How we did it (part one)

After listening to a radio show, it appears that many parents really do want to know how you manage multiple babies.  Here are some of the things that worked for us in the earliest days.

1.  Lots of help.  People brought us meals.  Toby's step dad filled our chest freezer to the top and into our regular freezer.  My SIL, Angie, came down to stay for a few days and that helped a ton.  Just knowing there was another mom in the house was great.  No need to panic if she didn't panic.  Later, we hired a local teen to come in an give me a hand with some of the feedings and laundry.  She was wonderfully helpful and her presence meant I could shower and do dishes in peace.

2.  Sleep.  You need some.  We took shifts.  Toby thought of this and it worked for us.  He took the girls from midnight to six am.  Then he slept while I took the girls from six am until noon.  For us this worked because the girls were pretty easy going.  I don't know how I would have survived without the six hours of sleep.  We also napped in the evening while the girls were sleeping.

3.  We thought about systems to help us out.  Diaper bags were packed and left by the door at all times.  The coffee table nearest the door became the "going away table".  This is where the diaper bags and car seats were kept.  A box was there with blankets and shoes in it.  This was the catch all for things  you might need.

Nothing came out of the diaper bags if we could have doubles.  There was also a large box in the car with extra clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, bibs, toys, etc....  This meant that the bag we carried didn't have to be gigantic.

Feeding time is hard with two newborns, but we managed.  With two u-shaped pillows and an afghan, you can feed two babies pretty easily.  You have to prop the bottles which means never taking your eyes off the babies, but you can do it.  You can also put them in their car seats and hold the bottles up.  Another method was to prop the babies in their pillows and sit between them holding the bottles. 

The family room became baby central.  The girls slept in the pack n' play until they were sleeping six hour stretches at night.  The pack n' play was at the end of our sofa and next to a kitchen counter.  It had a diaper changing station on it and that was awesome.  We kept a box of diaper essentials stocked on the counter and a laundry basket nearby.  We lived in the family room.

Aside from the sleep schedule for ourselves, the best thing was that the girls were on the same schedule.  I don't think you can make it without having the little break you get when two babies are sleeping.