Notes from the Twin Trenches: Three Weeks In

Okay, so this whole "twin" thing isn't so bad.  We're finding our groove as a family o' five and I can actually come up for air (and put my boobs away) for periods of time here and there.  We're getting out of the house a bit more (I got my nails done and even got a facial this week!), the girls are sleeping longer stretches at night (three to four hours which, to me, is totally do-able; three hour watches is what we are used to on our boat), and I have not shed a tear of desperation in over a week.  These are all things to celebrate, people.  Of course, because I have actually written the words "finding our groove" everything is going to go haywire again but, whatever, we need to appreciate our victories over here while we can because with three kids, everything can go pear-shaped in an instant.

My two obsessions at the moment are the ERGObaby Performance Baby Carrier with infant insert and the clothing brand Kickee Pants.  I'll go over each to explain*.

We used the Ergo baby carrier with Isla a ton on the boat, it was infinitely more useful and more convenient to us than a stroller.  As most of you know, I started "wearing" the girls in a Moby wrap (which I still love) but I found it slightly impractical for two, not to mention the fact that wearing two babies at once will only be possible for a few more weeks before it renders me a Quasimodo-style hunchback.  So I ordered another Ergo carrier and Scott found a couple infant inserts on craigslist.  Now, we can comfortably and easily wear one baby at a time, or we can wear one baby each at once and still be hands-free to cook, clean or play with Isla.  The Ergo is much easier to get on than the Moby Wrap and the little infant inserts make nice, cozy cocoons to put the babies down in once they are settled and sleeping.  We've been using the heck out of our two carriers.  For us, they are a twin must have.  But again, I am a huge proponent of baby wearing, which you may or may not be.

My other (slightly impractical) obsession is the super soft, super adorable clothing brand Kickee Pants.  One of my best friends turned me onto this clothing line and I love it.  Unfortunately, they are pretty costly because they use only the best materials (eco-friendly bamboo) which result in the softest, coziest and most breathable baby clothes I have ever found.  So far, these are the only newborn outfits that our girls are not completely swimming in.  If you are looking for a sweet baby gift or want to splurge on an outfit or two for your little one - check them out.  I found some deals online and our girls are living in comfy Kickee pants these days.

Aside from breastfeeding twins (which is a considerable time suck...pun intended) I have also been working really hard tweaking the heck our of this blog.  You've probably already noticed the re-design, but I'd also like to invite you all to check out our new "pages" as well because I left no stone unturned in this design process.  Check out our new About page for our general story.  Or maybe you're new and want to see where we've been - if so, check out our Route page.  In addition, you can now find all our information regarding raising a baby on a boat on our Baby on Board page as well as answers to the more general questions we get on our FAQ's page.  I also answer the financial questions we typically get on our Cruising Kitty page, which includes other resources on cruising costs and budgets you might find helpful and I've re-formatted and added new pictures to our Boat page.  You can read about our latest additions on our newly designed Crew page and I have added a Twinsanity page which is pretty self explanatory since we have a whole new audience on that front.  I'll be adding more in the days and weeks to come as we negotiate the madness (and fun) of having twins.

So there we have it.  While my posts are more sporadic, rest assured we're doing great.  We manage to smile and laugh daily and we haven't left a stray baby anywhere yet.  It's "one day at a time" over here and we are totally okay with that.

Yikes! Babies are screaming and they need the boobs....gotta run!

Haven and Mira.  3 weeks young and rocking Kickee pants!

* We have no affiliation with Ergo or Kickee pants.  I just genuinely love both products.