9.5 months old - new pics

9.5 months old and getting even bigger. I was recently looking back at pics and videos of when they were younger. It's just incredible how fast the boys grow and develop.

Sal's mum likes to make quilts as a hobby. When she asked what the boys would like for x-mas Sal immediatly jumped at the chance to get some unique hand made quilts. They took a little longer than expected to make, but the boys recently got their quilts. They are fantastic, and the boys love them. Below it's Ethan's quilt. Ben's is very similar, but has green material between all the squares instead of blue. The quilts are about 70cm x 100cm big (approx 2 x 3 feet).

Zoomed in look at Ethan's quilt The other side of Ethan's quilt (both quilts look the same on that side)

Ethan kneeling at the coffee table

Ethan sitting at the coffee table

Ethan playing with water on his high chair (and making a huge mess)

Boys in our living room (playroom)

Boys again in the living room

Ethan in the washing basket

Benny
Benny about to stand at the coffee table

Benny standing at the coffee table

VERY cheeky Benny climbing on the coffee table (something he knows he's not allowed to do)
Benny

Ethan, Tracie & Benny

Benny, Sal & Ethan

Ethan and Benny attacking Sal's face

A Day at the Doctor

Brief History: Benny has had eczema since he was about 3 weeks old. He was taken off breast milk and milk-based formula at 4 months and his skin made an instant and dramatic improvement. He still gets occasional flareups, but nothing like it used to be. At 6 months we had him allergy tested and he has an egg allergy. They also assume he has some food intolerances, but told us you can-not test for them, it's just trial and error with his diet.
Ethan never really had any problems. He occasionally gets an upset belly and a small patch of eczema on his left cheek. He wasn't tested at 6 months old.
After their 6 month appointment we were told to introduce low allergy solid foods. Our boys ate pears, potato, swede, choko, green beans, rice, rice cereal, chicken and veal. They tolerate all of these foods very well, and are doing well eating them.

9 Month Checkup: On Wednesday we took the boys back to the allergy clinic for a checkup. Last time we only got Benny looked at, this time we got both boys tested. We only did Ethan because Ben has allergies.... We were shocked to find Ethan also has an allergy to egg. Benny still showed positive for his egg allergy, and did not reveal any other allergies.

We now start the long process of introducing a wider variety of food into their diet. In consultation with a dietitian, we have a plan so this is done in a controlled manner so we will pick up issues as they arise.
Our first step is to wean Ethan onto formula. Ethan has been drinking expressed breast milk since he was born. He did have some formula in the first few months when he was sharing the supply with Benny, but since we've taken Ben off the breast milk (5 months ago) Ethan has been drinking 99%breast milk (occasional formula if we're out for a long time). Ethan is currently drinking 4 bottles a day. We have already swapped his morning bottle to formula. We will swap one more bottle each week until in a few weeks he's on 100% formula. If Ethan tolerates the formula, we can also start giving him other dairy foods such as yogurt and (egg free) custard. Benny will try dairy after he's a year old.

Once Ethan is weaned to formula we start to introduce more food. This is our plan, which must be done in this order. We can only try to introduce new foods when they have had 3 eczema free days in a row.

Step1: Wheat. We will give them a basic egg free wheat pasta. If that goes well we can try bread.

Step2: Salicylate challenge. We need to give them a diet high in Salicylates to see if they react to them. This includes apples, stone fruit, mango, strawberries, capsicum, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, cucumber and several other fruits and veges (we have a long list). If they react, we stop, if they tolerate it we are then safe to give them these foods. - the dietitian expects Ben to fail this challenge and have a reaction.

Step3: Amine Challenge. We give the boys a diet high in amines. The list of baby suitable amine products is shorter. We can give banana, paw paw, pork and cocoa powder. Similarly, if they react, we stop, if they tolerate it we are then safe to give them these foods. - the dietitian expects Ben to fail this challenge and have a reaction.

Step4: If the boys fail either or both challenges we have to go back to the beginning and very slowly introduce the foods in small doses (one teaspoon a day) and gradually increase the amounts in the hope that we will be able to eventually tolerate them.

We'll let you know how it goes....

