Thursday, September 23, 2010

Anything you can do I can do better....no you can't, yes I can...

Oh the joys of having twins in the house! A day doesn't go by when someone we know asks us whether the girls are identical and if there are any differences. We are here to set the record straight! Yes, the girls are identical...but yes, there are tons of differences! Here are a few that we've noticed:

Physical characteristics:
Blaire - Has a hemangiomia on her stomach (that is a birthmark that appears as a bright red patch of extra blood vessels in the skin -it grows during the first year of life and then recedes over time - Abby has/had one as well on her elbow). She has darker hair. She has a little blood blister on her chin.
Reagan - Both girls have lost almost 100% of their hair, but Reagan's is lighter. You can still see a very small part of her "soft spot" that has not closed up. Her finger nails grow like crazy.
They both have great vision and hearing. And they hold their heads up without any support. They are growing like weeds!!!! Tomorrow they have a Doc's appt and we will see what their weight is.

Playing:
Both girls love the mirror and looking at each other. But Blaire will kick Reagan - whenever she is the slightest bit close to her the legs go out and wham! Blaire loves tummy time, Reagan's learned to tolerate it but it isn't her favorite. They get a little "workout" every morning (now that we are back in our routine) that consists of arm/leg movements, and lots of other fun games with Mommy that use their body parts. They both love Peek-A-Bo. They both love hearing Abby read to them (which is something that happens every day...usually about 10 times a day, lol!). They will sit in their "bouncy" seats but don't like doing it too much lately - they'd rather be on the ground on a soft palette squirming around playing.

Travel:
They both love riding in the car...in fact, it almost always puts them both to sleep! It used to be a bit of an issue but the only problem now is when the big sister (who sits in her booster seat in the middle of the two infant car seats) wakes them up so she can say "See, Mommy - they ARE awake!")

Sleeping:
Both sleep great! At night, they are fed by 8 PM and put to bed. Every other night they get a bath (which they both love). They mostly fall sound asleep (the lights are off but they get lullaby music and a humidifier) and we don't see or hear them again until about 4 AM when they wake up to eat. Although both girls sleep on their backs (a must with newborns - don't get us started), Blaire would rather be on her tummy. It is rare the girls use a paci at night now, but they stay around the cribs just in case. During the day, the girls nap throughout but no where near the way they used to for the first month when they came home.

Attitude:
Blaire is a grump! But she will smile more than Reagan - she'll grin at anyone that makes eyes at her, ha!. Blaire even laughs out loud! Reagan is more spunky and active. It takes her a while to smile at strangers, but we see tons of smiles for Mommy and Daddy! Blaire has become a thumb sucker...and it's just too funny because her thumb is just so small! Reagan will suck her thumb but has decided she's not really a fan of either the thumb or the paci.

Daily schedule:
Basically their day is like this -
4AM: Wake up and eat (each eat about 6-7 ounces at this time), go back to sleep.
8 AM: Wake up for the day and eat (about 4 ounces at this time).
9-12PM: Play, exercises with Mommy, laugh, snooze a bit, cry, fuss, enjoy the morning, ha!
12PM: Eat (about 4-5 ounces at this time).
12-4PM: Same as above - play, talk, snooze, fuss, cry, ha!
4PM: Eat (about 4-5 ounces at this time)
7PM: Eat (about 5-6 ounces at this time), bath
8PM: Bedtime.
*We've heard some criticism about keeping a schedule, (most people tell us that we should let babies do what babies do, when they want to do it) but a schedule works for us...and seems to work for the girls as well!

The twins are still "stay at home" girls. They don't go anywhere except for doctor's appointments and rides to pick up their big sister from school. And they are only allowed to stay with Mommy or Daddy - no babysitters, friends or family yet. They are still preemies and you can never be too careful. They are 4 1/2 months old but have only received their 2 month shots...they need to keep gaining weight and get more shots before they can go to other people's houses, church, visits, etc. After watching them struggle in the NICU for 2 months, we don't chance anything around here....but with that being said....the big day is now just weeks away...they will soon be able to venture out into the world! Stay tuned for all of the other stories, information and humor that I'm sure these two will bring - and we plan to share!


Reagan Nichole Wade
(9/2/2010)


Blaire Elizabeth Wade
(9/2/2010)

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