9 months old babies and Cassie update

 

Yea.....getting close to 1 year old.  I don't wish to rush the time but I know once we reach one year we have survived the first year.   The first year is all about surviving twins.  I have read this and I totally agree.   Its getting by day to day.  Surviving your days.  Because it is a lot of work with multiple babies.

Mandy
She started crawling 3 weeks ago and she has picked up the speed.  She is an expert crawler and trying to pull up on things.  Because of her crawling and pulling up she has fallen down and knocked her head into many things.   The helmet has saved her forehead/head from many cuts and bruises all ready.

Helping Daddy

She is sleeping thru the night except for the occasional bad night of teething.   No more bottles of formula for her.  If anything I give her a sip of water at night but that is rare.

Break from her helmet

 

Loves the phone

Chili Mac....maybe not such a good idea

Still helping Daddy (aka...in the way)

 

She is always happy and smiling and totally connected to me at the hip.    She just wants ME.    Always pulling at my pant leg, crawling into my lap, its nice unless I am trying to console Emily and hold her.   Mandy doesn't always like to share me.

Emily
She is still not interested in finger food, just plays with it.  Not interested in crawling either.   Last week she did start babbling.  Saying "DaDa" and "BaBa".  She loves her Daddy and always gives him big smiles (she does this to PaPa as well)

She has just started to sleep thru the night (a week ago) She is now waking up at 5am for a bottle and will go back to sleep afterwards.   Getting some good straight hours of sleep is really really nice.  Makes things start to seem normal again, because when your sleep deprived its draining!

Poor girl has scratches on her nose/face from Mandy grabbing her

She always sits like this...the splits

Always stretching and showing off her flexibility

Cassie

This girl drains me.   My patience.....she tests it.   Is it the age?  Her sisters?  I don't know but its like she is 16. 

My helmet girls

Last weekend we got her a new bike

She loves her bike helmet.....wears it all day

Rockin the Doc Band

Mandy got fitted for her doc band on Monday.   She acted like it wasn't even on when it was slipped on her head.  She only wore it for 4 hours Monday and did not sleep in it.

Tuesday I put it on at 6 in the morning and every 4 hours took it off of her head to check for red spots.   There is one spot that I am keeping an eye on but so far it fades to pink within the hour so I put the helmet back on.   Yesterday she napped with it and went to bed with it.  She napped for 2 hours in the morning and 30 min in the afternoon.   Good!!    I put her down for the night and she screamed....SCREAMED!!  I thought "oh no, this is not good" .   I thought our night would be terrible....BUT once she found a comfy spot she slept all night long without waking up.  (7 -6)

And as I write this she is going on an hour nap.  

What a relief.   She has been sleeping thru the night for a week now and I was really worried wearing the helmet was going to change that, but it appears everything will be ok!!!  

But of course!!!

On Monday night I decorated her band with decals from "Bling your Band".   Now it looks cute. We go every other week (an hour drive) to have the helmet adjusted, our last appointment is scheduled for the first week of June.  Here is to 12 weeks in the helmet and a rounder head!

DSI Scan

We left bright and early at 8 this morning to make our way to Skokie, Illinois for Mandys DSI Scan for her helmet.   She was an angel all day.  Hardly made a peep during the 1 1/2 hour drive there.  They still put a "sock" over the entire head, it reminds me of pantyhose.   It covers the entire face but they can still see thru it and breath.  Mandy did cry when they put it on but quickly got over it when I "danced" her into the room for the scan.   They set her on a stool, and the techs rattled toys in front of her face so she would look directly at them and they took scans of her head.  It took all of 5 min and we were done.  Easy Peasy!  

After the scan we went to the mall for an hour, we were planning to go out for lunch but I could tell Mandy was falling asleep in her stroller, last thing I wanted was for her to sleep there....I wanted her to sleep for the ride home.  So, change of plans and we headed home then.  She slept the whole way back.  We got to Brookfield and were strarving so we stopped for lunch and woke her from her nap.   Mandy is always so happy, full of smiles even after being woken up.  She sat in a highchair, ate some pears and smiled at everyone walking by.  We then stopped at Babies R Us for a few things and continued our trip home....again not a peep from the girl except her babbling.

I am just so proud/impressed by her.   Her happiness and how well she did.  If we would have had to do this with Cassie as a baby.....I think I would have rather poked my eyes out with a fork.  Cassie HATED the car and when she cried (screamed) she would vomit and choke, stop breathing....it was a nightmare.

So now we wait....she gets fitted with her new helmet on Monday the 18th!

Change in Helmet Plans

Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who left me comments about the helmet.    Today I was researching casting and found pictures.  One of them was this:

Yikes.....!!      I called Cranial Tech to confirm that this is how casting works.   Yes indeedy it is.  Well of course babies are going to be ticked off!!!    This looks truly awful and from what I have read from comments a nightmare.   SO....I have canceled the casting and we are instead driving to Skokie for the DSI Scan. Its about a 2 hour drive for us.  This will be next Thursday and it doesn't delay the helmet fitting in any way.   I feel so much better now, I have been stressing out about the casting.   Thank you so much to those of you who left comments and advice to me!!!

We still go to Cranial Tech next Wednesday for pictures, and Thursday the hubby is taking off all day and we are taking Mandy for the scan, grab some lunch, hang out with one child....make the day of it, make it fun.

