Baby Products We Love

When I was pregnant, I sought out other's opinions about great baby products. I especially wanted to know what worked for moms of multiples. Many products work for some babies and not for others. I wanted to share a few products that  we love and view as essential! 

Boppy Newborn Lounger:
We use these constantly! Since I bottle feed the girls majority of the time, the newborn lounger has been a huge help. They fit perfectly in them now. The lounger is also great during some wake time to read to the girls or talk to them. I've seen many older children use them also as big pillows! 

Gerber Essential bottles: 
Bottles are always a big question with newborns and during pregnancy. I bought several different types of bottles to try with the girls (Dr. Browns, Tommee Tippee, Avent). Madeline will take Avent bottles during the day, but once she gets tired or lazy it is difficult for her. I don't know if it is mainly because my girls are preemies, but it has been a struggle to find bottles that work for them. Finally, we decided to try the old-fashioned and VERY cheap Gerber Essential bottles. They are great! Both girls take from them quickly! I'm thankful to not spend a large amount of money on more expensive bottles! 

Mrs. Meyer's Baby Laundry Detergent: 
I love Mrs. Meyer's products, and I LOVE the smell of this detergent. I found it at Whole Foods, but they don't consistently carry it. I ordered in bulk off of Amazon. 

Fisher Price Rock-n-Play:
We use the Rock-n-Play with Kate and Maddie almost every day. They are GREAT for reflux babies because they can nap with an incline. It is easy to place a fussy baby in them, and use your foot to gently rock them. Hands free! Instead of having two swings (one takes up enough room), we use the Rock-n-Play. Some people I know have even used this product for the first weeks a baby is home. It easily folds up, can be transported, and takes up little room! 

Diaper Genie:
Hides the smell, emptied easily...a must have! 

Arm and Hammer Diaper bag dispenser and bags:
Yes, this is exactly the same idea as doggy bags for poop. Some genius decided to market them to moms. It was a great idea! It is essential for dirty diapers out or even putting dirty clothes in during those unexpected blow outs! 

Miracle Blanket:
We used the Swaddle Me blankets when the twins first arrived home. They were good, but the Miracle blanket is great! It swaddles them so tight and is easy to wrap. You don't have to worry about a blanket coming loose while they are sleeping. 

Moms on Call book:
I heard of Moms on Call through another blog and a friend who was reading the book. During my pregnancy I read several other books, such as, Baby Wise. When I read the Moms on Call book, I felt like I finally had real tools to help me. For example, what do I REALLY do when a baby cries in the middle of the night. The book gives you steps to take to get your babies sleeping through the night. It offers example schedules to help you develop a routine with your baby. Moms on Call is run by two nurses, so the book also offers tips for dealing with hygiene and other medical issues. It is GREAT! 

Thanksgiving

We made our first road trip to Fayetteville to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's side of the family. Two dogs, two babies, full car! They all slept the whole way which we were very thankful for! 

All the girls

Carolyn and Scott

Aunt Julie's first time to hold the girls

Wiping up spit up...surprise! :)

Cousin Annie helping feed! 

Kate

Maddie

All three Aunts motivating Kate to eat! 

Cousin Stuart helping feed Maddie 

Aunt Carolyn

It was a quick trip, but a great one. I enjoyed having many hands to help with the girls. We are SO thankful for our wonderful families and the blessings they are to our lives! 

Week 6 (Instagram overload)

6 weeks

Kate:

• 5 lb 10 oz
• loves a good afternoon nap :)
• sleeping 9:30-about 3:00, then til 7:00 when I wake them
• her new nickname is Kate-Kate...don't know how that started!

Maddie:

Too bad the Hog tails didn't help the Razorbacks win!

