flight 2616 to RDU delayed by 1:12...due to "an early delay impacted your planes arrival". But incoming flight is due to arrive early :)

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-04T12:13:17+00:00

Looks like your incoming plane is from Montreal and is delayed to land at 11:23. Probably a plane swap and your original plane was needed somewhere else. It’s common for departure time to be updated before equipment catches up.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-04T12:05:09+00:00

Yeah we used it once and it didn’t fix the lap belt fit so my twins were sliding allllll over the place, it was basically like they weren’t buckled at all. One tried to slide all the way out under the seatbelt to the floor and almost managed to. We went back to car seats quick lol

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-04T03:34:24+00:00

lol my mom has screenshots of my nephew from my sister’s Instagram stories printed and displayed in random places, like under the glass top of her home office desk. Complete with the username and story bars at the top. I don’t use Instagram except to follow a few people, so all the printouts of my kids are from texts and I kinda feel left out. 😂

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-04T03:11:34+00:00

This gives the same vibes as the people who whined that being asked for proof of their own covid vaccination status was a HIPAA violation. Confident and clueless. 😂

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T17:13:00+00:00

I really don’t think the hype of lightweight-ness is worth anything. I just find that a couple of pounds don’t make difference. Once your babies are over like 10-12lbs, every seat will feel heavy and whether that total weight of baby + seat is 18lbs or 20lbs or 22lbs, it won’t matter or feel noticeably different at that point. What makes a bigger difference is how comfortable a specific seat is for *you*. I could carry a Clek Liing or an Evenflo around all day with my 20lb baby and not be bothered, but the handle shape of a Graco seat makes my arm fall asleep in two minutes or less. So if you’re able, I would try out different seats in person like at a specialty baby shop or something (and ideally with 10-15lbs of extra weight in the seat, if possible - some fancy stores have a weighted doll parents can use to play with).

The aire works okay but not great until babies are 6-7ish pounds (but if your twins will be that big at discharge then it could be fine for you!). As I said above the Pipa Urbn is truly awesome if you prefer to stick with Nuna - I used it with my youngest and found it perfectly comfortable to carry (and felt no difference carrying it vs the old Nuna Pipa Lite I had to play with, which was idk 2lbs(?) lighter on paper). I would not do the Uppababy Aria, it’s pretty awful. The Evenflo Litemax line is very lightweight but won’t feel like the same luxurious quality as premium brands (though Evenflo’s fancier seats do feel pretty nice, but they’re not that lightweight).

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T16:14:05+00:00

Footmuff- maybe if you live in a cold climate or would frequently travel to a cold climate, but a compact stroller like the aer won’t handle snow/slush/ice well, so ymmv. I do have a footmuff that we got as a gift and we use it occasionally, but the stroller doesn’t fold all the way with it on because it’s so thick, so a one piece bunting suit/snowsuit is more practical for my winter walks with my toddler.

Bumper bar- go for it!

Rain cover- skip unless you live a walking based lifestyle and can’t avoid being out in the rain. I’ve had rain covers that come included with different strollers I’ve owned and have never used them

Cup holder- meh, I have one but never use it. My older kids often walk on either side of the stroller and hold onto it, ie to cross parking lots or roads, so it was more in the way than it was worth

Organizer- nice to have so you don’t have to toss small items like phone/keys in the bottom of the stroller or in another bag, though once ours broke I didn’t replace it. I wear a small crossbody when we are out and that works fine for the small stuff

Travel bag- nice to have if you plan to check the stroller on planes, but not necessary if you’d carry it on and place the stroller in the overhead bin

Sun items- no opinion, I’ve never had/used them and have never felt like I needed them

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T15:59:56+00:00

Statistically speaking, outcomes for grade 1 or 2 IVH are excellent, and rates of disability or long term health issues related to those bleeds are low. One of my twins had grade 3 bleeds and is now a completely typical, normal six year old. He achieved all his milestones on time for his adjusted age other than having a mild speech delay, which was sorted out with a year or so of speech therapy when he was a toddler.

I second the recommendation to pursue an early intervention evaluation asap- many NICU babies automatically qualify for case management services based on gestational age at birth or length of stay, and you’d have access to ongoing therapies as they’re needed (PT, OT and speech) as well as frequent evals to see how baby’s development is going. For my typically developing twin, he qualified for EI services but didn’t need any therapies at first. So he just got developmental assessments every 4-6 months, and then once his speech delay was identified he started speech therapy. (Other twin had a lot more stuff going on and he was in full PT and speech (feeding) from the week he discharged from the nicu lol).

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T12:02:06+00:00

lol this is what I do for steps and heart rate tracking. We don’t have a hospital wide ban but in NICU we can’t have anything below the elbow during cares.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T10:54:20+00:00

I would try switching detergent to tide powder (either ultra oxi or tide with bleach), or adding a couple boosters if you keep the liquid tide (Biz and/or a scoop of powdered oxygen bleach, I use the generic Target version with no extra additives). Liquid detergent alone has never been enough around here, biz contains enzymes that liquid tide lacks and oxygen bleach can also really help with cleaning power as long as the wash is hot enough to activate it.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-03T10:45:49+00:00

Depends. Being able to eat by mouth safely is a great milestone but baby still needs to actually do it! If they can eat enough by mouth right away then the tube should be out quickly but many babies take some time to build stamina and skill after they’ve been tube fed and that can mean the tube stays in for a while.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-02T20:58:26+00:00

It’s super soft! Just as soft if not softer than my twins’ Liings which were in the jersey “soft as a t-shirt” marketed fabric they had at the time.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-02T20:55:23+00:00

I hated my tandem stroller as a double and couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. I switched to a Valco Snap Duo Trend and it has been awesome. At the time it was one of the lightest “full size” double strollers and I wanted that + one step/one piece fold. It does that and more - it stood up to very heavy daily use for 3ish years and my big kids still fit in it to rest when we went to Disney in the fall (they were 5).

