Crib Sheets

I've mentioned how much I love our Clouds and Stars zipper crib sheets before.  I just got an email today with a coupon code for $20 off of a $100 purchase (SAVE20) until July 13.  I assume it will work for anyone and sent it to a few new and expecting moms I know, but I thought I'd share it here too.

I know these sheets are kind of pricey, but I think these babies (the sheets and my kids!) are worth every penny. 

I felt very secure with Michael and Sophie in their cribs from their first night home with no worries of the sheets coming undone.  They are also a dream to clean.  Michael and Sophie spit up A LOT in the early days.  Between that and the occasional diaper blow-out...times two, we found ourselves changing sheets once or twice a day.  I would have lost my mind wrestling with the crib mattress and traditional sheets, especially when changes had to happen in the middle of the night.  These sheets also make me slightly less nervous to see potty training on the horizon.

I wish they sold this style of zipper sheets in the regular baby stores so I could buy them for new moms and they could be easily returned if necessary.  I'm usually a stick-to-the-registry gal, but I'd break that rule for these if I didn't think it might make me a major pain in the butt.

Anyway, sorry if that seemed like a commercial. I got absolutely nothing for posting this. I just felt the need to share this again.

Let's pretend

Michael making soup for Doggie with a couple of our favorite toys: Green Toys Chef and Dish Sets and Ikea vegetables.

As a kid I loved imaginitave play--playing house, playing Barbies, playing dress-up, and even playing with Star Wars action figures if there was enough emotional drama and not just flying around shooting at stuff.  Naturally I am thrilled that Michael and Sophie like to cook up their fabric vegetables and eat them using toy dishware.

They both also pretend to leave and return from work with appropriate fanfare.  Michael will pick up their play laptop and Sophie will put a handled bag or box over her shoulder (similar to how I look when leaving the house with a diaper bag, my purse, or work bag).  They'll walk by and say, "Bye-bye," which starts this exchange:

"Are you going to work?"

"Yeah, bye-bye!"

"Bye, buddies.  I love you.  Can I have kisses?"

They'll either blow me kisses or come to me all puckered up saying "Mmmmmmuah!"

I respond with, "See you after work.  Have a good day!"

When they come home from behind the love seat or out of the kitchen, I react as excitedly as they do when I pick them up, with a big smile saying, "You're home!  I missed you!"  More hugs and kisses follow, and then the scene repeats.

When playing kitchen we pretend to cut the vegetables and put them in a pot, stir them up, and scoop our soup into bowls.  (After all the cooking done to the "Soup Song," our signature dish should be no surprise.)  Mike is pretty skilled at tossing the toy veggies in the air with a spatula and catching them in a pan.  He'd surely get good tips at a Japanese steak house.  In our house he is tipped with "Moah!"  Sophie and Michael love filling our cups with tea from their kettle that makes a cool gurgling sound.  Then we eat, slurp our drinks, feed each other, and feed any stuffed pal nearby. 

If I was 21-months-old, we would be such friends.

Recently I found toddler aprons at Hobby Lobby in the Valentine's Day section for five bucks each, but Michael and Sophie aren't really into those.  I ask them if they want to put them on almost every time we "cook," and I'm dying to seem them all cheffed up.  I guess dress-up will come later.

Britax Boulevards for our Tiny Toddlers

We've gotten a number of comments in recent months about how little Michael and Sophie are.  Today a dad in a park called them "early walkers," assuming our nearly 16-month-olds were well under a year.  While they were born at 6 lbs. 6 oz. (Michael) and 6 lbs. 1 oz. (Sophie), they've lingered in the 5th-10th percentile for height and weight for most of their lives.  Right now they're both about 28 inches tall and roughly 22 pounds, wearing 12-month sized clothing and size 3 diapers with plenty of room to grow. 

I adore their teensiness, can't imagine them growing any faster, and am learning not to go into a minor mommy panic everytime I see other kids their age who are taller, chubbier, and who even refer to Michael and Sophie as "babies" themselves.  My toddlers are reaching milestones appropriately, eat like champs, and the pediatrician is not at all concerned, so I remind myself not to be.

One benefit of Sophie and Michael's small physiques is the longevity they've given our infant car seats and accessories.  We used the Baby Trend Double Snap N Go Stroller and the SnugGlider Swing Bases for far longer than we would have expected, just recently retiring the DSNG since the Baby Jogger City Mini Double fits in the back of our new van unfolded and ready to roll.  The swing bases were moved to the basement storage room a few months ago to make more space in the play room, but because the car seats kept Michael and Sophie from sitting up while swinging and the bases were so low to the ground anyway, I felt safe using them long after most swings would have been unstable.

We'll keep using the Graco Snugride 35's until Michael and Sophie reach the height or weight limits of 32 inches or 35 pounds.  However, we no longer use them as carriers and are just going to keep these seats in the Jetta like convertible seats once I go back to work.  They'll be replaced in the minivan with our recently purchased Britax Boulevard 70 CS Convertible Car Seats, enormous beasts of safety ($255 on Albee.com--a great deal compared to $329 at BRU).  Perhaps we'll go with something more compact for the Jetta once Michael and Sophie outgrow the Snugrides, but we'll see.

Regardless of what we choose for our second set of convertibles, this new phase of carseatdom is likely to cost us over $1,000 for four of them.  And we need four since Mike drops off at the child care center and I pick up.  Of course, when you consider the purpose of these seats, one can't help but be reminded that no expense is too big to help ensure the safety of our teeny, tiny cargo.  It's amazing they don't charge more with that kind of leverage.

The Soup Song

For me there was "Sullivan Street" by the Counting Crows sometime during the summer of '94.  My brother knocked on my bedroom door and begged me to stop playing it.  I'm not sure how many times I'd hit the back button on the CD player to hear the song again, but it was one time too many for Joe.

For Mike I know there was "Layla."  His mom said he played that one over and over and over.

I now sympathize with both my brother and my mother-in-law and suspect that if I have a nervous breakdown someday, you'll find me rocking in a corner singing "Stirring up some soup that's full of ABC's.  Would you like to try some?  First you should say please!  Thank you."

Here's why.



I actually really like this little kitchen, a Christmas gift from Mike's parents.  The kids love the pot and spoon that came with it and will gladly feed you imaginary bites, stirring the pot to get you some heaping pretend scoops.  Its plastic carrots, milk carton, and jar of applesauce fit into cut-outs in the refrigerator door, and shape toys are a big hit with Michael and Sophie these days. 

One great feature is that the songs and sounds don't interrupt each other--once one is playing, it plays to the end.  The little V-Tech Noah's Ark toy I picked up long ago at a mom-to-mom sale doesn't have that feature.  You'll hear a few notes of one song then a lion's half-roar cut off by some banging on the piano keys as the kids explore all the gadgets.  Let that sucker sink.

I guess the best feature of all of these toys is really the off switch.  Mommy's sanity saver!

Meet the new additions to our stroller family

With a turning radius, foldablity, and canopies that set it apart from most others, our Baby Jogger City Mini Double stroller is fantastic.  There are times, however, when one or two simple umbrella strollers might better suit the situation.  So we just bought two of these:

They're the Especially For Baby Lightweight Strollers from Babies R Us and were $30 each  (the wheels looked better to me than the $20 option).  We used them today to navigate the crowds at an art fair and found the canopies to be adequate, the storage bags to be convenient, and the joy of pushing only one child each to be a nice treat.  Michael and Sophie enjoyed being turned to face each other now and then when we stopped.

We also picked up a set of these in case joining the two strollers together ever seems necessary:

They're Munchkin Stroller Links.  We haven't tried them out yet, but they fit easily in one of the stroller storage bags and can live there until the need for them arises.

With the addition of a cup and snack holder to each (already had one), we were in good shape with these strollers.  They certainly don't have the durability or comfort factors of the City Mini, but it's nice to have options.  Maybe someday we'll go on a plane.  Maybe one day I'll go to the mall with just Sophie while Mike takes Michael somewhere equally stereotypical.  It's good to know we're prepared for such adventures. 

