Julia's feet are the key to her world - Mommy Julia is alive!!! I mean that figuratively of course. Ryan and I have been wondering when she was going to start playing with her feet, as Marayla has been doing it for so long now. A few weeks ago, could be a month now, she grabbed her feet in the tub and came alive. Now she is the most excited little babe. She yells in happiness and frustration. She is so funny and cute. She is full of smiles, like her sister. A few weeks ago it was hard to get her to smile and Marayla only needed a look to give anyone a huge happy smile. Now Julia is laughing and smiling and snorting with glee all day long. She is also working hard on crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, then falls to her belly and moves forward. In the next couple weeks I suspect she will put it all together and crawl for the first time. We need to get ready! She also sings me a pretty song as I take her up for her nap, when she does this I know that she is going to sleep. That is a happy song for me! She is a bright, funny and sweet baby girl and I love her so.
2007-11-06
Hi Sister - Arianne The recognition that the girls are sisters is beginning to happen between them. The other day I caught them laughing at each other, it was so precious. Often when I go into their room to get them up from bed or a nap, the don't see me right away and I catch them babbling to one another. Yes, there is double the work with two, but once they become playmates I know that my job will be easier, in the entertainment area at least. Just knowing that they have each other for life is wonderful for me and them.
2007-11-06
Mama - Mommy It may be a long shot but I think Marayla cried "Mama" last night. I do say "Mama's here" or "Mama will hold you," etc., so I know that they hear that word a lot associated with me.
The girls appear to be entering teething and this has made them fussy. They are generally easy going babies, they cry when they need something and especially when they are tired. Nighttime is a whiny time at home, starting around 5pm the girls' moods go downhill. Lately though they are crying for no apparent reason and have a very low threshold for, well anything, so we think that they are cutting their first teeth. During bath time Marayla started to lose it, which is normal for both around that time of night, but she didn't stop when we gave her a bottle. Ryan was feeding her and I was feeding Julia. She took about one ounce of her bottle and just started bawling, the only thing that made her calm was Ryan standing with her - a flash to the past when we could only settle them standing or bouncing on our exercise ball.
During her crying fest, she kept looking at me and reaching for me. Both girls are overextended in their arms due to prematurity, so they often reach their arms out at others and things. Not until she cried, "MAMA!" clear as day in between sobs, did I realize that she needed me.
To the average Mom this is probably typical, but for me it is not. The fact that I have two babies and they were premature (in the NICU handled by many) makes the girls seem impartial to me. In fact, this is the first time either one showed a specific preference. Ryan and I traded babies--we did this a long time ago during a cry fest and the upset baby completely lost it so I was worried about this trade--and once I had Marayla in my arms she took her two middle fingers in her mouth, laid her head on my chest, and fell fast asleep.
As I type this it brings tears to my eyes that she needed me for comfort. I asked Ryan later if this made him feel bad and he said it didn't. I think that as a Mommy we want that kind of reassurance from our kids. For me I really need that to feel connected, and to feel like the number one female in their life.
2007-10-30
These Days With Julia and Marayla - Ryan
Julia weighs 17 pounds 3 ounces.Marayla weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces.Julia likes to test the range of her voice by yelling and screaming a lot.She’s getting really good at it, too.They’re very good at rolling over from their backs to their bellies, and back again; but that’s cuz they’ve been doing that for weeks now.These days, they like to roll across the floor from one side of the room to the other.They really like to chew anything they can get their hands on, especially all of their fun toys.Like Julia’s favorite toy, their musical bouquet of flowers that Aunt Sue gave them.Marayla loves that one too, but her favorite toy is Mr. Bug, that's a toy that Ari and I bought long before we knew there were two (their first game of hide and seek!).Arianne has been feeding them homemade baby food since September, and they’ve been doing so well at it!So well, that it seems the girls are all but boycotting their bottles during the day.And this week, the girls tried some real solids, like whole black beans and apple pieces!Not to mention those delicious teething cookies that they scarf down!The cookies make such a mess that they gross me out.They both love to laugh and smile.I first got Marayla to laugh out loud by pretending to eat her neck and cheek.She gets really excited when Ari and I pick her up, that she smiles big and grabs onto our faces (usually with the nails and a refusal to let go). Julia loves it when I play with her feet.And like her cousin Larry the cat, she likes to have her butt patted.Marayla can’t get enough of her own feet.She’ll lay on her back, holding both feet, rocking back and forth as she tries to fit both feet into her mouth.Her feety pajama feet are usually drenched after some solid tummy time.Arianne has joined a play group, where she takes the girls and meets with other moms and their twins, or the group meets at our house.Julia just can’t seem to get into a napping groove.She can do the sleep through the night thing (for the most part, although, there are a few nights, when she or her sister join us in our bed at about four in the AM).But it’s the afternoon, and some times the morning naps that Julia is resisting lately.She clearly suffers more from reflux than Marayla.So, a lot of times Julia ends up awake and cranky.And, because Marayla and Julia share a room with adjacent cribs, silly, Julia’s fussing usually wakes her up too!But that’s ok; I guess that stuff comes pretty standard in Twins Country.
