Its amazing how different Hubs & I lives are after just a few years. Of course that's what happen when children are welcomed into the world, and things haven't "changed" between Hubs & I, that's a different post at a different time on why...
Our financial situation can get a little scary. When it was just Marc & I, we had a very hefty combined income. Even so when Ava was born. Now that we need that income more than ever, it is so far from our grasp. We didn't imagine all the hardships we would experience over the last year could change the way we live our lives. Of course kids are expensive.. but TWINS, o you have no idea. TWINS & a TODDLER, yikes and on one income. When we moved back to Ohio, Marc had taken a big pay cut to get us back home. I had two opportunities lined up with a good shot for at least one. Well after a couple weeks here, the Bed Rest is brought down on me like a hammer and so some of struggle began. The money we had saved was used to pay off some bills before we moved back. We made money off the sale of our house, but that quickly ran out because we had to pay to fly Ava & myself back to Ohio & rent a uhaul for Hubs & my stepdad to bring all of our stuff back, two car payments, etc... Anyways...
Before I would do some couponing if I thought of it and hardly ever looked for the best priced item between stores. Now, that is a necessity. Yesterday we were low on formula so I went to Giant Eagle to get a small tub to hold us over until we ran to Sam's Club. The girls are on Enfamil Gentlease and Sams has a version of their brand that we buy.
So I'm standing in Giant Eagle at 10pm, in spit up stained sweats, a frizzy curly ponytail &a scarf wrapped around my mouth looking for a small tub to get us through a day, which is literally just one 12oz tub (or less)... that's only one days worth pretty much. They only have the GE in the 21oz Powder, some powder packets & liquid... the 21oz can was $27.99. I didn't have a coupon with me. I normally have some, but we've used them all. There was NO WAY I was going to spend $28 on 21oz when we can get a 48oz tub at Sams for $25. But we needed it... so I'm standing there. Starting to get hot. Doing math. So I take off my coat. We can afford to do this, but this is absurd. Spend that much money for one day of Formula when the Sams tub will last us 4 days and is $3 cheaper!??! On days like this, I feel so guilty for only breastfeeding 4m. After 5mins of arguing with myself , I call Hubs for reinforcement. He said he can go to Sam's on his lunch break and get the formula along with some other things we need in bulk, plus the cashier from my last trip FORGOT to put my wine in the cart and I didn't realize until I got home! So he had to pick it up... BONUS!
But... its good to always have reserves. I have 8, 8oz ready feed bottles on hand along with 6, 4oz powder packets that are for emergencies or travel. So I figure that is more than enough to get us through until he goes to the store.
Anyways... this incident made me realize just how expensive this is. I've never really wrote it down, but I do remember the days we started a new tub of formula, or opened a new pack of diapers, so in Part 2, I'm going to do a cost break down.
Unless you have indisposable income, you should really get a Sam's/Costco/BJ's Membership-- Lesson #1!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Sleeeeeeeeep
A little over 5.5m!
So now that the girls are older and "semi" mobile- things seem tough again. Its almost like each new Milestone, brings new challenges and just when we are getting the hang of something, a new trend pops up we have to acquaint ourselves with. I'm not really sure this will ever be easy... ever.
We keep hitting new stages and positive steps in life, but like I mentioned, there is always a new challenge lurking. The girls are pretty much crib & sleep trained. This has opened a whole new world for Hubs & I. It was tough getting to this point, but persistance & consistency has been key. So now that they sleep so much better & for longer stretches we are getting more sleep... or else we were. These adorable little girls decide they want to sleep on their bellies all of a sudden. Which I'm fine with... Mila was first. Rolling on her belly a few weeks ago was a whole new freedom for her. She was going after items she wanted, which poses new potential risks on the floor and with a toddler around, its inevitable to get past. For some reason, this amazing roller forgot how to roll from her belly to her back in bed... so right when Marc and I were getting enough sleep to unpack the bags from our eyes... she started losing her shit at night (not her actual shit- I feel I need to clarify bc that is also a possibility). She would always end up on her belly and sleep soundly with her little lovey that my Aunt J got the girls. Its a little pink fuzzy soft square blanket with a mouse face on end and satin underneath. Once Mila sees this, she goes crazy and smashes it into her face like its cake. So here she is at night, on her belly. She startles. She goes berzerk, bc this amazing roller we have all of a sudden decides she doesn't know how to roll on to her back from her belly anymore. Are you kidding? You do this all day long. She practically rolls circles around Lola and now she can't move?? Each direction she tried to roll would ultimately be a crib rail, so she's not getting very far. So either Marc or I would have to go in and flip her. Which doesn't make sense bc she calms down, then flips back on to her belly and goes right back to sleep. Or else she decided she was actually hungry and now wants to eat. So this was non stop all night for about a week, all the while, little Lola is fast asleep on side, oblivious to what's going on.