Our one complaint is that the umbrella strollers are clearly designed for shorties like me and weren't especially comfortable for Mike to push.  I found a handle extender we could buy and a how-to article about cutting the handles off an old junk stroller and fashioning something similar on your own, but we'll see if it comes to buying another accessory or getting all crafty.

Time to drop the morning nap?

When I return to my classroom in the fall, Sophie and Michael will return to their child care center.  They will be in the toddler room where there is only one nap, so at some point this summer I plan to drop the morning one.  I've just been waiting for some signs from them that it's time.

Both Michael and Sophie go down great for their two naps.  When one or both of them start getting sleepy at around 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., I turn on their sound machine, change their diapers, put on their sleep sacks, and lay them in their cribs.  They stare up calmly as I leave the room and silently sleep for at least an hour and a half for both the morning and afternoon naps. 

Lately, however, Michael has been waking up in the middle of his afternoon nap, and Sophie has been struggling with going to sleep at night.  I think what's happening is a sort of domino effect.  They typically sleep for two hours in the morning.  I'm thinking this makes Michael wake up early in the afternoon, cuts Sophie's afternoon sleep short as a result, and leads her to be overtired by bedtime (already pretty early at 6 p.m.). 

I'm planning to shorten the morning nap to one hour tomorrow to see if that helps Michael sleep better in the afternoon and Sophie go down at night.  Perhaps this will also get them to sleep later in the morning.  Michael has not gotten the message that we don't have to get up at 5:30 a.m. during the summer.  Wish us luck!

If you're another parent looking for sleep advice, I've found this blog pretty helpful.  It's based on On Becoming Babywise, the book that details the eat-play-sleep approach.  I also like Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child which puts a lot of emphasis on daytime sleep impacting nighttime sleep and supports letting babies cry at night to encourage self-soothing.  When Michael and Sophie are both healthy and not teething, we've put that philosophy to work with great results.

Our summer uniforms

If you see a mom in this...

...pushing a stroller with a little girl in something like this...

...and a little boy in a romper like this..

...then it's probably us.

When hitting this past spring's mom-to-mom sales, I tried to envision my then crawling Michael and Sophie as walkers, out and about in the summer.  This vision led me to buy two boy and two girl rompers, and that seller confirmed that they were the perfect choice when her twins were this age last summer.  That's the main reason I'm writing this post, for moms who are me one year ago.  It's helpful to know what you'll want down the road so you can scope it out either previously used or at end of season sales ahead of time.

The outfits above are from Old Navy.  I'm actually wearing that dress right now and also have it in blue from earlier in the season.  I'm a big fan of their ribbed tanks, yoga pants, and sweat capris too.  Most of the kids' rompers and Sophie's dresses are from ON as well, but we also have a few from Carter's, most bought second-hand, a few still with the tags.

The key ingredients I've aimed for in our summer wardrobes are jersey fabric and one-piece outfits for easy dressing and washing.  Jersey looks pretty good even after sitting for a few hours (or days) in the dryer, after riding in the car under seatbelts, and right out of the suitcase.  Additionally, the kids' gear is simple for diaper changes, my dresses and tank tops allow me to wear a decent bra, and all are super comfy to keep us from getting too cranky in the heat. 

If that mom with the stroller is me, she probably has a cinnamon, non-fat, iced latte in the stroller's cupholder to help with the heat and potential crankiness as well.  Our local Bigby Coffee drive-through probably recognizes our minivan coming down the road and starts preparing my accessory.

Modesty for Mommy

While I've worn my share of bikinis, I've always preferred the comfort and modesty of a one piece bathing suit.  Unfortunately, for the last decade or so, one piece swimwear has been less than cute. 

Now summer is upon us, and I'm a mom.  I don't have too much of a pooch, but the texture of my lower belly is less than perfect.  I also expect to be lifting, carrying, and chasing one or two one-year-olds while wearing this swimwear, so a one piece just seems safer.

