Josh, Kelly, Everett, Emery, Atticus & Boo

Follow our day to day life through marriage, work, raising twins, and so much more. This is our Life As We Know It...

Sunday, July 14, 2013

You're the Best Song - Bethany Dillion

In love with this song by Bethany Dillon

You're the Best Song

Good morning
You and the sun are up before I'm ready
But ready or not, you need me
So here I am

I'm learning that in the long hard days
There is beauty
Do you know my favorite place to see it
It's when I look at you

And though I'm tired now
You're worth every sleepless night
You're worth it all, cause I know...

You're the best song I'll ever write
And we're humming and dancing through the years together
You're the best song I'll ever write
And I pray you'll hear Jesus in it when you're older

I remember when you were just a heartbeat that I heard
and now our eyes meet
Forever is not enough to love you

Ooohhh...

Every prayer for you is like a seed in the ground
Every tear I cry is like rain
And in its due season
I pray a harvest will be found
Your heart and mouth confessing Jesus' name
Your heart and mouth confessing Jesus' name 

Friday, July 5, 2013

4th of July 2013


Growing up we always went to visit my family in Webster Groves, Missouri (suburb of St.Louis). The fourth of July is a huge deal in St. Louis. Webster always has a huge parade that we would go watch and occassionally have a reason to be in. Then my grandma and Aunt would have a picnic on their front lawn. Later that night we would go up to the Rec. Center for the carnival that comes in every year and then watch the fireworks. It was a huge deal and what I grew up thinking every 4th of July was like. The few times that we would stay in Texas for the 4th we were always disappointed that not much was going on. 

Yesterday was one of the first 4th of July's that I actually felt like it was a real 4th! We had a great day! We started of at the Double Oak Parade. Our friends live right on the parade route so it was fun to be able to all be together and watch the parade. It was the first parade for the twins and they loved it! 



Talking to Asher

Mimi and Grandpa were there too!

After the parade we came home so the twins could nap and Josh worked on putting together their new swing set! That evening we went over to the Adams to swim and BBQ. It was only the 2nd time we've had all our kids together! It was wonderful. I just love having everyone there. The twins love playing with all the big kids and just can't sit still!
Can I freeze her just like this?

Dinner time!


Playing with Finley! She loves the big girls!




Playing ball with Asher :)
We didn't make the fireworks this year, just don't think they could make it that late when they normally are in bed at 7:30. Thinking next year we will try it!

This 4th was the first one with out my grandma. The 4th was one of her favorite holidays and she has helped with Webster Groves celebration for decades. I know she would have been so proud to know that the twins loved celebrating it and a blast at their first 4th of July parade. Love you grandma! Hope you had a blast watching the fireworks last night just from a different view :)
My grandma watching the parade last year




Wednesday, July 3, 2013

What I'm Loving Wednesday


  • I'm LOVING this weather. Is it really July in Texas?!?! When I woke up this morning and looked at the weather it was 68 at 7am! That is amazing! I actually had the chills on my morning run! Can this stay for a while?
  • I'm LOVING that the twins are really into reading books. They will grab one of their books and come over and back up into me so they can sit on my lap. I just love it! Everett loves to try to read the book too in his baby babble once I've finished. It's the cutest thing! 
    This is Emery's favorite book! Loves to point out all the words she knows.
  • I'm LOVING my new book Sparkly Green Earrings. One of my best friends, Jaimee, gave it to me and said that it was such a funny read about being a mom. She could not have been more right! It is a light hearted, easy read about all the ups and downs of motherhood! I'm loving it...
     What are you loving these days?


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Tuesday's Twin Tidbits - Breastfeeding

One of the most common questions I get from other moms is whether or not the twins are breastfed. And the answer is Yes! They are almost 15 months and I currently still nurse them in the morning and before bed. For the middle of the day feeding and snack they get a sippy cup of frozen breast milk. I will probably wean them completely in the next few weeks.

Prior to having children I always thought that I'd love to be able to breastfeed. But, wanted to have realistic expectations because I knew that it doesn't always go smooth. Once we found out we were having twins, it was really important for me to find out as much as I could on how to sucessfully breastfed them since it's a little different then nursing one baby. One of my favorite books is Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More. It talks about a variety of different scenarios from having premature twins to latching issues to different positions for tandem feeding.

