Jesse Coulter

Once my babes grow out of swaddling, I'll use them for blankets, car seat cover ups, burp rags or for changing when I'm out and about. It's always good to have one handy in your diaper bag. They are also perfect for newborn photos! You can buy these in sets, but I also like that you can buy your favorite patterns individually. See all the patterns here!

GIVEAWAY! I'm excited to be giving away 2 of the new black & white muslin swaddle single blankets (you choose your favorite designs) to one lucky winner! Easy entry on Instagram here. 

One of my favorite new traditions is to order a family yearbook every year to document the stages of our children, marriage, vacations, and more! It's honestly the easiest way for me to print the hundreds of pictures I take throughout the year. I ordered the book through Shutterfly and it totaled $57. I had a 50% coupon and the shipping was free.  I started off with the 20 page book thinking I would be able to fit everything in it, but ended up with 35 total pages! Some of my pages include;

• Turner and all of the firsts he experienced as a 2/3 year old (I have a ton of pages dedicated to him)

• Hawaii Vacation

• 5 Year Anniversary

• Holidays w/family

• Summer Activities

• Weekly baby bump photos

I think my favorite pages are the ones dedicated to pictures of Turner with me or Alex. Those snapshots capture a few of the moments we've bonded as parents with Turner.

Top: PinkBlush. Jeans: Gap. Boots: KorkEase. Bag: Madewell

Hello 2 Months! The second month with these babes was quite difficult due to gas, fussiness, and not much sleep. Thankfully I had lots of help from my family, and took many trips to my hometown on the weekend to get some extra rest. Many times during a rough day, I would tell myself...If you can just make it till Friday, you will sleep! I'm finally starting to become semi-comfortable with handling both of them on my own, most days I don't have a choice...but now I don't necessarily dread it. I don't dread the babies, but I dread the stress, 2 babies crying at the same time, anxiety and the lack of sleep.

We had our first family outing to dinner (hello pizza buffet), which was insane. Both babies were fussy and crying, so they had to be held. Turner was great, but kept standing on the bench of the restaurant. There wasn't anyone around, and I didn't have the hands or patience to discipline him, so I just went with it...choosing my battles at this point.  On the way home Turner was trying to talk to me from the very back, but I couldn't hear him over the screaming babies. At one point he yelled "STOP IT!!!" to the babies, haha. First time he's been annoyed by their crying. Turner doesn't have much interest in the babies, except a few kisses every now and then.

Between the hours of 6 and 9pm is the most stressful time. Trying to cook, play with Turner, hold babies, feed babies, give baths, put Turner to bed (such a long process), and the babies to bed takes a TON of work. Alex and I barely have time to look at each other, let alone have a conversation. We need a date night desperately.

Adorable outfits by Rainy Lain

Sleep:

• Our sleeping situation is very odd right now. Alex sleeps in our bedroom, and Whitney is in our closet in a rock n' play...might sound crazy to you, but it's dark, quiet and Alex doesn't have to hear her grunts. Walt sleeps in the nursery in a rock n' play, and I sleep in our guest bedroom. I close the door, but can wake easily to Walt crying when he's ready to eat.

• Walt sleeps 3-4 hours straight on a good night, and Whitney has a great 4-6 hour stretch.

• After thinking about it for quite a while, I've decided that I'm going to split up their cribs. I will move one crib to my guest bedroom, and leave one in the nursery. It's going to be a major change. Currently we have a queen bed in our small guest bedroom, so we'll have to sell that, and buy two twin beds. One for the nursery and one for the guest bedroom, since we want to have a place for our guests. They say to keep your babies on the same schedule, but I when one sleeps WAY better than the other, I'm not going to wake that one up. 

• Naps are a bit up in the air...they tend to take a long morning and afternoon nap. If I'm lucky, I can get them to nap at the same time, this has only happened about twice all month. 

