little cookie monsters

The cereal feeding is coming along slowly. I try a few bites each day and have ended up putting the tiny remaining spoonfuls in their bottles in an effort to see if they seem to feel a bit better. The system has worked. They get a tiny bit in the early morning, nap, then play and then get a tiny bit at the end of their day in their "good night" bottles. I still try to breast feed relatively regularly but they are pretty much stuck at their current levels - they latch and feed but can't seem to get the hind milk and are never (and I mean NEVER) satisfied with just breastfeeding so I must pump and bottle feed afterward.

The spoon feeding is a bit of hit or miss. Most days, one or the other "goes crazy" over it - but even if they aren't insanely excited about it on a particular day, they will typically take a bite or 2 and they seem to have fun exploring the new taste and texture with their hands, noses, and mouths. Mary Louise still has a bit of a tongue thrust which comes into play most days but she periodically controls it enough to get a legitimate bite in there somewhere. They don't seem to have GI upset over it though their stools have definitely changed (for the stinkier) in both smell and frequency. (ok - maybe that was a little too much info there...).

They do seem to be sleeping better. Overall, they eat the same amount but the little bits of cereal seem to actually make them satiated whereas before (and in hind sight) they were wanting to feed more and more often but could never seem to get enough to satisfy their needs. I think (this is completely my opinion) that their small size was limiting their ability to take in the amount they needed to meet their caloric requirements. With the cereal, they seem more relaxed (again, in hindsight) and are in fact sleeping a little better - back to 2 feedings during the night rather than the constant waking and feeding we were doing before.

Also, their spitting up is minimal - if it happens at all. For the first time since they've been home, we've had days - whole days- in which they didn't spit up at all! So, despite my extreme wariness, they seem to be doing well for now with the introduction of rice cereal.

Mary Louise has started to not only help hold her bottle every time she's fed, but sometimes she is actually able to hold it herself if it is more than half done. She is also trying to sit up when we lean her against a Boppy pillow - using only her abdominal muscles! When she plays with the Leap Frog table, she almost insists on doing it while being assisted in standing (yes, I said standing...) some of the photos show here doing this. She sort of leans against the table for support and plays with the buttons. We try with her sitting on a knee or in a lap, but she squirms about until we put her in a standing position - miss independent - I can almost hear her say, "no mommy, I do it MYSELF!"

David is still working so hard at turning from back to front by himself. He's almost there, but that pesky arm of his keeps acting as a speed bump and interrupting his momentum when he rolls back and forth. He also loves the keys on the Leap Frog table! (actually, more so than Mary Louise who is sometimes a bit timid with such new fangled lights and sounds) He is helping to hold his bottle consistently and was quite the champ at eating and chewing this morning. With his short frenulum, he has actually had a bit of an easier time learning how to keep the cereal in his mouth and seems to enjoy taking bites and getting praise.

In addition to all of their other strides, they are both "asking" for things they want if they are in their line of vision. For example, if their bottle is on a table or floor area that is almost within reach they make noise (fuss, grunt, cry) while looking and reaching for it. This also applies to toys they like, etc. Accordingly, we are hoping to teach them a few signs in the near future.

Enjoy the photos! We had a great visit with Brent's parents this weekend!


sidenote: I have been having quite the unsuccessful time with uploading videos to You Tube. We've also had a bit of trouble with our wireless internet - hopefully, I'll get them up soon...

Dec 09