The first few weeks of breastfeeding the twins wasn't easy. They latched on great and enjoyed eating but Everett was not gaining weight. My milk took about a week to come in due to me having a csection and my body not going into labor on its own. During that time our pediatrician wanted us to give Everett a small amount of formula to help with weight gain until my milk came in. I was not happy about this, but being a new mom, did what she said. I had read enough though to know that I didn't want him on a bottle yet. So, we used a syringe that I would stick in his mouth while he was latched on, this way he would think he was still only nursing. We did this for about a week at every feeding. It was terrible! Quite the task to nurse him and squeeze milk into his mouth with a tiny syringe. At his two week appointment the lactation consultant told me that I could have been using pumped breast milk, I didn't have to use formula. They just wanted to make sure he was getting something. Would have been good to know! Luckily, after about a week, my milk fully came in and he had gained his weight back so we were able to stop. 

While we were in the hospital the lactation consultant was great! She showed me a variety of different ways to feed the twins tandem so when I was ready it could go much faster. I did try it a few times but decided that while they were so little and didn't have much control over their body it was much easier to feed them separate. I did this till they were about 4 months old. Once they were 4 months they had much more control of their head and I could hold them both at the same time to nurse. The most important part of tandem feeding them was my nursing pillow. I couldn't have done it with out the My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow - Twins Plus
My Breast Friend Twins Pillow - Football Hold (not me pictured)

The football hold worked best for us. (Pictured above) This allowed me to have control of both their heads and their bodies could wrap around me and stay in place. This was such a time saver! It was also nice because I didn't have to entertain one while the other one was nursing. As great as it was to save time, it did come with its own challenges. Just like sleep, my twins have such different eating styles. Emery likes to eat quick and be done. She nurses in about half the time as Everett. Everett is what I like to call a grazer. He likes to take his time. Also, due to his reflux he needs to be burped a few times throughout the feeding. As you can imagine, this was quite the task. I would have to pull him off, set him on the end of the pillow, burp him and then get him latched back on. Doing all of this while trying not to disrupt Emery who is still nursing. It did take some time to get used to, but we all figured it out. 

I tandem fed them until they were about 9 months old. At 9 months they started to get really mobile and would crawl off the bed and move around when they were finished eating. If I was still feeding one, this was a problem and meant I couldn't continue to feed them on the bed. So back to single feedings. By this age they had gotten really efficient at nursing and only nursed for 5-10 minutes so it wasn't as time consuming as when they were little. 

Here are some things that I found useful. Please know that I know by no means are these the only way to do things, they're just things I found important that worked for me!

