---
Hi, I'm Hailey! My husband and I were married in 2012 and we live in a small town in North Carolina. I stay at home with our boys and Justin runs a family business. We talked about kids on our honeymoon (pretty sure I talked about them on our first date, ha!) but we knew it was best for us to enjoy married life and get used to living together before we added a baby to the mix. After a few months of trying, we found out I was pregnant and at 9 weeks, found out we were having twins. Whew. I don't think we will ever forget that special yet scary news!!
If you skip past the first 18 weeks of major ALL day sickness, I had a great, uneventful pregnancy. Making it to my goal of 37 weeks, our boys were born December 6, 2013 via c-section (my choice). Rowen Thompson (a) was born at 7:50am weighing 5lb15oz and Parker Warren was born a minute later weighing 6lb3oz. Both boys were perfectly healthy and after a few great days in the hospital, we headed home to start our life as a family of 5... Can't forget our first fur baby!
I feel so blessed that breastfeeding came easy for the three of us. From day one, they latched and ate great, I was able to keep my supply up and they got on the same schedule very quickly! Thanks to the wonderful My BrestFriend Twin Pillow, tandem feeding is what has worked best for us these past 7 months. I EBF for six months and loved every second of it but when the boys were six months old, our nursing sessions would leave us all in tears within minutes. They began to only nurse for 2-3 minutes, scream and 30 minutes later want to eat again. ALL DAY LONG. I did everything possible to build up my supply but honestly, it was wearing me out both mentally and physically. We did that for probably three weeks and after lots of prayers, I (my husband too) decided to start supplementing a few times a day. I won't lie, it was very hard for me to come to terms with it but it has been the best decision for us. Now we do both, the first AM and last PM feeding are always a nursing session and they do great, nursing for 10-15 minutes. I don't think we are ready to be completely done with it, so thankfully my supply is still there and I am still able to nurse on demand if needed.
 |
| I love when they fall asleep while nursing |
Like everyone else has said, not every day is the same! We have days (lots of days) where crib naps don't happen, babies fuss all day, nothing around the house gets done and we stay in our comfy clothes, but no matter what our day is like, I am thankful I get to stay at home and watch my babies learn and grow every day!! I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. It is my dream come true!
Here is look into our day!
_____________________________
6:28 am- Rowen starts waking up and crawling around in his crib; just a few minutes later Parker starts doing the same. I get up and go in their room to get them out of their cribs, change their diapers and they nurse for 8 minutes.
6:50 am- We usually go downstairs after they nurse but I'm a little tired this morning so I try to put them in our bed and see if they will go to sleep. Rowen actually falls right asleep but Parker is ready for the day! My husband is up so he takes P with him in our sitting area/closet while he finishes getting ready .
7:30 am- That didn't last long so we get up and go downstairs. The boys play on the floor. I turn on The Today Show (we start EVERY morning with our favorite news anchors!), fix a cup of coffee and scan through my IG.
8:00 am- Daddy tells us bye and he's off to work.
8:07 am- The boys are acting hungry so I go ahead and give them a 7oz bottle. I unload the dish washer while they lay on their boppys and eat (thank God for them being able to hold their own bottles. AMEN).
8:20 am- Finished bottles and continue to play on the floor. I have another cup of coffee and sit down for a few minutes on the floor to play/watch TDS. I put them in the jumparoo and exersaucer.
9:00 am- I change diapers then get them in their high chairs to eat "breakfast." They are having peach/pear oatmeal. After they are done eating, I let them sit there and we sing songs. We've been using our travel high chairs because we couldn't decide on ones we liked, finally decided today! *Honest moment: I started making their baby food but lately I just buy organic baby food at the store!
 |
| Not happy about me taking a picture first |
*My kids are terrible nappers/terrible about falling asleep. I blame myself a little for this one because during the first few months, they napped a lot on me after they nursed. I do not regret it though, those were the best naps and cuddles. If you follow me on IG, I'm sure you thought that is all we did the first 4 months. Haha!
9:30 am-My mom texts me and asks if we want to meet for lunch. Of course we do!! I go upstairs and pick out their outfits and try to figure out what I'll wear. I start getting ready. I pack the diaper bag while it's on my mind. I take Maddie outside.
10:00 am- Parker is awake so I bring him in our room while I iron my clothes. He loves to crawl and check everything out.
10:12 am- Rowen is awake. I change diapers and they get in their jumparoo and exersaucer. I realize I didn't eat breakfast so I eat some yogurt real quick.
10:45 am- I give them a 7oz bottle while they lay on their boppys and I run upstairs to change clothes and finish getting ready.
10:52 am- Both finish those super fast but I'm glad since I still have to get them ready and out the door. I change Parker's diaper, freshen him up and change his clothes, put him back in the exersaucer while I do the same to Rowen.
11:08 am- Load them in their car seats, grab my diaper bag, and then one by one load them in the car. Those car seats are getting VERY heavy with 20 lb babies in them. I think I am going to start leaving the car seats in the car.
-----If we do something during the day, we usually do it around 11/11:30 am. Lately, we head out to the pool with friends or we go out to lunch.
