Crazy Things You Ponder When You Have Supertwins…..
Well, lately my mind has been filled with the near future of “how are we gonnas”. The boys are 5 months today!!!!! Unreal! I cannot believe that 5 months ago today I was so relieved to be laying on my back for the first time in months and praying for 4 little ones in the NICU who I had yet to meet. In ways it seems like a dream or a lifetime long ago, but in other ways it has flown so quickly. There’s something I miss about those little preemies, although life at home is MUCH preferred. As I try to prepare for the next months ahead I’m filled with a lot of questions on how to best “function” in this home with 4 sweet boys.
Here’s some products that I thought you “normal” families might get a kick out of that I’ve been pondering lately……..
This is a feeding/activity table. Basically I think this could be a genius way to feed the boys. I could sit in the middle and then make my way around the circle to feed them like little birds. The seats each pop out, so you could clean them easily. Yes, it would take up a ton of room, but so will 4 highchairs. Plus, you could use them later on for coloring, play dough, etc. They are quite an investment, but something to pray/think about…..
This is a Runabout Quad Stroller. The manufacturer calls this the “Silver Bullet”. I call it the “BEAST”. When we were first pregnant with quads, every time I would see one of these it gave me the creeps. I mean what yells “freak” more than this contraption? I thought I WILL NOT have one of these strollers. My kids will not ride around the block on display in this tank. After all, could I even push something like this? – it has air brakes for goodness sake! So many multiple moms have told me that I “have to get a quad stroller, you won’t be able to do anything on your own without it”. I thought, “yeah, like I’m going to go anywhere on my own!” Crazy what 5 months will do to you. Sometimes I actually feel brave enough to do just that. I think it’s this beautiful 75 degree weather that is making me want to go outside and enjoy it, instead of watching it out the window. HOWEVER, this “Runabout Silver Bullet” cost more than Brad’s first car! It would “run” us over 1200 bucks! I think maybe they should rename it the “Runusoutofhouseandhome”. I’m thinking I’m glad we have the 2 double strollers!
Hmmm…how are we going to do it once they start crawling/walking/running? Will we give up our master bedroom to make it into a playroom? Will we gate off half of our living room and move out some furniture? How about building a fence outside and locking the door from 8am-8pm? Kidding, kidding….please put down the phone and don’t call CPS on me! Just trying to problem solve.
Now in my opinion this is the craziest of all multiple products and I wouldn’t even consider this one. It’s a double decker double crib. However, I do know someone who actually thought
would be a great idea at one time. (I’m not naming names.) I think I would have to officially call us the “Murray Zoo”. People could drive for miles to come feed the babies. Brad and I even talked about mounting a bottle on the side of the “cage” kinda like they have in hamster cages. Hilarious! Hey, you have to have a sense of humor in our house!
Well, I guess I’m writing about all of this to hopefully make you all smile and if you happen to know any multiple families that are wanting to sell any of these products (minus the double decker cribs) – have them contact us.
More importantly, I need to remind myself of this passage in Matthew 6. (Taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/)
25″For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26″Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27″And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28″And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30″But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31″Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32″For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33″But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34″So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” NASB
They sell tables just like that one minus the inserts at teacher supply stores. You could buy the infant seats that hook onto table edges and then later use regular kid’s chairs. It’d be useful longer and probably cost less too.
My son’s daycare has that table and they LOVE it. It was great when he was smaller. They used it in his class from at least a year until almost 3. I have no idea on the price, but I know the teachers loved it.
Check out http://www.justmultiples.com. They have a Quad Stroller by Foundations. It’s only (HA!) $500, so less than the other one, and it seems a lot more manageable. I saw a quad family using it at a local NICU graduates picnic, and it seemed great and not too much more of a pain than a twin stroller! And I think the table looks fabulous. I wish I had a twin one like it. Cleaning highchairs is such a pain!
I got your blog address from Suz’s site. I agree w/the crib thing. It is a little creepy…
Hahhahaha Jen!! Love the table idea!!! Too funny….love the beast lol .. you have such a great style of writing btw!! -sioby
Hi Jen! You need to connect with IndyMoms.com and send in your multiples ideas! I LOVE the table. Couldn’t someone MAKE one?
Thanks for the scripture….I needed that today. We’re having our own struggles. Bill & Linda
hey our church has that table with multi chairs for snack time and we thought of guys!
Love ya,
Jaimie Z
Jen and Brad – I just LOVE reading your blogs. They are so funny, but I also feel the love you have for each other and your family. It’s just so refreshing. You are truly blessed. As for this most recent blog, I have to say, our church (which has over 4000 members) has several of the play tables in the infant/crawler rooms for this puppet thing they do with the babies, and those double-decker cribs in the nursery!!! There are also similar double decker cribs like that at our YMCA. So, it’s not as crazy as it seems – sometimes you just have to do what works and heck with how ridiculous it seems! I laughed when you said the Runabout was more expensive than Brad’s 1st car! That’s hilarious!! Lots of people have the Runabouts and love them, though. The sooner you get out by yourself with the kids, the more confident you get and easier it gets. Someone gave me that advice and I give it to everyone. It’s so true! You guys are doing GREAT!!! Julie Burgess
hey woman! i think we are going to break down and go with “the beast”! you know you can find great deals on purchasing a used runabout like on ebay and different multiple sites. where do you get one of those tables?? definitely looks like a great purchase! and yes, those cribs FREAK ME OUT! ah…life with supertwins and all the things we have to think about! crazy! happy 4th!
Found you thru a friend. My daughter’s daycare also has that table and it seems so great! I think it should be a necessity for you!
You are truly blessed with a large family. May God give you strength to carry out this special task of parenting 4 healthy littlies one day at a time!
My sis has recently had twins, a girl and a boy, and she too relies daily on the blessings of the Lord to give her and her husband to carry out this special task as well!
She’s amazing, i love helping out, but that’s only a touch of what she does all day and everyday!
God bless you all! lol
Hey Guys. I was laughing so hard at this post. SOOO can relate!
Sooo.. “the beast” has saved my life. I know it’s CRAZY but it gives you freedom to do things on your own. I take our kids for a walk EVERY morning by myself. I can go to the store, target, and even the zoo alone. As they get older.. you’ll get brave… and when you do… you’ll want the beast!! I promise it’s the best investment we made for our kiddos and my mental health. BTW… we found ours second hand from a day care on craigslist.com. We only paid a fraction of the price! XOXO The McNulty Quads.
I’m a daycare provider and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my quadruple runabout. As a doula, I also helped my friend with triplets and she had an Englasina. We hated it and she found a used triplet Runabout and fell in love with it.
I’ve had my Runabout for 10 years and I’ve put well over 2000 miles on it (I put an odometer on it).
Recently, I rigged a bike trailer for it so I could haul 6 kids and then got a Bibi Swiss Strolli Rider so I could do five. http://fencingmama.blogspot.com/2008/05/little-catch-up.html
If I believed material possesions came with us to the next life, I’d want my Runabout and my electric drill!