1. Boppy
Having two Boppies proved useful this month for feeding the girls simultaneously and for sitting up/playing with toys. The girls also seemed to enjoy tummy time a lot more when using the Boppy.

2. Rainforest Melodies and Lights Gym
We’ve had this gym for a few months now, but the girls hadn’t really been too interested in all the dangling toys until this month. They didn’t really like the plastic toys that came with the gym, but once I replaced them with some soft, dangly toys, the girls went crazy swatting and grabbing them. This gym usually keeps them busy for up to ten minutes at a time…that’s amazing considering they get bored with everything else in about two minutes.

3. Aden + Anais Muslin Sleeping Bag
After Month 3, we transitioned the girls out of swaddling. They seemed too cold in their footie pajamas alone, so I tried dressing them in their pajamas, plus this lightweight sleeping bag and our problem was solved. The fabric is so soft and breathable, just like their swaddling blankets, yet they have plenty of room to move their legs around. I definitely want a giant one for myself.

4. Lamaze Take-Along Toys
The girls aren’t interested in any other toys but these. They love swatting at and grabbing the bright giraffe, octopus, monkey, and the other animals, whether they are hanging from their gym or from their car seats.

5. Baby Faces and other board books
I have to admit that reading to the girls was never really fun until this month! The girls never seemed interested in books, and then BAM! As soon as I started reading this board book to them, they were all of a sudden totally fascinated. The girls love lifting the flaps, staring at the cute baby faces, and will even turn the pages. Once the girls started finding this book interesting, I re-introduced them to their old board books, which they now love.

6. Space Saver High Chair
These are the only baby items I keep downstairs (besides the girls’ stroller). The girls love sitting up high in their chairs and are content to watch me work around the kitchen, sometimes for fifteen minutes or more. The girls also love to sit at the table with us while we eat…I think Samantha is especially fascinated by food as she will track each bite I take from my plate to my mouth.

Other Month 4 Favorites:

Amelia:

HER THUMB. Amelia started sucking her thumb this month and doesn’t like it quite as much as her pacifier, but has found it an acceptable alternative when she’s lost her paci.

SONGS. “I’m A Little Teapot.” Amelia LOVES it when I sing and dance to this song for her. Never fails to make her giggle!

CHANGING SLEEPING POSITIONS. I will place Amelia facing one direction at night and by morning, is nearly always turned 180 degrees. I’ve watched her a few times and she looks like she’s break dancing when she sleeps. She even smiles and giggles in her sleep while she’s going crazy with her legs. I definitely think she will be the first to roll over.

Samantha:

SONGS.  “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Samantha always laughs whenever we sing these songs together.

BOOKS. Samantha loves all types of books…big, small, board books, novels, you name it.

FOOD. As usual, Samantha loves milk and formula and is totally fascinated with any food I put into my mouth.

Samantha and Amelia:

BATH and STROLLER time. Both girls continue to enjoy bath time and riding in their strollers, especially when we take them out of their strollers to look around outside.

BANDIT. Both girls have taken an interest in Bandit lately. I will sit them on my lap and they will laugh uncontrollably as I make Bandit do his yoga pose, roll over, go to his mat, etc. It’s pretty adorable!

LOOKING AROUND. Both girls are becoming more and more curious each day. They love being up high and looking around the house from different angles.

HANDS. Both girls love chewing on their hands and any toys they manage to grab hold of.

Month 4 Stats:

Samantha is 25.5 inches tall and weighs 16 pounds, 12 ounces (still right around the 90th percentile).
Amelia is 24.5 inches tall and weighs 14 pounds, 6 ounces (still about the 75th percentile).

Feeding: I have absolutely no idea what the girls’ feeding schedule is and told the pediatrician that when she asked. It changes daily. Sometimes during the day they will go stretches of up to three hours without eating, while at other times, they want to eat every one or two. The amounts vary as well, from two to five ounces per feeding. It’s so hard to keep track of both of them since their feedings are so random. Before their four month appointment, I calculated how much they were eating and it turned out to be anywhere from 25-30 ounces in a 24-hour period, with 70% of that being pumped breast milk and 30% formula.

Sleeping: Sleeping through the night began consistently right around the beginning of July. First, the girls started sleeping from about 6:30 p.m. to 3:30 or 4 a.m., and once we pushed back their bed time a bit to 7:30 p.m., they started gradually making their way toward sleeping until 4:30 a.m., then 5 a.m., then 5:30 a.m., then 6 a.m., and a handful of times until 6:30 or 7 a.m. It felt so amazing to get six full hours of uninterrupted sleep! This past week after their shots, they’ve been waking at 4 a.m., eating, and then going back to sleep until 6:30 or 7. Either way, any waking after 3 a.m. is fine with me. The memories of waking up at 2:30 a.m. every night are all too clear.

