Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Our best advice for raising "twins"

Although we've never actually had twins – neither biologically nor via fostering – we have had two babies for most of the past year and a half, so we thought that we would share some of our best advice and tips on either having twins or fostering ...
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Intentional finance. Intentional family. Intentional business.

Here's what's new:

Our best advice for raising “twins”

Although we’ve never actually had twins – neither biologically nor via fostering – we have had two babies for most of the past year and a half, so we thought that we would share some of our best advice and tips on either having twins or fostering twins on this week’s podcast episode.

The biggest thing we’ve learned is that it takes time (our experience has been 4-6 weeks) to establish a comfortable rhythm and routine, so be patient, and give yourself (and those around you) a lot of grace.

We also recommend finding creative ways of keeping track of things. Setting up different stations around your house (such as a feeding station and a diaper-changing station) and using an app to keep track of when each baby is fed, sleeps, has their diaper changed, get their meds, etc. can really help when you are sleep-deprived and caring for multiple babies — especially if one is medically fragile or has special needs.

On a somewhat related note, we also share lessons learned from a recent trip that we took to Colorado Springs and how we encountered some unexpected obstacles due to having two little ones, so yes, even traveling via plane is going to be different if you have twins! Having two babies at once can feel overwhelming at first, but we promise that you will get into a comfortable groove! It will get so much easier over time, and it will even become natural to you.

Have you had twins or two babies who are almost the same age? If so, I’d love to hear your best tips and strategies!

 

In This Episode:

[2:39] – We just got back from a quick trip to Colorado Springs!

[4:00] – Learn why we couldn’t sit together on the plane.

[5:35] – Jesse shares what he learned from our recent trip.

[10:04] – We both share what we’re reading, plus some fun emails/messages from listeners!

[16:13] – We answer a question sent in by a listener about why we don’t book Airbnbs when we travel.

[19:26] – Now let’s talk about our best advice for raising twins…

[21:03] – Expect it to take at least a month to establish a comfortable rhythm.

[23:11] – It was helpful for us to set up different stations around the house.

[24:56] – I recommend keeping a log of when each baby eats, sleeps, has their diaper changed, has medicine, and so forth.

[27:25] – Give yourself and others grace!

[30:18] – You will eventually get into a groove.

[31:04] – The most important thing for us is relying on God and getting to see Him be so faithful!

How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show

The podcast is available on iTunesAndroidStitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player here. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.) Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.

    
 

   
   
   

Sunday, July 25, 2021

A Peek Into the Last Two Weeks

When big brother tries to fit into your toy car. 😉 Kierstyn is obsessed with makeup… she somehow found my mascara and went to town with it! She also LOVES play-doh! I was asked to go record some videos and interviews with Focus on the Family about ...
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Intentional finance. Intentional family. Intentional business.

Here's what's new:

A Peek Into the Last Two Weeks

When big brother tries to fit into your toy car. 😉

Kierstyn is obsessed with makeup… she somehow found my mascara and went to town with it!

She also LOVES play-doh!

I was asked to go record some videos and interviews with Focus on the Family about Love-Centered Parenting.

Because I’m still nursing Kierstyn and I’d need to fly to Colorado Springs and stay overnight, Jesse and I decided to go together and bring Kierstyn and Baby D.

It was our first time to fly with two lap infants and we learned a lot from the experience (like, for instance, that you can’t sit in the same row unless there is an empty seat — because there is only one extra oxygen mask per row. This caused a lot of last minute scrambling and less-than-idea seats on the flights there.)

But, we made it work and it was a memory, for sure!

Overall, she did SO well on the 8 hours of flights (4 different flights) over two days. This pop-it book was one of her favorite airplane toys.

I loved getting to record a radio interview + multiple different video interviews in multiple studios in the three hours I was at Focus on the Family. I am excited to get to share the message of Love-Centered Parenting and how God has changed my life and our family through the last 4 years.

Every time, we got to Colorado Springs, I’m always just in awe of how beautiful it is!

We also go to spend a few hours with Jesse’s sister and her family while we were in Colorado Springs (they live there).

Kierstyn loved getting to spend time with her cousins.

We loved getting to show Kierstyn and Baby D the mountains for the first time!

And then it was back onto a plane again to head home!

Trying to get out as much energy as possible before boarding the plane.

I was trying to document the fact that we got a row with an empty seat so we were able to sit next to each other — but this was the best picture I got with two wiggling little ones!

Baby D had an appointment with the Complex Care Clinic and everything is looking SO good! He’s gaining weight, making a lot of developmental strides, and he brings so much joy to our home! I can’t believe we’ve had him for almost 4 1/2 months!

Silas had a baseball tournament again on Saturday and Sunday. So we spent lots of time sitting on the sidelines cheering him on.

It poured rain for part of the tournament, and we were so grateful we had put up the tent!

We celebrated Baby D’s birthday and tried to incorporate as many traditions from his culture as we could. We had fun doing a pinata.

And he was excited about sitting in the candy — even if he couldn’t eat it! We also got tamales and tres leches cake from a local restaurant.

He was able to eat a little bit of the cake and whipped cream (he’s working hard in feeding therapy to learn to swallow… he mostly can only do a tiny bit of purees right now and he still gets all of his feeds and meds through the feeding tube. But he’s slowly making progress and we are so encouraged by it!)

We also did a chocolate cake and let him smash it — which he had so much fun with. I got some of the best pictures, but all of them had his face in them and we don’t share his face online for privacy reasons. But I wish I could show you!

This past week was spent in a really unexpected way — including a trip to the urgent care, doctor’s office, and hospital for Kierstyn. Most of my week I just held her, tried to comfort her, and nursed her. She was so sick for a few days, but we are incredibly grateful that she is almost completely back to her normal self again!

(You can read more here and here for details. Thank you to those of you who heard about her illness from Instagram and were praying for her. It’s such a reminder to cherish each and every day.)