bestoftwins, Author at The Best of Twins

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How to Help Teething Babies

Sep 042012

We just returned from our traditional Labor Day weekend trip to the lake. The weather was some of the nicest we’ve had all year, including a day and a half of some much-needed rain. Grandma and Grandpa were there to help out, which we really appreciate when chasing after all three little ones. Our 3-year old had a wonderful time (and cried when we left). It was a great weekend with one hitch: both of our twins were teething.

Teething Signs & Symptoms

Teething seems to affect babies differently, and sometimes the signs are difficult to recognize. Our babies cut their first teeth between 3-7 months of age. The first few teeth are easier to detect because your baby’s gums are largely smooth, and it’s easy to see new teeth coming in. But the major symptoms of teething are somewhat nonspecific.

General Fussiness

The fussiness level varies widely among babies, but every baby seems to have a baseline, described as when and why they tend to fuss, and how loud or how long it gets. With our twins, we have one boy on the low end of the fussy scale, and one on the high end. Once you get used to your baby’s baseline, it’s easier to notice when he or she seems especially fussy throughout the day and multiple days in a row.

For the low-end twin, almost any crankiness that persists for a day or longer is a sign of something wrong. For the already-fussy twin, it’s more like he’s being tortured by invisible monkeys at every possible instant. We notice it most when the babies should otherwise be happy – when they’re fed, rested, and have a favorite toy in hand.

Refusal to Eat, Drink, or Take A Pacifier

One or more teeth coming in creates sensitive, swollen gums. As a result, babies don’t seem to enjoy eating as much as they normally do. They turn away from the bottle, even when they’re clearly hungry. You might notice that your little one will drink (or nurse) for a bit, then pull off and cry a bit, then drink some more as hunger takes over. This process repeats over and over until the hunger isn’t enough to drive past the discomfort.

Our twins, at 15 months, are eating solid table foods regularly. When they have a tooth coming in, they refuse to eat even their favorite snack foods. That’s when we know that there’s a real problem: a clearly hungry baby that can’t make himself (or herself) eat.

Perhaps worst of all, a baby that regularly takes the pacifier will continually spit it out. This is especially frustrating at night when a pacifier is the last crucial part of the bedtime routine.

Biting Things

Another symptom that we’ve noticed (more with the boys than with our daughter) is that they tend to bite more things while teething. That includes us, the parents. We all know that putting things in the mouth is classic baby behavior — it’s part of how they explore the world. The biting behavior I’ve observed in association with teething is a completely different animal. First of all, they bite a wider range of things, most of which are clearly not food. Some examples:

People. Specifically, they bite parents and even grandparents who happen to be holding them. Usually they like to bite the soft part of the shoulder. They also enjoy pulling my hand to their mouth to chomp on it. And watch out! When they have a lot of teeth, it hurts.
Toys. Things made of wood (puzzle pieces, blocks) or soft plastic (dolls, bath toys) seem to be the most popular targets.
Soft things. Blankets, clothes, socks, and stuffed animals are chewed on constantly. Most of these things can taken, but the Aden+Anais blankets recently started to suffer.
Furniture. The boys really go after crib rails (they’re at the perfect height while standing), but also edges of tables,

Second, and you’ll probably have noticed this already, teething babies aren’t usually trying to taste or eat these things. They’re gnawing on it because it feels good, and they’ll do so even if not hungry.

Other Teething Symptoms

We have noticed other symptoms occasionally that seem related to teething: drooling, runny nose, etc. But the biting things, fussiness, and refusal to eat or drink are the front runners. Really, the true test is to wash your hands really well, and then feel the gums with your fingers. Often you can see and feel a new tooth coming in, and you can sense the swollen gums.

