Mom Blog and Baby Blog | Baby Bunching

reflections on reflux

Disclaimer: Please remember that we at Baby Bunching do not have medical degrees and we would never, ever suggest that you take our medical advice (especially that involving medication for your child) without the knowledge and support of your pediatrician.  So read the following advice...and then consult your doctor.

Recently, I had a park play date with a Baby Bunching friend whose youngest child (at 5 months old and CUTE as a button!) broke my heart because I think he may be struggling with reflux (gastroesophogal reflux disease, or GERD, in the medical world).  

I say *may* because I feel as though reflux is the mystery ailment of the baby world.  Linda is convinced that EVERY baby has reflux. This is a theory I would support, but for the fact that my eldest child was literally the happiest baby on the block.  After three children (and half a dozen pediatricians along the way), I'm convinced that even pediatricians don't know definitively.  If it looks like reflux and smells like reflux, they'll encourage you to give the reflux meds a try and see if it IS reflux.

My third baby was "diagnosed" with reflux after a particularly high-stress trip to urgent care over Labor Day weekend when he was a little over a month old.  My husband, who had had just about enough of the constant crying, laid down the law and insisted that there MUST be something wrong with the kid and it was inhumane to "wait and see" until regular doctor's hours on Monday morning.  With little reflux diagnostic technology on hand in urgent care on a Saturday night, the pediatrician on call suggested that we give the medicine a try.  I resisted the idea of medication at first, being the type of person that will walk around for 4 days with a  headache before taking an Advil, and I certainly didn't like the idea of a daily dose of anything for my newborn.  But the doctor insisted that the medication was so safe that it was used on preemies and that we should just give it a try and see if it worked.  

It worked.  Just a few hours later, we had an entirely different baby on our hands, and silence that was music to our ears - for the first time in a month.  

Although my mother had previously suggested the possibility of reflux, I poo-pooed the suggestion because the symptoms didn't "match."  Although the baby was fussy, he wasn't projectile vomiting (and in fact, barely spit up), slept in decent stretches, and was appropriately gaining weight.  He nursed ok (although not great, and did better from a bottle once I introduced it around the 3-week mark).  He was just fussy and fidgety every waking hour. It turns out that reflux has a stealth mode - otherwise known as "Silent Reflux" - that doesn't involve any projectile vomiting, but hurts just as much.  And while most babies grow out of it around the 6 to 9-month mark, it makes for a VERY long 6 to 9 months if not diagnosed and treated.  In addition to medication, we were under strict instructions to feed the baby sitting up (as opposed to reclining), leave him sitting up for 30 minutes after each feeding, and put his mattress at an incline.  As you can imagine, these instructions make for some tricky nursing acrobatics, but we made it work (although now I can barely remember how, in all honesty).

In retrospect, I believe that my Baby #2 had undiagnosed reflux.  To this day, I'm overwhelmed with guilt at the notion that not only was he in pain for months, but I let it mess up nursing.  After going dairy-free myself, and then finally moving through soy and the full range of "sensitive tummy" formulas, we finalIy settled on the uber-expensive Alimentum because it was the only thing his little tummy could tolerate.  With him (and his 18-month old older brother in tow), I was in a Baby Bunching haze, quite honestly.  He could've projectile vomited in my face 10 times a day and it probably wouldn't have raised a red flag.   When I stumbled upon a solution that "worked," I didn't question it - I just went with it. For these reasons, I am on a one-woman mission to save all of my mommy friends and their precious darlings from the hell that is reflux. If your baby fusses all the time or never seems "settled,"  consider this friendly advice to ask your doctor (or an objective friend, or a grandma) about the possibility of reflux.  

You can absolutely try going dairy-free, eliminating other gassy foods from your diet and sampling a variety of formulas, but it can take weeks for dairy to work its way out of your system and in the meantime your baby is fussing his way through the "wait and see" approach.  I will admit that I am normally a big proponent of "wait and see" parenting, believing that kids progress differently at different developmental stages and in their own time, and also that some conditions clear up on their own if left alone.  However, this is one situation where if your pediatrician agrees that your baby may be a candidate for reflux medication, it's worth taking a shot at seeing if it works - for your own sanity and the baby's!

baby bunching Q/A: going out with three under 2 1/2

We found this question buried in our archives. Our apologies for it taking this long to surface, but this always seems to be a popular question.