Nursing Tips:
- Let your nurse know at delivery that you plan to breastfeed. This is so important! Skin to skin as soon as possible is not only so important for the baby but also for your body. It helps the baby stabilize their body temperature and stabilizes their heart and breathing rate. It also helps regulate the moms hormones and help with milk production.
-Nurse on demand the first few weeks. This is especially important the first week or so while you're milk is getting established. Breastfeeding is supply and demand. So initially the more your baby nurses the more milk your body will make. This is SO important for nursing twins while your body is trying to figure out how much milk it needs to produce. 
-Welcoming the Milk. When you're milk does come in you will feel like a dairy cow. I was not prepared for this. Over night it was like I had stuck two rock hard basketballs under my shirt. To help with engouragement you can take a hot shower or put a hot towel on your breast. This helps to soften you and help the milk let down. Do this before nursing. After you've nursed you can then ice to help with the pain. I know for me I was so engoraged that the babies couldn't even latch. I had to pump just for a few minutes so my breast were soft enough for them to latch on. This should only happen for a few days. 
-Wait at least 4 weeks to introduce bottle. This is kind of a controversial topic that you can find lots of different information on. But, to avoid nipple confusion, it's best to not give your baby a bottle for at least 4 weeks or until breastfeeding is fully established. When you do introduce the bottle, have dad or someone else do it so the baby doesn't get confused. 
-Find a bottle that takes the baby about the same time to finish as it does to nurse. This might take a few trials to figure out. You don't want the baby to down the bottle too quick or not have to work for it at all because then they'll start to prefer the bottle over nursing just because it's easier. We tried 3 different bottles until we found the right one. 
- Sore Nipples. While breastfeeding is getting established you will probably have sore nipples. This is partly just from your nipples getting used to the process. Another common reason for sore nipples is improper latching. This is SO important. An incorrect latch can cause such pain and can mean that the baby isn't get the correct amount of milk. Early on while my nipples were sore I really liked Lansinoh Lanolin Cream.
-Hydrate. Drink a ton of water! I would always have water with me while I was nursing. This was just an easy time that I was sitting still so could actually finish a full glass. Your body is producing and using so much liquid while nursing that you need to replenish it. 
-Eat! Your body is working so hard to make milk that it needs more calories. This is especially try if your breastfeeding twins. You need double the calories. I had to eat 3 meals, and at least 3 snacks in order to feel good. The first few weeks I had to learn this the hard way. Even in the hospital I wasn't eating enough and a few times thought I was going to pass out just from burning so many calories and not replacing them. Snacks/Meals high in protein is a great way to hold you over. One of the nurses gave me graham crackers with peanut butter to eat during the middle of the night. I loved it! I continued to eat this as a snack throughout the first year. 
-Watch your weight loss. - I know for every mom it's important to lose the baby weight. Just be sure to do this slowly. Breastfeeding alone burns so many calories and helps your stomach shrink down. But there are always those last 10 pounds or so that seem to be the hardest. If you lose weight too fast it can cause your milk supply to drop. For me this was so important since I was producing enough for two. Around 3 months I started running again and in order to keep up my milk supply and replenish the calories I lost while running, it just meant I had to eat way more then I was capable of. I quickly noticed a drop in my milk supply so had to stop running and find a way to exercise that didn't cause quick weight loss. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but just be aware of your body and how much it can handle. 
-Herbal Supplements. - Starting at about 4 weeks I started taking Fenugreek and MothersLove: More Milk Plus. I took these every day for the first year. 
-Always pump in place of a missed feeding. - I really feel that this was a huge reason I was able to keep up my milk supply. Anytime someone fed them a bottle I ALWAYS pumped. This meant if we were out at dinner I would pump on the way home or if they spent the night at my parents I would pump close to the time they would have been nursing. This sometimes can be annoying and I do not enjoy pumping, but it was so important for my supply.  In order to keep up with supply and demand my body had to continue to produce the same amount of feedings.
- Watch for gassy foods. - Some babies can be sensitive to certain foods that the mother eats. This is just something you have to pay attention to and learn your baby. The first 3 months or so both of the twins were sensitive to how much dairy I had and to broccoli. I knew that if I ate too much of either that I would pay for it later. This might require you to do some trial and error. It also won't be this way forever, but while their little stomachs are adjusting it may be best to eliminate these things from your diet. 
-Eat Oatmeal for breakfast. - Luckily, this was easy for me because I love oatmeal. Oats are a great way to increase milk supply. The easiest way I found to incorporate them into my diet was to just make a bowl of Old Fashioned Oats for breakfast each morning. But there are tons of ways to add these to your diet.
-Increase Milk Supply Naturally with foods. - There are a ton of different resources available on ways to increase your milk supply with food. The most useful one I found was an ebook from  More Milk Naturally. It has recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner as long as list of foods that can be added to your current meals. 
-When you do wean, take it slowly. - I too had to learn this the hard way. Technically, my body overproduces. I would pump around 20+ ounces most times that I pumped. This mean that when I was ready to start cutting back on nursing my body pretty much went through shock. I had to take about 2 weeks between each feeding that I wanted to drop. Even then I would got clogged ducts and have to add a few more days. Just be very careful with clogged ducts because they can lead to mastitis. I did get the start of mastitis one time and just had to lay down and take it easy, take advil to reduce the fever, and make sure that the breast that was starting to get infected was getting completely drained. If it wasn't getting drained from nursing, then I would pump afterwards. Within 24hrs the symptoms were gone.

