POM Check-In 3.5

[hollyberry]

7 months B/G

No appts until 1 year. Both babies are on the verge of crawling. Baby girl a bit closer then baby boy at least atm. Sometimes one seems to be farther along then the other just overtakes in no time. Both are working on top teeth. Baby girl stood up today for about a minute without me holding her. She was leaning a bit on the coffee table but i was still surprised she could.

We are headed home to canada soon and am curious if anyone has any good tips on flying with babies. Its a 8 hour flight. So anxious about it.

GTKY: no question, definitely the housekeeper! I hate cleaning. But feel like thats all I do! And my house is still a dusty mess!

[nomnom]

- almost 18m and almost 3 weeks, b/g

- Littles have their 1m checkup a week from Monday and bigs hs6ve their 18m checkup at the end of the month.

- We're still testing formula types. Formula with rice starch reduced spitup, but gave them constipation and possibly bloody stools. Both have diaper rashes. Gentle formula seems to sit the best so far, but I'm waiting to see if the diaper rash gets better or if we should try a different type of sensitive formula. I'm hoping to have both of them on the same type.

- GTKY: I'd totally take a house cleaner, no question!

[schmella]

16m b/g
Trying to get in to have As hearing checked. We don't actually think it's a problem but the pediatrician wants to confirm before sending us to OT- he isn't really responding to his name. Pretty sure it's because he couldn't hear us for so long that he's either having trouble processing sounds or we missed a developmental opportunity...
Advice: any tips on ways to cope with super whiny kids? Seriously, I'm past my breaking point. I didn't want to come home yesterday, which made me feel like a horrible mother. We're going out of town on Thursday and I can.not.wait.
Feeding? I pour them each 8oz of milk and 8oz water in the morning. I almost never refill the water and I'm always dumping milk. Any ideas? They eat a lot of fruit but I'm worried they'll be dehydrated this summer
GTKY: house cleaners, hands down!

[requiressnacks]

How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples?
17 weeks, BG twins

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss?

I'm back at work full time and we have our 4 month appointment this week!

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

Baby boy still seems developmentally behind his sister. I'm not sure if he's just a late bloomer or if it's more. He struggles with eye contact and doesn't seem to recognize faces. It's got me worried. (DD on the other hand is all smiles and very expressive)

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? Nope!

- GTKY: You've won a contest and get your pick of the following service provider once a week for an entire year, which do you pick:
- Meal planning/prepping chef
- House cleaner
- Landscaper
- Personal assistant

Give me the housekeeper!

[schmella]

requiressnacks, DS has always been 2 weeks to 2 months behind DD. Our pediatrician said as hard as she wanted to believe that every child is different, girls do certain things and boys do others. Try not to compare (ha!) and try not to worry so long as he's meeting milestones!
FWIW, what you are describing sounds a lot like A&W at that age. W is still my social butterfly but A has blossomed into a totally awesome, sweet kid- his kisses might be rarer but they mean a little more, ya know? Bring it up with the pediatrician but try not to freak out!

[nomnom]

requiressnacks R&G were similarly split along gender lines. G has always been a bit ahead of R developmentally. Both are within normal range so far.

[requiressnacks]

schmella, nomnom, thank you! I will speak with the pediatrician this week. Technically, they are both 4 months, but 3 months adjusted so I think his behavior falls within normal range. It's just worrisome when I see how far ahead his sister is. Then again, it seems that in a lot of areas girls tend to progress faster.

[mc13]

- How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? 6 months, 1 week G/G

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? Just had their 6 month appts. They're both right about 15 pounds (E just below and A right at 15) and 27 inches. 40th for weight and 90th for height! We do have to take E to get her eye checked out. She has a slight lazy eye I think. Making an Appt with a pediatric ophthalmologist.

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on?
Nothing at the moment.

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? Just started Baby led weaning. It took a few weeks but they're so into it all of a sudden. They had salmon, pancakes and pizza crust the other day and ate so much!

- GTKY: You've won a contest and get your pick of the following service provider once a week for an entire year, which do you pick:
Definitely the meal planner/prepping chef! I don't mind cookingn but I hate planning out what we'll eat.

[requiressnacks]

mc13, I'm SO interested in the concept of BLW. Did you read anything helpful before you got started?

[mc13]

Mar 6, 2017 8:51:38 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

mc13, I'm SO interested in the concept of BLW. Did you read anything helpful before you got started?

I read the BLW book when my oldest was starting solids. She took to it really quickly and it's so much easier to have them self feed with food off your plate instead of making purées or spoon feeding.

