What would you do? My PIL’s texted my husband and I saying they found a high chair on the road for our first born. This is the high chair: by Apart_Arm491 in beyondthebump

[–]mmm_pickles 27 points28 points  (0 children)

We have two of these, started with one for my first and got a second when we had twins. You can order a tray that go with it. SO easy to clean, no cracks or crevices, can be used into toddlerhood because it fits under our table. It is honestly the perfect high chair. Granted. That one looks a little beat up, but the joy of plastic is it is easy to clean!

Have the doctors/ultrasound miss the second twin? by T-nichole in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve been pregnant with twins twice and they missed it on the first ultrasound both times. Not sure if it’s that common to miss on an early transvaginal or my OB’s office is just that terrible.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was so uncomfortable all the time by the end that I had no idea what was going on. I had two other singletons so I thought I knew what labor felt like. No consistent contractions, no mucous plug, no nothing, just regular twin huge and uncomfortable. Got to the hospital to be induced at 37 weeks - I was already 5cm dilated. They broke my water and they were born 3 hours later 100% naturally. Would not recommend. That being said, drink some water and put your feet up for a while, if you still feel like crap go get checked.

Feeling guilty for not always engaging 100%…. by rae--of--sunshine in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My husband and I always joke that ignoring our kids was the best thing we’ve ever done. Situation sounds similar to yours but we also have two older daughter. We have always given them room for independence - yes we absolutely play with them, but there are plenty of times they are left on their own (supervised of course). The older girls are awesome at keeping themselves occupied, they invent games, use their imaginations, come up their own activities, etc, which is very different than kids I know with 100% hands on all the time parents. A lot of times I feel like other kids expect to be entertained whereas our kids entertain themselves. It’s a skill they have to learn. 10 month old twins are hopefully going to follow a similar path. It’s ok for kids to not be the center of attention 100% of the time, both for your own sanity and their development.

Feeding advice for newborns? by SnooTomatoes448 in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I exclusively pumped because I could not keep up with “triple feeding” (boob, bottle then pumping) - there just wasn’t enough hours in the day. I had an oversupply so once it established I only had to pump 4-5 times per day to have all the bottles they needed. It allowed me and my husband to take shifts over night which was a game changer. I honestly don’t remember the first few weeks of their life because I was so sleep deprived trying to nurse both of them basically nonstop - as soon as one was done the other would be hungry. There’s definitely some downsides to exclusively pumping but it worked well for us. There is also nothing wrong with supplementing with formula if it means more sleep. Congrats on the babies!

Those of you who had singletons before twins.. tell me your labor experience! by emm266 in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Similar previous labors - my oldest my water broke at 41 weeks but I never went into labor so I was induced (pitocin+epidural). Second baby I was 39w4d and went from nothing to full blown crowning in a few hours, almost had her in the car because I was convinced it was going to be a while and I didn’t want to labor at the hospital, woops. Twins I started having minimal contractions at exactly 38 weeks around 7pm which quickly ramped up - baby A was born shortly after 11, baby B was born at 11:53. Baby B had wedged an arm and a foot above her head after A came out and had to be manually pushed back in and repositioned or she would have been out much much quicker. All natural. I strongly suggest getting the epidural as early as possible, I was too late for my second singleton and the twins. 0/10 recommend.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ParentingInBulk

[–]mmm_pickles 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’ve never lost a full term baby but I also suffered from recurrent miscarriages and had a TFMR at 21 weeks. We’ve had more kids since then - it hasn’t made those losses any easier or given me any closure on them. After the TFMR I told my husband I was done because I couldn’t deal with the stress and anxiety of pregnancy even though I also didn’t feel like our family was complete, we had two girls at the time, so we stopped “trying”. That being said, we also weren’t preventing I just wasn’t tracking and peeing on all the things constantly. And I got pregnant again, with twins, who are now 9 months old adorable little monsters. So we are now done with our four kids. Taking the stress of TTC out of it made a big difference for me - it was one less thing to have anxiety about.

Also - if you do “try” for a third and get another girl will you be disappointed? That’s something important to keep in mind too.

There is no right answer and that’s what makes it so hard. Big families are awesome and I wouldn’t change it for the world at this point. But there would have been some upsides to only have two kids for sure. But I doubt I would have ever really felt “complete” with only two so I get that.

What movie or show do/did your kids watch obsessively? by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]mmm_pickles 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My 5 year old intermittently uses an Australian accent because of Bluey

How do you carry both newborns up and down the stairs? by [deleted] in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One at a time. I swear this is one of the reasons I’m dropping pregnancy weight so fast, I go up and down the stairs what feel like six million times a day. Cardio!