Twin Nursing Tips:
-When they're newborns and you're doing middle of the night feedings I found it works best to wake them up. So say baby A wakes up first hungry, feed him and put him back to sleep, then if baby B is still asleep go ahead and wake her up and feed her too. If  you don't you'll be awake all night. The few times I didn't do this I would fall back asleep and then the other baby would wake up about 30 minutes later. It was terrible. 
-If you're tandem feeding them and one twin wakes up before the other twin I wouldn't let the one sleep any longer then 30 more minutes. This helps too keep them close to the same schedule for sleep but also is important for tandem feeding. (I'll do another post on schedules).
- If you're tandem feeding then find a comfortable spot where you can sit with the twin nursing pillow. For me this was our bed. As you can imagine the pillow is quite wide, so you need space. 
-You also need a spot that you can set one down when they are finished but they're close enough for you to keep an eye on them.
-If you're individually feeding them then you'll need a place for the other twin to hang out while you're feeding the other one. I usually used the bouncer. I would sit in a comfortable chair, usually my glider, with the bouncer at my feet. That way I could bounce them with my foot or just tickle them. It worked great since they were still sitting with me and could see me while I nursed the other twin.
-Pump before you go to bed, even once they've dropped this late night feed. This helped a great deal with my supply, especially once they started sleeping through the night. It made less time between the last feeding in the night and the first early morning feed. It also allowed me to stock my freezer with breastmilk! 

In the end, be proud of yourself for however long you breastfeed. It may be the first month or it may be for a year in a half. Either way you are giving your child such a special gift. It is such a selfless act that does not always come easy. Be proud of yourself and your body!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Mealtime Monday - Mommy & Baby

Mommy
We have really been loving Orzo lately. There are so many different dishes you can cook it with. I found this yummy recipe over at Once A Month Mom. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup orzo
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 0.5 cup white wine
  • 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 Tbsp. dried chives
  • 0.75 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 4 ounces reduced fat feta cheese
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Cook the orzo according to the directions on the package.  Drain.  Heat olive oil in a large pan.  Cook onion for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook 30 seconds.  Add wine, tomatoes, chives and oregano.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.   Combine shrimp, cooked orzo and tomato mixture.  Divide among baking dishes.  Sprinkle feta and lemon juice over top.  Proceed to freezing directions or bake immediately at 425 for 15-20 minutes until shrimp are thoroughly cooked.   

Freezing Directions:

Prepare baking dishes as listed above and freeze.  To serve, thaw and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until shrimp are thoroughly cooked.

Servings: 4

Serving Size = 1 cups.  Calories – 400, Total  Fat – 8.9 g, Total Carbohyrdrates – 40.7 g, Protein – 30.7 g.  Dietary Fiber – 3.5 g WW Plus Points: 9


 Baby
I've been playing around with a lot of smoothies lately to make sure that the twins get all their veggies in each day. I found this yummy one over at The Lemon Bowl.

Ingredients
  • ¼ avocado
  • ¼ c blueberries
  • ½ banana
  • ¼ c baby oatmeal (iron fortified)
  • ¼ c whole milk yogurt
  • 1 tsp flax seed meal
  • ¼ c water
  • 2-3 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Puree all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Serve immediately or refridgerate for up to 48 hours.


 

 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Convertible Car Seat


Emery is officially in her big girl car seat! Yesterday, I posted this picture of her testing out her new ride & got lots of questions on what kind of car seat it was. So, thought this would be a good time to let you know what I've researched about Convertible Car Seats.

The most important thing I was looking for was safety. Naturally this was where I started. Every year Britax is ranked as one of the safest car seats, if not the safest. Once I decided I was going to go with a Britax I quickly realized that they have a TON of options for Convertible seats. It was just a matter of narrowing it down to all the safety bells and whistles. 

I've included prices from www.diapers.com because this is where I have found the cheapest prices with free next day shipping. You can buy them in stores but it can cost you up to $100 more. 

All of the Britax seats I've listed below allow your child to be rear facing up to 40 pounds & 49 inches. This was also important to me because they're now saying the longer you keep your child rear facing the better. Here is more info: Rear Facing Car Safety

Their cream of the crop seat is the Britax Advocate 70 G3. It's a huge seat. It has extra side impact cushion technology on the sides that make it really wide. We didn't go with this seat because it would be a really tight squeeze with two of them in the back of my SUV. Cost around $284.99.
 

