Eight Months!

Here I am again writing another monthly post for the boys and realizing that they are now much closer to the toddler stage than the itty bitty baby stage.  I am loving this age for many reasons.  The boys sleep well, they eat well, their personalities are blossoming and most of all, they cannot crawl away yet!

The boys generally eat three meals of solids a day and are still being breastfed.  On a typical day they wake up in the morning between 5-6 am and are nursed for 'first breakfast.'  The boys will go back to sleep for a couple hours after that if it is the weekend and we can sleep in.  Midmorning they eat oatmeal mixed with breast milk.  The rest of their meals during the day is based on how their naps go.  Typically they take two naps a day.  Normally the morning nap is their power nap at about 45 minutes to an hour and the afternoon nap is their longer nap (hopefully) ranging from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours.  And while the boys are identical twins, there is nothing identical about their sleep patterns.  They are different people and one is typically fighting nap time or waking up from their nap sooner than the other.  The minute you think you have them figured out, they do something different.  Thankfully we are on a very consistent bed time routine and they both go down between 6-7 pm. 

The boys eat fruits or vegetables for dinner.  Thus far they have been introduced to carrots, yams, sweet peas, green beans, pumpkin, apple sauce and bananas.  I have not had to buy any baby food yet because all the stuff the boys have eaten was made by me or their grammy.  The boys love their food.  Winston starts grunting as soon as he realizes that the food is coming.  Abraham starts the whiny cry.  It's cute but also annoying.  So with all this demand for food, these boys have been packing on the weight this last month.  Most of the clothes they are in right now are 12 mos.  I am incredulous that my smallish babies are now on the bigger end of the spectrum.  I don't have any stats to share until their nine month appointment but these kids are growing before our eyes. 

 We are fans of food.  We are food fans you could say. 

Winston: "I am smiling because I am about to eat."

Abraham: "Seriously mom, quit with the pics and just feed me now."

They are learning to push up on their hands and knees and can rock back and forth.  They do not last too long before they konk out and just lay back down on their tummies.  They are also beginning to be able to stay sitting up on their own.  Abraham has mastered it more than Winston at this point.  He lifts his hands up and tightens his whole upper body.  He tends to flex his muscles when he is proud of something that he has accomplished as if to say, "Hey, look at what I can do." I will give a mama confession here and admit that I am a little worried about Winston not being able to sit without using his hands to support himself.  He can do it without his hands but then he falls forward or back a couple seconds later.  I am telling myself to not compare the two of them.  One thing that I did find encouraging is that Winston now sees things that he wants to touch and will roll toward it and reach for it.  Abraham however can be more content to lay on the floor and pick at the blanket.  Maybe Abraham is just more observant or introspective whereas Winston wants to explore? Winston may not be motivated to sit because it does not benefit his curiosity. Time will tell but it does follow their previous patterns. 

 Their little noses were still red here from having the sniffles.

 "Mom, that black thing on your face makes you look pretty funny."

 "What, you want us to actually pose and smile?"

 "Hi, I am Winston. I am cute. I also happen to share clothes with my brother."

"Hey there.  How you doin'? I am Abraham."

Abraham says: "Look ma, no hands!"

"No more sitting.  We're spent."

Funny/cute things that Abraham does:  He is still obsessed with his hands and now he loves playing with mama's hands when he is being held.  He likes to slap things with an open hand so I have been teaching him high fives.  I show him how to do it and keep saying, "High fives." Sometimes he will do it now with me just saying the phrase, "Give me high fives."  His current default mode seems to be blowing raspberries.  It's constant, whether he is happy or upset--fart noises all the time.  What a boy, huh?  Abraham is the type that when he is ready to sleep, he really wants to go to sleep.  The other week when he was fighting the cold he fell asleep in the jumper.  I took him out and was going to put him down for a nap.  I decided he needed a diaper change first.  I laid him down on the changing table and he opened his eyes slightly and lifted his legs to help me get him undressed.  He then kept his eyes closed tight for the entire diaper change and I transferred him to the crib without so much as a peep.  He wanted to sleep so I did not talk to him while changing him.  He was making it quite clear that he was trying to stay in sleepy mode. 

Funny/cute things Winston does: This kid likes hitting things with his head.  No joke.  The first time Eric and I saw it we just about died laughing.  He was in the exersaucer staring at one of his toys and proceeded to slam his head into it.  Then he looked at us as if to say, "That was not as fun as I thought it was going to be."  He is determined however and does it quite often.  I am not sure what he is expecting from it all. When I ask for kisses for mama, he starts moving his head like a woodpecker on the side of my face.  I thought he nearly broke my jaw the other night.  We are still working on what gentle means obviously.  Winston also growls.  It is so funny to hear this little cherubic looking baby make this deep throated sound.  I still laugh every time he does it. 

In the morning when I go into the nursery to get these little guys ready for the day, they each have the sweetest smile and seem thrilled to see me.  It is seriously the best thing in the world.  We are so thankful to have these happy boys and grateful that they are thriving.