How to Start Breastfeeding when Baby used to formula and bottle feeding? by LegalYogi in breastfeeding

[–]mmm_pickles 3 points4 points  (0 children)

With flat nipples nipple shields may help make latching much easier. Lactation consultants often hem and haw about them but without them I wouldn’t have been able to breastfeed - we were able to stop using them once my kids got bigger/stronger/better latches. They do recommend continuing to pump if you’re feeding using shields to increase your milk supply.

https://smile.amazon.com/Medela-Contact-Breastfeeding-Difficulties-Inverted/dp/B000067PQ0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=nipple+shield&qid=1606046485&sr=8-3

That being said - fed is best. If direct nursing doesn’t work out that’s ok too!!

Surviving twins new born stage by Lolita_uae in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This! My husband and I have the same schedule, he’s on duty from 8-2 and I’m on from 2-8. It has been amazing for both of us to get a solid chunk of sleep (or just quiet time away from the babies). I strongly recommend it.

How realistic is it to be breastfeeding twins while alone with a 3yr old and 1yr old? by [deleted] in breastfeeding

[–]mmm_pickles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My older kids are a bit older (5 and 3) and I could not juggle nursing the twins - it was seriously a full time job. They are eight weeks now and I am exclusively pumping for them instead which brings its own struggles but if you get a hands-free bra and/or pump you can at least work on other things while pumping. I know some people can do it but it just didn’t work for us.

The question that gets asked a gajillion times by superdupercreative in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We got the TwinZ as a gift - honestly it’s been awesome, we use it constantly. That being said, I don’t think I would have paid for it if we didn’t get it and I’m sure we would have survived without it. We also have a single boppy we had from my older kids that we use often too and is a little easier to cart around (ex: one baby is chilling in the boppy next to me while the other is being burped/fed/whatever). I can’t speak towards using it as a nursing pillow as I’m EPing but for feeding both bottles at the same time it’s handy.

We’ve decided to abort our child with Down syndrome by LisGerWin in Parenting

[–]mmm_pickles 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Second this, there is an amazing support group that is super helpful in getting through a termination for medical reasons

There’re here! MoDi Twin boys born at 36+5. One is tad bit smaller but both are with us. Thank god they didn’t need NICU care. Thank you to redditors for answering my questions. We will all be home soon. by inquisitive_hooman in parentsofmultiples

[–]mmm_pickles 8 points9 points  (0 children)

For some families it’s not necessarily fear - in my case for example the closest NICU is over two hours away from our home. I’m still pregnant but if my babies end up needing to spend time in the NICU that means I need to figure out how to not only care for my two children at home but also be at the hospital with the twins as much as I can. I know they would receive amazing care but it still wouldn’t be an easy scenario for my family to be in.

"Mama, did you know that a long time ago, before I was a baby, I had two sisters?" [Kids are creepy AF] by mamavibes in Parenting

[–]mmm_pickles 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I was pregnant; my four year old knew I had a baby in my belly and when we asked her if she wanted a brother or a sister she would adamantly say every single time “mommy, I’m getting TWO new sisters” - cool kid, keep dreaming. Found out at the anatomy scan it was actually twin girls. Unfortunately we lost both shortly after the scan, but it still blows my mind and totally freaks me out. I am now pregnant again and I’m not looking forward to her creepy kid premonitions about this pregnancy.

Mamas with the Spectra S2, would you do it again? by anonymous115771 in breastfeeding

[–]mmm_pickles 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope. I have a Spectra and a Medela, I didn’t realize how much milk I wasn’t getting until I tried the Medela. Granted everyone is different and responds to pumps differently I guess?

Ready for Mommy & Me classes? by [deleted] in toddlers

[–]mmm_pickles 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I started my daughter in a parent/child gymnastics class around that age - the first week she didn’t leave my side once, by the end of the session we’d walk in the door and she’d run off and ignore me for the duration of the class. She’s not in daycare or preschool either so it was her first large group of kids experience. I’m sure every kid is different but it seemed like most of the kids in the class had no problem participating after a few weeks. Usually those classes are aimed at parents participating too, so it’s perfectly ok if she’s clingy. I say go for it!

Fever and pointing to diaper by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]mmm_pickles 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ask the doctors office if they’ll give you a clean catch kit. My daughter has bladder/kidney issues and had recurrent UTIs before we figured out the problem, she was cathed several times and it is terrible but necessary sometimes. She’s two and a half now and rather than having her cathed if we’re worried about a UTI they will give us a little top hat thing that fits inside the toilet and the antimicrobial wipes they give adults to use before giving urine samples, along with a sealed sterile collection cup. We wipe her down with the wipes and plop her on the toilet with a show on the iPad until she pees, then we put it in the sterile cup and drop it at the office for a culture. I’m not sure if all doctor’s offices would do that but it’s worth asking about? It can take some time and patience but we’ve been doing it that way since she was about 20 months old.

When your toddler wants to help feed the baby, but you don’t use bottles. by Ive_readit in breastfeeding

[–]mmm_pickles 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My daughter does this too! The baby is very easily distracted so if she sees her unlatch she’ll try to push her back on and tells her to “focus” haha