Both Matthew AND Kayla Slept Through the Night

...and boy, does it feel even better!

Kayla Slept Through the Night

...and boy does it feel good!

I think her last bottle was at 7:30pm last night, and after that she was so out of sorts that I didn't want to wake her after she fell asleep. She was awake ALL afternoon yesterday, so I was expecting for her to sleep well last night. And she's still sleeping! Matthew only woke up once at 3:45am, so hopefully this is the start of more sleep-filled nights! I feel so rested!

Two Months Old!

I've been slow at making this entry, I know. Every time I sit at the computer I do everything else BUT write this. This morning I've finally forced myself to do it, so here goes...

Matthew and Kayla are two months old! Already! Time sure has gone by quick!

I've taken the following list of "what your baby may be doing" milestones from my "What to Expect The First Year Book". Matthew and Kayla can:

• Smile in response to our smile, and smile spontaneously.
• Respond to noises
• Vocalize in ways other than crying. They both have started 'talking' to us when they're in a really good mood.
• Lift their head 45 degrees when on stomach. I would say only Matthew can really do this, and only when he's in the mood to.
• Hold their head steady when upright....sometimes. Matthew is better at this than Kayla. I would say he does it about 75% of the time. If he's not tired, then he will do it. Kayla does it about 25% of the time.
• Bear some weight on their legs when held upright. Definitely have mastered this! Matthew is amazing at squatting and then standing, squatting and then standing. We're just waiting for his neck to be a little stronger before we put him in the jolly jumper. Kayla has starting bearing weight on her legs. She's really good at it when she's angry :)

They had their two-month immunizations on May 19th. Three shots in their thighs! You could tell when the first needle went in that they were in pain - their cry was so sad! They were troopers and calmed down as soon as they were given their bottle. Their first non-breast milk taste was the infant's Tylenol...it's white grape flavoured. Matthew weighed 11 lbs 4 oz and Kayla weighed 11 lbs.

They are drinking 4 or 5 ounces about 6 or 7 times a day. They can sleep in 6 hours stretches at night, and usually do so.

Random Pictures:

Matthew and Kayla in their stroller for the very first time! We walked down to the greenhouses to visit Jon (he worked a couple days during his week off).

Oma came by for a visit. I was napping in my room so I had no idea she had even been here!

Trying to get a picture of them smiling is so difficult! It's hard enough trying to catch one smile on camera, but to make them both smile at the same time...nearly impossible!

Watching the hockey game with Uncle Jason...Jon's jealous that Matthew has Canucks clothing and he doesn't. :)

Hanging out with the Aunties.

I've been meaning to get Matthew and Kayla's footprints on paper for weeks now, and so when Courtney and my mom were over on Wednesday afternoon I jumped at the chance.

The almost-final product. Matthew's feet are in blue, Kayla's are in yellow. I still want to write their names and the date on it.

I've been really tired this past week, so yesterday Jon had my mom come over to get Matthew and Kayla ready in the morning, and this morning he got up with them so that I could have two days in a row to sleep in. Much appreciated! When I got up at 9:30am, this is what I saw:

A Little Bit of Everything

*This blog was started in the morning and finished in the evening...so keep that in mind as you read it.*

I was laying in bed last night (waiting to hear if Kayla was going to spit out her soother and then cry) wishing I had a laptop right by me so that I could have done this entry then. My thoughts were completely in blog-speak.

Matthew is still sleeping in bed, and Kayla is behind me in her swing making high-pitched grunting noises. The (somewhat) quiet is nice. It's a nice change from the crying I have to deal with when they're being fussy.

Lacey:

Ever since Matthew and Kayla were born, we (my family and I) have been slowly introducing them to Lacey (my family's dog). Every week we gain more and more trust in Lacey. This week, we've started laying Matthew and Kayla against her, or sitting them on her back.

Everything was going fine until Candice, who was taking the above picture, decided to call Lacey's name so that Lacey would look at the camera. Lacey interpreted this as "come here", and quickly jumped to her feet, sending Matthew and Kayla rolling to the floor. Luckily, Lacey's paws missed trampling them.

Smiles:

Matthew has definitely become a smiley boy; it doesn't take near as much effort to get smiles from him as it used to.

It still takes a lot of work to get them from Kayla...

...but still do-able:

Height:

My mom and I measured Matthew and Kayla yesterday (the best we could).

Kayla is 23.25" tall, and Matthew is 22.75" tall. That would explain why Kayla's toes are starting to push at the feet of her 3 month sleepers, and Matthew's aren't yet. It would also explain why Matthew's thighs are a big larger, despite being only one ounce heavier.

