My Infertile World: I'm doing this damnit...the twins...

It really is incredible how quickly time gets away from me. I'm seriously going to have to block out time on my calendar to keep updating, if I really want to keep this going. Which I do.

The twins are 6 months old today. Officially about 35 minutes ago. Avery was already on her way to the NICU, Connor was being monitored in the OR, and they were sewing me up.

Let's get to it...
Avery (baby A)...aka Birdie (I nicknamed her this in the NICU, because that's what she reminded me of), teradactyl, Chia (hello hair:)), sweet potato.

She's a diva. She thrives on attention. She has the classic "middle child" mentality already.

She had a dr appt yesterday, thanks to a rash that had developed. Luckily, it's "only" excema. She weighed in at 14.5 pounds, which REALLY suprises me, as Connor was weighing 15.5 last week and she feels SO much lighter than him.

She's very "delicate," tiny, almost fragile. I thought this might just be my thinking when I compared her to Connor, but even compared to Sophie at this age, she's a teeny little thing. To me, she clearly looks like a girl. She rolled over before Connor, and has been putting weight on her legs for WEEKS now. Of the three, she's been the healthiest, which is odd to me, because in utero, I always worried about her the most. I don't know why. Aside from this recent skin issue, she's been super healthy. She's currently in 3-6 month clothes.

Many say she looks like me. I don't see it, but I do understand how it's possible, as I think she looks like my dad, my grandma and great-grandma (all on the same side). And thinking about my grandma and great-grandma, they were mayyyybeeeee 5'2, on a good day...so maybe she'll take after them in height as well. When comparing my baby pic to her, we do *sort of* look alike, lol;)

Thanks to her super sensitive tummy, she's been on Nutri.magen for months. She got breastmilk until about 10 weeks, at which time, out of desperation I switched her to this speciality (read: expensive) formula. It worked wonders. She truly became a different child. Nothing short of me limiting my diet to bread/water was going to make her tummy happy. I had reservations about switching to formula, but I was at the end of my rope (and those who know me know I have ALOT of rope, lol). As the can of formula predicted, it took 14 days to see a difference, but my God, it was like night and day. So, I don't regret for one minute the decision to switch her to formula.

Connor...aka Mr. Man (again, I gave this to him in the NICU and it has stuck), Buddy Boo

He is just a big honking BOY. I had no idea there would be such a difference in boy/girl. He's much thicker than Avery, and weighs at least a pound more. When I stretch out my hand, thumb to middle finger, it is almost impossible for me to get my hand across his chest. He's wearing 6 month clothes.

He looks like a male version of Sophie when she was a baby, which is to say he looks like Dan. I do think he also looks like my maternal grandfather. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's there.

He would just lie there like a bump on a log, as Avery learned to roll over. Now though, it's her that just lies there on her back, while Connor IMMEDIATELY rolls over to his tummy, if you lie him down on his back. It's like laying on his back just simply isn't an option.

He also has his two bottom teeth which popped up about two weeks ago.

He is the classic "baby." Nothing phases him. He's a happy guy, always smiling, chilling out.

He is still drinking breastmilk, but the past month or so I've had to supplement with formula. I don't know if it's my stress level or what, but my supply is going down. I don't like it, but I don't have time to dwell on it.

He, unfortunately, has had some health issues. We noticed a pea sized lump that appeared in his neck about 3 months ago. It grew. Pedi's original thought was swollen lymph node, as it appeared about the same time as a cold he was having. She sent us to the ER for an ultrasound and the ER docs agreed, and told us we should see a reduction in size as the cold disappeared. It actually got bigger, at which time pedi referred us to an ENT. Her original dx was lymphatic malformation. She ordered an MRI, at which time the radiologists diagnosed it as a hemangioma, which was really no better or worse than what ENT thought, just different. ENT gave me the dx over the phone and srongly suggested medication to reduce the area. In my subsequent research, it seems that medication is not often used to treat this, so my assumption is that the ENT does not like the location of the lump, and the ability it has to either keep growing into the ear or the throat.

We see the ENT tomorrow for her confirmation of the radiologists dx, and to talk specifics about treatment. I have lots of questions:)

Both babies smile and giggle. They are grasping toys, switching hands, making eye contact...meeting most, if not all, developmental milestones. Avery was holding her own bottle last night, and it wasn't just a fluke. It was both hands, holding (and doing a damn good job) her bottle.

Here are a few pics. SOrry to my Face.book friends...nothing new that you haven't seen yet.

One of my all-time faves, from back in November. SOphie kissing Avery...