My Readers who left comments......and first therapy session

I "replyed" to one of the comments but not sure if you would see it and I'm very interested in your story.   Yes, we are going to Cranial Tech in Mequon....small world!!  Please let me know your experience!

And to the other comment, Mandys flat spot is on her side.  Its pretty flat.   I'm sure her hair will cover alot once it really grows in but we were thinking about if she goes swimming, its very evident when her hair is wet.  We just went to her first Physical Therapy today for torticollis and it went well.  We are going twice a week for at least a month, after that I'm sure we will be re-evaulated again.

Mandy did well with the therapists, she was all smiles and let them massage and stretch her while she played with the new toys.   She did get cranky near the end but was a really good sport.   She has a pretty good tilt because of the torticollis but I never really noticed it until the therapist pointed it out.  

After Mandys appointment I ran to the gorcery store with Mandy.  Today was her first time in a grocery store!!    All I could think of was "Wow, one baby is so EASY!!!"    I can't even compare it to  Cassie because she had so many medical issues as a baby that she was NOT easy either.   But one healthy happy baby......easy.   No stress.   World of difference. 

8 months old & Helmet Decision

These sisters are 8 Months old!!

Mandy

This girl is going to crawl at any time!   I'm waiting!

She is eating her finger foods really well.  Here was one of her meals:

She has now eaten pancake, shredded cheese, diced turkey, crackers, muffin, banana bread.....you  name it she will eat it.

She is such a big girl!   I weighed her yesterday and she was 18 lbs 12 ounces

She will be getting a helmet in a few weeks....more on that below.

She is attached to me at the hip!    Some days its hard to do anything because she wants me to hold her all the time.   This is difficult when there are 2 babies.....luckly Emily isn't wanting me to hold her 24/7 otherwise I don't know what I would do.  

She goes to bed between 5:30/6:00.  I can't seem to make the bedtime later because she is beat by then.   She is up at 5:00/5:30 am.  Blech.   BLECH!!!!!!!!!!!!
I refuse to get her up until 5:30.   It sucks but I am more of a morning person than a night person so its not totally horrible, its just 6:00 would be so much better, just 30 more min!!!!!!   Its just even SOUNDS better!!!!

We weaned her from her last middle of the night feeding.    If she wakes up she gets water only.    I do think she is having separation anxiety from me at night....she wants me to hold her and little girl that is not happening so we have had to cry it out a few times.  

Emily

She weighs in at 14 lbs; 1 ounce

No interest in finger foods.   Not much appetite for her purees either, she eats a few spoonfuls and then she is done. 

Does not try to crawl or get on her knees...content to just sit but she does get frustrated if a toy is out of reach and she lets me know it.

The past few days she has started to be more vocal.  Her whole body gets rigid, she straightens her arms and schreeces....its pretty darn funny.

I am still letting her have a middle of the night feeding because of her size.   Not sure when I will try to wean her, I'll talk to my pedi about it. She goes to bed between 6:00/6:30 and wakes up with the birds also.   5:30!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cassie

Little girl.....just because your sisters get up at 5:30 doesn't mean you have too.   BUT she does.   She used to sleep till 7:00 but now she wants to get up with her sisters.   Sigh.....some day I will sleep in.  


Helmet

After our visit at Children's Hospital we had decided to wait and see with Mandy for a helmet.  Well, we decided it wasn't getting better so we would helmet her.  We went last week to Cranial Tech, I had heard great things about the women there.   I DID NOT like her.   Maybe she was just having a bad day but I totally felt attacked by her.   She was on my case saying we are late in the game with a helmet and Mandy has torticollis that should have been taken care of at 2 months.   I TOOK HER TO HER PEDI AT THAT AGE AND HE SAID SHE DID NOT HAVE TORICOLLIS!!!!

After her tearing into me I asked her if she was saying doing a helmet right now would yield no results and she said "No, you will see visible results".  Then lady.....take a chill pill!!!!!!! What the heck.  I went on to their website afterwards and it says they treat kids up to 18 months old and I read stories from other parents who treated at even a later age than Mandy and had great results.  

I was just not happy with how she went about things.  I was ready to cry at one point and that is so not like me.  She made me feel like I was a bad Mom.   After all I went thru with Cassie's medical issues,  for this lady to make me feel like I was a horrible Mom because of a flat spot on the head that will be corrected and a tight neck muscle really ticked me off.   I know she is passionate about her work but that was uncalled for.  

We go next Wednesday for the casting and a week later she gets fitted with it.  I already orded her decals for the helmet today.   I'm not worried about her adjusting to the helmet....from everything I have read babies don't mind them at all and Mandy is pretty easy going. 

Valentines Day Party

Yesterday we had our Valentine Day Party.   13 kids total.   Thats alot of kids.   Now that the kids are older they are loud, running around, Moms have to break up squabbles......its not as laid back as when they were younger and we could all hang out and talk while babies played in the same room.  It was really nice for me to have everyone over because.....I plain don't get out of the house these days.  Too much work.



The newest generation of our playdates - the siblings

My friend Traci holding Emily

Mandy and Julia

Taken before the chaos began (hide and seek, tag, etc...)

The youngest of the group

future bff's?

Preparing to exchange Valentines





Valentine Day Party 2012

Valentine Day Party 2013 ( with 5 new babies added to the group - everyone has siblings now!)