Bummis NEW Super Lite Wrap!

I have a new cover to love! I have been fortunate enough to be chosen to test new products for a cloth diaper company called Bummis. There are products in production that I have and then I was also sent one of the newly released, but not yet available for sale Bummis Super Lite. I can say that I really love this cover. I have the hardest time finding covers and other cloth diapers to fit my skinny little babies! Eli and Ellie both are at the very bottom of the growth chart for weight. It gets even harder when Eli is on the charts for height and not for his weight. So I have a average height baby boy with super skinny thighs and waist! This wrap is perfect for him and it fits Ellie great too, that is one thing that is a must when I am looking for a new diaper or diaper cover. It is easier to have one cover than having to have multiples to fit each child. So on to the details.

1) I absolutely LOVE the wide elastic around the back! It is about an inch tall and lays flat against the back and really keeps everything in, so no leaking.
2) Wider elastic around the legs, I need to say no more! The elastic is about a half inch wide verses the usually 1/4 inch elastic most diapers and covers have. It holds in anything thrown its way.
3) It has a super trim fit.
4) It is highly durable and it is at a great price. MSRP is to be $10.
5) 5 different colors!
6) No binding!
Here are pictures of my skinny little man in his white Super Lite. I have white because it was a tester cover but is the same great cover as those that will be available to purchase shortly. He has a Thirsties Duo Prefold trifolded inside the cover. I have to mention though that it also fits great over fitted diapers too! What more could you ask for? Eli is approx. 18 lbs and 29 inches tall in these pictures.

Blogging for Preemies

Ok so I know this post is LONG over due. With five children 7 and under life sometimes happens and things get put on the back burner. I said I would write a post and now I am doing just that.

Just over a year ago I gave birth to preemie twins. Eli and Ellie decided that at 36 weeks and 2 days they should join the outside world at 5 lbs 2 ounces and 4 lbs 3 ounces. It had taken nearly 3 months of bedrest to reach this point and so I was happy to have hit 36 weeks and not have micro preemie twins who would need a lot of care right at birth.

Eli and Ellie were born seemingly healthy. After I was back in my room from the recovery room following the c-section due to Eli presenting feet first both babies nursed well and were happily sleeping again. It was at about 7 hours after birth that Ellie developed severe medical issues. Ellie's blood glucose levels were at 17. At this point she was kept in the nursery and started on IVs to give her glucose to raise her sugar levels. By the time she was two days old they could  no longer keep her at the hospital she was born and she was transferred to a NICU just over an hour away in Grand Forks, ND. There she spent 22 days before being released to join her brother at home.

Ellie's NICU stay was especially hard on our family having to travel the distance to the hospital, caring for a newborn in addition to our 3 older children, none of which were allowed to come to the hospital due the "Swine Flu" outbreak that occurred last fall and last but not least trying to recover from a c-section after being on bedrest for 3 months. While Ellie was in the hospital she was giving blood platelets had her blood sugar checked before each feeding until she had stablized. She also developed jaundice, which is very common in preemie babies. She also had an NG tube for feeding because she was not strong enough to eat on her own or nurse well. They also did not want her to be using her energy to eat as they were trying to keep her sugars stable. After a couple weeks we pushed her to eat on her own and try to nurse or at least drink from a bottle. Even though she was released from the hospital it was still a struggle to get her to eat at least an ounce at every feeding for a very long time. It was nerve wrecking to say the least.

While Eli was at home we also had an issue with his weight loss. Eli had drop at least a pound in the first week. It was discovered that although he was nursing well he did not have the strength to suck hard enough for a long enough time period to get enough food to eat. Essentially he was using more calories to eat than he was getting while eating. I had to start alternating his feedings between nursing and getting breastmilk in a bottle. He started gaining weight and eventually no longer needed the bottle feedings.

Ellie came home December 10, 2010 only 6 days short of being one month old. I look back on this time and know I never want to repeat it again. I also remember thinking that once I hit 36 weeks the babies would be fine. However this was not the case. So when people start talking about wanting to have their babies early even by a few weeks I ask why. Because even though a large number of babies are born just fine a few weeks early there are always those who are not. Why would you want to chance the health of your baby. I would have wanted to stay pregnant longer so I could have skipped the NICU experience.

So if you are pregnant be sure you know the signs of preterm labor and take action if you begin to experience symptoms.  Check out the March of Dimes website and read up on how to have a healthy full term pregnancy. Even if you don't think it could happen to you it has been found that in about half of all premature births we simply do not know why the babies are born early so it is best to know the signs to help prevent your baby from being born prematurely.

Eli and Ellie are ONE!

One short year ago we first touch
20 little fingers and 20 little toes.
Today we celebrate one year of holding those
20 little fingers and tickling those 20 little toes.

Happy Birthday Eli and Ellie!

Here are our babies who are no longer infants. I guess I technically can call them babies until they start walking, but 1 seems to be the age that many consider a toddler until they are 3 years old. So you will now see posts regarding twin toddlerhood! What a fun adventure this is going to be!

