4 months - We did it! We survived!

The twins are officially 4 months old, and yesterday they had their "well baby" appointments (with vaccinations). As a result, they had a miserable night and are still pretty cranky today.

The visit went well. We had a nice nurse, which immediately reduced my stress level. The check-ups were, for the most part, uneventful. Except for one thing.

There we were, with me having just told our pediatrician that M can do a push-up for a long time and likes to hang out on his belly looking in the mirror, but that E doesn't, and that M has almost rolled over, but his arm acts as a brake because he keeps flinging it out beside him. E, on the other hand, hasn't even come close to rolling over. The doc then asked something like, "But she can lift herself up and move, right?" to which I responded in the affirmative. He suggested that perhaps E is like big brother (who didn't roll all the way belly to back until he was eight months old) and is so content as to not be motivated to do it. Then he flipped her onto her belly on the table and said, "Let's see what she can do." What she did was promptly lift her head and chest up, wiggle around, and strain until she'd essentially rolled onto her side.

I could see her irritation. It was as if her baby brain was thinking, "What the heck is this? I can't see anything laying like this!" So she rolled. She even moved her arm out of the brake position all on her own. She stopped moving once she could see us, proving the point that her lack of movement at home isn't about lack of ability so much as lack of motivation. The doc said something about suspecting she's perfectly capable of rolling, should she so choose.

It felt like that time we had Moo in for one of his well baby visits and told our pediatrician that he hadn't pushed himself into a sitting position yet. Then we put him on the table for his exam and he promptly pushed himself into a sit. My children like to make a liar out of me.

We also had a sweet couple of moments at the doctor's in which the kids, who were on the table together, stared into each others' eyes and cooed whilst playing with each others' hands. Usually just one is interested and the other is staring off into space or at a toy.

In related news, M is completely fascinated with his hands these days. I'll often catch him holding one out, staring at it like he just discovered it and it's the world's greatest toy. He has also been displaying a quirky sense of humor. Not only does he enjoy being tickled (the books say that babies don't like light touches), but he frequently laughs at me for no apparent reason. I guess I'm a fantastic comedienne, without even trying.

In unrelated news, Moo is supposed to be napping right now (the babies are asleep in their swings), but I can hear him talking over the monitor. He's putting his toys in time out. You read that right, they're in time out.

"You're in time out! You're in time out too. I'm in time out. No! *giggling* Time out!"

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13 lbs, 1 oz and 25"

15 lbs, 5 oz and 26.5"

Not sleeping.