Twins are 4 months!

These cute twins of mine are 4 months old.  Holy cow, how did that happen?!  I feel like this really marks the end of the newborn phase and somehow, quite miraculously, we made it through having twin newborns.  It just feels weird that they keep getting older and bigger.

Not going to lie, newborns in general are hard, and to multiply that by two, it is no cake walk.  I absolutely love newborns when it comes to how tiny they are and the sleepy snuggles, but there is so much uncertainty with making sure you are doing everything right with eating, sleeping, figuring out schedules, not knowing if there are underlying problems (gas, reflux, wrong formula, etc.).  And I felt a lot of anxiety with every night being different and not knowing how well the babies would sleep or how many times they would wake up to eat.  I am so thankful that they have decided to sleep through the night.  Naps have been all over the place and seem to start the day good and get worse as the day progresses, but I would rather have good nights than good days.  We finally buckled down on trying to get more of a bed time which is usually between 7-7:30.  We then do a "dream feed" where we get them out of bed and feed them without waking them up too much at around 10pm.  They will sleep until 7 or 8am.

They really are happy babies, although it took 2 or 3 months to get there.  They eat quickly and happily and are content to lay on the floor or their tummies when they are awake and I will get them down for naps before they start to get fussy.  They eat 4oz. of formula about every 3 hours, usually 5-6 times a day.  They are smiling now a ton and are so so close to laughing and have heard a few quick laughs.  They are getting so chunky and big.  Riley still have longer, darker hair although it looks like crazy old man hair a lot of the time.  Maddie's hair is starting to grow a little and it looks light like Kaley's hair for now.  Their eyes are definitely blue which are so pretty.

This stage is starting to get so fun.  They really notice who is talking to them and they smile and their faces light up.  For now Maddie is more giving with her smiles and Riley is a little more reserved. Just one week ago they noticed each other and smiled at each other for the first time.  It was the sweetest thing and totally melted my heart.  They smiled at each other for about 10 minutes and have done it a handful of times since then.  So fun!

I am so so glad that I decided to switch to just formula.  Again and again I am reminded of how much stress it has saved me and it has been so much easier than constantly worrying about my milk supply and/or supplementing and pumping.  It is great to have Steve be able to feed them and I can run to the store or one of the kid's activities and not have to watch the clock when the babies need to eat.  It provides a lot more freedom which just makes so much more sense when there are two babies.  Of course if I made plenty of milk I would of course nurse both of them, but for us this is what's best and I am just glad that I made that decision early on so I could just stop fretting about it.

More than anything I am often overwhelmed with gratitude for these two beautiful babies.  The more stories of other twin moms I hear, the more I hear of infertility, secondary infertility, miscarriage, serious pregnancy complications, pregnacy/infant loss, and so much more.  I can't help but choke up at how blessed I am to have not only these healthy twin babies, but all of my children.  My heart hurts for those hard and horrible things that others have to endure but I use it as an opportunity to thank my Heavenly Father for all that He has given me.  I love these babies so and still pinch myself that I get to be a mother of 5!!

One baby wanted to smile for a picture, the other did not!

Have I mentioned how much I love my Twin Z pillow?!  Saves me everyday!

They roll from tummy to back sometimes although totally not on purpose and sometimes end up like this!

Enjoying one of the last (somewhat) warm evenings outside.

We think that they are starting to look more alike the older they get.

This is the first time that they looked at each other, although this picture was at the tail end so they were pretty much done.  Seriously the sweetest moment.  I feel like we are getting a glimpse of the special bond that these two will share their whole lives.  It makes me feel very lucky to be a twin mom.

Gotta love new gear that they come up with!  This is called a Sit Me Up and is an alternative to the Bumbo and supports them a little better.  They really seem to like it and will stay in it for quite awhile.  Not to mention they are super cute in them!

Abby randomly decided to play with Preston's dinosaurs (which he hasn't played with in forever!) and wanted to help the babies play with them too, haha!