Update. Babies, mom, and dad are doing great. Jocelyn Mae is the oldest. She was 5 lbs. Ivy Lynn was 5 lbs 8 ozs.
Born February 26, 2010
Born February 26, 2010
July 7-14
10 years ago
February 27, 2010
February 12, 2010
Product Review: Baby/Toddler Gate
I never knew I'd care SO MUCH about kiddie gates until I had crappy ones. You know the ones: 
they only cost $10 and you have to be a wizard to get them to work properly and stay in the doorway. Those cheap gates are basically a hurdle for a mom or dad to hop over. Then when kids start standing up on their own, they learn to put their toes in the little diamonds and climb up the gate. Then when the kids are tall enough, they just reach over and bump the mechanism so it unlocks and the gate falls over. What a pain!
I got a "walk-thru" gate as a gift from my sister. I really loved it. Then the little plastic part that kept it closed broke but we improvised because the idea of going back to the hurdle gate was unappealing. Once the girls got smart enough to figure out how to unlatch that first walk-thru gate, I went in search of a better baby gate. I found the Evenflo Summit.
they only cost $10 and you have to be a wizard to get them to work properly and stay in the doorway. Those cheap gates are basically a hurdle for a mom or dad to hop over. Then when kids start standing up on their own, they learn to put their toes in the little diamonds and climb up the gate. Then when the kids are tall enough, they just reach over and bump the mechanism so it unlocks and the gate falls over. What a pain!I got a "walk-thru" gate as a gift from my sister. I really loved it. Then the little plastic part that kept it closed broke but we improvised because the idea of going back to the hurdle gate was unappealing. Once the girls got smart enough to figure out how to unlatch that first walk-thru gate, I went in search of a better baby gate. I found the Evenflo Summit.
This gate ROCKS! It is so completely awesome, that we have TWO now (one for the kitchen, and one for our bedroom/bathroom). And I'm thinking about getting a third (for Ryan's office). Every time my Dad was in town, we had to re-explain how to get through it. If it's that adult proof, it's for sure twin-proof!
It's a double action deal where you push buttons in on the handle and then cock it back like a gun (or press down the handle on newer models). It's still a one handed operation, but I'm never worried that the kids are gonna figure it out. Maybe when they are 5 or 6 they'll have the coordination to do both actions as needed, but I foresee this gate will be in use at our house for quite a while. I'm very pleased with it!
Realize there is a difference between a baby gate and a toddler gate. Honestly, I STILL want my kids out of certain areas, so I can't imagine dealing with a baby gate that they could get through by the time they turn a year old or so. What a hassle!
You can buy this gate online from Amazon.com for $40 and free shipping. I originally got ours at Target for about $45, but I just saw several at the Hurricane Walmart for $34.
Bedtime, my favorite time of day...?
I wish I could just skip the hour between 6 and 7 PM. It seems like every night both babies and Ella choose that hour to flip out. We are always trying to get dinner cleaned up and Seth in bed (he works graves). Ella always seems to choose that hour to start tugging on my shirt asking for one thing or another. And both babies decide, at the same second, that they are dying of hunger and need to scream their guts out as if they have never been fed in their lives. After the hour of craziness, things settle down and one by one the kids are sent off to bed. The other night I actually stayed up until 1:00 AM watching movies not made by Disney and just enjoying a quiet house. It was heaven.
February 10, 2010
Product Review: Bath Chair
Once the kids are too big to bathe in the kitchen sink, we've got to move on. My girls didn't like laying down in the tub - the echo noises freaked them out. 
But they loved the baths in the kitchen sink. Holding them up to sitting position while I'm leaning over the tub was out of the question to do a "fun bath" and it was still a long process to do a "quick bath" for each kid separately.
I started looking into ways to prop up your kid in the tub while you were supervising them. I found a few different styles of "bath chair" and this one seemed the safest. There are a few that just suction to the bottom of the tub, but I don't want to depend on suction cups for safety if they can't even hold up interior Christmas decorations.
I didn't want to spend $25 a piece on these chairs - I'm way too cheap for that. I went to my local Kid to Kid store and found two of them on the first try! One was marked at $10, the other was marked at $12. I asked to have the $12 reduced to $10, but they wouldn't budge: lame. But for $22, I got my 2 bath chairs.
We used these from about 6 months old (should have and could have used them earlier, maybe 5 months) until the girls were trying to climb out of their bath chairs around 11 months old. Even well after they were sitting up on their own, it was nice to know they wouldn't slip and dunk their face under, etc.
