squash, apples, bell peppers, raspberries, eggs, clementines, chicken, blueberries, green beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, oatmeal, cheerios, squash, strawberries, blackberries, scones, pepperoni and grapes

Favorites: sleeping, Daddy, Carter, Molly, riding in the Ergo, your bouncer, eating blankets, Sophie the Giraffe, chewing on cords, all food, being outside, being "thrown" up and down, 

Development: scares easily, crawling, holding her own bottle for short periods, 

Milestones:

11/10- upper central incisors

Molly Ann,

Molly Girl, Molls Balls, Sister Bear, Sister Girl...you are the life of the party! Always showing off for your siblings, and always doing something for them to pay attention to.  Baby girl, I think you might have a career in acting in your future.  You have mastered the art of the fake cry and use it anytime you want something.  Come get me out of my highchair! Give me that toy! Pick me up! Give me words of affirmation! And on, and on, and on.  I'm confident in saying that you know what you want when you want it and how to get it.  Your poor husband, he is never going to be able to ever tell you "no."

You are our little princess, not wanting to get your hands or face dirty.  You love to eat but want us to hand feed you your food and let us know if we ever get a drop on your face.  You hate to have your hands and face wiped and God forbid we wipe your nose.  You are so good with your paci now and I watch you on the monitor or in the car just take it out of your mouth and put it back in at your own will.  That is so nice! You hold your own bottle like a champ and can down 8 ounces in less than 10 minutes.  Piggy! 

You are crawling just like Sister Bear.  You have no interest in going anywhere quickly, but will fly as soon as you see a shoe or one of Carter's toys.  Your favorite thing to do is this cute little side-sit, like a model pose.  You crawl for a bit and then side-sit.  Play with a toy and then side-sit.  Roll over and then land on your side.  I need to get a good picture of you like that to save in case you model in your future.  The best part of your day is when Carter comes to "talk" to you, especially in the morning when you are drinking your bottle.  You love, love, LOVE Carter and follow him everywhere.  The three of you are going to be the very best of friends.  

We finally got your eczema under control with some hydrocortisone cream. Your lower two teeth finally popped through and you are USING them! I thought at the beginning of the month you would have to stop nursing because you couldn't nurse without biting, but thankfully it was a phase and we are back in our nursing routine.  Your hair on the top of your head is coming in quickly, but the rest seems to be in a stagnant state so you may be rocking a mohawk soon. You hold your own bottle now which is a game changer. You have the sweetest little laugh and go on and on and on when we tickle you at night.  We love you! 

Molly 9 month Stats

Weight: 16 pounds 0 ounces (7%ile)

Length: 27.1 inches (33%ile) 

Eating: nursing 3 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 11am, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 9:00-11:00am, 1:30-4:00pm, and a cat nap in the car occasionally 

Diapers: size 2 Huggies

Clothes: 3-6 months

Teeth: lower central incisors

Food: bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sweet potatoes (mashed and roasted), peaches, pears, shredded cheeses, yogurt, waffles, toast, mangos, broccoli, macaroni and cheese, zucchini, butternut squash, apples, bell peppers, raspberries, eggs, clementines, chicken, blueberries, green beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, oatmeal, cheerios, squash, strawberries, blackberries, scones, pepperoni and grapes

Favorites: sleeping, Carter, your paci, jumping in the jumper or exersaucer, riding in the car, being paid any amount of attention, food being fed to you, bath time  

Development: crawling, holding her own bottle 

Milestones:

10/28- lower central incisors 

Our sweet babies at nine months

Madeline and Molly: Eight Months

Madeline and Molly,

You are EIGHT MONTHS old today! Holy cow! Sweet sweet sweet and sweet are the four best words I can think of to describe y'all and our time we have spent together this month.  Y'all are just the sweetest little babies and everyone we encounter comes to the same conclusion mere moments after meeting y'all.  Y'all are easy, and happy, and sweet as cherry pie.  

We are still following the same 3-hour schedule we were on last month, with the addition of dinner around 5:30. Y'all continue to be great sleepers/nappers which I thank God for every day.  I just looked back at brothers 8-month post and he still wasn't sleeping through the night at this point.  Yay for great sleepers! Y'all also go down easily (compared to the hours I spent rocking your brother to sleep) and continue to nap in long stretches.  Y'all are getting to where you don't nap as well in the car or in the stroller, but I think we are inching closer to a 4-hour schedule (hopefully!)

