The dreaded snots!

I really thought we were over the colds this winter...until I got serious flu - the worst I have had since 2004! My first thought was, I hope the babes don't get it too - just after getting over two colds in succession and an ear infection, we had settled into clear noses and good sleeping again. And then the dreaded snots set in over the weekend aaaargh!

Poor tots are all snotty and while Finn takes it in his stride and sleeps well despite this, little Becky keeps waking up unable to breathe properly and then she yells in contempt of her condition as if to say, "I have a snotty nose and I don't like it wwwhhhhhaaaaa!". And she does this all night long. Yes, I jumped out of bed five times on Saturday night to re-settle her, until at 2:30am I was so over it and fetched her to lie with me. Mistake.  I couldn't sleep. By the time poor DH came in at 6:30am, I begged him to let me go sleep for an hour to catch up a little. What a night. I hope that it doesn't get worse than a snotty nose and they don't get a temp and the nasty cough I have now. Please no.

Besides for the snots, they are getting so damn cute. Finny does high fives. Becky said "okay" and "hello" and "meow" - but only once! You really have to listen out as she suddenly says a word and then just looks at you so you are left wondering if you imagined it.  But she says it so clearly it is unmistakable. She also stood for quite a while yesterday and then fell forward when she realised she was standing.  I am sure walking is not far away.  Finn also stands so it is going to be interesting to see who takes the first steps first. Finn babbles away loudly but apart from mamma, babba, dadda, yum hasn't said any new words - he is far more vocal than Becky, but she hums and sings and he doesn't.

Becky has become more clingy and settles in for hugs more often from me - so sweet. Finn has some real boy actions - pushes his sister over, crawls over her, head bangs the ottomon, body thrusts his cot across the floor - really physical sometimes lol.

They turn ONE in 15 days time!!!! Can you believe it? I can't.

11 Month Update

Age: 11 Months old yesterday! The Paed says that they have caught up so well and even their milestones are beyond their actual ages, so by their 1st Birthday (in just one month's time can you believe it???) we don't need to adjust their ages anymore! Yay. Our clever little babes!!!

Height/Weight: Finn weighed 9.540kg on 23rd July, so no doubt he is well over 10kg now. He is 78cm tall. Rebecca weighed 8.260kg and is 75cm tall. Finn is well over the median line with weight for his actual age and Rebecca is almost there. Both are well over the median height range so will be tall kids ;).

Developmental notes: They are getting stronger and more independent every day. Both crawl along at great speeds, pull up on anything and everything, can sit up from lying on their tummies, hold onto furniture with one hand balancing and Rebecca even stood without holding onto anything for a little while yesterday! Both bounce up and down holding onto their cots. Finn gnaws at his high chair, Becky gnaws her cot. Finn likes to bang his head up and down often - apparently this is soothing as they are mimicking the rocking motion lol. Finn "walks" holding onto the walking toy with wheels but is so strong that he lifts the whole thing and throws it sideways - then he can't hold on anymore lol. Both are chewing nicely now and we don't stress as much leaving them with finger foods. Rebecca has a 5th tooth out at last. But no more teeth from Finn, who still has 6. Both still drool up a storm so no doubt we will have another bout of teeth soon.

Finn has been battling with baby excema and we are now keeping it under control with Advantan and moisturising creams. Hope this goes away soon.  Poor Becky had a horrible ear infection and must have had it for some time as after being treated with antibiotics, she has become a different baby - happy, relaxed and not kweffy at all and back to sleeping like a dream! She is so so cute at the moment. Just as well I was dosing her with ibuprofen etc as she would have been in pain and a lot of discomfort poor thing. They both say quite a few words - mamma, dadda, babba and yum when they eat and Becky said meow the other day. Finn claps his hands perfectly.  I am still trying to teach them to wave ta ta - they are starting to get it but not quite. The other morning, Finn woke up at 4am and was quite noisy, so I fetched him for a cuddle.  He wouldn't sleep so eventually I turned around and left him to it. He sobbed and reached out to touch my back and clearly said "mamma".  It was if he knew that I was mamma - what a special moment.  Of course I turned around and hugged him close and he promptly went back to sleep. So special.

Finn can high five! If you say high five and hold up your hand, he claps it! So clever! Becky hums along with me if I hold her and sing or hum - too dear.

Eating: They are still eating well. Rebecca has gone off cereal a bit - she really loves real food.  Hope this love of good food lasts and we don't have picky eaters after the two's - apparently babies may start to become picky eaters between 2-5 years old - this ties into the ancestral genetic conditioning that as toddlers become more independent they limit eating new and unusual, possibly poisonous things as they explore their surrounds. Mmm. Finn drank orange juice out of a straw perfectly, but Becky couldn't suck hard enough yet. Becky is far more adept at finger foods still and eats anything I pop into her mouth from my plate. Finn drinks from his sippy cup but Becky still chews hers.

Sleep: After the chaos of poor Becky being so miserable due to her ear infection, we have had sleep-throughs for the past 2 weeks.  Of course, last night not - she woke up and then wouldn't go back to sleep so eventually Finn also woke up and it became a 3 hour long session...sigh. Hopefully this was because of her tooth and it was random. Have been loving the uninterrupted nights.

Favourite Things: Finn has aquired a liking for a dummy - he finds Becky's discarded dummies on the floor and pops them in, sucking away for ages.  Oh well as long as it keeps him happy. We have set up a playroom in the front of the house in a little sunny enclosed area with all their toys and comfy mats.  They spend a lot of time here playing during the day. When they have had enough, they crawl around the house.  Finn goes straight for anything electrical - the cords from lamps are a problem and he almost pulled one over the other day. Going to need to rethink a few things to make the house safer.

Dislikes: Being tired.

Looking forward to: Their first Birthday party!  I have started planning it and already have 40 guests coming - not sure where to put everyone but hey it will be fun!!!

Mommy and Daddy musings: We are loving the adventure of parenthood and after spending a rare day alone with just the two of us last week, we missed not having the babies with us and realised that we are and always be attached to them by such a strong bond - our lives have irrevocably changed. It is not just the two of us anymore. And we are so happy about our new family it makes me quite teary everytime I remind myself that I am finally a mommy.

10 Month Shoot

We had our 10 month shoot with the brilliant Angi Whittle. She is so talented and we are in love with these beautiful pictures of our little blessings...here are some of my favourites...

On the move...

Wow these babies are on the move!  They have become cruising crawlers and pull up on everything. They are both adept at getting up and down without falling and have learnt the art of bum landings rather than face planting! Both now hold their own bottles and have realised they can actually sit up out of a boppy pillow - not great for my mornings while I am trying to get ready for work! When they are let loose, they crawl so fast I have to keep up with them.

We went for the (late) 9 month shots (measles and pneucc something?!) and it wasn't as bad as it usually is - both were fine quite quickly. Both got temperatures though so we had to give them Neurofen / Panado for a couple of days. Finn weighed in at 9.6kg and is 76cm tall - he is already way over the normal range for his actual age.  Becky is 8.3kg and 73cm - tall and skinny but almost catching up to the weight graph so doing just great. Finn's head circumference is 45cm and Becky's is 43cm.

And, Finn had his first fall off a bed. DH turned his back for an instant and splat onto the wooden floor.  One egg on his forehead later poor little guy. They are both more wary now and peer over the edge almost testing to see how far down the drop is. Would really prefer no more falls babes okay!

Both squeal with delight when playing together and have a high pitched communication dialogue of squeaks and squeals. When we get home in the evening and they first see us, they also squeal and crawl towards us fast - so cute. There are lots of words - mamma, dadda, babba, nine, yum - but they still don't identify us as mamma and dadda specifically. Finn claps. Becky sings and croons with me when I sing to her. Finn's first response is always a laugh. Becky's is usually a yell. Becky wants whatever Finn is playing with and he sometimes lets her have it and other times fights for it back. Finn only cries when he is hurt or tired. Becky cries when getting changed or when she is left behind in her cot or for whatever is frustrating her at the time.
Finn has 6 teeth, Becky has 4.

They are changing so fast now, I will have to post more updates - I don't want to forget a thing! Poor Becky had a bad ear infection and had to go on her first course of antibiotics - no wonder she was so miserable for the past few weeks.  Her sleeping has improved and she now only wakes up once or twice to find her dummy. Finn is sleeping through and if he wakes up usually just babbles and chats for a bit and then goes back to sleep. 

Oh what an adventure this is!

Twin Update - 10 months today!


Age: Happy 10 months today! (adjusted - 8 months and a bit)

Height/Weight: We postponed the innoculation day but will take them on Monday - not looking forward to this at all but at least we will find out their updated weights and heights then.

