Parenting Archives - Page 2 of 2

I grow twins. What’s your superpower?

This day exactly one year ago, I found out I was pregnant. When that ‘pee on a stick’ came out positive, I was excited to go through a singleton pregnancy. I thought it would be amazing (and easier) to experience a singleton pregnancy after my twin pregnancy with the boys.

A day after I found out, morning sickness hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was morning sick when pregnant with the boys but not even remotely close to how sick I felt this time round. The way I explain it to my husband and friends who haven’t had babies or experienced bad morning sickness before…is that it feels like the WORST hangover in your life, where your head is spinning, your heart’s beating out of your chest, & you want to spew 24/7 even with an empty stomach. After 2 weeks of hardly eating or drinking, I ended up in hospital and was diagnosed with HG (Hyperemesis Gravidarum). I hadn’t had an ultrasound yet, and I remember the doctors and nurses joking that I was pregnant with twins again…and we all laughed and laughed and laughed!! Well, a few days later I went and had my dating scan (the first scan of a pregnancy). @mrtwinsandablog didn’t come with me because we thought it would just be a standard scan showing us one baby. As the radiologist was about to do the ultrasound, I told him that I have twin boys, and that we only found out they were twins at 10 weeks (at our 6 week scan the report said there was 1 baby and a shadow showing indications of a blood clot or failed twin pregnancy). He was really quiet for a while and then he said I was having twins! And I laughed and laughed and laughed. I seriously thought he was joking, until he showed me the actual scan and I was like WTF! I didn’t even have the words in me to tell my husband on the phone that we were having ‘twins’ again – I just cried (and laughed) and said there were 2 babies in there! He was jumping up and down screaming in excitement, and was the one excited for all of us for most of the pregnancy (since I was mostly sick and feeling sorry for myself!)

Fast forward a year, and even now, looking at both sets of our twins before my very eyes, I still can’t believe it!!! And I just laugh and laugh and laugh!!

January 21, 2018 By Sophia Brown

Babies/ Parenting/ Photography

Baby Photo Tips

As some of you may know I love taking photos of my kids and post them on my Facebook pages (‘Thermotwinning’, ‘Twins and a Blog’ and my personal page) and my ‘Twins and a Blog’ Instagram account. I’m not a professional photographer, I have never done any photography course – these tips are just from my own personal experience! I use social media as a tool to journal and be my photo album to look back at photos of my life and family. Taking pics of my bubbas is one of my favourite things to do! I took heeaaaps of daily photos of my boys since birth and have learnt aaaaallot in the past 3 years (especially having to get that perfect shot of BOTH of them!). I also love printing my photos into huge canvas prints around my house!

Everyone has different likes and tastes with their photos – I prefer portrait type photos (rather than ‘arty’ ones) as I love looking back and clearly seeing my babies faces. I took weekly photos of my boys for their first year, and have been doing the same for the girls (though their photos are more like every day to get through their gazillion outfits!) – so it has been great to look back at my boys photos and compare them with the girls at the same age!

The easiest time to get in pics is before your bubs gets too mobile! Here are my tips for a perfect baby pic:

✖Use a firm but comfy flat surface on the floor. (In my opinion) the floor gets the most flattering angle for a baby if you take the photos right above their head & body as a birds eye view. Lie your bubs on a thick mat, sheepskin or a few folded blankets on the floor (keep it an even surface). I find it’s hard to get a good angle & they sink in too much if they are placed on a bed or couch.

✖Getting bubs to smile & look at the camera. Sometimes I have my phone in my right hand and shake a toy in my left hand right above my phone to gauge their attention. Most of the time I put my face right under my phone as I take multiple photos and make funny faces and voices to get them to smile.

✖Take photos about 30 mins after a feed – so they’re not hungry but also not regurgitating milk out the sides of their mouths.

✖Natural light – choose your spot. Use a bright spot in your house with natural ambient light from your windows but not direct sunlight (which then causes too many shadows). Have the top of their heads/sides of their body towards the light (i.e. don’t put yourself between the bubs and the light or it will get extra shadow). My favourite spot in my house is in the lounge room, a few metres away from the windows, with the curtains half closed (so it’s not too bright, but enough to get natural light in).

✖Use your phone – don’t bother with fancy cameras. I have always used my phone to take photos of my kids (I’ve always used a Samsung Android phone, I’m currently using a Samsung S8+). Not only is your phone easy to get out and snap away, but the quality of photos from phones amazing these days. With babies you have to be quick and phone’s take photos in an instant – I find there is tiny bit a lag/delay with shots if using a proper camera, and milliseconds count when you want to capture a smile or non kicking legs!

✖Take gazillion photos! With the digital age it costs nothing to take gazillion photos! I take about 50 – 100 photos for the 1 shot I post. I then go back into my phone, choose a few best photos with smiles and non blurry arms/legs from them moving, then delete the rest.

✖Edit your photo. Don’t worry about getting the unfolded clothes & toys lying next to bubs in the image. Crop the photo around your bubs and mat. I personally prefer portrait type shots (not arty shots) so I can look back and see their faces with how I remember them. And I also don’t like super duper filters – babies are so perfect you don’t need those full on filters! I usually just brighten & highlight the photo to reduce any shadows. If I do use a filter it is a ‘portrait’ filter on an app called ‘Snapseed’ (but it gets quite dark so I brighten it up alot after that)

….And don’t forget the toddlers!
My only tip for taking photos for toddlers is BRIBERY! Most times my boys will voluntarily pose for pics for me or even ask me to take pics of them (trained them since birth lol!) but for the other times I have a secret stash of M & Ms which works a treat!
Good luck and happy snapping! Post/send me your baby spam if you give these a go!!

Love Sophia x

January 19, 2018 By Sophia Brown