Baby must haves

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

There are so many baby items out there these days. Some items are must haves while others are good to have but not necessarily needed, and then there are the ones that are just a waste of money. Take a stroll though the isles of Babies R Us and you will see what I mean.

A good example of a waste of money item would be the PeePee Teepee They are kind of light weight and if your little one wiggles and squirms around as much as ours do it will fall right off. Also, once the fountain starts to spray it just hits the top of the teepee and dribbles down so you still end up cleaning up after them. Great in theory, but not really practical. A good but not necessary baby item would be something like the Dr. Brown’s formula mixing pitcher. This is a nice item to have because you can mix a batch of formula and then pour it into bottles for the entire day, all at once. It cuts down on time and is nice to have but definitely not a necessity. It’s not that difficult to fill the bottles with water for the entire day and then at each feeding mix the formula in with it.

But here is a list of things, that in my experience, have become definite baby must haves:

1) The number one thing that I would recommend to any parent of an infant is the Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play sleeper.

Fisher Price Rock 'n Play sleeper

This bassinet is awesome and I can’t give enough praises about this product! It is extremely portable and easy to take places. We have taken these to both of our parents houses for visits and its great because the boys are used to sleeping in them so their sleep environment doesn’t change that much. Its also pretty light weight so you are able to carry it after having a c-section. It has a 3 point restraint for babies security and the cover is washable. Our boys slept in these the first 3 weeks and then we tried putting them in their crib. They didn’t do well laying flat on their back because they spit up more than normal. The bassinet is at an incline so it helps with their spit up and if your baby has reflux, like I suspect mine does, this is a must have.

2) Tommee Tippee bibs which are perfect for newborns and infants.

Tommee Tippee Bib

The neck is small enough to actually fit around their necks and it has a fat collar that’s absorbent and soaks up the slightest leaks and dribbles that run down the neck. Every bib we have is either too big or not absorbant enough for newborns so we haven’t used them. Instead we were just using a burp cloth under their necks and that’s a hassle and a half. Since I found these awesome bibs, I’ll never go back to the burp cloths. I went back and bought two more sets (they come in a pack of 2). The one downside is that the only place I’ve found them is at Babies R Us.

3) A sheet saver. In one night (the one night we put them on their back in the crib) we went through 4 of these.

Koala Baby Deluxe Plush Sheet Saver

These are great to have for little ones that spit up, vomit, or pee and poop through their diaper. It is made of ribbed fleece, an absorbent fabric, and has a leak proof backside to help to protect baby’s sheets.

4) This one was on my wish list a while back and I ended up getting two sets of them, one for Hayden and one for Ian (a set is 4 labels). It is the Inch Bug bumpy name orbit labels that imprints your baby’s name on the label.

Inch Bug Orbit Labels

With two babies, these are a must! Our babies are on two different formulas so we need these to differentiate the bottles from one another and so we give the right bottle to the right baby. These are especially good for babies that go to daycare or any childcare so you can keep up with your bottles, cups, etc.

5) Bouncy Seats are a wonderful thing to have. Of course you could live without having them so technically this should probably fall under the nice to have but not a necessity category. But with multiples, it is a must. I usually put the babies in these and put them in my bathroom while I take a shower. Ours has a vibrating mechanism in it and that seems to soothe them sometimes when they are fussy or tired but don’t want to go to sleep.

Chillin while mom gets ready

6) Dr. Brown’s Bottles. I’ve never used any other bottles so I can’t compare them to others but I love these bottles. They claim to reduce colic symptoms and decrease the amount of air babies take in while eating. I guess it works because our babies don’t seem to spit up a whole lot…I’ve seen some babies that spit up far more than ours, and ours have reflux. The only down side to these bottles are they have some extra parts to clean and it can be a hassle. Luckily we have like 16 bottles so we only have to clean them once a day.

