The USA to UK: Favorite Baby Products Edition! { NB-3 MONTHS }

These are a few of my favorite things...

Surviving the first 3 months with a baby (or two) can be hard (or damn near impossible)!  I remember feeling like I had ran a marathon by the end of the day trying to feed, change, entertain, and love two babies.  I know all moms can relate to that feeling!  The feeling of pure exhaustion and happiness as you stare at your new sleeping babes (wait, shouldn't I be sleeping now too?)  Here are some of our FAVORITE baby products that we used to help us make those first few months a little easier!

Breastfeeding Pillow

If you are wanting to breastfeed your baby I PROMISE you will want a breastfeeding pillow.  Mine here, is the Twins Breastfriend Pillow, and it worked wonders for us!  It made it so I could easily tandem feed my twins!  Best part about it, it even has a pocket for water, snacks, and remote!  Did I mention the back support?  It supports your lower back well but I would add a pillow behind me so I wasn't so hunched over.  I promise breastfeeding is back breaking!  This pillow is high tech you guys!  I seriously had to "buckle" myself in.  These will always be moments that I never EVER want to forget!  Find a pillow that works for you and baby, obviously this tandem feeding pillow isn't for everyone, BUT they same brand has a pillow for one baby!  I HIGHLY recommend!  It comes with the back support (it even looks better, WHAT!) and a pocket!  I forgot to mention that this fabric is so forgiving with ANY of those pesky milk stains! Lets just do the math and say I used this thing 6 times a day, which I DID, for 3 months, which I DID that means I used this pillow AT LEAST 540 times. Worth every penny spent!  Just kidding, it was a gift and like the BEST one ever!  Sadly the twins are too big and wild for my pillow now.  Luckily I have a recliner that does the trick!


Twins Pillow
https://www.amazon.com/My-Brest-Friend-Deluxe-Nursing/dp/B0032Z81M4/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1486054874&sr=8-1&keywords=twins+breastfeeding+pillow

Single Pillow
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HZI1R2?ref_=ams_ad_dp_asin_2&th=1

Rock N Play

These things!!! Oh man, they are brilliant!  My twins slept in them for almost 6 months!  Up until the point I found them unsafe (picture below) because one of my girls would sit up in it! We decided we better make the transition to their crib!  I would cart these things from my bedroom so they were close at night, to the living room during the day for naps, to the shade outside for fresh air, and everywhere else you can imagine!  They are lightweight.  They offer an elevated support which was so nice for when they would spit up in the night!  I didn't worry so much about them chocking.  They didn't take up too much space, had a soothing vibrate setting, and I didn't even mention my greatest discovery with these things of ALL TIME! Moms of Multiples... I am talking to you!  When you put one leg over the top of the other one, you can rock them both at the same time!  Life changing!  Whether you need one, two, three, or even four of these things (heaven help you) they are a must have in my book!

These are the ones I have used:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/24537736?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227018259028&wl0=&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=40331662472&wl4=pla-59280797731&wl5=9029883&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=24537736&wl13=&veh=sem

Here is a gender Neutral one I still have in the box!
https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-SnugaMonkey-Special-Newborn-Sleeper/dp/B00N9ZD276/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486055541&sr=1-1&keywords=monkey+rock+n+play

Muslin Blankets and Swaddles

My girls weren't the best swaddlers.  I thinks because they would wiggle their way out and we just didn't have the time or patience to keep two babies swaddled through out the night.  I mean, I didn't have the patience because Lord knows my husband wasn't waking up!  I would swaddle them up before nap time, or bed time but they would wiggle out their fingers and toes.  If I had been sharing a bedroom meant for one with another person, I would probably want to stretch out a little bit too.  So by the time they were 8 weeks old we didn't really fight the swaddling anymore and then they grew to hate it!  Which is fine because once they started rolling over, which was surprisingly early for one of my twins, I didn't want to keep them swaddled anymore.  We would still leave these draped over top of them because they are lightweight and breathable.  They were perfect for tummy time or even to clean up projectile vomit (don't judge).  They clean up nicely and haven't seemed to fade!  We will probably still use them this spring and summer when the twins are over a year old.  They are that good!