9 months old - loving to stand up

I can't believe our little babies are 9 months old already. They wont be babies for much longer..... wow, toddlers soon. Their development has come along in major leaps and bounds in the last month.

Both boys LOVE to stand up and walk along while holding onto something. Benny has recently mastered the art of getting himself into a standing position. He now crawls around the room and stands up at various points, walks and explores as much as he can, gets down and crawls to the next spot. He's very pleased with himself and laughs a lot.

First is the video of Ben crawling up to the table. This was taken a few days ago.

Since taking the previous video, Benny has improved his skill and technique to get into a standing position. He can now stand up using almost anything. Thankfully he has also mastered the art of getting back down again!!

Below is today's video of Ben making a bee-line for the laptop. Notice the improved technique and skill..... and also see his other new trick. He now does a combination of army crawling and proper crawling. He started that a few days ago. He does about half-half now of army and proper crawling. He gets down onto his belly when he wants to go fast, and up on his knees when he wants to stand up.

Ethan is not yet able to get himself into a standing position, but he is working on it, and might master it in the next few weeks. Ethan really enjoys standing up, and often comes up to us and asks up to help him up. Very cute. He is getting very good at communicating his needs and wants with us. Below is a video of Ethan standing at the table, the toy he is playing with is one of the boys favorites. She is called 'Debra the Zebra'.

Benny and Tracie at the computer

Ethan at the coffee table

Ethan at the coffee table again

Benny playing on the floor

Ethan standing up holding onto Tracie

Ethan standing holding onto Sal's leg

Benny and Ethan playing with their new standing up activity table.

Benny standing at the couch giving Sal a cheeky look

Benny standing at the couch

Ethan playing on the floor

Benny at the activity table

Ethan crawling under the activity table

Boys again at the activity table

Ethan chewing on the activity table

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Since we found out Tracie was pregnant with twins we've had the dilemma of what type of pram to buy. Initially we had to have a side by side pram as both seats needed to be able to fully recline to be suitable for very little babies. Since the boys have been able to sit upright we've been thinking of buying a different pram. Our first pram is great, but it's very heavy, takes up most of the boot and is quite wide and often difficult to push around small areas, especially at the shops. Today we bought a new pram. It's lighter, folds smaller than our other pram and isn't as wide. There are of course pros and cons to each style of pram, and we will continue to use both prams depending on the situation.

Below is our first pram we've had since the boys were born.

Below is our new pram. Ben in the front, Ethan in back

Handsome Boys

Benny (left) & Ethan (right)Ethan (left) & Benny (right)Ethan (left) & Benny (right)
Ethan (left) & Benny (right)

Ethan

Benny

Meals and Messes

The boys are getting very good at holding their bottles now. They've been doing it for some time now, and it sure does make bottle time easier!Benny holding his bottle
Ethan holding his bottle.Eating solids however, is not such an easy feat! Solids can be a VERY messy event. Sometimes we try to keep it clean, and sometimes we let the boys play with their food. They love to play with and feel the texture of their food. We figure we can always wash them off, and it's a good learning experience. Below is Benny after playing with his rice and green beans.
Ethan after playing with his rice and green beans.Benny having a bath in the sink after making a lovely mess with his food.
Ethan after his bath, waiting to get dressed

Pulling up to Stand

Both boys have recently made attempts to pull them self from a sitting position into a standing position. Benny tried it first last week. He tried to pull him self up using one of his toys. It overbalanced, and so did he..... it was pretty funny. He wasn't hurt, but was a little confused as to what had just happened.

Ethan was trying to pull himself up today onto the toy box. We managed to find the camera and catch the action!

Below is the video of Ethan trying to pull himself up. It was about his 10th attempt (by the time we found the camera) and he was getting a little frustrated by that point. He tried very hard, but couldn't quite co-ordinate himself to get all the way up and balance at the same time. I'm sure it wont be long and he'll be pulling up on everything!

Getting so big - 8 months old!

