First Month Favorites
Some how this first month with the girls has completely gotten away from me. Whelp, to be frank- we are well into our second month and moving way too quick for this momma’s liking.
Here are a few of my favorite things used most often during this first month home with the twins.
1. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste I don’t know about your baby (babies!), but my babies sure know how to fill a diaper. (TMI? Nooo.. these are tiny little babies we are talking about here, and we all know babies poop. Period.) Every time my girls eat they need a new diaper. We have gotten to where we no longer change them pre-feeding, but wait until after- saves a diaper, and we can use all those we can get. I love the butt paste! It provides awesome protection, and I can get away with using just one wipe to clean my girls up. My girls have yet to have a red bootie:)
2. Bottle Rack Simple and cheap. At any given tim we have 9-12 bottles on the rack- not to mention my pump supplies. We are thinking of getting another one, and while this one is so cool and good looking, the one we currently have is $10 and works beautifully.
3. Avent Natural Bottles When we brought the girls home, Jolie was just ounces over 4 pounds and Parker was 5 and a half pounds. Putting weight on them was the main goal. We supplemented with formula while we were in the hospital because my milk had yet to come in (It took 5 days) and the girls were working too hard and burning too many calories breast feeding alone. When we got home I would limit breast feeding to 10-15 minutes and then offer a bottle of either formula, or if I was able, expressed milk- just to make sure they were getting plenty and not using up all their energy on trying to get milk from me. We registered for these and really love them. Doesn’t come with fancy parts or specialty instructions for putting them together- just the bottle and the nipple. And when you have more than one hungry baby to attend to, simplicity is my best friend. The natural nipple structure is awesome and has yet to cause ‘nipple-confusion’ between either of my girls.
4. My Brest Friend Twin Nursing Pillow If you have twins and plan to breast feed- you must have this. Sure you could do the pillows all around you (did that in the hospital), but that seems like added frustration when trying to get situated correctly at 2am. Wrap, snap, click and feed. So easy.
5. The Body Shop Body Butter I got this as a gift from one of my bestest while I was pregnant and have used it more now post-babies than I did while pregnant. I use it most on the loose skin on my belly- it seems to moisturize really well.
6. Lansinoh Soothing Gel Pads For me- the lanolin that most breast feeding mothers swear by doesn’t work. First of all- my girls hate it. No matter how hungry they are, they will refuse to nurse well if I don’t take a wash cloth and completely remove all of that goop prior to feeding. After week one of being home, I threw it away. In all honesty, if your baby is latching correctly, breast feeding should not hurt one bit. BUT- not to say I am never sore! Enter these gel pads. Love them.
7. Graco Sound Machine My babies love the sound machine! I never thought there was any rhyme or reason to these things, but my girls are really soothed by them. We use the fetal heart sounds at night when they sleep and the music during the day. Momma likes them, too! I told Jordan that we needed to get a second for our room when the girls move to the nursery.. he rolled his eyes.
8. Fisher Price Snuggabunny Bouncer Saved many nights of rest between feedings! Early on little Jolie had such issues with gas and reflux and had a difficult time lying flat after she would eat. As she has gotten bigger, this has much improved, but there are still times when she needs to be at an incline. Thank you bouncy seat for getting her to sleep quickly:)
9. Boogie Wipes We use these daily! Not for baby boogers.. I think I have yet to use them for that. At two weeks old we started noticing Parker would wake up with a ‘crusty’ eye. At her two week appointment the pediatrician explained this was completely normal- sometimes babies will get a clogged tear duct, and it will resolve on it’s own. She still has some issues- not everyday, but when she does we use these.
10. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets Hello. amazing-ness. People rave about them- and I’m afraid we are no different- LOVE them. Not only awesome for tight swaddling (Jordan is a serious pro at swaddling them tight as all get out.) but we also use these for covering their carseats while out in public (keeping the germs, sunlight, and oh-so-nosey people away) or laying on the floor for tummy time or simply laying over them for added warmth while they are in the swing or bouncy seat. But, for serious.. you can’t get a better burrito out of any other blanket like you can with these.
Keep in mind, this list doesn’t include the necessities- diapers, wipes.. diapers, breast pump, diapers.. Just some things that really made my/our life a lot easier during the first month with these twin babies.
January 21, 2013
I feel like you need to know about these – it's a converter so you can pump from your Medela pump directly into the Avent bottles. They may be in stock at your local Target (I have never found them at baby stores), or they are of course available on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Philips-AVENT-Standard-Breast-Conversion/dp/B00005BXEY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358784196&sr=8-1&keywords=avent+converter
Amber to keep away those pesky onlookers, block the sun & wind, etc you should totally look into Carseat Canopy (http://www.carseatcanopy.com)! They rock! I got two of them for my twin boys and all I paid was shipping ($12.90/ea). Do two seperate purchases and use code PJBABY (lol how appropriate with your girls' names) at checkout and it will deduct the cost of the canopy! 🙂 We love ours and get sooo many compliments! Enjoy! 🙂 -Jade
Great list! Can't believe the girls are this big already! We currently can't live without the sound machine! I think I even need it to go to sleep now!
Ha I sort of feel like I need to pay you for all of this knowledge you are sharing… thank you for being such a great resource!
I loved My Breast Friend. I had never seen one until I visited my lactation consultant after Wyatt was born.
Great list! And great minds think alike–haha! 🙂 I'm also loving these comments, I will have to check a few of these things out. Hope you're doing well!
I just came across your blog and Im glad that I did! Im expecting a little one in June (we will find out Monday what we are having, yay!) and I know that Im going to use the Avent bottles and I was looking at the Snugabunny bouncer (I figured it would be perfect no matter what we are having) so Im glad to see that someone recommends it. Thanks!
I have no idea how I stumbled upon your blog, but it's adorable! I'm 34 weeks pregnant with identical twin girls, so it's fun reading through your stories 🙂 thanks for the 'must have' list, good to know!! 🙂
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