4 Months of Wrennox

Dear loin fruits,     <--- I'm sure your future selves are saying, "Gross!" Ha!

What a month it's been. It's had its ups and its downs, but we'll get to that...

You both keep growing and started wearing size 2 diapers, though technically Lennox still fits in 1's, it's just easier to stock one size. We haven't been cloth diapering much because you're kind of between sizes in our stash but hopefully we'll get into the swing of that again soon. We've moved most of the newborn stuff out of the dresser and have loaded it up with up to 3-6 month clothes instead. Some of that is still big for both of you, but it won't be long before you grow out of all the 0-3 month stuff (at least length-wise. You are tall girls!).

The fuzz on your heads is starting to grow back now too (as all my hair is falling out). I can't tell what color it is yet, maybe blonde like your sister. Sometimes Lennox's looks a bit reddish-brown.

You are still breastfeeding and we don't plan on adding solids quite yet, although you're starting to get interested in what we're eating.

The main issue we've had is sleep. You're not letting me get any. Even though we're hitting some exciting milestones, I am not sleeping and it's making this really hard. It's harder now than it was in the beginning, and that's because all the sleep deprivation is just compounding. I am trying to function as normal but my memory is terrible, my patience is short, and I don't think I'm fooling anyone. Tyler went out of town for a few days this month and I gave up caffeine for about a week to see if there was a difference in Lennox's spit-up issue. Woof. So tiring. As an example, I think the worst night between 12pm and 8am,  Lennox woke up to eat 5 times and Wren 2 times. That's 7 nursing sessions in 8 hours!! Not cool, girls. Please sleep more.

A little sad, but in the last week we've stopped putting you both in the bassinet to sleep. You were wedged in there pretty tight and it was time to move to a bigger space. We pulled out the pack 'n' play and have you in that, but now you're able to wiggle around and kick each other, so it's time to separate you completely.

You got to do some travelling this month. One weekend we went down to Sedona for the day and it was the furthest away you'd ever been from home. The next weekend we topped that by going down to Mexico for a long weekend (Wren didn't cry at all on the drive down). Crossing borders and seeing the beach for the first time. It was an exciting trip, and an added bonus, you slept better than ever on that trip, so I got a tiny bit of respite.

I don't know if I mentioned it last month, but you had learned how to roll from your bellies to your backs. This month, Wren learned the opposite, and Lennox is really close. You are both a lot better with your hands. You are intentionally grabbing at your toys and manipulating things. You try to get your binkies back in your mouths now too (occasionally you're successful). This allows you to play on your mats or in your bouncers by yourselves quite contentedly for a while. Most exciting of all, you are giggling a little bit! I LOOOVE some baby giggles.

You also notice each other sometimes now and will give each other smiles. Sometimes you like to smile when you hear the other crying though too... Not sure what that's all about. You both really like to watch and listen to your big sister Hazel too.

Hazel has continued to be a sweet big sister to you. Sometimes she's able to guess the right name for the right baby, but she still is not confident about it.


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Lennox,

You are 10 pounds 10.5 oz and 25.5 inches long. You are the raspberriest baby to ever blow raspberries. You love to do it and you love for us to do it back at you. That's what I was doing the first time I got you giggling.

You're still spitting up, but I've been trying to troubleshoot by trying different positions, giving up caffeine for a week (it's been rough), and I may try to give up dairy for you next. #truelove Your doctor was a little concerned about your weight, so we're going to try to add more feedings and give you some extra expressed milk from a bottle to bulk you up a bit.

You still arch your back a lot, but this past week you haven't seemed quite so uncomfortable. We bought a swing and you really love it.

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Wren,

You are 12 pounds 7.5 ounces and 26 inches long. You still love doing your baby crunches, always wanting to sit up and see what's going on.

You've found your voice a little more and you've started talking and yelling. Sometimes its hard to tell if you are upset or just yelling at your toys. You haven't giggled too much, but I've heard a couple chuckles.

You are pretty easy, except you require a little extra maintenance to keep your rolls clean and dry. You have come into the drool stage so you are frequently wet, but I haven't felt any teeth yet. You like to roll with the flow and are still sweetly cuddly. I'm hoping you stay cuddly always!


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I am still coming to terms with what it means to have two babies. I'm not sure that it will ever feel completely normal. I am sure when I try to recall this time years from now it's all just going to be a big blur. Know that though this is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, I'm also enjoying you both immensely. Having all my girls close is such a surreal and amazing feeling. I am so proud to call you all my daughters.