11:20 am- Late as usual but I think everyone expects that, haha. Both boys are asleep but wake up as soon as I put my car in park. I check their diapers but all good. We head inside to eat lunch. They get to sit in high chairs, which they love. Most places we leave them in their stroller in the big seats. We get lots of attention at the restaurant. I give them their sippy cups but they just play with them.
12 pm-We head back home and they both fall asleep in the car. I pull into the driveway and they sleep for 15 more minutes.
12:15 pm- We get inside and I unload them, change diapers and let them play for a few minutes.
12:33 pm- I feed them lunch. They have apple/mango/carrots and a little bit of Banana Yobaby Yogurt (we will do a morning snack of yogurt most days)! I try to practice "mama, da-da, bye" and a few other things. We sing a few songs.
12:50 pm- Time for a NAP! We head upstairs and read while I rock them in the glider. Brown Bear Brown Bear and Peekaboo Sophie are favorites right now. Thought they were tired but they fight this one pretty hard. Decide to put them in their cribs but that does nothing. Rowen isn't screaming so I go ahead and nurse Parker to sleep, which only takes a few minutes. I put him down in his crib asleep (1:25 pm) and get Rowen out. I try to nurse him but he doesn't want to, but after a few minutes of rocking him, he's out. Put him in his crib (1:43 pm) and I head downstairs. I switch out laundry, pick up toys and clean the kitchen counters. I text my best friend who was also doing the same thing with her little girl. We talk about how this is one of the hardest parts about being a mom right now--them fighting sleep when you know they're exhausted.
2:47 pm- Ro wakes up and it wakes Parker up. We come downstairs, change diapers and fix 6oz bottles.
2:56 pm- They finish their bottles so they start playing. They are both GRUMPY and into everything.
3:07 pm- I put them in the jumparoo and exersaucer so they will leave each other alone. Ha!
3:18 pm- My in-laws stop by to see the boys! The boys are in better moods now. I clean bottles while they play.
4:10 pm- They leave so I get down on the floor and play with the boys. We play with their box of shapes. They crawl all over me and love to pull up.
4:20 pm- I turn on Preschool Prep Colors DVD (the boys love it and I can get some stuff done). I fold baby laundry, put towels in the dryer and put my clothes in the wash.
4:25 pm- WOW. Rowen falls asleep on his own
4:29 pm- And WOW again, Parker falls asleep on his own.
**I usually have to sit in front of the mamaRoo and sing/play music for a few minutes.
I finish folding laundry then sit down to catch up on IG. I text my twin mom besties, they keep me sane a lot of days!!
5:00 pm- Both are awake, Parker's cry woke Rowen up!
5:08 pm- Change diapers and we head outside to swing. I usually do this or put them in the stroller and walk around. Anything to help witching hour. They love being outside!
5:30 pm- Justin calls and we decide on dinner (takeout, like most nights). I bring the boys back inside, change diapers and we play with toys. They are kinda fussy.
5:40 pm- They get a 6oz bottle and I watch the local news/weather.
5:55 pm- Daddy's home!!!! He plays with the boys while I take Maddie out. I get our food out and we eat while the boys play (they whine a little bit, wanting us to play)
6:15 pm- My mom stops by on her way home. She helps me with the boys while Justin does a few things around the house.
6:30 pm- Feed them dinner. Mixed Veggies and Bananas. I give them a few sliced oranges to practice hand/eye.
6:45 pm- Head upstairs to give baths. I take Rowen while my husband keeps Parker downstairs. We get one on one time with each baby! Justin usually plays music for them and they LOVE it. We do baths every night and have since we started Moms on Call when the boys were 8 weeks old! If Justin has a meeting or something where I have to do baths by myself, I have recently started to put a Bumbo in the bathtub and the other baby in the baby bath. It works great since I can't just lay one beside me on a bath towel anymore without him crawling away.
7:10 pm- We come downstairs for a few minutes. Rowen is sound asleep on Justin's lap.
7:15 pm-Head back upstairs and I nurse them and then rock them to sleep in the glider. We put them in their cribs and both stay asleep (some nights we have to rock them again because they wake up when we put them down, thanks to the lowered crib now).
7:20 pm- I change into my pajamas and go downstairs to clean up the house.
8:15 pm- Parker wakes up so Justin goes upstairs. Just needs a few bottom pats and he is back to sleep.
10:00 pm- We head upstairs to bed and not long after, Rowen wakes up. He has a wet diaper so I change him and he goes back to sleep. I check Parker and go ahead and change his diaper too. I get in bed and fall asleep.
12:03 am- Parker wakes up. He needs to be rocked back to sleep.
12:20 am- I go back to bed!!!
So there you have it! That is what Tuesday, July 22nd looked like at our house. I can assure you tomorrow won't be the same but for the most part that is how our days go. It makes me sad how fast my babies are growing but I have to say so far month 7 is my favorite!
Thanks for reading about our day!
--
Have a question for Hailey? CLICK HERE to email her! You can also follow her adorable family on Instagram: Haileylee_
---
Don't forget to send us your 23-week baby bump! Email your name and the twins' birthday (or due date) to twintalkblog@gmail.com. Please have your picture to us no later than noon on Tuesday!
Great post, Hailey! Love you, sweet friend!
ReplyDelete