Once your twinfants started moving...

Hi everyone,
I was looking at milestones and average ages on the stickies at the top of the forum, and I realized that my little guys will be moving in just a couple of months. It's CRAZY how quickly time is going by. I'm wondering if those of you who have been on the First Year forum longer than I have can tell those of us less experienced folks what your experiences were once the babies started crawling and walking. Did it get much harder? I've been through the crawling/cruising/walking phase with one kiddo, but I'm worried about having 2 at a time going in 2 different directions. Should I order my play yard now?

 

I would at least start looking into play yards and baby gates because once they start moving, they are everywhere. And when they start walking and can reach more stuff, you really need to baby proof. Mine are strangely attracted to the TV and DVD player, no matter what we use to block it they get around it every time...so that might be something you also want to think about.
I do find that mine are usually going in the same direction, most of the time, so usually I am chasing after two kids with the same impish look in their eyes wondering how they can sneak dumping the trash can past me. It is a lot of fun seeing the move but I am learning, you've got to have eyes everywhere!

 

I found it to be much easier once my girls became mobile. We no longer had to play the guessing game as to what they wanted. If they wanted something they would get it. I made sure that their entire play area was completely baby proofed so they could have free roam. It avoided a lot of headaches of constantly have to tell them no and redirecting them....everything was safe!

I would definitely start baby proofing now, because you will be amazed how one day they just get up and go! Sometimes without warning!

 

We did baby gates instead of a play yard. And then once they became really mobile, we just babyproofed a large area for them to be able to safely explore around.

Mine were like Nancy's they really never went in opposite directions and still dont. They like to team up on me. :lol:

 

Yes, definately going to have to baby proof very well with two going in different directions, but on the whole, I found that once they became mobile it was easier and definately more fun... for them and me.

 

Definately time to get to baby proofing! At first mine mostly went in the same general direction. It was super cute to watch them chase each other around. Before long they they figured out the run while mom's distracted philosophy, and double teaming. We joked that they were alot like the raptors in Jurassic Park trying out the limits of the cage.

It is hard to keep your eyes on both of them at the same time once they really get to moving. While you are trying to distract one from pulling on the outlet plug covers the other is trying to press all the buttons on your electronic equipment. It's truly amazing how fast they can move. While you are chasing that one down, the other is finding something else to get into. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

FWIW... we bought two superyards and used them a primary safe play place when we couldn't keep our eyes on them. I will say though that I wished I had bought the metal ones from the start. My little monkeys figured out how to climb the regular ones pretty quick. Putting shoes on them helped, but they would still manage to get precariously close to the top. They never tried with the metal ones (no cross hatching - just poles like a gate). More pricey, but in the end chepar than buying both. Our metal superyard also served as a nice gate to keep them in the living room for a while, and we use it now that they have free roam around the diaper changing station.

 

Well my kiddos are very mobile in the four wheel drive department and cruising the furniture quite well. I have made a safe zone in my house for when eyes are few for the amount of children. My living room has been baby proofed and we use a crib railing to block off the area from the hallway, works well and was free Baby gates and yards are expensive. With my first some I just took the time to teach him limits and items that were no nos. So doing the same with the girls. I allow them free range of th house when i am not occupied. They have stations areound the house that is theirs, stacks of boxes from the kitchen groceries, baskets of goodies placed before the places they need to stay out of, ie my ficus tree. It is working well for us. They still like to follow each other.

I felt it got easier when i would only have to pick up one baby and her sister would follow us to the next to do ie eat or change pants. Play time is very involved and i find much more fun with the interaction from the girls.

Bets wishes and good luck

 

loved the sitting stage, even scooting stage. THe real moving around made things alot harder for me!!! The walking almost pushed me over the edge for a while. It's better now.

 

I found it easier because they could get to what they wanted without us having to move them every 5 minutes. Going from crawling to walking was even better because it kept them cleaner and stopped them from putting holes in the knees of their pants.

We've always used baby gates and baby proofed a large area. That way we could all hang out together without having to relegate the little ones to the "safe zone". I've always found One Step Ahead.com to be a good place to look around and get ideas about what needs to be babyproofed. One thing not to forget is the floor lamps because the kids will try to use those to stand and they'll come tumbling down.

I did buy a Superyard and two extensions and we got tons of use out of it while away from home. I used it on my mom's porch, at my grandparents' house, at the hairdressers', the park, when house hunting, as a sleeping area on trips, etc. It was a good purchase for us.

 

Harder. When they were pre-crawlers it was great you just looked in on them while making supper. When they started to crawl you really had to watch them... I haven't heard much success with the play yards since two can usually knock it over. I'd recommend great baby gates and really really babyproof everything. Secure the book shelves, buy those tot-locks for your cupboards. Do it all now, since later on it really is harder to find the time. I did quite a bit during the rolling stage but I wish I had done even more.

heather