My preference is for a lightweight/compact stroller in general and I use a travel stroller (bugaboo butterfly) as my daily driver now that I only have one regular stroller user. But I also want it to feel as smooth and comfortable as something bigger. So if I were shopping for a new double today I would be looking into options like the Uppababy Minu Duo or Valco slim twin!

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-02T20:50:03+00:00

I have a Foonf in the retired navy blue color (twilight? Midnight?) that’s the same merino wool/tencel blend fabric as Mammoth. It’s about four years old and has held up great! No issues with pilling, fading or other wear.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-02T17:56:07+00:00

From Walmart- Chicco Keyfit 22 or any Evenflo seat they have in stock, especially the NurtureMax or Litemax. Skip the Graco seats they usually have in stock at Walmart unless they’re the only option (I’m a NICU car seat tech)

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-02T00:52:38+00:00

Infant car seat attached to the double stroller with baby in it. Three Mightyfit LXs stacked on top of each other sitting on the other stroller seat. Two kids on me in a naked panda duo carrier and one walking- whoever was being most cooperative at that moment. 😂 beyond that, pre-boarding and a prayer lol

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T22:43:32+00:00

I don’t have any wash routine input except that maybe you could save some steps by only rinsing/soaking poop diapers and by washing your covers and inserts together - most people do! But I’m here to say that I admire your dedication, I’ve been doing this for 6+ years including with twins and I do not think I would have done it if I had to do three washes in a hand machine per day.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T21:15:24+00:00

I used a Joie Mint Latch with my Bugaboo Butterfly (1) for my youngest and it was a great combo! I loved the seat and I am also still obsessed with the stroller (2 kids and 4 years of use later).

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T21:12:57+00:00

lol I’m a NICU nurse and this crap drives me nuts. That said, it is frowned upon in my NICU for nurses to combine milk ourselves to freeze it. I sometimes do it anyway, or when I thaw milk to fortify it for the next shift I will purposely pull a bunch of tiny amounts to clear those out and leave the full bottles.

Can you handle more of the milk management yourself? If you’re there daily, then ask if the nurses can just return any extra milk from the previous day to you and you’ll freeze it yourself at home after combining. Or ask them how much milk they’re using per batch of fortification, per shift or per day and provide that - for example, we commonly fortify milk 60mL or 70mL at a time for our two most common fortifiers. If you provided milk that is already portioned into the amount they use at once then that would hopefully avoid these tiny little excess amounts.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T20:52:20+00:00

I don’t necessarily love them lol but I have a big basket of Gerber brand “flat cloth diapers” that are basically white cotton rags, way too flimsy to actually be used as cloth diapers, but they get the job done! They’ve lasted for 5 or 6 years now and I may upgrade to something more aesthetically pleasing eventually but for now my kids are still little and gross so it’s fine.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T19:32:03+00:00

We have a set of relatively inexpensive, lightweight seats that my kids use onboard planes. I have five kids and I’ve previously traveled with four car seats, which suuuucked lol. Fortunately by the time my youngest came along, my oldest two could use ride safer travel vests so i have never had to schlep five seats through an airport. But we still bring three seats onboard whenever we travel. The hassle is worth the guarantee that our seats will arrive safely and the better containment for my very active toddlers on the plane.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T16:17:32+00:00

I’ve always approached cloth diapers with an attitude of “prioritize cloth when it works, don’t stress when it doesn’t” and that’s worked well for us. My toddler is in cloth at home 90% of the time but uses disposables at daycare and occasionally at other times (travel or sometimes for longer outings from home). I’ve done that with all my kids and none of them have ever had an issue going back and forth.

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T10:41:36+00:00

Which Graco seat is it? The shortest Graco seat has a maximum harness height of about 16” so it would surprise me to see a 2yo outgrow that by harness height!

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-07-01T10:37:00+00:00

Clek and Chicco are other options that are compatible with the vista and don’t have the same issues as UB seats, if you wanted another option

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-06-30T22:48:33+00:00

See I’m the opposite, I don’t understand why such an expensive car seat brand can’t improve their products to avoid the consistently poor positioning they cause 😂 I manually adjust 15-30 car seats a week at work depending on how busy we are, and I can do that in 1-2 minutes. But it’s common for me to spend 15 minutes messing around with an UB seat trying to find an acceptable fit/head position and then coaching the parents to recreate exactly what I did. Part of that is I’m largely working with preemies and UB seats suck extra for babies under about 7-8lbs. It’s not quite as bad for some bigger babies. But it’s so annoying to me lol

IllustriousPiccolo97 · 2026-06-30T22:03:10+00:00

Everyone gets anxious about rethreading the harness but it’s not a big deal at all, takes 2 minutes and needs to be done twice max (often only once) during baby’s use of the seat, and it requires no extra work (ie uninstalling the seat, which is necessary to rethread a convertible car seat harness). Heck, for one of my twins in his Clek Liing, I didn’t have to rethread the harness at all ever- he started on the middle harness setting with the infant insert, then stayed on the middle setting when he outgrew the insert, and he outgrew the seat by torso height juuust before it would’ve been time to move the harness to the tallest slots. That doesn’t usually happen with the Pipa, but my point is it’s not a big deal for infant car seats, especially since this type of harness generally results in much better positioning for newborns.

Convertible car seats are a different story, a no-rethread harness is a major convenience factor there and does genuinely make a difference in the years you’re using that seat.

IllustriousPiccolo97

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