Guest Poster...Sean from My Life With Twins

Guest poster time again. As you could tell, we slacked yesterday and didn't get it up til today! But I can assure you it was worth the wait! Today's guest poster is Sean from My Life With Twins. As a dad to itty bitty baby twins (a little boy and a little girl), he offers us a unique prespective in this mom dominated bloggy world. Please enjoy!

The
10
things
I
couldn’t
have
lived
without

(after
I
had
twins)


1. Netflix
subscription
‐
$9.99
month.


2. LG
BluRay/Network
player


3. iPhone


4. Exergen
temporal
scanner/infared
thermometer


5. D60



6. SB‐600
flash


7. Hiking
pack/diaper
bag


8. Swaddles


9. Ceiling
Fans


10. Alcohol




This
is
not
a
list
of
the
usual
things
you’d
necessarily
register
for.

Yes,
I
love
the
swings,
the
bouncy
seats,
the
car
seats
that
fit
into
the
stroller.

Those
go
without
saying.

They’re
simply
boring,
lacking
in
technology,
and
not
very
manly.

So
here
are
the
top
10
moderately
manly
things
I
really
haven’t
been
able
to
live
without
since
the
twins
arrive.

Consider
some
of
these
ideas
if
you
want
to
get
out
of
the
box
with
gifts
for
people
expecting.



1. Netflix
subscription.

This
is
awesome.

You
can
stream
movies
to
your
computer,
all
for
$9.60
a
month.

I
spent
the
first
two
sleepless
months
keeping
myself
occupied
during
the
century‐long
feeding
sessions
of
the
premature
babies
by
watching
movies
on
my
computer
and
TV.

(see
number
2)

The
babies
have
appeared
to
enjoy
all
9
seasons
of
South
Park,
the
classic
Steve
McQueen
movies,
and
Superbad.




2. LG
370
Blu‐ray/network
player.

Best
father’s
day
gift
I’ve
ever
received.

It
was
also
my
first.

For
no
extra
cost,
I’m
now
able
to
watch
my
Netflix
movies
directly
to
my
TV
without
running
my
laptop
through
the
stereo
receiver
and
VGA
input
on
my
TV.

Simply
fantastic.





3. iPhone.

Yes.

I
had
this
the
day
it
came
out.

The
long,
sleepless
nights
I
was
feeding
babies
every
2
hours,
I
could
keep
on
top
of
email,
play
games,
and
keep
myself
occupied. It’s
also
exceedingly
helpful
to
take
pictures
when
the
babies
are
being
cute.

I’ve
also
used
it
to
record
their
babbling
in
the
morning
that
my
mom
wanted
to
hear.

There
are
a
number
of
baby
logging
programs
available
to
keep
track
of
poop,
feedings,
etc.

Ahh,
technology.


4. Still
on
the
technology
kick.

Trying
to
take
a
screaming
child’s
temperature
with
a
digital
thermometer
is
one
thing.

Sticking
it
under
their
armpit
for
up
to
5
minutes
when
4.5
lbs
is
another.

Seriously.

The
instructions
said
it
could
take
up
to
5
minutes
to
get
a
reading.

That
wasn’t
going
to
happen.

Enter
the
Exergen
temporal
scanner/infrared
thermometer.

When
we
first
visited
our
pediatrician,
the
nurse
grabbed
this
magic
wand,
ran
it
over
the
babies’
heads,
and
magically
it
took
their
temperature.

Thinking
this
was
some
fancy
hospital
equipment
that
cost
a
month’s
mortgage,
I
was
surprised

to
see
this
at
Walmart
for
$30.

I
asked
the
nurse
next
time
we
saw
her
if
they
were
the same
ones
and
she
said
“yes”.

So
I
bought
it.

It’s
a
few
fractions
of
a
degree
different
every
time
you
use
it,
but
if
you’re
worried
about
a
fever
and
you’re
not
willing
to
create
a
crying
machine
at
3:30
a.m.
by
sticking
the
thermometer
under
their
armpit,
this
is
the
solution.




5. Nikon
D60
camera
with
SB600
external
flash.
Any
digital
SLR
will
work,
but
this
is
the
one
I
have.

Without
getting
all
technical,
you
can
visit
my
webpage
for
some
talk
about
getting
started
with
family
photography.

