The Mysteriously Expanding Abigail

So, Tuesday is the day our Speech/Feeding Therapist comes. Every Tuesday we weigh the girls on a special baby scale that my sister generously bought for us ages ago. Recently, of course, Tuesday's have been rather disappointing.

This past Tuesday, however, Abby weighed in at 17#4oz. Last week, she was 16#10oz. I didn't believe it. A 10 oz gain! That's impossible. So, I check it again. Same thing. I was still rather doubtful. We decided maybe she need to poop. Interestingly, she did have a small poop soon after, but I don't think it weighed 10 oz.

The next day, Wednesday, I weighed her again. 17#3 oz. Seriously. I still think it's wrong. They didn't gain 10oz in a week when hooked up to a feeding tube. I just don't get it. I would think the whole scale to be off except that Natalie weighed in at 16#2oz - the same as last week. THAT, I can believe. So, I may weigh her again tomorrow just to see. Maybe I'll use our real scale. It's digital and goes to the tenth....

In other news,

Natalie's OTHER top tooth is making an appearance. She soon will have all her front teeth - two on top and two on the bottom. Abby better watch out.

Two days ago, Natalie did the neatest thing. She was sitting beside the couch in this little corner near the window. I was on the couch. I could hear her babbling and babbling, "diddy, diddy, diddy". Then she stood up and showed me her toy while pointing to one side, "diddy, diddy". I looked at the block and on one side was a kitty! She was pointing to and saying the word kitty! I was so excited. This is not a block we usually play with either. I didn't even know it had a cat on it, so when I saw it and put the two together, I was thrilled. So, it's "kitty" as a first word for everyone!

Abby has discovered balls in the past 2 days. She is picking them up and throwing them. Today, she threw one practically across the room. She also has decided she loves Dr. Seuss. I only have "The Foot Book", but she hands it to me to read. When she does, she actually starts bobbing up and down. I think she completely gets the rhythm of the book.

Both girls actually really love books. We have one book, "Find the Kitten", which we started reading at bedtime when we were sleep training them. They still love it. They are starting to point to the kitty more, especially Natalie who has quite the good form with one finger pointing. Towards the end, there's a page where the kitty is in a wheelbarrow. The text says, "Kitty loves a bumpy ride". We would bounce up and down when we read it. Now, they start bouncing as soon as we get to the page. The next, and last, page is kitty and the little girl in the door way of a house, and it reads, "Now it's time to go inside". Since we read it at night, we always added, "nite, nite kitty, say bye, bye to the kitty". Now, Natalie will start waving bye bye at the page even before I read it.

It's amazing to me how much the can understand and remember. They are starting to really try to communicate too. Abby was on top of a plastic drawer and was making little "mmm, mmmm" frustrated sounds. I realized she was trying to open the drawer. I opened it, and she happily climbed in. They will also make noises when they bring a book to me and want me to read it - especially if I don't do it right away.

On the feeding front...
Fig Newtons. 50 calories a cookie. They love them. I did learn a valuable lesson today though. Fig Newtons are not to be handed whole to the babies for them to eat while roaming around the living room. Newtons ground into the floor, newtons in hair, newtons between toes, newtons in crumbles... Fig Newtons are mommy-directed or to be given in their feeding chairs. Very valuable lesson.

I also discovered a yo-baby drinkable yogurt at just over 30 calories an ounce. The girls will often drink these things from their straw cups when they refuse their bottles. And, then there is coconut cream. 130 calories AN OUNCE! Holy Moly! Can they just drink it straight? So yogurt (180cal/6 ounces), plus an ounce of heavy whipping cream (~100 cal) + a little coconut cream (~100cal) = ~380 calories for about 7.5 ounces - an amazing 46.6 calories an ounce. Woo Hoo. Add in a fig newton and we've got ourselves a meal, baby!

A special Warning: Do not try this at home. While Fig Newtons are great for calorie deprived babies, they are not good for calorie-restricted mommies. A glass of milk and 4 Fig Newtons at 1am after feeding the babies is bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad.