Creating Memories of Your Twins

I recently discovered that Snapfish has started carrying some awesome Disney photo products! As the big Disney fan that I am, I created a photo book for each of of my twins with all the photos from the past year.

This has been a tradition in our house since they were two years old. Each year, at about this time (January/February) I go through all the pictures from the previous year and compile them in an awesome photo book for myself, and their grandparents. I always present them on Valentines Day as our little “We Love You” gift.

Before the monkeys were two, I would print the photos, buy photo albums, and watch dust collect on both piles, lol. THANK GOODNESS I smartened up and started creating photo books. As the kiddies got bigger I started adding text that they could read, and it became less of a photo album, and more of a story of their year.

"Once Upon A Time...."

This year, I spiced up our books a bit and used the Disney templates from Snapfish. I created a wonderful tale of Princess Anna who was captured by an evil villain (an alligator that we visited in Florida) and was rescued by her knight in shining armor, Johnny. The tale also told of all the “villages” she visited throughout the year like Florida, New Jersey, Grandma’s house and more.

"Johnny likes to go fast...."

For the little dude I made a cars album which told the story of a boy who liked to go F-A-S-T. ALL the time! He met a best friend along the way named Anna. His story included all the pit stops he made along the way, and the things we did there. It was awesome. Fun to make and fun to read.

These albums took me about an hour each to make (less if you choose to have Snapfish place the photos for you) but I got to tell a unique story about their year.  It was so much fun to do and I know that it will be a treasured keepsake in our family forever.

The price didn’t break the bank either. I was able to get three using a Snapfish Promo Code I found on their site which gave me three books for the price of one! GREAT deal. One for me, one for each set of grandparents! (I did buy another two, but didn’t get the discount. I always buy an extra for each twin so that they can have their own when they get older.)

There are many other great templates available for the holidays, travel, infants, and more. Check them out at today.

I hope you start a wonderful family tradition like this so that your photos don’t end up in dusty piles like mine have.

Good Luck!

-Nat

 

Getting your Preemies and Small Newborns home from the hospital

 

By: Alisa Baer, The Car Seat Lady

For an easy-to-print and most up to date version, click here.

Are you taking home a baby weighing less than 5 pounds? More than 1 in 10 parents take home a baby weighing less than 5 pounds. Many infant car seats have a starting weight of 5 pounds; only a few start at 4 pounds or less!

IMPORTANT: Some car seats come with newborn inserts. Car seats, and anything that comes in the box with the seat, have rigorous crash testing & standards they must meet. Products sold separately – like infant head/body positioners, fleece sleeping bags, strap covers, etc – are not regulated & do not have to pass any crash tests. Such “aftermarket products” should not be used as they will make your baby LESS SAFE, and will void the car seat’s warranty. NOTHING should be placed under your baby or under the straps. Once your baby is buckled snugly wearing a few thin layers of clothes, you can “swaddle” the baby OVER the straps to keep him calm, give extra support for his body, and keep him warm.

If your baby is born before 37 weeks or has a medical condition that may affect her breathing or ability to maintain her oxygen level, she will get a “car seat test”, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP).  During the car seat test, the baby will sit properly strapped into the car seat for 90 minutes to make sure that her heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels stay in a normal range. The AAP recommends that babies who “pass” their car seat test go home in a rear-facing car seat, NOT a car bed. Car beds should ONLY be used for infants who “fail” – i.e. they can not maintain their heart rate, oxygen level or breathing while in the car seat – as the protection provided by a rear-facing car seat is better documented than that for car beds.