7) Biz is a wonderful invention, while its not a baby item, it is a baby must have. Let’s face it, babies spit up and dribble formula when they eat. Formula likes to stain clothes and everything else it touches if you let it sit and dry. My mom told me of this little secret and it has worked so far, not one stained outfit or anything. I have a little tub that I put warm water and biz detergent in and then just soak the clothes, cloths or whatever in the water for a while before washing them.

8) Lastly is the Belly Bandit. Ok, so this one isn’t necessarily a baby product, but it’s a post baby product for mom. And what’s good for mom is what’s good for baby…in a way. This is a band that you put around your abdomen and it basically acts as a binding to hold in all your gushyness that is your abdomen after you have a baby. It claims to help get your body back to its pre baby state. In mine opinion, not only did it help with reducing the size of my tummy by helping the abdominal muscles, uterine swelling, bloating, etc but it also helps with pain control after the c-section. I’ve also noticed that it helps with stretch marks….not sure how but I guess it works with the elasticity of the skin. However it works, I notice that they seem less noticeable after I’ve been wearing the band for a while. I didn’t wear it all day like they say your supposed to and honestly I didn’t wear it everyday either. I still will wear it occasionally and I probably will for a while. Depending on the shirt you are wearing, you can tell you are wearing something under your clothes, but its not that noticeable. I recommend this for anyone who has had a baby….c-section or not. It is on the pricey side so if you are worried about cost, honestly you could probably just use a big ace bandage, but I can’t vouch for that since I haven’t tried it.

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Belly Bandit

So there you have it, those are my baby must haves. I’m sure in 6 months my must have list will change as our boys get older, but this is my list for newborns.

Update on boys and cell phone pics

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

It’s been a crazy week or two around here with the boys, trying to get their feeding and sleeping issues worked out. They are both on a new formula and reflux medication now. They are on Elecare which is an amino acid based formula that contains no milk. Unfortunately this is the cadillac of formulas and comes with a similar price tag. Your typical milk based formula like Enfamil/Similac is roughly $12-$14 a can which lasts on average 3.5 days. Elecare is anywhere from $30-$50 a can and will last the same, 3.5 days. I’ve found if you order this formula from a pharmacy you pay more, around $45 a can, you can order it from the manufacturer for $33 a can which is the best price I found…until I looked on ebay. If you look on ebay you an find it even cheaper. I know what your thinking, ebay? That’s what I though at first too. They are sealed cans that haven’t expired…they are legit. There are some cans/cases that are a “buy now” option and some you have to bid on. We actually one a bid last week that was 6 cans for $88, plus $15 shipping. So we got 6 cans for $103 which comes out to be $17 a can…not too bad! Since they are both on the same formula 1 can will lasts us roughly 1.5 days, so those 6 cans will get us through a little over a week. The downside to this formula, other than the price, is that you can’t go buy it at the store. So if you know you are getting low on formula you better order some, if you run out….you are outta luck! As far as if it is helping the boys, all I can say it, I think so. It’s hard to say. It takes a little while for all the milk proteins to get out of their system and I’ve heard of people saying it took their kiddo 3 to 4 weeks to really tell a difference. They have been on it for about a week and so far, there is a small difference. Ian has stopped having his blow out diapers with every feeding so that is definitely a good thing…he stopped that with the first bottle of Elecare. Hayden never got to the point that Ian was with his feeding issues but he was starting to show some of the same signs that Ian was at the beginning. So our pediatrician said to go ahead and switch Hayden to the same formula because he is probably just a few steps behind Ian. They were both showing signs of reflux, Hayden more so than Ian, so we started them on Zantac. Hayden was actually on Prevacid but was having some major insomnia so we switched him to the Zantac and it went away. They have both done great on the reflux meds and hopefully I will be able to say the formula has been life saving.