[piccyami]

requiressnacks, W has always been a month to 6 weeks ahead of his sister in most everything except fine motor control. Z likes to practice drinking out of her sippy cup (she's not gotten the concept of sucking on it yet) while W just gnaws on the bottom. H rolled first (nearly 2 months before she did), he was trying to stand up from early on while she recently decided that she needs to stand all the time. We were worried about Z at first because she was so much farther behind her brother and didn't seem to be doing much of anything. She's good, she just has her own schedule and needed time to catch up physically (she was 2.5 pounds smaller than W)

We also do BLW at home (DC provides purees, so we let them) and it's so much easier. They eat what they want and they're mostly playing with food at this point, but they enjoy it so much more than purees.

- 5.5 months b/g

- Their 6 month appointment is in a month! We've been working on introducing solids lately and DC apparently decided that they'd had everything (jarred puree wise) and started feeding them whatever. Z had 3 new foods in 3 days and had a reaction to one of the three. It took all weekend to clear up, but she's good now.

- definitely the housekeeper.

[requiressnacks]

THanks, piccyami! DS was also smaller than DD and spent a week in the NICU, so that might be part of the reason he's always been a bit behind. To me, it seems like he's at least 4 weeks behind her. And he's about 2 pounds smaller.

[piccyami]

requiressnacks, Z barely missed the NICU and struggled to eat early on. She was only a pound behind her brother at their 4 month checkup. I have a feeling she'll catch up to him before too much longer.

[nic1231]

-2 week old b/g
-talks about changing to ad lib feedings and breaking out of the icc this week!
-any advice or words of wisdom for babies coming home?!
-I would love a house cleaner, I hate cleaning

[requiressnacks]

Mar 6, 2017 14:00:40 GMT -5 nic1231 said:

-2 week old b/g
-talks about changing to ad lib feedings and breaking out of the icc this week!
-any advice or words of wisdom for babies coming home?!
-I would love a house cleaner, I hate cleaning

I'm so happy they might be coming home! My only advice, which since you have other kids you likely already know, is......allow only helpers not visitors. Everyone wants to visit and hold cute babies but many people don't really want to help.

[requiressnacks]

@wineandcupcakes, mine were on a 3 hour schedule from birth, so it is possible. That's what the NICU did so we just kept it up when DS came home. I was also the one that would wake a sleeping baby to feed them. There are differing opinions on that.

[schmella]

Mar 6, 2017 18:12:41 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

@wineandcupcakes, mine were on a 3 hour schedule from birth, so it is possible. That's what the NICU did so we just kept it up when DS came home. I was also the one that would wake a sleeping baby to feed them. There are differing opinions on that.

+1 to the NICU schedule. And waking babies. Mine didn't cue for food. Or they were always hungry. Couldn't tell. We fed every 3 hrs during the day- I never let them deviate more than 30 minutes.
I personally think a strict schedule helped them STTN- we made sure they took in enough calories during the day so they shouldn't need to eat MOTN. We got our first 7hr stretch by 10 weeks and they completely dropped MOTN feedings by 16w, maybe earlier. But they are my only kids so I have nothing to compare it to.

[pbandj714]

Mar 6, 2017 20:43:41 GMT -5 schmella said:

Mar 6, 2017 18:12:41 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

@wineandcupcakes, mine were on a 3 hour schedule from birth, so it is possible. That's what the NICU did so we just kept it up when DS came home. I was also the one that would wake a sleeping baby to feed them. There are differing opinions on that.

+1 to the NICU schedule. And waking babies. Mine didn't cue for food. Or they were always hungry. Couldn't tell. We fed every 3 hrs during the day- I never let them deviate more than 30 minutes.
I personally think a strict schedule helped them STTN- we made sure they took in enough calories during the day so they shouldn't need to eat MOTN. We got our first 7hr stretch by 10 weeks and they completely dropped MOTN feedings by 16w, maybe earlier. But they are my only kids so I have nothing to compare it to.

All of this! Yes! Mine are 8 months and still eat every 3 hours during the day and then the last few bottles are even closer together because they "load up" on food before sleeping for 12 hours.

[bocaburger]

How old/combo (gg/bb/bg/etc) are your multiples? Almost 7 months

- How's it going, any upcoming Dr Appts or milestones you'd like to discuss? G started pulling up to stand! M wants to crawl but hasn't figured it out yet. Also, he got his first two teeth!

- Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like advice on? They have started interacting much more, but I'm worried about them hurting each other by accident. They always try to grab each others' faces. G has also crawled over M a couple times. How do I teach them to interact safely?

