When women become pregnant they suddenly go into nesting mode. The need to prepare and organize for when the babies come home in the future. They know that once the babies are born, the babies will need non stop care.
Have you ever read something and thought to yourself "What a clever idea. That idea I can use!" We are all seeking ways to make our life easier. You would think a mother of eight or ten could offer some clever ways to make life easier for a mother of a few. Not always the case. We discover they are doing the same thing we are. They share their picture perfect life without giving us any clever clues on how they manage it all.
Well, we hope to offer you some creative ideas from Moms and Dads in the trenches of everyday care. Yet we will still cover the "How to's" of managing multiple birth children. Perhaps you are extra clever and may already be doing some of these things. If that be the case, way to go! We still might surprise you with one. We will update this on a regular basis so always check back for new ideas.
Keeping track of who's who ---- assign a special clothing color (i.e., pale green, blue, pink, yellow) to each child, put a rubber bracelet color on your child's ankle (great for keeping track of bottles too!), paint his toenail a different color. Same sex fraternal twins look for mole or marking that is different. If Boy/Girl twins ...you'll figure it out. Identical twin girls; ear piercing on one and not the other, infant bracelet, trim hair a little different. Keep hospital bracelet on infant until you have a system to determine who's who.
Organized for bath time- Family want to come over to see the babies? Schedule it around bath time so they can help. You can buy zip laundry mesh bags for washing hosiery and lingerie - these bags are perfect for bath time. Keep a bag of diapers near the laundry room. When you fold clothes for each infant; you can place a diaper in the bag, a onesie, pair of socks, hat, cotton mittens (so they don't scratch themselves), and a receiving blanket. You can write on the outer part of the cloth mesh bag the infants name. Any medicine they need, give during a sponge bath so you can clean it up easily. When it is time for sponge bath, you'll have everything together. Keep track of who goes first, second and third. You can do this by placing a luggage string through the zipper hole and write with a wet erase marker for next time. Get one of those folding under the sink tubs. Keep a basket under the sink with shampoo, diaper rash ointment, body wash, baby wash clothes or gauze, rubbing alcohol for belly button care with cotton swabs, wipes, and a few extra diapers. Keep infants in their car seats while you sponge bath one by one. Talk to the others waiting in line. Lay towels on counter. Never take your hands off your baby while giving sponge bath. Never leave unattended. If the phone rings, let it ring. If someone is at the door, don't answer it.
Making Formula - When making formula the best thing to do is to determine how many bottles you are going to make at a given time. Use the same measure cup all the time. Count the powdered formula scoops according to formula package. Fill the measuring cup with the right number of scoops. Once you have it, mark the measuring cup where the formula line is and write how many bottles it will make. This way you don't have to count scoops in the future, particularly when you are tired. Just fill the same measure cup to the line you each time. Fill a pitcher with the right amount of water, then add the measured formula. This way you will not have clumps at the bottom of the pitcher you are trying to mix in if you were to put in powder formula first. Write on the bottles with a wet erase marker the child's name if they have medicine mixed in their bottle. Use colored caps, or different bottles. Be sure to check consumer safety commission for plastic bottle safety. Inspect nipples and bottles for warped plastic, sticky or broken down silicone - they should be replaced. Use rubber bracelets to keep track of bottles. This comes in handy in the middle of the night when you are trying to remember in the morning how many ounces each baby had. You can look at the bottles and know.
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| Getting your ducks in a row... |
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