Outside with the Boys

Wyatt loves being outside and when he is in the house somtimes he sits and stares out the window.  He will happily sit in the grass and look around.  Ruslan does not like being outside or at least he doesn't like being put down outside - the second he is set down on the ground he bursts into tears.

Last Saturday was such a beautiful day so I washed the winter grime away from the swings in the backyard and we took the boys outside for their first time on the swings.  They both loved it and had lots of fun - switching from laughing and kicking to relaxed.

After swing time we got out them in the stroller and went for a long walk.  Ruslan loved watching the people and the cars.  Wyatt just sat still and quiet and stared straight ahead.  Eventually they both fell asleep and we left them in the stroller when we got home and they slept another hour - all of that fresh air made the boys very sleepy.

4 Months

4 months old - hard to believe that they are that old, yet difficult to remember what it was like before they arrived (although I think that I had a little bit more spare time, more sleep, and a lot less laundry). This first picture - they are both watching Juliana run toward them...there is a bit of fear in Ruslan's eyes as he knows she is about to bounce down on the ground just a little too close to them.
Last night was their 4-month check-up.
Ruslan - Weight: 14 lbs 12 oz - 50th% (2-mo was 12-6 70th%)
Height: 24-1/4" - 25th% (2-mo was 22-1/2 45%)

Wyatt - Weight: 13 lbs 12 oz - 25th% (2-mo was 10-14 25%)
Height: 25-1/4 - 65th% (2-mo was 22-3/4 50%)

At 4 months Juliana was the same height as Wyatt, but weighed a full pound less.

The boys are starting to interact more with each other - they are getting interested in each other - Ruslan will spot Wyatt and just smile at him in the hopes Wyatt will look his way. They are also able to pick-up toys and get them close to their mouth - the best place for anything at this age. And best of all they can both get a hand, some fingers or sometimes even a thumb in their mouth which makes them quite happy.

6 Weeks

Where does the time go? I can't believe that they are 6 weeks old already and my maternity leave is halfway over.

It is much easier to tell the boys apart in pictures now, because Ruslan is always wearing a bib. He has reflux and spits up huge amounts of his food - we are doing lots of laundry. After having a child who never spit up, this is quite an adjustment. We go through a stack of burp clothes and bibs every day and do our best to keep our own clothes and the furniture spit-up free. He is on medication when has made him much less fussy, unfortunately the medication doesn't stop the spit-up.

After 5 weeks of nursing both of them, we made a change. Wyatt wasn't nursing as well as he needed to get enough food and we were already supplementing, so we made the change to switch him to all formula. Ruslan is still nursing with the exception of one night time bottle.

They are still eating twice during the night, hopefully this will be ending in the next few weeks. Scott is generally up working at night so he handles the 2:00 am bottle and then I feed them closer to morning. That gives me a few hours of sleep in one block so I can make it through the days. And when they wake up at night, most of the time, they eat and go back to sleep quickly so the process doesn't take as long as it did in those first few weeks.

Ruslan is still at least a pound heavier than Wyatt and close to outgrowing 0-3 month clothes. He has rolls on his legs and a growing belly. Wyatt no longer has chicken legs, but hasn't quite caught up.

Ruslan is very grumbly all of the time - the sounds most babies make when they are filling their diapers - Ruslan makes noises like that all day - grunts and grumbles...and now Wyatt is joining in on the habit - I fear that their twin speak will be more of a cave man language.

Both of them have flashed us a few smiles...laughter can't be far behind :) They are both fascinated with the birdies that fly around them in the swing.

In the pictures of the two of them in their overalls - Ruslan is on the right-side. They did not enjoy being next to each other, especially when their arms became intertwined.