5 months!

The babes are 5 months young today! Happy Five!

I didn't get a chance to update about their 4 month Ped visit which was on August 6th. Things have been a little crazy on the growth (weight) front! As in... RM slacked a little in his weight at around 3.5 months and was almost 3/4th lbs lighter than RT. After birth he had picked up on his weight and surpassed RT... but at around 3.5 months he went down to the 19th percentile from the 50'ish that he was at during the 2nd month visit. Reflux was being a bitch and it took us some time to get a hang of it and start the meds. But with in 2 weeks after starting Zantac, he gained 1.5 lbs (14.3 lbs) and was up in the 29th percentile! Reflux has been affecting RT as well, but she (touch wood) has been taking it in a much better stride (weight gain wise). Every two weeks, we have been having to up the Zantac dose by 0.1 ml as they gain weight. The Ped suggested that we could go see a GI specialist... so we have an appointment on Sept 2. We also went in for a weight check yesterday, and they supposedly weighed 16.75 lbs!!! RT is in the 90th percentile and RM is in the 60th percentile. Now that I think about it, I find it a little hard to believe (the weights), especially since the nurse told me that they both shrunk (wrong height measurements... they were 26 inches at 4 months)... though I guess we will be seeing the specialist soon and will check the weight again then!

Anyhow... now about more exciting stuff!

-They LOVE to sit up! Mostly assisted, but they are probably going to surprise us soon with their capability to sit unassisted. If you hold their hands while they are laying down, they will lift their body and bend their arms at the elbow and sit up. RM will actually sit up and then lift his body to stand up!
-They are eating rice cereal every day (since August 8th). We introduced Avocado on August 22nd. Sometimes it is a struggle to get them to eat (if burp (reflux) is bothering them)... but if everything is going well, they will chow down their food pretty well!
-Their poop and fart has already started to stink! :) I wonder how it is going to be once they really-really start solids!
-They love to talk. Sometimes even in the middle of the night!
-They are starting to notice each other more. They will try to play with each others arms and legs and hair and clothes... they will also check each other out if one of them is crying! I can't wait to see them actually start playing!
-Both of them have been rolling over from belly to back for a while now. RT recently rolled over from her back to belly (on August 20th). RM has been trying to roll over for a while now, but he still has not mastered lifting up his big head (his head measures in the 100th percentile)!
-We started them with size 3 diapers this week!
-They are still wearing 3-6 months clothes, but they are starting to feel a little tight.
-They love being outside... and they especially love car rides! The babes will instantly quite down (if they are fussy) when they get into their car seats to go out!
-The best toy ever - Jumperoo... OMG, they can jump and wiggle for ever in it. Very easy to get overstimulated... but they absolutely love it!

Looking at their activity level, we are soon going to have to baby proof the house. Next month marks their half year birthday! I wish I had 48 hours in a day to cherish and enjoy each & every moment with them!

BF'ing (BM'ing) & Solids

Thank you for your supporting comments! It is just hard to accept that we have lost that real breastfeeding! And I know I will be going through another such withdrawal in a few months time! I am still pumping (~2 L)... and we plan on transitioning them to formula after 6 months and hopefully get them on to formula (+ solids) by 8 months.

The babes will be 5 months in a weeks time, which essentially means I will be continuing the marathon pumping session for 1 more month... I have been 100% committed to providing EBM and ideally I would have loved to provide breastmilk for them up until one yr. But this is not mentally easy and plus we will be traveling internationally at around the 8-9 month mark (and will be away for 1+ month) and I don't think it is going to be feasible to keep pumping the way I do at that point of time! I hate to think that my "breastmilking" days are nearing its end. The babies are what they are today pretty much because of what I have provided them (which includes average weight gain (50 percentile'ish) and also the "Reflux") and I feel fortunate to be able to do that (sp since I wasn't sure about how my supply would be with the PCOS)!

We started solids (rice cereal) on August 8th (once a day). It went from not know what the heck we were giving them to grabbing the spoon and trying to put it in to their mouth. I wouldn't say they are a pro at eating the (semi) solids, but they are improving. We are hoping to start with either avocado (high calorie), banana (high calorie) or carrots (reflux friendly) next around their 5 month birthday! I was planning on waiting till around 6 months, but the Ped seems to be okay with it and... I am aware of a few cultures starting solids as early as 3 to 4 months... and have also noticed the occurrence of reflux being less amongst those babies. May be they are able to keep their food (milk) down better? Though, I guess each child is different and each situation is different!

End of BF'ing!

Every time I think of breastfeeding, I just want to cry! I started this post some 10 days ago... and am finally getting to finish it!

The babes are 4+ months old and they are still on EBM! Which is great... but long gone are the days when I could say our actual breastfeeding days are numbered, I already feel like it is over (and now while finishing this post 10 days later... they are OVER)! And I just want to cry!

I know I have been fortunate enough to not have supply issues (till now) and have been able to provide for them. But I just feel like a failure when it comes to bf'ing. Taking care of twins is not easy, though I have been lucky to have some help at home... my parents helped us for the first 2.5 months... and then the in-laws "helped"... I might sound like a bitch and very ungrateful, but the later part of the help was more mentally stressful! With the "stress", the time I got to put the babes to my bo.obs was very less, and of course the babies lost their capability to suckle very well (I don't think they had latching issues later on)! Plus the reflux didn't help, my let down is very "heavy" (probably because of power pumping due to lack of time) and the babies at time would have to be burped even 2-3 time in 5 minutes when bf'ing. So... it is over, it is over for good... I will never ever experience babies sucking on my bo.obs... ever! And that just makes me so sad and bitter. Had it been in my control or had the babies decided they were done with it, I wouldn't have felt as bad. But, this was not my decision, nor the babies... and I am mad at the situation. May be I am just a slacker and am finding excuses... and am just blabbering! I just had hoped that bf'ing wouldn't end this way! :(