Hunter & Jackson: Month 5 & 6 Update

I still can't believe I have 6 month old twins.

Once again the past two months have flown by.  Unlike the early months, our days have been filled with much less screaming and a lot more laughter.  Hunter and Jackson are developing their own personalities and both of them are so funny and adorable in their own little ways.

Here they are at 5 months...

And here are our 6 month old twins...

I'm not sure how much longer they are going to fit on this thing for photos!  It seems like there is no way this is making to a year old.

We've had SO much more fun over the past two months as it has become easier to do things with the twins.  They can play with toys and if they get fussy we can usually console them which is so much easier than when we were fighting through reflux.  We've fallen into a routine with them and while it's still hard, life with them feels more manageable and normal these days.

They have done a good amount of traveling over the past two months and have handled the trips so well.  They went on their third, fourth, fifth, six and seventh flights from four to six months.

We started off their fifth month with a fun day trip Columbia to see the Hub's sister Megan.

It just happened to be St. Patrick's Day weekend.

My Brother and his wife Erica also came to visit Asheville that same weekend.

We captured this moment...

The Hubs worked a million hours a week through much of month 4 because of tax season so both the Hub's Mom and my Dad came to visit to help me with the babies.

The Hub's sister came to visit us during the visit and we got all the babies together again.

At 20 weeks or about 4 ½ months, we had these adorable photos taken.

At about 4 ½ months we also tried solids for the first time!  Their first food was baby oatmeal followed by a banana.  At six months they had tried carrots, avocado, butternut squash and green beans from a mixture of homemade store-bought foods.

They love to eat and have seemed to enjoy everything we've offered them.

At 5 months we traveled to Florida!  Our first stop was Orlando to visit my Dad.

The boys also got to meet Dad's girlfriend Margaret and my best friends Mom, Charlotte.

After our family visit, we went to Palm Coast where we spent the babies first Easter.

They also got to get in the pool for the first time.

They got a kick out of their rafts!

At 5 ½ months, we traveled to Pittsburgh for the weekend to connect with the Hubs family again.  The boys LOVED being around their cousins.

Just before they turned 6 months we all celebrated our first Mother's Day, which was everything I had dreamed of.

Looking back at photos the babies have changed and grown so much over the past two months.  When they turned 4 months they both were still struggling a bit to keep their heads up for long periods of time and not rolling at all.  By 6 months both Hunter and Jackson spend most of their time playing on their stomachs, can roll both ways like champs, can get around a room by rolling and at exactly 6 months Hunter started to crawl.  At four months I could easily carry them both up and down stairs together and now I can barely hold them both just standing.

Over the past six months, they've grown from tiny 5-pound premie babies to babies who are blowing up their growth charts and milestones.  I find such joy in watching them change and grow and I still can't believe I get to be their Mom.   These 6 month old twins are my world.

Hunter & Jackson: 6 Month Old Twins

Jackson

At his 6 month appointment, Jackson was measured at 28.5 inches... which is in the 99 percentile for height!  He weighed 18.5 pounds.

Jackson has become such a sweet baby over the last eight weeks.  He is funny, loves to laugh and is quite handsome.

He is a bit dramatic though and can produce a single tear running down his cheek in 15 seconds if he's not getting what he wants.  It will break your heart.  He likes to observe, watch things and loves when you walk him around to see the world.

Jackson rolled over for the first time at 19 weeks, the day after he watched Hunter do it.  He didn't seem as driven to crawl as his Brother, but he can get around a room just by rolling.

When this blue-eyed babe is happy the whole world stops.  His smile and laughter will light up a room and melt your heart.

 

Hunter

At his 6 month appointment Hunter weighed 19.3 pounds and was 28 inches, just a bit shorter than Jackson.  He looks bigger, but both babies are within a pound of each other.

Hunter is our driven baby who figured out he could roll over at 19 weeks.  He spent the next few weeks practicing all day AND night keeping us awake.  By five months he figured out how to get up on all fours and spent the next month rocking back and forth on all fours and getting frustrated he couldn't crawl.  He can roll across a room in minutes and has been doing little scooches forward since 5 ½ months.

Right at six months he mastered his crawl and has taken off.  His legs are very strong and I wouldn't be surprised if we have an early walker with him.  It looks like he is going to be another blue-eyed cutie.

Hunter has gone from a baby who screamed for hours every day because of acid reflux to one who is happy most of the time and does everything with a fire and passion.  I can't get enough of him and his sweet little face.

6 Month Old Twins Schedule

Since we have twins, the Hubs and I have prioritized our schedule and keeping to it even when we've traveled.  I think that has helped the babies and us get into a groove.  This is what we are doing with our 6 month old twins.