Help A Teething Baby

Sophie the Giraffe Teether

Teething is a rite of passage for you and your baby. It won’t be one of those cherished times that you look back upon with eternal fondness. It’s a time your baby is suffering, so it’s a time that you suffer. There are a few things you can do to ease your baby’s pain, and make things better all around:

Baby teethers. There are plenty of bright, colorful baby teething toys out there. Some you keep in the refrigerator or freezer to provide a cool soothing sensation when your baby chews on them. Others are just chewable all the time. Sophie the Giraffe is one of our favorites. Find one that your baby likes and stick with it!
Teething necklaces. The latest thing in baby gear is a stylish necklace that doubles as a portable [emergency] baby teether for your little one. These are handy if you’re out and about, or simply want nicer jewelry spared from your baby’s little chompers.
Cold, chewy foods. Frozen waffles and refrigerated bagels seem to offer the chewiness and the cold that soothe baby’s gums.
A pacifier rinsed in cold water. This proved a useful trick for our boys when they woke up [crying] in pain from teething. The cool, wet, soft touch of the pacifier soothed them back to sleep on a couple of occasions.
Baby Orajel or infant pain reliever. Consult your pediatrician, first, but there are pharmaceutical solutions. Orajel for temporary topical pain relief, and baby Advil if the pain is pretty bad.

Guest Post on Multiples & More: Apple Picking with Twins

Life With Twins 1 Response »

Aug 272012

I’m excited to have a guest post on the wonderful Multiples & More blog with 5 tips for parents of multiples. I took motivation for the article from a recent trip we took to the apple orchards with all 3 kinds (our 15-month-old boys and 3-year-old daughter). It was a brave, crazy idea but we couldn’t resist: good weather and the brief season for picking the most coveted of sweet apples, the Honey Crisp. It was early season, and though the orchards were crowded, they were nothing like they’ll be come September and October when apple and pumpkin picking hit their peak.

Wagon or Double Stroller?

As I mentioned in my last post, one of our twins is walking. Unfortunately, orchards are about the worst place for a wobbly toddler to be practicing his newfound skill. The paths between apple trees are uneven. The grass isn’t well mowed. And there are apples all over the ground. Even I nearly wiped out a couple of times. So we kept the boys in the shady comfort of their double umbrella stroller.

We were close to taking the Radio Flyer wagon instead. It handles the rough terrain better than most strollers. We held off, though, because we knew we had to take a hayride out to the orchards, and a big old wagon wasn’t going to fit. In contrast, no one even raised an eyebrow when we slid our folded umbrella stroller onto the haywagon. We had our hands full with kids and apples. People understood.

Taking Twins Out in Public

Our confidence for such an expedition was running higher than usual. Normally we’re homebodies, and quite happy to spend our weekends at home alone. But earlier this summer, we took our first vacation as a family of five to Traverse City in northern Michigan. Nothing like a 12-hour drive to test your parenting mettles, right? We rented a lovely little cabin on a small lake up there and really enjoyed it. Although we had a kitchen and used it for most breakfast and lunch meals, we had several favorite restaurants up there that we didn’t want to miss. So we went out to eat nearly every night.

And boy, did we get a lot of attention!

It must be quite a sight when our blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter and twin boys are all set up at the table. We bring a mobile base camp with us: padded high chair covers for the boys, coloring books and crayons for the girl, and little snacks and drinks all around. And since they were just getting up from naps, they were all pretty chipper. Most of the time, anyway. In one restaurant, our waitress admitted that all of the other servers kept telling her, “You have the cutest kids at your table!”

So we spent a great deal more time in public than usual, and it made us more confident to do so again. It’s not easy when your twins are little (much less so with a fleet-footed 3-year-old). But they’ll never be this young again. So we took a chance on the orchards. We came back hot and exhausted. The apples are long gone. But the photos and memories will last!

When Twins Learn to Walk

Parenting Twins 2 Responses »

Aug 242012

Despite a shared environment and age, twins are different in many ways. Our boys, now 15 months old, are the perfect example of this. One of them started walking about a month ago. He’s already quite confident at it. Too confident, if you ask me. His over-eagerness combined with the lurching, unsteady gait of a new toddler have already landed us in the emergency room last summer.

