Mommy Must Have

It’s {past} time for another edition of my Mommy Must Have List!

Since I’ve been pregnant, it seems friends pregnant with twins are coming out of the woodwork!  Maybe it’s the New Car Phenomenon-who knows.  Either way, I’m often getting phone calls for a little advice.  This is a shout-out to all of those pregnant twin moms.  Things a Mommy Must Have while pregnant with twins.

Smoothies

In the beginning, I had bad food aversions.  But anything cold and fruits and veggies always sounded good.  My solution: smoothie every morning.

Here’s a receipe for one of my favs:

1 cup of frozen mixed berries (strawberries, mangos and pineapple are good too!)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup yogurt
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

 

Support Brace
My brace was far from sexy.  They did try to add a little bow and some lace to the front.  Ha! Like that’s going to work!  Who feels sexy when your belly’s the size of a planet!  There’s not enough lace in the world…

The support brace did make a difference in my comfort level though.  I found mine here.

 

A Count-Down, err…Count-Up!
As you may recall, I refused to count down to the end of my pregnancy.  At least until my mom made me this darling diaper count-down chain.  So whether you choose to count up or down, a cute diaper chain is so much fun!

 

 

A Sense of Humor
I’m pretty sure no one has ever survived a multiple pregnancy without a great sense of humor!  Laughing at yourself is the only solution.  Remind yourself how funny it is that both babies have the hiccups at the same time.  Remind yourself how funny it is that you can’t do the dishes because you can’t reach the faucet.  Remind yourself…every day remind yourself.

Here I am, 33 weeks pregnant with my twins, chasing my 2-year-old boy around at the luncheon after my grandmother’s funeral.  I wish I could tell you how funny I thought the situation was at the time.  A sense of humor could have really helped!

Twins are 3 Months Old!

The boys are three months old! How did that happen so fast? They are still great babies! {thank you}

After three months of twins, we have found a rhythm. Kind of. We go through 16 diapers a day and at least 48 ounces of breast milk a day. We started supplementing with formula a few ounces a day to keep up with increased demands. I still pump and bottle feed, nursing them only occasionally…it’s just easier this way. These boys love to eat!

We are now in size 0-3 months clothes and luckily I only have 3 or 4 loads of twins laundry each week.

This month the boys have really learned to smile! They smile often and sometimes even at each other! Their smile is just like their dad’s. It’s the same smile I feel in love with nearly 9 years ago. {awww} We hope to get them to giggle soon.

They love their swings and especially their Jungle. They just discovered this toy last week.
Of course they are also Avalanche Hockey Fans.

(Davis)

 

(Mason)

They also received their Name and a Blessing this month.

And celebrated their first holiday!

(Davis)

(Mason)

What a month it’s been! They still love to cuddle but don’t like tummy time as much anymore unless they’re sleeping. They have yet to appreciate their siblings. But always greet Mom and Dad with a smile. They are quite the conversationalist and love to “talk” to anyone who will listen. They’ll usually sleep one 4 or 5-hour stretch each night. Though grateful for that, I’m eager for more.

We still are overwhelmed by the joy these two have brought into our lives and are amazed at how boring our pre-twins lives now seem!

Two Bundles of Joy

Sorry I’ve been AWOL!  But I’ve got TWO good reasons for it!  Davis and Mason!

On August 1, 2010–at 35 weeks 3 days–my identical boys were born! Davis was delivered first at 6:18 a.m., weighing 4 lbs 13 oz and Mason was delivered breach 8 minutes later at 6:26 a.m., weighing 5 lbs 8 oz.  Both were 18 inches long.

By the end of the day, both boys had been admitted to the NICU.  We spent the next 1o days teaching the boys to eat well so we could bring them home.

A day before my actual due date, the twins reached their one-month birthday and are thriving!  They are good babies and we are managing some sleep around here.

In just 5 weeks, we’ve already learned a few things:

1)  It’s not so hard to tell identical twins apart when you live with them.

2)  Having twins is not really twice the work.  Just one and a half times the work.

3)  Older siblings dealing with new twins proves to be more challenging than actually dealing with twins.

4)  We may never leave the house on-time again.  (Though my husband would argue I never did leave the house on-time in the first place.)

Twin Tip #2: Color At Your Own Risk!

Making it through the first trimester of pregnancy is always an accomplishment.  Your energy starts to come back, crazy cravings begin to stabilize, nausea and morning sickness often subside.  The “extra pounds” you’ve gained even begin to form a cute little baby bump!

This particular pregnancy I was excited to address the mess that was my hair!  I needed a cut and color BAD but my doctor recommend I wait until after the first trimester.  And, with such a risky first trimester, I was happy to oblige.

I made an appointment with my trusty cosmetologist (and Sister In-law) who’d done my hair for years.  She actually first began doing my hair when I was pregnant with my 2nd child.  We had my cut and color down to a science.  For those who understand hair, my hair ‘pulls red’ and always has.  Because of that, we use an Ash Brown to neutralize the red.  We proceeded as normal but when we took the foils out we were SHOCKED!

My hair was BLUE!  Imagine Grandma Grey-Blue! The crazy thing is it turned COPPER too! My blond strips went Ash and my brown went Copper! I was STRIPPED and we were baffled. You are not supposed to be able to pull both those colors at the same time! YIKES! We managed to correct it but I have no idea what happened.  I blame extra twin pregnancy hormones. My roots are showing again but I don’t dare fix them until after these babies get here!

The Day After--happy my hair is not BLUE!

Twin Tip #1: Embrace the Minivan

Years ago I never saw myself as a Minivan Mom.  That all changed in one single moment in 2008.

For the eight-nearly nine-hour drive from our home to Denver, Colorado, my feet rested on the dashboard of our silver Nissan Altima. I was surrounded by STUFF. Not my stuff. Their stuff–kid stuff.  And there was only two of them. Between blankets, pillows, diapers, toys and treats (and who knows what else), there was just no room for me and my feet. At that moment I embraced the wonder that is the MINIVAN.

When the time came the next year to upgrade our vehicle situation, the decision was already made.  We were sold on a minivan.  How could we not be?  Minivans are equipped with cool features these days. (Unlike the silver Astro Van my mom  hauled me and my four brothers in).  They have excellent safety features like side airbags. I can open my fancy sliding door with the push of a button. Remove, slide and adjust any of the 8 seats. Stow away my back seats and enjoy incredible trunk space. Love silence while the kids watch a DVD with their wireless headsets.

Our biggest buying mistake: we didn’t really NEED all that space yet.  Or so we thought.

A few months later we decided to upgrade our family by “just one more.”  Instead we’re getting two!   The room I thought I’d use for Kindergarten carpool will now be filled with infant car seats.  The fancy automatic sliding door will become a necessity as I load both of those car seats in and out of the van.  Now more than ever I’m thrilled to have a ‘Swagger Wagon’ and glad we purchased it when we did.

There is a moral to our story.  A word of caution: don’t buy a minivan until you really need it or the Lord will fill it up for you!