Rear-Facing Infant Seats by Minimum Starting Weight

No Weight Minimum

* Combi – Shuttle 33, Navette✫

* Nania – Baby Ride✫ (model with 4 shoulder strap slots)

3 Pounds

* Combi – Coccoro (manufactured 8/2011 and newer)

4 Pounds

* Britax – B-SAFE (but will not fit until baby ~7lbs), Chaperone

* Chicco – Key Fit 22, Key Fit 30, Key Fit 30 Magic

* Cybex – Aton

* Evenflo – Secure Ride (some versions)

* Graco – Snug Ride 30, Snug Ride 35 (some versions)

* Orbit Baby – G2 Infant Car Seat

* Safety 1st – Comfy Carry, onBoard 35, onBoard 35 Air

5 Pounds

* Baby Trend – Flex Loc, EZ Flex Loc

* Evenflo – Discovery 5, Embrace 5, Serenade, Secure Ride (some versions)

* Graco – Snug Ride 22, Snug Ride 35 (some versions)

* Maxi Cosi – Mico

* Peg Perego – Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30

* Safety 1st – Designer

* Teutonia – t-Tario 35

* The First Years – Via i470

✫Combi Navette & Nania Baby Ride only available to institutions/agencies and only in multi-packs (3 or 4/box)

www.TheCarSeatLady.com (last update 1/12)

 

 

 

For other great tips regarding car seats visit: http://www.TheCarSeatLady.com

Two vs. One – Comparison of Twins to a Single

Do you ever wonder what the difference is between raising twins and a single baby?  As a first time Mom to twins, I often wondered what would be different if I only had one baby.  Here are some of the differences that I have noticed about my twins vs. my single baby.

Care:  It is a lot easier to care for one.  The level of exhaustion with newborn twins was over the top.  It took both of us in the beginning and we literally had 45 minutes of downtime between the end of the feeding process and the start of the next one.  With my single, there was no need to wake my husband for help and there was 1.5-2 hours of downtime between the end of a feeding and the start of the next one!  After the sleep deprivation boot camp that twins put me through caring for a single baby was barely a blip on the radar.

There are A LOT less diapers to change.  With twins the diaper trash was emptied every couple of days.  With our single we only have to empty once a week.

A lot less laundry!

You can travel lighter.  All of what you need will fit in a normal sized diaper bag.

Sleeping arrangements – the twins were in the same crib, always slept in their own room and were put down awake.  Putting a single baby in a big empty room and walking out was much more difficult!  Not to mention the twins woke up and ‘talked’ to each other while my single screams.

Scheduling:  Most twin moms agree that keeping your babies on a schedule is crucial.  There is nothing worse than TWO unhappy/crying babies.  I find that my single baby has a much more flexible schedule, mainly because it is not as overwhelming to hold and comfort/quiet one crying baby as it is two.  I can hold or wear one all the time and still get things done.

Sharing:  Twins start sharing in the womb.  They never have Mom all to themselves.  They have NO idea of what it is like to be ‘alone’.  The twins have always shared Mom with each other, they have had to wait their turn or share their time from the very beginning.

A single baby has the entire womb to themselves!  They have NO idea what it is like to share.  They are alone.  They must learn to share!

I think the best illustration of this is story time.  When I started reading to my twins there was one on each leg (or each lap as they see it).  When we started to read to our single he had the entire lap to himself.  When one of his sisters comes to share in story time he will literally try to push her out.  Our twins never even thought to try and get rid of each other.

Attention:  I do not recall my twins following me around the house wanting me to pick them up constantly.  They were more ‘independent’ even if it was as a team or perhaps because there were two.  My single on the other hand follows me around constantly asking to be picked up.

Do you have 1+2 or 2+1?  Do you agree or disagree with these differences?  Have any to add?  Please post your comments below.  We’d love to hear from you!

Danny Pudi – Now Eligible to Become a Twiniversity Member

Danny Pudi (Community) and his wife Bridget welcomed twins James Timothy and Fiona Leigh on Thursday, Jan. 12.   I wonder if they know that this means they are now eligible to join Twiniversity?  I wonder if they will.

The Redeye Chicago reported that Pudi said “The 1/4 Indian, 1/4 Polish, 1/2 Irish twins are keeping us busy and we’re loving every minute of it,” through his publicist.