I may just have to buy these for Valentine's!! 
https://www.amazon.com/SPECIAL-Blankets-Beautiful-Packaged-Exclusive/dp/B01JBU5XAG/ref=sr_1_11_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486055616&sr=1-11&keywords=muslin+swaddle+blankets

Gender Neutral!
https://www.amazon.com/ideal-makers-anais-Piece-Swaddle/dp/B01D52HV4M/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486055792&sr=1-7&keywords=aden+and+anais

Activity Mat

My girls loved this thing!  They would both fit under there and play with anything dangling in sight, or just learn how to maneuver their arms and legs!  It was so cute to see them both kicking and squealing in delight!  I would let them play independently (well as independent as twins get) for as long as they would let me get something else done.  Super lightweight, cleaned up nicely after a lot of spit ups, and helped make tummy time not such a chore! 

Both of these are UNDER $20!!

Ours is VERY similar to this one, unicorn and all!
https://www.amazon.com/Infantino-Sparkle-Explore-Activity-Unicorn/dp/B00VXMXW40/ref=sr_1_23_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486055860&sr=1-23&keywords=activity+mat+pink

Gender Neutral!
https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-3-in-1-Musical-Activity-Gym/dp/B00NFETB9Y/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486055952&sr=1-2&keywords=activity+mat

Bouncer

Same thing as before!  Great for entertainment and learning about their arms and legs!  I had one twin who LOVED this thing.  She would get it bouncing so hard and fast it would squeak and she would squeal! Sometimes even rock herself to sleep! I would trade off between this and the mat.  My swing didn't rock them hard enough to make them fall asleep really, it was hand-me down and I had enough baby crap filling up my house so we survived without!  So instead Molly has a great one that she uses!

https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Little-Snugapuppy-Deluxe-Bouncer/dp/B00CZFAZGM/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1486058533&sr=1-4&keywords=bouncer

Graco Glider

This is probably my top life saver product at the moment. Aria loves to be moved. Loves it! Bounced, rocked, patted, anything so this swing is perfect! It has 6 gliding speeds, 10 classical music songs and 5 nature sounds ranging from water rushing (my favourite) to a heartbeat. It also comes with a detachable bar with two soft dangling toys on which I'd taken off for this photo because she was asleep. I put my own rattle toys on it because she likes to reach out and hit them. I bought this swing in the baby sale event at Smyths.  I'd definitely recommend this product as it calms Aria right down and she is a difficult baby to soothe.

(http://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/baby/c-632/baby-swings/p-12225/graco-glider-swing-benny-bell/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAzsvEBRDEluzk96e4rqABEiQAezEOoMz6olTgqBa4kn3wAuFiy3YAZlo8ZaJTEGWEK5md27EaAnLt8P8HAQ 

GroHush Baby Calmer

This is one of the presents my mum got me for Aria and it's amazing. I mean it's from the Gro Company so obviously you can tell it's worth getting but it really is fabulous. It's just a little white noise pebble. It has a super soft comfy cushion holder that you put on it and it rest it by the babies head. You can choose from 3 sounds, a heart beat, rain on a tin roof or ocean waves (which is mine and Aria's fave). It turns itself off after 10 mins which is both a blessing and curse but it's just perfect for white noise to get babies to settle down.

Chicco Rainbow Cube

I've talked about this marvelous creation over on my blog previously so it had to go in the top life saving products for me. She's had this since she was in hospital and it's just got everything a baby needs before they can actually play. It has 4 sides with different shapes for the lights to shine through. There's hearts, stars, clouds and a light diffuser side. On the bottom, there's a dial to either choose one colour or set it to colour change. AND it plays music! It plays some nice classical tunes and some frogs and crickets noises. Again it's another thing that chills her out, she loves these sensory type things!

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Little Angels baby products

So these aren't all the Little Angels things I own but at the moment these are the best! They are from ASDA which you guys don't have in America I think you guys have Wal-Mart instead. Their nighttime bath and moisturizer is probably my utmost favourite because it just smells amazing. The vapour bath is also brilliant, it was recommended to me from a friend because her baby gets snuffly and it helps to clear her chest up. Actually this was the product which turned me on to little angels products in the first place as Aria has really sensitive skin due to her prematurity so usually I don't put anything in her bath, but these are just perfect for sensitive skin babies and they smell fabulous. I just can't rave about them enough! 

MAM

So the best dummies (binkies) in the world as I've already said are MAM and recently I've tried the MAM self sterilizing bottles which are a god send! I cant believe I put off trying them because I thought she wouldn't like them, I mean when she was tiny they would've been too big for her tiny mouth, but now they're perfect for her. It separates completely into 6 different sections to make it really easy to clean and then you fill the base with 20mls of water, pop the teat on top of the base, screw the bottle midsection over it all and place the lid on top then throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes! And hey presto, you've got yourself a sterile bottle ready for use! MAM have really thought of everything, if only they invented preemie teats.

