Hunter & Jackson: Month 3 & 4 Update

Another two months have passed and I'm still in awe of the fact that not only am I a Mom but a Mom to twin boys, Hunter and Jackson.  I wished and hoped for so long that one day I'd have a family and I've had to pinch myself so many times that this is my real life.  Despite my best efforts to slow down and take it all in, life for much of the last two months has felt like one big blur.  I'm hoping that taking the time to write details down will give me something to look back on the future.  Plus, I'm hoping it's something you enjoy reading.

Here they are at 3 months...

 

Here they are at 4 months...

 

I would be lying if I sugarcoated the last two months and said it's been all fairytales.   The babies were particularly fussy in their third month and I've spent countless hours with two screaming babies wondering what I'm doing wrong.  We had a witching hour between 4-7 that was epic.  It's often been physically and mentally exhausting.

In the last few weeks though there has been a huge shift.  Hunter's reflux is doing so much better and whatever stage he was in ended and he is now mostly the happiest baby.  Jackson picked up where Hunter left off and has been quite cranky even into month four.  However, in the last week, he also is starting to transition and is smiling more often, laughing and even giggling sometimes.  I feel like everyone is coming out of the funk and we are living life instead of just surviving it.  They are turning into really fun babies to be around.  Plus the twins are now almost even sleeping through the night... sometimes hitting 11 hours at a time.  <--- I'm afraid to even type that because it will jinx it!!!

Hunter and Jackson's third month started off on a high note of their first trip to Hilton Head at 10 ½ weeks.

We had a lovely time, but this was also the peak of the babies fussy stage.  They were often in great moods in the morning but by late afternoon it took both the Hubs and me to keep them calm.

Despite that, I'm so glad we went.  I'm sure they would have been screaming at home too, so at least we got to deal with it with a pretty beach view.  Getting out of the house really helped me too.

The babies 11th week we got back to Asheville and spent lots of time outside walking.  The weather was unseasonably warm and the fresh air was good for all of us.

At 12 ½ weeks, the boys were diagnosed with the flu.  Jackson seemed a bit off so I took him to the doctor thinking MAYBE he had a cold or allergies and was shocked with the test results came back positive for the flu.  I was so scared but everything turned out ok in the end.

The entire family went on Tamiflu and we spent the next week throwing our much worked on schedule out the window and cuddling a lot with the babes.  Both the Hubs and I ended up getting sick, but neither of us got the full-blown flu... thank goodness.  It took us all weeks to recover and I'd say we officially survived our first family crisis.

After we recovered we were terrified to take the babies anywhere, so we hung out at home and watched them grow.  Week 14 was a lot of fun because they were big enough to go in their bouncers for the first time.

In the past few weeks, life at home is getting more and more entertaining.  The boys started laughing and even sometimes cackling at us.  They love their bouncers, singing songs and playing on their play mat.  There is less screaming and more of this. 🙂

Here are some other fun tidbits to remember...

 

Hunter & Jackson: Month 3&4

Jackson

Jackson is still the smaller baby and running about two weeks behind Hunter with developments.  I've spoken a lot about Hunter's acid reflux, but Jackson also had it and is on medicine to help.  He spits up a lot and you can tell it hurts him sometimes.

He went through a particularly fussy stage from weeks 13-16 but is starting to come out of it.  He spent a lot of time with me holding him on his side rocking him, which seemed to help.

He is my observer and loves to watch the world go by.  When he is fussy it also helps to walk him around a room so he can see new things.  Jackson started laughing around week 15 and getting a smile out of him feels like you've won the lottery.  He has also started babbling more in the last few weeks and it often sounds like he is having his own conversation with you.

Jackson is strong enough to sit in the bouncer, but can't do much jumping yet.  He loves to stare at the fish hanging from the bars.

He is such a handsome little baby and his hair is just long enough to brush now.

We have our official doctor's visit next week to weigh him but on our scale, it looked like he was up to 14 pounds.  At eight weeks he was nearly 11 pounds.

 

Hunter

Hunter's acid reflux continued to cause us problems in month three, but we continued to work with the doctor and we finally got some relief for him in February.   He spent a lot of time getting carried around in a baby carrier during his fussy stage.  It was often the ONLY thing that would calm him.

By mid-February, he started to come out of the screaming phase and almost overnight turned into the biggest HAM.  He loves to smile and seems to even pose for the camera.

Hunter's legs are so strong and he can sit up in the bouncer and loves to jump like a big kid.  This is currently his favorite place.

If you hold him up he can push his legs and lock them into a standing position.

Hunter is also super handsome and by the end of month four had just enough hair to comb.  We still honestly aren't sure what color it is going to be though.  Sometimes it looks blond and often it looks like it is turning brown.  Occasionally in some light, it even looks red.

