A product review for twins

My twins are 13 weeks tomorrow and I thought I'd write up a recap on the best products that we've encountered. I'll start with my favorite.

1) Rock n plays - register for 2 of these! Our babies absolutely love these and have slept in them since the first day. The Rock n Plays that we registered for and received are only $62 each right now on Amazon. They are so light you can easily lug them from room to room and they fold so you can bring them with you if you are going somewhere overnight. They are also inclined which I swear has helped the babies with their digestive systems/lack of tummy issues. It'll be the best money you ever spent, I promise.
 http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Deluxe-Newborn-Sleeper-Snugabunny/dp/B00A4B35I4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360847923&sr=8-3&keywords=rock+n+play

2) Fisher Price Swing - We registered for two snugabunny swings and received them. You definitely only need one. We haven't gotten as much use out of these as I hoped, but there have definitely been times where the swing was the only way to go for a much needed nap. These are $100 each on amazon.
 http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Cradle-Swing-Little-Snugabunny/dp/B0042D69WY/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1360848666&sr=1-1&keywords=lamb+swing

3) Boppy Newborn Lounger - get two of these! We love them and have been using them since we brought the babies home from the hospital. They are great for feeding the babies at the same time but the babies also love just lounging around in them. $25 each on amazon:
 http://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Newborn-Lounger-Seed-Row/dp/B002WDAW5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1360848775&sr=1-1&keywords=boppy+newborn+lounger

 4) Tiny Love Activity Gym - you only need one of these. If I feel that both babies want to do the activity mat, I just plop them both on it. Great for teaching them to grasp for objects as well as for tummy time. $50 on amazon.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Love-Deluxe-Lights-Activity/dp/B000067K0L/ref=sr_1_9?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1360848916&sr=1-9&keywords=playmat

5) Summer Infant 3 Stage Super Seat - get one! We bought a bumbo at a yard sale but I just ordered one of these and it is 10x better. I'd skip the bumbos completely in favor of the summer infant seat. A bumbo:
Not only can the baby use it to learn how to sit, he/she can also play with toys that are on a tray that surround it. And finally, it can be converted to a booster seat down the road. There is also a snack tray on it. $36 on amazon.
 
 http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Stage-Super-Seat/dp/B001NJC5QY/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1360849146&sr=1-1&keywords=summer+infant+3+stage+super+seat

6) Noggin nest head support - get two of these!! I wish I knew about these from the start. Our baby boy has preferred looking to one side since birth. This keeps the head from getting flat. You can stick it in the rock n play, the swing.. anywhere. $14.99 each on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Noggin-Support-Brown-Wheels/dp/B001O9F6M8/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1360849440&sr=1-1&keywords=noggin+nest

I'll update this post as I have more time.

Time - what's time

Where do people find the time to get anything done with twins? Every morning I wake up with these grand plans to clean the apartment, unpack some boxes, finish my taxes etc. and I end up.. changing diapers, pumping/feeding milk, and playing with my little ones. By the time Nate gets home from work, it's time for the babies to go to sleep and once they are asleep, I crash and go to bed as well.


Hannah in her rocker today, smiling away as mommy makes faces.

Anyway, the time has come to figure out what we are doing for child care. I am due back at work in one short month. Nate is going to take 10 weeks of leave after and stay home with the babies. Come mid-May, when the little ones are approximately 6 months, we need to have a child care arrangement in place. This is causing me a lot of angst as I am sure it does for all new mothers. Am I making the right decision for my children? And does day care really cost twice as much as our rent?

Birth story

I remember when my babies were so tiny that they easily fit together on the playmat. These days, it looks like they are fighting for space and a bat for a toy could be a bat in the face of the other baby.

 

Before I forget, I wanted to post my birth story. This is my belly on Wed, Nov. 14th.
You can't imagine how badly I wanted to deliver my wonderful babies.