Power Outage:

I've started pumping every 4-5 hours rather than every 3 because my milk supply is pretty established. This has been going great...until today. I pumped at 9:45 this morning (that's when I started this entry), and then planned to pump again at 4:30ish and then right before bed (I know, longer than 4-5 hours but that's the way it was going to work). Around 3:00 I noticed that the power was out. By 4:00 the power had not yet returned and I started to get a bit worried. How do you pump with an electric breast pump without any power? My parents' power was out, and I couldn't pump at the greenhouses because people were still working, so I decided to go out and purchase a vehicle lighter adapter (which I had always intended to do, just hadn't gotten around to it). I quickly drove to TJ's The Kiddies Store (I had seen on their website that they sold the adapters) and then drove home...and then pumped in the car in our driveway. Luckily our driveway is somewhat hidden from street traffic. Jon laughed when he walked up the driveway and I honked at him from in the car.

Other Random Pictures:

Visiting my work the week after Matthew and Kayla were born...

Visiting my Oma Vander Ende (great-grandmother)...

Yes! Kayla finally fits into the jeans I bought for her! So exciting!

Cuddles with Dad...

Having fun together...

I told Jon that he needed to start taking pictures of me and the kids...it seems it's always me taking the pictures.

Like father, like son...

Patiently waiting by the computer for me to be done pumping (yes, I pump in front of the computer!) so that we can get started on our day...

Just hanging out...

Aww...

Weight Update

Kayla weighs 10 lbs 5 oz.

Matthew weighs 10 lbs 6 oz.

Cribs, Milk, and Mother's Day

Cribs:

Matthew and Kayla started sleeping in separate cribs last night. Jon and I did this because 1) they are getting taller and no longer fit as nice side-by-side in one crib. If they fully extend their bodies their heads and feet touch the edges, and 2) Matthew has a flat spot on the back left-side of his head, which we figure is from him always choosing to lay on his back, looking to the left. By placing him in his own crib, we're hoping the he'll start looking to the right more (the wall is on the left, the centre of their bedroom is on the right). Matthew and Kayla have a doctor's appointment on the 19th so we'll see what our doctor has to say about his head. We're hoping it's not considered a severe case (severe cases often require helmets to be worn 23 hours a day). We're also now focusing on making sure he doesn't spend too much time sitting in a bouncy chair or laying on his back...and giving him tummy time instead.

It was actually quite cute seeing them laying in their own crib. Kayla is now able to move a lot more, which allows her to throw off her blanket quite quickly. Every time I was up during the night I had to lay it back on her.

Speaking of getting up during the night...Matthew and Kayla are doing really well! Matthew went from 9:15pm to 3:00am and Kayla went from 10:00pm to 5:15am! Yahoo! Pretty soon I won't even have to get up during the night!

Milk:

Pumping is going really well still. I've even cut back on the number of times I pump a day because I'm getting so much. I started out by pumping every two to three hours, and then quickly changed that to every three to four hours. Now I'm going every five hours and I'm still pumping more than I need. They are drinking about 4-5 ounces every feed (every three hours during the day)...but I can pump between 12 and 15 ounces every five hours. I've been freezing my extra milk so that they'll still have my breast milk for a few weeks/months after they've been weaned. At this rate, my freezer will be full!

Mother's Day:

Today was my very first (of many!) Mother's Day. I keep thinking over and over how blessed I am. Mother's Day last year was a difficult day for me because it only served to remind me how I wasn't a mother, and who knew if I ever would be. This time, I can happily say that I am! God is good.

Pictures of the Last Few Weeks

If I'm too tired in the morning (when Jon leaves for school) then Jon will put Matthew and Kayla in bed with me. Most of the time they are wide awake so I don't get any extra sleep...I only get spit-up marks on my sheets:

Bath time! My mom bathes them every morning, with the exception of Mondays and Wednesdays. Kayla must really enjoy her baths because she's started to request one every afternoon by pooping everywhere!

Tummy time!

Best friends...

Matthew and Kayla with their cousin Josie. Josie's mom (my cousin Kathryn) and I spent a lot of time together when we were growing up. Josie was born two days after Matthew and Kayla.

Just chillin' in her swing. See her dimple? She definitely got that from me...I love it.

I keep laying Matthew and Kayla under their play mat (with the hanging toys) hoping that they'll start 'playing' with the toys. I started a few weeks ago...and have definitely noticed that they are getting older because they have started to actually look at the toys now. Kayla will hit the toys...but unintentionally. It looks cute though!

Kayla's borrowing her cousin Annika's clothes as she outgrows them. I love having the extra selection for Kayla! She's got some cute outfits!

Matthew and Kayla with their newest cousin, Justin. Kayla is no longer the youngest on Struik side...didn't take long!