Big love,
Momma

{  Mother's Day }

{  Wren eyeballs  }

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3 Months of Wrennox

3/29/18

Dear Babies,

Congratulations, you made it through your "4th trimester." You're officially just babies, not newborns anymore. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to go ahead and say that the last three months have gone by way too quickly. I think it's in part due to having so many wonderful visits from family, the sleep deprivation that has taken a severe toll on my memory (I recently quoted to your sister, "Romeo, Romeo let down your long hair!" - Oops!), and still just the fact that there are two of you to attend to.

You're both growing out of the newborn sized clothes now and in 0-3 month pieces. You are both tall, so a lot of the pants that fit your waists are just too short for your legs. We're coming into the warmer months now, so luckily capris are totally acceptable.

The nursing sessions haven't let up any. The doctor was pleased with both of your weight gains so we are continuing mostly as normal, although if I can get an extra feeding in for you (8 a day each) then I try to do that.

Your sleep is erratic. Sometimes you have a pretty long stretch of it at the beginning of the night and other times you are up every couple hours. One night Wren slept a whole 8 hours! But it's risky to try to let one of you sleep when the other wakes up, because you're not consistently sleeping that long of a stretch so I run the risk of waking up an hour later to feed the other. It's happened, and it's not pleasant. Mornings make up for it though, when I stick my head over your bassinet and two little faces break into big smiles, happy to see me. Yes, you're still in there together, but I don't think you're going to fit much longer.

You are even more alert this month and you've started discovering your hands! You both like to stick them in your mouths and are batting and grasping some of your toys. You love your hanging toys, by the way. The play mat is a lot more fun for you now, and you'll spend plenty of time staring at your octopus (the favorite toy so far).

You are both getting stronger and can hold your heads up good enough that I can carry you on my hip for short amounts of time like big babies.

Your mental and physical development aren't the only big changes this month. I have been back at work for two weeks now, and your Aunt Erin has moved in to take care of you while we are working. I'm excited for all the time you'll get to spend with your aunt and she with you. I am working from home, so I am still nursing you throughout the day. It's nice to be close to you, but also hard to be near enough to hear you cry but not be the person who is caring for you at the moment.

Your dad is building his relationship with you bit by bit. He has been so busy with work and doing bedtime with Hazel that he just doesn't get a lot of time with you on weeknights, but I see him making more of an effort to get to know you and earn as many smiles as he can. It's so different having 3 kids vs. 1 baby.

Hazel is an expert when it comes to babies, thanks to you two. She'll happily tell people that babies "just cry sometimes. Babies cry." When we're talking to you a lot of times we'll say something like, "Say, I'm hungry Momma!" and if Hazel is nearby she'll remind us that you can't talk yet. It's a good thing we have her around to keep us on track. You're going to learn so much from her.

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Dear Wren,

You are 11.4 lbs and growing fast. Your arms and legs are quite rolly-polly and just scrumptiously cute! I asked the doctor what color she thought your eyes would be, and she predicted that they'll stay as they are now; a dark blue-grey with some tan in the middle. Very different and very pretty. You have such a pure and sad cry, and the most heartbreaking bottom lip quiver when you are upset.

My lullaby that I've been singing to you most often is the song Blackbird, but I've changed the lyrics to "Wrenbird singing in the dead of night..."

You love to sit up and you'll do crunches, pulling up both your head and feet, to try to sit up on your own if we've left you laying down. You are so strong and your head control is getting very steady. You are such an even keeled baby. You seem pretty happy most of the time even when you are not super smiley.

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Dear Lennox,

You made it to 10 pounds! Despite that fact that you are still spitting up quite a bit, you are a growing girl. Though you're still a tall, skinny string bean.

Your head is still a little wobbly, but you are my vocal little babe. You talk quite a bit when you're content and I love to talk and coo right back to you. You can be flashing the sweetest, wide, gummy smile one moment and having a total sad cry a moment later. You do seem to find singing to be a comfort, and my go-to songs have been Wrenbird and Dream a Little Dream Of Me.

You seem to be happiest bouncing in someone's arms with your back arched, looking up at a ceiling fan.

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And so the adventure continues... You are starting to change more quickly and in more exciting ways. I love this adventure that we're on even though it can be messy and hard, I know I'm loving you just as hard as I can through it all.

With a super full heart,
Momma

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