Their nap schedule is still pretty random, which is super frustrating. I’ve tried to put them on some semblance of a schedule, but they’ve fought me the whole time. Basically, they fall asleep and wake up whenever they want, usually at different times than each other. Amelia is typically a better napper than Samantha, but both girls will typically be up for an hour, then down for an hour to an hour and a half, then up again. Toward the evening, the girls seem to get a second wind of energy and can be up for around 1 1/2 hours at time before getting cranky. My goal this next month is to try and put them on some kind of predictable nap schedule.

As far as where the girls sleep at night, nothing has really changed. We took the twin divider out of their twin bassinet in our room so that now it’s just an extra-large pack and play. The girls sleep really soundly there and it’s convenient to have them in our room, since I feel better being able to check on them quickly when needed. Every weekend I tell myself, “THIS is the weekend I am going to have them sleep in their crib in the nursery,” but then I chicken out and don’t do it. I’m sure they would be fine there, but I don’t think I can handle it quite yet.

During naps, the girls usually fall asleep in my arms (such a bad habit, I know, but honestly, I’m pretty desperate to do whatever will get them to nap so I can get something done!) and then I put them wherever they are most likely to keep sleeping…sometimes that’s their swing, other times their crib (which always seems to cut short their nap by half an hour), and many times, right next to me on the bed or couch. Another one of my goals this month is to get them to nap in their crib consistently and to train them to go to sleep somewhere other than my arms.

Diapers: Now that the girls are sleeping through the night and we don’t get up to change them, they are going through far less diapers! They now wear Size 3! Their bowel movements are a lot less frequent, with Amelia having a total blowout every four days and Samantha every five.

Clothing: It seems like I am buying new clothes on weekly basis as the girls are growing so fast. Samantha mostly wears 6 month clothes, although some brands run small and she ends up wearing 9 month clothes. Amelia wears 3-6 month clothes and a few outfits that are 6 months and above.

Other Milestones: The girls continued to milestone all over the place this month. Both girls were a lot more awake, curious, and active and finally started to take an interest in things like toys and books. The girls started drooling a lot, putting their hands and toys in their mouths, and swatting/grasping toys. Both girls coo, giggle, and laugh a lot more than during Month Three and love it when Jake and I sing and dance for them. No rolling over yet, although Amelia is getting there. The girls can push up pretty far when on their stomachs (although Samantha has a harder time with this since her head is so huge), and are less wobbly when sitting up.

Overall, the girls are a lot more interactive, which is both exciting and difficult at the same time! It’s becoming increasingly hard to keep both of them entertained, even though I continually remind them that there’s only one of me, and two of them!

Lots of love,

1. Wubbanub: I was really skeptical of the Wubbanub at first, but I finally gave in after hearing so many good things about it and bought the giraffe version, thinking if Samantha liked it, I would get Amelia her own. Samantha ended up loving it! The stuffed animal helps it to stay in her mouth and it makes it easy to find around the house. She will take her little hands and “hold” the giraffe when she goes down for her nap. I got Amelia the caterpillar version, which she likes, but doesn’t seem to be as easy to grab hold of as the giraffe.

2. Snap ‘N Go Twin Stroller: This is a must-have for anyone with twins. We’ve had this stroller from day 1, but this month have really gotten more use out of it than ever before as we are out and about more. I love that I can pop their car seats right in this thing and the handlebar lets my huge twin diaper bag hang nicely. I love that I can see both girls since the stroller is stadium-seated. It’s really light-weight and super easy to fold up. Unlike the side-by-side double strollers out there, this one gets through doors really easily. I can even push the girls around the kitchen island because it has a pretty good turn radius. I’ll be in the market for a double stroller I can take out on the trail pretty soon, but this one has been fantastic for everyday use.

3. Relax Melodies App: This app has saved my life. It has sooooo many sounds that Samantha and Amelia just love…rain, waves, river, vacuum cleaner, dryer, “womb” noise, white noise, pink noise, you name it! 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is the official fuss time at our house, and sometimes the only thing that calms the girls down is swaddling them and turning on the app. Literally within seconds they will be calmed down and quietly alert so that I can feed them, hold them, rock them to sleep, whatever. The best part about this app is that you can combine noises to create a cacophony of random sounds loud enough to drown out any crying. Their current fave?  Urban Rain + Pink Noise + Monk chants + Owl + India.