On Thursday Nov. 15th at 9:30 AM we went in for our scheduled induction for a planned vaginal delivery. Blood work was drawn and I was given a dose of cytotec. After an hour of monitoring, we were told we could leave and come back in 3 hours, so we went home and relaxed. When we returned to the hospital, they told me my blood test results were not good. Apparently, my platelets were extremely low so they said that there was a chance I would not be able to get an epidural (I could bleed to death) and "we could discuss other options after the next set of blood work." They also said that it was good that I was going for a vaginal delivery because a c-section would be very risky. I started crying because I was so terrified. They gave me another dose of cytotec while we waited for the labs to come back from the 2nd round. Normally I would have been able to go home again at this point but this time, they told me I couldn't leave (aside from the platelets, I had protein in my urine, high blood pressure - preeclampsia which I didn't have the entire preg!). Anyway, after the 2nd dose of cytotec (4 hours later), they started me on pitocin. Around that time we discovered that my platelet count had just reached the threshold where I could get an epidural so they immediately put it in even though I wasn't in that much pain yet. The pitocin drip went through the night and into the next day.

On Friday afternoon, I discovered I still hadn't made that much progress which was so extremely frustrating. However, in a matter of hours things picked up (I dilated from 4 to 10 in literally 2 hours) and they told me I was ready to deliver. I was wheeled to the operating room for delivery and Jacob was born after approx. 1.5 hours of pain free pushing at 9:10 PM (perfect - 6 lb 8 oz). They then said I could deliver Hannah in L&D and told me I would need to start the labor process all over again. When we got back to L&D, I started laboring with Hannah and the pain was excruciating. I told them I could feel everything and they pointed to the epidural and said everything was still going. After more time passed, they said Hannah's heart rate was going up and that they would need to use the vacuum to assist her delivery. I started crying and asked for one more push. I kid you not but I got her out in that one push. It was at that point that they discovered the epidural hadn't been hooked up! Hannah was again perfect - 6 lb 8 oz and born 2 hours after Jacob at 11:10 PM. Anyway, I was wheeled to recovery and the next morning they discovered I lost a lot of blood even though it was a vaginal delivery. I had to have a blood transfusion. The following day, they checked my levels again and they had dropped so they transfused another unit. My blood tests returned to "normal" after 3 bags of blood and we were released. I was so happy to finally leave the hospital to return home with my angels.

This photo was taken of Hannah and Jacob by the hospital photographer a couple days after birth while we were still in the hospital:

 

It's been a long time since I posted. That's because the best thing in the world happened to me; a true wish realized. We were blessed with the birth of our twins, Hannah and Jacob. My babies are just over 12 weeks old. The happiness they have brought into my life is immeasurable. Before I start crying, here they are:




Strangely enough, it feels like they have always been here in a way. It's as if they have always been part of our lives. Or perhaps it's as if they were always missing from my life and they are finally here. I'm so in love with my babies.

Chocolateria San Gines

We heard about this place where you can stop in and get churros and hot chocolate. We ended up stumbling upon it by accident while exploring by foot. Our curiosity got the best of us when we saw the line. The churros weren't that great, but it was a lovely experience.

Madrid, Spain - Post 1

Nate and I traveled to Madrid, Spain for one week and we returned last Sunday. We had an amazing trip and I am just now getting to re-sizing our photographs and posting them.. all 300 of them.

Our hotel was in Madrid but in a neighborhood slightly outside of the city center in a ritzy neighborhood with high end shopping stores that I would relate to Boston's Newbury Street. Because of that, we ended up purchasing four 10 ride tickets to explore everything by train instead of wasting money on taxis. Do the math and we rode the train 20 separate times together. As you can tell, we tried to see as much as possible during our week in Madrid. This will be one of many posts about our trip.







In Retiro Park:





Jamon y manchego in Retiro:











Human sculptures everywhere (and excellent ones at that!):



El Rastro (flea market) on a Sunday:



We stopped in a lot of eateries to try their tapas y vino:



This one was particularly hip and fun near the Rastro (flea market):

Arboretum

Photos from the Arboretum this past weekend: