Trying homemade baby food

Well, we tried a jar of the homemade baby food peas the other night and they didn't go over so well. I don't know if I just didn't blend it enough or what, but they didn't like it at all. I think I might try it again because I still have some in the freezer and I'll just throw them in the blender a little more before I feed it to them. I can't really decide if I want to try again anyway. There isn't the HUGE savings I had hoped there would be from it. I spent like $1.50 on the bag of peas and got one full ice cube tray of peas plus 2 other jars of food. I decided that it will take 4 ice cubes to equal 1 jar of food so the ice cube tray will make 4 more jars of food. So, I have 6 jars of food which would be 3 of the 2 packs. I guess it is like half the price, but if they aren't going to eat it as well then is it really worth it. I might try again in a couple of months when they are 10-11 months old and will be eating more of the solid foods anyway. Well, it was worth a shot but not as successful as I had hoped. Anyway, more later.

Baby food

Alright I tried it today. I tried making my own baby food. I haven't feed any to the boys to see if they will like it, but there is some freezing right now in my freezer. I decided to go the easy way and I got a bag of frozen peas (I got the steam in the bag kind to make it easier). I cooked them in the microwave and then threw them in the blender and pureed them. I added very little breastmilk that I had from pumping (but you could add water or formula). It is still pretty chunky which I think will be good for the boys to have since they are getting older. Anyway back to the making process. I then poured the peas into ice cube trays (I've heard not to use the white or clear ones because they stain easier) and put them in the freezer. I think 3-4 ice cubes will equal one stage 2 size jar of food. Once they are frozen I'll take all the ice cubes and put them in zip top bags in the freezer so I can make some other food in the ice cube trays. I also have carrots and green beans that are frozen to use for baby food and then I bought a can of lite peaches and lite pears plus a jar of unsweetened applesauce. I was going to buy the no sugar added peaches and pears, but they have splenda in them and I didn't think that would be good for the babies. I was going to call the doctor today and ask about the splenda thing, but I haven't gotten to that yet. I'll let you know how the feeding goes once I feed it to the boys.

Ready or not here we go

Well it is coming very, very soon the boys are soooo close to crawling. I can't wait for them to crawl, but at the same time I like that they don't go anywhere yet. I am starting to worry because they haven't started crawling yet. I know they were born 5 weeks early, but it still seems like they should be crawling by now. Anyway, I think it will be in the next couple of weeks that they start moving. Right now they are still in that stage where every time I leave the room they cry. I can't wait until they can crawl so they can come with me and now that I am still there. At the same time once they learn to crawl after me I will never have a moment alone. I am getting so annoyed with the fact that I can't go anywhere or do anything without them crying. I can't wait until this stage passes. I'll keep you all up to date on the crawling.

Breastfeeding

Well I've made it 8 months breastfeeding two hungry little boys. I can't believe how much they've grown. I hope I can keep going until they are 1 and can go onto milk. I can not even imagine how much I would be spending on formula right now if I was giving them bottles. That is the best thing about staying home now is that I don't have to worry about nursing them while I am at work. I still miss the adult interaction of work, but I love getting to spend more time with my sons. I love breastfeeding and know that it is the best choice for the health of my sons, but I think I am mostly motivated to do it because of the cost of formula. I really think they have been less sick this year because of it. I just can't wait until they are 1 and I won't have to nurse them anymore. It's very hard to get away to do anything. I guess there is a part of me that wouldn't mind still nursing them a little after they turn 1, but I only want to do it like once a day so that I can get away. I know they could have a bottle and I have frozen milk for them, but I HATE pumping so I don't know if I will ever use the frozen milk I have. I congratulations to all of the breastfeeding mommies out there (even if you are nursing just one) it's hard work, but it's well worth it!!! Keep on breastfeeding!

Baby food

Well after having gone grocery shopping last night and spending $50 in baby food alone (for a two week supply) I have come to a decision. I am going to attempt to make some of my own baby food now. The boys are getting to the point where they can eat some chunkier foods and they love cheerios so I feel confident that they will be able to adjust to home made baby food. I am in the middle of researching all of it, but it seems very easy to do. I will however continue to buy the baby food meat for now since they are going to be introduced to that this weekend. I will be posting links to sites that have good baby food recipes and I will keep you up to date. My plan right now is to buy frozen or organic fresh produce (as it comes into season) for the boys. I actually gave each of them a few bites of my banana this morning with breakfast and they loved it! I can't believe they are getting so big. Matt and Andy will be 8 months old tomorrow. WOW how time flies! Gotta go. More later.

Car rides

Over the weekend we took a car trip to Wichita to visit my parents. I love car rides and so far the boys seem pretty ok with them too. At this point the boys seem to sleep almost the whole trip I know that won't last much longer, but for now it's really nice. We just got a minivan so it makes the trip much nicer. I can ride in the back of the van and nurse the boys so we don't have to stop to do it. Then we take turns and spend sometime in the back seat playing and talking to the boys. We have been trying to keep them awake for half the trip so that they sleep at night when we get to Wichita or back home. I am already trying to find the parks in the little towns along the way so a year from now I know where to stop so the boys can run off their extra energy.

A day in the life

Hello again! The thing I have found most important about being the mother of twins (especially when they are babies) is to keep them on a schedule. I very much believe that babies are happier when they are kept on a schedule. I guess I don't really mean schedule as much as I mean a routine. I think it really helps them to know that after they have a bottle they get their diaper changed and then they have baby food then they play then they take a nap and when they get up the cycle starts all over again. In my case life has actually gotten to a time schedule for the most part to (but I am flexible if the times need to change for some reason). The boys usually wake up between 7 and 7:30 and I nurse them. Then I eat my breakfast and then give them their breakfast cereal. We play until 9:30ish and then it's nap time for the boys. Usually they wake up around 11 and they nurse again. Then I eat my lunch and give the boys their lunch. We then play more until 1:30 or 2 when the boys nurse and take a nap again. They wake up between 3:30 and 4 and play for a little bit. They nurse again and then I make dinner for Corey and I. The boys get their dinner around 7ish. We play, take baths, nurse again, have story time and go to bed around 9. Then I finally get to rest. This is the schedule that works for us and we pretty much stick to it. The most important thing I think when you are talking about twins is to feed them on the same schedule! It's a lot easier to remember that the boys ate at 9:30 rather than someone ate at 9 and someone ate at 10:30 but i don't remember which was which. Plus then you can actually get some other stuff done between feedings and not spend all day feeding (but it will still feel like that). This does sometimes mean that you will have to wake a sleeping baby to feed him because it's time and/or because the other baby just ate.