June Bugs

I can't believe June is almost over. Don't worry - I have still been snapping pictures I have just been a bit behind in posting them.

Here is what my two little June bugs have been up to this month...

Lots of drooling. (Prior)

Auntie Cara actually referred to it as 'loogies' rather than spit due to the volume. No shirt is safe for more than a few hours.

We are gearing up for our first college football season. Uncle Tyler reminded us that it is just around the corner. Dad says Tyler is going to teach us about "over / unders". (Mason)

We have been busy playing and kicking and stretching on our blanket. The most fun is kicking each other. Prior/Mason

Really?! We've really had these fingers all along? (Mason)

And our new favorite game is the airplane game. (Mason)

Auntie Cara came and visited for a few days and even got to hold us both at the same time. We miss you all the time!!

(Mason/Prior)

Mom - I said I didn't want my hair like that!

(Mason)

20 Weeks Old

Tummy Time

Summer is so much fun - whities and diaties!

With bellies this size - how can they possibly only be in the 25th percentile for weight?!

Prior/Mason

The boys 'found' their hands a few weeks ago and they have now officially found each others hands. (Those must taste beter). Prior/Mason

Mason and the pacifier mark...

Mase has also officially 'found' his voice. He talks, squawks, and yells all day long. It is so funny!

Prior

Happy Father's Day!

As I was looking through Ben's baby book to see how big he was at 4 months I came across this picture.

Other than carrying these boys for 8 months, I am beginning to wonder what I contributed to this process! If it didn't take two people to make a baby I would be convinced that the boys were only his. I'm sure you'll think they both look like him but I really see Mason in this picture...

Benji at 2 1/2 months

A picture for reference.

Prior's first picture with his Dad on Friday night 2/6/09 just after his foot prints were taken.

Mason's first picture with his Dad on 2/6/09.

DAD: we LOVE you very very much. Thanks for being such a great dad!

Love, Prior and Mason

Chazzy Chews

So I made it through the entire pregnancy with very few cravings. However sometime after giving birth I had a box of mini charleston chews. The small grocery store by our house carries them. I am now completely addicted to them. In fact they have even earned nickname status with me (hence the title of this post).

This weekend Ben made the following comment:

"No charleston chew is safe in this house."

I think it is officially time to cut back.

Man to Man Defense

During fussy times (which has proven to often be the time when I get home from work until when the brothers eventually lose their fight against sleep) man-to-man defense is the only option. Zone defense simply does not work. 

The boys typically do everything together...eat together, sleep together, cry together, poop at the same time (seriously), etc. So when errands need to be run one of us usually goes and the other stays home with the boys. This proves to be a stressful situation for both of us - the one that stayed home is stressed for obvious reasons and the other is stressed thinking about the situation at home.

Our new "trick" is that we divide and conquer. 

We each take one baby. 

I am guessing that this might seem very obvious to you as you read this but I promise you that for months the thought of splitting the boys apart never even crossed my mind...

I think the boys like it too every once in a while. A little time away from their brother and more attention from mom or dad. It's times like that when I run into Target or the grocery store with one baby and can't believe how "easy" it is!

 

Solids

Another first for the Schultes boys. On Friday night we had our first few bites of cereal at 4 months. Gerber "oatmeal" mixed with milk. They didn't eat much at all - but I can't wait to find out what difference (if any) it will make in their sleeping habits once they get the hang of it.

It was so much fun to watch their faces when they had their first bites. Prior actually liked it, he just needs to figure out exactly how to swallow it rather than spit it back out.

It is so exciting to share all of their "firsts" with them. I knew this parenting thing would be cool but it has exceeded my expectations.

Here's the official "before" picture. The look on their faces is hilarious...

Mason and bite #1 - right back out.

If I lean my head back will it go back in? (Prior)

Not sure about this, Mom (Prior)

Prior and Mason

4 Month Stats

Yep. Another post about the boys being 4 months old. I would promise that it is my last but I still haven’t taken their pictures in their overalls this month so there will be at least one more.

