Day In The Life: 6 Months

Our "Day in the Life" series continues with Ashley and her 6-month-old b/g twins (and 5-year-old son)!

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Hi, I'm Ashley!  I volunteered to do a "Day in the Life" of 6-month-old twins for Twin Talk Blog a few weeks ago and I've been excited about it since then! Our twins are finally on a somewhat predictable schedule and thankfully we are coming out of the sleep deprived hole.  Things are getting fun now and the twins are interacting with us and learning new things everyday.  Hopefully I can give you a small glimpse into what a typical day might be like for us with our twins plus our 5-year-old son.  It's interesting to say the least.  I hope to be real and honest because it is full of amazing and wonderful things,  but is also really hard at times!

Photo cred to www.betseydarley.com
If you are looking for an amazing photographer and live in the Northern Virginia area, check her out!

My husband, Thad,  and I were married in 2005 and welcomed our first child, Samuel, in 2009.  I had always envisioned my children being super close in age, about two years apart.  We started thinking about a second child when Samuel was about 16 months old.  Little did we know that we wouldn't make him a big brother until he was 4 1/2.  After multiple fertility treatments and two miscarriages, we welcomed Tess Rebecca and Holden George on December 18th, 2013. Holden arrived first weighing 6lbs 12 oz and Tess came three minutes later weighing 6lbs 1oz.  I feel extremely blessed to have carried these babies to term and still feel overwhelmed with gratitude when I think back on it. 

About to be wheeled in for the scheduled C-section

Proud daddy, Holden, Tess and momma

Both babies were very healthy and did amazingingly well. Neither baby needed any respiratory support and they were both wheeled out with us into recovery.  I was very sick for the next 12 hours so everything is a bit hazy for me, but the memory that remains is one of excitement, fear, and immense LOVE!

The first few months were for sure a big blur! We celebrated Christmas as a family of 5, did lots and lots of naps, and stayed indoors because we had an awful winter in DC this year.  Managing newborn twins with a rambunctious "almost" 5-year-old was a challenge to say the least.  Samuel can be such a huge help at times, and it is wonderful that he can do things on his own for the most part. On the other hand, he has had us to himself for the last four years and sharing us with not one, but TWO babies can be hard on a little guy.  We try to get out and about almost everyday.  I have people tell me all of the time that I'm one brave lady to get out with two babies and another child and my reply is always "I'd be crazy to stay at home!" I don't always get a shower and Samuel's crazy bedhead may not always be combed...but I do it!  It's part of keeping my sanity!

From our recent trip to Disney...with 6 month old twins.  Crazy?

A day in our house with the babies and a 5-year-old varies from day to day,  and week to week.  Samuel was in preschool every morning until the last week of May so our days look much different now.  They are also five times more exhausting! When Samuel was a baby I was very strict about naps and honestly he rarely missed one.  For the most part he was always in his crib.  The twins, on the other hand, are usually in the car, car seat or stroller for at least one of their naps.  It's just life when you have an older child and I actually don't miss it.  Like I said, I like to get out so being tied to the house for naps is extremely hard for me.  We are always home for one of them so I'm okay with that:)

The following is a rough idea of how a typical day can go in our house.  I will just give an example of an outing that we might do but this changes from day to day now that it's summer.  The feeding times, play times and naps remain the same from day to day for the most part. 

6:30 am  The babies begin to stir in their cribs.  If they wake much earlier than this we sometimes put them in the swings (in their rooms! I'll touch on this more soon) to give us a few more minutes of precious sleep.  This is where having an older child helps out.  Samuel is and has always been an early riser.  He can now come downstairs by himself, pour some cereal and put on a show.  This works out great especially if the twins go back to sleep for a bit!

7:00 am  The babies get their first bottles of the day.  Holden takes 8oz of Gentlease Formula and Tess takes 6oz of Enfamil AR for reflux.  We discovered the Baby Brezza Formula Pro early on and it changed our lives. Best purchase!

7:30 am  Each baby has "playtime." This involves the exersaucer, the jumperoo, play mat or just bouncing with mom or dad.  This is usually our time to make coffee and check email, get Samuel fed and pick up a bit.

8:00 am  Breakfast!  The babies have recently begun to expect solids for breakfast and will be extremely vocal if they don't get it NOW!! Food usually consists of whole milk yogurt mixed with a pureed fruit.  I won't get too long winded about their food but I will say that making it is soooo much cheaper with twins but I get lazy sometimes.  I'm a loyal customer of Zulily and have recently hit the jackpot with organic baby food on the website.  So, with that being said, it's totally a mix of store bought organic food with homemade food by mom.  The twins love both so I'm good with it!

8:30 am  Nap time!  This, sadly, is one of my favorite times of the day.  The twins usually take a solid 1 1/2 hour nap so I can actually get myself and Samuel dressed...or just lay around and drink coffee.  It varies from day to day. :)  The babies still take all of their naps in the swing.  We are well aware that it is time to move them but let's be honest!  I can't seem to give up at least three hours of great napping.  I know they will adjust but that time is so precious to me.  So, for now, we nap in the swings!