Developmental notes: They are developing in leaps and bounds.  Finn has started crawling as well, so the two of them are off on adventures. They also both pull themselves up on anything and everything, so you really need to be close by now as we have started the stage of tumbles and knocks to the heads poor tots. They forget to hold on and Finn especially is still a little unsteady. Rebecca has become so much more animated and expressive. She is such a little beauty. Finn is sensitive and such a sweetie. They have 10 teeth between them and not a sight of a new tooth for weeks now. But they are still drooling and obviously have discomfort as their sleep is disturbed often. Finn has started to "kiss" - too adorable. I am trying to teach them to wave goodbye and can't wait for them to realise who mamma and dadda are. When I get home, they will actually crawl to me - precious!!!

Eating: They are eating well but if overtired it can get a little chaotic.  Finn will throw a major hissy fit if he is too tired to eat poor babba. Rebecca will just shut her mouth tight if she is not interested or not hungry. She still reaches for food we are eating. I tend to feed them here and there from my plate especially if we are out having breakfast - I will pass them pieces of toast and little pieces of egg etc. Both love drinking from a mug or glass.  I gave Becky a piece of lemon the other day and she sucked on it happily! Clearly the sour tastebuds are not active?

Sleep: Oh woe...nights and nights of restless sleeping has become the norm! Finn has actually been sleeping through well the past while, but Becky wakes up at least 4 times a night and needs to be patted back to sleep. If this doesn't work and she starts to get too loud, we have to whip her out of the room so she doesn't wake up Finn. This is not great and I am hoping it doesn't settle in as a habit - we may need to seperate them and do a little sleep training if she doesn't learn to self soothe herself back to sleep.  It must be discomfort or teething as she didn't usually wake at all. Ever. We have been giving her neurofen in case it is teething, but nothing has helped so far to stop her waking up every night.

Favourite Things: Mala and Patchouli. Each other. Mommy and Daddy.

Dislikes: Eating when tired. Rebecca simply hates getting dressed. Both love being naked - how wonderful Summer will be with lots of naked romps on the beach!

Looking forward to: Everything! Being called mamma...

Mommy and Daddy musings: Oh our babies, we cannot tell you how much we love you. There are no words big enough. Our hearts swell with pride every time we look at you. Each day, we thank the universe for sending us such precious little souls to be part of our family. You are our treasure.

Boo Boo and Kweffy

My little Boo Boo and Kweffy (or Becky Blue or Becky B as she is known at the moment), are doing so well. We have had some rough nights of restless sleeping, but this seems to be better the last few nights - you really do not know what to expect and I fear this will be our reality for years. But that is also just fine, because I look at these little noo noos and still can't believe our luck. And they are changing and growing so fast now, it is quite something to experience. I can't wait for their 10th month update as there is too much to share lol.

Little Becky Blue standing

For the first time, Becky Blue is starting to realise she is a unique little being.  As she is gaining independence in movement so her brain is registering that she is an independent person. The other night when I got home, she excitedly started crawling to me reaching up for me to lift her! Amazing.

Finn, my Boo Boo crawled forwards for the first time with a few steps the other day but not much since then and he is sitting really nicely now. His vocal range is diverse, moving between high pitched shrieks and squeals to saying mamma, dadda, babba, kakka and other babbles. Both love clacking their tongues against the roof of their mouths. He is a delightlful smiler, willing to grin at anything and everyone.  Becky starts crying if a stranger gets in front of her - she is not fond of this. Finn is more relaxed but cries in support of his sister if she cries - very cute.

We have a photo shoot with them next Saturday and I can't wait to have more beautiful pictures of our little treasures. I also have to start thinking about their first Birthday party...how did a year fly past so fast?!

Night wake ups....

Oh heeeeeelp! Our babbas have started abberating. In that we have had months now of perfect sleep throughs...the past week has been chaos. First Finn woke up one night and wouldn't go back to sleep for hours. Then Rebecca has been waking up several times during the night for the last four days!! Last night, rather than having to leap up all the time, I put her in bed with me. That way, she didn't wake up Finn and I could lean over and pat her back to sleep rather than lean over her cot for ages. It was so much better. But. She. Still. Woke. Up. At 11, 12, 2 and then at 4h45am....yes. NOT GREAT! It must be teething but there are no new teeth showing. Finn's top third and fourth teeth are out, and there is lots of drool from both but no more teeth yet. What else could it be? I was advised to use Stopayne but then read the insert which said it is contraindicated for infants under two. So panado and baby neurofen only it seems. Problem with this is that it doesn't really help them to sleep. I now understand why parents in the age of Laudinum used it and other remedies like brandy and other dodgy substances before they knew how bad this was! I really hope this is just a phase!!!!