POM Check-In 11.4

[pbandj714]

I keep meaning to join in on this check-in and then get side-tracked and forget. But here I am!

- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? 4.5 months b/g

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? Everything is going really well! They did great at their 4-month appt a week and half ago. L was 12lb12oz and G was 13lb1oz, so they've jumped up on the charts and the pedi is pleased. They've both been rolling from tummy to back, chatting, gummy grinning, and watching my every move lately. We transitioned from RnPs to their crib (together) a few weeks ago and that's been going well. There are still a few wakeups for pacifier replacement.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? Any advice for the transition to their own cribs after being together? G will reach out and pet his sister's hair when he wakes during the night to calm himself. I think he'll have a bigger issue with the transition than she will. It will probably be soon because they're both soooo close to rolling back to tummy.

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? Nope, just FF now. They still spit-up quite a bit, but the pedi said now is the time it is likely at it's worst and should lessen especially when we introduce solids in a month or so.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week! Last night I was solo for bedtime and was really hoping it wouldn't be a mess. After bottles, they both went down almost instantly. No pacifier replacing. No additional rocking. And they just are so peaceful and cute sleeping together. (They did wake a few times later into the night, say, 1 and 4 am for pacifier replacement, but it was a good start.)

[nomnom]

- How old/combo are your multiples? 13.5 months, bg

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? Fetal echo today for the inside babies. Nothing until 15 months for outside babies. Miss G is toddling everywhere now and much prefers it over crawling. I think Master R will work on it more seriously since his sister can do it.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? Not really. MH and I are working on scheduling and organizing our lives before twinset#2 comes. So much to do!

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? For those with kids at least a year old, what do you give them for food/drink when they first get up? Daycare gives them breakfast 2-2.5 hours after they wake up.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week! Nothing remarkable. Just enjoying the morning walks to daycare and evening walks home with them.

[Squishy622]

- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? ID girls, will be 14 months next week (wut??)

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? L is walking full time now. It's so freaking cute. M is stringing 3-5 steps together so I think she'll be there soon.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? I know this is insecure and irrational and I think I've mentioned it before. But we still have zero words. They have a couple signs and definitely communicate their needs/wants, but no consistent words at all. Our pedi made me feel kind of shitty about this at their 2 month appt (he said "are you SUUUURE they're not even saying dada?"). And said they should have at least 3-5 by 15 months. My mom's a speech pathologist and laughed in my face (lovingly) and said they're fine. I know I'm just being impatient but can someone ease my worry?

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? Nope! Food and milk are going well.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week! They have acknowledged each other for a long time but they are now truly engaging. They were playing footsie in their high chairs earlier this week and laughing and last night they were holding hands over their crib rails (this is documented on IG if we are friends)! So much love for these 2.

[elvenqueen]

Been pretty absent lately! Hello ladies, hope you're all well!

- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples?
B/G 15 Months

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss?
Pretty good over here. A's been going through a really fussy stage which I hoped was teeth (he's falling behind) but nothing new in his mouth and he seems to be a little happier. Kind of getting some words out of them, which I'm pretty excited about. Lots of animal noises in this house, it's so cute. No Dr appts until Feb for 18 month jabs.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on?
TTMA Stranger Danger -- are you multiples dealing with this? Did one shake it before the other? A is still painfully shy, can't have people even look at him without crying, hates going into new places even with me at his side. E is over this and is much braver. Is he just a little behind? It's so hard to not compare the two when I know full well they'll develop very differently.

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc?
Hungry hippos all up in here. Struggling with vegetables these days but I have a few go-to's that never disappoint, so I guess we're doing well.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week!
A&E playing knock and run at their bedroom door with each other and giggling like lunatics.

[elvenqueen]

Squishy622 , We're a month ahead of you and were in the same position with words. In the last two weeks, it slowly started happening -- but their pronunciation is a little ridiculous, so I've hardly noticed it happening. I know we're saying mama, dada, duck (duh) and ball (baw), but there's all sorts of noises they're using consistently for other things and I didn't realize until just this week (cat is "bah" for some reason?). I was stressed about this when they weren't even saying mama and dada a month ago, but I'm trying to chill out with it now. Also, I've heard so much about twins using their own twin language and not using the English they've learned until like 2.5 years, so in my mind, I'll worry about it if they're 2 and not talking. So the talking game is a little different for twins, as per usual.


pbandj714, We transitioned to separate cribs at about 4 months. It was surprisingly easy, I guess because they still kind of have goldfish brains at that age? Their cribs were right next to each other when they did this, so they could still see and hear each other, perhaps that helped.

[Squishy622]

Thank you elvenqueen!!

