Keeping up with the Schultzes: August 2014

Our 4 month check up with our Pediatrician, Dr Terwelp, was the first time back to the doctor since our 8 week shots!

Dr Terwelp was shocked by how well the girls had grown & kept congratulating me on my job well done keeping these girls well fed!

We are a far cry from only a few weeks ago when our girls were barely on the growth charts to now well over average. What healthy baby girls we have!

Lyla's 4 Month measurements:

Weight: 14 lb. 11 oz (75%)

Height: 24 3/4 inches (60%)

Head Circ: 43cm (98%)

Nixon's 4 Month Measurements:

Weight: 13 lb 11 oz (50%)

Height: 23 3/4 inches (30%)

Head Circ: 42cm (85%)

After getting measured we had to have our 4 month shots. Both girls cried after their 8 week shots, but NOTHING like they cried at their 4 month shots. After 10 full minutes of the girls crying, not to be soothed by nursing or a bottle, the Dr came back in to make sure they were ok. We laughed, embarrassed that we couldn't soothe our little ones but after some cheerful singing, bouncing and general cuddling, both girls quieted down enough for us to put them in their carseats and go home. I think they were just taken off guard by the shots & of course, they HURT!! Thankfully, other than being super tired from all their crying.. no other real symptoms were noticed from the shots.

A Typical 4 Month Day:

2AM: Lyla wakes up for a bottle. We started using over night diapers, so no more diaper changes at night, just 5-6 oz bottle, burp, rocking and sometimes a little nursing to get her back to sleep.

7AM: Both girls wake up. Trae and I change them out of their diapers & into their day clothes. The girls wake up every morning with huge grins on their faces. It's so fun to go upstairs to their room, groggy and wishing you were still asleep and seeing their sweet gummy smiles. It will wake you up faster than any cup of coffee!

Morning smiles

Morning Cuddles

7:30: Feed both girls (I nurse one before feeding her a bottle so I don't have to pump). Girls are eating 6oz bottles.

8:00: Girls play on activity mat or sit in Bumbo seat while I feed dogs/make my breakfast.

Drinking their breakfast while Mama eats hers. A moment of calm in the morning!

Playing together on our play mat

9:00 We play with our toys including the Excersaucer that we are liking more and more each day- Lyla can even get the lights to light up on her own by pressing a button! We also use our "Johnny Jumper" doorway jumper, but use it more as a swing for now as we aren't quite big enough to stand in it yet.

10:00 FUSSY BABIES= Need naps!! I feed the girls a bottle/ nurse one baby before giving her a bottle and I try to get the girls to nap anyway I can which is often one in their bed upstairs and one in the swing downstairs. Lyla is easy.. I give her a pacifier and a cool, dark room and she is pretty happy.. Nixon wants to be held and nursed to go to sleep for nap time. Many days I love this time with her, but there are times I need to get things done around the house!

11:00 When both girls are down, I do my "chores" (Chores= laundry, cleaning bottles, cleaning kitchen, dusting, etc) I rarely get thru with my chores before one or both girls wake up.

12:00 Trae comes home for lunch & watches girls while I shower/ put on day clothes, if I haven't already. READ: yes... I'm usually still in PJ's until Trae can get home. I hope to change this soon!

12:30 I eat lunch while girls sit in Bumbo seats playing.

Nixon feeding herself with the Podee bottle straw- Mama's favorite baby gadget yet!

1:00 Girls eat bottles then play

2:00 Usually this is when Claire comes (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) YAY!!! I wash bottles & get her settled before running errands

3:00-5:00 I run errands- Grocery, Hot Yoga, Pay Bills, return items, whatever. Going to the grocery alone is amazing. Who would have thought?!

5:00/5:30 I come home, straighten up, help play with girls and start dinner while Claire watches girls.

6:00 Bath time starts & Trae gets home. Claire and I (or Trae and I) bathe both girls, giving them their Prilosec while they sit in the tub since they spit 1/4 of it out and due to its grape flavor, it is sticky and gets on EVERYTHING. Bath, Sleep Diaper, Sleep Suit, Bottle.

7:30-8 Girls are asleep in their Rock n Plays in their Nursery. (we haven't switched them into their cribs full-time because they are still having issues with reflux and because they sleep so well in these. They are getting dangerously close to outgrowing them, so we will need to rip the band aid off soon!)

9:00 Lyla wakes up- needs her pacifier back in her mouth- is good after that.