We started giving you rice cereal at dinnertime a month ago and, well, it didn't go so well.  I gave that a few days and then tried bananas and carrots, only to stress myself out more.  Spoon feeding two babies while also trying to feed a picky toddler is not fun! So we took a few days off while I talked to some other twin mamas and regrouped to attempt Baby-Led Weaning.  Basically we are tossing the spoons and purees in the trash and just giving you real food, in easy to grasp portions that you can feed yourselves.  So far we have tried bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sweet potatoes (mashed and roasted), peaches, pears, shredded cheeses, yogurt, waffles, and toast.  Your favorites seem to be cucumbers, sweet potatoes and waffles.  It awesome to watch y'all go from not being able to reach and pick up food, to devouring whole trays of food! Especially food that your brother would never think of touching! 

Besides food y'all's absolute favorite thing this month has been Carter.  It doesn't matter if he is laying on top of you, picking you up, or bouncing with you in the jumper, y'all cannot get enough of him! You laugh all day long at his crazy antics and are always trying to get closer to him.  Speaking of getting closer to him, y'all are trying your darndest to crawl! Molly, you can actually get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  Madeline, you are beginning to do an army crawl to get where you want to go.  Either way, if I put you down on the floor anywhere and give you a few minutes it's guaranteed that y'all will NOT be in the same place a few minutes later.  I'm holding onto these last few weeks of immobility because I know once y'all start moving my life will forever change.

Madeline Kate,

Maddy Girl, Maddy Kate, Sister Bear...you continue to be our sensitive, gentle girl.  You are almost always happy, unless something hurts your feelings and then we get big, crocodile tears and pouty lips.  Oh, it's absolutely heart breaking! Thankfully you are rarely upset and easily settled if we can get you close to Molly or Carter.  

My favorite part of the day is waking you up in the morning and from your naps.  It's always Molly who wakes up first, so when I get to your room you are typically still asleep.  You sleep on your tummy with your nose in the sheet, face-down.  And you sleep like a rock so when I go to wake you up it takes you a minute to realize what's happening and really wake up.  You stretch your arms, rub your eyes, roll over and eventually open your eyes with a big smile on your face.  Oh, it's just the very best! Then you get even happier when I bring Sister Bear over to your bed and y'all play together for a minute.  I need to record this one day because I never want to forget how sweet it is to watch you wake up.  

Your hair has finally started to come in more, but it's so very blonde it's almost hard to see how much hair you really have.  Your eyes are still various shades of blue and you have the most beautiful skin.  The hemangioma on your back is starting to shrink and we are hoping it is small enough at twelve months that we won't have to go through laser removal treatments.  I'm guessing you are still a few ounces smaller than your sister, but I'm not sure.  You love to nurse and nurse for longer stretches than Molly, even though you weigh a little less.  And you got TWO TEETH this month! Your lower central incisors cut through on the 6th and 11th.  You are paying more attention to what's going on around you and will cry if I walk out of the room or pick up Molly instead of you.  

Madeline 8 month Stats

Weight: 15 pounds 6 ounces (7%ile)

Length: 

Eating: nursing 4 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 8:00-10:00am, 1:00-4:00pm, and two cat naps

Diapers: size 2 Huggies

Clothes 3-6 months

Teeth: lower central incisors 

Food: bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sweet potatoes (mashed and roasted), peaches, pears, shredded cheeses, yogurt, waffles, and toast

Favorites: sleeping, Daddy, Carter, Madeline, riding in the Ergo, your bouncer, eating blankets, Sophie the Giraffe 

Development: reaches for things, self feeds, passes toys/food from one hand to the other, cries when I walk out of room, scares easily 

Milestones:

10/6- lower left central incisor

10/11- lower right central incisor

Molly Ann,

Molly Girl, Molls Balls, Sister Bear...you are sweet and in charge.  It continues to be your world and we just live in it following your lead and schedule all day.  You pop up out of bed in the morning and are ready to go (I'm not sure where you get that from except maybe Carter; Daddy and I do not "pop" up ever.)  You are very aware of your surroundings and we can see the thoughts buzzing around in your brain all day.  I think I might be afraid of the day you start talking for fear of all the opinions and questions we will hear all day long.  You want to be in the middle of all the action and have no problem to attempt to leap out of our arms to reach what you want.  Neither you or Sister Bear are sitting up yet but you are so close to crawling.  You can actually get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth.  Slow down! 

