A Seriously Great Baby Monitor
I’m all about a bargain, sales at the grocery means it’s time to stock up, hand me down baby clothes, toy scores on Craig’s list or yard sales, but there is one thing that I couldn’t be happier with even though we spent a hefty sum on it, our baby monitor. I LOVE out baby monitor. It’s the Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor
Not my baby
It’s the greatest monitor, why?, because I can see my babies breathing through it. Babies are pretty resilient little things but for some crazy reason us new moms worry constantly about our babies just stopping breathing. So it’s nice to be able to press the zoom button and see your baby’s chest rising and falling. Then you can sleep easy for another hour until thy start crying or don’t, so you get worried that they stopped breathing again.
We got two cameras, one for over each crib, it’s how we remembered who we were looking at when they first came home, Talia (baby a) was camera # 1 and Jordan (baby b) was camera # 2. Because we take them with us when we travel they are always getting mixed up now and we just can’t be bothered to switch them out, so we just remember which is which.
Since we are always taking them with us places we stick them to the wall using command removable strips rather than drilling holes into the walls. I’m really glad we choose to do it this way because we recently had to move the monitors when the babies started standing in their cribs and could reach up and pull them off the wall.
They started out centered over each crib. This worked great for the first nine months. ( the camera on the right, over Jordan’s crib is pointed towards Talia’s crib because we had just come back from a trip and Talia’s wasn’t working for some reason.)
The cord hung straight down the wall next to the crib, which is great for babies that can’t move.
Not so much for babies that can stand and pull cords.
So each monitor got moved way to the side, out of arms reach. It’s a bit mor difficult to see the girls if they are sleeping against the side of the crib closest to the camera but when this happens I can usually angle the other camera to see that baby.
Just because you have twins does not mean you have to buy the second camera. Placing one camera between the two cribs and moving it back and as needed will work just fine. Then when babies start crawling just move the camera to the other side of the room so you can see both of them at once.
What monitor do you use? Would you recommend it?
Happy Friday! I hope you have a great weekend!
North Georiga Apple Picking
We had a great weekend, jam packed of fun things to do with babies. Family pictures first thing Saturday, then to a birthday party for a one year old friend, our neighbor Vetta came over to play before dinner.
Talia was really excited about the birthday girls gifts.
The girls were really sweet to our neighbor. Vetta is exactly three months younger but she is the same size!
On Sunday we organized with our friends Ella and Livia and their moms and dads to go apple picking in North Georiga, Elijay to be exact. There are about a dozen orchards in Elijay, we choose to go to Hillcreast because of all the activities they have other than picking apples. Big kids can jump on the trampoline, there is live music, a giant slide, tractor cart rides, a petting farm with baby chicks and goats, and pig races! We spent most of day under a shady apple tree enjoying the perfect weather of the first day of fall.
We headed back south to the city just in time for the girls naps. It’s about an hour and half drive so they were able to sleep the whole time! As an extra fun weekend bonus we were invited to dinner at our friends house who also have two young kids. One the menu spaghetti bolanase. Warning: do not feed your children spaghetti bolanase while clothed, unless you want to throw away the clothes.
What do you do with four kids under four covered in red spaghetti sauce? Throw them all in the bath!
Hanging out with these babies is just getting more and more fun every day. The sad part, they are becoming less and less babies and more little girls, everyday.
Family Photo Session ~ Sneak Peak
Top ten worst pregnancy symptoms
(And weight gains not even on the list)In this order …
1)Bell’s palsy
2)Carpal tunnel
3)Puppps
5)Acid reflux
6)Morning sickness
7)Abdominal separation
8)Swelling
#1Bells Palsy
Bells Palsy is the diagnosis you receive when you have unexplained facial paralysis. Five days pp, my first morning back home with our newly expanded family I was eating a breakfast of cereal and strawberries with milk when I noticed my lips felt awkward as I took each bite. First I looked at my reflection in my spoon and saw that the right side of my face seemed to droop. I knew that a droopy face was a symptom of a stroke so I was scared, I asked my husband if he thought my face looked strange, he did. I ran to get clothes on and we got in the car to go back to the hospital, it was 8:45am. I wasn’t taking any chances, a stroke left untreated can cause permanent damage. The babies stayed home with the baby nurse we had staying with us for a few weeks.