• 7AM - Awake & Acid reflux meds
• 7:20 - Feeding
• 9ish - Morning Nap (45 minutes to 1 ½ hours)
• 11 - Feeding
• 1-3 - Afternoon Nap
• 3 - Feeding
• 4 - Solids in high chair
• 6:20 - Acid reflux meds
• 6:40 - Feeding
• 7 PM - Bedtime

The boys did take a third catnap in the stroller or their bouncy seats at about 4:30 until they hit 5 months and it got phased out.

Naps, especially the afternoon nap, were a struggle early on.  We ended up separating the boys for their afternoon naps putting Hunter in a travel crib in another room.  They don't wake each other up any time except that nap.  We really stuck to the schedule though, keeping the babies in their cribs for naps and it eventually paid off.  Most days we get pretty close to this schedule and I can get stuff done during the naps.

The babies have also have gone back and forth with their sleep.  They don't need to be fed at night but do occasionally need a binkie to comfort them back to sleep.  Hunter had a rough few weeks where he was up every hour trying to roll over and getting stuck and screaming.  He grew out of that after a couple of weeks though.  At six months, both boys are sleeping very well... often for the full 12 hours... so we can't complain!

If you are having trouble with your baby or babies sleeping, I highly recommend this book.

6 Month Old Twins: Likes

• Peak a Boo - we use a big cloth and they think it's hilarious
• Bouncy Seats
• Being Outside
• The Pool
• Any toys that make a crinkle noise
• Bath time

6 Month Old Twins: Dislikes

• Going down for naps - Jackson
• Car seats

 

Firsts

• Rolling over!  Hunter - 3/33 Back to Front  Jackson 3/24 Front to Back
• Crawling Hunter 26 weeks.
• First food & First Time in High Chair- 20 weeks
• First Herb Festival
• First Trip to Florida
• First Trip to Pittsburgh
• First St. Patricks Day
• First Easter

• First Mother's Day
• First Time in Pool
• First cold 🙁 - 23 weeks

 

5 & 6 Month Favorites

• Pool Rafts
• Travel Cribs <--- these fold up into a 13 pound backpack!!!
• Travel Bouncers
• Crinkle Books

 

Things I Want to Remember

Life with the twins has gotten so much easier after the last two months.  While Hunter screaming when he couldn't figure out crawling was super annoying at the time, it was something I'll want to remember.  He was SO determined and in  some ways it was very endearing.

I also have the best memory of Jackson rolling over for the first time.  He didn't practice a ton like Hunter and get frustrated, he just waited until he felt like he could do it and just did it one day surprising us all.  Both of the boys seem to approach things very differently.

I want to remember everything about the time we had together with the cousins and family this month.  We are so lucky the boys got to spend so much time with family, especially considering no one lives with us.

I also want to remember how we really made the most of our trip to Palm Coast for Easter.  It's a lot of work traveling with the boys, but so far it has been totally worth the effort.

 

How I'm Doing

I am honestly doing a lot better than I ever thought I would post-twins.  At 6 months post-partum I am feeling stronger and happier than I have in years.  These 6 month old twins have brought me so much joy.

The first 3 to 4 months of taking care of the twins was really hard and I struggled to find myself in the new routine of taking care of babies all of the time.  I really struggled when I couldn't get them to stop screaming because of their reflux.  Now that they are happy most of the time though, life feels like we all are in a groove and I'm finding so much more joy in caring for them.  I look forward to them waking up in the morning and miss them when we put them down.

I do still have a nanny to help a few afternoons a week which gives me time to run, work on this blog and run to the store.  The little bit of help has been just what I've needed to continue to feel like me without me while still getting to take care of the twins most of the time.  I don't mean to sound cliche, but I honestly feel so blessed lately.  I know how lucky I am and I'm taking anything for granted.

 

Have you missed any Hunter and Jackson news?  Catch up here…

• Welcome Hunter John and Jackson Thomas
• The Twins Birth Story
• Hunter and Jackson’s First Week at Home
• Hunter & Jackson’s Newborn Photo Shoot
• The Twins First Christmas
• Hunter & Jackson: 1-2 Month Update
• Hunter & Jackson: 3-4 Month Update

 

If you missed any of the pregnancy journey you can catch up here…

• Our Greatest Adventure
• Twin Gender Reveal Party
• The First Trimester
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 14-18
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 19-22
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 23-27
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 28-31
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 32-34
• Twin Pregnancy Weeks 35+
• Second Trimester Pregnancy Essentials
• Pittsburgh Family Baby Shower
• Aviation Themed Baby Shower in Asheville
• Luau Couples Baby Shower