During a December interview, Pudi said that his co-star in the NBC sitcom, Ken Jeong, was a good role model because he and his wife also have twins.  “When I watch him I’m like, ‘OK, I should be able to handle this,'” Pudi said. “But I don’t know, we’ll see. I mean he and his wife are doctors; we’re not.   So we’re going to be in for definitely some surprises.  “But I’m looking forward to it. It should be fun.”

Pudi tweeted “Daddyhood times 2! Thank you for all the well wishes. We couldn’t be more excited. Here’s to being pooped and peed on!”

Congratulations Danny and Bridget Pudi!

Hiring a Nanny – 7 Simple Tips

Awesome hat from zazzle.com

Are you finally ready for a little help? Well if you are considering hiring a nanny, here are some tips to get you on your way to finding the best fit for your family.

1. Figure out where you want to start looking. Are you using the classified section of your local twin club? Have you check the classified section of Twiniversity? Have you decided to put an ad on Craig’s List or some other local mommy website?
2. Create a job description. We’ve previously described what we have found to be some typical tasks for your nanny, but maybe you should expand on that. If you are writing a Want Ad you should include: salary, overtime, benefits (transportation money, cell phone, etc), raises and bonuses, etc. Lay it all out there so folks responding to your ad know exactly what they are getting in to. 

Does your baby have colic?

 

Natalie sat down with the legendary Dr. Sears, world renounced baby expert, to discuss the in’s and out’s of colic on Twiniversity Talks Radio.

 

If one baby wakes up to eat, do I wake up the other one?

(Question asked recently on our Twiniversity Facebook Page)

Q: “A lot of M.o.M.’s have recommended that when one of babies wakes up in the night, I should wake the other baby up to keep them on the same schedule. If you do this, how will you know if one baby is ready to start sleeping through the night before the other baby, or 6 hours instead of 3?”

Twiniversity says:

Well, let’s address these two questions separately. Your first question is: Do you wake one twin up when the other gets up for a night time feed?

January 2012 Super M.O.M of the month. Congratulations Bev Hales!

Twiniversity and  Bébé au Lait are proud to announce our first Super M.O.M. of 2012!

We would like to introduce you to Bev Hales.

Bev and her husband Ken have TWO sets of twins. 7 year old Ann Brooks and Caroline, and 4 year old Dean and Russ. Residing in Fayetteville, GA, Bev has been a stay at home mom for the last seven years but is currently transitioning back to the work place in the next few weeks.

Twiniversity actually received two nominations for Bev!

Typical Nanny Tasks For Any Family

We hope you find your own Super Nanny!

Q:”I’m starting to look for a nanny for my twins. What are typical tasks for a nanny? What can I expect them to do on a daily basis?”

A: Each family should define their own nanny’s responsibilities. Some prefer for a nanny to do more, others prefer to be more hands on, and have their nanny do less.

Either way some basic responsibilities of any nanny typically are:

• Taking care of the children’s clothing. Washing, sorting, folding, putting away of all their stuff. They can even choose the outfits for the children when they are not on duty.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

The Diaz Duo Celebrate Chinese New Year in school each year.

Gung Hay Fat Choy which directly translates to “Happy Spring”. This is what you would say to anyone celebrating Chinese New Year today.

 

The new lunar calendar beings today marking the start of the Year of the Dragon. If you go to school in Chinatown, like my twins do, you get the day off to celebrate. WOO HOO!

Yesterday, Sunday,  was a day traditionally set aside for honoring your elders. Spending the day with family is very common and taking part in other traditions like, opening all your windows and doors at midnight to let out the old year, are age old traditions in the chinese culture.

Today, New Years Day, it’s good luck to:

• Decorate your home in red (a very lucky color)
• Have a bowl of oranges and tangerines to signify good health & long life. Note: leave the tangerines with leaves intact if you would like to have more children. Doing this will signify long lasting relationships allowing you to be fruitful and multiply. Keep some persimmons around as well, these will bring you happiness and wealth.

Most families will also have a circular candy tray. Candy signifies sweetness and the roundness for togetherness.