Bottle Feeding

Why I made the choice to bottle feed my twins.

I knew from the beginning that I was not going to breastfeed my twins. I know... I can hear the sound of shock and horror coming from you. Being a first time mom of twins I knew I was going to be overwhelmed with the responsibility of keeping two tiny people happy and alive and I didn't want to have the added stress of breastfeeding. There are many strong opinions on the topic of breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding and what is right and wrong. What I can tell you is that you have to do what you think is the best for you and your family and stand by your decision. Don't let somebody else's opinion determine your choice or your happiness. With that out of the way, I will show you the products that worked for my twins and how to feed twins at the same time.

I purchased several different brands of bottles to see which worked the best and the twins responded well to the Dr. Brown bottles. I also liked that I could have blue for my son and pink for my daughter. 

For formula I went with Similac. Every baby responds differently so you may have to try several different brands of formula before finding the one that works for your child. 

When the twins were newborns I had to feed them one at a time, which can make the task of feeding very challenging. Once the twins were around three months and had better head control, I was able to feed them at the same time. Can I get a Hallelujah!!  This meant that my hour long feed session was now a 30 minute feed session. I used the Boppy Lounger and sat them on each side of me on the floor. I also used the Fisher Price bouncer as well. The bouncer is great because it is relatively inexpensive and can be used to play in as well.   
  

Boppy Infant Newborn Lounger

Fisher-Price Animal Party Bouncer

I loved the Babies R Us bottle warmers as well. These are simple to use with only one button to push (at 2 a.m. I can only handle one button) and they are reasonably priced at $20 each.

Babies R Us Purely Simple Single Bottle Warmer

Below are links to the above mentioned items:
Dr. Brown Bottles
Similac Formula
Boppy Newborn Lounger
Fisher-Price Bouncer
Babies R Us Bottle Warmer

Get Ready for Twins (Part Two)

My Top Five Holy Grail Baby Items

Here are my top five most loved baby items that I found the most helpful when the twins were newborn to around 5 months:

1. The Boppy was probably my most used item until the twins turned five months. I was able to feed both babies using the Boppy and they loved lounging in it as well. 

   

   Boppy Newborn and Infant Lounger

2. The Fisher Price Rock-N-Play Portable Bassinet was where I had the twins sleep until they turned six months. I liked the bassinet because it was small enough to sit next to our bed and was portable. 

   

   Fisher-Price Rock n' Play Portable Bassinet

3. Avent Soothie Pacifiers are the twins' pacifier of choice. We tried several different brands but the Soothie is still used today.  

   

   Avent Soothie Pacifier 

    
4. SwaddleMe Swaddles were used constantly until the babies turned three months. 

   

   LittleMe Swaddle by SwaddleMe

5. HoMedics Soundspa On-the-Go. This sound machine is great because it is portable, gives various sound options, and helped sooth the babies to sleep.
   

   

   HoMedics SoundSpa On-the-Go

   Below are links to the mentioned items:

Boppy Lounger
Fisher-Price Bassinet
Avent Soothie
LittleMe Swaddles
HoMedics SoundSpa

Double Stroller

The Dreaded Double Stroller!

Looking for a good double stroller can be a long and tedious task. I remember searching the Internet for weeks looking for the so-called "best" double stroller that was not going to break the bank. Here's a look at what I eventually purchased and some pros and cons of each.

Joovy TwinRoo+ Infant Car Seat Frame Stroller.  Attached are the Graco SunugRide 35.

The pros of the Joovy TwinRoo:

• Reasonably priced at $130
• Lightweight
• Folds easily
• Great parent tray
• Huge underneath basket
• Looks cute
• Easy to clip car seats into and out of

The cons:

• Tricky to maneuver through store aisles   
• Longevity - we thought it would last a year but as the babies grew, their increased weight made it difficult to maneuver, especially in narrow places. We replaced it after five months.

Graco Car Seat

 Above is the car seat we choose to use. We liked the price point at $190, it looked nice, and it had a good safety rating. The Joovy has adapters for several different brands of infant car seats.

Contours Option Elite

The pros of the Contours Option Elite:

• Is reasonably priced at $300
• Stylish in looks
• Has several seating positions and the seats can be reversed
• Is a tandem which allows for easy maneuvering through store aisles
• Great Canopies 

The cons:

• Heavy
• No parent tray  
• Can be tricky to collapse 

Knowing what I know now, I would recommend purchasing a tandem stroller that allows you clip in an infant car seat and and skip the Joovy. As you will quickly learn, it will cost a lot when you have to buy two of everything so you want to make the right choice the first time.

Below are links to the items mentioned:
Joovy TwinRoo
Graco SnugRide
Contours Options Elite

Get Ready for Twins! (Part One)

 The Nursery

Yeah you’re expecting twins! Now it’s time to figure out all the things that you will need for the nursery.  I remember scouring the internet looking for ways to set up a nursery for twins, how to organize the changing table, and all the things I was going to need for their arrival.

This is the nursery before it was completely finished. 

 

This picture shows the nursery right before the babies' arrival. We found that two standard cribs worked best in this space.

We decided to go with a traditional dresser instead of a changing table for several reasons:
- It had several drawers to hold all the clothes they have.
- Once you are done with diapers it can still be used in the room as they get older.
- It was tall enough for me and my husband to use without having to bend down.

- I liked how its drawers are divided which allows me to separate their clothes easily.

Ikea Skubb Box set of six

 I purchased two of these Skubb boxes from Ikea to organize the babies clothes. These are amazing to separate socks, shirts, pants, and anything you like and you can't beat the price at $7.99. I will post my favorite Ikea finds soon.

Another Mom Blog!

Welcome to Maxwell Grace!

 I am a stay-at-home mom of 11 month old twins trying to navigate my way through the wonderful and often crazy times of raising twins. My hope is to share with you some things that I have learned along the way.

Twins at 5 months