The chairs swivel around and can lock in place. Front face, rear face, whatever you need. Easy to clean. Nice and sturdy. Very secure on the side of the tub. I'd buy them again!
But they loved the baths in the kitchen sink. Holding them up to sitting position while I'm leaning over the tub was out of the question to do a "fun bath" and it was still a long process to do a "quick bath" for each kid separately.I started looking into ways to prop up your kid in the tub while you were supervising them. I found a few different styles of "bath chair" and this one seemed the safest. There are a few that just suction to the bottom of the tub, but I don't want to depend on suction cups for safety if they can't even hold up interior Christmas decorations.
I didn't want to spend $25 a piece on these chairs - I'm way too cheap for that. I went to my local Kid to Kid store and found two of them on the first try! One was marked at $10, the other was marked at $12. I asked to have the $12 reduced to $10, but they wouldn't budge: lame. But for $22, I got my 2 bath chairs.
We used these from about 6 months old (should have and could have used them earlier, maybe 5 months) until the girls were trying to climb out of their bath chairs around 11 months old. Even well after they were sitting up on their own, it was nice to know they wouldn't slip and dunk their face under, etc.
The chairs swivel around and can lock in place. Front face, rear face, whatever you need. Easy to clean. Nice and sturdy. Very secure on the side of the tub. I'd buy them again!
February 3, 2010
Product Review: Musical Crib Mobiles
I fell victim to it like so many women. I bought the cutsie
matches-your-bedding-set mobile that you have to hand crank. It was the perfect little nursery, arranged in their room just like in the movies - but movie nurseries don't FUNCTION like real life needs them to.
I'd hope that with my new-found knowledge coupled with common sense, others can benefit!
Don't waste your time with these hand crank models - the music only lasts about 45 seconds to a minute - just long enough for you to get to the bathroom and be in the middle of your business before your twins start freaking out again.
What you need is the super deluxe, thank goodness for technology, I'm sure a mom invented this musical mobile. The one I got is actually no longer available for sale, but they have improved on the one I've got by leaps and bounds. Of all the current market mobiles I checked out, I'm pretty impressed with all of them. I think it comes down to price and theme in the end.
"It slices, it dices, makes julienne fries in seconds!" That's what we need! A crib mobile infomercial!
My top suggestion for something to look for is a battery operated TIMED mobile. Something that can play music continuously for 15 heaven sent minutes or so. That, dear friends, is a life saver!! Your cranky infants can be somewhat entertained by whirling thinga-mabobs overhead, while you get caught up on laundry.
It actually became a routine for us. When it was time to take a nap or sleep for the night, we'd set the mobile to "on" and we'd have 15 minutes of music. Sometimes, the kids would even be asleep by the end of 15 minutes.
Once the kids are pulling up and standing up, they start yanking on the dangling parts. Most of these mobiles can partly detach, leaving the music part on the crib - just no overhead grabby parts.
Some new features I saw while looking around: night lights, self start up when baby cries continuously, and choose your songs.
Most musical crib mobiles with these cool features start around $30 at Walmart.
matches-your-bedding-set mobile that you have to hand crank. It was the perfect little nursery, arranged in their room just like in the movies - but movie nurseries don't FUNCTION like real life needs them to.I'd hope that with my new-found knowledge coupled with common sense, others can benefit!
Don't waste your time with these hand crank models - the music only lasts about 45 seconds to a minute - just long enough for you to get to the bathroom and be in the middle of your business before your twins start freaking out again.
What you need is the super deluxe, thank goodness for technology, I'm sure a mom invented this musical mobile. The one I got is actually no longer available for sale, but they have improved on the one I've got by leaps and bounds. Of all the current market mobiles I checked out, I'm pretty impressed with all of them. I think it comes down to price and theme in the end.
"It slices, it dices, makes julienne fries in seconds!" That's what we need! A crib mobile infomercial!
My top suggestion for something to look for is a battery operated TIMED mobile. Something that can play music continuously for 15 heaven sent minutes or so. That, dear friends, is a life saver!! Your cranky infants can be somewhat entertained by whirling thinga-mabobs overhead, while you get caught up on laundry.
It actually became a routine for us. When it was time to take a nap or sleep for the night, we'd set the mobile to "on" and we'd have 15 minutes of music. Sometimes, the kids would even be asleep by the end of 15 minutes.
Once the kids are pulling up and standing up, they start yanking on the dangling parts. Most of these mobiles can partly detach, leaving the music part on the crib - just no overhead grabby parts.
Some new features I saw while looking around: night lights, self start up when baby cries continuously, and choose your songs.
Most musical crib mobiles with these cool features start around $30 at Walmart.
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