Johnson Twin Girls: May 2013

Summer break is here!!! My post is a few days late this month, but better late than never. This month has been very busy with soccer games, baseball games, end of the year school parties, physical therapy, etc. I have piles of "to do" stuff for me just waiting since I am now out of work for the summer, but I am most excited about spending the summer with the kids. I have lots to keep me busy, as if I was not busy enough :).

The girls had their 9 month check up this month. It went well! They still have a two pound difference between them. Emma weighs 19 pound/4 ounces and is 28 1/2 inches long. Ava weighs 16 pounds/14 ounces and is 27 1/2 inches long. They each had a couple of shots, that had them screaming in pain. Needless to say, it was a quiet ride home. Emma also had another appointment up at Children's Hospital Plagiocephaly Clinic this month. The good news is that her head shape improved since the last visit three months ago. However, the nurse practitioner felt that her head tilt had not improved. She ordered an x ray of her neck to be sure it was a muscle issue and nothing else. The x-ray came back and everything looked great, so it is truly a muscle issue. She also ordered her an eye exam to be sure she does not get a lazy eye from the torticollis (some babies who have torticollis are more prone to a lazy eye because of the head tilt). The eye exam revealed that she has very healthy eyes, more good news. Lastly, she ordered her a tot collar. This is a collar that she has to wear around her a neck when she is sitting up a few times a day for a couple of minutes at a time. This will prevent her from tilting her head when she is playing. While the nurse practitioner felt the need to order the tot collar, the PT was surprised she ordered it. She does not think Emma is severe enough for one of these collars. However, we are ordering one and waiting for it to arrive. The PT mentioned that the chances of Emma keeping it on are pretty slim. Emma is definitely a curious baby who wants to grab at everything in sight, keeping this collar on will definitely be a challenge.

The girls are really starting to move all around the room with their rolling. Emma has learned to sit up on her own. They are still not crawling, but the Dr. was not concerned with this. I think they are getting closer. The girls have moved from the bathtub in the sink to the bathtub. Emma likes to splash around in the water; Ava likes to cry about her bath time.

The girls have moved to Stage 3 baby food, which has little more texture to it. It is taking them a little bit of getting used to. Ava seems to gag with each new texture that we introduce her to. We are also introducing some table food to them. They both really like bananas. They still need to learn to pick the food up on their own and put it in their mouths. I have also started to give them a cup to drink from, which they like to chew on the spout or throw on the ground.

They continue to take three naps a day. As I have mentioned before, they are both pretty good sleepers. We know when they are tired; Emma will bury her head in the nook of her arm and Ava tries to get her whole fist in her mouth to suck on her hand. You will see a picture below. When we lay them down we turn on their mobiles and close the door and you will not hear a peep from them. I am very blessed with this!!

Here are a few pictures of them from this month (I am not sure why the pictures are not clear and and they look"squishy", they were fine on my computer. I am disappointed because they are adorable pictures :)....

Emma and Ava playing in bed while mommy puts clothes away