Q: I need ideas on going out with my boys, I have 4 kids but 3 are bunched--ages 4, 3 and 1. I had an umbrella stroller double, but it is to hard to maneuver and I still have a child that may or may not cooperate. Any ideas from you or your readers would be greatly appreciated.

A: Getting out is always going to be a challenge and will always take some planning and strategy. Always! You're at the point where purchasing another double stroller is probably moot since your 4-year old isn't riding much and your 3-year old probably won't be for too much longer. Where you go will probably also determine what you need when you're out and about. With this configuration, places with carts may be the easiest, but it often depends on your kids and their ability to stay with you or sit down in the cart.

There are a few possibilities you could explore, but it might mean getting a few accessories.

1) Find a used Sit n' Stand and give this try. You might be able to even get your two Bigs to sit on the seat together now and then.  This stroller will probably still only last you another year, but it does give you some good options to keep everyone together.

2) Ditch the double and revert back to your previous single. (We're just assuming you have one of these.) and use a product like a tag*a*long.These after market accessories can be added to strollers or even carts. Yes, you could make your own with a rope or something similar, but it wouldn't look this cute. Keep these on hand and use with your single or double stroller.

3) Buggy Board. Note: these are not for little kids! You probably couldn't attach this to your current double umbrella if it's already too hard to push with two kids, but this on the back of your single might be a nice option for either your 4 or 3-year old to jump on and off while you're out and about.

You mentioned an older sibling who isn't Bunched. You might enlist him/her to be on sibling duty with one of the older two of the Bunch. Perhaps he/she takes the 4-year old's hand and you have the 3 year old ride on the Buggy Board. Whatever you decide to do, will depend a lot on your kids' personalities and stroller temperament. When my son turned 3, he was completely done with the stroller. But I know kids who are nearing 5 who are still up for a ride.

All in all, it's a lesson for every child in learning to stay with you. When they are 2-3 this is a bit harder to teach since they tend to roam, but by age 4 this is something worth investing some time in teaching, especially since you have younger kids you will have to continue to rein in for some time.

We'd love to hear some suggestions from our readers.

new car seat advice: waving from behind

This just in from yesterday--the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) now recommends that children should be rear-facing in their car seats until age 2. This puts a whole new spin for us Bunchers since it means our Bunch is now facing backwards, and we can just have to hope and pray that they are behaving themselves back there.  No more looking back in the rear view mirror to catch those toddler smiles; now it might just be some bobbing heads with a few toys flying back and forth. Good times.

This is not new for me since our early Bunching days were in spent in Sweden where their kids ride rear facing until age 3 or even 4! The car seats are made differently and stabilized in ways that look like they also might be drilling for oil while restraining your kids. (Now that's a fun concept.) I often wondered how my Baby Bunching neighbor did it with both kids facing that way. How do you know what trouble your toddler's up to. Well, they also can put their kids rear-facing in the front seat (air bag disabled) so that eliminates that issue. I couldn't go this route because my Britax car seat at the time wouldn't allow for a child over a certain height to be rear facing. Here is a good resource for what they do in other countries.

This is only guidance and not a law set in place, but here's the scoop on why:

One-year-olds are five times less likely to be injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing seat, according to a 2007 analysis of five years of U.S. crash data. Toddlers have relatively large heads and small necks. In a front-facing car seat, the force of a crash can jerk the child's head causing spinal cord injuries. [We admit it's kind of hard to argue with that.]

Car seats have recommended weights printed on them. If a 1-year-old outweighs the recommendation of an infant seat, parents should switch to a different rear-facing car seat that accommodates the heavier weight until they turn 2, the pediatricians group says.

We're curious what you think about this new recommendation. Do your kids like to face backwards? Are their legs scrunched up? Is this something you'll do or will you address the issue on a child-by-child basis?

*photo credit: Carseat.se--Rear Facing for a Safer Future.

reflections: 9 months into baby bunching

By Shannon Block

Let me start by saying, there is a reason that there are a multitude of websites and chat rooms dedicated to the art of having "two under two" (read: two children under the age of two)!  When my husband and I decided to have our kids close in age, we thought something between 18 months apart and 2 years would be ideal because it would give us a chance to have a break before having babies #3 &  #4.  Yes, we were going to have four kids when we started all of this!  While that remains to be seen (we have since decided that we will take the expansion of this family one day at a time), we did manage to have kids #1 (Hadley, now two) & #2 (Jameson, now 9 months) a mere 15 months and 10 days apart.  Wow.  What can I say, we are blessed in this department.