Our little boys are now just over 8 months old. They are getting so big, so clever and so cheeky. They are interested in the world around them, and have an intense need to explore EVERYTHING!! They are more mobile every day, and get into lots of mischief. We have a gate between the living room and the kitchen. We often leave it open, as the boys have not yet ventured into the kitchen..... well today, Benny went full pelt crawling into the kitchen. (He's still army crawling, and getting quite fast!) He was so excited, laughing to himself. I've never seen him crawl so fast, he was determined to explore as much as possible before we took him away! Cheeky boy! We don't really want him crawling in the kitchen due to his allergies. We keep the living room clean for him, but we're a little slack in the kitchen...... it's clean, just not allergy clean all the time.

Both boys chat to them self all day long. Benny says mum mum mum, dad dad dad, bub bub bub & nan nan nan. Benny also has many combinations of these words in one long gibbering sentence something like "mum mum mum bub bub bub gagalalaga mum mum mum dadadada" and so on...

Ethan says "mum" and "muma" just once..... just when he wants something. He is almost using it appropriately to get our attention. Ethan hasn't said anything else yet. He doesn't 'talk' as much, but makes a lot of noises all day.

Ethan (We think he's looking older..... more like a boy than a baby)Benny (cheeky as usual)

See all Benny's teeth? Benny has 4 teeth (2top, 2 bottom) and they are growing fast. We think he's getting the next two top ones soon. Ethan still has just 2 bottom teeth.

Ethan rolling around the floor. After months of tummy time related arguments, both boys now love being on their tummies. If we lay them on the floor on their back, they roll them self onto their tummy and roll or crawl away to play with their toys.

BennyEthan

Benny (see the boxes they're playing with?..... they are storage boxes for their toys, and sometimes they prefer to play with the box than the toy)

ETHAN CAN CRAWL!!! yay for Ethan!!! He's been desperate to crawl and getting very frustrated with his own inability to crawl. The other day he started to wriggle in a forward direction..... now he's army crawling in his own special way. When both boys started to crawl, we encouraged them to go forward by placing toys in front of them for motivation...... As we said before, Ethan is very curious about the world around him. Below is a video of Ethan crawling towards the camera to investigate it. The first day Ethan started crawling we kept trying to encourage him forward with different things. The item that finally motivated Ethan to crawl was his dirty nappy in a plastic bag!!!! Nice!!!

Both boys are getting quite good at their solids. They are still eating pureed foods, but soon we will be introducing lumpier food. They now eat potato, green beans, choko, chicken, veal, rice cereal and pears. By far, Benny's favorite is pears, or rice cereal mixed with pears. He gets so excited when he gets to eat them. He rocks back and forth, and opens his mouth wide. It's actually quite challenging to get the food into the moving target. He will slowly and painfully eat the veges and meat, but LOVES, and almost inhales his rice cereal and pears. Benny's allergies are going well. Apart from that big reaction last week, his skin has been very good, as he doesn't seem to react to his environment as much as he used to. Ethan likes everything we've given him so far. He calmly opens his mouth when the spoon comes, and eats very well. We will introduce swede, their next food in a few days time. Below is a video of the boys eating their rice cereal and pears. Ethan on the left, Ben on the right.

As far as development goes, the boys are going well. They can both sit very well, as you see in the video above. Benny can get himself down onto his belly in a controlled falling type fashion. Ethan hasn't worked it out yet, but we're trying to teach him. Both boys can sit for at least half an hour without falling. They get bored of sitting and whinge to change activities before falling down now. Neither boy has worked out how to get into the sitting position from their belly, or has tried to pull himself up on any furniture yet. Both boys can stand up if they are holding onto something (mum's hands, coffee table, cot sides etc).

Both boys are now very determined in what they want to do. They crawl to specific toys they want to play with, or crawl to the area we store all the toys, and go through the boxes to find the toys they want. They both love balls or all different sizes. Ethan loves to hold small plastic balls in the palm of his hand. We have one with a bell inside that he loves to shake. Benny loves bigger (soccer sized) balls that he chases across the room, laughing and when he catches it he rolls onto his back and holds it above his belly with both his arms and legs. Both boys often decide they want the specific toy that their brother just happens to be playing with at the time. We've had a few arguments over toys and even a few tantrums!!

