Eleven Months Old

Silas and Ezra Eleven Month Update

How is it even possible that my sweet babies are already eleven months old? Other twin moms are always stopping me to tell me just how fast time flies with two babies and looking back on this last year, I really can't believe how quickly it all went. 

You know when you go on a fun vacation and you pack your days so full that looking back it feels like it flew by? That's how life with twins feels all the time. 

Silas Reid

Silas is such a sweetheart. He has a deep, belly laugh and he seems to think pretty much everything is funny. He is more timid than Ezra, at times wary of strangers or new things. He needs more hugs and cuddles for reassurance throughout the day than Ezra does and he is happiest when he is sitting on my lap or being worn. He loves to read books and also has developed a fondness for eating them. Silas has experimenting with his emotions and has the funniest fake cry that he has been playing around with lately. 

Ezra Jack

Ezra is more independent than Silas. He seems to enjoy playing by himself and testing his boundaries. He hardly ever sits still and is always climbing everything. He likes to read books but can really only focus for one before he is off exploring again. He squeals when he laughs, and has a mischievous little smile and the most adorable "scrunch face" when he wants your attention. He enjoys carrying various things in his mouth like a dog, especially his stuffed bunnies, which is always making us laugh. 

Milestones

While they took their first steps at nine months, Silas and Ezra made the switch to fully walking just before eleven months. They are experimenting with sounds and saying new things regularly. Silas recently started saying, "all done," and Ezra now says, "okay." They also seem to have developed their own language that just the two of them understand.

Health

This is a tough one because overall, we feel so fortunate that we have such strong babies who are meeting all of their milestones. Due to their asthma medications, we have experienced some challenges in terms of growth over the last six months. Long story short, the steroids that were helping them breathe were majorly stunting their growth. We recently began weaning them off their asthma medications and are hopeful that we can survive the winter (and all the viruses that come along with it) without any major respiratory issues. This has all been a huge source of stress for both Josh and I, but we are taking it one day at a time.

Eating

My boys all love to eat. They are still nursing about five times during the day and several times throughout the night along with eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes a snack is thrown in as well, depending on the day. They eat everything that the rest of the family does (with the exception of honey) and their recent favorites include spinach and mushroom quiche, bagels with cream cheese, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli. Mealtime is incredibly messy and usually results in a bath, but it's hard to mind at all because Silas and Ezra enjoy eating so much.


Sleeping

Nap time is continuing to go well and in the last few weeks we have even switched to naps in their cribs. Sometimes I put them down one at a time but lately they have wanted to tandem nurse at nap time. If they don't fall asleep while doing that, I'll put them in their cribs awake and they put themselves to sleep. They usually take a two hour morning nap and then a shorter 45-60 minute afternoon nap but several times lately they have taken just one three hour nap. I'm wondering if they might be starting to transition to one nap a day, though they seem really young to be doing this.

Night time is tougher but they aren't currently cutting any teeth so it's been a little bit better. Silas is a better sleeper than Ezra (usually only waking 1-2 times to nurse versus Ezra's 3-4 wakings throughout the night.) I still have no plans to night wean due to their health issues.


Big Brother

Asher is currently transitioning to doing full days at his preschool and he seems to really be loving his time there. It gives him a space where he can explore, learn, and play with his friends, providing the structure that he lacks in our loving but at times chaotic household. He continues to be the best big brother, so patient and gentle even when his brothers are always crawling all over everything, knocking over his toys, and pulling his hair. When he walks into the door after school, the first thing Asher does is give his brothers a big hug and kiss and it melts my heart every single time.

Final Thoughts 

The holidays are approaching, along with the twins' first birthday, and I am so looking forward to slowing down and spending time with family and friends creating new memories and traditions.

Playing Catch Up: Six - Ten Months Old

Oops... did I really forget to blog for four months? I'm going to try my best to keep up with this more regularly. 

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day craziness of parenthood. Everyday, we are going non-stop from the second the kids wake up in the morning until the final, sweet moment that they close their eyes at night. I spend my days chasing two mobile infants who are determined to climb everything in sight and put anything they come across in their mouths.

Asher is growing taller, smarter, and more independent by the day. It's hard to believe that in less than two months, we will have two one year olds and a three year old. I'm seriously grieving our baby years coming to a close but I am so looking forward to watching Silas and Ezra follow in Asher's steps and grow into little boys.

