Winning pic!

Some time ago I sent off one of our pics to the Your Pregnancy magazine and was so suprised to have found out this week that we won for best pic!  We won a R500 gift card to a babystore which is amazing.

This is the pic that won...


And just to show how much these little babes have grown...here are some new pics...

6 months old!

Our gorgeous twins...6 months with us already!

Age: Actual age = The twins have been on earth for 6 months already! As they were actually about minus 2 months when they were born - corrected age they are still only about 4 1/2 months old...but still, they have been with us for a full 6 months. I think they are catching up nicely though as both of their weights are over the average line for the real age already...but developmentally they are still in line with about a 4 month old baby.  The Paed says by a year they should've caught up on all fronts.

Height/Weight: Finn now weighs 7.3kg and Rebecca 6.8kg! Finn is 70cm tall and Rebecca is 67cm tall.

Developmental notes: They are lifting themselves up really high on their tummies and looking right around with great head control.  I can walk with them on my hip and they keep steady. They sit in their Bumbo seats really well. They are so much more alert and track your every movement with their eyes. They have started "chatting" with a whole range of new sounds. Rebecca has started to roll herself over onto her back - not that great as this wakes her up. Neither rely on a dummy at all and Finn has started sucking his thumb now and then. His hand eye coordination is better than his sisters but she can stand on her feet better.

Eating: We have started on this great new adventure called EATING! Yes, we started solids last week and are already up to three meals a day. Turns out we did start with rice cereal but have to introduce new foods quickly to get them onto meat asap as after 6 months babies' iron reserves are low.  We are giving them cereal at 07h30, cereal and veg/protein at 12h00 and then cereal and fruit at 5pm.  Rebecca eats really well and swallows nicely, but Finn still has to figure out how to use his tongue properly...as fast as you shovel it in, he pushes it out lol. I hope some gets swallowed and that he gets better at it soon...I am sure it won't take him long to figure it out. We start meat next week! They have started cutting down on some of their milk feeds. I am still expressing breast milk twice a day - enough for two milk feeds and have decided to continue doing so for a while longer - it is much easier only doing this twice a day and I am expressing about the same as I was when doing it three times a day...I will stop when I am really fed up. I plan to stop taking eglanol and then seeing how this affects milk production and then dropping to once a day and then stopping...will see how it goes.

Sleep: Here is the thing...I thought solids makes babies sleep better...well not in our case.  Maybe it is just because they are getting used to it or maybe their little tummies are stretching now so the hungry hole is just that much bigger at 3am...but they have been waking up 3am or 4am hungry.  Last night Rebecca slept through perfectly though only waking at 6h45 which was amazing, but Finn moaned from 3am finally getting really loud at 4h30 so I had to feed him. We will let things settle and see how it goes as they get established on 3 meals a day...may have to start giving them only water if they wake up. Doubt we will be able to give up the 22h30pm bottle anytime soon...,may cut back to giving this at 10pm and see how it goes...might give a few teaspoons of cereal with that feed just to give them an extra push to get through until the next morning.

Favourite Things: Butternut! Yes, it seems as if they both really love it...Being in our arms. Snuggling. Sucking and chewing fingers. Tummy zerbets.

Dislikes: Finn always makes a funny face when he tastes rice cereal so I don't think this is his best.They don't like being ignored for too long but we are encouraging them to be able to lie and amuse themselves in their cots after waking up so that in future when they wake they will be happy to chill out a bit.

Looking forward to: All that is to come...snuggles....being called mamma....hugs....slobbery kisses....

Mommy musings: I am loving being a mommy. I can't believe how fast it seems to be going.  I admit that in the first 3 months it didn't feel like it was ever going to get better on some days...but how we are loving it as the babies get more and more interactive and easier to handle. There is magic in the newborn phase, but it is tough as you don't get much feedback apart from endless crying and the babies are so floppy and unresponsive. What a delight they are becoming now...and with every day they get stronger and more chatty...so wonderful to watch!

Me and my babies...

Oh my gosh, I get to say that...and I will over and over again lol! One of many such pics to come yah!

And today...

And today would have been the second day of being officially pregnant...one year ago...We did our blood test on the 10 March 2011 and the first beta was high enough for us to start wondering about whether it was twins. I still look at our babies...6 months later...and can't believe they are really here, that I was ever even pregnant...

I hear them, I see them, I know they are here, but it is still unreal. IF has penetrated the definition of me for so long, that I still have to pinch myself now and again to remind myself that I am really a mommy. I have been thinking about the issue of blogging now as a parent after IF, and I hope it is okay to just step out of that old club without feeling guilty. How healing it is, to be writing about their progress and growth, about our new journey as a family...

My heart always still sends love and light to all the women still on the journey and I want to shout from the rooftops to all of you never ever to give up until your family becomes your reality as every bit of pain is worth it.

Why we need to have to work through all that disapointment and pain is another issue completely but for whatever reason...please know that for me it was still worth every tear, every rip of my heart, every feeling of worthlessness, to now be able to hold my babies tight in my arms.

I want to leave fear behind me now. I want to celebrate this new role I am living. 

The day I found out I was pregnant....exactly one year ago today...