• 6 lb 4 oz
• fussy in the afternoons and just needs attention!
• sleeping 9:30-about 3:00 (she lately has been waking up before Kate)
• I call her Maddie Grace 

Taken after an afternoon bath. Spit up everywhere! :)

Both girls are now on Zantac. We wanted to avoid medication as much as we could, but they were becoming more and more irritable at feedings. Unfortunately, I have TWO spitters! It's constant, like a leaky faucet, and at times could make me go crazy! haha We are now just use to spit up on clothes and sheets. The girls had at doctor's appointment Monday. They hardly gained 2 oz in a week, which is concerning. I had started breastfeeding more, instead of using expressed milk. I'm going to back off again on breastfeeding to be assured of the ounces they are taking each feeding. When the girls were in the NICU, I was content not breastfeeding. I thought I would be fine without "directly" providing for them. For some reason the changes have bothered me. I don't know if it's realizing that we have to take a different path with them than "normal" babies, or if it's my perfectionism getting the best of me. I do know that I will do anything and everything to make sure they grow healthily. We are also supplementing some with 22cal formula to hopefully pack on the weight. Again, all my opinions about using formula go out the window in order to help them. Matt and I pray that their growth rapidly increases in the next few weeks. It's hard to realize that at 6 weeks they are smaller than most newborns! Grow, girls, grow! 

On a positive note...Matt and I were able to have a night out on Saturday. We enjoyed a 50th birthday celebration with a casino theme. Even though we didn't know many people, it was a good break from reality! We were so thankful to Matt's family for babysitting in the middle of Scott's soccer tournament weekend!

Our first "babies"

These two pups are starting to adjust to babies at home! 

I was a sworn non-dog lover...but then we got Lily...and then Bula (pronounced Boo-la it means hello in Fiji). I am now a sworn dog lover. I have dog hair on my clothes, carpet, and could sweep every 20 minutes and still pick up dirt. I would have laughed 5 years ago if you told me my house would be a home to two dirty dogs. At times they drive me insane and just add to the chaos, but other times they provide a calmness. 

I was anxious about how they would do with the girls coming home. Bula could have cared less and payed no attention. Lily was spending most of the first few days smelling everything and everyone around the house constantly. We had even brought blankets and clothes home from the hospital, but the smell still seemed unfamiliar. Matt and I have really worked with them on giving space from the girls and staying back. They have finally caught on! Lily now runs upstairs to her kennel when the girls start crying...haha She has had enough with the noise! 

Newborn Pictures

My friend Amy Hough  took the girls' newborn pictures. It was quite the task getting both of them asleep and calm. They HATED being naked, but sure enjoyed going to the bathroom on everything while naked! ;) At one point I was ready to give up because they wouldn't calm down. Amy was determined to try more. We wrapped them in crib sheets (it was the only white things that were still clean), and waited a little while for them to sleep soundly. Amy Hough did a great job getting them set to have some great pictures! 

 Here is the link to the Facebook sneak peak. Madeline and Katherine Newborns

Family Time

Since the girls have been home, we have enjoyed some great family time. The girls being in the NICU was not only difficult for us, it was also difficult for our families. All of them have enjoyed finally getting to hold Kate and Maddie!

Matt's brother, Scott 

Matt's mom feeding Kate

Matt's sister, Margaret feeding Maddie

Me with the girls during some tummy time

My mom and Kate

My mom went back home this weekend. She was here since the girls got home, and was a huge help. Having an extra set of hands helped so much. It also allowed for Matt to work, and for me to get out of the house some! ;) 

Dad with the girls

Loving Maddie's double chin! 

Our families are such a blessing. Matt and I look forward to them loving on Kate and Maddie as the years go by. We are looking forward to the holidays and more time together!

1 month old!

I can't believe we have one month old girls! We are so grateful their last week has been spent with us! I attempted pictures before eating to avoid spit-up...not a good idea...then of course after eating turned into spit-up on outfits! Wouldn't change a thing...:)

4 weeks old!

4 weeks old

Tummy Time!

The girls are 4 weeks old today, and a month old on Friday. I cannot believe a month of their lives has already passed. We have LOVED having them home for these last few days!

