7 months marks the end of my nursing relationship with these two kiddos! My initial goal before David and Claire were born was to give them some amount of breast milk for 6 months (I knew that there was a greater chance of having to supplement with formula with two babies, so I didn't want to set an unrealistic goal of exclusively nursing for 6 months. I had enough on my plate already!). So being able to make it to 7 months made me extremely happy! Granted, the entire 7th month was spent weaning, so as the month progressed, David and Claire were getting less and less breast milk - but they were at least getting some. The last few days, they were not nursing at all and I just pulled a bag-a-day out of my frozen stash to make it to the end of the 7th month (total Type A thing to do - what can I say!?).
I must say that I enjoyed breastfeeding this time around so much! I'm sure a lot of that had to do with so many more "knowns" this time around. Lucas and I had such a hard time at first, but I "knew" it would get easier. I "knew" a bunch of different holds that helped me tandem nurse right from the start (I'm pretty sure if I never got tandem down pat, that we wouldn't have breastfed for very long). I "knew" that the very long nursing sessions at the beginning would turn into 10-minute or less sessions that would have me guessing whether the babies were eating enough (and yes, they were!). I "knew" so much more about supply and demand and just the ins-and-outs of breastfeeding, that I felt like an old-pro! I think I just had a lot more confidence, in general, since I nursed Lucas for 10 months, that it didn't feel like a hassle and just something very natural and doable.
So, currently, David and Claire get 5 bottles in the daytime. I'm still going back and forth with how much to put in each bottle. Claire seems to do fine on 5 oz bottles, while David will usually take 6 oz. A couple of days before we hit 7 months, Claire started sleeping through the night until 6am without waking, and David FINALLY dropped those one or two early in the night feedings. I think we are well on our way to David only waking up once to eat around 3-4am, and maybe one day, he will eliminate that feeding all together!! I am finally starting to feel well-rested again! There are still many nights that David will wake and fuss for a little while, so we haven't overcome all of his sleep-challenges with him yet! Usually, we don't hear a peep from Claire until 6am! Good girl :) Both babies are getting much better at self-soothing and, more often then not, will find their paci when they wake up, put it in their mouth and go back to sleep.
Claire has gotten better with taking a longer afternoon nap, and therefore has eliminated the optional 4pm nap. So, the babies take their naps at the same time - from 9-11am and then from 1-3 or 4pm (which is when Lucas also naps!). Bedtime is still 7pm and wake-up for the day between 6 and 7am (though usually closer to 6am).
Both babies are wearing 9 month clothes, and we've already broken out 12 month rompers and summer clothes on the few really warm days! They are both in size 3 diapers. Gosh, they are growing so quickly - too quickly!!
They LOVE their big brother, and we get the best belly laughs from David and Claire when Lucas is entertaining them and putting on one of his shows! They both really enjoy being sung to and read to. And playing with toys is so much more fun and engaging now that Claire and David sit unassisted.
When we left off at 6 months, the babies had only eaten sweet potatoes, peas and squash. This month we introduced lots of new foods - green beans, carrots, broccoli, apples, pears, peaches, mango, bananas, yogurt. David and Claire are working on their pincer grasp by eating Puffs, yogurt bites, and small pieces of pancakes and sweet potatoes. I'm beginning to think that lunchtime would be a good time to focus on finger foods since lunch is usually kind of a crazy time of day. I don't think I have it in me to spoon-feed two babies, so self-feeding it is! David is a pretty messy self-feeder. I usually find him with Puffs and food everywhere - stuck to his face, chin, bib, or next to him on his chair! Claire, on the other hand, is such a lady! She takes her time, putting the food morsel in between her little fingers and slowly bringing them to her mouth (usually with a smile on her face!). I rarely have to clean up around her.
Claire. This little one is such a pretty little sitter. It took her a few days longer than her brother to get really comfortable with her sit, therefore the Boppy was used for support for a little longer. It opens up a whole new world of play when a little one no longer has to be lying down by default. No crawling yet from Claire, but she has inched forward on several occasions. She can get to most anything she wants by going backwards, rolling, and pivoting. This month Claire began saying, "blah, blah", "da da da" and "la la la". It seems like Claire is focusing more on her verbal development as opposed to her physical development, which is a common stereotype (maybe an actually a truth?) for girls.
No teeth yet for Claire, but there is something going on with her bottom gums, so I'm pretty sure there will be some tooth-popping action to come very soon! Claire's hair is continuing to come in very nicley and it's not quite as spikey as it was last month. It's still quite a bit lighter than Lucas' was and definitely much lighter than David's. Oh, yes, and she is still sporting a pair of big, gorgeous baby-blues!
These two just keep getting more fun and more adorable by the day! Twins are definitely double the work and double the challenge, but they are double the love and double the fun - and we wouldn't trade this life for the world!!
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