As far as sleeping goes. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Hayden can’t or doesn’t go back to sleep easily after being woken up. We have been like zombies the last week around here as neither of us are really getting any sleep. I know people say to sleep when the baby sleeps….with two they are hardly ever asleep at the same time, so sleeping during the day is OUT. The biggest issue has been after the 9:00 PM feeding. We feed them at 9:00 and then they pretty much stay awake and won’t go to sleep until around 12:00 AM. So we get to stay awake until 12:00 AM and then feed them again at 1:00 AM, so we are awake until about 2:30-3:00 AM. And because they stay awake so long they are usually dog tired at the 1 AM feeding and don’t want to eat much. We have been letting the just stay in the living room in their bouncy seats, or boppy pillows or wherever after the 5:00 PM feeding while we fix dinner, eat, etc and then we will give them a bath or get them ready for bed and then feed them at 9:00. They generally fall asleep around 7:00 and stay asleep until 9:00 for the next feeding. I think that has been the problem. So last night we put them in their room in their beds at 7:30 PM and then woke them up and treated it like it was a middle of the night feeding. The seemed to do better last night and then this morning after their 9:00 AM feeding they were awake and happy when before they would usually go right back to sleep. We’ll try it again tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully it will work again and we can all get some much needed sleep around here.

That’s pretty much what we’ve been dealing with the last few weeks. and of course, here are some random pictures I’ve taken with my cell phone over the last few weeks…

randomness at the Blundell household

Getting ready for Christmas

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

Things are starting to look a little like Christmas around the Blundell house. Last year we didn’t put up our tree because we were trying to sell the house and we would have to move furniture and that’s not the best idea when you are trying to do everything you can to sell a house. Well, this year we did put it up. We had to have a tree up for the boys first Christmas. So this past weekend we decorated for Christmas. We didn’t do a whole lot…it was a lot of work just to put up a tree and stockings on the fireplace when you have 2 newborns demanding your attention, but we did get it all put up. The boys even helped dad put up the tree…

Hayden & Ian helping dad put up the Christmas tree

I normally put some garland and lights all around the fireplace but I just didn’t feel like it this year. And you can forget putting lights up on the house…when you have to choose between putting lights up or sleep, I think anyone will choose sleep.

stockings hung

I got Hayden and Ian their very first Christmas stocking so that Santa can fill it with all kinds of goodies.

Hayden & Ian's 1st Christmas

But since their stockings were pretty specific I had to get them another one for the coming years. You’ll have to wait and see that one next year 😉 And, of course, I couldn’t forget my most FAVORITE Christmas decoration of all…

my favorite Christmas decoration

Every year I put it out somewhere new around the house because I can never decide where it looks best. This year I put it on our dinning room table and I kind of like it there so I may keep doing that…we’ll see. You’ve gotta spice things up a little.

The boys were kind of sleepy the whole time we were decorating so we had to get them into the holiday spirit…

Hayden

Ian

After we were all finished we sat around, listened to Christmas music, drank hot chocolate (even though it was 65 degrees outside) and enjoyed the view. We can’t wait for all of the holiday festivities to begin and to spend time with our families.

enjoying all their hard work

Mini Me

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

When you have a baby (or in our case, babies) you have the long 9 months ahead of you to dream about your child. You wonder who he or she will look like, whose personality they will have and what mannerisms of yours they will take on. Because I was having twins, I had the added thoughts of wondering if our boys would look alike, act alike or even like each other. OK, I never worried about them not liking each other but I did wonder what their relationship would be like.

Well, if you haven’t noticed, our boys are here and it has been amazing to see their personalities start to come out more and see who they take after, me or Jonathan. I think they have a good mix of both of our personalities and looks…but definitely more Jonathan in the looks department, I mean, have you seen our boys?!

BUT…there is one personality trait that our little Hayden and I share. And because of how much I hate having this myself, I really wished I wouldn’t have passed this on. I’ll let you guess what it is by looking at this picture…

this was taken at about 2:30 AM the other morning…and he had been awake since 9:00 PM. Thats 5.5 hours, what 1 month old baby stays awake for 5.5 hours straight?! Don’t let the half closed eyes fool you, he was very much awake, the camera just caught him when he was blinking. Neither of the boys have liked the swing much but it was my next to last resort this night…and it worked. my last resort was to put him in the car and go for a drive because it generally puts them to sleep. Finally about 30 minutes after this picture was taken he drifted off to dream land. While that night was the extreme, he does tend to stay up a while after eating and it is hard for him to go back to sleep, like me. Fortunately, I figured out why this night was so bad. We started him on Prevacid a few days prior to this and the few nights he was on it leading up to this night he was awake more than usual so I linked the insomnia to the Prevacid. That next day I spoke with his pediatrician and she said she has had several parents tell her this happened. Why don’t they warn parents of this?! So we switched him to Zantac and all is better, other than his typical hard to fall asleep nature. The prevacid wasn’t really working anyway so I was glad to switch.