On the way to the hospital I got in touch with my doctor who told me to go back to labor and delivery, there was a nurse waiting for me, she looked at my face and told me to go to the ER, we did, quickly. The doctor came and saw me quickly and eliminated the diagnosis of a stroke, and said it was most likely Bell’s palsy. The facial paralysis caused by this disorder make it impossible to smile with that side of your face or close your eye. I could still open my eye but not re-close it unless I did it manually, as in push my lid down with my finger. The cause of Bell’s palsy is mostly unknown but many people get it after childbirth, particularly C-sections or any trauma with high blood loss. Some say it’s brought on by stress, I had all three. They kept me for observation all day, until about 4pm. I was so frustrated, I wanted to be home feeding my babies. They did every test in the world and gave me a prescription for Prednisone. I was told to use eye drops to keep my eye moisturized since I was unable to blink, wear my glasses and wait. My mom had friends who had Bell’s palsy and had taken a round of Valtrex since Bell’s Palsy is in the same family, the next day I started this medication and I waited. Bells palsy is not painful, but the emotional toll it takes is indescribable. Not being able to smile when you feel happy only makes you sadder, not knowing when it will end is frustrating to say the least. I read online some facial exercises that some people say helped them and that taking vitamin b complex could help, I did both of these. I hated taking photos, I hated that I hated taking photos since these were my babies first days. I hated looking at the photos. I found a few online groups of people suffering from Bel’ls Palsy, some people just told their story and asked for encouragement, some gave suggestions, others told stories of recovery. It was uplifting to read stories of recovery. I just had to hope that like the carpal tunnel this too would reverse it’s self. Four weeks later I started to see improvement and after five weeks I was completely recovered, like nothing had ever happened. But that is a time that I will never forget. I don’t know what made it go away, some doctors say that the faster you start the medications after it’s onset the faster and more likely a complete recovery is, so if you or anyone you knows gets this get Prednisone, Valtrex and vitamin B-12 complex (available at health food stores ASAP).
Carpal tunnel is caused by the median nerve that runs through your wrist being constricted by swelling(see pregnancy symptom #9). It started out as a numbness in my pointer finger, around my fifth month. I could feel my finger but I couldn’t feel textures when I touched things, over a few days it spread to my thumb and middle finger. At night my hands would go numb, I would wake up from the pain. I was advised to wear wrist guards at night to help keep my wrists straight to keep the blood flowing. Some doctors recommend to wear the wrist guards all the time and some say only at night, wearing them during the day doesn’t help. I found that some days it help and some days they didn’t. The numb sensation tuned into more of hyper sensitivity to textures, brushing crumbs from a counter felt like sand paper, running my finger through my hair felt like scraping them across razors. Quickly the uncomfortableness in my fingers turned to throbbing pain in my hands, mostly my right, but eventually my left just as badly. Imagine your hand in a vice all day and all night. I found that holding frozen ice packs wrapped in a paper towel helped to relive the pain, I had about 10 that I would rotate throughout the day. At first I would alternate hands, but by my seventh month the pain was too much. I could no longer hold anything but ice packs, in both hands, all the time. I even slept with ice packs or frozen water bottles at night, I would wake up from the pain when they were no longer cold.After the girls were born the symptoms quickly started to reverse them selves. By the second day pp I no longer needed the ice packs, the pain subsided after about a week, and within two months all the normal sensation came back to my fingers. My hands and wrists still ache sometimes more than others but it is no more than sore shoulders or an achy back.
I was not one of those women who just loved being pregnant. Being pregnant was an uncomfortable nightmare. I even said to my sister that if I had to be pregnant for every kid I wanted two would be the limit. I didn’t forget all the aliments and pain as soon as the girls were born, I don’t think I ever will. But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat for my two little peanuts. I wonder what another pregnancy will be like, just as bad, I hope not. I just hope, if it is, I have twins again!
Early Birthday Party!
We went to North Carolina this past weekend to spend the Jewish New Year with my family. It’s always fun to go to my parents house and hangout for a few days. We also got to see lots of extended family and friends. Since it will be a while before we are with so many cousins at once my mom wanted to throw a little early birthday party for the girls. So we had party hats, plates and bran muffins with whip cream and chocolate sprinkles. The girls mastered the cake smash the first time. I’m so proud of them. They also seam to really like bran muffin an they really liked the whip cream. They licked it all off the top before starting on the muffin.
Good little eaters
We have really good eaters. Yes, it takes some coaxing when a new food is presented but with a little time and patience these two little buggers will eat pretty much anything.
We still stay mostly away from foods that require those chomped teeth in the back to really break down, but even when we do feed them these tougher foods we either cut them tiny enough to swallow whole, about a quarter inch square or they just spit out what they can’t break down.
We always give them a sippy cup of water with each meal or snack. It’s easy to forget that babies need to drink their water too. They are still too young to ask for it.
We have learned that the babies eat fine when we feed them by themselves but they eat and sit so nicely when we eat with them and even more so when there are other children at the table. They are mesmerized by other kids, it really fun to watch.
11 Months
Talia and Jordan yesterday you are now 11 months old. I’m not going to tell you how sentimental I feel about this being the last month of your first year I’ll save that sap for your birthday post. I just want to brag about all the new amazing things you two have learned in this last month.
First, You both learned how to suck the puréed fruit directly from the to go pouches in under a minute! I am sure that I am starting some terrible habit by giving you these pouches while we are grocery shopping, but one, I feel bad because it’s usually dinner time when we are at the grocery store and it’s fun to see you two race to finish them.