Not for long... as soon as Mila decides she's good sleeping on her belly all tucked vertically in the corner of the crib, Lola decides she wants to be a tummy sleeper too. So now the whole ordeal is starting all over again. Luckily we knew it was temporary so it was easier to truck on through it. The only down fall is that Lola is a heavier sleeper at night. So even though Mila could potentially wake her, it took awhile. Not so much for Mila, she stirs a little easier so Lola's screeches about being on her belly usually woke Mila instantly.
So all that took place just a few weeks ago. Now we are at a much better sleepy place. Even for naps. They both prefer to sleep in their cribs for all their slumbers. So they don't put up much of a fight. Lola still gets mad when you first put her down, but it subsides after a few mins. We started getting better sleep, again. Its like we go through these inconsistent sleep cycles ourself. Our baby monitor has "set" volume levels, not a dial to turn up and down. So we're still hearing all the little whimpers and grunts... it really disrupts our sleep, but there is nothing we can do about it until I feel more comfortable to where we can leave it off.
Hubs & I are starting to fall into a routine, despite still being completely exhausted all day. The twins go to bed around 8:30p, so this leaves about a half hour for Ava to spend winding down with us. She's in bed about 9pm. Then Hubs & I are able to snuggle up and watch some shows or go to bed early ourselves ;) Rawr!!
Naps are so much better... The girls go down for nap #1 about 90mins after they wake. This nap is anywhere from 1-2hours. Then I'm able to get all three girls down during Ava's afternoon nap. This leaves me at least 2hours---CHILD FREE!! I can actually poop in peace! Or take a long hot shower & shave my legs or finish my coffee from 8am.
So now that the girls are older and "semi" mobile- things seem tough again. Its almost like each new Milestone, brings new challenges and just when we are getting the hang of something, a new trend pops up we have to acquaint ourselves with. I'm not really sure this will ever be easy... ever.
We keep hitting new stages and positive steps in life, but like I mentioned, there is always a new challenge lurking. The girls are pretty much crib & sleep trained. This has opened a whole new world for Hubs & I. It was tough getting to this point, but persistance & consistency has been key. So now that they sleep so much better & for longer stretches we are getting more sleep... or else we were. These adorable little girls decide they want to sleep on their bellies all of a sudden. Which I'm fine with... Mila was first. Rolling on her belly a few weeks ago was a whole new freedom for her. She was going after items she wanted, which poses new potential risks on the floor and with a toddler around, its inevitable to get past. For some reason, this amazing roller forgot how to roll from her belly to her back in bed... so right when Marc and I were getting enough sleep to unpack the bags from our eyes... she started losing her shit at night (not her actual shit- I feel I need to clarify bc that is also a possibility). She would always end up on her belly and sleep soundly with her little lovey that my Aunt J got the girls. Its a little pink fuzzy soft square blanket with a mouse face on end and satin underneath. Once Mila sees this, she goes crazy and smashes it into her face like its cake. So here she is at night, on her belly. She startles. She goes berzerk, bc this amazing roller we have all of a sudden decides she doesn't know how to roll on to her back from her belly anymore. Are you kidding? You do this all day long. She practically rolls circles around Lola and now she can't move?? Each direction she tried to roll would ultimately be a crib rail, so she's not getting very far. So either Marc or I would have to go in and flip her. Which doesn't make sense bc she calms down, then flips back on to her belly and goes right back to sleep. Or else she decided she was actually hungry and now wants to eat. So this was non stop all night for about a week, all the while, little Lola is fast asleep on side, oblivious to what's going on.
Not for long... as soon as Mila decides she's good sleeping on her belly all tucked vertically in the corner of the crib, Lola decides she wants to be a tummy sleeper too. So now the whole ordeal is starting all over again. Luckily we knew it was temporary so it was easier to truck on through it. The only down fall is that Lola is a heavier sleeper at night. So even though Mila could potentially wake her, it took awhile. Not so much for Mila, she stirs a little easier so Lola's screeches about being on her belly usually woke Mila instantly.
So all that took place just a few weeks ago. Now we are at a much better sleepy place. Even for naps. They both prefer to sleep in their cribs for all their slumbers. So they don't put up much of a fight. Lola still gets mad when you first put her down, but it subsides after a few mins. We started getting better sleep, again. Its like we go through these inconsistent sleep cycles ourself. Our baby monitor has "set" volume levels, not a dial to turn up and down. So we're still hearing all the little whimpers and grunts... it really disrupts our sleep, but there is nothing we can do about it until I feel more comfortable to where we can leave it off.
Hubs & I are starting to fall into a routine, despite still being completely exhausted all day. The twins go to bed around 8:30p, so this leaves about a half hour for Ava to spend winding down with us. She's in bed about 9pm. Then Hubs & I are able to snuggle up and watch some shows or go to bed early ourselves ;) Rawr!!
Naps are so much better... The girls go down for nap #1 about 90mins after they wake. This nap is anywhere from 1-2hours. Then I'm able to get all three girls down during Ava's afternoon nap. This leaves me at least 2hours---CHILD FREE!! I can actually poop in peace! Or take a long hot shower & shave my legs or finish my coffee from 8am.
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