We’d done a fair job of babyproofing for boys, gating off the stairs, and watching for falls. Then, while toddling around, he just lost his balance, fell, and hit his head on the corner of a wall. I was just getting ready for work; instead, we all piled into the minivan and shot to the E.R.

No Twin Left Behind

On the complete other end of the spectrum, we’re still teaching the younger twin to walk. He was slower to adapt the traditional crawl as well; for months, he relied on the “injured man” crawl, where the legs drag behind. Part of the slower gross motor skills might have to do with personality: our youngest, in general, is just content with the world and his place in it. He’ll sit and play with a single toy, box, or scrap of paper for the longest time. The motivation to move on his own just wasn’t as strong.

Is Physical Therapy Necessary?

We have about a month and a half to get younger boy walking independently, or else he’ll be sentenced to physical therapy. There’s nothing technically wrong with that; our daughter went through it. By her last few sessions, though, she wasn’t getting anything out of it. They’d take her foot measurements for new inserts, and then she’d play for half an hour. Each time, we paid our copay and they told us “Oh, the next time will probably be the last one.” They strung us along with that pretty good.

Finally we figured out that we could measure her feet for inserts on our own, and we didn’t make another appointment. Our daughter (now 3) is tall for her age and a very fast runner. Sometimes we can’t even catch her. I’d say that’s a mission accomplished.

Update: Twin Boys Don’t Walk. They Run

Enjoy these pre-walking days!

So now it’s a few months later, and both boys are confident walkers. They really only have one speed: running full-tilt wherever they’re headed. They run to us or (more often) away from us. They run after (or from) their older sister. Sometimes we look back at those carefree days when they could only crawl, and wonder if we were right to encourage walking.

Once the older boy mastered it, though, the cat was out of the bag. His younger brother, though a super-fast crawler, was always reaching the desired toy or cup or snack a couple seconds too late. So he was going to learn it, and we helped him as much as we could. Besides, family walks around the block are so much more fun (and certainly more chaotic) now.

6 Ways Our Twins Are Different

Life With Twins No Responses »

Aug 182012

Our twin boys just turned 15 months old, and it’s amazing how different they are already. Granted, they are fraternal/dizygotic twins, but they share an age, a bedroom, and their environment. And they look alike, too. Not enough to confuse us on most days, but both blond-haired and blue-eyed. And that’s where the similarities generally end.

Sleeping
Eating
Crawling and Walking
Interests
Temperament and Personality
Future

1. Sleeping

The first difference is evident early in the morning, as the older boy is an early riser. He’s usually ready to get up at around 7 or 7:30. And while I know that some parents would kill for that, it doesn’t quite fit our schedule. Besides, his brother and their older sister happily snooze on until 8:30 or 9:00. So it falls to one of us to get up with him for special 1-on-1 early morning play time (I admit that sometimes this involves me snoozing on the couch downstairs). A few times we’ve had to undertake rounds of baby sleep training because he wakes up in the middle of the night to eat.

2. Eating

I suppose it’s not terribly surprising to learn that twins have different food preferences. They’re both eating mostly finger foods now. Since the age of six months, the older boy’s been rather picky. He’ll try eating for 15 minutes and after that he’s ready to get down. In the other high chair, his younger brother eats anything you put in front of him (despite being a couple of pounds lighter). I mean, anything. More recently, both twins have developed the bad habit of dropping anything they don’t want on the floor.

There are certain foods (like peas) that we can only get one of the twins to eat. Whenever we find something that both of them really like (spaghetti is one example), we make note of it and get that food into the rotation!

3. Crawling and Walking

The older twin crawled first, and by this I mean the “classic” hands and knees crawl. And he was fast. His brother was immobile for a couple of weeks, then developed the “wounded man crawl”. Far more arduous, and much slower. It took him another couple of months to switch to traditional crawling, and by then, the older twin was a confident walker.

