Product Review: Table Top High Chairs March 28, 2011

As any twin parent will tell you, actually as any parent of toddlers will tell you, eating out is a challenge.

There is the schematics of getting a table, maybe waiting in line,  getting an appetizer (because you know that the kids have eaten especially crappy that day and are STARVING), finding something on the menu that they will eat, finding something on the menu that you will eat…and then there is the ever-elusive high chair.

This is especially complicated with twins because some restaurants are not particularly savvy about stocking or cleaning their high-chairs. You have TWO kids (God help those of you who have more), sometimes that is the entire stock at the restaurant. Then there are the problems that high chairs create. My boys are small, so it can be hard to get them strapped into them. They also like to push the table away with their feet, so you are constantly trying to make sure that they are not grabbing the decorative candle (if you have the high chair pushed close to the table) or pushing themselves over like falling timber (if you have them pushed away from the table).

So enter the Fast Table Chair, otherwise known as a table top high chair, by Inglesina (less than $40 through Amazon.com). These are an absolute ‘must-have’ in my book. They are flat, portable, light (you can carry one and your baby without breaking your arm), WASHABLE, secure, need I go on? Oh, and they have a storage pocket in the back for bibs, snacks, silverware, toys, whatever else you need to survive your endeavor. There are other brands available, but this one is very high quality and I am confident will carry me through my twins and any other child who may come along. It holds children up to 37 pounds and attaches to most tables.

“So?” You are thinking, “I am fine with the free high chairs available at the restaurant.” Well, what about at Grandparents? A picnic table? Traveling? When the restaurant is out of high chairs? All scenarios could be improved with the use of this chair.

Now, let me be honest, there are a couple of drawbacks. Just so that you are forewarned. DO NOT put both your children on the same side of the table unless it is bolted down (I know you are thinking, ‘well duh,’ but hey when you are in a hurry with fussy kids, you may not think about it).  The chairs do take some time to open and close. If the table is really wide, it takes a few minutes to open the chair handles, so on average it will take you about 2-5 minutes before you can get your child into the chair. There is a gap between the child and the table. It is a lovely place to throw food, so you may want to cover your child’s lap, or at least not wear the white pant outfits that Grandma gave you.

Since purchasing the chairs for my boys, I have taken one to every baby shower I have been invited to and trust me, every time you are out people will ask, “Where did you get that?” It is highly worth its cost and my boys love to be part of the dinner action!

Demara, mom to 17-month old twin boys

Multiples Birth Statistics March 14, 2011

When our girls were born, I literally didn’t know anyone else who had twins.  When they were about five weeks old, I finally contacted a former colleague, whose daughter in Louisville had four-month old twins.  He gave me her phone number, and I called her up…and I connected with someone I didn’t know, better than I’d connected with almost anyone in the six weeks prior to that.

Since then, of course, BGMoMs was founded.  Just a year after our first meeting, in February 2010, we have almost 50 local MoMs on our contact list, between Facebook and email and meetings.  WOW!

Also through the beauty of Facebook, I’ve reconnected with a lot of my former high school classmates, most of whom I haven’t seen or talked to since we graduated.  Interestingly, there’s a “twin” component to that, too.

I graduated in a class of 69 people.  To my knowledge, five of us have / are expecting twins!  And what’s even crazier is that we all used to pal around together…if I didn’t know better, I’d say there was something in the water!  🙂

Two years ago, little did I know I just needed to open by backdoor, and fire up Facebook!

I share these little anecdotes in the context of the release of the birth data for 2008. 

Over 138,000 twins were born in 2008, which equates to 32.6 twins per 1,000 live births.  That’s up 1% from 2007.

New Jersey reports the highest number of twin births per 1,000 live births, at 43.5.  Kentucky is slightly below average, at 29.7.

The twinning rate rose very significantly from 1980 to 2004, but has been relatively stable since then. 

The birth rate of triplets and higher-order multiples, currently 147.6 per 100,000 live births, peaked in 1998 but is down 24% since then.

The preterm birth rate [babies born before 37 weeks] declined for a second straight year (all births, not just multiples), to 12.3%.

Thank you to Christina Baglivi Tinglof’s Blog About Twins for the link to these statistics.  I’ve also added the link to her blog in our Online Multiples Resources tab.

No matter how you slice it, I think there’s strength in numbers!  🙂

 

Mandy, mom to two-year old fraternal twin girls

Instilling a Love of Fitness March 7, 2011

In bringing up my children to be honest, hard-working responsible adults, I also want to instill my own loves — the love of the Catholic faith, the love of education, and the love of exercise.  

I can rely on my church for their spirituality and our fine public school system for their learning.  However, I believe that my husband and I are the ones that will show our children how important exercise is to their overall health and therefore, their mind, spirit, and body will be taken care of adequately. 

We enroll our children in school and we take them to Mass on Sunday.  And, after school and on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we take long walks together as a family.  In the summer, we go to the pool to play in the water.  We limit video games and television watching.   And, in the winter, we bring in the tricycles and bikes and ride around the dining room table.  And, the hallway makes a great bullpen with soft cloth balls.  Or, in fact, we once used a lemon when we couldn’t find a ball. 

My point is that it doesn’t take a huge effort to incorporate physical exercise in our lives.  We take it how it comes. 

Another great game that we love to play is when we receive the musical greeting cards, Mattie opens the card and when the music starts, Jack and I dance.  When she closes it, we freeze.   Not only are we getting our bodies moving, but my kids are learning cause and effect.   As I sit here and write, I think of many other ways exercise is incorporated into our daily lives.  Another great one is when it is raining lightly Jack loves to run in the rain.  I would like to add that it was just light rain and not a thunderstorm.  We sit on the porch with Ava and Mattie and time his runs to the sidewalk and back. 

Not only to we engage ourselves in exercise, but we attend sporting events.  We have not missed Opening Day for the Hot Rods.  We watch St. Louis Cardinal baseball all summer.    In fact, we are taking them to St. Louis this summer to root for the Cards.  And, in the winter, we are cheering on the Chicago Bears.  

Jack is involved in gymnastics one day a week and is planning on playing t-ball this spring.   And, when our girls are older, they too will be involved in such activities.  I really believe this multifaceted approach to fitness will manifest in our children as they grow up so that they too will love it as much as their parents.

Krista, mom to Jack (4) and twins Mattie and Ava (22 months)