attempting the scary

This week I am going to take my 4-year old twins and my 15-month old to the pool to join a group of moms. I've been to this pool so I know the layout and I know how the kids handle it. K was comfortable swimming on her own while wearing a vest, J was clingy and had to grab onto an adult at all times, and then there's Little M who is just a happy go lucky toddler that I must hold onto the entire time. I figure I'll get J on my back and Little M on the front and just hope the God that K don't go too far away. Sounds good. All set. 

There is a matter of the potty break that is also scary when I have all three. But I think we'll stick to a strict schedule. Potty before going in, and potty an hour and a half later. 

I got it all planned out. It's do or die.

How to Tandem Breastfeed Twins

Breastfeeding isn't easy to begin with and when you're breastfeeding twins, it's exponentially harder. Thankfully for me, I was a seasoned pro by the time my twins came. After breastfeeding my first born for 12 months, the act didn't scare me I just had to work on the logistics for my girls.

My girls spent 10 days in the NICU so I didn't have to breastfeed in the hospital. But once they came home, we ditched the bottle. Armed with my EZ-2-Nurse Twins pillow, I felt at ease. The problem was, how do I get them on? On my king sized bed, I placed my little girls in between my outstretched legs. I then took my EZ-2-Nurse pillow and buckled it around me. After tightening it, I reached for one baby and placed her gently down in position. But as I reached for my other baby, the first baby started sliding down. Afterall, the middle part of the pillow was above my legs but the edges hung down. They were small at that time so I just clumped down my arm on my first baby and reached for the other quickly. When they were in place, I scooped up their heads with each of my hand and latched the on. Success! For a week or 2 I only breastfed in my big bed. But I couldn't keep doing it since my bedroom at the time was in the second floor. So I had to try the sofa.

The sofa set-up started with placing my babies in their bouncy cradle very close on either side of my legs (I learned this to make the dismount easier). I then placed them on the ends of the sofa on either side of me one at a time. I buckled my nursing pillow and reached for them. Again the first one started slipping down as I reached for the second (I learned to use the sofa pillows and placed one on either side of me under the nursing pillow to make it level). For the dismount, I had to reach for the bouncy sit to put first baby down and then the second. TA-DA!

I am proud to say that I breastfed my twins for 14 months.

a great twin stroller

We love the Combi!

 Before my twins were born, my husband and I were prepared. We bought all the essentials including an infant car seat and stroller. We looked at double strollers out there but eventually picked Graco. We have a single Graco Metro Lite stroller with our oldest, so we trust Graco. For the longest time I hauled the twins in this when I took my oldest to and from preschool. I had no complaint until I found the Combi on a twin blog. I researched it online, and found a local store who carried it. A few more days of research and I bought it. I loved it!

The Combi stroller folds more compact because it can stand up, but perhaps the thing I love most about it was that it was light. I didn't even think the Graco stroller was heavy, at least until I found the Combi. While folded it can be pulled to roll so you don't need to carry it. It also has a shoulder strap if you want to carry it while folded. I love the fact that the girls sit side by side. I've had to take them with me everywhere, being a stay-at-home mom, and some of the places we've been they didn't respond to very well. They became scared and anxious of their surroundings. In times like this, they actually comforted each other. But it's pretty hard to do when one sits behind the other. With a side-by-side stroller, they never felt alone. Of course that also presented it's own problems. As they got older, they started grabbing each other's sippy cup and snacks.

But perhaps the greatest thing about the Combi is that the two seats recline independently. If one is asleep, I could lay her down. Unlike the Graco where only the back could fully lie down and the front could only recline.

The only 2 things I didn't like about the Combi double stroller is the basket and the canopy. The basket were too small. I was never able to fit a diaper bag in it. I just always hung the handle of the diaper bag on the stroller handle. Only small snacks and small toys can fit. The canopies were also a disappointment. They were too shallow to fully cover my twins from the sun.

Graco - heavy!

the greatest bassinet for twins

When I had my son (my first), I used a midrange priced bassinet  so that I could have him beside me in my room. This made breastfeeding easier. In addition to waking up every couple of hours to nurse, I woke up every hour (sometimes every half hour) just so I could peak at him to check if he was still breathing. Having to lift my head slightly in order to see him was not too comfortable, especially since I wasn’t fully recovered from my c-section. In order to breastfeed I had to sit up, pick him out of the bassinet and lay back down. A few times, I picked up my son using his swaddle so that I could avoid having to sit up. This was disastrous. Once, I dropped one end of the blanket and dropped my little man back in the bassinet. It was only a 5 in drop, but it was not something I wanted repeated with subsequent kids.

When I became pregnant again, this time with twins, I researched bassinets and found one by Arm’s Reach. It’s a unique bassinet where one side is lower than the other 3 sides. With different models, I was able to pick one where the low side is exactly the same height as my mattress. This made it easier to glance at my twins and made it easier for me to grab them to breastfeed. It was also the only bassinet I found (the Arm’s Reach Original model) that could fit twins. The bassinet position could hold up to 30 lbs, and the playpen position could hold up to 50 lbs. The rest of the 3 sides have pockets on the sides to store diapers, extra clothes and whatever else you may need in the middle of the night.

Though quite pricey, it’s been very useful. If you are thinking of a great sturdy bassinet that makes co-sleeping and breastfeeding, I highly recommend this one.  The Original model that I have is quite big, but they also offer a mini version for single babies and/or if you have a smaller area beside your bed.

As you can see, my twins fit with room to spare. They are in a regular sized boppy.  When they became too big for the boppy, they slept oriented in the same direction without it.


***This was originally posted by me on Minti.com here.