twinmomma-blog - Tumblr blog

twinmomma-blog · 5 years

Text

MUST HAVES for newborn twins:

BOPPY NEWBORN LOUNGER!!! - ESSENTIAL for bottle feeding two screaming babies at once, good for naps (babies should ALWAYS be supervised if napping in them due to suffocation risk). They’re about $35 each and I found mine at Target. They’re so essential I bought an additional set for my parent’s house for when they babysit so we’re not constantly toting them back and forth.

4moms mamaRoo: So, I have one of your run of the mill swings for my babies, which is wonderful, but sometimes a fussy babe just needs something a lil extra; the mamaRoo is EXACTLY the thing for that. With five different motion settings, five speeds for each, and four different preset audio choices and an auxiliary function for your phone, this thing soothes my screaming, fussy children almost instantly when nothing else works. They’re also a good, gentler option for reflux babies you don’t want swinging back and forth, effectively turning baby into a volcano. Now I’m not saying run out and buy two, at $176 each brand new they’re not the cheapest thing ever. But I have one I bought used (so my model is a bit older, it looks like there’s a new gen out) and if I had the option or finances to buy another one, you’re darn tootin’ that I would.

Zip sleepers: y’all. I have SO many cute snap up sleepers for my babies.. but the million snaps drive me INSANE at diaper changes. I just don’t have the patience for them, and frankly, neither do my 2 month old children. The quicker the diaper change, the better in our book. Target has them I believe, and you can always trust Amazon to have what you need, when you need.

GRIPE WATER!!!!!!: Now, always consult with your pediatrician before giving ANY types of supplements or OTC meds of ANY kind before you administer them to your babies. But, with that being said, Gripe Water is a GODSEND. It’s a bit expensive at $10 per 4oz, and with us having twins and giving it in their milk at damn near every feeding.... we run thru the stuff. But I can DEF tell when they haven’t had it, so we use it constantly. It makes for happier babies, and a happier momma. They ALSO make a NIGHTTIME version, I recently discovered, and my babies never slept so well thru the night and it’s a blessing I will not give up.

GAS DROPS: Another must-have we use at every feeding is gas drops. Now again, consult with your pediatrician before giving them to your baby. Like the gripe water, we mix it in with the milk in their bottles to prevent them from just spitting it right back out. Cause then you don’t know how much they got, if any, and you’re pretty much SOL so that you don’t end up overdosing your child.

A Variety of Pacifiers: These are trial and error. If you’re breastfeeding exclusively it’s recommended to hold off on pacifiers for I BELIEVE 2-3 weeks to prevent nipple confusion. Hayden (my baby B) loves only the Phillips AVENT Soothies. NOT the vanilla scented which are supposed to be calming. The vanilla scented ones make both my babies gag for some reason? It may be because when they had feeding tubes in the NICU, the pacifiers they used were vanilla scented and they have an aversion because of that? Who knows. But Harlow (my baby A) loves both the AVENT Soothies (non vanilla), AND the Baby King pacifiers? I have NO clue where they’re from. Dollar Tree?? I got them at my baby shower and Harlow actually PREFERS these over the AVENT ones. Wild stuff. 😂

Soothing Babywash and Lotion: you won’t regret using calming nighttime scents for your babies baths, esp if your baby doesn’t enjoy bath time. We always try to do bath time before their last feeding of the day before bed, and Tho they’re not the biggest fans, we ALL sleep much better on bath nights because of this. We use the Johnson&Johnson brand and have had no issues with the products.

Dishwasher Basket for Bottle Parts: necessary for the standard size bottle nipples, pacifiers, tiny breastpump parts, Dr Browns vent bottle parts, etc. to keep them from either getting lost or melting in the lower part of the dishwasher when they inevitably fall to their death from the top rack of your dishwasher. Amazon has all the options you could possibly need. My husband found mine on clearance at Walmart 😂😅

LOTS OF BURP CLOTHS: At least for us- our babies spit up A LOT. Reflux is a real problem for us. The BEST ones we’ve found so far are the Gerber Newborn Baby Unisex Prefold White Gauze 6-Ply Cloth Diaper, 5-Pack; make sure they are the PREFOLD! We bought a pack thinking they were the thick ones and they were like the single ply super thin cloths that weren’t good for jacksquat. 😭

Bottle warmer: we got the munchkin bottle warmer (I got one at Walmart that now lives at my moms, and a slightly more stylish version at Target, same brand/model just different color) and it warms bottles in 90 seconds or less! Note that if you use the Dr. Browns bottles with the vents, take the vent out while heating or it could overflow, causing a sticky&stinky mess!!

ALSO, while we’re on the topic of Dr. Browns bottles, the 8oz size makes it the PERFECT size for heating two newborn feedings in one bottle so you don’t have to heat two separate times. For example: my babes both get about 3-3.5oz each at a feeding, and I just pour 6-7oz in the big bottle and heat it up! I use the cap from a spare milk collection bottle from the hospital that I had, or you could just use the nipple that comes on the 8oz bottles, either way! I’ll make a post later over how feeding times go with my little ones.

Travel Changing Pad- I use this on the go for sure, but if there’s ever any especially nasty diapers to be dealt with, I whip this baby out at home and my couch, bed, carpet, wherehaveyou stays pristine. Magic.