Silas Reid

Likes: Playing peekaboo, reading books, music, hugs, sitting on laps, chase

Dislikes: Elevators, taking medicine, being alone

Ezra Jack

Likes: Balls, splashing in the bath, stuffed animals (especially bunnies), climbing
Dislikes: The play pen, being in the car seat too long, hats

Milestones

Physical

Silas started crawling at 5.5 months, sitting up at 6 months, pulling up to stand at 7 months, cruising at 8 months, and walking at 9 months. 

Ezra started both crawling and sitting up right at 6 months, pulling up to stand at 7 months, cruising at 8 months, and walking (a few days before Silas) at 9 months. 

Both Silas and Ezra can wave bye-bye and clap, but only when they feel like it. 

Verbal

Silas says mama, dada, Ezra, hey, and book

Ezra says mama, dada, hi, hey, all done, more, and ball

Sleeping

Josh and I keep telling ourselves that someday we will all sleep again. Someday we will miss them needing us so much that they wake up in the night looking for comfort. But man, it's been rough and most days I need so much caffeine to even feel semi-normal. Silas and Ezra both have six teeth now and every time one of them cuts a tooth they are up pretty much every hour all night long. All the Tylenol and teething oil in the world just doesn't help.

Due to some health issues that I don't feel up to diving into right now, I don't plan on night weaning Silas and Ezra any time soon because they need the extra calories. They both still nurse 3-4 times every night. To preserve what little sleep we all currently get, they are still sleeping in our room. We are hoping to transition them to their nursery sometime in the near future but our last few attempts have not been successful.

Nap time has gotten a lot better over the last few months, even with teething. For so long, I worried that they would never nap consistently but after months of trying, we are finally in a good routine. Silas and Ezra typically take a long morning nap around 10:30/11 and then another shorter nap in the afternoon around 2:30. I stagger their nap times and put them down one at a time, which has made a world of difference.


Eating

Silas and Ezra started baby led weaning around six and a half months old (when they were finally sitting up on their own) and they dove into eating solids with so much enthusiasm. All three of my boys just love to eat. They eat just about everything that Josh, Asher, and I eat and it's so nice at meal times not to have to bother with making a separate meal for the children.

They still nurse about 5 times during the day and another 3-4 times overnight, so milk is still a huge part of their diet despite all the solids they are taking in. They typically sleep through lunchtime so they eat breakfast and dinner, with lunch and/or a snack added in on some days.

They like all foods and have never refused to eat anything put in front of them. Their favorite foods are apples, watermelon, strawberries, pizza, pasta, and yogurt.


Big Brother

Asher continues to be the sweetest big brother. He surprises us every day with his patience and he tries so hard to be gentle. He is enjoying spending time with Silas and Ezra more and more as they grow and can interact with him in new ways. He loves to make them laugh. When they cry, he makes it his mission to make them feel better. He brings them their favorite toys and stuffed animals, rubs their backs, and gives them kisses. He loves to take their hands and walk them around the living room.

Asher is growing into such a big boy and while it is amazing, it is also a little heartbreaking just how fast my babies grow. Slow down, time! His mind is going a mile a minute when he gets home from school every day and he loves telling us about all of the things he is learning about. Lately he wants to help us with everything we do and do as many of his daily tasks as he can all by himself. He is such a great role model for his little brothers, or "the troublemakers," as he affectionately calls them. I love seeing their bond grow stronger every day.

Final Thoughts 

It took a long time but we have finally found our groove as a family of five. We've come to embrace the chaos that comes along with infant twins and a three year old. The laundry gets piled up at times, there are dust bunnies under our sofa and occasionally dishes in the sink, but we are so very happy.

Five Months Old

Silas and Ezra Five Month Update

Silas Reid

16 lbs., 3 oz.


Ezra Jack

15 lbs., 7 oz.

Both currently wear 6-9 month clothes.

Mutual Likes: Trying to eat their feet, chewing on anything/everything, playing with Asher
Mutual Dislikes: Being in their carseats, taking medicine (especially their new inhalers)

Milestones

Both boys are now rolling from belly to back regularly. They are busy boys and love playing with toys, shaking rattles, and chewing on everything they can get their hands on. They recently discovered their feet and spend most of their time rolling back and forth holding their feet, trying to get their toes in their mouths. 

Health

This month was the hardest yet in terms of health. We continued to struggle with constant breathing issues as we waited to see the specialists about their asthma. Two separate instances, we ended up in the emergency room because Silas and Ezra were showing signs of respiratory distress. We also had too many other trips to the pediatrician to try to count. It was frustrating because every time they got sick, doctors would give them breathing treatments, put them on oral steroids, and send us home. The oral steroids would help temporarily but as soon as they caught another virus again (which seemed to happen over and over again without much of a break), we would be in the same situation with their breathing.