Their next seat is the Britax Pavilion 70 G3. This is the one I went with. It has tons of great features! Cost around $254.99

HUGS Chest Pads with SafeCell Technology are affixed to the seat shell to ensure proper positioning while SafeCells compress to manage energy and provide resistance to the forward movement of your child in a crash, reducing the risk of head injury

EZ-Buckle System retains the harness buckle in a forward position and prevents the child from sitting on the buckle when boarding
  • True Side Impact Protection is deep side walls with energy-absorbing EPP foam along with a head restraint which offers a double layer of EPP foam to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body while keeping them “in true” or aligned
  • Base with SafeCell Technology features SafeCells designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat
  • Integrated Steel Bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash
  • Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
  • Click & Safe® Snug Harness Indicator is an audible aid that provides extra assurance when the harness is within range of appropriate snugness
  • Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness distributes crash forces across the strongest parts of the body and provides a secure fit
  • 70-pound Weight Capacity for safety and comfort as your child grows
  • Rear and Forward Facing Recline for child comfort and positioning
  • High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion your child
  • Plush, Easy-Remove Cover with matching comfort pads and infant body pillow to provide extra comfort and easy cleaning without disassembling or uninstalling the child seat
  • Two Buckle Positions offer a snug and secure fit for your growing child
  • Infant Positioning Insert may be necessary for small infants to achieve a snug fit of the harness around your child (sold separately)
  • Quick-Adjust, No-Rethread Harness repositions the harness shoulder height without disassembling the harness straps
  • Premium Lower LATCH Connectors for a quick and simple installation featuring a push button for easy release
  • Built-in Lock-Offs ensure a snug lap and shoulder belt installation with minimal effort
  • Anti-Slip, Contoured Base grips and protects the vehicle seat while offering optimum vehicle fit
  • Harness Holders keep harness straps pulled to the sides when placing your child in the car seat
  • Certified for Aircraft Travel
  • Made in the USA with global components
*info. from www.britax.com

Next is the Britax Boulevard 70 G3. It has all the above features except for the Click and Safe Hug Indicator. This is a feature to make sure the child is in the car seat tight enough. Cost around $239.99. So about $15 cheaper to not have the Click and Safe. 
Then there is the Britax Marathon 70 G3. It doesn't have as much side impact as the ones above. It also doesn't have the Click & Safe Indicator or the Hugs Chest Pads with Safe Cell Technology. Cost around $217.99 
There are a few more but they had less features then listed above so I wasn't really interested in them and didn't think they were comparable. 

You may have noticed that all the above seats have a G3 attached to the name. This means it has the two new features: Hugs Chest Pads with Safe Cell Technology and EZ Buckle System. You can still purchase these car seats with out the G3 on the name, it just means it's a later model so won't have those two new features. 

We have had Everett's Britax Pavilion for a few months now and have really loved it! Now I just need to get a picture of both them riding in them!

Hope you find this information useful!


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Tuesday's Twin Tidbits - Room Sharing

So as you can imagine when I found out we were having twins the first thing I did was head to the book store. This girl that loves to research had to find out as much as I could about being pregnant with twins and raising them! Eeeek!

I did find a few books that I thought were great and had a lot of valuable information. (I'll post them later) But the one thing that almost every book had in common was the advice to have the twins share a room. They all said that they will get used to each other crying and it eventually won't wake them up.

Well, let me just tell you that this did NOT work for us. I really wish early on I would have had a twin mom tell me that they split their twins.

The first month the twins were home they slept in the pack 'n play together and it was fine cause they were still in their sleep coma. At 4 weeks, when Everett was diagnosed with reflux we put him in the Nap Nanny next to me on the ground and Emery stayed in the pack 'n play. So, when we moved the twins to their nursery at 4 months they were used to sleeping in separate beds but in the same room. 

I'd say until about 6 months sharing a room worked great. Every once in a while one would wake the other, but rarely. At about 6 months, they just became so aware of each other and their surroundings. 

The biggest problem for us is that they have completely different sleep needs. It can be really easy to have the same expectations for them since they're twins. But really, since they're fraternal twins, they are just siblings born on the same day. That's really the best way to explain it.  Everett is just like his dad and just doesn't require as much sleep. He also is very sensitive to getting over tired.  This means that he almost always takes a shorter nap then Emery and wakes earlier in the morning. 