You are our cuddle bug and love to be held, rocked and just hanging out in our arms.  The only place you would rather not be is carried in the Ergo, probably because you cannot face out and watch the world go by.  Sadface.  You still love your swing and take two cat naps in there each day.  You still take your paci but don't seem as attached to it as Carter was.  You are happy to suck your paci at night and during naptime but never fuss if you don't have one in your mouth.  You can now pull my hair and it hurts! You have such strength for such a little girl.  You love to reach up at my face or over at Maddy while you are nursing and spend a lot of your time holding Maddy's hand.  It's so sweet to see y'all love on each other and I hope that continues always.  

Our biggest stress for you this month has been your eczema on your face and legs.  We have tried every lotion and home remedy under the sun to no avail.  We've tracked your eating, the weather, and my eating to see if we can pinpoint anything that makes it better/worse and cannot piece together this puzzle.  On good days it's just a little rough, but on bad days is red, cracked, and bleeding.  Poor baby girl.  It doesn't seem to bother you and we never see you scratching at your face, thankfully.  But it absolutely just breaks my heart to see bloody sheets in your bed and cracked, peeling skin on your face.  I pray you grow out of this quickly! 

Molly 8 month Stats

Weight: 15 pounds 11 ounces (10%ile...double digits!)

Length: 

Eating: nursing 4 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: 7:00am

Naps: 8:00-10:00am, 1:00-4:00pm, and two cat naps

Diapers: size 2 Huggies

Clothes: 3-6 months

Teeth: none 

Food: bananas, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sweet potatoes (mashed and roasted), peaches, pears, shredded cheeses, yogurt, waffles, and toast

Favorites: being held/rocked, Carter, Madeline, your paci, being on your stomach, laughing, baths, your swing

Development: reaches for things, self feeds, passes toys/food from one hand to the other, cries when I walk out of room, 

Milestones:

Our sweet babies at eight months

Madeline and Molly: Seven Months

Madeline and Molly,
You are SEVEN MONTHS old today! I simply don't have the words to express how easy-going and happy y'all are, not to mention how incredibly fast this past month went by! When I was pregnant with Carter people warned me how fast time would go by after he was born.  What I was not expecting was how much faster time would go with subsequent children.  Geez, Louise! I've even started bugging Daddy about having another baby (not going to happen) just so we would always have a baby in the house.  I love the age and stage y'all are in and don't want it to pass by any faster than it already is.

We are settled into our routine and daily schedule which we have been following for the past few months.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays I wake y'all up at 7:00 since we have to be at preschool or church at 9:00 on those days.  Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays I let y'all sleep in a little and Molly usually wakes up by 7:30 or so.  I pump and y'all get breastmilk bottles and go back down for a nap around 8:00.  On preschool days y'all will sleep in the car and transition back into your cribs when we get home. Y'all wake around 10:00 to eat again and typically we hit the road for errands at this time.  Most days y'all catch a cat nap in the car/stroller/shopping cart depending on what we are doing.  Then y'all nurse again around 1:00 and nap until 4:00 or 4:30.  Nurse again when y'all wake from your nap and then it's playtime or baths, depending on the day.  Y'all catch another cat nap in your swings while we are eating dinner around 6:00.  Then you nurse again for the last time at 7:00 and go right down to sleep for the night.  Y'all are great sleepers and we rarely hear a peep throughout the night unless it's from Molly needing her paci put back in.