The
external
flash
is
simply
outstanding,
as
it
balances
the
colors,
and
makes
skin
look
so
much
more
natural.

Skip
the
point
and
shot,
spend
the
extra
cash
for
a
camera
you’ll
get
many
more
miles
out
of.


You’ll
be
able
to
take
pictures
more
quickly
with
a
SLR
which
is
important
for
moving
targets.


6. Coleman
Max
65L
Backpack.

This
is
my
man
diaper
bag.

Not
that
I’m
insecure
in
my
manhood,
but
the
little
Etsy‐looking
diaper
bag
we
have
that
we
take
to
transport
the
twins
around
the
world
doesn’t
cut
it.

There
are
few
pockets
and
things
get
lost.

I
have
no
idea
where
anything
is
after
I
put
it
in
the
bag.

Upon
looking
at
diaper
bags
online,
I
realized
it
was
silly
to
spend
a
bunch
of
money
on
an
authentic
dad‐bag.

I
spent
$60
(cheaper
than
other
big
bags
online),
and
was
rewarded
with
plenty
of
storage,
cool
compartment
spaces
to
keep
bottles,
clothes,
first
aid,
diapers,
and
the
occasional
praying
mantis
my
wife
wanted
to
take
home.

When
it’s
no
longer
a
diaper
bag,
I
now
have
an
extra
hiking
pack
for
my
mountain
climbing
expeditions.


7. Baby
hospital
blankets.

I’ll
admit
it,
I
lifted
some
of
them.

Well,
I
figured
I
paid
for
them
after
seeing
the
sticker
shock
of
the
days
in
the
hospital.

At
first
I
only
wanted
them
until
I
got
home
and
could
use
the
thin
blankets
we
were
gifted
(still
can’t
use
nice,
comfy
blankets
with
them,
which
we
have
some
excellent
ones
made
for
us).

I
learned
how
to
put
my
babies
in
their
straight
jacket
with
these
blankets,
so
at
least

I
have
a
head
start.

I
quickly
found
these
were
the
only
ones
big
enough
or
didn’t
stretch.

Next
trip
to
the
hospital,
I
stuffed
a
bag
full
of
them.

We’re
still
using
them
after
being
home
for
3
months.

Sorry
hospital.

Please
don’t
arrest
me.

I’m
sure
they
cost
you
$0.45,
but
I
love
them.


8. Ceiling
fans.

The
kids
aren’t
able
to
play
with
toys
yet.
It
doesn’t
matter
the
type
of
fan,
they’re
complete
junkies.

They
take
what
they
can
get.

The
fancy
Hunter
ceiling
fan
in
the
dining
room,
the
antiquated
fan
in
the
kitchen
with
energy
saving
bulbs
that
are
too
big
for
the
enclosures,
or
the
bedroom
fan
that
sways
with
a
please‐fix‐me‐gyroscope‐pattern.

When
they
start
fussing,
it
used
to
signal
hunger
or
a
diaper
that
I
neglected
for
too
long.

Now
they’re
chasing
the
dragon
and
the
only
thing
that
will
appeal
them
is
me
begrudgingly
acting
as
their
enabler
as
I
lead
them
to
a
fan
to
quell
their
hunger.

At
least
it
keeps
them
occupied.


9. The
Chaos
Mat.

It’s
real
name
is
the
Baby
Einstein
Play
Mat.

We
didn’t
register
for
this,
but
it’s
pretty
great.

Despite
having
every
color
of
the
rainbow
smattered
around
in
seemingly
random
patterns,
mirrors,

ADD
enabling
toys
and
a
singing
star,
we’ve
gotten
a
lot
of
use
out
of
this.

The
bars
that
cross
over
the
top
also
act
as
a
magical
dog‐prevention
barrier,
 impenetrable
when
the
star
is
playing
the
third
movement
from
Mozart’s
Piano
Sonata
in
A
Major.


10. Beer.

This
is
silly
because
I
could
use
beer
before
the
babies,
but
now,
I
think
I
might
truly
understand
the
joy
in
alcohol.



Now if you enjoyes Sean's post, head over and visit him and his gorgeous babies at My Life With Twins

Thank you Sean for such a fun post.