My friend did a lot of research trying to find the best (and most reasonably priced) double stroller for his new (and too cute) twin baby grand-daughters, Taiya and Aliya. He ended buying the Contours Options Tandem Stroller by Kolcraft, which is currently on sale at Amazon.com for $184.54 with Free Super Saver Shipping and Free Returns (this item is eligible for Free 365-Day Returns on Baby items from Amazon). The list price is normally $249.99.

This Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem Stroller includes a car seat attachment that accommodates most brands of infant car seats on the market today, but as you see from the picture above, the newborn babies are able to utilize the reclined seats just fine. There are also numerous toddler features including areas for easy step-in and rear stadium-style seating for improved view and 8″ swivel wheels with suspension and 10″ rear wheels that never go flat for better maneuverability important feature in a tandem stroller. Each seat can hold up to 40 pounds each. Users love the handy quick trigger fold and free-stand design that remains upright after folding (The folded-up size is 24″ x 25″ x 42″).

My, have double strollers come a long way since my twins were little!? I would have loved to have this stroller made for twins as well as discount websites such as Savings.com seventeen years ago!

COMBI TWIN SAVVY LX DOUBLE STROLLER US $115.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 4:30:45 PST   | Watch this Item

Black Leather Stroller Coat 'S toM' Pleated Waist, Double Breasted ! Sweeeet US $59.00 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:18:24 PST   | Watch this Item

BABY TREND Sit N Stand Double Stroller - Vision US $157.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 6:30:30 PST   | Watch this Item

Since that book is now hard to come by, and I’m not giving up my copy (it stays in my remembrance tub), I frequently get asked what book do I recommend? After some research, I suggest the top selling book in the appropriate category on Amazon: Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies by Dana Wechsler Linden, Emma Trenti Paroli and Mia Wechsler Doron M.D.

Linden and Paroli are actually mothers who met in the hospital when their preemies were born, and Doron is a neonatologist who all put together this comprehensive guidebook for parents of premature babies. Order your own copy from Amazon.com.

Since I’m a big fan of saving money with coupon codes, you may want to see if you can find some Books Online coupon codes. Unfortunately Amazon never has coupons available for books, but their prices are comparable without.

The Preemie Baby Book and NICU Journal US $19.99 Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-08-2012 15:14:57 PST   | Watch this Item

Crochet Cabbage Patch Kids Clothes PATTERN Book Preemie Baby Dress Shoes Western US $8.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Sunday Feb-12-2012 19:21:59 PST   | Watch this Item

I get lots of comments from people I know and people I don’t know (usually in stores when I have all four with me and am in a hurry) about how I have my hands full or one of the other usual remarks people make about having twins. The thing is that they just don’t get it. They don’t get to experience, to observe, to participate in the daily activities of two little ones of the same age. I must say that one of my favorite ages is 18-24 months, which is precisely where Carlton and Franklin are right now at 22 months. That is the age when they truly start trying to communicate and play with each other and start using their own “twinspeak” words. For instance, my boys call drinks “neh neh” and they both understood that long before I finally figured it out.

I get the impression that people are in awe of MOMs (with twins or more) and are happy that they are not in that position. I would say that I was one of those people before I had twins of my own. Now that I have twins, especially two sets, I really would not want it any other way. My husband, Hans, and I have talked about this many times since our girls were born, even as recently as this week. In our situation with the kids 3 1/2 years apart and the girls the older of the two sets, things flow very naturally in that we are able to assign one girl to watch each boy or hold a boy’s hand. When interaction between the two sets is not needed, each twin plays with her/his co-twin almost exclusively. Yes, we do have four (FOUR!) children, but we only have two ages to deal with. I honestly think that it would be much more difficult to have kids of four different ages than having two sets of twins.

OK, let me back up a bit here. YES, it was extremely difficult at first, especially our first time around. Taking care of two newborns is pretty much double the work of taking care of one newborn. It means double diapers, double feedings, double baths, double the chance of being awakened in the middle of the night, double everything. However, lets clarify that comment about feedings. Generally twin parents are able to feed two babies at once, so that’s not exactly double the amount of work required. MOMs can breastfeed or bottle feed two babies at once (I even know of MOMs who surfed the internet while breastfeeding their twins!). Once the babies are being spoon-fed (with a Baby Dipper bowl, of course), parents can prepare one bowl of food and alternate bites between babies, so while one baby is swallowing, the parent is scooping up a bite and feeding the other baby. The babies can be bathed together once they’re able to sit up, so around 5-8 months or so, thus saving some time there. A big time-saver is when both twins are thoroughly potty-trained. There is no way around it when they are both in diapers. Each baby’s diaper change is a separate event, some more involved than others, naturally.