Ellie is our bravest twin. She is constantly climbing on things and here we had them sitting on the second stair and she immediately had to stand up and give us the "look at what I can do" look. She thinks she is pretty darn cool! She is also our drama queen. The smallest fall can result in the most dramatic cries and throwing herself down on the floor trying to get more attention. Eli is still pretty laid back and just loves to laugh at you. He loves cars already and pushes them around on the floor while crawling.

God has blessed us greatly with these twins! We thank God for allowing us to have them for this first year. We pray that there are many more birthdays to come!

Come back tomorrow for a "Bloggers Unite" post on Preemies.

Hardest Parenting Moment Yet

Tonight I encountered the hardest thing I have had to do as a parent yet. You know you want to protect your children from the hurts they are bound to incurr but also know that you have to allow them to happen. Our daughter's horse died suddenly today without warning. I was notified during supper and had to sit with this knowledge while I watched her happily eat her meal and then play with her sibblings afterward. I had gone to the other room and called my husband and waited for him to return home before we told the kids what had happened. It was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. Sitting and watching her be so happy when I knew how devistated she was going to be and how she would be sad for many days to come. I sit here and it still makes me tear up knowing how much she is hurting inside. I also know that she will be stronger from this experience but at the age of 7 it is a hard lesson to learn so young.

Kjerstin and Twiggy with Dad the day we brought Twiggy home. She was 8 months pregnant and gave birth to a colt "Blazing Rhodes" at the end of July.

We still have Rhodes but will miss Twiggy a lot she was a great horse.

Wordless Wednesday: Our budding artist- Chalk and Colored Pencil

When Mom looks away babies will play...

In the never ending surprises that come with having children this is what I found the other day when I went on a search for the twins. They are forever disapearing lately!

Can we go hunting too?

Are these two not just sweet? They wanted to get dressed for the hunt as we were getting ready to go over to Grandma's house to have supper with all the hunters. I managed to find enough for both of them to wear, even though Ashlyn was drowning in her clothes that were about 2 sizes too big. Kehan said, "I am a hunter now!"

Movie Monday "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you"

Ok so I through a lyric from a musical in there for the title. Who can tell me what musical it is from?

Here is a short video of the twins playing together. I was making supper and realized both babies where doing the same thing while watching each other. Quinten and I sat and watched them for about 5 mins while they banged away. Watching the twins grow and develop together has been one of the most rewarding gifts of being a parent.

Enjoy!

Halloween 2010

Eli and Ellie as "The Princess and The Frog"

Trying to hold The Frog still to give him a kiss. No matter how many kisses The Princess gave The Frog he never turned into a Prince...maybe next year Prince Charming will show up.

Some of the great grandkids with Great Grandma Helen while celebrating her eighty-sixth birthday.

Wordless Wednesday: First Hair Cuts

Will she ever leave me alone?

I thought every one would enjoy watching the twins in action. Ellie does pick on Eli a little bit. This video was take on October 5, 2010, since then Eli has learned to fight back a little bit. Now I find Ellie with wet hair because Eli cornered her to give her kisses. I am forever trying to get it on video but can never seem to find the camera fast enough! Not long now and they will be 1!

On a very cool note I found out another friend and neighbor is also having twins! Yay, for twins! It was quite a shock for them as she is also already 21 weeks along and just found out it is twins. God certainly has built a support system for me and those other moms of multiples in the area. Now we all just have to get together and show off our superior baby making skills! It certainly is a great and precious gift to be given two children at the same time. GOD IS GOOD!

11 months old

My time certainly does fly! I was going to do the traditional sitting next to each other pose for this 11 month old post and decided that today's picture gave a better picture at what 11 months old means to a mom of twins. This picture depicts these two pretty well. Ellie is forever climbing and trying to get her "head in the clouds" and Eli is steady and grounded with his "feet firmly on the ground."

Ellie is still my go, go, go kid and Eli is more relaxed and easy going. Both babies are still very happy although they both have a cold right now so they are mildly in discomfort as we all expierence during a cold. Both are sleeping pretty good at night FINALLY! I am not used to babies that don't sleep. The older 3 were all sleeping through the night by the time they were 2 months old. For me it has been a long time since I had a full, uninterrupted night of sleep. If the twins aren't waking up one of the others has a bad dream. I will one day think back on these sleep habits and wonder why I CAN'T wake my sleeping teenager. Right now though I will wallow in my sleeplessness.

And the Winner Is....

The winner of a $15.00 Gift Certificate to Ecomom is NIECEY! Niecey check your email for details on how to claim your prize!

Remember that the coupon code SBBL595 for 15% off your order at Ecomom is still valid until Oct. 31, 2010. So even if you didn't win you can still make a purchase and get a good deal. Thanks to everyone who choose to enter. It was fun and I hope to be able to do another giveaway in the future.

