Phew...What a Week!

(From top to bottom: Aunt Katie with Jenna, Aunt Katie with Jillian (both taken on 3/17) Jenna at one day old and Jillian at one day old.)

Phew! What a week it has been, and it is only Wednesday. We have had something going on everyday this week and tomorrow, Thursday, is the only day where something is not scheduled. Whether it is church, doctors, family, etc...there has just been something every day. Which almost made me overlook the fact that the girls will be 3 months old on Friday. They aren't typical three month olds. They still weigh less that some newborn babies and that is really still what they are. Their adjusted age will be one month. According to the pediatrician and the neonatologist, their age will be adjusted until around 2 1/2 or 3 which is when Jillian and Jenna will catch up with the kids their same age.

Just to give you a run down, here are some of the differences between my 3 month olds and the typical 3 month old.

Typical Weight: 13 pounds average/ Jillian and Jenna: aprox 8 pounds

Typical Length: 24 inches/ Jillian and Jenna: 20 inches

Typical Milestones: (taken from http://www.yourbabytoday.com/features/dev_threemonth/index.html )

• Your baby can bring his hands together.
  With a mighty effort, baby can raise his chest, supported by his arms, when he lies on his stomach.
• Baby can roll over (one way).
• He reaches for objects.
• Baby can put some weight on his legs when you hold him upright.
• He makes sounds like "ah goo."
• Baby laughs out loud.
• He squeals when he's happy.
• Baby smiles spontaneously.
• He can focus on very small objects.
• Baby turns toward the sound of a familiar voice.
• Finally: a little predictability! Because your baby's nervous system is maturing as well, his internal clock is becoming better regulated. More-established patterns are surfacing; the baby's eating and sleeping habits now are more likely to fit into a routine. You'll also notice less crying. How nice!

Jillian and Jenna:

• They have no controlled movement and are not yet batting at objects (2 month milestone)
• They can turn their head from side to side while on their tummy with great effort and can lift it slightly
• Head is not in the middle but turned to one side or the other
• Cries at loud noises
• Listens to speech
• Has the reflexive grasping of hands or anything that touches their palms

Basically, they still look at act like newborns. It will probably we another 2 months before they start acting and looking like active babies instead of newborns. But....they have come a long, long way from where they started so in the big picture they are doing very well.

I know sometimes the blog makes it sounds like they are nothing but crabby...when really they are actually quite good and most of the time easy to please. They have their fussy moments which seem to stand out quite a lot (especially at night) but really they are lovely and I love them more than I could ever imagine.

More to come...

Jessie