WALMART BRAND DIAPERS: my favorite brand name diapers are Pampers. That’s what they used in the hospital and I LOVED them. Then I realized how expensive they were. Omg no. And my mom let me in on a little secret: the Walmart brand are almost exactly the same as Pampers, if not THE same. They are just as reliable and the blowouts I’ve dealt with in them, are equivalent to the blowouts in Pampers. And those were the apocalyptic type diaper changes where even God himself could not stop that s*** from coming thru. Bless.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT: PODS. PODS. PODS. Pods for YOUR laundry, and the Tide free and clear or whatever their dye free/scent free pods are for the babies’ laundry. The simplicity and time saving nature of just throwing pods in the laundry instead of measuring detergent saves so much time you didn’t realize you needed. “But...Does it really make that much of a difference?” Yes. Yes it does.

A SLEEP MASK FOR YOU MOMMA!! (and for dad): NAP WHEN YA CAN!! A sleep mask is perfect for when you manage to get both babies down at the same time in the middle of the day and you want some sleep too!!! Essential in my book.

What DIDN’T Work for Us:

HALO TWIN BASSINET: Y’all-I wanted to love this SO badly; with completely mesh sides and a mesh divider so you can see both babies always, and it SWIVELS to get to whichever baby may need you, and the sides lean down slightly to get them out of the bassinet without you having to get out of bed. But...my babies HATED this, it’s quite large even for a double bassinet, and the price tag is even larger at $470 retail. And it’s immobile. Once it’s in one spot, that’s where it lives until you completely disassemble it. I much rather would’ve spent about 1/4 of the price on the Little Folks Twin EZ Fold Ultra Compact Double Bassinet by Delta Children, (available online at Walmart) at $138 that not only wheels to where you need it, but FOLDS UP when not in use or for travel.. at least if my twins hated it too, I wouldn’t have spent half a house payment on it.

HALO SLEEPSACK: ....Sorry again Halo... We had the Halo SleepSack that got sent home with us from the hospital, and tbh they were just okay in my opinion. My girls somehow would wiggle further into them (this may just be a preemie baby problem, we finally quit using them.), and their faces would get covered or their arms would escape thru the little openings in the sack. I would LOVE to try the SwaddleMe or the Love to Dream Swaddle UP ones, but we’ve become pretty good at blanket swaddling for the time being. Again, these are kind of trial and error to see what your babies like. If you’re good at swaddling with a good ole fashioned blanket, that’s great!! But if you don’t have the time or patience to practice, no shame in going the easier route.

A “DIAPER PAIL”- y’all. This is the most useless thing I spent my money on. I don’t even use it. We tried to, and it’s pointless. My house doesn’t smell like baby poo, or if it does nobody has told me. The amount of diapers that we as parents of twins run thru warrants the trash being taken out almost daily, if not multiple times per day. It just wasn’t worth my money, and I bought a highly reviewed off brand. Save the cash and put it towards something extra.

A Changing Pad- Also pointless. I change my twins wherever we are in the house. If they’re really nasty I use the portable changing pad someone gifted me, the kind that folds up and fits in a diaper bag. I get that the big pad with the little sheets on it is cute for the whole nursery aesthetic, but tbh my nursery is just a room in my house that you don’t really use for a newborn (or two+) anyway. Not practical or realistic.

Baby Shoes: I, for one, don’t see the point in buying baby shoes until they’re up and walking. They outgrow them too quickly. Socks will do just fine. Unless you live in a verrrryyyy cold climate. But I’m sure they make super insulated baby onesies for those types of outings. But here, not necessary. $ave dat money.

WHAT I WISH WE HAD:

Snoo: A SMART BASSINET. It has a built in swaddle, and it rocks your baby with different speed settings, AND can detect when your baby starts to wake and will rock in response to baby fidgeting. WHAT?! I really wish I could afford even just ONE of these, let alone two. They come in at a WHOPPING $1290 😭 they apparently also have rent options? From what I’ve heard. But I can’t even imagine what being able to actually afford two bassinets for $1600 would be like. A momma can dream.

0 notes

twinmomma-blog · 5 years

Text

The Catch Up

So it’s been a hot minute since I posted last. 😅

A lot has happened since I made my intro post months ago. (Consistency isn’t my strong suit- not good for a blogger)

At 31 weeks pregnant I was admitted to the hospital for about a month for preterm labor. I was having horrible back labor and strong, consistent contractions the entire time. We finally got the preterm labor to a manageable point (according to my OB), and he discharged me at 34wk+5days.

I tried to convince him to let me stay in the hospital as we were so close to my compromised due date (36wks), but he was sure I would be fine at home.

Lol.

My water broke at home the next morning. All dramatic movie style. I was so annoyed that I was going to have to be readmitted and get more IV sticks and blood draws that I had just had done the day before. My veins were shot by this point so I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun process.

We got into a delivery room at about 10am, and by 7pm I was ready to push. Both my girls were mostly in position, baby A completely head down, baby B slightly diagonal but head pointed downwards.

I delivered baby A at 7:19p, little miss Harlow Rae. I saw her for a moment before they took her to her incubator to prep her for a mandatory nicu stay since she was delivered before 35wks.

Then things got a little scary, there was a problem with a cord prolapse with baby B, meaning her cord was trying to be delivered before her; I was compressing on her cord and cutting off the blood supply to her, and her heart rate was dropping and becoming a quick concern.

I was emergently whisked to the OR where I had quite a traumatic experience (to no fault of my hospital team, they were all SO amazing), but Hayden Dawn was delivered safely at 7:30p, and joined her sister to be taken to the nicu. I did not get to meet her until the 24hours later as I was under general anesthesia for my c-section, and also had to recover in the icu due to blood loss and blood pressure problems.

My girls stayed a month in the NICU for being lazy eaters, and they finally got to come home where they are now the hungriest little girls always. 😂

They turned two months on the 5th and are so big now! We’re still not sure if they’re identical or not, but y’all they’re hard to tell apart 🤪

#twin mom #twins #di-di #new mom #baby blog

2 notes · View notes