Four-month update

The twins had their 4-month well baby visits yesterday. Big news (yes the pun was intended). They are both officially chubby! I didn't even know "chubby" was an official classification...I'm learning things everyday with the twins!
Addison weighs 15 pounds, 12 ounces and 24.5 inches long. Sheʼs in the 90th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Jackson weighs 14 pounds, 12 ounces and 24.25 inches long. He's around the 50th percentile for both weight and height. Surprisingly, their heads are the same size! That means Jacksonʼs head is bigger from front to back and Addison's is bigger from side to side.
Dr. Robinovitch said they have caught up to normal 4 month olds. Eric and I keep forgetting that they are preemies. But they are doing very well.
Jackson's belly button is much better...it no longer sticks out. He still has the stork bite on his forehead, but the doc says, as his skin thickens, it will disappear.
Addison has a pretty large birthmark that stretches from her thigh to her toes on her right leg. Dr. R said it is a vascular something or other....he's hoping it will disappear on it's own, but, after we told him that Greta (Eric's sister's daughter) has a birthmark that required several laser treatments, he was a bit more concerned because these things can be hereditary. So, at our 6-month appt., we are going to see if we need to move forward with a plastic surgeon. We're hopeful that it will take care of itself.
The twins had more immunizations and now, with such big crocodile tears, it was harder for mommy than it was at their two-month appointments. The nurse said it was the first time in 10 years of giving babies shots that she started to get choked up at a baby who was crying...geez, guess Jackson has already learned from his daddy how to turn on the charm with the ladies.
I guess we are feeding them more than we need to be, since they did some major catch-up growing these last two months. Who knew? Eric and I just assumed we were feeding them as best we knew how. No harm done though. We havenʼt ruined our practice kids (Grammonaʼs term for first borns).
Dr. R said we're doing a good job and we look like we are having fun for the most part.
We asked him about rice cereal to help them sleep through the night consistently and he said that was an old wives tale...rice cereal only works in 1 of 100 babies, PLUS, one teaspoon of cereal has more calories than a teaspoon of formula, and our kids don't need more calories...funny!
But, he said, when they wake up during the night, we don't have to feed them....which never occurred to me!!! And he said, since they've demonstrated that they can sleep through the night, it should help me not worry to let them cry and hopefully go back to sleep on their own (yeah right Dr. R....me, not worry!?!?!?)
We took them, and cousin Selena, to the Como Zoo yesterday after their appointments. Jackson was awake the whole time, and Addison was asleep with her little sun hat on. The animals were apparently boring her. It was fun to take them there.
So, last night was my big test. They each woke up once. I went into the nursery and gave them their nuks and they cried for a bit and then went back to sleep....not sure if the baby Tylenol helped mom out or not....but they woke up at 6:30 this morning...as smiley as ever.
I must say that they are getting more fun by the day!!! It's getting harder for me to leave for work in the morning...I cried this morning when I left them. They are truly little miracles and I can't imagine our lives without them. They bring us so many things.....joy, frustration, challenges, fun, happiness, sadness, and more love. It's pretty indescribable, so I don't know why I keep trying to find the words.

Little Houdini

So, Jackson has learned a fun little trick. We put him in the crib at night with his head under the mobile. When we go in to get him in the morning, he's completely turned around so his feet are under the mobile...and he's smiling SO big, like, "See what I can do? Aren't you proud!"

Addison, on the other hand, is going through a bit of a rough patch. She won't drink her bottle at night and she cries for an hour and then just crashes. I tried to catch her before she started crying last night, but that didn't work...she still took an hour to drink half of her bottle and then I just put her in her crib and she cried herself to sleep. I just don't know what to do with her.

Thankfully, they have their 4-month appts. on Monday. Maybe we can get some answers.

Two days and counting

So, Eric and I were wondering if the whole sleeping-through-the-night thing was a fluke....well, it wasn't! Night #2, they slept from around 9 p.m. to 5:30 this morning. We fed them when I got up for work and then they went right back to sleep. And Addison is definitely a thumb-sucker!!! It's SO cute....but I wonder how cute it will be if she's still doing it in 10 years.....one day at a time.
Jackson LOVES the turtle that's attached to his crib. It plays music and lights up. When I was in the nursery this morning, he was grabbing it. It's fun to watch them be so engaging.
BUT last night, Addison was miserable! She had a screaming fit for an entire hour!!!!!! I didn't know what to do. All I kept thinking was what our doctor told us. "Crying will only become an issue if they do it for 3 hours without being able to be soothed." Nothing I did soothed her. She has a yeast infection, which didn't help. But she would NOT eat her bottle either. I just didn't know what to do! Finally, she just cried herself silly and she was so tired, she just fell asleep. I was afraid to go into the nursery this morning, for fear that she'd start waling....but, she smiled at me. And in the one smile, the memory of the whole screaming hour from last night just faded away.

Sleeping through the Night

This morning, when I woke up for work at 6 a.m. it occured to me that I didn't get up to feed the twins in the middle of the night. So I nudged Eric, thinking he fed them and let me sleep. Well, he was thinking the same thing of me! We then realized that they slept through the night!!!!! He went in to check on them, and they were both fine. We were in a dazed, stunned state...we just couldn't believe that they slept through the night. We're hoping it's not a one-time thing and that, a week before their 4-month mark, they have settled in and will be sleeping through all nights now....I'm sure I'll know tomorrow!!!!