there are some other personality traits or mannerisms that the boys take after either Jonathan or myself and some are funny little quirks like sleeping with their hands by their face/head. they both do funny things with their lips like Jonathan but I have yet to figure out where they get their need to scream or wail when they are hungry. I mean I can get grouchy when I’m hungry but I sure don’t scream, maybe from their dad 😉

It will definitely be fun to see their personalities develop as they grow and start to interact with each other.

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

The Blundell family wants to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

This holiday marks the start of the holiday season and I absolutely love this time of year! But, this year is even more special since we have our new little ones in tow! Now, time to eat some turkey…

Milk – does a body good…

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

Ian eating like a rockstar

Unless your one of our boys. The last few weeks we have had some issues with Ian when it comes to feeding. The first week he was an extremely happy baby and took his bottles like a rockstar, no problem what so ever. He would eat, stay up a little bit then fall asleep, the repeat a few hours later. After that first week and a half we started noticing some changes in our happy Ian. He was getting fussy, extremely gassy, coughing some, not as happy, didn’t sleep as well, started grunting and acting constipated – that he definitely was not! Fast forward 3 weeks and it had just gotten worse. By this point we had tried about 4 different formulas (including soy) and had a late night call to the doctor because after trying the soy he had horrible, I mean horrible, diarrhea and we had no clue what to feed our child. I finally had enough of watching my, once happy little boy, look miserable so I took him in to see the pediatrician. Basically she said it is more than likely a milk allergy, not just lactose intolerance since he didn’t tolerate the soy either. So she started him on Nutramingen which is lactose free and hypoallergenic (partially broken down proteins). We are trying him on that formula for 10-14 days and if that doesn’t work then we may have to switch to another, more expensive, formula which is a prescription. I hope it doesn’t come down to this but it’s been a week and we can tell a little bit of difference, just not a whole lot…so I have a feeling we may be going to the different formula. But we’ll see, maybe next week he’ll turn around. I also think he may have a little bit of reflux and she said he may too. So we may be adding some reflux meds as well.

Hayden eating like a champ

Then there’s Hayden. He was doing really well, just like Ian…took his bottle like a champ. About a week and a half ago we noticed him starting to do some of the same things Ian was doing. He was grunting, starting to get a little fussy but not a whole lot, spitting up some (but what baby doesn’t), and coughing some as well. Well the last few days, he has just gotten worse. It’s a struggle to get him to eat because he acts like it hurts him. When he eats he starts out great, then about 2-3 minutes in he starts to gulp his food down with this painful look on his face and then, out of the blue, starts to cry….during all this he is arching his back and extending his neck. So we take the bottle out of his mouth and he stops. We give it back to him and the whole thing repeats itself…Its a vicious cycle. We were thinking he had a milk allergy as well but now that he’s started all this, I’m pretty sure he has reflux instead of it being an issue with the formula. I pretty much dread feeding time at our house and with Jonathan back at work I do about 90% of the feedings. Needless to say I will be calling our pediatrician, again, first thing in the morning…but for the other child this time.

We just have to hope and pray that we can get this whole thing figured out because I want my happy little boys back! They just look miserable!!