SmartyPants Review and Giveaway

Recently I was sent a bottle of SMARTYPANTS children's vitamins to try out with my children from EcoMom. EcoMom is a great online store that carries Eco-Friendly products for Mom and Baby to products for a healthy home.
Not only did they provide me with a product to review they are also offering my readers a 15% discount on their order by using this discount code SBBL595. This code is valid until October 31, 2010. So you have a month to look through the store and decide what to buy!
 EcoMom has now developed a new program called EcoPass too. This program has a $99 annual fee that will get you free shipping on all orders big or small as well as an additional 15% off every order big or small! The program could be paid for in as little as 4 orders.

So now I am sure you are wondering, "But, what about the vitamins?" Well, I can tell you that my children love them! The 3 children that are old enough to take these vitamins love them. They like them so much that I can sneakily bypass the treat after dinner by giving them the vitamins after they finish their supper. Now I don't tell them they are their treat, they simple just don't ask for one. (Sneaky mom trick #89) I do like that the Omega 3's are included so they don't have to take another supplement to get the "big 3's."

I think they say it best though. Here are a few excerpts from the EcoMom website.

"Made in California, SmartyPants use only the best ingredients, are GMP-certified & FDA-compliant, and tested for purity by an independent lab.
SmartyPants gives their multi-vitamin to their own kids as a testament to how safe and awesome they really are!
SmartyPants Gummies only have 5g of Organic cane sugar per serving (that is 80% LESS sugar than in a glass of unsweetened apple juice). SmartyPants are made with only natural colors and flavors and no High Fructose Corn Syrup. They are also gluten- and casein-free. They never use any fake or artificial flavors, sweeteners, or dyes that are bad for your kids! Their Omega 3 DHA and EPA fish oil comes from eco-friendly sustainable small fish sources. No unsustainable tuna or contaminated fish!"

The only thing that I didn't really like is that they contain sugar. Over all I was pretty impressed with SMARTYPANTS Vitamins.

Now for what everyone is really waiting for, right? The giveaway!
The giveaway is open to US and Candian resident only.

EcoMom has offered up to one reader a $15.00 gift certificate to the EcoMom online store! They are having a Halloween contest right now too! Find the 12 bats and you could win!

The Giveaway will end at midnight October 9th, 2010. Winner will be posted October 10, 2010 and will be chosen using Random.org. Please include your email address in each comment so I can contact you when you win! Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Post a seperate comment for each entry.

To enter you must complete this MANDATORY entery first. If, this step is not completed your other entries will not count. I promise it will be easy!

Mandatory Entry:
Go to EcoMom.com and tell me your favorite category of products they offer and why.

Extra Entries:

1. Follow EcoMom on Twitter at EcoMomCeo. Include your Twitter ID.
2. Become a Fan of EcoMom on Facebook. Include your facebook name.
3. Join the EcoMom newsletter.
4. Like SMARTYPANTS vitamins on Facebook. Include your facebook name.
4.Post what state or provience your currently reside.
5. Follow my blog Nelson Acres through Google Friend Connect. Just click on "follow" on the left hand side bar and you are set.

Disclosure:
I was provided the product free of charge to try and review from EcoMom. I was not compensated for the review.  The opinions expressed are my own and I was in no way asked or required to give a positive review. Just and honest mom with an honest opinion.

NICU Reunion

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Grand Forks Altru Hospital. While we were there I took the twins back to the NICU to say hi and show off how much Ellie has grown since her stay there. So here is a picture of her in the NICU 10 months ago and then a picture of her Neonatologist. I am so happy to have this picture. I have been wanting to go and visit for many months now. Most of the nurses were ones that were around when she was there and remembered her. When we walked in they said things like, "Oh, she was the one in the back corner with all the dextrose." They remembered a lot about her stay which, makes my heart happy that she was remember even after 9 months of not being there.



The first picture taken of her in the NICU. She was two days old. This was after her transfer from TRF.



Ellie 1 week old, chilling in the isolete.



Ellie and Dr. Panda. Look how far we have come!

10 months Old Today

Here are the first 10 months in pictures. I can hardly believe it has already been that long.

Just minutes after birth 

1 Month old

2 months

3 months old

4 months old

5 Months old

6 Months old

7 Months old

8 Months old

9 Months old

10 Months old TODAY!

Pretty Close to Twins

In my husband's family we have a niece who has a birthday just 3 days after our Ashlyn. We, well I guess my Sister in-law and I, call them the "Other set of twins." The other night we were all together at another neighbor's house for supper and my Sister in-law took these great pictures of the girls. They really love playing with each other. I just love the first picture. The girls just look so happy!
So enjoy the peek at our 3.5 year old sudo twins.

They decided to have a grass fight because there was no snow for a snowball fight.

Twin Tuesday

On Twitter Tuesdays are considered "Twin Tuesday" for those of us with twins. Now I don't really use Twitter. I find it a bit pointless. But to keep with Twin Tuesday I decided to just move it to the blog. Hopefully each week I will have a few photos of the twins together from the previous week to post. Here are a couple of my favorites from the latest batch of pictures uploaded on the computer. Enjoy! They are nearly 10 months old now too!