Owen & Anson at 4 months

Owen & Anson are 4 months old today.  This has been a wild few weeks for us with what seemed like an absurd amount of feedings between these growing boys but they have rewarded me with a full nights sleep on more than one occasion.  That's how they show their love for me right now ; ) There is a lot of growing & changing going on in our little nest right now with a new two year old, a four year old (by the end of the week) & these precious little guys! Thankfully, I have stopped growing & am shrinking back down to my regular size ; ) 

They are cute....oh my, I can't stop staring at them!  

Owen & Anson

OWEN

Stats: 

10 pounds 4 ounces - 10th % at corrected gestational age 

23 inches- 15% at corrected gestational age

Size 1 diapers during the day & Size 2 at night for the long stretch : ) 

3 month clothing

**Our pediatrician was very pleased with the boys growth pattern over the past two months & cheered me on to keep up with the breastfeeding. It was really encouraging to hear their weights & her encouragement to stick with it.**

Mighty O is becoming more smiley every day especially around his sisters. I am guessing it is because he is getting bigger & has less cause for fear of injury.  He does lots of cooing & squealing when we talk to him & sometimes when he sees me coming to pick him up. He LOVES being in the bathtub....

He really enjoys sitting in the Bumbo seat watching all the excitement in the house & still has a sweet spot for the swing. I have started putting the boys in the crib together propped up on their tummies on their Boppy pillows where they can look at each other. They smile huge & "talk" to each other. Owen seems to always be flexing his muscles which makes me laugh thinking that he is trying to show how tough he is so he will be left alone. We say his motto is "light as a feather, stiff as a board" when we pick him up. He seriously holds his body so straight it is hard to make him bend at the waist to sit in your lap.  

He has enjoyed his paci & will still take it if we are out & about trying to get him to fall asleep but he, along with his brother ditched it when he figured out how to get that thumb in his mouth! He is getting so much control over his arm & hand that he can now suck on it while in motion ; ) 

He is much happier during wake time as long as you keep him busy with talking to him or with toys he can swing at in the bouncer.  He is starting to get the hang of grasping a toy but will not hold onto it for more than a few seconds.  Cowboy Small usually enjoys a car ride but if he gets upset, it's all over. He screams & screams & by the time we get where we are going he has a full beard of spit bubbles. He looks like Santa Clause. Owen appreciates time in the Ergo or sling & is usually found leaning his head back to look up at me. When I acknowledge his sweet little look he smiles back at me & keeps right on staring. It melts my heart. We affectionately call him Schmoopsie-poo....more on how we got that name later.

When I see the girls talking to & playing with the boys I often wonder if each will have a closer relationship with one of the boys.  I know that each sibling relationship is different & I am excited to see how their personalities match up.  For the beginning weeks both girls paid much attention to Owen in fact, they kind of ignored Anson.  It's like they were concerned for the "yittle guy" as Charlotte referred to him. They didn't want anyone else to hold him or talk to him.  I'm sure Owen wished all the attention would have been on his brother ; )

Here is Charlotte & the "yittle guy" who seems delighted to be sitting with her & cheesing for the camera.

ANSON

Stats:

12 pounds 7 ounces- 35th% for corrected gestational age
24 inches- 73rd% for corrected gestational age
Size 2 diapers during the day & Size 3 at night (which look like adult diapers on him)
3 month clothing

Anson, my big guy. He always has that furrowed brow or raised eyebrow when paying close attention to someone or something. It makes him look so serious even though he is the easier one to coax a smile after. In fact, there is no coaxing at all, he just grins randomly all the time. Anson loves me more than anyone else in the house. We have been watching Monsters Inc lately with the girls & always laugh when the couple's pet names for each other are Schmoopsie-Poo & Googely Bear. It was easy to decide that Anson would be Googley Bear because he looks at me googley eyed all the time whether he is in my lap, nursing, riding next to me in the car. He makes me feel so special ; )  He too loves a bath, even if his sisters are helping. 

Anson is usually happy wherever you put him, Bumbo, Boppy, bouncer or bent over in half on the couch after leaving him propped up on the couch for a second when I run to grab something for the girls.  He is easy going which is much appreciated in this house.  He gets really focused when you hold a toy up in front of him. It's like he is trying to make the item move by brain power ; ) He will be focused enough to reach out & grab it after a couple tries but will not hold it for very long.  Unlike "light as a feather, stiff as a board" Owen, Anson is like a little lump of chubbiness that melts on you every time you pick him up.  He is squishy, just like Eloise was. 

Everyone has something to say about who our children look like & I enjoy hearing their thoughts. I have seen Anson looking more like Robby in the recent weeks, especially in the picture below.

Anson spends much of his time every day blowing bubbles for us with sweet little sounds.  He also squeals when really excited.  I love this stage of interaction! It is definitely more fun for the girls. Here are those bubbles.....

I mentioned that both girls preferred Owen in the first weeks of the boys being home.  They show no favoritism now unless directly related to who has the poopie diaper.  I overheard Charlotte telling Anson the other day "I used to only like your brother Owen but now I like you too." Ha! Glad they can't really comprehend that!  Anson & Eloise are good buddies for more rough & tumble kind of relationship. 

And when I just can't monitor everyone at the same time, I put Bella Blue in charge of the boys.....

Just kidding, but honestly, Eloise is way more likely to cause harm than this ol' girl!  The boys have started to pay attention to her more & will watch her walk past & sometimes even grin when they get kisses from her. It makes me wish Bennett was around so the boys could enjoy him too. He would be disappointed at the lack of hair bows & headbands around the house these days with baby boys ; )  

Eating & Sleeping will be lumped into one paragraph for times sake today. I really thought I might lose my mind about 100 times in the past three weeks. I clearly remember cluster feeding days with the girls where they would eat every two hours for a couple days to build up supply before a growth spurt but then go right back to normal taking at least a few weeks break before doing it again. Those days were challenging with one but with two, OH MY GOODNESS! I am not lying when I say that these guys ate every two hours at a maximum for at least 5 days straight, taking a 1 day break & then back to every two hours for the past three weeks. I have been super tempted to start supplementing with formula but I know I have plenty of milk & they are continuing to grow so we pressed on through the ridiculousness. The outcome is fabulous! We are back to a regular routine as of 5 days ago & are going on about a week & a half of consistent 10-12 hour stretches at night! My best guess is it took a lot of work on their part to build up a supply during the day so they could sleep that long at night. Anson is like an old grandpa & most nights would love to eat by 6 before going down for the night. We don't hear from him until around 5am, when I feed both of them & put them right back in bed until 7:30.  We need to work on getting this stretch from 8-7 or something of the sort but I am so tired by the end of the day, I sometimes just let them do whatever. With these long stretches at night it is allowing me to pump before I go to bed & keep the freezer stock of milk up. Napping has been relatively good for the buckaroos.  They are usually napping three times with around an hour and a half for two naps & two and a half for the other.  They are not consistent with which nap is the longer one but again, I'm tired, I have two busy girls that need lots of attention from mama so the "routine" is working for us. They have dropped their snooze between the last two feedings for the most part. There are a couple days a week that they still need it so I just put them in the swing so they don't get into a deep sleep. They are so adorable nursing together, they frequently hold hands but sometimes they pinch or scratch each other with their wild arm.  Tandem nursing is continuing to get more comfortable & easy as they get bigger.  The plan is to keep on keepin' on & pray that the growth spurts are a little more manageable next go round! 

So, four months in, we are still very much in survival mode which I have heard from other mommies of multiples lasts for at least the first six months. As exhausting as life is right now, there are many sweet moments to be treasured.  Watching these two "talk" is one of them.......