From the moment I was showing with Jameson it opened the flood gates of commentary from strangers on the street and friends and family alike.  If I had a dollar for every time someone told me (unsolicited of course) that I was going to have my hands full - I'd be a wealthy woman.  Instead of pumping me up for the challenge ahead, all this did was completely terrify me.  The thing is, being an only child myself, I was really excited to have the kids close together.  But I was also beyond nervous.  Those websites & chat rooms I mentioned, they scared the crap out of me.  There was so much negative commentary out there about two under two.  So many bitter, cranky women complaining online about how hard their lives were.  I should have ignored all of them and focused on the ones (like the Baby Bunching ladies!) that had good things to say.  But I didn't.  I got totally bogged down by all this negative energy.  So much so, that the whole last 3 months of my pregnancy including the day he was delivered is a complete blur to me.  I barely even remember being there, which now just makes me sad because what a sweet, sweet day that was! 

What I wish I could've told myself back then, is to RELAX and to completely ignore the hype.  What I now know, is that with a 2-year old that is prone to public displays and running for the hills while mommy is behind strapped with a 20 pound baby yelling "come back here NOW!" that, YES, I do have my hands full.  And yes, there are times that this is hard.  Not every outing is a smashing success (success of course equaling a simple trip out of the house with no meltdowns and no running into the street).  And sometimes both kids are crying and I'm tired and I'm covered in all kinds of food, and I'm wishing I were on a beach with a cocktail.  But the words "hard work" and "hands full" no longer have a negative connotation like they did before I became a mom of kids 15 months apart.  Now, I wear those words like a badge of honor -- YES, it's hard!  But it's awesome.  I am so beyond blessed to watch my 2 year old and my 9 month old playing together, hugging each other, wishing the other was there on the rare occasion that they are separated.  This sibling bond that I am watching, helping cultivate, is simply beautiful.
 
Here I sit, 9 months into two under two and I have an overwhelming sense of "I can do this." I know there will be challenges ahead (#2 is about to go mobile and become a strong willed, active toddler himself).  But #1 is getting easier by the day.  Like all things, it's a balancing act, hard times ebb and flow, but you know what, so do the good times.  And those good times -- they are REALLY GOOD!
 
I am not super mom, and I am far from perfect.  And I'm not an expert, but I do have advice! 

The best advice I can give to moms about to embark on 2 under 2 is this: 

• keep your cool
• maintain your sense of humor
• be organized
• have a plan (but let that plan get blown to pieces if need be)
• try to savor every moment of the kids being so little, because while tough at times, it is precious and fleeting as well. 
• Oh, and for the love of God, get both kids on a good sleeping schedule as soon as humanly possible.  It saved my life!  (Both kids sleep 7pm - 7am without any wake ups.  And no, they did not come this way.)
   

*FYI - I have since sworn off all 2 under 2 chat rooms / advice columns, with the exception of Baby Bunching. And I am much happier for it.  And when the day comes that I am pregnant with #3 (maybe :), I am going to smile at every stranger that comments about my hands being full.  Yep, they are full.  Full of love.

baby bunching Q/A: organizing/storing the clothes

Q: Any suggestions for organizing/storing baby clothes - who knows when the next one might be coming along.

A: Over the years we have both learned that organizing is a very personal thing. What works for one person may not work for another. However, there are a few things that will determine how you store clothes after a child has outgrown it, and help make it easier for you to organize in that way that works best for you.  

1) Are you planning for more babies after this one? If you're planning for more kids, keep the item if it still looks wearable. If you're on the fence about more kids, we recommend you still save it for a little while if you have the room, especially for items that look almost new.

2) Is your next in line the same gender? If the child is the same sex, keep the item even if the seasons may be off as you never know. If the child is a different gender, make a determination. My daughter was perfectly happy to wear all her brother's overalls and even some of his jeans/shorts. (In the future, you might try more gender-neutral clothing for big-ticket items like coats or even jeans.)

