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It’s official, after seven wonderful weeks of paternity leave and vacation time, my husband had to go back to work on Monday. It’s now just me and the girls at home.
Monday started off great. Mommy had a shower in the morning and was dressed and ready for the day by 7am. By 11am, the girls and I were off running mini errands – the bank and Babies R Us.
Heading out the door with two newborns is no easy (or fast) task. What used to take me two minutes to get out the door, now takes up to 30!
The girls are eating about every three hours, so I need to get them changed, fed, and burped first. Then, I check the clock to see how much time I have before their next feeding, this is my “window of opportunity.” When I am by myself, I am trying to get all of their feedings done at home, because it is so much easier!
The diaper bag needs to be packed with bottles, formula, diapers, wipes, blankets, burp cloths, extra onesies, a changing mat, and of course hand sanitizer. The girls need to be strapped into their car seats. Once every one is ready to go, you cross your fingers and hope no one has a diaper “blow out” before you head to the car.
There are going to be times when both babies are crying and need your attention. I have finally figured out how to pick both babies up at the same time and can get them both on a shoulder. Sometimes I use the Moby or the Baby Bjorn to carry one baby and have free hands to do other chores around the house.
Speaking of chores, they are becoming a last priority. If I can get a load of laundry in and the dishes done, it is a good day.
I also work from home and am learning how to find that balance to make sure that I am able to carve out enough time throughout the day to work on my computer. Working also forces chores to take another back seat at times.
I have figured out how to feed both babies at one time and this definitely saves me a lot of time. As long as the girls are on the same schedule, this is the way to go. I have a pack n play set up with two boppy pillows 
inside. Prop the girls up inside the boppy pillows and I am able to feed them both simultaneously.
I love being with my girls all of the time and watch them grow. Yesterday, Katelyn hit a big milestone. She was able to hold her head up, doing a push-up during tummy time, for the first time! It’s the little moments like this that I am so glad I won’t miss!
Being a stay-at-home Mom of twins and a real “OC Housewife”, is definitely a lot of work, but it truly is a blessing and I would not trade it for anything in the world.
When I was pregnant, we spent hours in the nursery making it look beautiful for the girls’ arrival. (See Nursery Unveiled). We would sit in the glider in their room and read them stories while they were in the womb. We could not wait for them to come home and sleep in their crib.
Since nothing goes exactly according to plan once you have babies, the girls were 6.5 weeks old and still sleeping in our bedroom. Being so small, they have both had some problems with reflux and we were just more comfortable having them a few feet away.
Now that Daddy is going back to work next week, we decided that it was time to move the girls into their own room, which is just down the hall.
Tuesday night was a big night in our household because it was going to be the first night the girls would sleep in the crib in their own room. Of course this was also one of the nights the girls were on opposite feeding schedules, meaning we were up a lot more then we could have been.
We set up our video monitor – which for us is a must have. We have the Summer Infant Slim & Securehandheld monitor and we absolutely love it! The camera is positioned on the side of the crib so we can see both girls since they are in the same crib right now. The handheld monitor is on my nightstand so I can see and hear them all through the night.
The girls have been in their nursery for two nights now. Night one, the girls were eating at different times, which means Daddy and I took turns running to the nursery to feed. I was a little stressed because the girls were not right next to me and I found myself constantly staring at the monitor throughout the night.
Night two, was a great night because both girls ate at the same time (11pm, 2am, 4:30am, 7:30am) and I was a lot more comfortable with them being in there.
It was a big day for us too, because we get our bedroom back. No more pack n play, changing table, glider, or diapers in our room. The adult feel has returned and that is also important for my husband and I to have.
Moving the girls into their own room was a big deal, and we are so thankful that the transition has been a smooth one!
I recently found out about a wonderful class offered every Monday at Kaiser Irvine. The class is called “Thriving Into Motherhood.” It is an educational support program for new moms and their babies, from birth to one year old. Each class is $10 to attend and since it is privately run, you do not have to be a Kaiser member to attend.
I definitely wanted to check this class out! As much as I wanted to take both of my girls, they happened to be on different feeding schedules that morning, so I decided to head to the class with Chelsea (who we just fed) and give Daddy some quality time with Katelyn!
