My little Acrobat...

With the increase in movement, and the eve of crawling, we've quickly realized that our little Mary Louise, though slow to warm to new situations and people, is not in fact afraid of anything...

The babies "slept through the night" last night and the night before. Meaning: Monday night, they slept from 7pm to 4am, and last night David slept from 6pm to 6am and Mary Louise slept from 9pm to 6am. (Mary Louise was a booger to put down.) Brent has gone to the Masters golf tournament (his dream trip) with some friends and business associates so I think Mary Louise was just a bit put off that her Daddy time got cut short and wimpy old mom was all that was left (Brent rocks her to sleep absolutely every night).

In case you're wondering why David is sleeping so well...he has been increasing his meal sizes for quite sometime, but the bedtime meal - my goodness...last night between about 3 and 6, he ate 8 ounces of peas, a few bites of sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons of oatmeal and 5 ounces of breastmilk. That would be well over 200 calories - for an 11.5 pound baby. He also eats about 10 ounces of milk during his sleep - but doesn't really wake up to do it- just rolls around, grunts, finds his bottle, eats and shoves it away - almost like sleep walking. During his last glutton phase, he grew in length a little over an inch - but surprisingly did not gain weight. The doctors have warned me of how fast preemies grow, but really, this is wild. I feel that if he sits still for a moment, that I can almost see him growing!

So, back to my morning. David woke up first. He was laughing, and saying "mama mama mama" - so not a bad way to start the morning. He needed more food (ha). So, I took him with me to get a bottle ready. Mary Louise stirred a little but went back to sleep - or so I thought...Bottle made, we returned to the bedroom to find little Miss Mary Louise hanging from the edge of the bed -between the cosleeper and the actual bed- looking as if she were a burglar caught in the act of exiting through a window. Wide-eyed, she stared for a minute, wimpered, then grinned her huge sleepy grin. I picked her up as well and we went off to the playroom for our early playtime.

They did quite well. I am of course not allowed to even think about leaving the room. So, we all roll about on the floor playing together. I got the supplies to change diapers and proceeded with that chore. They sipped on their critter bottles (what we call the ones with vitamins and probiotics in them). I waited for the signs that they wanted a little something more - with squash and spoon ready to go. Then it happened...

I really should have known it was coming - I mean all that food had to go somewhere! You guessed it, David exploded. Seriously. This was no match for a wipe or 2, so I ran some bath water and readied the washcloth. Now, Mary Louise gets around very well - and very quickly now with her crawling. So, she followed me across the hall to the bathroom and fiddled around my legs after a brief reprimand for showing a little too much interest in the cat food (note to self: find another place for that stuff).

Things went rather smoothly. David was happy to get rid of the stench and squishies and Mary Louise played quietly down below...then I felt the tug...I thought it was a little high on my leg for her to be crawling...I looked down...she looked up at me, grinning (of course)...she was STANDING! She had pulled up on my scrub pants and was standing between my legs gripping to the soft cotton as if it were the rope railing on her flimsy bridge (she looked about that stable). So with David wet and bare behind (at least it was post cleaning, so it smelled a bit better), I tucked him under my arm and grabbed her before she lost her balance and risked a Humpty Dumpty moment.

Goodness, these kiddos really keep me on my toes!

After the excitement, we finally had some squash time, followed by immediate fussy and nap time (for which Mary Louise was strapped down with a 5 point harness that was double checked for strength and durability - and proper fit!).

xo,
Heather

P.S. Thanks so much to those who have sent little notes for Kuylen! They are incredibly appreciated!