Hot wheels for the boys

Once I knew that I was expecting twins, I realised that I had to buy new twin-friendly baby equipment which would not be part of the usual hand-me-downs from friends and family. The first major twin-specific piece of equipment I knew I had to buy was a set of wheels for the boys.  Off to internet I went with Google and Yahoo search engines at my side. 

I quickly realised that not only did I need learn to understand my babies when they are born but I also needed to understand the different terms people use for the same thing depending on where they live. For instance, the words “prams”, “strollers” and “pushchairs” are used for pretty much the same thing depending on where you live in the world! 

So off I went on yet another research project. What I would need for my twins? This is what I found out.  There are commonly two configurations for twin strollers / pushchairs.  This would be the tandem (where one baby sits in front of the other) and the side-by-side. 

Both are designed to fit into elevators and through single doorways but the major difference I found was that tandem strollers are typically designed to carry two babies of different ages.  Most are not designed to carry two newborns at the same time!  If I were to buy something for my twin boys, I would have to look for a side-by-side stroller / pushchair where BOTH seats are designed for newborns and can be reclined fully. 

While there are many models out there, I had to carefully consider my lifestyle in choosing a stroller / pushchair.  As I am quite petite, have to drive everywhere hopping in and out of cars into buildings, my primary considerations for a stroller would have to be weight and ease of opening and closing. 

Some single strollers weigh 8kg and above while most twin strollers weigh in at a whopping 12kg – 20kg each.  Imagine having to lift that weight in and out of a car repeatedly in a day! And that’s before lifting the babies to and from their car seats and …. not forgetting the groceries???  Decision made … as light as possible please!

It’s too easy to get caught up with those funky space-age strollers with chunky wheels, spring suspension, storage bags galore and iridescent colours. But for practical reasons, a petite mother like me, looking after two babies, needs convenience above all.  If it’s not as sturdy as those designed for jogging through the park or some off-road adventure and only lasts a few years, that’s fine by me.  I can buy another one later. Who knows? I may even have to buy separate strollers by then if the boys no longer want to sit in a side-by-side stroller.

So this is what I bought, the Combi WE2 side-by-side weighing in at a featherweight 8.2kg (18 lbs).  While Combi is a famous Japanese brand selling through-out the world, the Combi WE2 is only available in the UK!!  The US version is the Combi Twinsport but that is slightly heavier at 10.2kg (22.5 lbs). 

I found and bought my Combi WE2 on e-Bay and it had it delivered last week!  I must say it looks very nice and will be perfect for the boys!  I can’t wait to take them out for a spin.

Here are some pictures of my WE2 opened and closed (it even stands by itself).

How to soothe and calm your baby

Now that we have some knowledge of babies' language of crying (see my previous post) , what can we do to soothe our baby?  If we have tried everything else e.g. feeding the baby, burping the baby, and nothing seems to work….. how do we calm our baby and stop our baby from crying?

I watched this amazing DVD last night and had to share it with you.
The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD)

Using these techniques, instantly and magically, the baby suddenly stops crying and somehow just calms down and rests in your arms peacefully.  It what the author (Dr Harvey Karp, a pediatrician), calls a reflex reaction.

The idea behind it all is that a baby has been in the womb for 9 months and suddenly, after birth, is deprived of all that it is used to in the womb.  The first 3 months is essentially like the ‘4^th trimester’ and if you can help to recreate the environment in the womb, it will help the baby settle outside of  Mom’s body. After the 4th trimester, the baby would have gotten used to life outside of Mom and these techniques can be reduced and removed.

The main secret lies in the 5 S’s:

1.      Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom's womb.

2.      Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding her, either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back.  These holding positions look ‘different’ from the ways people normally hold their babies but it works! 

3.      Shushing Sounds - These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be in the form of a vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a fan and so on. The good news is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries.

4.      Swinging (Jiggling) - Newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they were still in Mom's womb. Every step mom took, every movement caused a swinging motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming motion, which was so comforting and familiar, is abruptly taken away. Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it not being there.

5.      Sucking - "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system," notes Karp, "and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain." This "S" can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier or even a finger.

Some babies need all 5 techniques but some only need a couple.  Try them and see what works for your baby. 