3) Does this article of clothing look like it could be reworn? (i.e. Does it have sweet potatoes stains all over or does it still smell like vomit even after you wash it?) Yes, keep it. No, toss it

Here are a few of our tips to help you organize your clothes:

• Bins, bins, bins! Invest in a few plastic bins with lids to stash in your kids' closets. Linda prefers these from the Container Store because they are all see through, fit on the top shelf of the closet and vary in size a bit, but they all still stack. All her kids out-of-season clothes now rest in these because they are easy to access on the off chance that it's hot or cold mid season. Find bins that work right for your closet and household needs. 
• Label everything. You must label them by size (0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.) even if it's with Post-In notes. Toss clothes in there for the next child when they become too small for the oldest.  Don't worry about neatly folding the clothes, but labeling the bins is critical – even if it is just with a marker or piece of masking tape.  Be sure you have washed the clothes and removed stains. 
• When the bin is full, store it elsewhere--if you like--so it's not taking up excess room.  In Cara's case, as her kids got older she found there was only a few months gap between when they got tossed in the bin and worn by the next child, labeled “Next Season’s Clothes, Both Boys." Toss all hand-me-downs, as well as any end of season sale purchases for the next year, in the bin and pull it out at the beginning of each season to inventory what you have for each kid and what you still need.  This also provides easy access to the occasional jacket or shorts needed in the off-season.  
• To keep it all under control, use a little system called 'Purge and Pass.'  In addition to the hand-me-down bin, have another bag for give-aways or consignment items. 

The trick is to develop a system that works for you. Be ready to change as kids get older and you find they are able to wear shorts for three summers. Yes, that day will come. So you'll be less purging and more rotating things. That is the time when you can spend a bit more to get clothes that might actually last through more than one season.

the fairness battle continues

When my kids were younger, the fairness battle was easier to mitigate. Little Baby wanted toy, we asked Big Baby to offer her another. As they got older, there were timers involved...you can have the toy for 3 minutes she gets it next when the timer beeps. Little Baby rarely knew what time she had been missing while I spent time with Big Baby. My point is that it was a lot easier to fool people back then when they had little to no reference points and well, couldn't talk.  

Now people keep score. Yes, we had to make sure the Christmas gifts this year were even (in quantity) because my older one kept track. And now we've moved on to keeping track of who goes where with whom.

That's right my older son is keeping track of what kindergarten field trips and parties I went on/to with him and happily reports to my youngest (now in kindergarten a year behind him) what type of things I did with him presumably so she can compare. And draw her own conclusions. Gone are the days of me battling who has more snack in his bowl, now I have to manage the fairness of what I do with one I also must do with the other knowing that everyone's truly keeping track.

If one child does soccer, does the other child need something comparable? My gut initially says no way! Each kid is individual and what is right for one is not right for another. But when one kids wants to take violin and the other asks for piano, I'm thinking you have to make it fair again. How can you say yes to one and not the other? Especially with something like music.

I'll tell you what this fairness thing gets expensive and time consuming. We wonder how we all get sucked into the craziness in the first place. And the challenge of managing back-to-back kids continues into elementary school.

are they twins?

By Rachel Ostlie

It began when my son was 5 months old and my daughter was 21 months. The very first time that a stranger casually asked, “Are they twins?” At first my reaction was one of shock. Twins? I know that they were in a double stroller so you couldn't see the height difference (as if Little Baby could even stand at this point) but twins? Seriously?

Then again, it's no surprise that we Baby Bunchers are assailed with this question... after all, the number of twin births has risen by 50 percent in the past three decades*. On the other hand, Bunching your children saw a sharp downturn with the advent of oral hormonal birth control in 1960. So two adorable babies are generally assumed to belong to the multiples category. Right?

Honestly, I don't know what I answered on that day. Probably some variation of what I have answered the other hundred thousand times I've fielded that question at a school, library, church, or any other public area: “No.” If they were lucky, I might have said something spectacular after that, like “Umm...This one is older, that one is younger.”

Which brings me to an honest plea, sent out to the whole Baby Bunching community. Perhaps it stems from the fact that my petite firstborn daughter will surely be shorter than her linebacker large brother by the time they are four and three, respectively. But more likely, it comes from my desire to look clever. To have something better to say that just, “Um... no.” I would like to have a pre-formulated answer to give to all the casual strangers wanting to know if my kids cutesy twins or not. Ideally, it should be a sentence long, roll off the tongue easily, and be somewhat witty. Please, will anybody out there help me?

Rachel is the happy mother of two adorable children who are not twins, ages 3 and 1.5. She also really wants to be clever.

