1. Double Umbrella Stroller: After the twins grew out of their Chicco Keyfit car seats, I had to start looking for a new double stroller since their old one was just a frame that held the car seats (tear…I loved their first stroller!) I stumbled across this Jeep brand stroller on Amazon and I love it! It’s super light-weight, easy to fold and maneuvers well. It also fits through a standard single door frame (barely). We are still saving up for a nice double jogging stroller to take out on the trail in the back of our house, but for now, this stroller does just fine for neighborhood walks.
2. Fisher Price Ipad Case: Whenever the twins see the Ipad, they make a mad dash for it and it usually ends up in their mouths. This case holds the Ipad and protects it from slobber/sticky hands/dropping, plus it’s propped up, so it makes it easy for the girls to play with it. Our case came with little toy shapes that the girls can “stamp” on the Ipad with one of the games we downloaded. As a bonus, I’ve been pulling up recipes on the Ipad and using the case in the kitchen when I cook so that food doesn’t splatter all over it. I think technically kids aren’t suppose to have screen time until they are two, but letting them “play” a game on the Ipad for a few minutes a day allows me five minutes of peace to eat!
3. Aden + Anais Snap Bibs: With both girls cutting teeth, we’ve had an epic amount of drool going on this month. I have become quite the drool bib connoisseur and have tried everything from terry cloth to waterproof bibs, but I haven’t found any that are effective and comfortable for the girls. We have tons of the Aden + Anais blankets, which I love, so when I saw that they made bibs, I thought I’d give them a try. The velcro on most bibs irritates the girls’ necks, but these bibs have snaps and are way more comfortable. They are also super thick and soft, making them perfect for playtime and keeping the girls’ clothes dry. I love the Bumpkins waterproof bibs with pockets for meal times, but these Aden + Anais ones are great for play time. I only have three of these because they are pricey, but so far, they’ve been worth it.
4. Zo-li Baby Gum Massagers: I have no idea why, but the girls love these so much that they will fight over them and pull them out of each other’s mouths. Next to Sophie the Giraffe, these are the girls’ favorite teethers.
5. Bath books: The twins were starting to get fussy during their baths, until I gave them this to play with. Now they just grab their bath book, chew on it and are happy campers while I scrub the prunes off their necks.
6. Random kitchen utensils, such as spatulas: Except for a few favorites, the girls are pretty unimpressed with most of their toys. Give them a spatula or anything else from the kitchen drawers, and their eyes will light up like they’ve won the baby lottery. They love tupperware, wooden spoons, measuring cups and spoons, bowls, plastic spoons, and silicone basting brushes, to name a few. I don’t even keep many toys downstairs anymore, because they love playing with random kitchen items so much.
7. Baby tunics: If you haven’t noticed, the twins are super tall and chubby! Therefore, most shirts that fit up top don’t fit their middle because they come up too short. Last month, I started buying more tunic-type shirts, which are working way better! These would probably look more like dresses on smaller babies, but, paired with leggings, they fit Samantha and Amelia perfectly!
Stats and Milestones:
Samantha: On her 8 month birthday, Samantha was a whopping 24 pounds and stood just shy of 30 inches tall. That’s one big baby!
Amelia: On her 8 month birthday, Amelia weighed in at 21 pounds and stood 29 inches tall. Even though she was also a huge baby, that three pound difference made her feel light as a feather to me!
Feeding: This month, the girls continued their adventures in solid foods, and ate three meals a day with an occasional snack. They loved eating frozen veggies or fruits in their mesh feeders and usually ate out of those twice a day. Their morning meal included oatmeal with prunes/pears/peaches/applesauce/bananas. For lunch, they would have a fruit and veggie, and then a veggie for dinner. For a snack, they would have a fruit or veggie in their mesh feeders, or toward the end of the month, a little bit of yogurt.
Their favorite veggies included squash, sweet potato, green beans, carrots, avocado (except for Samantha…she started hating it)! Samantha was definitely more picky overall than Amelia, who was happy eating just about anything. Samantha used to love avocado, but started hating it this month! During feeding time, we called Amelia, “Amelia the Lion,” because she made a funny roaring noise every time we put food in her mouth. The solids seemed help stretch out the time between bottle feedings for the girls. This month, the girls went about 3 hours between bottle feedings and typically had 25 ounces of formula and 25 ounces of breast milk (combined) each day.