10:00 am  Tess is usually the first to wake up.  If this is the case and we don't have anywhere to be, then I will feed her and let Holden sleep for a bit.  If we are going somewhere, then I will wake Holden up, dress them both, and feed them at the same time.  Feeding them simultaneously has become easy for me now that they have better head control.  I hold Tess facing out and with her bottle in my left hand.  I lay Holden down on the boppy lounger and feed him with my right hand. We also have two of the Podee bottles!  I have to say that these are amazing inventions!  I still love to hold my babies but if I'm in a bind and they need to eat while we are on the move, then I give them these bottles and they rock!

I was testing the Podee out for the first time here.

10:30 am  Out the door!  Outings can consist museums, fun outings to DC, grocery store or other errands such as Target, the mall, the park (mainly for Samuel), lunch with friends, a walk, etc.

11:30 am  Lunchtime for everyone.  We are still adjusting to feeding Tess and Holden at lunch but I think they are starting to expect it as well.  We usually just do a fruit or veggie..and they eat anywhere from 1-2 pouches between the two of them. 

12:15 pm  At this point of the day, the babies are starting to get fussy.  When Samuel was in school I didn't want to put them down for a nap because I had to pick him up at 1 pm.  Now, we are usually out so I just let them cat nap wherever we are.  Sometimes they sleep, sometimes they don't.  You are guaranteed a fuss from at least one of them but they usually settle!

1:00 pm  Home for bottles.  Tess gets 6oz, Holden gets 8oz.  I feed them at the same time again so I can put them down at the same time.  We  have had a new development as of today..they can hold their own bottles!  I still have to assist a bit but this changes everything!

1:30 pm  Play for a few minutes in the exersaucer or floor, swing outside, etc.

2:00 pm  Nap time.  Lately this nap time has been awesome.  They sleep until 4 or 4:30.  This is the time when Samuel and I will play outside, do a board game, watch a show or play downstairs with his toys.  I'm usually exhausted by this point but I know he needs one-on-one time.  Trust me though, I'm usually the one who suggests a show so I can take a little cat nap:)

4:30 pm  Twins are up and Tess is MAD!  Girl wants a bottle and she wants it NOW!  I usually only feed her about 4oz because I feed them solids at 5 or 5:30.  She guzzles and is happy for a few minutes.  Holden is up and playing and happy as a clam.  He is for sure our most easy-going, calm-natured kiddo! He doesn't usually get a bottle at this point but is starving when the high chairs come out.

5:00 pm  Dinnertime for babies and occasionally for a "hangry" 5-year-old.  If I'm not on my game and have no idea what dinner will be for the over-5 crowd, Samuel will usually have dinner with them.  I can prepare him something easy while I appease them with puffs.  Dinner for the twins consists of a veggie and a fruit mixed with organic whole grain oatmeal cereal.

5:30 pm  Bath time for all three kids.  This doesn't happen every night but now that it's summer and hot as blazes, I feel they all need a good bath at the end of the day! I run Samuel's bath and get him settled while the twins play in their cribs.  We are still using the Puj tub for the babies and I LOVE it.  We have a deep bathtub and it's a little hard for me to lift..ahem..Holden out being that he's 21 lbs and all.  Yes.  That's right.  21 lbs.  Sooo, we do the Puj in the sink and it still works great.  I bathe one baby at a time, take him/her back to the nursery, "jammie" him/her up, switch babies and repeat.  The mobile still keeps them occupied for the time being.

6:00 pm  I leave the babies upstairs while I come downstairs to make bottles for bedtime.  They get their bottles around 6:15-6:30 and are out like lights by 7:00pm.  My husband gets home around 6:15 and he feeds one baby in our room and I feed the other baby in the rocker in the nursery.  Samuel usually watches a show or plays with his toys in his bedroom during this time. 

7:00 pm  Lights out!  The babies are sleeping straight through the night until morning with the exception of a paci replacement here and there. We fought hard for this and I'd be happy to share what we did to make this happen if anyone is interested. 

Finally, after the twins are asleep, Samuel has "mom/dad" time from 7-8 every night until his bedtime.  I usually head to bed around 10-10:30 and completely crash out! Then, we start all over. :)

Overall, I feel like our days are getting easier everyday.  The twins are really developing their personalities and it's fun to see them start to interact with each other and with big brother. 

Top 5 Favorites at 6-months-old:

1.)  Baby Brezza Formula Pro- possibly the best find ever if you are a formula feeder!

2.)  Puj bathtub- I know they will be growing out of this soon but I still LOVE it!

3.)  Podee bottles- check them out.  They are awesome!

4.)  Halo sleepsacks

5.)  Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon Knapsack- I searched long and hard while pregnant to find the perfect diaper bag for the twins.  I bought two bags..a Mia Bossi bag and a Vera Bradley bag.  While I love both, now that the twins are older I realized that a backpack would be super beneficial so I could be totally hands free.  This bag has deep pockets on the side for bottles and TONS of space inside.  Definitely a fav for this stage!  And I can carry it later because it's not a diaper bag!

Thanks for reading!

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If you have any questions for Ashley, CLICK HERE to send her an email!  You can also visit her blog, Our Happy Life.  :)