It’s conventional wisdom that babies with older siblings learn to walk faster, but I don’t know if this is true. Certainly the motivation was there: when your older sister can simply run off with a disputed favorite toy, it inspires you to walk pretty quickly! Quite honestly, I think that the age at which babies learn to walk is affected by numerous factors:

Development stage. Our twins were preemies, so their adjusted age is 6 weeks younger. Their growth and skill development reflects this; when evaluated against children with the same actual age, our boys are in the 10th or 20th percentile for most measurements (height, weight, head circumference). The pediatrician assures us that they’ll catch up within a year or so.
Physical strength. There’s both a “nature” (genetics) and a “nurture” (training) component to this. Simply put, learning to crawl and walk takes a certain amount of strength, balance, and coordination.
Environment and personality. I’ve heard it said that babies in day care, who spend their days around numerous older children, tend to learn new skills more quickly. In my opinion, it’s also a matter of the baby’s habits. Part of why we think our younger twin is behind is simply that he’s more content in nature. He’ll happily stay in one place and play with whatever toy is in reach, while his brother constantly seeks out new stimulation.

4. Interests

Given the freedom to explore a room, our twins behave very differently. The older one is the troublemaker. Anything you left out, he makes a beeline for. Drinks. Pens and papers.Laptops. Food or kitchenware. It’s actually a great way to baby-test a room: put him down, and see where he goes. Because if there’s something he shouldn’t have, he’ll find it. Lately he’s taught us that things on the couch or kitchen table are now within his reach. Whenever he goes quiet, you know he’s gotten into something. He’s our motivation for finding new ways to contain and entertain our twins.

The younger twin doesn’t seem to have the same penchant for mischief. He’s generally quiet happy with the first toy he finds. The only thing that really draws his interest is an open laptop, which he likes to treat like a drum set. I can’t tell if he loves my Macbook or hates it. Sometimes he’ll just shove it off of a low table and onto the carpet.

5. Temperament and Personality

This is perhaps one of the better known differences between twins (even identical twins) and I find it very fascinating: every one has a different personality. This manifests in so many ways: how they play, how they spend their free time, how they interact with us and with others. Our older boy is high maintenance. He craves a lot of attention, he wants to be held all the time. He’s also the show-stealer and notorious flirt – he smiles, makes cute faces, and really turns on the charm for total strangers. He’s the one who brings them over from across the street or the other side of the restaurant.

At this point, most people notice that we have twins. The younger boy is the total opposite. He’s quiet. He keeps to himself. I get the feeling he could take us or leave us. He’s so laid back; a lot of times we just forget that he’s there. Around bedtime, he cleverly uses this to his advatage: many times he’ll crawl out of sight, play quietly with some toys, and buy himself an extra half hour. When strangers come up, he plays it shy, with a little smile and then turning away. And everyone just eats it up.

6. Future

I can’t help but think about how these differences, magnified over time, will undoubtedly lead to very different lives for our twins. Granted, they’ll share a close connection as twins usually do. But their interests, personalities, and chance events will probably set different courses in life for them. I know they’ll be put into different classes at school; that might lead to two independent sets of friends, better or worse grades, different colleges, different careers.

But I suppose after all those days of getting dressed alike, they’ll probably look forward to it.

Best Kids Wagon: Pathfinder by Radio Flyer

Product Reviews 6 Responses »

Aug 042012

Radio Flyer Pathfinder

The Radio Flyer wagon is our secret weapon. This classic form of kid transport has been around for decades, but its current form is highly evolved.

The cadillac of Radio Flyers is the Pathfinder, a two-seater hard plastic wagon with seat belts and a storage compartment underneath. We’ve been using this wagon since before the twins were born, and people are always asking about it.

Form and Features: Why Radio Flyer Makes Great Wagons

One of the reasons we love the Pathfinder so much is that its just a well-made wagon with lots of features to like.

Solid hard-plastic construction. It’s quite sturdy and durable, and we’ve certainly put our wagon through its paces. Even so, I like the plastic material better than Red Flyer’s original metal, which can dent or rust.