Here are their stats:

 

	Prior		Mason
Weight	13# 10 oz	25%	13# 4 oz	10-25%
Height	25"	50%	25"	50%
Head	42 cm	50%	42 cm	50%

According to the official "Benjamin Carl Schultes" baby book, dad was 17# 8 oz and was 23 1/2" long at 4 months. 

Prior is definitely bigger than Mason - and I would have guessed it was even more than 6 ounces. I just googled to find out what weighs 6 ounces and found out that a hockey puck weighs 6 ounces. That is NOT a sign! These boys will not be playing hockey...

The appointment went well. The doctor said we could start cereal…a special post coming on that!

The boys are being referred to a pediatric eye doctor. We notice some cross eyes/lazy eyes sometimes and want to get it checked out sooner rather than later. It is common with preemies. Tanja actually noticed it - so I am very thankful for that. Of course Moms see nothing but perfection!

Prior

Mason tipping the scales.

Mason waiting his turn.

Look - we even got band-aids after our shots. Two band-aids on one leg and one on the other. We were very brave little boys (if you consider screaming at the top of your lungs being brave).

Spoke too soon

So guess what? The new bottles and increase in ounces worked and the boys slept like superstars.

For 3 nights.

 

Now what?

Yes, we are still charting. We’ve cut back on all of the details but at a minimum still keep track of when they eat, pee, and poop. (And it's not just because we're both accountants – it is a MUST). Anyway, here's a glimpse of our charting from Monday (last night's chart looks just like it). You do the math.

If I wasn't tired to the point of complete exhaustion I would go back through one of the three sleep-related books I have and develop Plan E.

At what age can you bribe reason with/negotiate with a child?

4 Months

Mason/Prior

I know what you're thinking - I just posted about the boys being 16 weeks and now I'm posting about them being 4 months. Classic proud mom syndrome...

This week flew by - which I didn't think would happen coming off a short week the week before. Another reason for the lack of posts: very little sleep. The last few weeks the boys went back to getting up twice per night - once around 1:00 am and the other around 4:00 am. Getting up with them twice per night is SO much harder than just once. I didn't think it was because they weren't eating enough because they would sometimes not even finish their entire bottle. They have been drinking out of the 4 ounce Playtex drop-in bottles where if you fill them up to the brim they hold more like 4 1/2 ounces. 

But - by Thursday night something had to change. I decided to try the Avent 9 ounce bottles because they hold more and we can grow into them. I filled them with 5 ounces before I left for work on Friday and hoped the boys would take them. Well....these bottles also happened to come with a faster flow nipple. Tanja said they chugged down all 5 ounces in a matter of 5 minutes. Poor boys were having to work so damn hard with the slow nipples that they simply decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

Long story short (sorry for dragging this out): The boys slept last night from 9:00 pm until 4:00 am when I woke them up to feed them. 

Saturday morning we went to Edelweiss Baby in Maple Grove. They were having a "model search" (i.e. a free photo shoot from Photography by Christine, the photographer that took the boys' newborn pictures). And you know how much I love pictures! I'm excited to see how they turned out.

The boys are changing and growing every day...they have officially found their hands and love to stare at them with a puzzled look on their face like "where did these come from?" They are also finding their voices and do a lot of "talking". Their official first word is "goooooo". When we talk to them I can tell they are watching and learning and trying to recreate the sound. Pretty darn cool. They hold their heads up very well and like to sit on your lap and look around. And the drooling is in full force. 

Grandma Julie came to see us today!! Yippee!! We were going to show her how we roll over but decided to wait until we see her next time.

Mason and Prior in their sweats. It was definitely a "sweats" weekend - cold and rainy.

Mason and his new bottle.

Mason in his swaddle blanket getting ready for bed.

Prior sitting on Daddy's lap.