I think back on those few days in the hospital right after the boys were born...ahhh...bliss. Well, as blissful as it can be recovering from major abdominal surgery and coming to terms with the fact that you came in as one person and just split into three.
But, we had help.
Glorious help, 24 hours a day, real professionals who KNEW what they were doing! They came in all shapes, sizes and colors and man oh man, every single one of them had angel wings.
But, it doesn't last forever and soon they scooted us out the door with a stack of pampers, a sample of every singe baby item you can imagine, two beautiful but unbelievably fragile newborns and a husband with stars in his eyes. I felt so bad for him, he had no idea what was coming. I couldn't even fully grasp the reality of the next 6 months.
Somewhere in between oh-my-gosh-I'm-so-in-love and oh-my-gosh-what-the-hell-did-we-do...we settled into a routine and it went something like this:
Sleep, nurse, poop, change diaper, sleep, nurse, poop, change diaper...on and on.
And let me clarify...the sleeping, eating and pooping, that was the babies. No one else had the time!
So, this next review is for the eating and the pooping. Both are time consuming with twins but after a couple weeks, it becomes automatic.
I nursed and supplemented, used cloth and disposable so I have a broad range.
Nursing is hard for many people. Some things that really helped me were a great lactation consultant, my mom, good nursing tops, a few "nipple" products.
I bought 2 of the Bravado Nursing tanks and loved them. After the initial sticker shock wore off, I read a bunch of reviews and tried one out. They are long, they are really well made, they hold up to multiple washings and they have a great "opening" that is not frustrating while trying to nurse 2 babies at the same time.
My next lifesaver was Lansinoh Breast Cream. I can't say much more about it other than it will make a world of difference! I never had a problem with cracking or bleeding.
I don't know where I read about these but I used them from day 1. Soothies Gel pads by Lansinoh were such a relief. They are little gel pads you lay over the breast cream. You store them in the fridge and the cool relief is awesome. I have only ever been able to find them at Walgreen's or, of course, Amazon.
Bottle feeding, which I am still doing now, is sometime the only option but man, there are so many to choose from. I am a fan of glass baby bottles. I know some people think that is crazy but I have been using them the whole time and have never broken a single bottle. I tried plain glass in the beginning. I just bought the munchkins bottles from Target. Them, one of my boys was having major spit ups. No reflux or any pain...he would just burp and it would all come back up. A friend (thanks Julie!!) convinced me to try Dr. Brown's bottles. I was worried about all the extra parts but it was worth it. They are not cheap but I am so glad we tried them. I still use them and love them.
I hate buying baby gadgets. Wipe warmers, towel warmers, crazy garbage cans...yikes. But, I was given a bottle warmer and I realized that is a must-have. Especially in the middle of the night when you have no idea what you are doing or why you are awake. I was given the Avent model and it works great.
And lastly, diapers...I have tried them ALL. I have two very differently sized boys. One is slim and a light wetter, the other is about 3 pound bigger and a heavy wetter. During the day, I use cloth diapers, Bumgenius 3.0. Cloth diapering is a topic for a whole other post which I would be happy to do if there is any interest. Otherwise, I will talk about disposable. I use them at night and when we travel. I have tried Pampers, Huggies, Babies R' Us brand, Seventh Generation and Earth's Best.
I will honestly tell you that my kids wet out of both Pampers and Huggies. They get so saggy right away so it doesn't even matter if they are thinner to begin with. Plus, they always have all those annoying disney characters. My kids don't know what they are. I feel like they are just mocking me...WE ARE DISTRACTING YOU FROM THE FACT YOU ARE SPENDING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON SOMETHING YOU WILL POOP IN.
Next, I tried the Babies R' Us Supreme brand. I used them once and took them back. They just plain sucked. They were hard and crunchy and leaked, the trifecta!
Last, I gave the earth-friendly and a bit more expensive brands a try. I liked them both. Earth's Best are white, but they are a bit stiff. The Seventh Generation are a more natural color and much softer. Both brands are thicker than the Pampers/Huggies but since I am used to cloth, it doesn't bother me at all. The Seventh Generation (which I use exclusively) NEVER leak and they have recently brought down their prices. Diapers.com has the best prices I have found anywhere. I love Seventh Generation, the research their company does and their mission.
If anyone has anything to add, please comment.
