I was right - they do improve with age

C crawling all over D's sister

Before infertility I would only ever hold babies who were 6 months and older. They somehow felt sturdier and more solid, not like I could do much wrong and break them :)

And now I'm finding that I still enjoy this age with my own babies.

hey! get that camera out of here
Cute but still sassy

At 6 months they started getting seriously cute and it hasn't stopped. They now

• smile ALL the time
• go get their own toys :) as they're more mobile
• they play together, sometimes
• don't cry as much (this is my best - I can't stand the crying)
• crawl all over me
  
• talk to and answer us
  

From 6 - 7 months I have something new written on the wall calendar (which I use in place of a baby book) almost every day.

Rolling, sitting, playing with toes, grabbing spectacles, kissing my cheeks and chin with wet, slobbery goodness, crawling, teeth, etc.

I'm also seeing SO MUCH of D's personality in C it's frightening and cute, all at the same time.

But the absolute best thing ever is the independence.

My goal as a parent has always been (even when I didn't have children) to raise independent, well-adjusted kids.

I LOVE that they can hold their own bottles, that one baby can amuse him/ herself while I change the other's nappy/ clothes, etc. That they can play independently for some time (K more so than C). That they can lay in their cots in the mornings after waking, talking and babbling to themselves without SCREAMING for us.

Look how Zen I am despite their mesh feeders being on the carpet! And my MIL's house is a cat house!!!

It's fabulous.

D and I have been talking about going on holiday. He's a bit reluctant because we're so used to having Nanny V during the week and on the occasional Saturday morning.

When I reminded him that actually, we're not so knackered on Sunday evenings anymore, we realised that it really is getting easier.

Who would have thought?!

Yes, we're still waking about 2 - 3 times at night (total) - it used to be 3 times per baby - but they go down for naps and sleep like a dream. No fighting except if overtired but we're so vigilant we haven't had more than one or two episodes in the last month (C; K doesn't freak out when she's tired)

I can also say that I'm a more confident parent these days. 95% of the time I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.

This really is my favourite stage so far! I know it's short-lived until they're properly mobile but for now I'm loving it.


****************************

Nanny V and I took them for their 8-month stats on Monday. I am loving Sister Carla more and more. This time the receptionist with the curly hair wasn't there so Connor didn't bother flirting with any of them.

Connor
Height - 70 cm
Weight - 9.09 kg
Head - 45.5 cm

Kendra
Height - 66 cm
Weight - 6.28 kg
Head - 43.7 cm

In a nutshell, C grew 2 cm and 620 g and K grew 3 cm and 520 g over the last month. I'm very happy with K's growth.

I asked about their feeding - a post for another day but C's off his veg - and also mentioned that he'd started waking before 11 most nights. She said he shouldn't and I should add protein to their supper. Also I should mix his night feeds with one less scoop than you're supposed to. Do that for a month (a MONTH!) and then reduce by another scoop.

I'm hoping he sleeps til after midnight soon because I have no patience for these itsy-bitsy baby steps. She said that if you do it too fast, they rebel and freak out.

Too true - we tried it before. The first night was fine but the second night Connor was like, "what on earth! WHERE is the real deal? I don't want this watered-down stuff! WAAAAAHHHHHH"

Next appointment with both nurse (for vaccinations) and paed (who was in one of our magazines this month!) at 9 months.

What's your favourite stage?

Connor's antics

see the scratch on his nose

1. Connor finally "twigged" (do you say twigged where you live?) that rolling means he can move and he is now rolling up a storm - front to back, back to front, every which way.
2. Not in the slightest bit interested in crawling; instead he's working on the sitting. Every day he seems to sit better - I can leave him without support longer and longer.
3. He's been able to hold his own bottle for ages but is really only motivated to do so when either I'm too slow and he's starving (like when he's been sleeping past his feed time) or during the day when he's all pleasant and charming. At night he's lazy - he literally lays with his arms down at his side and wants us to hold his bottle.
4. He still has his two teeth and loves biting any fingers he can find, except his own. His toes are fair game though.
   
