Oct 13, 2010
Twin Survival Tip #1
I’m sure some of you have read “Officer Buckle & Gloria” to your kids. If not, you have to get that book! It’s about a police officer & his police dog, and they go around sharing safety tips with schools. All the while, the dog’s acting them out behind Officer Buckle’s back, unbeknownst to him, and it’s a really funny story. He has oodles of safety tips.
So in the spirit of Officer Buckle, I decided I’m going to post my Twin Survival Tips. Who knows, it might become a pretty good resource when the list is done!
Without any further ado, I present:
Twin Survival Tip #1
So you’re being a good mom and giving your baby tummy time in the crib. (I’m personally petrified of my kids having flat heads.) Your twin spits up on the sheets. What do you do?
You say to yourself, “Cribs are big. Babies are small. Just shift them to the other end of the crib and move on.”
You’ll wash the crib sheet eventually. Problem solved.
I am SO glad you are starting this series! We just found out at our 20 week ultrasound that we’re expecting identical twin boys…crazy! I’m going to need all the advice I can use!
I agree!! We just had a similar experience at our 20 week, but ours are 1 girl and 1 boy. We already have 3 boys under 5 at home. So we can’t wait to see what this journey will be like for us. A friend sent me the link to this blog and I’m excited to start reading, ESPECIALLY this series. Thanks!
soo fun! we,also, found out at our 20 week ultrasound that we were having b/g twins… and this summer they truned 2! it’s an amazing whirlwind and i def. agree that changing the crib sheet is low on the priority list.
amen! i did that and we only have one at a time.
also, never stand on a swivel chair with twins. *wink* we LOVE that book, too!
Haha, um, I’ve always done that and have only had one baby at a time. Once they start moving enough to make their way back to that spot, it’s all dried up! Good tip.
heehee! Of course!
Another tip: lay a thin blanket down on top of the sheet (one that is big enough to tuck down around the sides of the mattress. Then when they spit up, just yank the blanket off, throw it in the laundry basket and put a new blanket down. You might NEVER have to change the sheets (not that I ever did that…)
Agreed! Flannel baby diapers work really well for “spit up pads” too :) Absorbent, easily replaced once soiled and saves changing the sheets all the time
I usually use white automotive towels, but this was the ONE TIME I thought, “It’s only for a few minutes…”
I think Twin Tip #2 has already made itself apparent! :)
I completely understand about fearing the flat head! My friend’s son looked totally normal from the front, but as soon as he turned his head to the side…he looked like an alien from another planet!!! The back of his head didn’t curve out at all–from his neck to the top of his head was completely flat and straight. Since then, I have been the biggest proponent of tummy playtime!
My son is 3 weeks old, and he spits up on his sheets all the time. I just move him around the 4 ends of his sheets and then I change it. I have never had any illusions that I would be the sort of mom who changes a sheet when it gets spit up on it (or desitin).
I agree…only have one newborn and do this a lot : )
Just requested that book at my local library. It sounds hysterical, and it will feed my children’s book addiction nicely.
I’ve found baby wipes cover a multitude of baby messes — they clean up spit-up, snot and/or diaper leaks in a crib. (I hate changing crib sheets. I will do a lot to avoid wrestling a mattress.)
I’m a fan of tip #1 – and currently do this with only one newborn. Babies are small. So small in fact, that if he gets a little spit up on the swaddling blanket, I just rotate it, and continue using it to swaddle said newborn… within reason of course :)
You are a brave woman, Molly! If I shared half of the things I do to manage the twin factor, my mom would be ashamed and my Italian friends would gasp. What they don’t know won’t hurt them!
This cracked me up. I nanny for twin baby girls (my second job nannying for twin babies!) and I have done this LOTS. I also use bibs to hide spit-up and drool stains on onesies when I just don’t want to do yet ANOTHER outfit change. Little did I know that doing chinese fire drills in junior high would prepare me for transporting twins anywhere.
This is great. And when you think about it, it’s not a good use of time to wash something that is just going to get spit-up on it again anyway, so wash only after about three or four spit-ups in different areas of the sheet. Very smart.
Spit-up? What spit-up?
LOVE IT! May have to try that one;)
You certainly aren’t alone Molly, as any sleep-deprived mom can testify!
I would have NEVER done that with my first, but quickly got over it when #2 came along! I guess by the time 3 and 4 debut you get really good at making the laundry stretch :). Good to know I am not the only one who does this.
I was laughing today because my friend’s twins were at my house and they got their cups mixed up. One of the other kids said it was okay because twins don’t have germs. I had to agree. My twins shared bottles, pacifiers, nebulizers, cookies, everything. I may have tried at first to keep things seperate, but it was fighting a losing bottle – I couldn’t stop them from sharing. They even chewed on eachother’s toes.
I was laughing today because my friend’s twins were at my house and they got their cups mixed up. One of the other kids said it was okay because twins don’t have germs. I had to agree. My twins shared bottles, pacifiers, nebulizers, cookies, everything. I may have tried at first to keep things seperate, but it was fighting a losing bottle – I couldn’t stop them from sharing. They even chewed on eachother’s toes. Oh and my twins were #3 and 4 as well.
I am the same way about flat heads and am quite proud of the round heads I managed. I’m surprised my first wasn’t flat because he slept soooo much. But my second WAS flat and I determined not to let that happen again. 3 round heads later,I am quite proud of them. :) And me. Oh, the things we care about.
Now that’s real life! I’ve always double sheeted (and padded) my crib so that if one gets poopy or spit-uppy in the middle of the night (or day) I can just rip off a layer and I don’t have to worry about making the bed right then.
I picked up someone else’s carseat in the nursery on Sunday only to realize it wasn’t mine because it didn’t have any spit up on it and honestly thought, “See, good thing I never wipe this…How would I know which carseat is mine?”
Our 2nd born was quite the spitter as well! I resorted to always putting a burp cloth under him no matter where he was (and I always had a spare nearby!) ;)
Glad to have found your blog – we just moved to town and attend Hope Community Church as well. I think my husband met your hubby there a few weeks ago.
Cheers!
~h
Hi Molly,
A friend gave me your site a couple of years ago when my husband and I lost our first little girl. It has been so healing to read your thoughts as you deal with the loss of your little Felicity. Last spring we found out we were having twins and it was so fun to read your twin posts! Our twins are now 10 weeks old and still living in their first home, the NICU. They came early at only 26 weeks. All that to say, I want to thank you for your twin survival tips! I’m hoping to get my babies home from the hospital as soon as possible and I’m sure I will love using all your tips! Keep ‘em coming! Love, Langley
Molly I think it is so beautiful how God has blessed you with two precious babies at once. I know that no baby can replace Felicity but how strange/amazing that God would give you two miracles in one pregnancy. After he took one of your precious blessings home so early. Sometimes (okay…all the times) I don’t understand God but in this I see a beauty and a real blessing.
[...] my last post about surviving twins, I revealed a grave error: I put a kid down on a sheet without something underneath his head. [...]
That’s a good tip for any new parent! ;) My 1 year old had the stomach flu the other night and instead of waking him up to change the sheets I just cleaned up the puke and moved him! Bad parenting? Maybe, I just value my sleep! :)
Best trick for babies that spit up –
Layer the sheets.
Put down a sheet, then a crib pad, then another sheet on top. That way when it’s the middle of the night and puke is too bad to just move them, you strip sheet and crib pad and still have a clean sheet.
When you first posted this I though “gross.” And then I had twin boys….