Your Cup Runneth Over....My Pump Runs Dry

I am now sitting at my computer ten months after my babies were born.  In my freezer lay 5 little plastic baggies with 1.5 ounces of breast milk in each one.  7.5 ounces.  That was all I ever managed to get.  And that does not include all the empty bags that ended up in the trash after nothing came out.

Unless you have super boobs, do not expect a bountiful supply of excess milk in your freezer when you have twins.  Your twins will suck you dry.

Yesterday we went to the doctor, and my boys' weights had fallen.  We were advised to supplement.  It is like going full circle.  We supplemented the first few weeks they were here, and now we are back at it again. 

We decided to start with their last feed of the day.  Lately it has taken so long that I am kind of glad to give it up.  The result?  One happy daddy who now gets a chance to feed a tired, snuggly baby.  And, one happy mommy whose babies didn't spend a half hour each trying to get the last few drops out.

Now I just need to get that bottle drying rack back from my sister in law.....

Cosleeping Times Two!

My 9 month old twins sleep next to me in their crib (and occasionally in our bed). They originally slept in a large cosleeper until they outgrew it. I can’t imagine any other arrangement when it comes to dealing with two babies at night.

The benefits of cosleeping with twins:

1. You never have to get out of bed at night. You simply pull them out of their cosleeper/crib, feed, return them to bed, and roll over to go back to sleep.

2. You will hear them in their early stages of waking up rather then screaming through the monitor. That said your babies are less "awake" when you feed them, and thus return to sleep easier.

3. They can easily be pulled into bed when sick. Depending on your stance about sleeping with a child in your bed, I can say that a sick baby sleeps much better snuggled up to you than alone. I am not sure if it is just me, but my babies (who sleep on their stomachs in their crib) always sleep on their backs when in bed with me. Thus, when they have colds, their noses drain much better. If they are in their crib, they constantly wake up from being unable to breath.

4. You can enlist your husband's help when needed. Enough said. Until about 6 months old, my husband was responsible for night-time diaper changes. Now that they only get one change, we share the job. (What a keeper he is!)

5. Breastfeeding is much easier. This also relates to #2 - only it is much easier for you to return to sleep.
Non-Cosleep process:
 You get up, throw on a robe, walk into a cold room, get two babies out of cribs (which logistically is quite hard once they are mobile), breastfeed, burp, return them to bed, go back to your room, and crawl back into a now cold bed.
Cosleeping:
You sit up in your cozy bed. You pull one baby into bed and lay them next to you. You place the other one in your lap. You or your husband places the second baby into position. You breastfeed both babies at the same time while leaning back against a soft pile of pillows already in place. You burp the babies, and then lay one next to you in bed. You then return the first baby to the cosleeper, followed by the second. Finally, you roll over into your warm, yummy bed and fall fast asleep.

6.  It is easier to let them cry.  Lately my babies have tried to establish 2 am as "play time."  This required that I let them cry it out a little for the first time.  It was actually easier than I thought, because I could see their sillouettes in the dark and I knew they were OK.
I am a little biased towards cosleeping. Can you tell?

(Thank you to my new twin mom penpal Sarah for inspiring me to write this.)

The Drop Zone

I knew I had to post early on about the "Drop Zone." Without this, I would not have survived the first 6 months of raising my twin boys. The drop zone is as it sounds - a place to "drop" the babies. When you have twins you can’t sit there with them all day, or hold them as you go about your business. You need a solution.
The drop zone started when I no longer had family help during the day (6 weeks). When I was done breastfeeding, I needed somewhere to lay one down and then the other while still providing an incline. My babes had major spit up issues at the time and had to be upright for at least half an hour after eating. Since I fed them on the couch, the drop zone was built at one end.

I took a pillow to cerate the incline needed, and laid it against the arm rest. Then I folded a quilt into a 3'x3' square and laid it over top. I took a small quilt and rolled it up. I laid that roll under the quilt square at the edge of the couch to keep the babies from falling off. Viola! Instant happy babies!

