The Best of Twins

Raising twins has taught us to do things efficiently. One pregnancy, two babies, right? In our case, we’d already had a single child; we knew what that was like. Then reality sets in. There are also twice as many mouths to feed, diapers to change, and jammies to put on every night. It’s much harder to go in public, i.e. to the grocery store. Keeping with that efficiency theme, we started buying a lot of things in bulk. You can do this online or at the so-called “big box” stores.

Advantages of Buying in Bulk

There are good reasons for families with multiples to buy in bulk:

• Stock up. You buy a ton of food, and it lasts a lot longer. Not as long as it should, of course. Two buys seem to eat and poop like four boys.
• Cover the gaps. A major winter storm is brewing here as I write this, and there’s a rush on pretty much everything at the grocery store. We get to avoid that. Also, I can grab a fistful of wipes for that blowout diaper without worrying that we’ll run out.
• Save money. This is a big deal for us — we’re the kind of people who look at the price per diaper or ounce of formula.

Disadvantages of Buying in Bulk

There are some down sides to buying things in bulk, and these probably apply beyond the realm of baby stuff:

• Storage. It’s an eternal struggle to find place to stash the huge box of diapers or canister of formula.
• Up-front cost. True, you usually save over the long run, but you have to put up the money now for a larger quantity.
• Narrower selection. You can’t always get everything you want in bulk. Specialty products, like organic foods, are a good example.

5 Things to Buy in Bulk

We’re a long way from done raising our twin boys, but already I can tell you a few things that we bought in bulk and made a huge difference.

1. Infant Formula

Even though we breast fed all of our little ones, it become somewhat impossible to keep up with them. Especially once they grew and were drinking 6 or 8 ounces at a time. Infant formula, as you may be aware, is like liquid gold. It has all of the nutrients that a baby needs, DHA, all that good stuff. And they make you pay for it.

They say you’re supposed to pick a brand of formula and stick with it. We went with the big-box generic form of Similac, called Simply Right infant formula. It even has the blue lid. The price ends up being about $0.48 per ounce. They also have a Simply Right gentle formula for babies with sensitive tummies.

2. Diapers

This is probably the most obvious thing that you’ll burn through with twins or multiples. Even if your little ones start potty training early, you’ll still change thousands of diapers in the first 18 months. And this is something you don’t want to run out of, or even low on. It takes a bit of planning to make sure that you stock up on the right sizes (especially before they reach size 5, which seems to be a plateau).

Storage is another challenge, because diapers are bulky. We usually take them out of the box and stash the plastic sleeves of diapers in closets, under cribs, or wherever they will fit. We buy Huggies size 5 from Sam’s Club online, and they give you free shipping! Same thing for Pampers Easy Ups diapers.
3. Baby Cereal

Here’s one food staple that our boys couldn’t get enough of, once they were old enough to eat it. Single-grain and later multi-grain cereal makes a world of difference in keeping those little tummies satisfied. Especially at night, when a few spoonfuls of cereal before bedtime provides that slow burn to help them sleep just a little bit longer.

Most babies will start on the single-grain rice cereal, like the whole-grain organic cereal you can get from Earth’s Best.

4. Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are another crucial staple that we always try to have in stock. We don’t want to run out of these, EVER, and we don’t want to have to skimp on them after a blowout. They have uses beyond diaper changes, too: washing hands before or after eating, wiping faces before you go into the store, impromptu mess clean-up, that sort of thing.

5. Snacks and Finger Foods

We learned the hard way (with the boys) that once toddlers are old enough to eat finger foods, that’s pretty much all they want to eat. It’s one of the first things in life that they can somewhat control, so they latch onto it and don’t let go. Gerber claims that 25% of a toddler’s calories come from snacks; I’d say that’s probably an underestimate in our family.

