Dear Rowan and Scarlett – 4 Month Old Twins

Dear Rowan and Scarlett,

This month you truly transformed from newborns to babies and it’s getting more fun by the day! You both are super alert and active and love to take in your surroundings. You’re incredibly social and all we have to do to make you smile (most of the time) is just look, talk or sing to you! The way your eyes light up when I look at you makes me so happy.

We haven’t had your 4 month appointment yet but you’re growing fast (there is a 4 month growth spurt and I can tell). You’re now mostly in 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers. Rowan is still lighter than Scarlett – we’ll find out exactly how much at our appointment.

This month you hit a lot of milestones! At the beginning of the month, Rowan started to lift her head much more in tummy time and then shortly after rolled over from belly to back. Just recently, Scarlett made major strides in tummy time – previously she wouldn’t even lift her head at all during tummy time and now she’s able to fully lift it for several minutes and last week she rolled over. Toward the end of the month, Rowan started to roll from back to front! It’s funny because Rowan knows how to roll from front to back but after rolling onto her tummy she’ll get frustrated after a while that she’s there and get stuck. I remember you sister Siena also doing this!

One of the CUTEST things you do now is interact with each other!!! You smile and notice one another now which is adorable. You also get sad when we leave you and you want attention – you both love to be held on our laps in an upright position and look at our faces or look around the room. I’ve started using the carrier more often to carry one of you around the house or outside so that you can see the world better. You also love to interact with your sister – Scarlett you are now laughing and Siena can make you laugh hard!

Sleep regressed a bit this month. Scarlett is my champion sleeper. She has been sleeping through the night consistently for nearly 2 months and this month sleeps 10-11 hours through the night every night with the exception of 1-2 nights. There’s only been ONE night in the last month that both of you woke up in the night. This works well because I can nurse the one (Rowan) who wakes up in the night and don’t have to worry about supplementing or anything. Rowan was giving us a solid 8-10 hour stretch until about a week and a half ago. Now she is waking up consistently around 3 a.m. to eat and then again around 5 a.m. and is often ready to be up for the day at 6 a.m. I know this regression isn’t as bad as many have experienced but your sister Siena is also going through a regression and is keeping us up late, coming into our bed in the night and waking up very early, so with the three of you combined your mom and dad are not getting very much sleep!

We’re still not on any kind of schedule with you girls. I’m still pumping every 3-4 hours a day but even that isn’t on a schedule. I’ve attempted to get bedtime around 8 PM but some nights you just aren’t ready to go to bed that early. Other nights you’re ready before that and I’ll give you a quick dream feed with the bottle (you usually don’t drink more than 2-3 oz though) right before your dad and I go to bed. Honestly I’m not even sure that the dream feed helps you sleep any longer though! I prefer the days when you both wake up in the morning around the same time because it means you take your first nap around the same time which helps me get some work done on the days that Siena is at school. You generally take 4 naps per day, one in the morning, one mid day, one early afternoon and a cat nap in the evening. I have no idea how much you eat because we feed on demand and you share bottles so it’s really a free for all!

This month we hired a nanny to watch you on Tuesdays while your sister is in school so I can get some uninterrupted work in. Her name is Dani and she was referred to us by another twin mom in our North County Moms of Multiples group. She is very sweet and your sister Siena really likes her as well (she sees her briefly after school). Between this and your grandma who is here each week, you get extra cuddles and attention which makes me feel better because I’m not always able to give you as many as I wish I could!

Last week you had your first baby outing – we met up with my friend Sara who I met through the NcMOMs group for baby sign and song time at the library. You didn’t necessarily participate but it was good to get you out of the house and into a baby friendly environment. You get out with your dad and me every Thursday night and we’re still regulars at the Saint Archer brewery tasting room.

I can’t wait to see what happens next with you two! Love you!

Love,

Mama