As you can see, life is getting MUCH easier these days. We have several hours uninterrupted sleep and are SO thankful for it! Nixon is our rockstar sleeper at night and rarely wakes up at all at night anymore, which is so awesome.

Our Summer Nanny, Claire is a GOD send. My sanity is completely restored with a few hours to myself a week to run errands alone and take a few yoga classes. I look forward to getting my fitness routine back up and running again and Yoga has been a great way to get that started.

The girls and I have started adding neighborhood walks to our routine at least 3 times a week. We have to get out by 9 AM so that our walk isn't too hot, but it's a great time for Mama to get some exercise and baby's to nap/look at trees, etc. We even end up at a park sometimes for a quick swing!

Swinging at the park after one of our morning walks!

We are starting to get out and about a little more here and there. We go to the grocery together for small trips where the girls either sit in their stroller and I load groceries into oversized grocery bags or I wear a baby in a wrap carrier while the other baby sits in an infant carrier in the grocery cart. (I need to have someone take a picture of me doing this!)

Another weekly outing is our Tuesday play day at our church: St. Martins. We have good friends that we look forward to seeing every week and we really enjoy the trip!

A typical outing for me includes 10 minutes of sitting in the driveway after I get home, letting girls nap longer

We have a GI appointment in a few weeks at the girls 5 month "birthday" to check to see if we need to switch to a different reflux medication. I have increased the girls daily prilosec dosage to 4ML/day and while their acid discomfort seems to be alleviated, the quantity they spit up is pretty substantial still. I had NO idea how much babies "spit up". I also had no idea "spit up" was really just vomit without a gag reflux. Poor babies.. I can't imagine how unsettling it is for them to experience spitting up as much as they do. For me, it's just a LOT of laundry for both myself and them.

This month we celebrated July 4th with a neighborhood parade then a trip to Uncle Paul & Aunt Mandy's house where we took our first dip in a pool and LOVED it. It was mine and Trae's first experience with swim diapers & the importance of changing your child IMMEDIATELY if they poop in their swim diaper. (We were glad to have a bathtub to clean Lyla off & family around to help! ha ha!)

Walking in our Neighborhood July 4th "Parade"

Enjoying our July 4th at Uncle Paul & Aunt Mandy's house

Trae and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary with a night out to dinner & drinks at Jeffrey's and Sway while Claire babysat the girls. It was a really nice get away!

Celebrating our 4th Anniversary at Jeffrey's then Sway

We went with Trae to San Antonio where Trae was going to take his Certified Financial Planner exam (CFP). Since the exam spanned over 2 days the girls and I stayed with my Mom & Dad (Nana & Pop Pop Young) while Trae studied and took his exam. We went on walks in the park with Nana, played with our new jumper that Nana bought us and took LOTS of naps. After Trae's exam was over, Nana & Pop-Pop watched the girls overnight & sent Trae and I to the Hilton Hill Country to celebrate our birthdays. What a treat! We had a relaxing night with a lovely dinner, lazy morning & yummy breakfast before heading back to pick up our little girls and head home.

Nana Young posing after a long walk at a San Antonio park

Nana Young looking at the girls swinging

Great Grandma Jeanne holding Nixon during our San Antonio trip

Lyla & Nixon's personalities are really starting to shine. They both LOVE music, especially when you sing to them. They stop whatever they are doing, look you right in the eyes and smile when you start singing almost anything. I made up a song about the girls "Whose my little Munchkin" that I sing to them 5-6 times throughout the day when I need them to calm down or I just want a smile and it works EVERY time. So fun.

Pretty Girls!

Lyla is patient (unless hungry) and very curious about the dogs and your facial expressions. She seems to like to see your different facial expressions and what they mean. She also loves Mens deep voices or when Mama pretends to have a deep voice. Lyla can roll over, but has only done it a few times... she doesn't seem very interested in rolling over right now.

Mama and her happy Lyla

Nixon is pretty impatient and wants to be held ALL the time. She also wants to nurse ALL the time, especially while sleeping. She loves to practice standing and smiles almost every time you put her on her feet. I swear this girl wants to just skip the sitting/crawling phase all together! Nixon can roll from back to tummy and likes to do so!! Nixon is VERY interested in food. She likes to watch people eat and seems very interested in the chewing process. I think she will be ready to start cereal/oatmeal very soon and I plan to talk to the GI Dr about it.