My Twins Make Five: baby

Toddler Must Haves

Hello again!
Sorry I've been MIA for quite some time now. As the kids get older, I get busier it seems. Especially right here at the holidays! As you can tell by the title, I am going to be blogging today about my personal toddler must haves. The boys turned 2 in September (pictures to come) and these items have been life savers for me. They have saved me time and headaches! I hope they're helpful for you as well!

1. Disposable Diaper Sacks

It isn't the best experience when your baby makes a big stink (literally) while you're out and about with little to no bathroom accessibility. I remember when we were having family pictures made, and one of the boys did this to Eric and I in the studio. It was borderline an emergency and if we hadn't had these little disposable sacks with us, the whole place would have known what had happened. They trap in odor and you can toss them in your diaper bag until you can find a trashcan or restroom to dispose of it. They're also super inexpensive!

2. Snack Pouches

My kids prefer the original apple sauce flavor, but these snack pouches come in a very large variety of flavors and brands (they also have organic options). They are so handy to toss in the diaper bag as you're walking out the door. The caps are re-attachable, which is handy if your child doesn't finish it all in one go. These have saved us from a few meltdowns in the past. They're also a healthier alternative to your traditional snacks (i.e. chips and cookies).

3. Easy Velcro Shoes

I know my toddlers are twins, but their feet are very different. Lucas has very narrow, thin feet, while Zachary has very thick and bigger feet. That makes getting shoes to fit Zach very difficult. My husband and I actually found the above shoes at our local Wal-Mart on clearance for $3 a pair! I kid you not. They are easy to put on both boys, there is no fuss, and no yanking or pulling on them. The Velcro makes it easy to tighten them for Lucas and also loosen them up for Zachary. I can't say enough good things about these shoes. They aren't on clearance anymore but I'll link them here if you want to go check them out. They are still only $10 a pair. The boys wore them all summer and they are still in great condition. I just throw them in the wash when they get dirty and they're like new again!

4. Step Stool

A stool is a great help in a home with small children. They make washing hands, brushing teeth, and getting drinks of water much easier. No more heaving and straining to lift your quickly growing young ones up to reach the sink. They can just grab the stool and do it themselves. Plus, I've noticed that it makes them feel independent and they really like doing these types of things on their own. A definite must have!

5. Mess Free Markers

If your children like to color and draw as much as mine do, then these are a must for you. Maybe everyone already knows about these and I'm the last one to get the clue. But, I have definitely cleaned my share of crayon and marker off the wall at my house. My mom mentioned these to me and I suddenly got very excited. Now I don't have to hide the arts and crafts basket from the twins!

6. Boo Boo Buddy

These aren't necessarily a "must have", but are still really neat anyway. I didn't even know about these until someone gave my daughter one in a gift. You just put them in the refrigerator or freezer, and whenever your little one falls down and gets a scrape or bump....well pretty self explanatory! The kids like these a lot better than a plain ole ice pack or wash cloth. I guess it's the cute little animals on the front....

7. A REAL Spill-Proof Sippy Cup

They are harder to come by than you'd think. Or at least in my experience they are. And if your little ones are anything like mine, then these will also need to have a hard spout. We first tried the soft spout sippies, and my boys just chewed them right off. The ones pictured are the Dr. Brown's brand. They are about $8 for the two of them! I like that you can see them lying sideways on the floor and not worry that milk is dripping everywhere. They've helped my sanity haha!

8. Potty Seat

In my experience, kids would rather go potty on the potty they see you use, other than their own special-makes-noise-and-sings-$45-potty that you've purchased just for them to use. Go figure....
So I've found these nifty little "fit in your own toilet" potty seats to be a must have! They fit their little bottom just right and the toddler feels like a grown up sitting there. They're also very inexpensive. Win-win!