Eating:

• Whitney is on a heavy formula for reflux/spit up, and Walt drinks a gentle formula for gas. They are drinking 4-5 oz. per feeding, which can be every 2-4 hours.
• I use Dr. Brown's bottles, and feel like my life is revolved around washing bottles.

Growth:

• Clothing - 0-3 months
• Diapers - Size 1

Likes:

• Baths if the water is just right
• Being carried in my ACK Baby Wrap

Dislikes:

• Tummy time
• Car rides/car seats...I'm in SHOCK. Turner would immediately calm down when we would drive around with him. These babies aren't having it. Stop signs and red lights are my worst enemy, seriously. 
• When the other one cries. I swear Whitney could be as calm as ever, and if Walt starts fussing or crying, she immediately joins in. This makes feeding time extremely difficult and stressful. 

Fun Facts:

• Walt:
• We took Walt to a pediatric dermatologist for his hemangioma on his nose. He was prescribed a topical and we will do a few laser treatments.
  

• .He's starting to get chunky and I'm LOVING it! Turner was always so tiny (in the 2 percentile or less category for the first 2 years), so the thought of seeing some baby rolls makes me giddy. 

• You know when this kid is pooping. Turns bright red and grunts so loud, you would never know Whitney pooped...lady like manners ; )

• Whitney: 
• We found 2 more hemangiomas, one on her butt cheek and one at the top of her head. Although these are growing at a much slower pace than the one on her arm.

• She is very strong, and holds her head up much more than Walt. She's great about looking me in the eyes, and I could look at her cute little face all day.

When I found out I was having twins, I knew that a birthing center was not an option since twins are considered high risk pregnancies. I was completely ok with that, because I was already planning on delivering at a hospital and getting an epidural. Turner's natural birth was WAY too painful for me. I chose OBGYN North and enjoyed the 9 months of appointments leading up to Walt and Whitney's birth.

My induction date was set for January 26, which was when I would be 38 weeks. At my 36 week appointment on January 13 I had my first internal exam and my doctor advised I was 4cm dilated and 95% effaced so it could be any day. I left the doctor's office around 4pm and immediately began feeling cramping. Over the next few hours I began having lower back pain and minor contractions. I was pretty sure that my doc had just induced my labor, which I didn't mind. I was READY!

That night I didn't want to sit around the house thinking about what was to come so I told Alex I wanted to get out. We took Turner to Dairy Queen and then walked around Lowe's. The cashier at Lowe's asked "Aww...when are you due?" I replied, "Tonight....no, seriously." We headed home, I took a bath, put on my pajamas, read Turner a few books and put him to bed. My contractions had really died down, so I thought that maybe this wasn't the night.

Last belly photo at 36 weeks

Enjoying our last night out as a family of 3

1:00am - I was woken up by a contraction. I went to the bathroom and noticed some liquid and blood on my underwear. I woke up Alex and said that I think my water broke, but wasn't 100% sure. As we were chatting in my room about it, my water REALLY did break. I ran back in to the bathroom, and thought...IT'S GO TIME! I texted my family and said, "Water broke, headed to the hospital!" Well...I didn't head to the hospital instantly. For some dumb reason, I hadn't packed my bag so I tried to pack as fast as I could. Alex called our neighbor to come spend the night with Turner while we were away. As I was packing I was definitely begging to feel strong contractions about 3 minutes apart. About 45 minutes later we finally left the house.