Just before Easter, we were having to give Silas and Ezra breathing treatments around the clock. If we went over four hours without the albuterol (a rescue medicine), they would immediately show signs of respiratory distress. They wheezed and coughed constantly and I was always on edge because I was so worried about their health and it felt like we had no long term plan for treatment.

We woke up one morning both boys were breathing much more rapidly than even their typical wheezy breaths. We noticed some pulling in the rib area and they seemed to be using their stomach muscles to try to get air. Silas in particular seemed to be struggling to breathe; his breaths were rapid, short, and his breathing coarse. The wheeze more pronounced, with intense, deep coughing fits in between that were nothing like we'd ever heard before. We rushed them to the emergency room where both boys were treated and Silas was subsequently admitted to the hospital. It was an incredibly stressful couple of days and even just writing this, I can feel my anxiety levels rising.

Once we got their breathing stabilized, we ended up seeing a pulmonary specialist and getting Silas and Ezra on medications that will help with their breathing on a longer term scale. It is a relief to know that we won't need to continue to give them oral steroids, which can have some scary long term side effects. We are truly hoping that this will allow us to stay on top of their asthma, and give us a chance to relax and enjoy our time as a family.


Sleeping

During the month that they were pretty much constantly sick, they were needier in the night. They were up nursing more than usual and had a harder time staying asleep because they would cough and wake themselves or each other up. I didn't even mind getting up so many times in the night because I was up worrying about them anyway. At the recommendation of their pediatrician, we were setting an alarm throughout the night for every four hours and would give nebulizer treatments while they were sleeping.

We also just recently began transitioning from swaddling and it has been tough. We have the Halo swaddle sleep sacks but it seems like any, even slight, movement causes them to wake up and cry (which subsequently wakes up the other twin.) They then both need to nurse to settle down and often need to be rocked back to sleep. We are going to try the Merlin's magic sleep suits to see if these help with the transition and prevent them from waking themselves and each other up so often.

We are also planning to separate the boys into their own pack and plays soon. Up until this point, they have slept together, swaddled side by side, in a single pack and play in our room. Now that they are rolling and able to move around quite a bit more, it's time to separate them into their own spaces for sleeping. They are really becoming too big to sleep together in a single pack and play and hopefully separating them will prepare them to eventually sleep in their own cribs in their nursery.

Eating

Sadly, when Silas and Ezra are sick, especially if they are congested, they don't want to nurse as often or for as long. This is the total opposite of the experience that I had with Asher, as he would want to nurse around the clock when he was sick. I noticed a pretty significant decrease in their nursing sessions, which their pediatrician insisted was normal. But as a breastfeeding mom, it was absolutely heartbreaking when I took my sick babies to the doctor and saw that they had lost weight. After the hospital stay, once they started their new medications and started to feel a little better, I noticed that they seemed to nurse a little better as well.

Silas and Ezra are still just exclusively breastfeeding with no solids yet. We are waiting until at least six months, or until they are sitting up well and showing all the other signs of readiness, before we start baby led weaning.


Big Brother

It was so hard for us when we were in the hospital yet again and away from Asher, who luckily stays with his grandma each time. Grandma keeps Asher distracted and happy while we are away, but whenever Asher arrives home after one of our hospital stays, he has a bit of a difficult transition. He needs lots of cuddles in the night and often tells us not to leave him again.

Luckily, Silas and Ezra were well enough that we were able to take a family trip to the Adirondacks at the end of the month to celebrate Josh's 30th birthday, which was just what Asher (and really all of us) needed. We stayed at a very family-friendly hotel with a spa, pool, game room, movie theater, ice cream parlor, restaurant, and nightly campfire. It was so good to spend that time together as a family, especially with Asher, who I think loved our vacation more than anyone else. He told us repeatedly that he wanted us to live at the hotel.

Asher impressed us by hiking up an entire mountain on his own for the first time, which was not an easy hike. Josh and I each carried one of the twins and kept asking Asher if he needed a break. He insisted on doing the hike on his own and made it all the way to the top of the mountain keeping up a great pace. Everyone we passed was astonished that Asher was making his way up such a steep, difficult trail. Josh strapped on our new Twingo baby carrier and carried both Asher and Ezra on the hike down, which was a good thing because Asher fell asleep about two seconds later.

It was so good to get away and spend some quality time as a family. We really needed the time together after everything we had been through in the month of April, and Asher desperately wanted to spend some time with his brothers that wasn't in doctor's office waiting rooms. Asher is so sweet with Silas and Ezra and has been so patient through it all. He continues to amaze us as we watch him grow. 