- Any feeding specific questions regarding nursing, FF, solids, weaning, etc? Nope

- GTKY: You've won a contest and get your pick of the following service provider once a week for an entire year, which do you pick:
- Meal planning/prepping chef. Hands down.

[requiressnacks]

Mar 6, 2017 20:54:08 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Mar 6, 2017 20:43:41 GMT -5 schmella said:

+1 to the NICU schedule. And waking babies. Mine didn't cue for food. Or they were always hungry. Couldn't tell. We fed every 3 hrs during the day- I never let them deviate more than 30 minutes.
I personally think a strict schedule helped them STTN- we made sure they took in enough calories during the day so they shouldn't need to eat MOTN. We got our first 7hr stretch by 10 weeks and they completely dropped MOTN feedings by 16w, maybe earlier. But they are my only kids so I have nothing to compare it to.

All of this! Yes! Mine are 8 months and still eat every 3 hours during the day and then the last few bottles are even closer together because they "load up" on food before sleeping for 12 hours.

No way!!! I thought we would be able to ditch the 3 hour schedule at some point. How many times per day do yours eat? I'm still feeding at 4am (they go to bed at 7pm) and I'm wondering if we will ever be able to drop 4 am.

[bocaburger]

Mar 6, 2017 21:55:53 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

Mar 6, 2017 20:54:08 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

All of this! Yes! Mine are 8 months and still eat every 3 hours during the day and then the last few bottles are even closer together because they "load up" on food before sleeping for 12 hours.

No way!!! I thought we would be able to ditch the 3 hour schedule at some point. How many times per day do yours eat? I'm still feeding at 4am (they go to bed at 7pm) and I'm wondering if we will ever be able to drop 4 am.

We dropped the last night feeding around 6 months. They eat super frequently all day long but I'm not sure if that's because i haven't been good about spacing them out. If rather feed them constantly all day than at all overnight so I'm happy.

[schmella]

bocaburger, we tried to model soft or gentle hands. I liked to put a finger in his or her palm so I could easily loosen their grasp if they reached for faces.

[nerdykitten]

- 11 months tomorrow (sobs), g/g/b

- No pediatrician appointment until 1 year.

- Nope.

- I probably do, but can't think of them now. I am so close to ending my pumping journey.

-Housekeeper hands down.

For BLW we just make sure the food is small enough that they can't choke on it. We have had some gagging, but nothing serious. Not every child will take to BLW so it might be that one child will want purees instead.

We are giving bottles every four hours during the day and they get three meals.

[dke2010]

schmella I wish I had an answer to the whining. I'm still trying to figure it out with my 4 yr old!
Try not to worry requiressnacks. Sometimes it's hard to remember that our twins are two different people that will develop differently. One of my girls seems to be a couple weeks behind the other.
nic1231 Let the house go for now. Just focus on taking care of your babies and getting sleep. Hopefully you have help for everything else!
@wineandcupcakes Our twins were also on a 3 hr schedule from their NICU stay and we stuck with it. I'm so glad because it helped me plan and saved my sanity. They naturally started dropping night feeds and sleeping through the night (up until last week, see below).

5 months girls

In about a month they'll have their 6 month check. At 4 months, they still weren't on the regular growth chart. The pedi wasn't concerned because they seem to be getting enough bm and sleeping fairly well. I'm really hoping they have a growth spurt so I can stop worrying. Sleep has been awesome up until last week. A has been waking up every hour until I feed her around 3am. L has been sleeping through the night but waking before A in the morning. I think I'll try a dream feed tonight. Hopefully that'll get them both sleeping at the same time because this momma is tired.

I'm still EBF but we'll probably start solids in about a month. I need to read up on BLW and decide what I want to do.

Chef, but they also have to do the dishes!

[piccyami]

@wineandcupcakes, The one time that W has gagged (nobody's choked on anything yet) was when I was feeding him purees. They're pretty awesome at getting things in their mouths and have learned how much they can take at a time. They get big pieces of food that they can lick or gnaw on (Z mostly treats pizza crust like a lollipop) but definitely can't swallow without doing something to it.

[pbandj714]

Mar 6, 2017 21:55:53 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

Mar 6, 2017 20:54:08 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

All of this! Yes! Mine are 8 months and still eat every 3 hours during the day and then the last few bottles are even closer together because they "load up" on food before sleeping for 12 hours.

No way!!! I thought we would be able to ditch the 3 hour schedule at some point. How many times per day do yours eat? I'm still feeding at 4am (they go to bed at 7pm) and I'm wondering if we will ever be able to drop 4 am.