The class is for women only (and boys under 3 feet tall) which made it a very comfortable setting. There were probably 20 Mommys and their babies in the class. Nursing, diaper changes, cries, tummy time, and playing were all welcome. After seeing how the class was structured, I am definitely going to bring both my girls to the next one we attend!
Every week, a different topic is discussed and this week’s topic was “Infant Development and Milestones.” Since our girls are now 6.5 weeks old, here are some of the 0-3 milestones we discussed:
0-3 Months
1 Baby will practice bringing their fist to their mouth
2 Baby can lift their head briefly while on their tummy
3 Your baby can turn toward sounds and follow you around with their eyes (newborns see 8-12 inches)
4 Socially, you can expect your baby to smile (not just when they are passing gas!)
5 Expect to hear your baby’s voice between 2-3 months when they begin to “coo”
Our girls appear to be track for these developmental milestones and we have already hit the first 2! They do turn towards sounds and follow things with their eyes sometimes, but since they are only 1.5 months old, we will give them more time to fully accomplish this one.
We are still waiting for that first smile… although we definitely get the daily “gas” smiles and adorable smiles in their sleep. It will be so amazing when they look up at us and smile for the first time because they want to! Hopefully in the next month or so, our girls will start to “coo” using their vowel signs.
When looking at each developmental stage, it is important to remember that they are based on an average age and every baby masters each stage when they are ready.
If you would like more information on the “Thriving Into Motherhood” classes, you can email the facilitator, Britton Lunde at thrive2motherhood@gmail.com.
We know that our girls are going to grow up fast and we want to cherish every moment. It was so important to us to have some newborn photos taken. Finding a photographer that can work fast with newborns is very important.
Fellow OC Family Blogger, Lindsey Garrett, owner of Modchik Photography, graciously volunteered to photograph our girls. You can tell she really loves her job. Lindsey was absolutely amazing with the twins. They were both very content and alert at the same time – very impressive! I could not have asked for more!
We were so excited and thrilled to have her as our photographer and the pictures are absolutely beautiful!
Below are just a few of the photos from their 1 month photo shoot! To see all of the photos, you can view the album on Lindsey’s website!
Katelyn
Chelsea
Girls
Family
Again, we want to extend a BIG Thank you to Lindsey! You were so wonderful with the girls and the pictures are beautiful!! We definitely look forward to working with you again!
After nine months of pregnancy and anticipation, the babies have finally arrived! When I was pregnant, and ready to pop, friends and family kept telling me the babies are a lot easier to take care of inside the womb, which is definitely true.
Caring for two newborns is an amazing, exhausting, 24/7 job. They are eating every 2-3 hours and when they are not on the same schedule, it is very hard to think about anything that is not baby-related.
Getting out of the house between feedings, napping, and changing diapers, can be a challenge and now that our family has left and our attention is 100% focused on babies, it is very easy to forget to take care of ourselves.
There are days where simply feeding ourselves can become a challenge. When friends and families ask if there is anything they can do to help, one of the best things they can offer is an easy meal for Mommy and Daddy.
Luckily, the Multiple Miracle Moms of Orange County (MMM), a non-profit organization for mothers of multiple birth children, introduced me to a website called Food Tidings!
Food Tidings is a website designed to help families who may need a little extra help when it comes to planning meals. It is often used for new moms.
MMM uses this website to offer a hospitality service called “Meals for Moms.” Members in the group sign up for different days of the week to bring a meal to a new Mom.
New moms (of multiples) know especially how hard it can be to find time to do anything un-baby related. I’ve already had a few girls come to the house with an easy meal that was ready to eat, pop in the oven, or fresh food from a local restaurant. Their kindness and generosity is so much appreciated!
You do not have to be part of MMM to use Food Tidings. It is easy to go in and set up a schedule. You or someone you know can create an account for your family. You provide the drop-off location, foods you like/dislike, and the dates that the meals would be needed. Your friends and families can login to the schedule, pick an available day to sign up and write in what meal they will bring to your family.
This website has been a blessing and we are so thankful that MMM set us up with an online schedule! I could see how this website would be wonderful for a new mom, someone getting out of the hospital, or for anyone who may just need a little extra help when it comes to meal time!
