5 Months!

Well... here we are at month #5.  I know I say this every month, but I can't believe how big they are getting!  Their personalities are coming out even more and they interact with you WAY more.  Sometimes you just look at them from across the room and they squeal.  We love it!

Ethan

A pensive pair (Sam & Ethan)

They hold hands a lot now

Sam, "Hmmmm... What's Dad doing?"

"Oh.  He's doing something funny!"

Sam and Ethan (Eth's sign fell off)

This is the face Ethan gives you if you're overstimulating him... I think it's cute.  =)

5 month cloth bottoms!

Giggles!

This month started out with a schedule change.  We didn't drop any feedings or anything but wanted to add a bedtime routine (which we hadn't done yet) in the early evening and then have the late night feeding be a "dream feed" (where we get them up, barely awake or not awake at all, feed them, and put them right back down).  Before, we were calling their late night feeding their bedtime.  But, since that was the next feeding we wanted to get rid of, we had to do a slight schedule shift.  It took us all a while to adjust.  Partly because they boys weren't used to it and partly because we had to find the time where their bodies naturally wake up and go to sleep.  I was trying to first get them up at 7am (I used to get them up at 6am) to start the day.  But they were always cranky and never wanted to get up.  So, I gradually started to let them sleep more until I was waking them at 8am.  I didn't want to let them go any later than that because I didn't want to stay up any later in the evening.  So, that became our schedule.  Up at 8am, feed every three hours until 8pm, do bedtime routine, go to bed, dream feed, then back to bed to sleep until 8am.  Ethan, especially had a hard time adjusting.  There were times when he just wouldn't go to sleep after the 8pm feeding and we'd have to either rock him to sleep or just hold him until the dream feed.  However, he ALWAYS went to sleep after the dream feed and they both always stayed asleep.  In true baby fashion, going to bed got easier and easier until one day, we realized they don't really cry anymore when we put them down.  So really, I couldn't tell you how long they've gone down without a fuss, but they do.  And they NEVER wake up in the middle of the night anymore.  Occasionally they whine, but always put themselves back to sleep.  So, in the sleep department, they are getting an A+!  We have been blessed with such good boys.  I think God had compassion on us since he gave us two at once.  =)

We also started putting them down in their own cribs.  =(  So sad.  But Sam was getting too mobile in his sleep and would end up squished in the corner and cry.  So, we decided it was time.  We have their cribs side-by-side and I took the bumpers off the ends where the cribs "touch" and put the boys' heads towards each other.  That way, they can still see each other if they life their heads up.  They've been doing great! I think they like the new freedom of movement.  And there are less wakings in the middle of the night because they don't get cramped up in the corner or against each other.

This is what we like to call "The Boppy Lounge".  Before the boys slept in separate cribs, we used the extra crib as a "waiting room" (if you will) for the boys to chill out while waiting to get their diaper changed.   We still use it, but we just have to take it down every time they nap (since we actually use that crib for sleeping now).

Ok... So in other areas they are doing great as well!  Feeding is going well.  That's more of an adjustment for me than them.  Right now, they only eat once a day because I can't handle it... they'd do fine with multiple feedings a day.  It's just so hard to feed two babies at once who can't sit up very well and who LOVE to eat their hands.  Those are the times of the day when I wish I had more than two arms.  But, we are all getting better: the boys are sitting better and opening their mouthes better, and I'm getting more efficient.  They've eaten rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes.  We tried bananas, and they liked them, but their systems didn't.  So we stopped bananas and stuck to rice cereal before introducing the veggies.  So far so good.

Sam

Ethan

I've also started cloth diapers.  There are many opinions about cloth diapers.  My motive for going to cloth was purely monetary.  Sure it saves the environment and that's cool too.  But with two kids in diapers for about 3 years, diapers are going to be a huge expense for us.  So, through a friend of mine, I was introduced to Nubunz.com and pocket diapers that grow with your kids.  They are only $4.50 each and work great!  So far, I bought enough for about a day and half.  Then I wash them and start the process over.  We do disposables between loads and at night.  I want to put diaper cream on them at night because it's 12 hours in the same diaper (you can't use most diaper creams on cloth diapers) and because our boys' skin is so sensitive.  Jeff figured out that if we use these for 3 or so months, we come out ahead.  I know lots of people can't get over the "poop factor" with cloth diapers.  But the way I see it, you have to deal with poop anyway.  Diapers, no matter what kind, are a little on the gross side.  But I don't mind doing the wash or rinsing some of the blow-outs in the toilet.  So for me and Jeff, it was a good idea.  Plus, leaky diapers have almost disappeared.  Cloth definitely holds things in better.  Plus, the boys don't seem to mind a slightly larger rear.  =)

The boys are getting more and more mobile!  Ethan can roll over from tummy to back.  Though, he hasn't done it in a while.  I think he forgot how.  Sam still hasn't figured out how to get his arm out when he rolls from back to tummy.  But they still love to look behind them!  And they can both prop themselves up on their elbows when on their stomachs.  They love doing it!  It even disrupted their naps for a few days.  They would wake up, prop themselves up, and thought they were done with their nap.  So I gave them more elbow propping time during playtime and they seemed to find that sufficient practice and thus stopped practicing their new skill during nap time.  They can also sit pretty well (assisted) and keep their head steady.  So, the bumbos are getting more use!  Ethan especially loves to be up and looking around.

Ethan

Sam

Tummy Time

Sam

Ethan

They've discovered their feet.  And it's so cute!  They LOVE to hold onto their feet, especially when there aren't socks or anything on them.  They haven't quite gotten them to their mouths yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

They are getting more opinionated.  Sam, especially, does "I'm not ok with this" cry.  Its harder because they aren't content with whatever anymore.  But, it's also fun because you can see their eyes light up when you give them a cool toy, or you get in their face and kiss their cheeks.  They love anything that makes noise.  Sam loves to hit or scratch things to make noise, and Ethan just does his high pitched squeal.

They are also more vocal.  They like to "talk" when we read or sing to them or when they are just playing.  Sam can say "dadadada" and Ethan can say "mamamama".  Kind of funny how each boy picked sounds that reflects either me or Jeff.  They still don't know what they are saying, but Jeff and I answer anyway.  =)

Ethan checking himself out in the mirror

Sam checking himself out in the mirror

Probably one of my favorite things they do right now is smile.  They bring their hands to their mouths, smile really big, squeal, and often raise their shoulders.  Ethan throws in a nose wrinkle and an occasional snort.  It's so cute!  Jeff's favorite thing is when they look at him from behind and crinkle their foreheads so they can see him.  We are just having a ball with our boys.  We still say how amazed we are at having TWO boys.  We feel blessed beyond belief and love being parents to Ethan William and Samuel John!

**Side note: we took them to get their shots today and they don't normally get weighed during these appointments.  However, I asked them to weigh them today and they did (with clothes and diaper on)!

Sam: 12 lbs 12 oz
Ethan: 12 lbs 5 oz