Swimming
We have taken the babies swimming twice so far, both times to Langley Leisure Centre. LLC is one of the few places that has a dedicated baby and toddler swim time at weekends. Most pools are full of larger children at weekends so it's less appealing for little babies. I really liked the pool itself and the changing room te,temperature was very good but I'd like to try somewhere else next time as the water being 31 degrees was just a bit too cold for Carl so we barely managed 10 mins each time. Must try to research other pools soon.
Good news is though that they boy loved their swims. They both felt very comfortable in the water and moved around a lot. Both were happy to have their faces in the water and we did a little swim underwater both times which went very well. I really want to keep this up as a regular feature now that we've got the hang of the logistics of getting 2 babies and 2 adults in and out of the water in the least stressful way possible!
Cranial Osteopathy
We've been very concerned about Ella only turning her head to the right, never looking left and only rarely looking straight ahead. This resulted in her having a very lopsided shaped head with the right side being quite flat. It's called Flat Head Syndrome and is more prevalent in twins and babies who have been in incubators. Opinions on treatment differ from some doctors who say do nothing to those who believe in helmet therapy where the baby wears a helmet 23 hours a day. That was obviously not top of my wishlist. Our doctor said not to worry as it would eventually right itself but we weren't too happy with that as even the health visiting team thought it essential to check the neck muscles were OK. A large number of people suggested Cranial Osteopathy to me. I admit to not really knowing much about it or even what it was really but after so many recommendations I couldn't ignore it. We booked in for an appointment in Windsor and the osteopath immediately felt that Ella's neck muscles on one side were extremely tight. A 30 minute session later and Ella was looking straight ahead and to the right in equal measures. The second session this week now has Ella looking left as well and one more session next week should be the last one. We have also been using Mimos pillows that help align her head favourably and her head shape is SO much better now. In comparison with other people who I know have experienced this issue, I feel C.O. has got us a solution in the most timely manner and at a fairly reasonable cost. Carl has also had 2 sessions to try to improve his digestion issues but we're not seeing much improvement in him yet. He does however have a Paediatric Consultant appointment on Thursday (finally) so we're hoping they may have some answers for us to help him with this.
Baby Incredible Years / Funeral of a dear friend
I have been given the opportunity to take part in a 9 week course along with the babies called Baby Incredible Years. It's run by the children's centre and is entirely free. The first session was this morning and I met some other lovely mums and their babies. The course itself felt a bit basic today, a tad patronising i.e. parenting for dummies but apparently that's just the first session and it should get better. Dan will be going in my place next week as sadly I will be attending a funeral in Scotland so Dan is the stay-at-home dad for 3 days. RIP Marlene. It's a shame you didn't get to meet the twins. We'll all miss you.
Twins Group
As well as the privately run Gemini group near Maidenhead that we have attended, the local children's centre has a special Stay n Play session on a Friday for multiples. We've been twice now and I have to say I really like it. It's very chilled and only a few families attend so it's nice in that we can have a good chat. Most babies there are under a year so they are not to far apart in age. We have a play and a chat and I look forward to these sessions very much. Hoping Dan will take them next Friday in my place.
Back to Work
I went back to work last Saturday, examining at the University of Reading. Dan looked after the babies and sent me a photo during the day. It proved to be a great photo for challenging friends and family on Facebook to try to identify which baby is which! They really are starting to look alike, especially as Ella is now catching up and putting on a good amount of weight.
Weights
They are due to be weighed this week but it's not easy to get to the clinic as I have things on including my NCT reunion which I'm really looking forward to. SO these weights are 2 weeks old now. Carl - 10 lb 15 oz (4.98 kilos) Wearing 0-3 months clothes and Size 2 nappies Ella - 9 lb 5 oz (4.24 kilos) Wearing Newborn clothes and Size 2 nappies
Vaccinations
2nd set done 1 more to go this year. Carl went off his food 2 days later for a couple of days. We're fairly sure it was due to the vaccinations. Got a bit worried about dehydration with him not taking any milk but he did then take some water and steadily increased his milk intake thankfully.
Developments
Both babies smile away now. Ella has smiled and chuckled all day today which is a massive difference. I do wonder if it is the release in tension from her osteopath session yesterday. She's smiled non-stop and snuggled in for cuddles more than she ever used to. A much happier baby today all round.
This week has also seen both babies working on hand-eye co-ordination. They've started taking a lot of notice of the toys that hang on their bouncer chairs and have been trying to touch them constantly. Carl is working on using his hands to put his dummy back in his mouth too!
They have been sitting in their bumbos as you can see in the picture further up.
Carl looks as if he is about to roll at any time whereas Ella has pretty good head control.
Hoping to update more frequently but I have twins so who knows....
Sooooooo cute bubbas!!!!
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