*National Vital Statistics Reports - Volume 48, Number 3 - from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

baby bunching during the holidays: permission to simplify

You may have already noticed that the frequency of our posts are slowing up a little heading into this crazy time of year.  Or more likely, you haven't noticed at all because your own life is so crazy during this season that you don't have time to be bothered with our lives. 

In any case, the holiday season is both a blessed and tricky time of year for moms of Baby Bunches of all ages.  Is it just us or does it seem like the daily life of a Buncher is complicated enough without the addition of major machinations required to pull off the holiday season of yours (or your Bunch's) dreams?

Of course, we love all the festivities deep (really deep) down in our hearts.  We're not so Scroogey that we would recommend ditching the season all together, but we DO recommend considering scaling back a little.  And we happily give you permission to do so.

Your children will not be this young forever and life will not be this crazy forever.  If you try to do it all, you may find yourself frustrated that the cookies are burned, the ornaments have been ripped off the tree and broken, and the toddler has spilled a (supposedly non-spill) sippy cup all over your almost-done Christmas cards (as happened to me just two days ago).  Our advice is just to go with it and embrace the madness.

So your tree looks like crap and your cookies taste even worse.  So what?!  If the kids have fun undoing doing the tree and they accidentally rip the wrapping off their presents days (or even weeks) early, does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?  Just re-hang the ornaments and re-wrap the gifts (putting them up high this time) and count your blessings that your kids are healthy enough to be so ornery.

We've done posts in the past on how to help your tree survive the holiday season, but we've got a few tips for helping you survive as well.

1.  Simplify.  Don't bake up a storm AND send cards to every person you know AND decorate your home like a show house AND wrap gifts worthy of Martha Stewart's blessing.  Just pick your favorite thing and knock it out of the park - and enjoy yourself doing it.  Let the rest slide.

2.  Speaking of simplification, the easiest thing to simplify is your Bunches' gift list.  Really.  They are 1 and 2 (or 2 and 3).  Even if they're 5 and 6, they're likely getting so much stuff from grandparents and other relatives that they're not even gonna notice if there's just a few well-chosen items under the tree from you.  Honestly, the younger they are, the less we recommend you buy.  Babies adore an empty box and cast-off wrapping paper (toddlers prefer noisy bubble wrap) from other people's gifts to any gift you can buy them.  Plus they get overwhelmed easily and lose interest in opening after just a few gifts!  Save your money for when they're older - they'll be asking for the moon soon enough.

3.  With the money saved from gifts, get yourself an sitter elf.  Even just a few hours to address cards uninterrupted, bake a batch of cookies without little people underfoot, or run to the post office without your "assistants" can help holiday stress levels plummet.  And we hope that you have your sitter booked for the company party already.  Cuz you totally deserve a fun night out with the hubs.

4.  Ditch the mental picture of perfection.  Because it's very likely that even IF you manage to get it together and get it all done, someone is going to get sick and throw a wrench into the works.  In six years of parenting, I have yet to escape a Thanksgiving/Christmas season without a holiday trip to urgent care.  I've spent 3 of those 6 years taking shifts sitting up with a stuff-nosed baby or toddler and feeling so grateful that there were relatives in town to take sleepless shifts as well.  

No, the holidays aren't always perfect, but they're ALWAYS memorable.  Embrace it!  And happy memory-making this holiday season!

baby bunching Q/A: bunching alone in a new place

Q:  My husband is active duty military and while I am able to stay at home with my children, his job requires his absence for extended periods of time on a regular basis, not to mention the fact that when he is at home, he regularly works very long hours and  often leaves before my oldest wakes up and comes home right around bedtime. I would like to know if you have any tips that would ease the transition of settling in with the new baby, or bedtime, mealtime etc. with my oldest (and surviving the baby bunching scene alone). The two will be 15 months apart and I should add that we just moved out of the country, so in addition to the already momentous transition, we also are very far from family and don't really know anyone where we live yet.

A:Congrats on your impending arrival, and how fun that you'll be living overseas. I also raised my two kids overseas, and arrived in a new country when my youngest was 7 weeks old and my oldest 17 months. While challenging, it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

You have a few questions here so let me address one at a time. First of all, surviving the early days alone. Settling in alone will be challenging.