The Year I Became a Mother

This year was one I will never forget.  It was full of lessons of life, love, and selflessness.  The year began while I was pregnant with twin girls and we were full of wonder at the thought of soon being parents.  I have started this blog post over and over again.  rewriting and erasing what I have wrote.  I wanted to write something that would capture all the moments of growth and lessons of this year.  Something for myself to read back on and appreciate just how far I have grown as an individual, wife and mother.  I also wanted to relate to all the new or soon to be mothers out there.  If you gave birth to a beautiful baby boy or girl, CONGRATULATIONS!  You just experienced one of the most beautiful years of your life.  I gave birth to two precious baby girls and cannot believe how much I have learned becoming their mother.

 This year I learned that I could love someone I had never met.

 I felt a tiny human, or two, dancing around inside me and I loved them both so much.  I wanted to protect them, and so started my lessons of selflessness.  Such as not TOO hot of baths or caffeine.  I am a caffeine-aholic so putting these two humans lives above my own, that was a lesson I learned early on.  In all honesty, I cannot believe how fast I let go of any and all things that were possibly threatening to my twins.  I realized I had this will power I didn't know was inside me!  Little to no caffeine.  No hot baths.  No alcohol.  No cold sandwiches.  The list goes on and on!  Thanks to this year, and my two baby girls, I learned that I could put someone else before myself.  I was able to be important to someone.  Responsible to someone.  A job that most parents do not take lightly.  It was an emotion, a love that I had never experienced before.  Any of you mothers reading this understand.  Your child comes before anything, before you even meet them!  You would give your left arm to hold them in your right.  I honestly did not know I was capable of such a love, but the moment I heard two perfect heartbeats, I was consumed by love for two perfect strangers.

This year I learned I was more maternal than I thought.

Two humans, that I grew at the same time, were placed in my arms!  I had never been a mother before, I felt unprepared and uneducated for the job title.  I have never been responsible for anyone but myself.  I have killed way too many houseplants and goldfish and should have passed a test to be parent.  But, there I was.  Sobbing like a baby holding two brand new screaming infants and kind of freaking out.  One thing reassured me though, I recognized these two babies right away.  I knew I was their mom and they were mine forever.  We somehow felt like old friends and I realized they were not strangers after all!  While this was a nice reassurance, I was still scared to leave the hospital. While my husband was sleeping, and couldn't be woke, I was able to call a nurse to pass me my babies because I was so sore, or help me latch better.  I had women on call who would calm one baby while I was nursing the other, or feed one baby colostrum from a syringe while I nursed the other.  It was round the clock feedings and changes.  Like literally.  But once we got home and I was able to be in my own environment, I was amazed at how comfortable it felt.  I could scoop up one and then the other, get comfy on my giant breastfeeding pillow and cuddle both to sleep all by myself.  Who was I?  I felt like Supermom!  Now putting two infants down when they were so tiny and fragile...?  Not going to happen.  I was sometimes stuck somewhere for 2 hours!  I was running on little to no-sleep, was on pain killers, dealing with the pain of breastfeeding and incision pain.  How was I even functioning??  Thanks to all those wonderful post-birth hormones I was able to stay up for hours on end and function when I felt like I shouldn't be able to!

This year I learned I do not need a full night rest.

Like I mentioned before, to say I was sleep deprived would be an understatement.  I think I stayed up for 48 hours straight at the hospital because I had the twins at 9:30 PM.  I felt like I needed a full 24 hours of sleep to recover from major surgery and caring for two needy nurslings, but I also felt a weird surge of energy when I needed it most!  This stage of sleep deprivation drug on for longer than I hoped, but I learned about the power of nap.  When I got home from the hospital I immediately laid in bed and shut my eyes.  An hour and a half later I head a baby cry from the living room where my husband and family were.  I instantly jumped up feeling refreshed and new.  Who knew a little bit of rest could do that to a person?  I ran on small naps through out the day and night to keep me going for  the next few months.  I honestly look back with pure amazement at myself and how I even survived.

This year I learned how important rest is.