Before I split them up Emery was always being woken up by Everett, but was still tired since she requires more sleep. When they were in the same room they also went to bed at the same time. But after we split them I quickly found that since Everett is so sensitive to getting over tired, he needs to go to bed earlier. Having them in separate rooms has made this so much easier. I don't have to worry about sneaking in with Emery to put her to bed but being worried that I'll wake up Everett. It also has made it so much easier for those random nights that they wake up because they're sick or teething. When they were in the same room I would have to rush in to the one crying so they didn't wake up the other one. And I'm totally in the camp that it's ok for a baby to cry sometimes.  So this made it really hard.

My husband and I were both really apprehensive to split them, but once we did at about 9 months, it made such a huge difference. I really wish I would have done it earlier. They were both able to get the sleep that they both require and not be bothered by the other one. They still are on the same schedule but Emery usually gets about 30 mins. more sleep then Everett. Not enough to throw everything off, but enough that she wakes rested. 

Hope someone can find this useful & know that it's ok to split twins! We did and haven't looked back!


Right before we split them. Didn't even bother hanging names since we were thinking about splitting them. Wish we would have so we could at least have a picture of the nursery when they were together. 




Monday, June 24, 2013

Mealtime Monday - Mommy & Baby


I'm completely obsessed with Pinterest. I really have no idea how I ever made dinner without it. It has opened up the world of cooking for me.

Recently I made a super yummy and healthy Kale salad that I found.



Strawberry Avocado Kale Salad with Bacon Poppyseed Dressing


Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

6 cups baby kale {prewashed kind}
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 ripe avocado, sliced
for the dressing-
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place kale, strawberries and avocado into a large bowl and set aside.
For the dressing, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain bacon on paper towels. Crumble into small pieces and whisk together with remaining ingredients. Drizzle over salad and serve.
courtesy of : www.laurenslatest.com

For the twins I found these English Muffin Pizzas. They were a big hit! I also liked that you spice it up each time you make it with different toppings. 


English Muffin Pizzas
  • English muffins
  • Pizza sauce -or- Marinara sauce (pesto is also tasty!)
  • Pepperonis*
  • Spinach, chopped or ripped*
  • Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • Italian seasoning
* choose any toppings you want

When the twins are older I'll let them help make them, but for now, it's all me. 
I used the toaster oven on 425 because it's quick!

courtesy of : http://www.simmworksfamily.com/

Sipping on a Straw

My kids love to drink water from a straw! Yesterday I talked about just normal sippy cups that I use for milk. But, for water I use cups with a straw. I just figured they can have access to water all day long and it's much easier to drink walking around with a straw. 

I first introduced the straw to them at about a year. We started with Playtex First Little Gripper Straw Training Cup. It worked great. You squeeze the sides so liquid goes up the straw and into their mouth. After a few times they catch on that if they suck liquid comes out. Perfect way to introduce the straw. My only complaint about this one is that it has a cover so you can take it with you places, but when you uncover it liquid squirts everywhere.
Even once they figured out how to sip from a straw, they still were always wanting to lean their head back and drink since they're used to a normal sippy cup. So...I did some research. I found an awesome cup! It's the ZoLi Bot Straw Sippy Cup! It has a weight at the end of the straw so it gets every last drip of liquid, plus the straw is flexible so they can tip it back like a normal sippy cup and the straw will fall to the lid. My kids love it! It really is a brilliant invention. 


Sunday, June 23, 2013

411 on Sippy Cups

So if you know me at all then you know that I love to research. It's a blessing and a curse. I really don't like to buy gear for the twins unless I've scooped out what's on the market. This can be big ticket items like car seats all the way down to small things like utensils. The positive is that it usually means we get whatever is the best out there at a great price. The downside is that it takes a few days for me to buy things. Even silly things, like utensils, that really aren't a big deal. 


Well the last few months my focus has been on sippy cups. When the twins turned about 10 months I started exploring different options. But the last few months they've really been able to use them, so the experimenting has been much better. 

The very first one i tried was the Nuby No Spill Cup with handle. Well I should have known when I looked at it that it wasn't going to work. Since the twins are breast feed babies, this spout was way too much in their mouth. They just wanted to chew on it and play. 
 


