Short update today to let you know that Katarina now looks like this:

That’s  right,no more tube. She took to bottle feeding like we had been starving her for months. Here is the updated graph, and you can see she is doing really well.

And the girls have been improving their, ummmm, communication skills,mostly by showing joy and happiness and while Katarina has been showing this in a fairly traditional manner (http://youtu.be/dhsq58Oi-ww) Natasha has,well,found other methods (http://youtu.be/KaDz4IrWLh8). But generally everyone is getting along OK,even Bruno (http://youtu.be/1fpxHzOUwp4).

Oh and Natasha now looks like this:           

and Bruno like this:                                                                      

First off, a big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Kitchen who have been visiting and providing extra help around the twinmaggedon household this month! Well timed visit as the girls were just ramping up their smiling and cooing frequencies, and fall color has been not too shabby.

In other big news, we are so very pleased to report that Katarina began feeding from a bottle (versus the NG tube or binky trainer device) and at impressive volumes. The feeding specialist at Children’s Hospital felt that she was old enough to have a thickener added to her formula…this magically made a world of difference. There was much celebration when she downed her first full bottle. She seemed proud.

The graph says it all and actually doesn’t even reflect her all time record volume achieved today (>500 mL orally by bottle). It’s a huge step and means we can begin to contemplate life without the NG tube and without having had to go down the road of a surgical G tube. The girls are still on a staggered feeding schedule (7am, 8, 10, 12pm, 2, 4, and repeat) so we are constantly feeding someone here, but feeding Kat by bottle with her nestled on our laps has been a joy and a vast improvement time-wise.

A noteworthy “first” for the girls was Canadian Thanksgiving, with the US holiday to come as round two. The girls seemingly had an instant fascination with meat (thanks to Aunt Meredith for this up close and personal introduction to meat).

Otherwise, the pediatrician has been happy with the girls’ development. They are very engaged in their surroundings, chit chat (especially Kat who seems to be the socialite already) at length, grab for toys, and can lift and hold their heads up. Even more fun is that they seem to have noticed each other. They lie on their mats and gaze at each other for short bursts, swatting their hands at each other and sometimes making contact and holding hands momentarily. It is very nice for us that despite all the flailing arms, Tash has not managed to pull out Kat’s tube a second time.

At this point, pics are far more entertaining than words so here are a few.

Smiling Natasha

Laughing Katarina

Lara and the girls

The whole fam

Close up of Bruno’s dapper haircut

Video links for those who need more baby time to come soon.

Happy Halloween!