Top 10 Things I Couldn't Have Lived Without...

I decided to put together a list of the 

Top 10 Things I Couldn't Have Lived Without

this first year of twin life. 

Some things you may say, "shoot, we did fine without that"

or

"we only needed one of those"

That's fine. This is my list. 

In no particular order

1) Two Swings

Lifesavers.

Camden loved to swing side to side while Christian loved to swing back and forth....so these swings were perfect because they did both.

We had one from Jack and the other my sister-in-law let us borrow.

The twins ended up sleeping in these things for quite awhile and I honestly don't know how we would have survived without both of them!

2) Food.

Specifically dinner. My Mom organized our friends, family and church family and we had dinner provided nearly every day for TWO MONTHS!
I don't think we would have eaten otherwise. 

Such a blessing!

3) Swaddle Blankets

We were pros at swaddling because Jack loved it. And while Christian fought the swaddle, it really helped him calm down and sleep. And our boys are strong and break out of regular blankets, so we used these ones.

And then eventually double swaddled. 

Sleep is important, do what you must. 

4) Medela Breast Pump

We had to buy this once Jack was in the NICU and thankfully it still worked amazingly, and seriously was a huge lifesaver. Spend the dough on the nice brand...don't settle

5) My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow

I had researched and read everything, and this was the one. My Mom bought this from another twin Mom. 

I used other pillows underneath to prop this up at an angle, and having the strap around the back really helped keep it steady and tight. I also used little towels on each side of it to help turn the boys in when they were super small. 

6) This car seat and stroller combo.

We fell in love with this car seat with Jack and I knew I didn't want to go with any other one. And Chicco had just come out with the double stroller to go with it.

We were blessed by our church staff and my parents and between them we had the full meal deal.

The seats are the narrowest you can find, the safety ratings are amazing and the will last you a long time. 

The stroller....wow. I cannot say enough good things about it.

I knew we didn't want a snap in type stroller because, once the babies outgrow the car seats you are stuck with that thing and you don't need it anymore and you have to buy another stroller.

With this stroller, you can still use it after they are out of the infant seats! Perfect.

Plus, although it's heavy it folds easily with one hand, and stores nicely. 

7) These Bottle Warmers

These are amazing. Fill them up, set the right size/amount and in a blink of an eye your bottles are the perfect temp. These are the cream of the crop warmers.
Again, my sister-in-law (bless her!) let us use these.
Yes we had two.
Time matters folks! 

8) These little lounger chairs

We always called them bouncers, but they don't bounce.
They have music and vibrate....but we never used it.

We could buckle the babies in here and set them on either side of us and bottle feed them at the same time.

YES. 

Amazing. Thanks to my sister-in-law we had two :)

9) This guy.

I know you can't all have one of him. I wish you could.
He took over 2 months off of work (we are so blessed he works for an incredibly understanding and supportive church that puts family first)
He got up with me every time I nursed. And when I was about to snap. Literally, when I was at a point of breaking mentally he stayed in the front room with the babies and did all the feeds. I slept in our bed, woke up to pump...took him the milk and went back to bed. He did this for two weeks.
If he hadn't...I'd have been committed  admitted.
Cleaned, washed, bathed, drove, did it all. And still led worship every weekend (after the first two weeks)
He's the bomb.


10) My family and friends

They watched Jack, they organized the meals, they ran errands, they held babies. They were there whenever we needed them.
They went grocery shopping for us, they cleaned our house, they cleaned our car.
They drove me to and from the NICU and waited while I nursed.
They brought coffee.
They send texts, they called.
They prayed and encouraged.

This first year, really was an amazing team effort.



So, there ya have it.
My Top 10