Once the twins start playing together and sharing interactively, mom will suddenly find that she can actually slip away for a few minutes, though she still must listen in and check on them every few minutes as twins can sometimes get into more trouble than a single child. My understanding is that singleton babies require more parental attention since there is not a built-in playmate. This is not to say that parents of multiples should leave the teaching of things such as colors, shapes, letters, numbers, etc. to the kids themselves, but that this is another aspect of twin life that turns out to be easier than having only one child. Now that our girls are five years old, they play together just about all the time that they are not at school. There is very little arguing, surprisingly. They are really starting to realize how special it is to be twins and like to announce to people (even those who haven’t inquired about if they or their brothers are twins) that we have two sets of twins. I certainly hope that they continue to be close and get along well through their entire lives.

So, when others insinuate that having twins (especially two sets) must be incredibly difficult, I sometimes tell them that it is actually not that difficult, that my girls help with the boys, that each kid has a playmate all the time, that I only had to go through two pregnancies, that we only need to have two types of food/books/toys/clothes around at any given time. But sometimes I just humbly nod and move along, letting them remain in awe of us Mothers of Multiples and ignorant of the benefits that aren’t obvious to outsiders. Let’s not forget that from the time the babies are able to react, MOMs get double smiles, double giggles, double hugs, and double kisses.

Visit BabyDipper.com for more information, as well as Find Baby Dipper on Facebook and Follow @BabyDipper on Twitter.

When I had my twins, it was near impossible trying to find birth announcements especially made for twins. And baby shower invitations for multiples were non-existent. I wish we would have had the internet back then to order from PolkaDotDesign.com – they offer a huge (and super cute) selection of Twins Announcements, Triplets Announcements, Twins and Triplets Shower Invitations, Stationery, Name Cards, Favor Gift Tags, Stickers and more, all for Twins and/or Triplets.

I just got the cutest baby shower invitations for Kaitlyn’s Virtual Baby Shower from Polka Dot Design (lucky for her, she is only having one baby)!

My preemie twin daughter, Macy has had several intestinal problems over the years.  They started when she was infant suffering Necrotizing Enterocolitis where she had seventeen inches of her large and small intestines removed (which was a huge amount on a three pound baby!) and had to don a temporary colostomy.

When Macy was finally able to come home from the hospital, she suffered severe diarrhea.  All of our baby outfits were stained – the backsides from Macy and the front sides from her twin sister, Mallory who had an esophogeal reflux and projectile vomited after almost every feeding.

I tried every brand of disposable diapers and even tried cloth diapers as poor Macy’s tiny little butt would bleed, irritated from all the action.  I also tried every kind of diaper rash cream that I could find on the store shelves, including Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (I love saying that). We eventually had to get a prescription strength ointment that was only available at a pharmacy 150 miles away from us.  Hard to believe we drove three hours to cure a diaper rash back then!

I do believe Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is the best option for “normal” baby diaper rashes though.  In fact, I am giving a tube of it to my sister for her virtual baby shower with a pack of diapers and baby wipes. Request a free sample of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste for your baby!

The best gifts I received were hand-written notes saying we were in their prayers along with flowers.  I mostly received fresh flowers, but I think potted flowers and plants would be nice for the parents to plant in window boxes for remembrance.

This post is sponsored by Flower Window Boxes.

The famous (and controversial) Nadya Suleman, aka Octomom, will appear on ABC’s “The View,” on Wednesday, February 24th, in her first-ever visit to New York City and on the show.

Suleman commented on the upcoming event, “I am elated. I am honored. I love ‘The View’ and can’t wait to meet everyone, my heroes. I can’t wait to see New York.”

This should make for an interesting show as the hosts of the show have debated the circumstances in past shows about the unemployed single mother who chose to have IVF after already having six other children.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

I know one website that I would have definitely bookmarked:
Understanding Your Medical Lab Test Results

This is a useful tool that explains the logic and meaning and normal/abnormal values for over 300 commonly performed medical laboratory tests.

This post is sponsored by LabTestHelp. All opinions are mine.

And the best part is that MagFundraising donates up to 40% of your purchase price back to charity!  So I established an account where proceeds from sales will be donated to the March of Dimes.

Select from a variety of 650 magazines at up to 85% off newsstands prices and improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality at the same time. Shop Now!

If Tonik Health Insurance was offered in Nebraska (where I live), I would definitely check into their rates. Tonik Health Insurance is a major medical insurance plan offered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, but it is only currently offered in six states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Nevada and New Hampshire.

Anthem first introduced Tonik Health Insurance to provide a simple, yet comprehensive plan that covers major medical, dental and vision.  Tonik is mainly marketed toward children, college students, and/or recent college graduates, but Tonik plans are available anyone under the age of sixty-five.

This post is sponsored by Tonik Health Insurance. All opinions are mine.