Safety Belts

Flip-up seats with seat belts. At first glance, the Pathfinder looks much like the classic Radio Flyer Wagon. Then you flip up the two seat-backs, and it’s almost like a stroller. Lap belts on each side can hold your little ones snugly in place (we’ve even tested them on fairly steep hills without issues) and the seat backs provide excellent support. Plus, it’s a more comfortable sitting position than a classic wagon.
Easy turns with pivoting front axles. The front double wheels are on a pivoting axle, and an extra-long handle makes the wagon very easy to handle. Remember how you used to have to force a Radio Flyer into awkward, tip-inducing turns? No longer.

Built-in Cupholders

Built-in cupholders. This is quite possibly the most important improvement to the wagon: a double built-in cupholder on each side. We use these to store bottles, sippy cups, toys, and other loose items. The kids love them.
Heavy duty tires. They’re thick, plastic, and take the bumps well. We’ve rolled them across cement, gravel, grass, and other surfaces and they hold up quite well.

Where the Pathfinder Wagon is Great for Kids

We often choose our wagon over the stroller when we’re going outside or in public. We’ve brought the wagon:

To the NICU when our twins were born. It was our 2-year-old’s fortress and entertainment center. We loaded the other seat with books, toys, and snacks. She stayed in the wagon, safe and contained, rather than wandering around the hospital. Well, most of the time. The nurses loved watching us roll in and out.
On walks around the neighborhood. The only downside is that it sometimes gets us too much attention from the neighbors, and we can never get home!
To our daughter’s swim lessons. Our twins (14 months) lasted longer in it than in the stroller, and they could see better too. They got a lot of attention!
Out in the backyard or the park. The boys aren’t to the point where they can walk around on uneven ground, so we often leave them in the wagon, letting them participate in outdoor play without getting dirt or itchy grass all over them.
Hauling goods and groceries around the house. Just tonight, the Radio Flyer served as a storage bin and organizer for a bunch of groceries while we ran errands. It’s useful like that.

Radio Flyer Umbrella Accessory

If you’d like a little weather protection, check out the adorable Radio Flyer clip-on umbrella accessory. This jaunty red umbrella is made of tough polyester, turning your Radio Flyer into a sort of “conestoga wagon.” It clips on to any Radio Flyer: the Pathfinder (which we have) or the classic model.

The umbrella’s clip is a flat, slip-proof clamp that adjusts from 1/8″ to 2″, allowing you to attach it to a beach chair, a deck rail, or whatever. It’s a great and stylish form of protection to keep handy in case of super-hot sunny days or sudden rainstorms.

Radio Flyer Canopy

Radio Flyer Wagon Canopy

One potential disadvantage of the Pathfinder wagon is that it’s open-topped, leaving the contents (or kids) exposed to sunlight or rain. Usually we address this with hats and sunscreen, but there’s another option: the Radio Flyer Wagon Canopy.

Yesterday, while at a crowded outdoor summer festival, we saw a mother of three with a Pathfinder wagon complete with this canopy. It was a warm, sunny day, and her kids were just loving their wheeled “conestoga” kingdom. It kept them shaded and contained while they could still look around 360 degrees and see everything.

The snap-on canopy is made by Radio Flyer just for their wagons. Its features:

Easy pole assembly and installation
UV protection against harmful sunlight
Four clips allow quick attachment/detachment of the canopy
Matching red color (bright red) with Radio Flyer name – sure to draw attention!

Radio Flyer Wagon Storage Bag

There’s another great accessory for the Radio Flyer, one that comes in handy if you’d like to haul some extra baby gear or toys around. This XL storage bag measures 15 inches by 15 inches by 16 inches, and holds up to 20 pounds. It attaches to the back of any Radio Flyer wagon.

These bags are great if you want to pull multiple kids around in the wagon (this doesn’t leave much cargo space). Or, if you’re pulling just one kid who likes to toss things out of the wagon.

More on Containing and Entertaining Twins

For some additional great “babytainment” ideas, check out our article on 6 Ways to Contain and Entertain Your Twins.

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