Big Girls

Jilly swinging away

Jenna likes the lights that sparkle on her swing

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for hanging in there with us. Things have been and are just crazy lately. We received our new computer at the end of last week and it is just wonderful. The keyboard that came with it didn't work so HP is sending us another one...it is a good thing that our old keyboard plugs in just fine.

Also, Jared was able to salvage all of our pictures, videos and important documents on our old computer. Before we got the new one, he started messing with the old one and got it to work for about an hour one afternoon. While it was working (it would automatically shut down on him about every 20 minutes or so) he transferred all of our stuff to jump drives so that we could transfer it to our new computer once it came in. I was so relieved we were able to save our stuff. There were a bunch of videos and pictures I hadn't saved onto Snapfish yet and I would have been broken hearted had I lost them.

We got the hookup with one of the computer science teachers at work involved with our program and he volunteered to strip our hard drive so no one could steal info we had saved on it (like tax returns). I let him keep it after he was done so I think it might have been an even trade (I also gave him a liter of Big Red!)...besides, what am I going to do with a hard drive? I know computers better than some but not enough (nor do I want to know enough) to figure out what to do with a hard drive outside of a computer.

Anyhoo, the girls are getting big, big, big. Jillian is into standing lately. Not on her own...no way. But if you are holding her and you let her stand up she will straighten her legs out and hold them there for about 15 or 20 seconds...grinning like a crazy girl the whole time. :)

They are both "talking" a lot too. Here is a video of Jenna talking and eating.

Jenna is such a ham... I can't figure out where in the world she gets it. :)

They both are screeching like this quite a lot and it is funny to listen to; sometimes though, it is hard to tell if they are screeching with joy or are screeching with unhappiness. The joy becomes hate and discontent very quickly.

Both girls are doing really well with baby food, too. We have gone through Rice Cereal (which they both don't care for) carrots, sweet potatoes and this week we are eating squash. So far they have loved every veggie we have tried. I can't say that next week will be as successful since we are going onto the green ones...like green beans. :0 Also, they have finally moved up from 4 oz every 4 hours to 5 ounces...and I think we will move up to 5 1/2 ounces tomorrow. :)I like growth spurts....it is when they both finally eat like they are supposed to.

So today was our 6 month check up. I am trying to get my blog post in now because I know that in about an hour or two it will be a nightmare around here. The girls got another round of shots and they just don't react to them well at all. They get fevers but even worse is the crankiness. It is hard to describe but at times they are inconsolable. This lasts for about a day (fevers for about 36 hours) and then all is back to normal, thank the Lord.

The doctors visit went well though. Jillian and Jenna are 24 1/2 inches, 12.11 lbs and 24 inches, 12.10 lbs respectively. They have the same size head which I was surprised about...Jilly's head has always seemed to be a little larger than Jenna's...maybe it is just her chubby cheeks. :)

Jenna (top) and Jillian play before bedtime

The doctor has also given us the okay to move the girls from the high-calorie preemie formula to a regular formula. We have been waiting for that for a long time....the preemie formula breaks the bank!

On some not so great notes....the doctor says it is time to stop swaddling the girls. They are getting too old for it #1 (even with their adjusted age they are too old to be swaddled) and #2 it isn't safe anymore. Their room gets really hot during the day so we worry about them overheating but also being wrapped up the way they are they are able to turn over on their tummies. The problem is that they can't turn over to their backs again and they say that babies who sleep on their tummies are at a higher risk of SIDS. Our girls are at higher risk than usual because they were so premature...but when a baby can't roll over from tummy to back then that is when doctors worry about it. Once they can roll over easily from the tummies to their backs and their backs to their tummies, the risk of SIDS decreases dramatically. So...this is going to be a long few days of not being swaddled during naps or night time since the doctor thinks it is easier in the long run to quit swaddling cold turkey. So far it isn't going well...but this is only our first nap to try it.

Also, the doctor thinks it might be good for Jillian to see the head shaping doctors. She has a flat spot on the back of her head and it seemed to be getting better for a while but now it definitely hasn't. Her ears are lopsided. :( The misshapen head doesn't really cause development problems but I guess there is a link between severe sinus problems and misshapen heads later in life. So we are going to be making an appointment to see the doctors. The good thing is that doctors can now reshape a baby's head without surgery or invasive treatment. The bad thing is that Jillian (if the doctor thought it was necessary) would have to wear a series of soft helmets for about 3-4 months for 23 hours a day. Ick. I would have to come up with a way to decorate the crap out of that thing. Hopefully our insurance would cover it...most insurance companies do now so hopefully ours will. We need to do it this year though since we have already paid our maximum out of pocket family deductible and then some.

Anyhoo, more on the helmet development once we make the appointment and see what they have to say.

More to Come....

Jess