Happily, one piece swimsuits seem to have turned a corner in the last year or so.  They're retro, more mini-dress than granny skirt, and dare I say...sexy.  Here are my favorites: 

Ralph Lauren  - It's youthful but classy, nautical in the navy with the white band.  I love the tie in the back with the keyhole beneath.  I don't love the amount of rouching that it has in reality (way more than shown) and am ordering a smaller size online than I bought in the store hoping that takes care of it.

Jantzen  - While I was still pregnant and dreading what my post-preg body might look like, I did a search of Marilyn Monroe pin-up style, vintage-inspired bathing suits.  I found a few then, but because the pediatrician said no swimming or sunscreen for the babies before six months, no real need for swimwear presented itself last summer.  This year we'll make opportunites happen.  The rouching in this suit doesn't bother me as it seems purposeful for the style and not just a contrived method for hiding flaws.  I bought this in torquoise.

Kenneth Cole - I spotted one of these randomly tossed on a rack at Macy's and couldn't find any others in my size.  I tried it on and loved it.  I felt like I was in a hot little dress while secure enough to lift and play with a toddler or two.  The size wasn't too far off, but I'm ordering mine online in red.

I'm not sure how many swimsuits I'll keep when this process is over, but I'm happy that I can feel modest and fashionable at the same time this summer in at least one of these!

Matching Monkeys

I've heard some people, especially identical twins, say not to put twins in matching outfits, that it really is tough on their identity formation.  However, I don't think there's too much harm in coordinating outfits, matching either the style, fabric, or color while making sure at least one of those components is different.

With The Best Dressed Child website on my mind, I cruised through Janie and Jack on Saturday hoping to find next year's birthday and/or Easter outfits for Michael and Sophie on the sale racks.

And I did.

It's pretty tough to find affordable, coordinating outfits for a boy and a girl, so I was thrilled to see these.  The quality of both pieces is very nice--the dress has great details and is fully lined, the shorts have an adjustable waist.  (I passed on the shirts they had and will just pick up a plaid button-up elsewhere.)  Still, I love how they stick the sale prices on beside the original ones just for suckers like me! And the "Made in Indonesia" label suggests an enormous and morally questionable profit margin.  Sucker or not, I wish I'd shopped some clearance racks for future Christmas outfits, but I'll keep that in mind in January.

I also recently bought these onesies from an Etsy seller.  They should be in the mail to us right now.  Stumbling on them months ago, I very nearly made peanut butter and jelly the theme for Michael and Sophie's first birthday party.  The allergen factor scared me off despite having dreamed up a menu that still makes me salivate.  Peanut butter fondue, anyone?

 I also plan to get these in the near future.  One says "monkey see" and the other says "monkey do," a sentiment that's becoming more and more true by the day around here. 

Take a look at some "monkey see, monkey do" behavior in the form of another bath video, this time with coordinating faux hawks.

I figure I better have fun with coordinating outfits before Michael and Sophie learn to object...in unison!

Stuff we like

In between refills of Michael and Sophie's lunch today, I tackled the kitchen shelf that houses their food and all associated paraphernalia. Sippies by the pair were crammed into that cupboard among breastpump parts, back-up formula, and the few bottles we kept around just in case.  I still breastfeed Michael and Sophie when they wake up in the morning and before bed at night, but those days are numbered. It felt like time to purge.

Here's that cupboard now.  No bottles.  No formula.  No baby megaphones.

And within the next month or so, those jars will be history as well. 

This process got me thinking about my first blog post about all the products that made the newborn phase of parenting twins easier.  Many of those items have fulfilled their baby care destiny and have been sold or packed away.  It's amazing how quickly infants become toddlers, how soon bouncy seats make way for push toys, swaddling blankets step aside for sleep sacks, and sippy-cups elbow their way into the bottle cupboard.  Just as toast is the new rice cereal around here, other products are making the early toddler days simpler as well.

Munchkin Sippy Cups
Sophie and Michael have a few different kinds of sippies, and they get excited when they see all of them.  We bought these on sale last weekend just to have a couple more in the rotation, and they are Michael and Sophie's clear favorites.  The removable nozzles are similar to bottle nipples in that you have to remove them and put them back in after cleaning.  That's a little annoying, but I also suspect that similarity is why Michael and Sophie like them so much and drain them dry.



