So, here we are, 14 weeks out and we are still hanging in there! The babies are getting so big! We have been out of touch in the past couple of months because this baby thing seems to be taking up more of our time than we first anticipated. Who’d have thought that two babies require so much effort?! It certainly has been quite exhausting, and we are very aware that it won’t necessarily get easier, but we are proud to say that we think that we are getting a handle on this.
Silas has been growing like a weed, and, at 14 weeks, he is probably about 13 pounds. He is a beast of a baby in every way. He eats ravenously and his poops make quite an impact on your auditory and olfactory senses. He makes his needs heard very raucously and insists that they be addressed without hesitation. Believe it or not, he is growing out of his newborn clothes, and even his 0 to 3 month clothes, much to the heartbreak of his mother. His deposits of chub provide us with endless amusement—we never knew that he could have so much chub in his big toes! Fortunately for all, he is well on his way to sleeping through the night. After about a week of very vocal frustration with being put in the crib, he now goes down fairly easily at about 6:45 pm after a bath and a feeding, is woken up around midnight to be fed and sleeps until 5 or 6 am, except for the random nights during which he finds it necessary to keep Mama up from 4 to 6 just so he can have someone to hang out with. He loves to look at faces and melts your heart with his goofy smile and his coos, often seen when on the changing table or immediately following an especially impressive release of gas.
Miss Maggie May is becoming quite the little lady. She is about 8 pounds now, and is getting more adorable every day. Her cuteness takes my breath away on a regular basis. She looks much more like a real baby and less like a baby bird. She is growing out of her preemie clothes, much to the relief of her mother, although there were a couple of particularly cute outfits that Mama is sad to see go. She had been battling a nasty case of reflux that caused her to seem quite miserable nearly all the time, but once we got her on the right medication, she has shown great improvement. She used to hate taking the bottle and would cry and spit up nearly an entire bottle of milk at most of her feedings, but now she actually shows a mild desire to tolerate most of her bottle! She is very observant and loves to look around her at everything and everyone and I am convinced she stares at her daddy with a special warmth, even when he hasn’t shaved in a while. She has a much quieter demeanor than her brother, choosing the more subtle, yet very effective, route of whimpering softly and pitifully when she wants attention. Her grandpa has finished building her crib and she will be sleeping in it like a big girl, once it stops snowing long enough for grandpa to bring it up from Va. Beach.
The babies have appreciated all of the visits from friends and family and look forward to warmer weather so they can get out of the house on a more regular basis. Mama and Daddy apologize if we haven’t returned phone calls promptly and are slowly working on sending thank you’s to all of the wonderful contributors of time, food, gifts and support to the White Bear Clan.