Be Prepared...B-E- Prepared

One of the best things about preparing for the boys' arrival was getting their nursery ready. I loved thinking of the design - I had three in mind for all possible gender combination of twins - executing it and purchasing the furniture that would complete my vision. It was like getting married again when we got to go to Babies R Us to register for all the baby items we would need to welcome our little bundles of joy.

Even though I have two nephews, I was still a little overwhelmed by all the stuff I needed to register for. But I followed the guidelines given to us by the store and by various parenting magazines and basically went from there. We managed to get most everything on our registries, from the bath tub to socket blockers - we even got stuff we didn't register for that have come in handy like those clothing size tags that you hang in your closet that help you distinguish between 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc. and cloth diapers; not for what you think they're for since we're not using cloth diapers.

Now that the boys are here and it's been almost two months, here is a list, based off of my personal observations, of things that I think are essentials to the nursery and general life with the babies:
1) Baby Wipes Warmer - I know I've blogged about this before and I can't say it enough...what a life saver...you'd think the warmer would be great for winter months but it's been plugged in and it comes in SO handy at night when you don't want to shock the babies with cold wipes.

2) Little terry cloth squares - these are not the same as the wash cloths that look like face towels - these are slivers of terry cloth about 4 inches x 4 inches. We received these from an aunt and have they come in SUPER handy. We use these to wash the boys because they're so thin, it's easy to get into the baby crevices (those face towels are a little big for newborns). We also have these on the changing table to wipe up any spit up if we're changing them before they're fully digested. If you can't get your hands on these little terry cloth squares, just manage to have something on the changing table (like a box of tissues) to have handy for quick wipe ups and something to grab when pee starts flying everywhere, unexpectedly (and yes, it will happen).

3) Suction bulbs and tweezers - I was silly enough to register for a suction bulb. Thankfully I didn't get it but we got the hospital-issued ones which have become both handy and addictive at the same time. Addictive? Yes, because we like 'digging for gold.' Babies naturally get rid of their boogies by sneezing it out. We've found that our boys sound congested not because they have colds but because they have large boogies blocking their nasal passageways. In comes the suction bulb - hopefully you have a cooperative baby or you'll have to try and do this while they're sleeping....it's good fun suctioning out those big boogies. The tweezers are handy for when you get the boogie far enough forward that you can just go in and grab them with the tweezers because their holes are too small for adult fingers. Be aware of what will come out with the tweezers - that boogie may look small up there in their nose but once you pull it out, you might feel like you're pulling out a caterpillar or something...I swear I pulled out the biggest boogie I've ever seen the other day.

4) Multiple pacifiers - of the SAME kind. We started the boys on MAM pacifiers which they love (not an addictive type of love). I had other pacifiers (Purdue ones) but they seem to be for the older kid set. So in one of my many trips back to Babies R Us and Target, I was looking for additional pacifiers, to have back ups. I ended up buying Born-Free pacifiers. The boys don't like them. I think they'll only suck them under duress...otherwise, they're just lying around as 'last resort' back ups. I managed to purchase two more packs of MAM pacifiers for 2+ months since it was already week 6 of their lives when I figured out that we needed to stick to the same brand. This allows you to have the multiple back ups and no worries from the baby of 'tasting/feeling' something they're not use to.

5) Sleepers with AND without feet - you're going to receive a lot of baby clothes from friends and shower events. Lots of the outfits will be body suits (no pants) which is great for the overly warm summer months. But I have found that the best outfits to have the babies in for the first couple of months of life are sleepers - basically PJs. We got a few hand-me-downs from family and friends and were gifted with hardly any. After a couple of weeks, I found myself at Target and Carters purchasing more because these are quite simply the easiest things to put the babies in. They're not going to be doing much in the first few months other than sleep, eat and poop so why torture yourself trying to dress them up all cutesie (there will be PLENTY of time for that later) - keep it simple. It's also good to have variety - long sleeves and short sleeves with and without footies because I am finding that I keep one in sleepers without footies because he's a HOT baby (seriously, like a heater) and the other doesn't have great circulation so his feet tend to be cold.

6) Cloth diapers - we received these as a gift at one of our showers, not because we're using cloth diapers (and thank goodness we're not; see blog post titled 'Burn Baby Burn') but because my friend was gifted with cloth diapers as well - to use as anywhere drool/burping cloths. They've come in super handy. I keep a pile in the nursery and whenever it's feeding time, I take one off the pile and use it to wipe up spit up and formula. I use one a day and they're so easy to launder.

7) Multiple changing stations - if you live in a multi-level home, it's best to have multiple changing stations; preferably one on each floor. I had them all set up before the boys arrived but in the beginning, I still found myself climbing the stairs to their nursery to change them - it just seemed more 'permanent' I guess. But after those couple of weeks and more trips up and down the stairs than I care to discuss, I've learned to use the main level changing station - just have a box of wipes, diapers and butt ointment at the ready for any situation.

8) Multi-use disposable pads - this was another item we received at a shower that we didn't register for...but boy have we stocked up since. These are just disposable paper mats that you can take with you and put down anywhere - like on top of a changing pad, over your shoulder for burping or over the baby during feedings. We have boxes of it in the nursery for the changing table. We have a changing pad cover but we also have these disposable mats on top of that because when you experience explosions or 'leakage of poo', it's so easy to just wrap the diaper and the disposable mat up and discard instead of having to remove the changing pad cover to wash it. I only have two changing pad covers - so far, I've only had to wash each once....

9) Good stroller(s) - this isn't necessarily in the nursery but my goals in finding a stroller were that it was reasonably priced, durable, light, and will last for the next 3-4 years, at least. I brought my goals to a baby super store and thank goodness the person manning the stroller section was EXTREMELY knowledgeable. He had been selling strollers himself for over 13 years and he was also a father of two. He told me about all the women that come into the store looking for their third, fourth, and sometimes fifth strollers because these women buy strollers in stages. I told him what my goals were in finding a stroller (especially since I have two babies) and he was with me in my goals....he brought out the big names for me to look at (MacLaren, Peg Perego, BOB, etc) and we finally settled on a stroller that has been beating out the likes of MacLaren and Peg Perego...it's the Baby Jogger City Stroller. I think what sold me the most was that I could fold it up with one hand...after purchasing it, I saw that Halle Berry has the same one...how chic! So the point is to talk to someone before investing in something as big as this item...knowledge is power.

10) Sheet Savers - so you're not constantly changing the crib sheet for spit up because let's face it, once you have the mattress, bumper, and mobile all done up on the crib, the LAST thing you want to do is undo all the bumper ties, take off the mobile, just to get to the mattress to remove the sheet. With the sheet saver, you just have to tie and untie for strings and replace....it's on top of the sheet saver that I have the baby's head for the occassional spit up while sleeping.

So those are my top 10 things that I'm finding are key to life with the babies. I'm sure there's a ton more but I think it's these little things that we don't always think about until the little ones are actually here.