The drop soon became the place they napped and were read stories to. Over time I removed the back cushion to make it bigger, and built up the bumper as they started to roll. Once they were able to get up on their hands and knees, the drop zone was no more.

While the drop zone is a lifesaver, I feel the need to tell you in really small print , "Do not leave babies unattended. There is a risk of fall, etc....."

Are they twins??

Question:
Are they twins?
This question is fun for about 1 week after you give birth.  Then it gets old.  So old, that I no longer use my double stroller to go shopping anymore.  If I do, I would never get out of store! (Cute old grandpas who grab my babies' toes are the exception.  I will stop for them any day.)

Answer:
Hmmm.. Let me see...two babies in a grocery cart.  Same age.  Same size.  Exact same outfit.

No, I found this other one in the dairy isle and I thought I would take it home with me.

Oy Ve!

The Ultimate Question: How to Schedule Two Babies

I think the greatest worry to a parent of twins is how to get and keep them on the same schedule. I have had a few days where the day or night schedules were totally off. Let's just say that that it was not a pretty sight. The one rule that has always held true for me is that you can not stall a hungry baby to wait for the other twin to want to eat. If one babe is hungry, then the other one must eat too. If the second baby is asleep you wake him/her up. Even if the second baby just takes a nibble that is OK. Over time they learn the routine and become synchronized.

Cruel you say?? No! Here is the hidden benefit no one mentions. Your babes get so used to being roused from sleep, that it doesn't bother them. This means that taking them from the car, waking them up to transport them home from a friends house late at night, etc. is a piece of cake. I think too, that by dictating a schedule for them, they also learn to follow all (ok, most...) of your requests and cues.

I once feared that I was preventing them from learning to sleep through the night. What if one baby was ready for it? What if they were each ready to get up just once, but at different times? So, I tried just feeding them individually at night (around 8 months) to see what would happen. Hell on earth. Enough said.

The last piece of advice, stick to it! From day one, or any time they get off schedule, stick to your guns. It may take a few days or a few weeks, but it will be worth it. For your sanity’s sake and that of your family – don’t give up. Synchronized twins = One Happy Rested Mama!

Where to Begin...Power to the Pacifier!

Let's just say I am a little obsessed with binkies. Anyone who chooses not to use them must be insane. My sister-in-law recently had a baby and asked when mine first started using pacifiers. Being that the first month after the twins were born is a total blur; I just looked through my pictures and had the answer. My twins started using their binkies at two weeks, and were addicted by two months. I swear that the binkies are why they are happy little boys who hardly ever cry. Do I worry about still using them? No. They only use them now at nine months when they are tired or cranky. They can go the whole day without putting one in their mouths. However, if binkies abound, and are in easy reach, they will use them more.

I love Soothies. I decided to use these because they are shaped like a nipple and will fall out of their mouths once they are asleep. At first, they needed the binkies to go to sleep. Then over time, because they fell out, they started to spit them out once they were about to crash out. The other binkies that are shaped to fit the mouth are more likely to remain in their mouths as they sleep. I would think that would lead to a more intense addiction.

Looking back at my pictures it is funny to see how these binkies look when they first used them. I think they took up half of their faces! It is no surprise that the main image on this blog is of Carter and Gerrit sucking away on their little binks.

Juggling Twins - I Can Do It!

Since having twins, I have looked for web sites and blogs that could help me navigate the world of raising twins. I found that too many sites refer to having twins as chaos, insanity, etc., as if raising twins is some crazy nightmare experience that one has to survive.

So, I decided to create a blog that is focused on just offering the tips and advice that has worked for me. I won’t post about the events of my day. Frankly, it's just not that interesting. Instead, I will post about the things I can’t live without, how I have handled specific events, etc.. I will also ask for your advice – hey we’re not all perfect! (Did I mention that I can take two 9 month olds out shopping, eat in a restaurant and drive ½ hour each way without much trouble? I must be doing something right…)

People often make comments to me that my life must be so hard, double the trouble, blah – blah – blah. My response is always that I don’t know any different. It just is what it is, and I love it. It is my life. It is not insane. It is just a little more of a juggling act.