Fisher Price Space Saver High Chairs
Like all big ticket purchases, I did my homework on high chairs.  I liked the idea of wooden ones, possibly the kind that you find in restaurants, but after one MoM after another raved about these, I went for it.  And now I'm raving.  They travel well, clean up pretty easily, are comfortable for Michael and Sophie, and they do save space over full-sized high chairs, even though the kitchen chairs have to stick out a bit.


Bath Seats
We've only used these a few times so far, but they've been pretty handy...and fun.  We have to put a towel down on the bottom of our bathtub because it has ridges that don't allow the seats'suction cups to stick (the towel holds them in place).  That little adjustment is worth it to be able put both babies in the tub at the same time with a little help in keeping one safe while we deal with the other, an ongoing struggle in the land of twin parenthood.  The seats open with a latch for easy loading and unloading and fold down a bit for storage.  If the makers had multiples in mind, they would have made them stackable as well, but they didn't.

The Newborn to Toddler Tub was fantastic for almost the entire first year.  The sling attachment was great when the babies were tiny.  Until Michael and Sophie could pull themselves to standing and we started using it in the bathtub, we had months and months of comfortable baby bathing standing at the kitchen sink instead of kneeling in the bathroom.

 


Sleep Sacks

We really made the most of swaddling in those first few months, so it was nice to have these to transition into when the babies started rolling over and swaddling is considered unsafe.  We've seen no reason to call it quits with these, especially when they make our babies look like Sweet Pea and Cindy Lou Who.

  

Green Sprouts Long Sleeve Bibs

These are very handy for messy meals, restaurants, and dinners at other people's homes.  Sophie managed to eat about 1/4 of my Mongolian Barbecue meal tonight with one thumb stuck in the sleeve (I noticed as I took the bib off).  Still, both babies' hands and faces were covered in ginger sauce, but their clothes were not!

Tiny Diner
These came recommended and then as a gift from a friend and fellow mom.  On their maiden voyage just this evening they proved to be all they're cracked up to be.  They suction cup right to any table and have a little trough to catch food, both of which really work!  They're dishwasher safe, BPA free, and super portable.

Retractable Gates
When Mike first installed these I kicked myself a little for putting fashion over function.  These gates retract similarly to rolling window shades, saving space and keeping doorways clear.  They take some getting used to, but with a little practice we've gotten pretty good at opening, closing, and moving these even with a baby in our arms.  The rollers are removable, and each one comes with two sets of hanging hardware so you can use them in two doorways in your home.
 

J.J. Cole Blanket
This portable, waterproof blanket lived in the trunk of my car for the last year, but since it's gotten warm in the last few weeks, it's gotten some good use in our backyard. 

I could go on and on about favorite toys, but the few I've chosen below, are ones that are so appealing to Michael and Sophie that they work when a distraction is needed. "Oh, Sophie, Michael took your Elmo phone and made you cry? Hey, look at this!"

Fisher Price Music Table
Some friends gave Michael and Sophie one of these for Christmas, and we bought one at a mom-to-mom sale.  Before they could stand or even sit up at the tables, we'd set Michael and Sophie in their Boppies, take the legs of the table, and set it on their laps.  Now they stand at the tables, often playing two at once like skilled DJs.



That's Not My Monkey
Another Christmas gift, this time from Mike's brother and sister-in-law, this book is one of a few touch and feel books that are hot items in our playroom.  Michael and Sophie love to touch the fuzzy tongue, smooth feet, and furry bellies that distinguish each monkey in the book.  The title makes Mike and me laugh like thirteen-year-old boys, so that's good too.



Ball Popper
There's probably some sensory learning justification for this ball spewing, wind blowing, Rockin' Robin singing toy, but around here its purpose is 100% fun.


A few items that made this year of breastfeeding easier have come to mind, but I'm thinking that will be its own post.  We'll see!