Diapers: Size 4 diapers! With the increase in solids, they generally pooped once or more per day and their poop became decidedly more adult-like. In other words, it was smelly and harder! Yuck!
Clothes: Amelia wore 9-12 month clothes, while Samantha wore 12-18 month clothes.
Sleeping: Sleeping was all over the map this month! The girls went to bed around 6:45-7, until day light savings time hit and then they were wanting to go to bed at 6! Toward the end of the month, they finally regulated back to their normal 7 p.m. bedtime and sometimes stayed up until 7:30. They obviously coordinated who was getting up each night because for almost every night this month, one or the other would wake up and start crying once or twice a night. We’d usually pop their pacifier back in and they’d go right back to sleep, but sometimes, they would wake up hungry for a bottle or want to be held. We were definitely pretty exhausted this month with the night wakings! It was also frustrating that they would practice crawling backwards and sitting up in their sleep and would wake themselves up.
Besides the night wakings, the girls would usually get up anywhere between 6 and 7 a.m. this month. I experimented with going from three naps to two, but the girls wouldn’t have it, so they typically had two naps of 45 mins-1.5 hours each and a shorter nap of 30-40 minutes later in the afternoon. Amelia was typically a better sleeper than Samantha, who would usually wake up about 45 minutes in and would usually want to be rocked back to sleep, or have her pacifier popped back in at the very least. Sometimes, she would put herself back to sleep, but more often than not, I’d come in and she’d be sitting up in her crib, crying.
Milestones and other favorite things this month:
I started signing more with the girls this month! I started sign language with them just after they turned six months, but wasn’t very consistent. This month, my goal was to use the signs for eat, drink, more, sleep, mommy and daddy more regularly. The girls don’t sign yet, but it always seems to catch their attention when I make the sign for “eat” and say the word over and over again!
Samantha:
Pulled herself from a prone to sitting position
Pulled herself up to her knees
Crawled backwards constantly
First crawl forward
Pulled herself up to standing at her activity table and crib
Got her first tooth
Crawled off the bed backwards
First time at a pumpkin patch
First Halloween
First time being babysat by Great Auntie Lynn and Great Uncle Steve
Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Sarah came to visit
Said “mama” over and over again
Samantha’s other favorites:
Playing peekaboo with Daddy
Being carried in the Ergo
Pulling on my face and hair
Pulling on Daddy’s hair when sitting on his shoulders
Scooting around, especially in between the couches
Diving off our laps for things on the floor
Sliding off chairs and couches onto the floor
Trying to get her hands on my phone, the Ipad, cords, outlets and anything she wasn’t supposed to touch
Bubble baths and splashing
Playing in the tunnel
Watching Daddy dance
Favorite songs and books:
Flying Trapeze
Happy Song
Pat-a-cake
Why We Love Momma
Bath books
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Los Pollitos Dicen
Amelia:
Played peek-a-boo
Crawled backwards all the time
Pulled herself up to her knees
Pulled herself from prone to sitting position
Pulled herself up to standing at her crib and activity table
Got one more tooth, making that two total
Said “mama” constantly
First time at a pumpkin patch
First Halloween
First time being babysat by Great Auntie Lynn and Great Uncle Steve
Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Sarah came to visit
Amelia’s other favorites:
Loved it when I smacked my lips and squealed, “Yummy!” before giving her a bite to eat
Opening her mouth like a birdie during meals
Playing peek-a-boo
Playing games with me while eating
Was highly distractible while eating
Watching kids play at park
Watching Bandit
Eating her Wiggly Caterpillar book
Scooting backwards into holes or between couches
Peeking out from her crib on her knees
“Singing” and repeating noises when I would sing to her
Pulling grass
Trying to put my phone, the Ipad, walls, cords, outlets in her mouth
Playing in the tunnel
Watching Daddy dance
Favorite songs and books:
10 Little Monkeys
All the Pretty Horses
Doggie in the Window
Flying Trapeze
Why We Love Momma
10 Wiggly Caterpillars (she loved to eat the pages)
Bath books
Overall, this month was full of exciting new milestones. It took my breath away how fast the girls were changing and moving!
Lots of love,