After watching the DVD, my husband and I were amazed and impressed with the effect the 5 S’s had on crying babies.  We now feel empowered, like we were given some privileged knowledge and skills to handle our crying babies when they arrive.  

I haven’t read the book but I do recommend the DVD as you get to see the actual effects on the babies and also watch Dr Karp demonstrate the 5 S’s.  Each step sound easy but seeing them done properly, in conjunction with each other, is essential.

Every new parent needs to watch this!  You won't regret it!  

The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD)

Why is your baby crying?

One of the things I wonder about is how would I know why my newborn baby is crying.   

I had that experience with my sisters’ babies – they would cry their lungs out but we would have no clue as to what it was that they wanted.  We would try feeding them, playing with them, carry them….. but they would still cry and cry…..  This was particularly bad during the first couple of months.  It was very frustrating and unnerving for all in the household!  I felt so helpless and I certainly don’t wish to feel that when my twins arrive! 

The other day one of my friends who heard of my pregnancy (and who now has a 4 month old baby) recommended that I check out Dunstan Baby Language -- Learn the universal language of newborn babies.  She said it really worked.  

It teaches you to hear exactly what your baby is communicating.  As a parent, you will be able to interpret your infant’s sounds and cries – and respond to their needs quickly and effectively. 

However this is most effective during the first 3 months.  Every newborn communicates from birth to 3 months using 5 distinct sounds that signal hunger, tiredness, need to burp, lower wind/gas and discomfort.  This is regardless of the language their parents speak.  It is not a learned language.  Rather, it is a natural way for every baby to express their physical needs.  

The Dunstan Baby Language was discovered by Patricia Dunstan.  She has also appeared on Oprah to talk about the baby language she discovered.  Here is an excerpt about Priscilla:

When Priscilla was a toddler, her parents discovered she had a photographic memory for sound. At age 4, she could hear a Mozart concert on the piano and play it back note for note.

Priscilla says her gift has helped her hear a special "second language" beyond English, allowing her to detect moods and even diagnose illnesses! "Other people might hear a note but I sort of get the whole symphony," Priscilla says. "So when someone's speaking, I get all this information that other people might not pick up."

That mysterious second language took on an astounding new meaning when Priscilla became a mother to her baby, Tom. "Because of my gift for sound, I was able to pick out certain patterns in his cries and then remember what those patterns were later on when he cried again," Priscilla says. "I realized that other babies were saying the same words."

This was all certainly music to my ears.  I bought the Dunstan Baby Language on DVD and made my family watch it so they will also understand what my babies are trying to tell us.  I can’t wait to listen to my babies’ cries and to respond to them properly.  If it helps me understand my baby better, it’s worth every penny I paid for it!

Dunstan Baby Language -- Learn the universal language of newborn babies

Check out the video here:

I'm going to be a mummy to twins!

I am about 6 weeks away from becoming a mother!  To twins!  When I first discovered that I was pregnant, I was overjoyed to say the least.  My husband and I will be bringing 2 new lives to this world and we know we will love them to bits.   As the months went by, I started getting anxious and worried.  This is my first pregnancy and I have NO CLUE how to take care of babies.  In fact, I have NEVER even carried a newborn in my life.  I always found them too fragile and feared hurting them.  Soon I will have 2 to take care of!  How will I cope?  How will I know what to do?  What if I did things wrongly?

So began my search for information on baby care – I read books after books (I have never read as much in my life!), hungrily surfed the internet and also spoke to many mothers (who are always willing to share).  There is a whole load of information out there and surprisingly (or not surprisingly), a lot of them are conflicting.  Some say let your baby cry, some say never let your baby cry.  In both scenarios, the mothers LOVE their babies and only want the BEST for their daughter/son.  And yet, their approaches can be so different.

As I digest the information and compare the different points of view, I formed some opinion on what I think makes sense.  After having spent all this time (and I will continue to spend time on this), I thought I should share what I have learnt.  Hence this blog.  Over time, I will also share with you whether what I have learnt, when put into practice, works.    

Do drop by every now and then so you can benefit from my efforts.  I would also love to hear from you if you have anything to share on understanding our precious little babies.