You may be questioning me right now because this lesson is opposite from the last, and I am questioning myself too.  Don't worry!  As a new mom I am always questioning myself, and most of you are nodding in agreement.  Also, as a new mom to twins I found myself tired and emotional.  If I hadn't had enough sleep, I was worse than a hungry, tired toddler!  I did not know this about myself, and it was shocking to see the way little sleep made me act!  I have always been easy to wake up.  I normally start the morning out singing and smiling.  Settling into my routine and planning the day.  But, with newborn twins and little steam I found myself listening to babies cry while tears stung my own eyes.  Laying in bed I would tell myself I was so exhausted.  I did not want to wake again to nurse two crying infants and rock them back to sleep.  I wanted someone to take care of me and swaddle me, rock me, feed me, burp me.  Refer to the tired toddler metaphor.  It is so embarrassingly spot on!  I would sometimes start the day out crying and overwhelmed and I had no idea why.  Was it postpartum depression?  Maybe a little.  Was it sleep-deprivation? Entirely!  I learned on those days, I needed a nap.  I would sleep when the twins did, or at least lay in bed if my mind wouldn't shut off.  The housework could wait and who needed a shower anyway, right?!  With a little more sleep I found I was able to be a better mom.  I wasn't so emotional and overwhelmed, and could see past my temporary problems.

This year I learned everything is temporary.

My 8 month old twins wake up at 6:30 AM every morning!  Do you want to know how I get myself out of bed??  I tell myself they will go down for a nap in a couple hours, and they do every time!  Do you want to know how I survived cracked, sore nipples from breastfeeding twins every two hours??  I told myself it was temporary and things would soon get better and easier.  Guess what?  Things did get better and easier.  Everything in life, sadly is temporary.  The moment I had the twins, I missed feeling them from the inside.  I missed being pregnant!  When I decide we are done nursing, I will instantly miss that too.  They want to be held and cuddled to sleep, while it is harder with two babies, I will do that!  Because soon they will be too busy for snuggles.  They will be too big to breastfeed.  They won't rely on their dad or me for help, and I will truly miss that.  So all you mothers reading this, repeat this sentence ten times if necessary.  "Everything is temporary."  It has saved me more times than I can count!  It is one important lesson I am glad I learned and can accept.  I try and apply it into my every day, multiple times a day.  Lord knows I need reminders when I have two crying babies!

This year I learned being a wife is hard.

Taking on the role of mother was a scary thought.  I tried to prepare myself in so many ways.  I remember watching so many labor stories, reading about moms who have twins and what to expect.  What I did not prepare for was my role as wife after a new title was thrown in the mix.  I remember feeling so out of touch with my husband.  Writing this now, seems odd because we are so happy and worked through this rough patch, but I remember thinking I missed him even though he was in the room.  I wanted to just hug him and cry and tell him how much I loved him and needed him, but there felt like this great distance between us.  I don't know where it came from.  Maybe just my focus being on my girls and not on him, but one day realized there was a problem and I didn't know how to fix it.  I felt so many new emotions trying to figure out why I was distant from my husband.  He worked so hard for us and our family.  That's what I loved most about him but also what I hated most.  I was drowning in diapers and tears from 3 girls (mine included) while I tried to learn how to best manage two babies.  I found myself resentful that he didn't know my struggles.  That he wasn't around to help more.  One night I laid in bed and just starting crying next to him.  He asked what was wrong and pulled me close.  Suddenly the barrier I put up was gone.  I missed him.  I wanted to laugh with him and talk with him and play with him like we used to.  I missed us and we both agreed things needed to change.  Date nights now occur monthly.  He does more with the twins and is home earlier a few nights a week.  I can honestly say that we have grown stronger from our struggles.

This year I learned I am capable of so much.

At one time my body held three heads, three hearts, and six arms and legs!  How??  I became large and uncomfortable and mentally I was done, but my body was stronger than I thought.  I had twins that were born at almost 37 weeks.  No NICU time and we came home a family of four.  I learned to breastfeed two babies at the same time.  Carry two babies at the same time.  Hold two babies at the same time and carry more than an arm full. (Bumbo's, two carseats, diaper bag, purse, etc.)  I am a wide load and need warning noises for when I come through!  I can be a nurse, a rocket ship, a mother, a wife, a daughter, noise maker, photographer, housemaid, chef, and rockstar all in one day.  Mothers are strong.  Even if you stay home all day, with no "real work" (I'll punch someone who says that), you have a million job titles to uphold.  You are strong.  You are capable.  I hope you all get to experience such a pride in yourselves over the jobs you are able to take on, and the beautiful children you raise.  It isn't prideful all the time.  I still wipe butts all day, every day.  Not much pride in that!

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

I say goodbye to this year with tears in my eyes.  2016 was a year that is so bittersweet to say goodbye to.  The year I became a mother.  A job title that will stay with me for the rest of my life.  I learned so much and am so grateful to be the mother to two perfect girls made for me.  I wish you all the best of luck in the New Year.  May it be filled with lessons of love and life.  Thanks for following along on my blog.  I hope to share more posts soon!