2:15am - Alex dropped me off at the front of the hospital (St. David's North) and drove off to find a parking spot. I walked in and took the elevator up to the front desk. As I approached, the front desk asked for my name, I responded..."One second" as I grasped the counter and put my head down. I proceeded to have an intense contraction. They could tell I was in pain. A nurse came and took me back to a room. I sat down for 1 minute when I told her that I was 4cm dilated and carrying twins. She then immediately moved me to a delivery room. I told her I wanted an epidural RIGHT NOW, to which she responded, OK, but we I need to check you. I quickly threw off my clothes and put on the hospital robe. I quickly layed down on the bed, grabbed on to the oh shit handle. The nurse checked me and said, "I'm sorry, but the babies are right here. You won't be able to get an epidural." WHAT THE WHAT???!!! At this point I was in too much pain to get upset, so I closed my eyes and held on. I told the nurse they were both head down, and I wanted to keep the placentas. A few minutes later the room was flooded with nurses and my doctor (who I had never met with prior). All of the sudden I felt an INSANELY amount of pressure on my butt, and it hurt so bad. I immediately started screaming, "My BUTT, my BUTT...OMG, it hurts so bad. Is he going to come out my butt?!" I said I wanted to start pushing, so I did. At this point I still wasn't hooked up to anything, and no IV was inserted yet. I pushed through 2-3 contractions and Walt was born at 12:40am! Ahhhhh....the relief. The nurses put him on my stomach, and for a brief second I glanced down and touched him. After that quick moment I layed back in exhaustion and thought, Oh crap I have to do this again.

Just after Walt was born

2:41am - I had a few minutes of no contractions, and then the pain started back up again. I remember there was a nurse to the left of me trying to shove a needle in to my arm to attach the IV, and Alex putting his phone in my face to which I saw my sister on Facetime. Of course I reacted with, "ALEX, GET THE PHONE OUT OF MY FACE!" (nacho libre style). I didn't have the butt pain like I did with Walt (thank goodness), and after pushing through a few contractions Whitney was born...officially 12 minutes after Walt. It felt so good to push. The nurses layed Whitney on my chest and I got to cuddle her for 5-10 minutes. I looked over at Alex with wide eyes and said, "Oh my gosh, can you believe I just delivered them naturally!?" Alex just laughed.  Thank goodness it was so quick, because it was extremely painful. I then delivered two placentas and had a second degree tear stitched up.

The moments after Whitney was born

Walt weighed 5lb 1oz. and Whitney weighted 5lb. 6oz. I don't remember their height, but they were both healthy and didn't have to spend any time in the NICU. A few hours after their birth, we headed to the recovery room where I spent 2 days. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the hospital. The nurses were great, the food was good (I lived off of Chicken Fried Steak and French Toast), and the 3 hours of sleep in between feedings was amazing. I brought a bag full of clothes, but literally wore a hospital gown the entire time. I was not about to stain my own clothes.  I headed home on Saturday morning and had a house full of people...seriously, there were 9 adults, Turner and 2 babies. I was a TAD overwhelmed to say the least. My mom spent 3 full weeks with me, and I went home numerous times for almost 2 months to get extra help. My in-laws took Turner for a whole week on two separate occasions to give Alex and I some relief since Turner is very needy. After almost 8 weeks, I think I'm finally getting comfortable taking care of both babies by myself, but it is EXTREMELY difficult.

Heading home

I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. I'm thankful for a safe and healthy pregnancy and birth of Walt & Whitney! I really enjoyed being pregnant, and am sad to say goodbye to it, but I'm officially done having babies (really, Alex had a vasectomy a month after they were born).

Photos: Mallorie Owens Photography

If you are looking for a photographer, I highly recommend Mallorie. She's super kind, professional, and is great with families. Find her on Facebook here or her website!

When I set out to get a new diaper bag my requirements were that it be 1.) Stylish 2.) Functional.  It's hard to find an affordable bag these days that meets both of these requirements, but I discovered TwelveLittle and fell in love! Their bags are absolutely adorable yet durable for the messiest baby. I was immediately drawn to the leopard print, and ultimately chose the Carry Love Tote because I like the fact that I can carry it on my shoulder or across my chest as a messenger bag (you need a hands free option with twins). There are a TON of pockets in the bag, which are perfect for twins since most of the time I have two of everything. The nylon material is great when I have spills because it can easily be wiped clean. The best part is that I really don't feel like I'm carrying a diaper bag around. It feels like a purse that I would pair with my outfits, and I get compliments daily about how cute it is.

I'm excited to be giving away this exact bag on my Instagram page! Head over to my IG page to find out how to enter...it's super easy!