Both boys are developing their pincer grip (ability to pick up small objects with the thumb and forefinger). They are often seen picking up little bits of dust or food on the floor. We have to vacuum daily, and it's still not enough! - of course everything goes in the mouth!!!

Both boys, Benny in particular LOVE the cats. They watch them and smile as they enter the room. If the cat happens to walk near them, they get very excited, kicking their legs and laughing. The cats get a little scared by this bizarre reception, and usually run away. Benny has been seen a few times crawling at top speed across the floor in an attempt to get a cat that's quickly disappearing out the door!

The boys are getting a little better with their stranger anxiety. They are now quite happy to have a cuddle with Tracie's family who we see quite often. They often smile at strangers at the shops, when they used to cry if someone spoke to them. They are also experiencing some separation anxiety, and sometimes cry if we go out of the room. Benny has a new habit of crawling up to our feet and touching our feet/shoes/pants and whinging when he wants a cuddle. He has only done it about 4-5 times so far in the last few days. Ethan gave Sal his first kiss today.

Both boys are growing like weeds. They haven't been weighed in about a month, but they sure seem bigger to us. They are wearing clothes for babies 9-12months or size 00 to 0. Ethan is still quite a bit bigger. We'd guess he's about 9kg now. Today we decided that his current nappy (diaper) size (6-11kg) is too small and he's now moved to up to the toddler size (10-15kg) and they fit nicely. Benny will stay in the smaller size as we still have about 100 of them, and they still fit him well.

Ethan's hair has suddenly had a huge growth spurt! It's now really quite long in places. Most of his hair from birth fell out when he was a month old. It's now about 2cm (almost an inch) long in places. It's quite a bit lighter than his birth hair. Now he has light brown/ dark blonde hair. Benny's hair is getting longer too. It's almost 1cm (third of an inch) long. We aren't sure what colour it will be. It's possibly blonde, strawberry blond or ginger. Hard to tell. It defiantly has a red-ish tint in the sunlight.

Ethan in the laundry basket.

Benny having cuddles with mum.

Ethan (left) and Benny (right) on their new bikes grandma bought them for Xmas. We went for a walk down to the shops. The boys had a great time, and everyone smiled at them and many people told us how cute they look together. We'll defiantly be going for more walks like this. These bikes are a lot easier to push up the hill than a twin pram!!

Benny's Allergies

Today we took the boys for another swim in their little blue plastic pool. It was the second time they'd been in it. We filled it the same way as last time and put the same toys in as last time (bath toys). Benny had a terrible allergic reaction. The poor baby came out in red welts on his legs, front, back, neck, head, face and all around his mouth. It was the most sudden acute allergic reaction we've ever seen him have. After the bath he was crying uncontrollably and kept coughing. We were worried his throat was swelling or something. His lips and tongue looked normal. Atleast if he's crying we know he can breathe!! We gave him his antihistamine that the allergy clinic told us to use and a dummy and he calmed down. We also put on his hydrocortisone cream. His red welts were gone within an hour. It was a little scary. We're still not sure exactly what caused it. He was swimming in tap water in a plastic bath with his regular bath toys. We dont know what he was allergic to!

Cheeky Jumping Boys

Our boys are getting more mobile. Benny is getting better at his army crawling, and cruises around the room from one toy to another. He is much more independent and doesn't lie on the floor and whinge as much as he used to now he can entertain himself. We are very pleased about this. Ethan DESPERATELY wants to crawl, and has become more whingy due to his frustration at his own inability to crawl. We're hoping he'll get it soon. He is still very mobile, and wriggles and rolls everywhere. We've installed a gate between the kitchen and living room to make sure they don't get into the kitchen. Below is a pic of the 2 cheeky monkeys trying to escape into the kitchen. Before the boys were born, Aunty Shell gave them a tigger jolly jumper. We haven't tried it for a while, so we thought we'd get it out for another go. The boys LOVED it! They jumped and jumped and laughed for ages. Below is Ethan in the jumper.

Ethan again in the jumper..... like his tail?

Benny in the jumper.

Ethan also decided he'd like to try out the bike Nana gave him. He is still too little to properly reach the ground for balance, but can sit on it with help, and he thought it was FANTASTIC!