4. Baby Bjorn: This baby carrier isn’t the best ergonomically for my back because the straps are too thin, so I can’t wear it for long periods of time. However, it’s the only one that I can seem to put on and put a baby in by myself without someone handing a baby to me. We have the Moby wrap (which was great when they were smaller), the Ergo Baby and the Sash Mei Tai carrier, but I use the Bjorn the most. As Samantha and Amelia have become more alert this month and are curious to see the world around them, they have loved being strapped in this thing and walking around with me during the day. Too bad I’m not this talented:

For now, they will just have to take turns.

5. Aquatopia Deluxe Safety Easy Bath Kneeler: I’m not sure why this has such a complicated name, but it’s basically just a cushion-y mat. I love that it has little compartments to store shampoo and tiny washcloths. This saves my knees every single day!

6. Tiny Love Take Along Mobile: This month, we practiced transitioning Samantha and Amelia out of their rockers/swing for nap/night time and into their bassinet and crib. This mobile can be taken off the crib and attached to the bassinet really easily (why didn’t the creators of this toy call it the “Mobile Mobile”…genius!) I’d like to imagine that the girls appreciate seeing a familiar sight when they wake up in a different place. There are cuter mobiles out there, but the girls seem to like the obnoxiously bright colors. It also plays music-box versions of classical music, and, randomly, “Cielito Lindo” (that Mexican song that goes ay ay ay ayyyy,…cant-a no llores!) The music ranks among some of the most tolerable on the annoying baby music scale.

Other faves from Month 3:

Samantha: Eating! She is a little chunk! She has pretty consistently been a pound heavier than her sister, even in the womb, but she is coming up on being two pounds heavier now days. She’s also fascinated whenever I sit down to eat…I have a feeling she is going to LOVE trying new food in a few months!

Bath time! Samantha never complains about her bath, even when we take her out and she gets a little cold.

Mr. Fan! Samantha is still totally in love with the ceiling fan in our room. Put her down on the bed and you are sure to see a smile as she looks up and sees her old friend.

Being carried around! Samantha likes to be carried around the house more than her sister. She gets bored really easily and will let you know it!

Amelia: Walks outside: Unlike Samantha, who usually conks out, Amelia is nearly always alert when we go on walks in the stroller. Sometimes she will tell us she wants to see better, so Jake will pick her up and walk with her while Samantha sits back and enjoys the ride.

The owl mural in the nursery: While Samantha seems fascinated by the ceiling fan, Amelia absolutely adores the owls that Jake’s mom painted for us in the girls’ nursery. Her eyes light up and her lips curl into the biggest smile whenever she sees them!

Swaddling: While her sister has pretty much grown out of swaddling by now, Amelia still loves being wrapped up snug as a bug. I’m convinced it was because she was breech and curled up my left side for most of the pregnancy. When the doctors puller her out, she was still so scrunched up that Jake thought she was deformed!

Dreaming: This girl must have the sweetest dreams because she is constantly laughing and smiling in her sleep!

Other fun facts from Month 3:

Feeding: Every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day, and every 3-5 hours at night.
Sleeping: Much more awake during the day than in Month 2! The girls take several naps in the morning and afternoon and are typically awake after 4:30 pm until we start getting ready for bed around 6:30-7ish. Their naps are still pretty sporadic, lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. At night, they are sleeping one longer stretch of 4-5 hours and then stretches of 3-4 hours afterward. Unlike the first two months, the girls have pretty much been on totally opposite schedules during the day. At night, Amelia usually wakes up first, followed by Samantha about 20 minutes later.
Diapers: Size 2 Diapers, 10-12 per day, although not as many blow-outs as in Month 2!
Clothes: Samantha wears 6 month clothes and Amelia goes back and forth between 3 month, 3-6 month and 6 month clothes depending on the brand.

Other milestones: BUSY and CURIOUS pretty much sum up this month. Eating and sleeping all day are things of the past…I can’t believe I thought I had things hard back then! It is a constant juggling act to keep these girls entertained. The girls have started cooing and babbling this month and are smiling/laughing a ton. They are continuing to improve at holding their heads up during tummy time or while trying to look around. So far, the girls haven’t really started reaching for toys, but they do like observing/kicking them whilst flailing their arms.

I can’t wait to see how the girls change during Month 4!
Lots of love,

Since Amelia and Samantha are turning three months this coming week, I thought I’d better post their 2 Month Favorite Things so I can post their 3 Month Favorites later.

Here are a few of our favorite things from the twins’ first month! I had fun creating this little “Monthly Favorites” list in between the girls’ eating/sleeping/playing today! Strangely, I feel very productive! Yay photoshop!

