The first big milestone they crossed off the list this month was learning how to get to a sitting position from their tummies. Londyn figured it out first.. she took the contortionist approach. She would go into a complete middle split from her tummy and use her arms to crab walk up into a sitting position. The first time she did it, she got this big shocked/excited expression on her face and it was the cutest thing ever.. and I caught it on video!! Xander watched her sit up over and over throughout the day. He would try by rolling onto his side and trying to muscle his way up, but every time he lifted his hand off the floor, he would faceplant. Eventually he learned exactly how much momentum he needed to get him to a sitting position and figured it out shortly thereafter.
The next big milestone was as huge for me as it was for them.. eating table food!! If you've followed my story, you know I've been terrified of them choking on food. This month, it got to a point where xander was fed up with baby food. He would eat it (because he's never been one to deny ANY food) but he would act disgusted and usually let it run out of his mouth. Londyn also started refusing to be fed.. everytime I would go near her with a spoon she would make an X with her arms in front of her face and clamp her mouth shut. 🙅 So finally I decided to just trust myself and my babies and let them try. We started with puffs.. my friend gave the suggestion to ease my nerves by cutting them in fourths until I felt more comfortable, then halves, then finally giving them whole. Xander did amazing with self feeding. Londyn wouldn't put them in her mouth but would let me feed them to her. So next we tried melts and the stick shaped snacks with the same results (Xander self feeding, Londyn letting me feed her). Then my mom suggested cheeto puffs and this was a game changer for Londyn! She picked that sucker up and gnawed on it until it was gone, then wanted another one! The puffs really helped Xander learn how to take appropriate sized bites. At first he tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth which was terrifying for me.. but they melted really fast and he never really gagged on them, surprisingly. But he now takes good bites and eats like a champ. Will decided to let them eat honeybuns one day and it quickly went to the top of the favorites list!! He now only gets 1 bite per honeybun and they eat the rest 😆 But the thing Londyn loves more than anything in the world right now is.... strawberries! I just put a whole strawberry on her tray and she will pick it up and gnaw/chew on it until it's gone. The girl can go through 4 strawberries in one sitting. Xander has tried tons of food: eggs, muffins, chicken, beef, mashed potatoes (fav!), strawberries, blueberries, mac and cheese, BBQ (fav!!), etc. etc. He will try anything.. such a rockstar eater. The only thing he has really gagged on is a banana muffin because it was dry. Londyn is holding strong with only eating honey buns, cheeto puffs, and strawberries. She will sometimes entertain broccoli and cheese soup but only on the right day at the right time if the weather conditions are good. Anything else gets an X-ed arm motion in front of the face with a clamped mouth. But.. hey.. baby steps!!! OH and they are also drinking water from a straw cup! Londyn is good at holding it by herself but Xander prefers to have it held for him or he bangs it around and throws it like a football 😑
Finally... WE HAVE CRAWLERS!! They've been crawling backwards and doing some creeping for a while.. it felt like forever. Then one day this month I had the PS4 controller on the floor and Xander just randomly got on his hands and knees and started crawling for it! I was like... WHAT?!?!?! Well this frustrated Londyn more than you could ever imagine. She watched him crawl around for 4 days and SCREAM and have meltdowns when she would try unsuccessfully to crawl too. Seriously the longest 4 days ever 🤦 she finally figured it out and all was well in the world again. Now they are crawling everywhere!! Xander's favorite place to crawl is onto the dog bed.. preferably with the dog still on it. Londyn's favorite is under Will's wheelchair.. where she plays peek-a-boo through the tire spokes and plays with the straps on his backpack. I spend 95% of the day saying "no" and picking them up and placing them back on their mat!! Great cardio.
Londyn is babbling like crazy now and can say mama, dada, num (for a bite of food), keys (her favorite toy) and dog. Xander is not as verbal but can say hey and mum. He also has his fangs now so he has a total of 6 teeth.. Londyn still nothing 😅 Xander is doing great pulling up on things and now uses me as a jungle gym and has pulled his sister down several times!
Some other firsts this month: First trip to the zoo, First playdate at home, First bath together in big bathtub, Xander's first haircut, First time napping away from home (at mimi and papas) and SO MANY MORE! this month was insane!!
