I’m calling it. I think my months & months (& months) of breastfeeding two then regularly one are done.
Zach hasn’t consistently nursed in months (March’s end of cosleeping/his crib sleeping & STTN ended our nightly bfing). The last couple months he’s nursed the occasional morning if he’s pulled into our bed, when he’s been home sick or one post-nap nursing session. Last Monday am was what I believe will be my last tandem feed ~ they woke up too early, husband brought them to me in bed when he left for work. And when they both asked for “Mommy?!” I obliged knowing bittersweetly this might be another end of an era. Z cracked me up fumbling a bit as of he’d kinda forgotten how & L acted as if this was a strange treat she wasn’t quite sure about. I thought about fumbling for my phone for a photo but decided to just live in the moment instead.
That evening L nursed on each side for less than a minute before asking for cuddles & bed. Same thing Tuesday, 1 min per side, quick sippy then bed.
No nursing from L for the past week. And this Tuesday night (the eve of her second birthday) as she sauntered on her own down the hall to her crib, she said over her shoulder in response to my asking about her sippy, “no. Finished. Cup. Sink.” Well, ok then.
In one weeks time, she’s gone from a combo of nursing & a sippy cup of organic whole milk before I carry her to bed to being done with pre-bed “mommy time”, sippies & walking herself to her crib!
If you need me, I’m in the corner with my slightly sore, very deflated (yet still rock star because hello 23 mos!) boobs. Both in awed wonder & sadness at the loss of my baby who’s suddenly a growing up toddler.
Before I get into a fun & poignant week of birthday week posts, I didn’t want to leave out sharing a few of my
favorite photos from Lucy & Zach’s two year photo session with my lovely & talented friend Steph, the photographer behind LilyMae Photography.
Yep, this is our life ~ laughingly wrangling toddlers & doing whatever it takes to make them smile 🙂Lucy girl!
Lucy’s smile {finally!} is thanks to her Daddy’s tickles!Eyelashes, thanks to his Daddy. 🙂 Curls I’m putting off cutting, all Mommy 🙂
Lucy & Zach were just about over photos when we changed them into their birthday outfits. But Steph & I were determined to get a few sweet shots of them together. Thanks to Annie’s fruit snacks, these were accomplished!
So proud to call them mine & TWO!This shot is so them ~ a mix of sweetness & side eye!
Two year ago if you’d asked if I would’ve let alone taken much less shared this photo below I would’ve been somewhat repulsed & laughed out laugh. Who takes photos of their kids’ pee?
Me! The mom who almost cried she was so happy & proud of her daughter’s first peeing on the potty, that’s who. {I’ve also taken – but not shared – multiple poop photos for doctors’ visits.}
After months of L & Z sitting on their little potties before we jump into the bath, Lucy peed {now two Monday nights ago}! She was kinda like oh what happened?! at first then she was so proud of herself as I clapped & shouted & hugged her! Zach jumped into the excitement too before I whisked their lil naked bums into the bath!
Lucy’s first peepee in potty & proud girl after bath! 🙂
It hasn’t’ happened again since. But we haven’t been pushing potty training ~ just brought them potties in the bathroom that they’ll sit on fully dressed when I pee & then they sit naked before baths. We have potty books we now read & have watched an Elmo Potty DVD. I plan to get more into potty training this summer as they show more interest & successes.
Any potty training times two tips fellow multiples moms?!
I thought it was well past time to do another must haves list. I’ve looked back on my newborn list for twins to reminisce & have shared it with multi-momma-to-be friends too. Here’s my favorites for Zach & Lucy from the past couple of months.
Feeding
If you’re still nursing like I continue to do {yay you & us!}, some of the newborn list still applies like a good pump for working moms, nursing pads & the twin version of the mybrest friend pillow. I continue to use the Gerber 9oz bottles to pump into & couldn’t go without mini packit coolers for storing my pumped milk while at & on my way home from work.
Around 11-12 months, Zach & Lucy said goodbye to our beloved bottles. We had a mix of 9oz tommee tippee, 5 oz Medela, & 5 & 9 oz Gerber bottles. I discovered 5 oz bottles will hold almost 6 oz filled so that’s what we used for almost a year. I’d heard to buy a few of multiple kinds of sippy cups because it can be a tough transition & kiddos can be picky. {Aside: we’d tried water or water/apple juice in starter sippys beginning around 8 months with little success.} Zach likes ones with handles.
His favorite are these Nuby ones. Lucy isn’t as picky, so we have a mix of non-handled ones in her daycare milk rotation too.
When they started really eating solids, I purchased some waterproof big bibs online & from Target & Walmart. The bumkins ones have held up better than the others.
Munchin snack cups are toddler stand bys.
Snack took precedence with Lucy & Zach over Nana Sunday afternoon.
We agree. I have 4 & at least 2 are in the dish washer at any one time.
We love our Fisher Price space saver high chairs. They fit securely in our regular dining room chairs & Lucy & Zach eat at the table with us.
Clearly they’re fans too.
Clothing
We tend to return again & again to Carter’s {from their outlet, Target & Costco}, Target’s Circo line & the Children’s Place for our daycare & play staples. I love the quality of Gymboree & GAP Kids when they’re having sales & those are brands I look for first while consignment shopping.
For pjs, I’m a bit of a mixed bag, & I’d say our must haves would include both cotton zippered & snap long-sleeve {mostly} footed pajamas as well as Old Navy two-piece ones. Zippers are quick & snaps work well for getting-to-the-diaper-while-keeping-toddler-dressed for cooler nights, & we like the two piece short sleeve {& some shorts} for mix & match as well as heavy drooling/vomit nights.
I’d be remiss if I left Halo sleep sacks off this list. We love them in both cotton & fleece. Lucy & Zach are about to outgrown the size mediums & we’ve added the larges into rotation while I’m stocking up on XLs for this fall & winter.
Leaving The Nest
We received a Baby Jogger City Mini for Christmas. It stays in the van because we use it that often: for fitness walks & strolls, shopping trips, at the beach.
I also keep one of our Ergo carriers in the van. It continues to work great for grocery or Target shopping with a sleeping toddler.
When Lucy & Zach aren’t in either of the above, we put them in shopping carts with one of our cart covers.
The covers we received at showers are adaptable for restaurant high chairs too.
Toys
There are so many toy options for toddlers. These are a few of my duo’s favorites. {All links unaffiliated from Amazon.}
Standing toys
From their birthday, playing with their ball table before school.
When they first began to pull up, we bought them the Bright Stars ball table. At the time, their hands were too small to palm the balls. Now they’re clanging the balls together & fetching them across the room. Lucy & Zach also have the Fisher Price laugh & learn kitchen. We don’t travel without either of these two.
We have future books nerds on our hands. This could not make my momma heart any happier. This week, we’ve read Owl Babies, Little Blue Truck, Goodnight Owl, Five Little Monkeys, Good Night, Little Bear & Pookie a thousand times. I’d recommend board books for toddlers. We know mine are getting a new tooth when they start choosing on a book & ones without flaps have survived the best.
That’s it off the top of my head for now. Let me know if you think my list misses something your toddler loves. I’d also love to hear what we might want/need for our next stage.