[schmella]

12m b/g twins
-Got the OK to ditch formula at their 12m appointment (finally). We're down to 2 bottles and I think we'll hang here until more milk goes in during the day (or I run out of formula. We still have quite a bit). A is in the 25th percentile for height! YAY! W is 50th and 50th-75th for weight. A is 50th for weight... so I have chunky babies, which is exactly where we want them for this transition! A had a double ear infection, W had an ear infection, so we have an appt next week for shots. W is running and jumping and climbing, has a few words, and has put together "Hi baby" and "Hi dog" so thats crazy. A is walking more and more and has 2 words- dog and dada. No mama from anyone yet, but I feel like W knows it and chooses not to use it because that would fit her personality.
Questions/Concerns- see my transition to 1 nap saga. Ugh.
Feeding stuff- how much milk? I thought my pedi said 8-12oz per day but saw someone somewhere talking about not eliminating formula until they take 16oz?! W won't take more than an oz in a day so far. Not to worried because she chugs water and would eat her weight in cheese if I let her, but just looking for info.
QOTW: This is just not the week to ask me this.
They are really cute together, all the time. Lately they have been trading toys and food, usually when W wants something A has. Oh and kicking together? When W is happy, she sits and kicks her feet, then A kicks his feet, and they both giggle and kick their feet. Oh and they've started wrestling and its just so funny.

[anakah]

Squishy622, ds1 and ds2 both didn't really have words until closer to 2. I was super concerned with ds1 because DD was talking up a storm. The pedi just told us to keep reading/talking to him and not to be worried and not to compare. From 2-2.5 he exploded with words. With ds2 it wasn't even on my radar to worry about when daycare mentioned his lack of words while in the 12-18 month class. By the time he was two, he was a regular Chatty Cathy. I would keep an eye on it but not be too concerned. Your babies are still really young.

[schmella]

Squishy622, we joke that A's first "word" came around 9m when he started clucking his tongue at the cat. To him, that was cat. With that in mind, they might have words that you don't recognize or don't line up with the actual word (I know someone who's kid says Da and points when they want something. Which isn't a traditional word, but it should count) I know a lot of people with kids who had no words one day and 5 the next. I think animal sounds count, too? I wouldn't stress too much about it, the only other thing I'd think about is making sure you say the words that go along with signs. I know SO many people who don't name signs and surprise surprise their kids never use words, just signs. Its pretty normal for twins to have speech delays, so keeping an eye on it is smart but it doesn't sound like you should be worried just yet.

elvenqueen, my understanding is that stranger danger comes and goes at different stages of development, and it has a potential to rear its head repeatedly and differently for each kid. If you follow Wonder Weeks, I believe each leap has a potential to trigger stranger danger, its just a matter of each kid's different personality. W is physically fearless but takes 10 minutes to warm up to people and she does much better if we respect that need for her. A is much more cautious overall. For him, its less about time to warm up and more about the approach- a calm smile is usually met with the same from him, but a stranger saying boo is unrecoverable, ya know?

[elvenqueen]

schmella , This is good to know, thank you!

ETA - Also schmella, re: milk

I have struggled so much with E to get her to drink an appropriate amount. And there is too much varying info out there. I picked one "piece of info" that seemed to make the most sense for us: 1-3 "cups" of milk. As bottles, I interpreted that as a bottle in the morning, offering a cup with milk in it at lunch and dinner, and a bottle before bed. Once we scrapped bottles, this just turned into a sippy cup of milk offered with all meals, and I'll fill it up to 3 times based on how much they want. A will easily have 2-3 cups a day, but E will range between 1-2. I made my peace with her not being a big milk drinker, 8oz a day minimum is working just fine because she otherwise eats well and has cheese and yogurt virtually every day. I truly believe that post 12 months, the milk exact amounts are no where near as important as they were when they were under a year old. Provided you're not having issues with feeding them a variety of different food, getting protein in them, and weight gain isn't a problem, I say trust your instincts.

[anakah]

Re: milk consumption
My twins refused milk in any vessel besides a bottle. Because if this we gave them milk in a bottle first thing in the morning and as part of their bedtime routine until 2.5. I was worried about the lack of milk in their diet but the pedi said it's fine as long as they are getting plenty of dairy from other sources. I still worry about it but we do a mult vitamin and eat balanced meals. In the grand scheme of things milk wasn't something I wanted to fight about all day long.