Final Thoughts 

Despite our challenging month, it finally feels like things are going to start getting easier. Hopefully we have no more hospital stays in our near future so we can just focus on our quiet little life as a family of five. We so are looking forward to warm weather, walks in the park, playing in the back yard, and summer barbecues.

Four Months Old

Silas and Ezra Four Month Update

Silas Reid

 15 lbs., 3 oz.
25 in.

Ezra Jack

14 lbs., 2 oz. 

25 in. 

Both wear 3-6 month clothes but just started fitting into 6-9 months

Mutual Likes: Kicking, looking around, sucking on hands, belly kisses, sitting/standing up with help
Mutual Dislikes: Waiting for anything - especially milk, taking medicine

Milestones

Both Silas and Ezra are reaching and grasping onto things. They are lifting their heads better every day and pushing themselves up onto their chests during tummy time. They are much more socially engaged and are always watching everything that is happening around them. Both of them, but especially Ezra, want to spend most of their time standing up (with help of course.) They are close to rolling from belly to back but haven't begun doing it on their own yet.

Health

The last month has been tough in terms of illnesses. Shortly after our trip to Vermont in early March, Silas and Ezra came down with a virus. Our pediatrician had noted previously that Silas and Ezra had developed a rattly cough and wheeze when they were sick, which we originally thought was RSV but tests indicated otherwise. When they got sick again in March, along with ear infections, the cough and wheezing were back and worse than ever. They pretty much spent the entire month of March sick and the respiratory problems just wouldn't go away. Many doctors office visits, nebulizer treatments, and medications later, we have discovered that Silas and Ezra have what they call "reactive airways" which will most likely later be officially classified as asthma when they're older. Doctors still aren't sure of the severity of asthma we may be looking at, so hopefully our upcoming appointments with the pulmonary specialist can give us some answers.

Sleeping

Prior to getting sick, Silas and Ezra were great sleepers, either sleeping through the night or waking up just once to nurse. Their constant illnesses have messed with their sleep patterns to the point where it's completely unpredictable how many times they will wake up at night. Most nights, they are waking up twice between 7pm - 6am. They wake up earlier these days; usually around 6:30am but we've noticed that if they wake up anytime after 5am, they are ready to party. We never realized how lucky we were when Asher was a baby. He used to sleep until 8am every day!

We are still swaddling them when they go to sleep but we know these days are numbered. Asher started rolling over much earlier than his baby brothers, so we stopped swaddling him around 2-3 months old. A few weeks ago, we tried transitioning them to the Magic Merlin Sleep Suits I have read so many rave reviews about but it didn't go well at all. Hopefully we can try them again before they outgrow them because they seem to really need the snug feeling that the swaddle provides them with. We were able to transition Asher pretty seamlessly from swaddles to sleep sacks; I guess we never realized what an easy baby he was!

Eating

Silas and Ezra are still exclusively breastfeeding but it has been more stressful in the last month because when they are sick, they are not nursing nearly as much. Whenever baby Asher got sick, he always nursed more but these guys are the total opposite. Feeding two babies is a lot of work as it is so worrying about them getting enough to eat on top of everything else has been making me anxious. Their pediatrician keeps assuring me that they are growing well despite everything they have been through but I can't help but worry.


Big Brother

Asher continues to be the sweetest big brother to Silas and Ezra. He is so happy to wake up in the morning to his baby brothers. Asher mimics the way that Josh and I treat the babies, talking to them, giving them hugs and kisses, and comforting them when they cry. He loves that they are starting to play with toys because he can interact with them in new ways. He is protective of them when we go out in public and is so incredibly patient and well behaved through all of their endless doctors appointments.

My heart just melts when I see Asher with his baby brothers. Josh and I were just talking about how one of the best parts of being a parent to three boys is seeing Asher really come into his role as a big brother. We are so proud of the kind, thoughtful, gentle boy that he is becoming.

Final Thoughts 

The first few months with infant twins was hard so hard and made us feel like brand new parents all over again. When we look back on December through February, it's a bit blurry - endless diaper changes, hours upon hours of cluster feeding, and the dreaded daily "witching hour." At four months old, things are finally becoming calmer, more routine, and more (dare I say?) fun. As hard as it is at times, and trust me life with twin babies and a toddler is never easy, life is so, so good. 

Three Months Old

I feel like I just wrote Silas and Ezra's two month update and here I am again. Three months old! I always have the goal of blogging more often than I do now and I think it will get easier as the boys get older. It's hard to have time for anything these days, even a shower or a trip to the grocery store. 