So, as often as possible, we fed them finger foods that were designed for little kids. As opposed to, you know, Cheetos. When our twins first started eating finger foods, we gave them Gerber Graduates Puffs, for a few reasons:

• They have a light, airy texture and dissolve easily
• They’re made with real fruit
• They come in shapes that are easy to pick up

When the toddlers had grown more confident we also tried some of the other snacks: Gerber’s Lil Crunchies that look more like miniature cheese puffs. They’re far healthier, of course, as they’re:

• Made with 100% whole grain corn (4g of whole grains per serving)
• 30% less sodium than the leading cheese snack (presumably Cheetos)
• Good source of Vitamin E, Iron and Zinc

There are other things to buy in bulk, too, but these are the big ones. Just wait until your twins start drinking milk, then you’ll really learn what “buying in bulk” means.

This week, against our better judgement, we took our three toddlers (2-year-old boys and their 4-year-old sister) to their first major league baseball game. We’ve been watching games on TV in the evenings, and they’re old enough to be a little bit interested.

That said, taking all three kids downtown in the evening for a crowded sporting event seems a little bit insane. We’re pretty safety-conscious. We’re admitted germophobes. This doesn’t sound like something we would do voluntarily.

Of course, we made sure that “grandma and grandpa” were coming. We’re not that crazy. Having two extra sets of hands and eyes makes a huge big difference, when you’re worried about things like:

• Traffic on the walk to/from parking garages.
• Crime, vagrants, or hobos bothering us downtown.
• Our twins running away in the crowded stadium.
• Kids falling down the steep stairs or out of their seats.

Destination: Nosebleed Section

Because our team is popular, and we are not millionaires, we got seats approximately one mile up in the stadium. It was, ironically, much like the view that we get from the blimp camera while watching TV. Even though we were far away and high up, the view was spectacular. It wasn’t very crowded in our section, either, which is a big plus.

Our biggest fear is reliving the crowded, claustrophobic flight home from our tropical vacation. Traveling with toddlers can be brutal.

We got our daughter her own seat, and another one for the boys to share. We’d guessed correctly that the twins would be too busy to sit in one place for very long. They spent most of the game hopping from one lap to the other, climbing seats, and charming the people around us.

Kids Love Stadium Food

We intentionally chose a game that started an hour earlier than usual — this one was at 6:15 — so that the kids could see more of it. This meant that we’d have to eat dinner in the stadium. As it turns out, stadiums have all kinds of foods that toddlers are willing to eat. You just have to be comfortable feeding them a dinner that’s:

• Not very healthy
• Not very clean to eat
• 200% of the recommended daily salt intake
• Costs an arm and a leg (and then another arm)

Even so, this was our kids’ first game so I wasn’t taking any chances. During the first inning, I waited an eternity in line at the concession stand. When it was my turn, I went with the classics: stadium hot dogs, peanuts, soft pretzels, and a souvenir cup of lemonade. When we got back to our seats, the kids were quick to dig in. Hot dogs are always popular, of course — our daughter ate almost an entire one by herself. One twin liked the pretzel, the other preferred to sit on my lap and crack open peanuts.

Seventh Inning Stretch

There was also a baseball game to enjoy, and while our 2-year-olds could take it our leave it, our daughter was absolutely riveted. She sat contentedly in her seat the entire time, just enjoying the experience. We made it through the seventh inning, which is more than I expected. For those last couple of innings, we granted her only request: a giant bag of cotton candy. Talk about excitement! She and her youngest brother dug in and were quickly covered (hands and faces) in pink sugar residue.

The older twin wasn’t so sure. Something about the bright pink candy put him off, initially. Finally he was coaxed to try a bite, and the face he made was hilarious. He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, as if to say, I’ll be damned. This stuff is pure sugar! We had no trouble getting him to eat it then.

We left after that only because or home team was losing and it was getting late. As it stood, our children were going to be up 1-2 hours past their bedtimes, which is something we try to avoid.

Sugar Versus Sleep Deprivation

We returned to the minivan without incident and loaded up. Thanks to Grandma’s foresight, we had a cooler full of favorite sippy cups of milk waiting, and all three kids chugged them down. I thought for sure they’d pass out five minutes into the drive, but I underestimated the power of the sugar high. Our twins were wide awake half an hour later when we got home, though our daughter had quietly conked out in her seat in the back of the van.

Once home, we washed hands and brushed teeth thoroughly before bed. The next day, all three kids slept past 10 a.m.! They were worn out, but it was a thrilling experience for them. And not a bad one for us, either.