They eat at 6:30a, 9:30a, 12:30p, 3:30p, smaller bottle at 5p, bedtime bottle at 6:30p. I would LOVE to drop the 5p bottle since it's crazy town right when we get home, and it may be feasible here soon since they're starting to eat more solids for dinner around that time. I think I'll have the sitter tack on an extra ounce to the 3 bottles they get there and try to get them spaced an extra 15-20 min apart. I've been too afraid to mess up this routine that works!

[requiressnacks]

Mar 7, 2017 10:39:16 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Mar 6, 2017 21:55:53 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

No way!!! I thought we would be able to ditch the 3 hour schedule at some point. How many times per day do yours eat? I'm still feeding at 4am (they go to bed at 7pm) and I'm wondering if we will ever be able to drop 4 am.

They eat at 6:30a, 9:30a, 12:30p, 3:30p, smaller bottle at 5p, bedtime bottle at 6:30p. I would LOVE to drop the 5p bottle since it's crazy town right when we get home, and it may be feasible here soon since they're starting to eat more solids for dinner around that time. I think I'll have the sitter tack on an extra ounce to the 3 bottles they get there and try to get them spaced an extra 15-20 min apart. I've been too afraid to mess up this routine that works!

Nice - this is similar to what we do....except there is one bottle overnight. (4a, 7a, 10a, 1 p, 4p, 7p - but it fluctuates one way or another by 30 minutes depending on if we have DC in the morning or not). I used to try to "cluster feed" in the evenings, but I found it just sabotaged their bedtime bottle so I cut it out.

 How many ounces at each feed are they drinking usually?

[pbandj714]

Mar 7, 2017 10:44:38 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

Mar 7, 2017 10:39:16 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

They eat at 6:30a, 9:30a, 12:30p, 3:30p, smaller bottle at 5p, bedtime bottle at 6:30p. I would LOVE to drop the 5p bottle since it's crazy town right when we get home, and it may be feasible here soon since they're starting to eat more solids for dinner around that time. I think I'll have the sitter tack on an extra ounce to the 3 bottles they get there and try to get them spaced an extra 15-20 min apart. I've been too afraid to mess up this routine that works!

Nice - this is similar to what we do....except there is one bottle overnight. (4a, 7a, 10a, 1 p, 4p, 7p - but it fluctuates one way or another by 30 minutes depending on if we have DC in the morning or not). I used to try to "cluster feed" in the evenings, but I found it just sabotaged their bedtime bottle so I cut it out.

 How many ounces at each feed are they drinking usually?

Um, let's see. It's usually 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, (6 for G, 5 for L at bedtime). And so far they're still just getting one meal of solids (because I suck) around the time of the smaller 4 oz bottles.

[requiressnacks]

Mar 7, 2017 10:48:08 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Mar 7, 2017 10:44:38 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

Nice - this is similar to what we do....except there is one bottle overnight. (4a, 7a, 10a, 1 p, 4p, 7p - but it fluctuates one way or another by 30 minutes depending on if we have DC in the morning or not). I used to try to "cluster feed" in the evenings, but I found it just sabotaged their bedtime bottle so I cut it out.

 How many ounces at each feed are they drinking usually?

Um, let's see. It's usually 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, (6 for G, 5 for L at bedtime). And so far they're still just getting one meal of solids (because I suck) around the time of the smaller 4 oz bottles.

Thanks! This is super helpful and very similar to mine. Just makes me happy to know that someone else is doing it like me. I offer 6 oz to mine at most feedings and they rarely finish it. Basically, I throw away a lot of formula. But it's so much easier to make 6 oz bottles than anything else.

[pbandj714]

Mar 7, 2017 10:50:50 GMT -5 requiressnacks said:

Mar 7, 2017 10:48:08 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Um, let's see. It's usually 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, (6 for G, 5 for L at bedtime). And so far they're still just getting one meal of solids (because I suck) around the time of the smaller 4 oz bottles.

Thanks! This is super helpful and very similar to mine. Just makes me happy to know that someone else is doing it like me. I offer 6 oz to mine at most feedings and they rarely finish it. Basically, I throw away a lot of formula. But it's so much easier to make 6 oz bottles than anything else.

No problem! It is helpful to know that what we're doing works for others as well. The schedule keeps us sane!

Haha, yea, I hate having to dump formula! If we're home we just stick the partial bottles in the fridge and use it for the next! I doubt that the sitter does this, so I choose to be blissfully ignorant as to how much of our formula gets dumped there. Ha!