Punkin & Pickle

The girls are continuing to grow and learn new things everyday. Last week we had a meeting with a child developmental specialist who is now going to come once a month to evaluate the girls and have some special play time. The good news is that the girls are actually beyond where they should be for their gestational age of almost 7 weeks. They of course are not up to the development level of four month olds, but the goal is for them to be caught up developmentally by the time they are two years of age. We are very proud of them and how well they are doing! Of course Adam and I knew they were very smart! So we now have some massages and exercises we are doing everyday to work on motor skills etc...This is part of our "fun-awake" time everyday. It is very exciting because everyday we can see them learning new things and becoming more aware of their surroundings. They have both started smiling in response to Adam and I talking to them. This new development is so rewarding for us. It is actually beginning to seem like they know us. I can't tell you how happy and excited this makes mommy and daddy!! We now spend our evenings acting like complete crazy people trying to get them to laugh and smile at us. What fun! They are both cooing some and Renna has started trying to respond to us with coos when we talk to her. She will likely be our little talker. Who am I kidding anyone who knows me has no doubt that both my girls will be little talkers just like their mommy. Poor Adam will never get a word in once that starts. Last week the girls also got their four month shots (yes they are technically almost 5 months old). Ugh! They were very cranky for a few days but are feeling fine now. As a mom it is so hard to watch them get their shots and usually results in all three of us crying. I could not be the person to hold their arms down and let them look at my face while they were screaming in pain. So poor Adam had to be the bad guy. The good news about the doctor visit is that she was very pleased with how much they had grown. Renna weighed 10lbs. 15oz. and Reagan weighed 9lbs. 13oz! I was shocked at how much they weighed. She said we could start stretching the day feedings out to four hours. We have not tried this so far because every three hours they seem to be starving and I haven't been brave enough to make it thru an hour of crying just to stretch it out. As long as they keep gaining and eating well we may keep doing the three hour schedule. We have officially run out of breast milk for Renna and at the doctor's suggestion switched her to Reagan's whey protein formula. The hope is that this will help her with her constipation problems as well. We will keep you posted on the pooping progress. Reagan will also be going to see a dermatologist in a few weeks for a bump above her eye. We believe it started with a mosquito bite but it isn't going away so the doctor has referred us to yet another specialist, a pediatric dermatologist. Hopefully we get good news about this. I guess I should explain the title of the post. I have always called the girls my little punkins. Well Adam decided they should have different nicknames and just blurted out Renna should be Punkin' and Reagan our little Pickle. So it has kind of started sticking this week. I am sure it will be something we will look back on and laugh about with the girls one day. So we will keep you posted on the many adventures of Punkin' & Pickle.