1. Baby Connect App

This app was seriously amazing when it came to satisfying my neurotic urge to track everything and look at numbers! It’s great for twins too because you can add more than one baby. I tracked the girls’ every diaper (it even lets you add in whether the diaper was wet/poopy, as well as the consistency and color of the poop)! In the words of my sister, bodily functions have never been so exciting! Using this app, I was also able to track when I breastfed, which baby was on which breast, how much they drank out of a bottle, how much I pumped, and how much the girls were sleeping. It also has a feature where you can add in weight/height from doctor’s appointments, when they got their shots, and different milestones, like rolling over, smiling, etc. I was the app nazi during the twins’ first month of life and made everyone who helped change/feed them report back to me so I could enter it in the app. After four weeks, I was at an appointment going over how many wet/poopy diapers the girls had had in the past 24 hours, how many ounces from the bottle they had taken, etc., and the lactation consultant was like, “You realize you don’t need to track that stuff anymore, right?” My response was that I liked tracking everything! My absolute favorite part is that the app converts information into all sorts of bar graphs, pie charts, and statistics so I can see a visual representation of how much the girls have eaten over time, or grown, for example. Then, it lets you email it or export it to Excel! Yay for Excel and bar graphs! Yes, I am totally OCD and this app fueled my penchant for recording everything! I still use it, but not to record diapers anymore. I mostly use it to record milestones, doctor’s appointments, and notes if anything unusual happened during the day. I love this app so much!

2. Rock ‘N’ Play Sleeper

 I found two of these off Craig’s List from another twin mom and I’m so glad I bought two! Such a lifesaver when I needed to put the girls down somewhere! At first, we were just using these mostly for naps, but in the first few weeks, the girls had problems spitting up after eating if I put them flat on their back in the bassinet at night, so we eventually started using the rockers at night time as well. The rocker is slightly elevated, so that helped reduce spit-up and discomfort from acid reflux right after eating. They fold up nicely and are very portable, which helped when we brought them from the family room into our bedroom at night. We still use these for naps during the day and the girls love them so much because they feel secure and swaddled. The only downside is that we’ve had to slowly transition them into their crib and they hate all that open space in comparison to the rocker, which they are used to.

3. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets

Everyone always told me how amazing these swaddle blankets were, and they really are! The muslin is so light-weight, so the girls don’t get to hot when they are swaddled. Jake is our resident master swaddler and although he has tried to teach me multiple times how to do a good swaddle, mine just don’t compare to his! I bought about five different packs of these because we use them every single day and love them!

4. Earth Mama Natural Nipple Butter

I thought I’d include a picture to demonstrate this one, but then thought better of it haha. I like this stuff a lot better than Lanolin, plus it can be used on the edges of the pump horn thingies so that pumping doesn’t hurt. Good stuff!

5. My Brest Friend Plus Deluxe Twin Nursing Pillow

This really is my best friend since I feel pretty much attached to it 24/7. It’s so big that I’m pretty sure an F-16 could land on it. Both babies can fit on here and it’s great for bottle feeding too. The cover is washable, and it comes with little pouches for cell phones/snacks.

6. Huggies Disposable Changing Pads

Before I discovered these disposable changing pads, I was having to wash the two fabric changing pad covers I have pretty much every day. Then I found these disposable ones. DUH! SO much easier. I put a disposable one over the fabric cover and if the disposable one gets dirty, I just throw it away. These probably contribute to global warming, just like all the diapers I’m going through right now, but oh well. I only have to wash the fabric covers every once in a while now. Hospital chucks also work, but are way thinner and tend to stick to the diapers.

Since these are mostly MY favorites from Month 1, here are some of Samantha and Amelia’s favorites.

Samantha:

 LOVED bath time once we figured out that she got cold if we bathed her in the sink or used one of those newborn inserts in the tub. She was a natural in the water and loved to be almost totally submerged, so we took the insert out of her baby bath tub and just held her in the water. Definitely her favorite part of the day!

FOOD! This girl could eat! She was a pound bigger than her sister when she was born and pretty much throughout the entire pregnancy…she totally hogged nutrients from the placenta! After being evicted from the womb, I’m sure it was a shock to not have a continuous supply of food at her disposal, so she ate like it was going out of style. This girl could eat!

Amelia:

HATED bath time, just for the record. LOVED being swaddled. She was my breech baby and during the last month was curled up on my left side all the time. Jake said she looked deformed when the doctors pulled her out because she was curled up like a…well, a fetus, I guess. Amelia loved to curl her legs up and be tightly swaddled by Daddy. She also loved to curl up next to Daddy or sleep on his chest–her favorite place to take a nap!

WALKS! Amelia loved to get out and breathe in the fresh air on our walks. She was always way more alert than Samantha, who usually fell asleep once the stroller got rolling. I think she’s going to turn out to be a little sun baby!

I’m trying to think of anything else I could add, but mostly the girls just slept and ate during the first month. I guess I’ll add sleeping to the list of favorites for both girls!

So fun to look back and see what’s changed from last month!

Lots of love,