This was definitely our month of laughs! Y'all wake up smiling, laugh all day long, and go to bed happy.  You will laugh at each other, laugh at brother, and freely give us those big, gummy smiles whenever we so much as look in your direction.  Everything is funny to y'all! Y'all still love to be held, although we don't get to do it often enough.  I try to wear one of you each day during errands so we at least get some good snuggles in regularly.  Your favorite part of the day is easily when Carter interacts with you, although the fun is over as soon as he picks you up.  I'm thankful that y'all still seem pleased to go with the flow, have happy demeanors, and make my job as a twin mama a little easier.



Madeline Kate, 
Maddy Girl, Maddy Kate, Mads Pads...our sweet, gentle soul.  I just know one day you will be loyal, dependable friend every girl wants to have in her corner.  You are a little more reserved and happy to take time to observe your surroundings, but constantly happy.  You can be upset over something and calm down as soon as sister bear is placed next to you.  You have overcome your fear of the bath, but still only tolerate bathing.  I'm not sure it will ever be your favorite activity.  And, for the first time in your entire life, I can say that you are my smallest baby.  By an ounce! Your piglet little sister finally passed you in the weight department.  You still win the length and head size categories, and probably always will.  Your hair is still light blonde, eyes are still blue, and cheeks still rosy red.  You are absolutely beautiful.  

This month you have started to scare/startle easily and are hard to calm down once you get going crying.  Most of the time its a loud noise that sets you off, but sometimes it's something passive like Carter getting too close (which you usually love) that will scare you.  When you get mad it's all hands on deck to bring you back down and assure everything is okay.  You are not a baby who will ever be able to "cry it out"; you just get more mad the longer you cry.  Thankfully this doesn't happen often.

Another favorite for you this month has been blowing bubbles and making noises with your mouth.  You even do it when you are nursing, pulling off for a moment so you can blow a bubble.  You have officially ditched the paci (noooo!) and instead sooth yourself by sucking on your tongue. It's hard to describe but it basically looks like you are sucking on a paci without anything actually in your mouth, if that makes sense.  Whatever works, my dear!

Molly Ann,
Molly Girl, Molls Bolls, Millie Molly Moo...our leader of the pack.  It's your world and we are just living in it.  You run our schedule and let us know if we are late to wake up/ eat/ nap/ go to bed/ etc.  You will be our more outgoing and independent daughter, with a million opinions about a million topics.  I wouldn't be surprised if you were on the debate team or in theatre when you get older (please don't grow up!) And you have finally decided to ditch the "unimpressed" act and now smile all the time, mostly without any prompting whatsoever.

Piggy piggy piggy, all you want to do it eat! Yay! All I want it big, fat babies with rolls all over so keep it up, sister! Now I realize y'all will never be chunky, heavy babies, but I am proud of all the weight you have put on this month.  You are such a great eater and we actually have to monitor how much you eat because you still don't self-regulate well and will overeat if we aren't careful.

You are a doll, inside and out.  It's the first thing everyone tells us when they look at you, and the first thing I think of when you smile that sweet smile at me everyday.  Your hair is really coming in (and sticking straight up!) and seems to be dark brown.  Your eyes are still blue but more grey than your sisters.  We still fight your eczema daily, but otherwise you have beautiful skin.  And both you and your sister are going to cut your first tooth any day now, I'm sure of it!

Madeline 7 month Stats

Weight: 14 pounds 1 ounce (6%ile)

Length: 

Eating: nursing 4 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: either 7:00am or 7:30am

Naps: 8:00-10:00am, 1:00-4:00pm, and two cat naps

Diapers: size 1 Huggies

Clothes 0-3 months

Teeth: none

Favorites: sleeping, Daddy, Carter, riding in the Ergo, your bouncer, eating blankets 

Development: rolling across the room

Milestones:

8/24- tried rice cereal

Molly 7 month Stats

Weight: 14 pounds 2 ounces (7%ile)

Length: 

Eating: nursing 4 times a day with one breastmilk bottle in the morning.  Typically 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 7am.

Bedtime: around 7:30pm

Awake: either 7:00am or 7:30am

Naps: 8:00-10:00am, 1:00-4:00pm, and two cat naps

Diapers: size 1 Huggies

Clothes: 0-3 months

Teeth: none

Favorites: being held, Carter, your paci, being on your stomach, laughing, baths

Development: rolling across the room

Milestones:

8/24- tried rice cereal

Our sweet babies at seven months