We always like to offer a few tips:

• Get your toddler on a bedtime routine now! This will make things SO much easier later if you can count on the fact that he/she will be in bed at 7:30 and you're not still screwing with toddler AND baby at 10 p.m.
• If you can get someone to come help you out, like a grandmother or an aunt for the first few weeks, that would be worth it. Flights are often cheaper in the winter and having extra hands if hubby is not there, will at least help you get the lay of the land of this Baby Bunching lifestyle.
• Don't be afraid to not do it all. If your toddler doesn't get a bath or eats mac and cheese 4 nights a week, don't beat yourself up over it. No one can do it all, especially alone. So cut yourself some slack. (This will be ongoing motto you have to repeat to yourself.) 

Mealtime, bedtime, new baby and toddler will be chaotic no matter how you slice or dice it--with or without help. It's all part of the game.  But in fact, the first few weeks, what we call the quiet period, may be easier than you think when baby is sleeping all the time. Bring in extra troops when hubby is back traveling and baby has suddenly discovered his lungs.

Baby Buncher Michelle wrote a great post about surviving a deployment that might offer up some other great tips.

From what I have learned about overseas life and hubby being gone is the support system often tends to be BETTER overseas than here at home. People are ready to engage and help out when they can. So it might actually be better that you're there with a closer-knit support system. Immediately join whatever mom's group you can now to get your network in place. Having people bring you meals and stop by to help you entertain two kids is a HUGE help. 

We have so many moms on this site with traveling dads, we'd love to hear your stories as well.

hoping to win at toddler portrait roulette

By Rachel Ostlie

Here's a Baby Bunching joke for you: What's worse than a photo shoot with a toddler? A photo shoot with TWO toddlers!

Ever since the birth of my little baby, I have played the game of portrait roulette. You know... the one where you get all excited, place your bets, eagerly anticipate, and... lose it all.

I would see photos of friends' babies. And friends of friends' babies. And Anne Geddes babies. And I would imagine that some day, some how, I would end up with a breath-takingly beautiful shot of my babies.

Short weeks after the birth of my little boy, we took our family of four to Target for a portrait session. My first idea was to dress everyone in black, and the babies could wear black diaper covers. This shot almost didn't go off, since there was quibbles about my 18-month-old daughter posing topless. “They may not print it,” the photographer said. “They are very picky about these things.” We decided to try anyways (and they did, indeed print it). This was probably the best of all our whole-family photo shoots, since my big baby didn't have too many fully-developed opinions yet, and my little baby slept through most of it. We even got a sweet kissing shot.

Every portrait session after that has ended in tears. My daughter actually starts crying when we enter into a portrait studio. Any studio. Sears. JC Penney. Target. We tried all of them. For a while, we would get a nice photo of my son, and so-so one of my daughter, in which her eyes were red and still filled with tears, but at least we had managed to coax some kind of laugh out of her.

But a picture of the two of them together? Forget about it. One attempt, when the kids were 6 months and 22 months old, gave us two priceless shots. Shot number one, big baby has a stranglehold on little baby, who is peering out over her arm with a “help me!” look of desperation. Shot number two, they are holding hands (so cute!) but my daughter is crying and my son is yelling, his baby belly sticking out from under the bottom of his shirt.

At Christmastime we attempted a shot of the whole family. I was excited, since big baby now knew how to smile on command. We practiced, got all excited, and she even decided to wear a tutu. No luck with the smiling though. We got our family picture, but had to settle for the “at least everyone is looking at the camera” pose.

Last weekend we finally called a favor in and had a close friend do an outdoors photo shoot. This was the best idea ever, since they would already be familiar with the photographer, and we would feel no pressure regarding time or space. We spent over an hour in a forest preserve, and then went downtown to catch the urban feel. The outfits looked great, my sister-in-law was along to help with the kids, we worked around the kid's nap schedule, we had TONS of fun, and we topped the day off with fantastic Puerto Rican sandwiches called jibaritos. I just got the photos back yesterday, and I eagerly looked through them. Good shot of my almost-3-year-old girl? Check. Good shot of my rowdy 17-month-old boy? Check. Good shot of my husband and I, looking totally in love and very cool? Check. A picture of the toddlers together... Hmmm. Let me look again... Sigh. Nothing. And, the holy grail of Baby Bunching family photography? The natural, beautiful, family photo? Um... Next time we might have to call in Indiana Jones.

[Editor's note: With holiday season rapidly approaching, stay tuned for more on this topic.]