Three months is such a fun age because they are really starting to become their own little people. Ezra continues to be more laid back than his brother. He is also much more physically motivated than Silas. He loves doing his "exercises" where he holds my hands and goes from lying down, to sitting up, to standing. He gets so excited when he is finally standing, with wide eyes and a huge smile on his face. Ezra needs to be held more often than Silas does and prefers sitting up, looking around at things to lying on the play mat. Ezra is less content in a swing and needs to be worn more frequently.

Silas is a little social butterfly baby. He loves to make eye contact and gets a big smile whenever you look directly at him. He is always cooing at me and loves when I mimic his talking sounds. He has become a little distracted nursing because he often wants to interact with me rather than eat, which is just so adorable. Silas is definitely more demanding than Ezra. I always read than twin babies are patient because they have to be, but this is certainly not the case for Silas. He's been perfecting an incredibly loud, shrill scream to express to me his immediate need for milk. 

Silas and Ezra Three Month Update

Silas Reid

Ezra Jack

Both currently wearing size 3-6 month clothes

Mutual Likes: Car rides, going on walks, being worn/held, crinkly toys, their swings
Mutual Dislikes: Lying down for too long, loud noises, tummy time

Milestones

It's amazing how much they Silas and Ezra changed in the last month. They are so much more social: smiling all the time, cooing, and even giving us tiny giggles. They are constantly watching everything we do. When Asher is playing near us, they will strain their little necks to try and see what he is doing. They recently discovered each other's presence, mostly while nursing. They will stop what they are doing and look at each other and start cooing and smiling. It is unbelievably cute. They also have begun reaching for and grasping onto toys while playing on their play mat. They are holding their heads up better every day and are getting so strong.

Health

All three of us battled thrush thanks to the antibiotics the boys were on that I mentioned in their two month update. I normally take a probiotic and give them one as well to prevent thrush but when we were in the hospital, I forgot to bring these. I had no idea how hard it would be to get rid of thrush while nursing twins. Other than that, we have all been healthy, thankfully. With spring around the corner, I feel hopeful that we can be healthier in the coming months.

Sleeping

Silas and Ezra are such good sleepers. We dress them in pajamas and swaddle them before they have their last breastfeeding session of the day around 6:30/7pm. Then they nurse for a long time, anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes. Usually Silas falls asleep first and then Ezra continues to nurse for a while longer. Once they are both asleep, Josh and I transfer them to the pack and play where they sleep. They sleep soundly until somewhere between 3/4:30am, wake to nurse for 15-20 minutes, and then go back to sleep until about 6:30am. Three times in the last month, they slept right through their early morning nursing session! (Which, for those keeping track, is three more times than Asher slept through the night in the last month. But that's another story entirely.) 

It's hard to say whether they will continue to sleep this well, as only time will tell. There is usually a big growth spurt around three months and then typical sleep regression around four months. Maybe, just maybe, these boys will be better sleepers than their big brother? Fingers crossed. 

Eating

Silas and Ezra nurse almost exclusively with an occasional bottle (maybe two times a week) from Josh. I would happily pump and give bottles more regularly in the evenings but usually we are so busy during that time that I just end up nursing them because it's easier. They are still all over the place with breastfeeding and I continue to just do it on demand. According to my app, they are averaging about eight nursing sessions in a 24 hour period but it really depends on the day. Sometimes they are hungry an hour after they last ate and other times they will take a long nap and go 3+ hours. They seem to be gaining weight well and have good diaper output, so although I haven't had them weighed in a couple weeks, I think it's safe to say that breastfeeding is still going very well.


Big Brother

Asher seems to really be enjoying his role as big brother. He usually wakes up after we do and gets the biggest smile when he sees "his babies," despite how grumpy he may have been just the moment before. He wants to be a part of everything they do, to the point where he tries to crawl up onto the breastfeeding pillow while I am feeding his brothers. He gets excited when he sees that Silas and Ezra are getting bigger because soon they will be able to "play toys" and "wrestle." I can only imagine the fun that is going to ensue with these three.


Final Thoughts 

Although I am sad that the newborn phase is over, this also means that things are finally getting a bit easier for us. That, or we getting better at being parents of twin infants and a toddler. Silas and Ezra are starting to naturally develop a (somewhat) more predictable eating and napping schedule, which means that I can finally have more time to get things done around the house and play with Asher one on one.

As crazy and chaotic as things get around here sometimes (if you've ever been here around 5pm, you know exactly what I'm talking about), I still wouldn't change it for the world. A little over a year ago, we were trying to wrap our heads around having two babies and now I can't imagine my life any other way.