9. Faucet Cover

Let's face it, once the kids turn two (and sometimes even before), they become wild animals in the bathtub. I have had serious fears about one of them raising up and raking their back across those sharp faucet edges. But never fear! Faucet covers are here! Most people already know about these as well, but I had to include them because they really are a must have. They will give Mom and Dad great peace of mind. We have the one pictured. It's made of a soft foam and has worked really well. We got ours at Target.

and last but not least....
10. A Good Diaper Bag Back Pack

I had a Thirty One diaper bag when the boys were infants and it was really nice and spacious. However, as the infants turned into toddlers, it became a lot harder to lug that thing around everywhere. I don't need to take as much stuff with me when we go out, so I don't need that large of a bag. I saw a YouTuber (KKandBabyJ) order one of these off Amazon and had to have one. It really is a must have. It's stylish so you don't actually feel like you're carrying a diaper bag. You can carry it on those rare occasions you go out without the kids, and you won't feel strange. I don't carry a purse, I just put all of what I need in the diaper bag as well. Plus, these are only $30 on Amazon and they come in different colors. It has plenty of room inside for a couple changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, a wallet, sunglasses case, and checkbook case. There is a front pocket for your phone, and several pockets inside and one on the back. I also have a small pack of random baby essentials inside and it fits as well. Do yourself a favor and get one! You can thank me later :)

Hopefully you found this post helpful and will benefit from some of these things like I have. It's hard being a parent sometimes, so anything that makes life a little easier is always nice! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season so far and I'll talk to you again soon!

Hugs and Love,

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Caring for Baby's Sensitive Skin

When my twins were born, I took one look at Lucas (my fair-skinned red head) and just knew that he was going to have sensitive skin like his mommy. I am about as pale as pale can get, and I grew up only able to use white soap. Anything containing any kind of dye broke me out severely. So, I was prepared with gentle body washes and laundry soaps before the boys were ever born.

Within a few weeks I started realizing that I was wrong. It wasn’t Lucas who was sensitive, it was Zachary, my tan baby. If milk, saliva, sweat, or anything else for that matter, sat on his skin too long (5-10 minutes), it was bad news. He would get a raw area wherever the fluid had been, then it would dry out and crack open. I felt so bad for my poor little guy. The pediatrician recommended Baby Aveeno body wash and lotion. I purchased both items and began using them immediately. Sadly, those didn’t work out so well, they actually made it worse. It didn’t take long to come to the realization that Zachary was dealt a pretty severe hand of eczema. This was new territory for me, so everything I tried was trial and error. I Googled and read countless articles, I tried many things that had been suggested. By the time the twins were around 10 months old, I was ready to pull my hair out. Yes, for 10 months I’d been fighting this and nothing seemed to work.

One morning, Zachary woke up and he was covered in red, raised bumps all over his entire body. His back felt like sandpaper. I took him to the pediatrician and was told he was on the tail end of a viral rash, but the reason it was so severe is that it had caused his eczema to flare. It was the worst case his doctor had ever seen. I decided then that enough was enough. I came home that day and tossed all of the baby wash and lotions we’d been using in the trash. I didn’t Google anything, I just used my mother’s intuition. That evening I put Zachary in a luke warm bath and bathed him in my Dove Sensitive Skin body wash, patted him dry, and coated him in a thick layer of Cerave lotion. I put his pajamas on him and put him to bed. The next morning his eczema had improved at least 70%! It continued to improve a little more each day, until it was completely gone about 3 days later. I couldn’t believe it had actually worked. It was a long shot, but I was willing to try anything at that point. Both of my boys are belly sleepers, so when they are teething and drooling up a storm, sometimes they lay, a good portion of the night, in their own saliva (pretty gross huh?) What I found that worked on his little red, chapped cheeks, was none other than Vaseline. Your baby may look like a greasy mess all day, but it really creates a nice barrier and lets the skin heal nicely.

The boys are 21 months old now and Zachary has only had a couple of eczema flare ups since I changed up his bath time and lotion routine. I also only give him a bath every 4-5 days since baths are very drying to the skin.

I hope this helps any of you mamas out there that are about ready to pull your hair out too. It can be very frustrating trying to find something that works for your baby as they are all unique. I’ve learned sometimes it’s better to just follow your own intuition. Sometimes mother’s really do know best!