It has now been two months since our precious Brooke and Brecklyn were born. We sure didn't know what life would be like with newborn twins, but it has been more wonderful than we expected or imagined. While there have certainly been stressful moments, it has been a sweet, sweet time, as well.
Here is Brooke today, on her two month birthday:
And, here is Miss Brecklyn on her two month birthday:
The girls had their two month check-up today with their pediatrician, Dr. F. Chris went with me, but it was still quite a circus trying to get stats and immunizations and checkups for two babies! We were there for an hour!
Brooke weighs 11 pounds and 15 ounces (81st percentile).
She is 22 and 3/4 inches long (70th percentile). Her head circumference is 38cm (34th percentile).
She is 22 and 1/2 inches long (64th percentile). Her head circumference is 37.2cm (16th percentile).
They are both growing well! I assumed before they were born that since they are twins, they would be my smallest babies. While they were born smaller than Brianna and Brenson, they are just about the size Brianna was at this age. Here is how their stats compare:
Brianna: 11 pounds 7 ounces, 22.5 inches
Brenson: 14 pounds, 7 ounces, 25.75 inches (The boy was HUGE!)
Brooke: 11 pounds, 15 ounces, 22.75 inches
Brecklyn: 11 pounds, 3 ounces, 22.5 inches
Brooke
Brecklyn
They have both made the switch from newborn sized clothing to 0 to 3 month clothing. Brooke, being bigger, outgrew her newborn clothes at about 5 weeks old, whereas Brecklyn just outgrew newborn sizes about a week ago. We also switched Brooke to size 1 diapers at about 5 weeks old, but waited to graduate Brecklyn to size 1s until she was 7 weeks old. It was a real pain to have them wearing different sizes, but Brooke really needed that larger size! We ended up with the perfect amount of newborn diapers that we had been gifted, and didn't have any leftover. They are both still wearing a newborn sized shoe, although they very rarely wear shoes. With Brianna and Brenson, I always put them in shoes when we left the house. Brooke and Brecklyn are lucky to get shoes for church on Sunday mornings. It's just too much hassle when you have two babies!
They have several pairs of cute slippers that we wear when we are at home. How cute are these little baby feet in little baby slippers?!?
Sleep is going very well on most nights. The girls go down sometime around 8pm for the night, I dreamfeed them between 10 and 11pm, they wake between 2 and 3am to eat, then wake for the day around 7am. Not every night is perfect, but we have more good nights than bad nights, for sure.
They both still sleep swaddled in the pack-n-play in our bedroom. If one goes to bed before the other, they will often fuss and sleep restlessly until they are together. It's amazing to watch how they will calm right down once they are both in bed.
One day, I was changing Brecklyn's diaper while Brooke was laying in my bed waiting for her turn. They were both fussing, so I laid Brecklyn down next to Brooke. Immediately, they both relaxed and fell asleep. So cute!
Daddy was rocking the girls before bed one night, and I found that they had all fallen asleep. Of course, the girls had to snuggle their heads together :-).
Brecklyn in mint, Brooke in lavender:
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Sweet Brecklyn napping in the rock-n-play:
Lately, we have had some trouble getting the girls to go down for the night (but once they're down, they do great). I think we're letting them sleep too long during the late evening hours. Brecklyn, especially, has trouble settling down to sleep for the night. After our bedtime routine, we'll swaddle her up and this is the look we often get . . . eyes wide open!
Miss Brooke will sometimes have trouble as well, but not as often.
They are still nursing very well, and I do my best to keep my supply up enough to feed them. I have finally gotten it up enough that they don't require a daily supplement. Brooke still eats fast and furious, making a mess everywhere when she does.
Brooke's messy milk face:
Brecklyn is still a slow and steady eater, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't eat quite as much as Brooke either. I make sure to alternate which side they eat from with each feeding, and when I pump, I generally get 4 ounces from each side.
Brecklyn likes to fold her little hands together across her chest while she eats, and it's so cute. Brooke tends to flail her arms around until she finds something to grab onto. Sometimes, she'll grab Brecklyn and hang on to her.
Now that springtime has arrived, we've been trying to get out of the house a little more in the evenings. We've taken a few family walks (and of course, the neighbor kids like to join us).
Brecklyn loves being outside. Just like Brenson, if she's fussy we can take her outside and she'll often calm right down. She'll just smile and smile on our family walks (even if she's sleeping).
Brooke, on the other hand, hasn't really enjoyed our family walks as much. She tends to fuss to get out of the stroller more than smile at us.
On this day, we came outside to watch big sister and big brother play in the yard (Brooke with the pink blanket, Brecklyn in the bouncy seat).
Brecklyn
Brooke
I get a lot of questions about the girls' temperaments. It's hard to say exactly what they are like since we are still learning them, but we have made a few observations so far.
Brecklyn tends to be fussier in general. She is black and white . . . she's very chill until she's not, and then she's very hard to calm. There have been days where she has cried and cried for an hour or more, and we've wondered if maybe she has colic. We do use Gripe Water some, and it does seem to help.
