I suppose I could have held off on the four-month update to include the four-month checkup, but I did not, mainly because it would have been after their four-month birthday, so it wouldn’t have been very precise, would it?
The boys are doing great. They both weigh in at 12.8 pounds, up 0.6 from just over a week ago when we weighed them at Tristen’s parents’ house. Fawkes is 23.75 inches and Phoenix is 23.5. That’s the first time ever that Fawkes has measured above Phoenix, although as close as it was, it could have just been that Fawkes didn’t have his foot quite flat.
Compared to other kids their age, they’re both on the chart at about the fifth percentile, which is pretty decent considering they were born over a month early. I forget the adjusted percentile, but I think it was thoroughly average, somewhere in the fifties. Fawkes’s head circumference is a higher percentile, which is no surprise at all. Kid’s got a big ol’ round head.
They got shots today, which wasn’t fun. We’re believers in getting the shots prescribed by the doctor when they’re prescribed, in case you, dear reader, wonder where we fall in the immunization debate. yes, the boys cried more than they did previously, but it didn’t last long. I do believe it made them sleepy most of the day though.
And that was the visit.
The day didn’t start off the best. They started getting restless around 3:00 this morning, and I had Phoenix, who was particularly fussy. I ended up changing his diaper and walking around the house with him. He settled down for a little while when I sat us in the recliner in the living room and rocked a bit, then he slept some when I took us back to the bedroom. Still, I don’t think I got much more than an hour of sleep between 3 and, well, the rest of the day.
Tristen met us at the doctor’s office. She works real close to there, so she walked over and beat us there, but I gave her a ride back.
Milly was very helpful today, carrying the boys around for me, helping me feed them. I need to get her changing diapers, which she thinks isn’t going to happen.
She and I had a discussion about summertime stuff. I told her I’d like her to choose a language and do a lesson every day on Duolingo (she’s decided to continue Spanish, which she did intermittently last summer), and I told her I’d like her to read a chapter in a book every day before she plays any sort of video games. Preferably I’d like her to read some of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix some on her own. I’ve been reading it to her at bedtime for nearly a year now, and as much as she reads, she hasn’t really taken it upon herself to read much of that one on her own, although she does seem to enjoy it. She also has a tendency to read several books at a time, which is something I could never do. I’m a completionist, and aside from that, I don’t like the idea of jumping from one book to another and getting things mixed up.
Milly went to play with the Swain kids for a bit. I thought about taking a nap, but I had too much to do and by the time I felt like I really needed it, the boys were going to be up soon anyway. I ended up having to wake them up myself for their 11:00 and 3:00 feedings though. I think, as I kind of mentioned before, that the shots took a bit out of them.
We went over to Torrie and Johnny’s for dinner. Tristen cooked some meatballs that we took over to have with spaghetti.
Sebastian watched all three Toy Story movies today and we half-watched the first one while we were over there. He seemed very excited to see Milly and kept going up to her and saying, “Hi, Milly!” which really isn’t anything new, but it’s always cute to see. He asked her a few times to play in his room and things like that, and Milly always indulged him. She’s a good big cousin.
Fawkes got really fussy shortly before we left there, and he was damn near inconsolable when we got home. I took care of Phoenix while Tristen tried to solve that particular puzzle. Milly asked me if there was anything she could do to help, which was sweet. Tristen walked around with Fawkes, offered him some boob, all kinds of stuff. Eventually we talked about putting him in the shower, and just being in the bathroom with that on seemed to calm him down. He nursed for a bit then Tristen was able to put him down.
I kept working after that. Tristen took a shower. Milly read a graphic novel called Real Friends. She’s read it a few times before, but she really likes it. I read it one day and I quite like it too, although I’ve read Amazon reviews of overly fussy people who had a few little issues with it. Still, I thought it was a great look at the tough times some kids have with friends changing as you get older and trying to fit in with your social group. It’s a very honest look at the subject, in my opinion (and as a matter of fact, I suppose, since it’s mostly autobiographical).
She came out to help me work a little, reading some stuff I needed to type but also hitting the copy and paste keys for me when I was moving some content into a site. She had asked me a while back about how to make a website, and I started showing her with a site I was getting started on today, but the domain hadn’t propagated yet so I couldn’t show her all that much yet.
In world news, President Trump met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Though no details were worked out, they’ve apparently discussed North Korea denuclearizing while America stops joint military exercises with South Korea. To me, it’s a wait and see sort of thing. If Trump can actually get North Korea to get rid of their nukes, that’s a big deal, and while Trump has done very, very little that I approve of, and this wouldn’t change my mind about him as a person or as a suitable POTUS, I’ll give props. But there are no details about the denuclearization, no timetables, no talk about inspections, nada. Plus, North Korea has a tendency to do what they want to do. So we shall see.