Hunter is our little chunk and is up to 15 pounds.  I feel like he has an entire pound just in adorable baby leg rolls.  He also weighed almost 11 pounds at 8 weeks.

 

Schedule

I haven't talked about this much, but getting and keeping the twins on a schedule has been the only way we've survived this.  Since the hospital, we've fed the babies at the same time and had them sleeping at the same time.

At four months this is what the schedule looks like...

Their day starts at 6:30 with heartburn medicine.  At 7 (they need to have the medicine 30 minutes before they eat) they eat.   Then they play on the playmat or on the piano.

Their first nap is usually between 8:30-9:30 depending on when they start to look and sound tired.  That nap is anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour and a half.  They eat again at 11.  After the 11 feeding, we do baby play stations with tummy time.

Our long nap starts around 1 and hopefully ends around 3 and at 3 we eat again!  After that, I take them to the basement and we play in the bouncers and try tummy time again depending on their mood.   They'll often take another cat nap downstairs by 4:30 or 5:00.  Our day ends with the bedtime routine starting at 6:30 with more meds and dinner at 7.

I also wanted to mention here that we did hire a nanny to help a couple of afternoons a week starting in month 3.  We found a lady we really love and trust.  It gives me just enough time to run, work on the blog and occasionally meet the Hubs for a lunch date.  Without family in town, I would never get a break and I've learned I really need a break for my mental health.  I also need time to run the business side of this blog.  The Hubs also works a lot so he only has so much time to help.  I know how lucky we are to be able to do that and I count my blessings daily.

 

Likes

• Stroller Rides

• Bouncers
• Baby Carriers

• Pacifiers (especially Hunter)
• Twin-Z Pillow

• Songs (Old McDonald Had a Farm, Head and Shoulders)
• Kick Piano (especially Hunter)

• Plane Crib Mobile
• Baby Play Mat

• Laying in our window seat
• Bath Time for Jackson

 

 

 

Dislikes

• Bath Time for Hunter
• Nap Time
• 6 o'clock
• Tummy Time (especially Jackson)

 

 

Firsts

• First Trip and Plane Ride

• First Trip to the Biltmore (we just walked the gardens)

• First Time "Playing" Outside

• Outgrew riding double in one bassinet (week 12) 

• First Time Getting Sick
• First TIme Sleeping Through the Night (16 weeks)

 

 

3 & 4 Month Favorites

• Rainforest Jumparoo and Baby Einstein Bouncers
• Twin-Z Pillow
• Kick Piano

Plus everything from the month's 1 and 2 post!

 

 

 

Things I Want to Remember

• How easy their first plane ride was!  They slept the entire time.
• How excited they were when they tried their bouncers/jumparoos for the first time.
• How Hunter's smile can light up a room.
• How you had to work harder to get Jackson to smile, but when he did it's gold.
• How Jackson loves to watch everyone.
• How much Hunter loves to be carried in the pouch.
• How hard and seriously Hunter kicks his play piano.
• How Jackson babbles and "talks."
• The way they reach out and grab for each other's hands.
• The way they "run" with their legs.
• How sweet it is to cuddle both of them at the same time.

 

 

 

How I'm Doing

I didn't include this in my last post and a couple of you asked, so I thought I'd share.

I'm honestly doing surprisingly well now especially since the babies are overall happier.

Physically I struggled right after they were born because I had so much trouble eating.  For some reason that we've never figured out, I was incredibly nauseous postpartum and I lost my pregnancy weight in weeks.  As nice as it has been to not worry about it, I don't think that was particularly healthy and it took my system a while to adjust.  Once I recovered from that, I was so happy to be able to walk and move around freely... which was near impossible late in my pregnancy.  I feel like I recovered from the physical part of delivering the babies very quickly and I felt SO much better than when I was pregnant.  I probably pushed to start walking and running faster than I should have, but it allowed me to start feeling normal again.  I've been able to slowly build back up to running 3 miles at a time and I've added HIIT workouts to my routine to try to start getting some strength back.  My body feels pretty normal these days.

It has been hard going from working for myself and having basically all my time to manage for myself to having no time to myself.  Early on I had many moments where the weight of having two babies to constantly care for was completely overwhelming.  I think it might be harder to have babies when you are older because you are even more set in your ways and change is hard.  As weeks have passed, the babies have gotten a little easier to care for and I've found a new routine with them.

I'm finally feeling more adjusted to this new normal and fall even more in love with these sweet babies daily.

 

I get asked A LOT of questions about the twins and having twins, so I'm working on a FAQ post for next week.  If you have any questions you want me to answer, let me know below and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

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

 

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