1 Month Old

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

1 month old

The boys are 1 month old today and boy have they changed. They are both getting some nice big cheeks (Ian more so than Hayden) and filling out. They are now close to the size of a typical newborn, but still wearing preemie clothes. They are loosing that newborn look to them and look more like nice “chubby” babies…as chubby as you can be when you are about 6-7 pounds. We have loved getting to know them and their personalities. All their little sounds, cries, whimpers, etc are adorable it has been fun getting to know what all those sounds mean and who they are coming from. Hayden has this little sound he makes…it’s not really a cry or a whimper, it’s just a sound he makes and I absolutely love it! They both smile and chuckle sometimes, yes I said chuckle. Last night Hayden was sleeping and I guess dreaming because all of a sudden he started to smile and actually laugh! Not sure what a 1 month old laughs at, but it was funny. both boys like to cuddle but Hayden thrives on it…he’s our little snuggle-bug.

They are both good babies and sleep rather well. We are feeding them every 4 hours and they eat, on average, 4 ounces at a time…sometimes 2 oz and sometimes 5 oz. Friday night we started letting them go 5 hours in between feedings and so far they have done well. I’m hoping to get them to a 6-8 hour stretch at night, but I doubt that will happen for another month or so (when they are about 10 pounds or more). At night they pretty much just cry when they are ready to eat (right on schedule) but they do like to stay awake for a while (like an hour) after the 12:00 AM feeding. They seem to have their days and nights mixed up some….which we are working on correcting.

Mom with Hayden & Ian

Dad with Hayden & Ian

We have taken a bunch of pictures over the last month so here are a few that we’ve taken that I haven’t posted yet.

chill time with dad

Ian being Ian

Hayden liked his dinner

Dad feeding Ian

Hayden ~ our little snuggle-bug

Hayden ~ 1 month old

Ian ~ 1 month old

The last two pictures show you just how small they are. That teddy bear is a standard sized teddy bear, not a jumbo one…It’s bigger than them!

#1 Dad

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

Snuggle time with Dad

I have to brag on my husband for a little bit. He has been great since the boys were born and jumped right in when it came to taking care of them. He was the first one to put a diaper on the boys…in the OR! Since we are bottle feeding the boys, (they could get my cardiac medication if I breastfed) that means I’m not the only one that can feed them. He has helped so much by taking turns getting up at night to feed them and let me sleep some and also hangs out with them in the morning and lets me sleep in sometimes. He not only helps when with the boys but he cooks dinner and cleans the kitchen afterward. I’m still not able to do everything I would like due to recovering from my c-section so he helps me around the house and whenever I can’t do something.

Being on bed rest and banned to the couch for 3 months really gave me cabin fever so needless to say once I was able to drive, I was ready to go do things I hadn’t been able to. He stayed with the boys by himself so I could have a little me time going to my nephews football game and craft night at my parents church. He never complains about any of it and truly enjoys being with his boys!! That is the best feeling ever, knowing your husband loves your children and wants to spend time with them…even during the stage where all you can do is stare at them and play the never ending game of put the pacifier back in the mouth.

I can’t put into words how appreciative and grateful I am of Jonathan. He is a wonderful dad and I can’t wait to see him interact with the boys as they get older. Hayden and Ian have such an awesome role model and dad to look up to. Thank you for everything and I love you!!

Things I’ve learned parenting newborn twins

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Laurie Blundell

The weight of my twin babies and their placentas are now gone, all the extra water weight I was carrying for months is leaving me, and my organs and joints can breathe a huge sigh of relief as the pressure is off of them! Yes, I am tired, sore from a c-section and stretched out, but my babies are finally here. Now the fun part begins — parenting.

I could probably label this post “Things I’ve learned parenting” — period.

But since my first go at parenting is with TWO newborns, it’s a little different than your average first time mom.

During my pregnancy I read all kind of books on babies, parenting and multiples. While they all had some pieces of good advice, a lot of what I would read wouldn’t logistically work with multiples and/or just didn’t have any advice on parenting multiples. Until I found a book by a mom of triplets written for moms of multiples — The Multiples Manual by Lynn Lorenz. It’s a great resource for anyone with multiples.

It doesn’t sugar coat anything and she tells you what to expect. She gives you good tips on how to handle certain situations, things that are must haves and then things that are good to have but not a NEED. I highly recommend this book for anyone expecting multiples. No, it won’t tell you everything you need to know about raising multiples, or even come close to it. But it does help and you learn to take every little bit of help you can get.