First doctor's appointment:

On our way to the appointment

The twin's appointment went great, except for the chaos of the waiting room. It was so loud! Thankfully the girls sleep through it all, but Matt and I kept laughing at the chaos. It was our first "welcome to the world of kids" moment! 

Maddie all snuggled waiting on the doctor

They have both gained weight since being home. The doctor is continuing to test their anemia for another two weeks. Due to their blood flow being off in utero, they technically develop anemia. Their numbers looked great yesterday, but they will be getting a vitamin with iron once a day. I'm going to take them for a weight check next week. This gives me a little more reassurance that they are growing, especially now that I'm trying to breastfeed more. The doctored also cleared us to let them sleep longer at night, instead of waking them every 3 hours! Matt and I were very happy! :) 


Madeline:

-5 lbs 15oz

-18" long

-Starting to fill out most newborn outfits, especially in the length

-Great napper, but sometimes just needs to be held

-Sleeping 9:00-1:00, the 1:00-5:00ish. I really think she would sleep much longer if we didn't wake her up with her sister! 

-Started to do great at breastfeeding. Eats about 2 1/2 oz when bottle fed. 

-Loves to stretch and be free! 

-Grunts, coos, squeaks a lot

-Not the biggest fan of tummy time. Is starting to lift her head more and try to turn it. 

Katherine:

 -5lbs 1.5oz!!
-17 1/4 inches long
-Finally starting to outgrow premie clothes. Newborn clothes still are HUGE! This mom is ready for them to grow more to wear cute outfits! ;)
-Great napper, but likes to let you know she is here every once and awhile with a little cry. It's sounds almost like she is saying hey! haha
-Sleeping 9:00-about 1:00, then 1:00-5:00ish. I'm still trying to figure out if she is hungry or just crying. 
-Improving on breastfeeding. She doesn't have a good rhythm and gets choked often
-Loves to be swaddled!! 
-Grunts, coos, squeaks
-Does well with tummy time. Turns her head and pushes with her legs. 




I'm in need of advice! I attempted to tandem feed them yesterday. Management nightmare. How do I first get them both on the pillow? Burp them? Even just getting comfortable was difficult! I would love any advice! :)

Who's, Who?

Kate or Maddie? 

Matt took pictures during the girls' bath time the other night. It is getting more difficult to tell the girls apart in pictures! The only way I know who's who is the order the pictures were taken! Isn't that horrible?!? haha In person they are very different, but pictures make it difficult.

We have had a great first days home. I will write more about it all soon! 

Last night at hospital, first night home!

Wednesday night we "roomed-in" with the girls. This means we are the sole caretakers for them during the night. The only thing the nurses did was bring us the heated bottles. It went pretty well! The girls are on a 3 hour schedule, so we stuck with their routine. Once you feed for 30+minutes, then pump, little time is left to sleep! ;) They did well until between 3:00-5:00 they decided to trade off turns crying!

We were discharged early Thursday morning. We were pleased to find out we were not going to have to add formula to the twins' bottles for added calories. They have been growing so well, 20 calories from breastmilk is enough! We have an appointment with the pediatrician Monday afternoon, so we will see how they have grown.

Matt was pleased we passed the carseat installation check!  We were sad to say goodbye to the wonderful nurses and staff of the NICU. The have loved our girls so much, and we are forever grateful. 















Finally headed home! 23 days after they were born!

 The girls fell asleep in their carseats, so we just left them in them. The dogs met the girls for the first time. 

Kate's first moments home were spent cleaning her up after a diaper explosion all over her, the carseat, and my shirt! :)

It's so wonderful to FINALLY be able to have them side-by-side. No cords, no beeping, no need to weigh their diapers!

Last night went pretty well too! Little sleep, but glad to have them home! We were just talking about how blessed we are. I can't believe I'm a mom of twins, and they are finally home! :)