The next one we tried was the Nuk Learner Cup. Right from the start they loved it. The spout was much smaller and more nipple shaped. They also seemed to hold it easier with the handles being at the bottom. After about a month of this cup though my daughter started chewing on the spout which made the little holes a lot bigger. This meant that the liquid would come out super fast and they would choke. I quickly ordered some replacement spouts thinking this would solve the problem. Well, in the week that it took the replacements to come in they had gotten used to the faster flowing liquid. So...now we use sippy cups with holes in them. :) I also love the cute designs these come in!

During the week that I was waiting for the new Nuk spouts to come in I thought I'd try a few other sippy cups that they wouldn't be able to chew a hole in as easy. I tried the Dr. Browns training cup, but the hole was tiny so it took a long time for liquid to come out. They would get frustrated and just throw it on the ground. 
The other one I tried was the Born Free Sippy Cup. The spout on this one was completely different then all the other ones I'd tried. It was really long so a lot went into their mouth. It took a few times for them to get used to the spout, but they got the hang of it. It does seem to take them a little while longer to drink from this one though. This would be my second choice.
I will say that one positive to the Born Free and the Dr. Browns is that they have created a whole system. So if you used either of those bottles then you can still use them with the sippy cup just change out the top. Pretty smart! 

After trying out all these our favorite is still the Nuk Learner Cup. Even though they were able to put holes in this one easily, it's still the one I use. They drink from it the fastest and can handle it the easiest. They are BPA Free, affordable and come in great colors too!
NUK Training Cup - Amazon

Thursday, May 9, 2013

2 Months

 *disclaimer: yes these are almost a year old. I've had them saved on my computer forever, just never posted. Need to have them for memories ;)



Everett
Weight: 11 pounds 12 ounces
Height: 23 1/3 inches
Milestones: Sleeping through the night!
Sleep: At about 6 weeks we started putting them on a schedule for naps. Everett is doing ok. He sleeps pretty good for the first 45 mins. and then when he switches sleep cycles he has a really hard time going back to sleep.
Eating: Has finally decided that he LOVES to eat! He had a slow start, but just can’t get enough now. He pretty much wants to eat immediately after he wakes up and really doesn’t like to wait around for it or for sister to finish. Makes for fun times. J
Best Moment: First time he smiled at us! Melted our heart!…Everett was also diagnosed with reflux at his 6 week dr. apt., and the medicine has made such a huge difference! He is finally consolable and enjoys eating much more.
First: Smile!
Extra: Towards the end of the 2nd month when we really started to get them on a good schedule, I was finally able to handle the twins alone and didn’t have to have my mom or mother in law come over to help everyday. It was such a good feeling to be able to handle them alone.


Emery
Weight: 9 pounds 6 ounces
Height: n/a in hip brace
Milestones: Sleeping through the night
Sleep: Started a schedule for naps at about 6 weeks and Emery does pretty good with them. Sometimes she wakes up after 45 mins. but for the most part does pretty good.
Eating: She is still an eating champ.
Best Moment: The first time she laughed! It was such a soft little sound :)
Worst Moment: Getting the Pavlok Hip Harness put on for her hip dysplasia. We feel so blessed to have a dr. that caught her hip displasia early on so it can be fixed while she is so young and wont remember. BUT it was really hard to have to put her in it. I cried the whole dr. apt. She has to wear it for a total of 3 months, 24/7. We can’t even take it off to give her a bath. L I already miss seeing her sweet legs. I am SO glad that it is summer though so she can wear dresses that cover it up! Time to go shopping!
First: Smile and laugh! They both made me get butterflies they were so precious! Celebrated Mothers Day!
Extra: Got the Wombie! A friend told us that their baby started busting out of the swaddle around this time, but knew that they still needed to be swaddled so tried the Wombie. So we thought we would give it a try. AND we LOVE it! Life changing! The second we put them in it they know it’s sleepy time to relax and get ready to go to sleep. :)

Fun Pictures!
Tummy Time

Sleepy Time 
First Mothers Day




Atticus loves them!

Hanging outside! Last picture before hip brace :(




Trying to capture first smile 

Meeting new friend Ryan Cash

Sleeping at Mimi and Grandpa's







Figured we had to have at least one picture of the brace

First Breakfast out