Brecklyn, Brooke
Brooke seems to have a more even personality. It takes her longer to get worked up about things, but she can certainly get going. I think their cries are very distinct and can tell them apart almost all the time. Brooke has a shriek that she pulls out when she's really mad that will burst your ear drums!
Brecklyn, Brooke
Brecklyn also seems to be a more serious personality. She's very observant and will make eye contact for several minutes at a time.
Brooke is busier. She's always moving and will make eye contact, but not for long. She often furrows her brow when she's observing.
This photo collage is a good example of how Brooke (in white) is always moving. She's just constantly looking around.
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They both like to lay and play on our playmat. They are beginning to really look at the toys that hang and even swipe at them a bit.
Brooke
Brecklyn
They also both like the swing, although Brooke likes it better. The swing is an essential for me when I'm home alone with all four kids all day long. I'm so thankful to have it!
Brooke in the swing
There is a mobile on the pack-n-play that both babies enjoy, but especially Brecklyn. She's watching the mobile in the photo below.
Brooke and Brecklyn are both starting to smile and coo all the time now. They smile for me a lot and for Brianna a lot, too. Brooke first smiled at me while making eye contact on March 9th. I was so excited, and then Brecklyn did it the very next day on March 10th! I haven't been able to get a photo of Brecklyn smiling with her eyes open because she's unsure of the camera (she seems to be a cautious personality), but I have been able to catch several photos of Brooke smiling.
Brooke was smiling a bunch one evening, so I got out the camera. I got this look first (ha!) . . .
then a big grin, ha! Love those dimples!
Here's another of Brooke smiling. Her look reminds me so much of Brianna as a baby.
It's often difficult to find the time, but I try to read to the babies for at least a few minutes every day (although admittedly, nothing like I did with Brianna and Brenson). Brianna took these photos for me when I was reading to them one afternoon.
I hope they'll learn to love books even if they don't get read to as much as their older siblings did (and yes, I feel no small amount of guilt about this, but there's only so much I can do in a day).
I also try to have the babies do tummy time each day. However, Brooke tends to just fall asleep.
Sleeping soundly instead of doing tummy time:
They love to look in the mirror, so we moved a full length mirror into our living room for them to look in while they do tummy time. This day, Brooke looked in it for about one minute before falling asleep.
Once in a while, Brooke will stay awake for more than a minute or two. However, Brecklyn was asleep this day (although that's rare).
We are still getting both girls regular chiropractic adjustments. Brecklyn's hip is much better, so she's on a one month maintenance schedule now.
Brecklyn before her adjustment:
Brooke during her adjustment (sleeping!):
Since the day she was born, Brooke has loved to stick out her tongue. She has a long and pointy tongue, and she "works" it all the time. When she was first born, she rarely had her tongue in her mouth, and though she has outgrown that a lot, we still catch many of photos with her tongue out of her mouth.
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Both girls tend to fuss in the car more than the older Bs ever did. Brianna, especially, never cried in the car. Brooke will generally fuss when we first buckle her in, but calm down fairly quickly.
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Brecklyn will often be calm when we first buckle her in, but get worked up in a hurry.
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She will sometimes cry persistently in the car seat, which is a bit stressful to me. On more than one occasion, she has cried herself hoarse in the car :-(.
I try often to get photos of the girls together, but it is a seemingly impossible task right now! I'll have one baby awake and content,
Brecklyn
but the other baby will be tired.
Brooke
Or fussy! This photo makes me laugh . . . it's pretty indicative of how things go around here!
Brecklyn, Brooke
She had a bad breakout of baby acne when she was about 4 weeks old. It looks better now, but it gets really red and rashy looking when she gets worked up. I asked Dr. F about it, and he said it should eventually clear up on its own.
She has become VERY picky and fussy about taking a bottle. She absolutely refuses any type of formula, and will only take my milk from a bottle if it is the perfect temperature. We are in the process of trying different bottles to see if that helps because she will be forced to take a bottle when I have surgery in a few weeks. We're hoping to get it worked out by then!
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At this age, all of our children tended to have dirty diapers at almost every diaper change. However, in the past few weeks, Brecklyn has started only having a dirty diaper about every 1 1/2 to 2 days. This doesn't seem to bother her at all, but the bad thing is when she finally has a dirty diaper, it is a massively dirty diaper that makes a huge mess! We asked Dr. F about this also, and he said that it's normal for some babies.
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The indention in her skull is doing really well, and has popped out a ton already. We're hoping and praying that it will continue to correct itself.
I promise that Brecklyn smiles often in person! She just isn't comfortable when the camera is out.
A few more things about Brooke:
She will take a pacifier to help her go to sleep, although she's still not good at holding it in her mouth on her own. It does help calm her, though. Brecklyn wants nothing to do with a paci.
When Brooke sneezes, she will sneeze 5 or 6 times in a row. It's adorable!
Brooke has constant eye drainage and has since she was born. I clean out her eyes constantly throughout the day. Dr. F said that it is nothing to be concerned with at this time.
These girls have turned our world upside down, but we are loving it! They are such a blessing from God, and we are incredibly thankful for the privilege of being their family!
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