Of course experience is the #1 way to learn… our babies are 3.5 weeks old and in the first few weeks here are some things I’ve learned (experienced) thus far…

Sleep: Think its tough when you don’t get sleep with one baby…try it with two. When one falls asleep, the other is usually wide awake, then when that one falls asleep, the other one wakes up because he has been sleeping the whole time. Then maybe both will be asleep at once. There was one night in the last week that I didn’t go to sleep until 6:30 AM because this is what kept happening, in between feedings of course.

We have tried putting the boys in the same crib/pack-n-play to sleep/nap and they tend to keep the other up. Not with crying, but moving. They just don’t really get the sleep they need when they lie next to each other. So we have them back in their little individual bassinets and they sleep better. It also helps that they are reclined and not laying completely flat on their back. They both tend to spit up when they are flat on their back.

Preparing bottles: Our boys are on two different formulas. Hayden is on a high calorie formula to plump him up — and it seems to be working because he is getting some little cheeks on him. Ian has been on 4 different formulas including soy and has now been put on Nutramigen for a milk protein allergy.

We got a tip from a friend that mentioned using the Dr. Brown’s formula mixing pitcher to mix a batch of formula and then make bottles for the day. We went out and got the mixing pitcher and it has been great since making all the bottles for the day. The pitcher helps reduce air bubbles in the formula tremendously and with a baby who has gas issues, this is a HUGE help.

Diaper changing: We have 2 boys and changing a boys diaper is a little different than changing a girls diaper. Boys have a water fountain attached to them and that fountain starts to spray anytime air hits it. What we have started doing is placing a cloth diaper under them when we change them and then pull it up like a diaper in between taking the old diaper off, cleaning them off and putting the new diaper on. That tends to help with water works, but not always!

Feeding two babies at once: When feeding time comes and you have 2 hungry, fussy babies, it will quickly become apparent why humans are not meant to give birth to more than one baby at a time. I’ve had to get creative with feeding techniques since an extra appendage was not a shower gift I received… can you imagine if it were though?! I mean, think of all I could get done with 3 arms/hands – diapering one baby and still feeding the other, all at once! Or cleaning bottles while making the next batch of formula… oh the possibilities!

I have learned to feed both babies at once — and it only took 3 weeks to figure this out. I try to only do this at night because I do like the bonding time you get with each baby when you feed them individually, and during the day I have time to do this. Anyway, by feeding them at once it cuts down our feeding times from 2 – 2.5 hours to 1 hour. Then you have to get them back to sleep. Sometimes this is easy and they fall right to sleep, other times it takes 30 minutes to an hour, or longer. The hardest part of feeding both babies at once is the whole burping process. This is when the third arm would come in handy. You still need to hold the bottle for one of the babies while burping the other one and supporting their head so it doesn’t snap off and roll under the crib. So, while I’m not a supporter of propping bottles, I’ve found you have to for a minute or two while you burp the other one (and with our babies you have to burp them every ounce or so or they will spit up, not drink anymore, get fussy, etc.)

Some of the other random things I’ve learned are:

Amazon Prime for Moms is awesome…free shipping on certain products
You can never have enough diapers…especially pampers newborn
Preemie diapers are kinda expensive, and hard to find…so we just stuck with newborn
Preemie clothing is almost non existent in most stores, but walmart does carry some…my almost 1 month old babies still don’t fit into newborn size clothing.
You’ll find dirty diapers and wipes in the most random places around the house…
I’ve never been more concerned about poop as much as I have in the last 3 weeks…baby poop that is. Consistency, color, smell etc (gross)!
Going anywhere with our suburban stroller and two infants will draw attention to you

That’s a short version of what I’ve learned so far, I should have more lessons as they get older — but for now I should go heat up a bottle, I hear one of the munchkins getting restless.

And of course, I’ll leave you with a picture of our beautiful baby boys!