Baby Wise, sleeping through the night (STTN) and crying it out (CIO)

I've been reading "On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep" with the lofty goal of trying to get the twins to sleep through the night (STTN). Right now, they average about five to five and half hours between a feeding at night. So if Darren feeds them at 11:30 pm and puts them down at 12:30 am, they wake up usually around 4:30 am, maybe 5 am. Once they went 6 hours 45 minutes between a feeding which was magical.

Anyway, Baby Wise is supposed to be the Bible of knowledge for getting your infant into a sleep routine with the goal of STTN. It operates on a feed-wake-sleep principle where you break the day into feedings, followed by wake time, followed by nap time. We've been mostly following this anyway, not because of my amazing parenting skills but because that's how they did it in the NICU and that's what the girls are doing naturally. In the book, however, the author insists that babies be put down for a nap in cribs only and cry it out (CIO) for as long as 20 minutes! That seems crazy to me. There is so much conflicting info out there but most people say an infant should not self soothe (meaning no CIO) until they are at least five months old. Also, we've been operating more on the let them fall asleep wherever philosophy, be it rock n' play sleeper, bouncy seat, swing, in someone's arms, the bassinet, boppy pillow, etc.

The entire time I've been reading this book I've been smugly thinking "yeah it's easy when you only have one baby. I bet if the author had twins he would be in a totally different mind set." Well let it be known that Gary Ezzo has TRIPLETS. Which I learned when I read his chapter on getting multiples to bed. Hanging head in defeat. So somehow Gary Ezzo got his triplets to STTN following his system.

So I tried this week to get the girls to nap in their cribs. Massive failure. The first time, I put them down when they were drowsy to see if they would fall asleep on their own. I can't handle the idea of them CIO so of course the second they start crying I just scoop them up and comfort them. I gave up after about twenty minutes and moved them downstairs to the rock n' play sleepers. Today I tried moving them from the rock n' play sleepers after they were dead asleep into their cribs. They stayed asleep for a few minutes after the transition but woke up shortly after and would not go back to sleep. Sigh.

So Gary Ezzo father of triplets, I am still in love with the idea of getting the girls to STTN (he promises seven hours by seven weeks from due date) but not sure how this will play out. The girls are 12 weeks tomorrow (six weeks adjusted) so we have another week to hit his seven hour prediction. Holding out small amounts of hope.

Do babies see...

I Googled "do babies see" the other day and the number one auto suggestion was "do babies see color" followed by "do babies see ghosts." Is it bad that I was actually trying to Google "do babies see ghosts?" ha. Sometimes Brooklyn will look at literally nothing and just crack herself up. Makes me wonder sometimes if relatives that have passed away are making faces at her. Or she's just a baby and easily amused looking at the corner of the couch.

The magical healing powers of Aquaphor

You know in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" how the dad uses Windex to cure every aliment? Well such a cure-all exists for babies and its called Aquaphor. We use it every time we change on a diaper on the girls' butts to prevent diaper rash, on dry skin after a bath, on their poor irritated neck skin from dried formula, etc. It is a must have for any baby care regiment.

The girls' necks have been super red and sore. Between sloppy eating and spitting up, milk keeps getting trapped in their neck folds. I try to wipe it off as often as possible but its really bothering their skin. Darren and I decided we were going to be millionaires and invent a product that would keep milk and formula from leaking onto a baby's neck during feedings only to discover much to our dismay that such products already exist. A few clicks on Amazon, and our feeding bibs will be arriving today. Hoping between the new bibs and applying Aquaphor that the redness clears up.

Free formula for twins - enfamil twins program

We made the official switch from breastfeeding to formula (which has made my life sooo much easier!) but we are learning how expensive formula is! We go through an enfamil can in about a day and a half (cans are about $16.99). One of the other moms in my twin group told me about a program from enfamil for twins. Ask your pediatrician about it! They will send you two free cases (12 cans) which is a huge savings (a little over $200). Our free cases came today: 

How many burp cloths do you need?

More than you have. I guess it depends on how messy an eater your baby is and how much he/she/they spit up, combined with how often you want to do laundry (um, it feels like every day). For the twins, we had about twelve burp cloths and that was not enough. I just bought eight more on amazon (Gerber flannel kind) that are bigger and more absorbent. Plus you'll probably want to keep an emergency burp cloth in the stroller, diaper bag, car, by the changing table, etc. 

Rock n play sleepers

I can't believe I just discovered these last week. Better than swings! They retail for $60 new but I snagged one on Craigslist for $15 and the other I borrowed from my sister in law. 

Two months old

Two months old aug 1. Been a bit busy to post! Girls had their two month check up and Brooklyn weighs more than Bailey now (7 lbs .2 oz vs 7 lbs 2.6 oz). Bailey is still taller though. They had to get a variety of shots which they were not a fan of. Both of their faces turned purple with anger in preparation for explosive crying. The nurse had to blow in their mouth to remind them to breathe! 

Now that we are out of the preemie stage, they are staying awake longer and actually interacting. Both girls are doing social smiles (smiling in response to your smile) and cooing. It is very cute! 

Watch Bailey: http://youtu.be/1yTMzPLYc9U

Watch Brooklyn: 

http://youtu.be/881L1T9G6ZQ

Watch playtime:

http://youtu.be/tDwNdtVtW5E

Pampers vs huggies

Pampers all the way. Personal experience, huggies are no good. You'll regret it when the diaper leaks all over the baby's clothes. Bailey also leaked all over my sister Katie's dress though so that was worth it, ha. 

Babies on play mat

Check out the girls playing on their activity mat with a hilarious ending. http://youtu.be/cJfxjePtuPk