[housecarder]

- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? My girls will be 21 weeks this Wednesday

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? Just had their 4 month check up a couple weeks ago. Starting solid foods this week. They are much more alert and interact way more now.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? See below

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? What were the first foods you all offered? I'm trying to do some soft BLW items but I'm also doing thick purees for different foods.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week! Holding them both on my lap Finn reached over and grabbed Evie's hands. They sat holding hands forever. 💜💙

[housecarder]

Squishy622 DS didn't talk forever it felt like, then all of a sudden he wouldn't shut up lol. They'll get there.

elvenqueen not multiples but my DD has never known a stranger, and DS only recently (4 yo) started talking to people he doesn't know well. He's just a more reserved kid.

schmella if they eat well and drink water I wouldn't worry about milk consumption, especially if they are still in formula. DD had a milk intolerance so we avoided dairy at that age and she was always healthy without the milk.

@feegan sorry you are in the tantrum stage. Only advice is to stay firm and consistent until they are over it.

[schmella]

housecarder, we're only doing formula until it runs out. I have 3 large Similac containers, I figure that'll get us through a week or 2 of morning bottles only. Everything points to milk being a convenient source of fat, protein, hydration but not necessary and my kids get plenty of all those things, so I'm not too worried.

As for first foods, we did both BLW and pureed foods. Early favorites for BLW were sweet potatoes, avocado, and banana- the banana and avocado were really appealing because I didn't have to DO anything to them. Fresh mozzarella cut into fingers, pears, oh and BEANS! Beans are an awesome source of protein and iron, soft and fun for developing the pincer grasp, and also not terribly messy. I feel like its overlooked in BLW, but these guys adored chickpeas tossed in a lemon ginger vinaigrette... Pasta (mine are still eh on pasta but i hear most kids love it). Frozen peas- I'm weird, I eat them frozen and my kids LOVE them, I pull them out when they are teething.

[nomnom]

schmella Milk may also be for vitamin D.

[schmella]

Nov 7, 2016 9:26:05 GMT -5 nomnom said:

schmella Milk may also be for vitamin D.

Yes! Which I'm happy to continue supplementing. She's just not even a little bit interested in milk, looks horrified when she first tastes it in her cup


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[schmella]

Nov 7, 2016 13:19:58 GMT -5 @feegan said:

schmella have you tried giving her milk in a cup she's never had water in? Sounds random, but initially, mine would not, under any circumstance drink milk from a cup they expected water in and would give me that same face. I bought some cheap take and toss cups and put milk in those and they drank milk just fine. I think that they associated water with cups and milk/formula with bottles, once I introduced a new kind of cup they drank milk from it just fine.


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I only put it in a take n toss cup... Which she used to drink water from, but hasn't in ages. I suppose I could go buy yet another different cup... MH is gonna laugh.


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[kcwalza]

nomnom, we still do a bottle first thing after they wake up, around 6:30. I don't know how we will eliminate it...shudders. Then breakfast around 7:30.

Squishy622, almost 16 mo here and no words. They "say" mama...but i don't think they say it intentionally. Especially because they also babble "dada" and my husband is Papa. They have never heard dad or daddy. One dr in our practice said they should be saying 3 words by 15 months, and a different dr in the same practice said don't worry about it.

elvenqueen, I have one with stranger danger. It is actually adorable because she thinks if she looks down and can't see them, they can't see her either. But at the same time I don't want her to be afraid of new people. C has no stranger danger. So I think it just depends on the kid.

@feegan, see below on the tantrums. It's out of control and I feel your pain.


- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? Almost 16mo identical girls

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? Ummm... I feel like the majority of what I read online said that it gets easier after 6 months. But I'm not seeing that. I have two (toddlers?) who throw absolute shit fits if they don't get their way...I'm talking launching themselves backwards, scream at the top of their lungs..and also seem very intent on self inflicted injuries on a daily basis.

No words over here either...just biting. Lots of biting.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? See above.

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? I can't even get into this right now. Two words-picky eaters.

- QOTW: Share your favorite multiple Mom moment of this week!
Hm. This isn't really specific to multiples but I just love when they are feeling shy or just want cuddles and cling to me.

[nomnom]

kcwalza Mine stopped throwing themselves on the floor most of the time after they bonked their heads and it hurt. Miss G now carefully lays herself down before she throws her tantrum.

[schmella]

nomnom, I'm dying laughing over here.

kcwalza, the self injury over here is insane. I'm frequently afraid to take them out in public because W is black and blue from head to toe. A will bash his face into the ground for attention (the helmet has cushioned the blow so far, but that is gone next week and I'm terrified). Our pediatrician laughs and tells me to try my best not to react at all and it should go away, and that she'll testify on my behalf should someone call CPS.

[nomnom]

schmella I don't think me laughing at the tantrums is quite the right thing to do either, but sometimes I can't help it because it's so obviously contrived. :-P Thank God toddlers have no subtlety or parenting them would be much more difficult without verbal communication.