To The End Of 2007
During the last couple of months of 2007 the boys really moved along in their development. They started solids in late October and after a shaky start moved onto three meals a day and didn’t look back. Naturally, the sweet stuff like apple and pear was very popular, but the vegies usually disappeared quite quickly too.
Tummy time was still pretty unpopular, and the newfound ability to roll from front to back was utilised often. However, they still had no motivation to roll from their backs to their fronts, though I suspect they were quite capable of doing so. Lachlan came very close to sitting unsupported by the end of the year, and only toppled over occasionally. Daniel wasn’t far behind but hadn’t yet developed the strength that Lachlan had. During the last couple of weeks of the year they also discovered their will and it was often different to Richard’s and mine. We had a number of clashes with Lachlan, and I think the victories were about even.
The boys had been sleeping through the night for quite a while, without too much interference from Richard and I. They pretty much decided for themselves when their bedtime was going to be, and then they just went for longer and longer before waking for a feed. At the end of 2007, they were going to bed between 6 and 6:30pm and they didn’t wake again for a feed until 5:30 in the morning. They still needed the occasional resettling during the night, but mostly it was nothing more than the replacement of a lost dummy.
Bathtime was their favourite time of day, and the preparation was often greeted with squeals of delight. Once in the bath, the serious business of playing in the water began. They were both completely fascinated with pouring water and tried to catch the water in their hands. Lachlan sometimes ended up in tears of frustration because he couldn’t catch it! We took them to the pool for their first swim towards the end of December and they loved that too.
Unfortunately, we stopped breastfeeding in early December. I was very reluctant, but in the end it became too difficult to continue. They grew too big to feed on the twin cushion, so I had to feed them individually. I only ever felt I had enough milk in the morning so after that I’d have to bottle feed them after the breastfeed. This ended up taking so long that by the time we were finished the milk and solid feeds, they were pretty much ready for bed. Not much playtime. One day they were both whinging for their milk and I had to choose – breastfeed one while the other complained, then swap, then offer them formula; or just make them both a bottle. I chose the bottle, and knew that the breastfeeding was over. I missed it and grieved for it for quite a while. I missed the little games they used to play when they were feeding, and the smiles they used to give me. It just wasn’t the same on the bottle. But I guess it had to happen sooner or later, and I’m told eight months is pretty good for breastfeeding twins. They were certainly happy enough without it.
During the year, the boys also developed a love of music and I have to say that whoever wrote Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was a genius. Anytime the boys were upset, we’d just sing to them and they would relax. It wasn’t a cure all, but it certainly calmed them down. We made up so many silly little tunes for them, but Twinkle Twinkle remained the favourite. Whenever I sang it, they would kick their legs and smile at me. It really was lovely.
The other favourite they developed was books and storytime, which pleased me no end. Their favourites were “Rob the Robot, Space Zoo”, and “At The Zoo”. Anytime they were upset or whingy, we would get out a book and they would stop complaining. The loved touching them, holding them and chewing on them. Even if we didn’t have the book handy, we could just start quoting the story and they would instantly stop what they were doing, swing their heads round (Exorcist style) and you’d have their complete attention. It was so funny watching their reaction anytime you started, “One day, Rob and Ema went to the Space Zoo…”.
