The Strickland Twins

I am finally able to fit in the time to update our blog. Yes!!! Having twins sure does keep you busy! Alot has happened since my last post, so this might be a long one so I can get caught up. :)

At two months old, that only means immunization shots and dr checkup!!! We went to the dr. on July 9th. Brinkley weighs 9lb 4oz and Braelynn weighs 9lb 5oz. Growing soooo fast!! Braelynn has a slight heart murmur but the dr. said it was so faint that more than likely it will go away. I don't know if that was suppose to make me feel better, but as a mother, I will worry until I know its gone! The shots went good, both screamed once the needle went in, but eventually calmed down after they got their red crayon band-aids. ::)) They didn't run a fever or anything afterwards, just very tired and slept most of the afternoon.

After this checkup, I realized I only had a couple weeks left before I had to go back to work. :( I cried for the last week, because I didn't want to leave my babies!!! Aug. 3rd was the dreadful day. They stayed home with Daddy and did very well. I had to send a few text messages to make sure everything was going smoothly and that they didn't forget about their mommy!! I'm working 4 10hr days so I can get one extra day to spend with them. It seems to have helped alot and made the transition a little bit better.

They are pretty much on the same schedule as far as sleeping. Still going down around 9-10pm and not waking up until 4-5am. They have been taking about 4-5 oz, sometimes 6 depending on how hungry or how they ate the time before. Braelynn is the good eater, she downs those bottles, burps, gets changed and off to sleep she goes. She loves sleeping with her arms up by her head and snores!! Soo cute! Brinkley is another story. You never know if she will eat or not, so the guessing game of how much formula to make is what we play. She has a tendency to spit up alot too, so be prepared for the projectile vomit!!!! You never know when its coming or where it will end up! :) The night bottle and early morning bottle are usually the 'big' ones, 5-6oz. They will go anywhere from 4-5 hrs in between feedings, or sometimes sooner. We just go with the flow at times, its all you can do! After the early morning feeding, the next time they usually wake up is around 8-9am. They have been waking up with smiles on their faces and wanting to play! So this is our 'tummy time.' They will lie on the floor and watch any type of cartoon or Sesame Street. After an hour or so they will get hungry, so feeding time again. I will then take them on a short walk and they will take a little cat nap for about an hour. They love their walks and Mommy loves taking them!!! :)

On Sept.1st, Brinkley rolled over for the first time!!! She went from tummy to back. Jadyn didn't believe me at first, so I had to show her. Luckily, she did it again, so I went to grab the video camera. Do you think she would do it then? NO!!! That little stinker started crying and would have nothing to do with it. Oh well, there will be plenty of times to catch her in the act. Braelynn wasn't far behind, she rolled over on Sept. 12th. The look on their faces were priceless as was my reaction. They looked at me like I was a crazy Mom!!! I kept saying,' What a big girl!!!!! Good job punkin' punkin'!!!!' Yep, thats my nickname for them, punkin' punkins'. ::)))

On Sept. 9th, we took them for their 4 month checkup. 4 MONTHS!!!!! Can't believe it!!!! Brinkley weighs 11lb 8oz and Braelynn 12lb 4 oz. Braelynn being the 'runt', she has sure caught up with her sister!! The dr. was very happy with their growth and they are moving up the line on the growth chart, so he suggested to start cereal and then baby food a couple weeks after that. Our first experience with cereal was Sept. 11th. I fed it to them with a spoon. I almost forgot what messy little faces they have!! Brinkley kept pushing it back out with her tongue and Braelynn kept shoveling it in. She caught on pretty quick and did good for the first time. I decided to try it through the bottle the next night. Let's just say it didn't work so well. Mommy got a little frustrated and ended up throwing the bottle. :) I realized that the spoon was probably the best option, for the girls and for Mommy. So our routine is around supper time, at 6 or when we would eat supper, I feed them cereal. Brinkley has now caught on a little better and seems to like it more and more. Braelynn pushes it out now and doesn't want it. I've came to the conclusion that I need to just keep trying and eventually they will catch on. I've grown to have a little more patience, heehee. :)

To top off the feeding, I am also in the process of getting them into their cribs at night! I know, I know.............. but hey, you get to the point you don't care where they sleep as long as they are sleeping and let you get some sleep too!! Anybody with babies would understand, right? Especially those with twins!! After their night bottle, I start them out in their swings. As soon as they are off and dreaming, I move them to their cribs. The first couple nights they lasted until about 3am. So I move back into the living room with them in their swings until around 5am, when they are ready to eat. But then last night, Sept.14th, they stayed in their until 4:45am!!! So we are gaining!!!!

Here are some recent photos we have taken throughout the last couple months. They are in no particular order, just random ones taken. Hope you enjoy!!!!!

Grandma Strickland and family