You tried so many new foods this month, hearts of palm, kidney beans, lettuce, mozzarella and baby bell cheese. You eat almost anything we give you, except Tilapia and eggs, you just don’t like them. And that’s ok, because you love chicken. You also had Brazilian food and Thai food this month, two of our new favorite week night dinner out options.
We got a new deck behind our house because the old one was small and not safe for small children. This one is like a giant playpen, complete with a gate, so you have been spending lots of time outside.
I have, since you were born, tried not to wish away time by thinking wont it be nice when they can sit up or hold their own bottle or crawl or walk. But I do look forward to very soon watching you chase each other around the tree on the deck on your little riding toys. When you were tiny I would imagine two little girls standing by my feet reaching up with their little hands for me to pick them both up at once, and while you still need to hold on with one of your hands, we are there, and I love that you two do this. I have mastered picking you both up and carrying you around the house or out to the stroller at the same time.
You both stand balanced for sometimes up to thirty seconds and each of you has taken one or two steps on your own at least once, that I have seen. I learned that with twins, I may not always see you accomplish your first. This morning while I was changing Talias diaper, I saw Jordan out of the corner of my eye, when I turned around she was mid step two feet from the couch, but quickly fell to the ground, I didn’t see it but I know she took a step or two from the couch to when she landed. Such a big girl!
Talia you have the whole mechanics of walking down pat. Your new favorite game is hold hands and walk, you can just go, go, go. Now you just need to get your balance and you will be good to go all on your own.
One of the best things that you two do now is fall asleep, like champs. I don’t know if you are totally pooped or you have learned that we are not coming back to play so you might as well sleep, but you go to sleep every night with no crying, maybe a little whine when we put you in your crib, but as soon as we walk out of your room, there is silence. Talia you still wake up at night, if you scream long and loud enough that I think you might wake up Jordan I just have to pick you up, give you your pacifier and rock you a little, sometimes I have to change a wet diaper, but you are usually settled back in your crib in a few minutes. Jordan, you pretty much sleep all night, on occasion you wake up and want a little attention too, but it’s rare.
You both wake up around 5:45, sometimes earlier, ouch. When you get a bit older we are getting you a mini fridge so you can get your own milk. But until then up before the sun means you didn’t sleep enough, so three days a week I put you in the stroller and off we go for about 45 around the neighborhood. It’s an interesting feeling to see the stars, in the morning, because the sun hasn’t come up yet. I love this time of year, the air is the perfect temperature. Not hot, not cold, just perfect. The most exciting part of our morning walks, we get to see all the kids get on the school bus at exactly 6:55am. Then we watch the sun come up on our way home. You usually sleep for most of the walk and for another 15 or 20 minutes once we are home. The extra hour of sleep really helps you guys make it through the morning. Then we come home and eat breakfast, when abba come to the kitchen I go get ready then abba leaves and I play with you until Yael arrives.
And the last new thing for my big girls is big girl car seats! That’s right, no more baby buckets. You each have two new cars eats. Yes that’s right, we have purchased four convertible cars eats in the last month. We were able to purchase one with baby store gift cards we received, that was a huge help. We got two Britax Marathons for Yaels car and two Britax Boulevards for my car. I would have preferred all Boulevards but we got the Marathons at a really good price and the only difference is the side head support. Since the girls will only be in Yaels car for short trips and in my car for longer road trips I waunted them to have more head support so that when they fall asleep they don’t strain their neck.
We have fun things planned to do every weekend this month, there are lots of outdoor fairs and festivals, we have a few birthday parties to go to and some very special visitors are coming to play and celebrate your birthday with you. Your abba and I are working hard to get things around the house ready and I am stealing every spare moment I can planning and preparing for a Birthday party you will never remember and that I will never forget. We love you, your pretty smiles, your silly giggles, the games you play with each other and the ways you show us how much you love us back. Happy 11 months baby girls, you are amazing in every way.
p.s. I wonder when the day will come again that you will sit next to each other and both smile at the camera at the same time like you did when you were tiny.
Two and half years ago when we got married I registered for 16 place settings of beautiful fine china. It was Micheal Aram for Waterford.
I got most of it, about twelve place setting and all the serving pieces. I loved unpacking each of the boxes and carefully organizing the plates by size into the special china bags to store them in. Then before I had the babies I went to bed bath and beyond and ordered the remaining sets I had registered for. I knew that if I didn’t do it before the girls were born I never would. I still have yet to unpack those last four sets and 10 bowls. And part of me wishes I had all melamine dishes like those beautiful colorful ones in the photo above from an adorable little store in Jaffa called Sofie. You can find their adorable products on line here.
Se la vie. You live and you learn.
I’ll let you know when I get around I using the fine china I loved so much.
A lovely little calendar
I have been loving my owl desk calendar I created myself from a free download via A Typical Type A.If you want it tiny like mine just adjust the scale settings before you print.
I used different colors of washi tape to hang each page so I could just take it off at the end of the month, but you can also staple them all together or use a hole punch and loop some string through!
