Happy One-Month Birthday

We made it to one month. Yay! I have a feeling this was more of a struggle for Eric and me than for the babies, who only had to concentrate on eating and sleeping. If I wasn't trying to do Weight Watchers to take off some of this baby weight, I'd bake them a cake.

Here are some pictures from this morning, after I gave them a bath and put them in some pants, in an attempt to make them look more civilized in honor of their birthday. Since I took these pictures on my own and the babies were startnig to fall asleep, they aren't the best. If the outfits make it through the day without poop, pee, or formula covering them, we'll try to take more tonight.

A Rant, A Rave, and a Photo

As the title of this post indicates, today I have a rant, a rave, and a photo. Here goes:

Rant: I'd like to rant against this swing from Fisher Price. We got two of these swings based on the recommendation of many mom's, including several twin moms. However, within two uses, the AC adapter on one of the swings broke. What a pain in the rear end!?! This does not give me faith in Fisher Price products. But, that does bring me to my rave.

Rave: I have to rave about Fisher Price customer service. I called them about the broken swing, and the nice woman I spoke with went through several steps with me to help determine that it was indeed the AC adapter that was broken, and not the motor or another part. She even held on the line while I took a quick break in our conversation to quiet a crying Piper. The best part is that they are sending a new adapter out today, free of charge.

Photo: Here is a recent photo of Fletch for your viewing pleasure. I'll try to get one of Piper for tomorrow. I love the way his little hands look in this picture, like he's praying that I keep feeding him and don't take the bottle away.

Happy Visit

Sorry it's been so many days since my last post. On Wednesday, my mom came to visit and spend time with the beans. It was great having her here to help with feedings, laundry, etc., and we just had a wonderful time. Here are two pictures of us having a little fun on the front lawn.

We'll miss my mom now that she's gone back to Boston, but she'll be back again soon.

Change of Location

When you're a baby (especially a slightly premature baby like our babies), your life consists of basically eating and sleeping. Since Eric and I are both the type of people that get bored easily, I'd imagine that our children are the same way. So, today for our mid-morning naps, I've given the babies a change of venue over just laying in the pack n' play (otherwise known as "the pit"). (And don't worry about the blanket on Piper. She's right next to me, so I'm watching her closely.)

Tandem Feeding

One of the biggest challenges of being home with the beans on maternity leave is feeding them at the same time, so they don't erupt into shrill cries of hunger. This morning, I discovered this method using the Boppies.

You can also see my new haircut. I went to the hair salon on Saturday and had them cut all my hair off...I just couldn't deal with it anymore.

This is my first time trying this new feeding method. From the sounds of things, I'll be trying it again in just a few minutes because Fletch is waking up from his morning nap. I'm hoping this new method will save us time and be more efficient than feeding each of them individually because by the time I'm done with that, it's practically time to start all over again. Wish me luck!

Twin Tips

I know that right now, most of the readers of this blog are friends and family who want to see new pictures of the beans and hear of their adventures. But, someday, I'm also hoping that this blog might also provide something useful for other moms/families, especially with multiples. So, every so often, I'm going to post some of the things that Eric and I are learning as new parents of twins. I'll call these posts, "Twin Tips." Today's Twin Tips is about some of our favorite products that we have discovered.

Sleep Sheep: Oh, Sleep Sheep, how we love you. This cuddly little guy is the workhorse of our house and saves us at every nap and bedtime with his soothing sounds of a babbling brook, the ocean, rainfall, or whales. Within seconds of turning him on, Fletcher and Piper calm down and (hopefully) fall asleep. There are two versions of Sleep Sheep. We have the Sleep Sheep On the Go because he can be easily attached to a stroller or carseat or thrown into a diaper bag to help calm babies when out and about.

Pee Wees Disposable Changing Pads: Okay, so these aren't the best for the environment because they are disposable, but these pads are awesome and save us so much time. We put them on top of the actual changing pad, so we don't need to wash the pad every time Fletch or Pipe has an accident mid-change, which happens quite frequently. Our babies have impeccable timing for peeing at the exact moment when we switch between the old diaper and the new diaper. These pads catch those accidents and then we can just throw them away.

Target Up and Up Wipes: Since Eric and I came into this adventure with very little baby experience, including never having changed a diaper before, we probably go through more wipes than a more experienced parent. But, we're learning. In the meantime, we've discovered the wonderfulness that is the Target brand baby wipes. They are inexpensive, don't irritate the babies' little bottoms, and aren't too thick or too thin. We've tried a few other brands, and so far, none compare to these. For some unfortunate reason, Target doesn't sell them on target.com.

There are our first three tips. In other news, the babies are doing great. Fletcher has almost perfected his Walter Matthau facial expression....

...and Piper is getting ready for her next hand model photo shoot...

A Walk in the Park

Today is Eric's first full day back at work. So far, things are good here in babyland. In an attempt to make sure I don't stay holed up in the house for the next several months, I decided to take Piper and Fletcher on a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon. We only lasted about 20 minutes, since the neighborhood is awfully hilly, and I am pretty out of shape after bedrest, but the walk definitely tuckered us all all out, including Piper and Fletcher. They slept like this in their car seats for several hours after we got home. (Excuse the grainy nature of the photo...I took it with my blackberry.)