5. He suddenly went off his veggies - I think he got bored because he still ate the fruit, yoghurt and cereal - but the MINUTE I introduced Annabel Karmel he was into his food all again. I reduced the portions a bit since we now eat protein and that has helped. We also take whatever food he doesn't finish and mix it into his cereal which he then polishes off. He LOVES his cereal.
6. Connor is still a lovely, laidback, happy baby 95% of the time; the rest of the time he can get quite grumpy, just like his father! He so loves hugging and snuggling - oh, it's LOVELY. Sometimes I don't want to put him down.
   
7. He seems to be stretching his awake time to the two-hour mark. We are still highly vigilant because we do not like to see the craziness come out if he gets overtired.
8. At night he wakes crying (for a bottle I think) but during the day he wakes, amuses himself for a bit (rolling around his cot and playing with the stuffed animals) and only when bored or hungry, cries for us.
9. After any night feeds, he falls asleep immediately. I don't do any patting, shh-ing, rocking, nothing!
10. Connor seems to be more into Kendra than she is into him.
11. He loves being outside. I've started putting him in the walker just inside the open kitchen door after feeding him. He loves looking at the trees, grass, leaves. But the best is when he and D go sit at the pool - they're exactly the same - very laid-back so they sit in silence for 10 - 15 minutes at a time, just having quality time. It's too sweet.
12. He is ALL BOY - which I absolutely love - eats like a boy (messy), grunts like a boy and is WILD. He also has scratches on his face all the time even though we keep his nails short.
    
13. One day I sang "Wild Thing" by The Troggs to him and he laughed. So that's our song because he's my wild boy.
    
    To think I didn't know what I'd do with a boy! I love having one of each - they are so different!

look at my smiling baby boy - we have hours of fun talking and laughing while Kendra crawls all over us :)

What Kendra's up to these days

this is D feeding her; she grabbed and then smeared all over her face, things she never does with Nanny V or with me. Upside down bib is a tip from my sister, messy veggies rinse off easily

this was a few weeks ago - those teeth are properly out

Ooops - I totally forgot that I said I'd post on what the kids are doing these days.

1. Figured out crawling. Still a lot of rocking and only one or two actual forward movements of the knees.
2. She's also doing lots of push-ups and has abs of steel :)
3. Has two teeth on the bottom.
4. She's very intense but smiles easily and laughs a lot, especially when playing with her father. Her little giggles are the sweetest things ever. I really must find the video and post it.
5. She gets frustrated quickly (you can see she wants to MOVE MOVE MOVE) and lets us know by screaming that her legs are not doing what she wants NOW.
6. This girl will walk well before her first birthday, of that I have no doubt. She already tries to pull herself up and has strong little legs. We are, of course, in absolutely no hurry for the walking.
   
7. Her hair seems to be growing too - not wildly so - but hair nonetheless (their father's genes as I was bald until I was two)
8. Talking up a storm now. She doesn't wake screaming very often - she'll wake and start chatting away while still in her cot (very, very cute- it's as if she's talking to the teddy bears, or a reluctant Connor).
9. At night when we feed her, if she's decided she's had enough, she moves her head so the bottle falls out and flips over (while still in our arms). That's our signal to put her back to bed.
10. She does the same if we put her to bed with a bottle. When she's done, she rolls over and sleeps. Lovely!
11. She can hold her own bottle! She clutches it like it's a matter of life or death - very intense is our Kendra.
12. Has also discovered her toes but not too keen on them - prefers to be on her tummy "crawling" or doing push-ups.
13. It's impossible to change her nappy or clothes without a struggle. The minute she's placed on her back she's OFF - I've taken to giving her a bath toy (as they only see these for about 5 minutes a day so they're a novelty) so I can change her in peace.
14. Eats beautifully. These days she eats better than Connor. She's so cute with her little mouth opening and closing. She definitely prefers the fruit and plain yoghurt but eats the veggies and cereal equally well.
15. Has bitten her brother on the foot!
16. She is very girly - delicate-looking (definitely can hold her own) and dainty, and already has good fine motor skills. Either that or she wants my earrings and necklace :)