Jude & Sloane | 2 Months

Our babies are two months old!  The second month passed far quicker than the first and at this rate they will be graduating college in a few weeks.

While month one was all about survival, month two was all about growth.  Along with our babies and hours of sleep, our confidence also grew.  We've been able to see glimpses of their personalities, which has been so rewarding.  

We had their two month appointment today and both did great.  They were measured, weighed, examined, and given three shots and one oral vaccine.  We gave them half a bottle before the appointment and the other half as soon as they received their shots.  Both cried a little but didn't seem too bothered by the needles.  Praying neither has my fear of shots!

Jude's Stats at 2 months:
Weight: 12 lbs 11 oz (75%)
Height: 23.5 in (70%)
Head: 16 in (65%)

Sloane's Stats at 2 months:
Weight: 11 lbs 1 oz (60%)
Height: 23.4 in (80%)
Head: 15.7 in (75%)

Our pediatrician was really pleased with their sizes.  After the nurse told her their weights she walked in the room and asked how our "piggies" were doing.  :)

EAT
I'm still exclusively feeding them breastmilk and it's going really well!  They eat every 3 to 3.5 hours during the day and we give them bottles at their last feeding and when we're out.  Sloane usually takes 4.5 oz and we've started giving Jude 5 oz.  The rest of the time I breastfeed, which has become quite humorous. While I wouldn't say they've "found" their hands, they're using them quite a bit more.  When Sloane eats she always has her hands balled into fists on either side of her face.  Jude, on the other hand, gets a little too excited so his hands go all over the place.  90% of the time they end up in Sloane's face or more specifically, her eye.  It doesn't seem to bother her but I spend most of my time moving his hands away and saying things like, "Jude, please quit punching your sister in the face while she's trying to eat."

SLEEP
Their sleeping has improved dramatically during month two.  The first week of December they started regularly sleeping 5-6 hours at night.  After their last bottle we swaddle them and put them down, typically around 10 or 10:30.  They now sleep 7 hours, which I consider sleeping through the night.  After that feeding, three of us are fortunate enough to go back to sleep until 8:30 or 9, while dad gets up and goes to work (sorry dad).  For the first two months they slept in our room.  Jude slept in a pack n' play and Sloane in a rock n' play but we moved them to the nursery last Saturday.  Michael and I have temporarily moved upstairs to the guest bedroom, which is right next door to the nursery. We also set up the video monitor to make sure we completely filled the roles of overprotective parents.  :)  Even though I told everyone I didn't mind them leaving our room, it did break my heart a little.  I loved waking up throughout the night and having my babies three feet away from me.  However, I'm pretty sure I'd still feel that way when they're in junior high so it needed to happen sooner than later.  We only have two nights of nursery experience but they seem to be dealing with it well.  Jude slept through the night both times and Sloane made it until 3a the first night and 4a the second.  We then put her in the rock n' play in our room for the remaining few hours so she wouldn't wake her brother.  Overall, I'm really proud of them!

TRAVEL
We traveled to Fort Smith for an early Christmas with my family when the twins were six weeks old.  We were extremely nervous and I spent an entire week making a list of things to bring with us.  I was embarrassed at how scared I was--Jude & Sloane were champs.  They love being in the car so we woke them up to eat halfway there and then they immediately fell back asleep.  We had a wonderful time with the Besancon clan and loved meeting sweet Adelyn (she is exactly 4 weeks older than the twins).

We stayed in town for Christmas and my parents drove down to celebrate.  We had a wonderful celebration at Michael's parents house and the twins now know the true meaning of Christmas (haha).  We gave them stockings and two Christmas ornaments.  The grandparents were much more generous.  My parents gave them their high chairs and Michael's parents gave Jude a rocking horse and Sloane a rocking snow leopard.  :)  I hate to sound cheesy but those two kiddos were (by far) my favorite gifts this year.  Sloane even had a red bow to boot!

Dear Jude,
My big little boy.  The first thing I see in the morning is your smile and it is the perfect start to my day.  You have the sweetest personality and are as laidback as they come (unless you're hungry, then watch out)! You still have most of your hair and it's just like your dad's... soft, straight, and a wee bit crazy.  Friends always comment on your wild hair, your long eyelashes, and your beautiful lips.  Your mom is jealous of the last two.  You are still Michael's mini-me, both in looks and disposition.  Your blue eyes seem to get lighter every day while your skin is getting darker.  You're wearing size 1 diapers but will probably move to size 2 in the next month.  You absolutely love the playmat and ceiling fans (the "spider in the sky").  You are very strong and I'm already terrified of the day when you're stronger than me (I'm thinking six months or less).  You've been lifting your head for a month now and this past week started using your legs to support you.  You are a loud sleeper and eater, constantly making funny noises that make your dad and I laugh.  You love to cuddle and are happy in the arms of family and friends.  When I'm holding you I can't stop kissing your sweet cheeks.  You put up with it well. While you don't particularly love baths, you've come to accept them and we in turn make them as quick as possible for you.

You are quite the hit on Facebook due to your big smiles and your crazy faces.  As soon as I pull out the camera you become a complete ham, though you were very serious for your two month photoshoot.  Perhaps it's because you were wearing a button-up and felt like a grownup? 

You are a wonderful older brother and we can't wait to see what month three has in store for you. I love you, sweet boy.

Dear Sloane,
Oh Sloaney Bologna.  You are an absolute hoot, though I'm not sure it's your intention.  You cannot keep still, which is why I think you weigh so much less than your brother (flailing arms and legs burn a lot of calories)!  One of my favorite things to do is remove your swaddle in the morning and watch you go--those arms and legs have to make up for lost time!  When you're asleep and aren't swaddled your arms are always straight out with fingers separated--it looks like you're drying your nails.  :) Your Gramsie (my mom) mentioned you may not walk but instead go straight from crawling to running!  Your disposition is the exact opposite of your brother, and we wouldn't want it any other way.  You absolutely love your pacifier and almost always want it when you're awake.  You also love to observe people and items around our house.  You get bored easily so we tend to move around the house when we're holding you.  While your skin is getting lighter, you have beautiful dark blue eyes and dark eyelashes.  You lost most of your hair last month and it's coming back thicker and darker.  We actually think it may be wavy or curly but it's still too early to tell.  You wear size 1 diapers and will be in them for awhile.  You also started lifting/supporting your head several weeks ago and can do it for a fairly long time.  You really started smiling when we were in Fort Smith and while we may have to work a little harder to get a smile out of you, the ones we do receive are big and so precious.  You smile most and sleep best when you're being held by your daddy.  While I should be jealous, I'm too happy to care. 

Friends comment on how delicate and petite you are as well as how much they love your perfect button nose (I can say that because we have no clue who your nose came from--certainly not from me)!  People have started saying you look a little like me and I take that as a huge compliment because I think you're simply beautiful.

Little sister, I hope you know how happy you make us! We love watching you grow!

(I would say I love you two to the moon and back, but that's not nearly enough.)  So I'll simply say... 

Love-Mommy

 

Christmas 2012

 

(New) Visitors:

12/9: Rami & Jenna

12/11: Trish

12/13: Karen R.

12/15: Justin, Michelle, Evan, Braden, Adelyn

           Connie, Ginger

12/16: Patty & Mike

           Mark & Lynn

           Martha

12/17: Julie & Ann

           Melissa, Jennifer

12/26: Craig & Jessie    
12/28: Amy, Julie C 

Instagram pictures: CLICK HERE
December (month 2) pictures: CLICK HERE