baby gear hits and misses

Now that the girls are 3 months (!) old, I figured it would be time to review some of the baby gear that I obsessively researched purchased. With baby gear, you name it... we probably have it. My philosophy was if it might be helpful, we should go ahead and buy it... and thankfully that has worked for the most part- we have had more hits than misses.

Hit List:

Chicco Keyfit Car Seat

This car seat was one of our first major purchases for the girls. We have been very pleased with them- they are incredibly user friendly... all you have to do is secure the base, and then the seat snaps right in. They must be fairly comfy too, because Audrey and Claire are always happy in their car seats.

Baby Trend Snap and Go Stroller:

Baby trend has been awesome. The car seats sits right on the stroller- it is so simple to use. Some reviews mentioned that the Chicco Isn't compatible but we have not had any problems.

Baby Bjorn babysitter

This bouncer is awesome we have a older model than what is pictured, but it works great. Ours has a toy bar that Audrey loves to play wirh

Baby Bjorn Carrier

Being able to carry one of the girls hands free has been a lifesaver. If only there was a twin version available.

Ergo Baby Carrier:

What this carrier lacks in beauty it makes up for in functionality. It is super comfortable, and the baby can be worn in a front, hip, or back carry. Sure, it looks like I'm wearing a fat suit, but a small price to pay for happy babies.

Rock and Play Sleeper

This is one of our most used items... if you are expecting it should definitely be on your must have list! The girls nap in this all the time- we have even used it as an extra set of hands during feedings. We have a bassinet that we love and find useful, but if you are short on space the RNP could most definitely replace the bassinet.

Snugabunny Swing

This swing is magic- whenever Claire or Audrey seem a bit fussy we put them in the swing and it puts them in a trance...they usually just fall asleep. Plus this is one of the few swings on the market that doesn't require batteries.

Misses:

Bright Starts Swing

The girls only tolerate this swing on rare occasion. Plus it just seems down right dinky compared to the Snugabunny.

Aprica Play yard.

The play yard definitely has a lot going for it- it is attractive, and very easy to set up. However, those features came with a hefty price tag. We ended up buying a second Graco pack n play for about $50- in hindsight we would have been better of skipping the spendy Aprica and going right to two Gracos.

Little Lamb Infant Seat

This received rave reviews and was on the must have list of many blogs, however the girls hate it. All it does is vibrate and play music, so it is very boring in comparison to our bouncers (yes, I have 3 others) that actually bounce.

first day back at work

The only bad part of my first day at work was Claire's outfit:
 
It was a lot of fun to be back at work- I am so fortunate to work for a family-friendly company. My best advice for having a successful first day of work is to approach it with a positive attitude (having a job you love and are excited to go back to helps too). 

a day in the life

Now that the girls are two months old and we have a routine down I figured it would be time to post about a day in our life. Thankfully we have lots of helpers- life wouldn't go as smoothly without the extra help!

7:30 am- Claire is up and talking. I go in and get her ready for her feeding. Audrey is asleep, so I contemplate doing the feeding by myself, but my brother Andrew heard that we were awake and came upstairs to help.

8:00 am- Try make waffles for breakfast, but realize I drank the last of the milk. Whoops. Decide on scrambled eggs instead. Andrew goes to change Audrey while I'm making breakfast and discovers that she has a poopy diaper- he does everything except for poop, so I abandon the eggs, change Audrey, and give her a quick bath. After that is taken care of, I go back to the eggs. Since I'm going for the wife of the year award, I bring Justin breakfast in bed... but he decides he would rather sleep than eat.

9:00 am- Shower and get ready for the day. Andrew is on baby duty. Go downstairs and discover that one of the dogs had an accident... oh well, I'm a pro at poop clean up these days, so it is only a minor annoyance.

10:00 am- Tummy time for Audrey and Claire. Andrew gets ready to go home, Justin wakes up.

10:15 am- Feeding time again. I tackle this feeding on my own, because Justin needs to get some coffee before he is fully functional.

10:45 am- Diapers are changed and it is time for naps. Audrey naps in her bouncer, Claire is a little fussy so she goes in the Baby Bjorn. Justin and I take the opportunity to do some cleaning and finish up our taxes. I bitterly write our checks to the US Treasury and State of North Dakota... oh well, next year our tax situation will be much better.

1:00 pm- Feeding time. Afterwards Audrey hangs out in the Baby Bjorn and Claire naps in the bassinet. Justin runs to the grocery store.

3:30 pm- Feed the girls once again. Then load them up in their car seats for our outing to get my new iphone (yay!). The girls do great on their outing- Audrey is a little fussy on the car ride there, but settles down and sleeps the whole time we are in the store.

5:00 pm- Have supper (pizza bread... which is so yummy!) and hang out with the girls.

6:00 pm- Leave for my Moms of Multiples meeting. Arrive at the mall a bit early, so I have time to stop at The Limited (I have a coupon for $20 off a purchase). Find an awesome pair of pants and sweater on the clearance rack, so I score big and get the ensemble for $14! Justin feeds the girls when I am gone.

9:00 pm- Arrive home from meeting just in time for the girls' next feeding. Get the girls bundled in their sleep sacks, read them a story, and say goodnight.

9:30 pm- Bedtime for everyone.

2:30 am- Claire and Audrey wake up for a feeding- Justin and I are impressed that they made it over 5 hours

5:30 am- Time for another feeding. Everyone is back in bed by 6:00 am.

8:00 am- Girls wake up and Claire is super hungry and crabby. We quick get her a bottle and she is once again our happy little girl. Audrey is a little bit more patient and even allows Justin to stop mid feeding and get some coffee.

well-baby visit

Claire and Audrey had their 2 month well-baby visit today. They did great- both are growing appropriately. Claire was 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long (she was around the 3rd percentile for both height and weight). Audrey weighed in at 9 lbs 13 oz (13th percentile) and 21.5 inches long (11th percentile).

Both girls received their immunizations and did great! The nurse said that they were the most content 2 month olds she had given shots to- both girls let out a bit of a scream after the first shot, but then settled down right away. The doctor warned us that shots are always worse for the parents, but there were no tears from us... hopefully we can set the stage and make doctor appointments a pleasant experience. We are lucky that we have a great pediatrician- Justin and I definitely clicked with her, she is very easy to talk to and answers all of our crazy questions without making us feel silly.

two months

It is hard to believe that Audrey and Claire are already two months old- time certainly flies by. The girls have well baby checks later this week- we are excited to see how much they have grown. I predict that Claire is around 8 pounds and Audrey around 10 (Justin thinks they are 9lbs and 11lbs...we'll see who has the closer guess).

Happy Easter!

We enjoyed a laid back Easter holiday and celebrated with Grandma Lu. Justin made quiche for brunch (delicious!). The Easter Bunny brought Claire and Audrey books... we love that their library is always growing!

The girls wore dresses for the first time today. Now that they are older we've been having fun putting them it cute outfits versus wearing sleepers all day long. They already have a rather extensive wardrobe... it is a good thing that Claire still wears newborn sized clothes, because there are a few newborn tops that haven't been worn yet... that will be our project for this week!

nursery

I realized I haven't posted much on the nursery. I'm very happy with how it all came together. Our biggest splurge was the pottery barn bookshelf... but I'm loving it so far! It holds all sorts of books and toys.

What the changing station looks like... my mom made the basket

A woven basket hides in the corner and holds toys and blankets. It is nice to have a place to corral everything.