Thumb Sucking

Early this morning, at 2:45 a.m. I headed into the nursery to grab the twins to feed them, and I picked up Jackson first, because he was crying the loudest. As I was changing him, I glanced into Addison's crib and she was sucking her thumb! It was so cute. She had her four fingers straight up so they were covering her nose...it was pretty awkward, but she finally got it down. She's been staring at her hand for a couple weeks now. It's like she's been trying to figure out how in the world to get that thumb into her mouth...she finally did it!!! Maybe she's decided it's better than the NUK....so what do we do with the 10,000 NUKs we have.....Mmmmmm

Addison the Ham and Mr. Wiggles

So, last night, Amy and Stacey came over for dinner and we took a walk with the twins. After the walk, Addison was all smiles! I think she has figured out that the more she smiles, the more of a reaction she gets from other people. She really turned on the charm at bedtime and almost distracted mommy enough to let her stay up after her brother went to bed....almost.
She's a tricky one!
So is Jackson....if I'm not careful, he'll wiggle his way right out of my grasp! He will sit in the ExerSaucer now and watch all of the toys attached to it. He had even started to grab at things, which is really fun. He still drools like it's the newest cool thing to do....but he still has a smile that melts my heart!

Twins' Baptism

The baptism was pretty awesome (As you can see in the photos, it took a lot out of the twins). Jackson and Addison are very blessed with a loving church family and a very supportive biological family. The twins had lots of people come to celebrate with them at church yesterday, including Uncle Marcus and Auntie Shelly who are their Godparents. Jackson wore Eric's baptismal gown and Addison wore Selena's, so that was really special too. They were so good during the ceremony. When Pastor Luke presented them to the congregation, Addison just grinned and in true Jackson form, he urped! It's all caught on tape, thank to Sashi (who Eric and I have dubbed Super Nanny)!

The one funny thing is that, for some reason, Pastor Luke kept saying Jakowski instead of Zajkowsi....Eric joked that when Addison and Jackson get to Heaven, God will say, "Nope. I'm not seeing a Zajkowski, but I do have an Addison and Jackson Jakowski." It was funny.

The men of the church presented Jackson and Addison with faith chests. Each chest, hand made by Rudy Ross, has a plaque on the top with their names, then, "Dedicated to God on July 15, 2007. I added the shoes that Grandma Lois gave them with their name and birthdate, and I added Selena's baptismal gown to Addison's box (Lena has the one Jackson wore). Wilma said a special prayer for them.

They ceremony was more overwhelming than I thought it would be, but in a strange way, it was such a blessing because I realized that the pressure is off Eric and me a little bit because Addison and Jackson truly belong to God, and we are just helping Him out.

Day at the Beach

Addison's new trick

Addison learned this weekend, that if she pees on all of her clothes when we are at the Mall of America, mommy and daddy have to buy her brand-new clothes because we can't have a naked baby!

Eric said, "If she learns this at 3 months, can you imagine what she'll do at 14?"

The Twins - An Update

It's truly amazing to me how much the twins have changed since they were born three months ago. It seems they change so fast now. Each day, there is something new and fun!

Addison, who spent the first 11 weeks of her life in hysterics, has finally settled in! She is so pleasant and very smiley!!!!! I still find myself waiting for the screams, but they are fewer and farther between these days. She even lays on her back now! It's such a difference. She was passed around at Grandma Lois's 4th of July brunch and she was so content and bright eyed with everyone who held her...until she had had enough and fell asleep. She only screams now when she needs something. It's so neat to see her progressing! She studies objects and people with her big brown eyes and she goes to sleep so well at night now too....I find myself asking, "Who is this precious girl?!?!" When I put her in the crib, I just turn on the turle, and one spin of the mobile, and she's out! She still absolutely hates having her clothes changed though!! She screams at the top of her lungs when any article of clothing touches her head, which TOTALLY freaks me out!!!!

They both LOVE bath time with daddy (mommy thinks they are still too slippery to enjoy it) and they love having their diapers changed! They just smile and smile and smile. Jackson loves to pee on himself right when mommy or daddy take his diaper off....will we ever learn??? They also love riding in the car and in the stroller.

Jackson has turned into Mr. Fussy, and Mr. Wiggles. He seems to be crying a LOT more these days. He's having a lot of trouble pooping, which makes him quite unhappy. We have done the pear juice thing, the sorbitol thing and the baby laxative thing....which causes projectile pooping, dry heaves from mommy and laughter from daddy. And, Jackson drools! Good thing I read in a book that drooling was normal, otherwise I would be worried....or should I say more worried than I normally am. The front of his outfits are all very wet by the end of the day, especially when mom forgets to put a bib on him. He flails around a lot too....but he still has a smile that melts my heart. I just wish I saw it more these days. He doesn't go to sleep well anymore either. It takes him a couple hours, yes, hours! to settle in at bedtime. He fights it SO much!!! He'll learn later in life that sleep is a good thing, and there's no point in fighting it. But for now, I just rock him until he falls asleep, and if daddy is at work, he gets to have special cuddle time with mommy in the big bed....SHHH!!!! Don't tell daddy!!!

All, in all, we have hit a stride in week 14. They are on a schedule mostly. They eat at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. 2 p.m. 5 p.m. around 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. They take an official afternoon nap in their cribs and they cat nap throughout the rest of the day. Daddy loves staying home with them still....which is SO fun for me to see.

Mommy and daddy still aren't getting much sleep, but we are still being kind to each other and taking time to say I love You. What more can I ask for.