5 Month Check-Up

We went for our second NICU follow-up appointment when the babes were 5 months old. Their pediatrician was very pleased with everyone's growth. And the bags and bags of clothes that they have outgrown can attest to how much they have grown. Their NICU days seem like a lifetime ago. I guess time flies when you're having fun!

Their weights and heights are not just following the normal growth curves, but are increasing and moving up on the curves each time.
The doctors talk about their actual age, which is how old they are, and their adjusted age, which is their actual age - how many months early they were.
At 5 months old, our babes are 3 months adjusted. So developmental things, like crawling, walking, talking, etc., are all based on their adjusted age. It would be completely normal for them to be about 2 months behind in reaching their milestones, although they may happen sooner. We'll just have to wait and see.

Here they are, their birth weights and their 5 month weights:

CASEY
Birth: 4lbs 9oz
5 Months: 17lbs 10oz

For Casey's actual age he is in the 75th percentile for his weight.
For his adjusted age (3 months) he is off the charts...too high to measure!

MITCHELL
Birth: 3lbs 13oz.
5 Months: 15lbs. 9oz.

For Mitchell's actual age he is in ~ the 40th percentile.
For his adjusted age he is in the 90th percentile.

MAGGIE
Birth: 2lbs 15oz.
5 Months: 13lbs 4oz.

For Maggie's actual age she is in ~ the 15th-20th percentile.
For her adjusted age she is in the 75th percentile.

The doctor was also impressed to hear that everyone is sleeping so great. All 3 babies have been sleeping through the night since the middle of December (3.5 months old). At first when they starting sleeping through the night, we were still up at least a few times a night plugging soothies back in for Maggie and Mitchell. But now, Mitchell usually sleeps through without needing his soothie and some nights Maggie needs it only once. Casey usually sleeps right through, although he is awake sometimes at 5 or 6 in the morning chatting and squealing away content in his crib and then falls back asleep on his own.
Everyone gets their last bottle between 7:00 and 7:30, they go to sleep anywhere between 8:00 and 8:30. They wake up for the day between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning and have breakfast around 8:30. 11-12 hours...they are great night time sleepers! I should find some wood to knock on right now.
I still get up once in the night to pump, but I am usually back to bed about 45 minutes later. Things are a lot different now compared to when they were eating twice and I was pumping twice a night, each time taking about 2 hours.
Although they sleep great at night, they sometimes struggle with their naps. Some days they rotate and someone is up pretty much all of the time during nap time. So my "free time" during their naps is not always free.
But some days they do all nap good and I can get a chunk of time when everyone is down. If I had to choose, I would definately rather they sleep better at night.