The Twins Eat Solids & Get New Nicknames!
In case you've just started following along, every Sunday and Wednesday (6pm EST) I post the twin blog.
Last July, my husband and I got a call asking us if we would consider adopting twin girls. We had 24 hours to make our decision (which you can read about here Part 1: Babies can be victims of human trafficking too and Part 2: Bringing home the twins. For our full story, you'll find a "Table of Contents" at the bottom of my post.) Needless to say, we said yes!
Nicknames
Thank you to all those who gave suggestions for the twins' nicknames: @opti-mrs, @healthy-home, @nortjenn, @thankgodikkc, @haiyen2901, @public-eye, @insideoutlet, @imsteinsbrother, @emmyem84
I really liked your ideas and had a lot of fun reading through them!
In the end, I went through the list with Matt to see if he had any preferences and then with the girls, looking to see what they responded to. Inconclusive.
And then the other day, I caught myself calling them "Squirt" and "Squish". So, that was it! I think it was almost harder than choosing their real names! 😅
Solids
When the girls turned 6 months old we tried to start them on solids, but their tummies just weren't ready for it (not unusual for preemies). So we waited a few more weeks and then started with sweet potato. They loved it!
Since then they’ve branched out to:
- Bananas
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Green beans
- Persimmon
A little background ...
I grew up on processed foods. My dad had a garden and preferred a healthier diet. On the other hand, my mom was a boxed-foods kind of person, so that's what we ate. After a concussion in college, I started having major health issues, which led me to examine my diet. With help from a massage therapist (who I was seeing for my concussion), I became more aware of how foods affected my body and started to make healthier choices.
Back to the present ...
When we first got the girls, we were thankful for whatever food came our way, and especially grateful to eat a hot meal (versus one that sat waiting for us while we took care of the babies). But it started taking its toll on our health.
At the end of the year, after Matt had been down for 4 weeks with back-to-back sicknesses, I decided that cooking better meals for us needed to be a priority.
It's a lot easier now that the girls are older. They can entertain themselves for longer, and they enjoy watching me in the kitchen.
Homemade baby food
To help with our budget, I make the girls’ solids too. We are doing a cross between baby-led weaning and purees. With baby-led weaning, the girls learn to feed themselves pieces of soft foods. I like that they get to learn about textures and “chewing” (gumming in their case) with baby-led weaning. But it's not always the most efficient method of getting the food into their bodies ... at least not yet.
Since they're drinking fewer bottles, I want to make sure they’re getting the nutrients they need so I spoon-feed them too.
Next time
I've been putting off writing Thursday's topic for awhile, but I'm saying it here, so that I'll stick with it. Every adoptive relationship is different, but one of the common difficulties is attachment. Some parents might not realize it when they adopt infants or really young children, but the struggle is still there. I'll share more about my own struggles as an adoptee and what we've observed with the girls.
If you're interested in reading the beginning of our story:
- Intro: Surprise, we have twins! The story behind why I fell off the face of Planet Steemit...
- Part 1: Babies can be victims of human trafficking too
- Part 2: Bringing home the twins
- Part 3: They don't come with a manual | Taking care of twins
- Part 4: Two love stories and understanding the twins' loss
- Part 5: Feeding the twins, feeding ourselves, and working full-time
- Part 6: Twins, not twins & going out with preemie babies
- Part 7: Taking a family vacation with twins to Cameron Highlands
- Part 8: Night intruder | Our vacation to Cameron Highlands continued
- Part 9: Ending the year as parents and celebrating the twins' first Christmas
- Part 10: What it takes to be the Superdad of twin babies
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Oh I love it! Squirt and Squish! Now.... did feeding time play into these nicknames?
And wow, they are getting big. This is lots of fun watching twins pass 5-10 months in just one or two months time! But then when they hit 3 years old it would be no fun... "Slow down my babies, you are growing up too fast!" haha <3
You know, your experience with sickness leading to better eating.... I have heard the same story/experience many times in my life. Sometimes sickness and adversity do make us stronger! :-D
Hugs and squishes!! <3 <3 <3
I checked out your other posts about the twins and how they arrived in your life because I got curious. This is a beautiful story. You both have a huge heart for adopting these two angels. Not a lot of people would open their home, let alone spend time and money to take care of these babies. GOD BLESS you.
Thanks so much for going back and reading our story! We are so grateful for the girls. I never imagined I'd have twins ... I'm learning so much just being their mom. We feel very blessed to have them as our daughters and hope they know that someday!
You sure are very blessed to have them as they are for having you. Someday, they will realize how much you both loved them. I can see thru your posts how much effort you give for both of them. I'm a first time mom as well and my baby is turning 9 months this March. Everything I do is new to me. I also forgot to mention that having twins runs in our family; my sisters are twins and I have a lot of cousins who are twins. :-) You're very blessed to have yours. GOD BLESS you and your good heart.
Oh, you have a little one too (boy or girl?) and wow! Maybe you'll have twins too! :)
Yes I have a baby daughter now. During the first few months of my pregnancy, we were even hoping for twins. Hahaha. But now, I don't think I'm ready yet (nor will I ever be)to have twins.
this is her
Saya kalau lihat anak sekecil ini,kepinginnya remas2 ....
I love it lol. Squish is my name for my stoma. I had to laugh when I saw that one. They are adorable. Your in the US yes?
LOL :D Well, I guess you'll be able to remember it easily! I think they're getting cuter every day. We are US citizens but we're currently living in Malaysia (not too far from Australia!) Once the adoption is finalized, we'll apply for the girls' citizenship and then go back for their passports ... not sure how long that will take though.
Are you living in Malaysia due to the adoption or due to work and the adoption was an added bonus? We actually got matched today, we have been waiting two years and were told another two years were expected. So super exciting times ahead.
We came here to teach and then got the call about the twins. It's a different system here than in the US, but we have to navigate both processes ... so lots of paperwork and visits to government offices.
Congratulations! That's really exciting! If you have any questions, I'm happy to share whatever knowledge/experience may be helpful. You can find me on Steem.chat (same username).
I love the new nicknames! Always like hearing the updates, interesting to hear about all the new foods they've branched out to!
Thanks for being a regular here :) It's fun to watch their faces when they try new foods ... Squish makes the best faces, but she eats really well. Squirt takes her time to decide if she likes it, but then she can gobble it down quick.
Haha yes I can't wait to see what you have them try next!
I decided to take a look at your blog and found out about the twins. They are so beautiful.
Thank you! They are beautiful babies with amazing personalities - it so much fun to watch them grow :) We are very thankful for them.
Oh my my this is beautiful. I love twins so much, and it's my utmost expectation that my wife gives birth to one.
Such cute names you were able to come up with, and to crown it all your twins look like angels, they are so so beautiful . I would always drop by to check your blog, the contents are really amazing.
Thank you so much! We love them very much. If your wife does have twins, you'll want to make sure you help her lots! I couldn't do it without my husband :) They need a lot of care and attention!
I love bananas too because I'm still a kid at heart, haha.
haha, I think most do!