Photo Contest Winner...and more

My sister Tiare, who was my "Quint Nanny" for a couple months this summer, recently found out she was the 2nd place winner in the BYU Bookstore Photo Contest! The requirements for the contest were 1) that the picture depict what the student did over the summer and 2) that a BYU Bookstore bag was included in the picture. Below is the picture she submitted:

Kaiya, Tiare, Riley, Kyndall, Rustin, Kaydence, Ryder and Kassidy

Tiare won a digital camera for placing second. Of course, I think she should have won first prize--I haven't seen the first place photo, but I don't know how it could be better than this one! (yeah, I know I might be just a little biased).

Other recent happenings at the Wilkinson household.....

The week before last my good friend Liz came to visit with her daughter Megan. Liz is one of my best friends and she has helped me so much since the babies were born. I don't know how I would have made it through the first year without her! I was so sad when she moved to Colorado Springs a few months ago. We had a blast during her visit--it ended way too soon!

Liz with Kaydence, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder and Kyndall

Liz with Kaydence

While she was here, Liz and my other good friend, Virginia, took care of all the kids so that Jayson and I could get away for a night. We went up to Dallas to go to the BYU vs. TCU football game. Unfortunately the traffic in Dallas/Ft. Worth is awful—we missed the tailgate party we bought tickets for and we barely made it to our seats in time for the game to start. The kick-off turned out to be the best part of the game—everything went downhill from there. I can’t remember when I have ever seen BYU play so badly! Despite all this, Jayson and I really enjoyed our two-day break. We were able to go to the LDS Dallas temple and I even talked Jayson into doing some shopping. We went out to eat and best of all we got to SLEEP IN!! Just driving in the car to and from Dallas was fun---we could actually carry on a conversation without being interrupted! The kids all had a great time in our absence. Liz and Virginia are super-women. Not only did they watch all seven kids for two days, but they changed all my crib sheets, shampooed my carpets and bleached my tile while we were gone. I truly have some of the best friends ever!

Jayson and I during the most exciting part of the game (ie just before it started)

Kaiya was the student of the week last week and was recognized for exemplifying “Pursuit of Excellence”. She has been doing really well in Kindergarten and I have been amazed at her progress in learning how to read.

Kaiya's Poster for Student of the Week

Riley started taking piano lessons this summer and he recently had his first piano recital. He played Baby Bumblebee and did a great job!

Riley at his first piano recital

A family in the community generously collected diapers for us, in lieu of presents at their son’s birthday party. I was amazed at pile of diapers we received! People were very generous, and I was especially impressed that the family would do this for someone they didn’t know.

Kyndall, Ryder, Kaydence, Rustin and Kassidy check out the new diapers

The babies continue to get bigger and smarter. It seems like they learn something new every day. Whenever we have family prayer, several of them will fold their arms too (which I think is totally adorable). When asked, "Where's your nose?" most of them will point to their nose. They are starting to mimic more sounds and actions. They recently learned to say "Uh-Oh" and Kaydence and Kyndall walk around the house saying, "uh-oh, uh-oh" over and over all day long. They have discovered the great outdoors and love running around outside. They are really changing from babies into little people.

My favorite part of the day is when we get them ready for bed. We rub them with lotion and put on their jammies. Then we read them a story (which they love) and put them in bed. They all stand up in their cribs and wait for me to walk around the room to give them a kiss. When I am done, I blow them all a big kiss and say goodnight. The sight of all five of them standing in their cribs smiling and waving back at me is so sweet--it makes up for all the challenging moments that happen throughout the day.

Ryder and Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Photo Contest Winner...and more

Baby Stuff Showdown

***First, let me begin this entry with the disclaimer that the information given in this blog is strictly my opinion.***

As the mother of seven children, five of those being quintuplets, I have had the opportunity to try out and compare many different baby products. As a statistician, I always thought my dream job would be to work for Consumer Reports, where I could just run tests on all kinds of products to see which ones were the best. Unfortunately, time did not permit me to run any scientific tests and collect data for these baby products, but I thought I would share my opinions anyway---based on my personal experience.

DIAPER GENIE vs. DIAPER CHAMP

Winner: Diaper Champ

I have used both, and the Champ is far superior. Both of these products seek to minimize the pungent aroma of dirty diapers in the nursery, and as far as that goes, they are about equal. The Diaper Genie requires special bags (not cheap) and more effort than the Diaper Champ. With the Champ, any bag will do and it is very fast and easy to use.

ENFAMIL FORMULA vs. SIMILAC FORMULA

Winner: Enfamil

To be fair, Enfamil is supplying us with a year’s worth of formula for the babies, which is an incredible savings for us, so of course I am going to be a little bit biased on this one. Similac has a similar program for quintuplets, so I did get to choose in the beginning. With Riley and Kaiya, I found that Enfamil mixed up better, smelled better, and caused fewer stains than Similac. Let me also say that formula must meet strict dietary guidelines, so nutritionally, all brands are essentially the same. Also, with my older two kids we regularly used the Target Generic and the Carnation brands and I liked both of those as well.

CRADLE SWING vs. REGULAR SWING

Winner: Cradle Swing

Although the cradle swings are more expensive, I think they are worth the extra money! My babies like the side-to-side motion of the cradle swings MUCH better than the forward and back motion of the regular swings. The cradle swings can actually be rotated to rock either direction.

HUGGIES WIPES vs. PAMPERS WIPES Winner: Huggies Wipes

Huggies wipes are softer, more cloth-like and easier to get out than other brands. I personally like the fragrence-free ones the best.

MYLICON DROPS vs. GRIPE WATER

Winner: Gripe Water

Both of these products are remedies for gas and tummy discomfort. The Mylicon drops are made of simethicone (think Gas-X for babies). The gripe water is an herbal formula. For my babies, the Mylicon drops didn’t seem to do anything, but the gripe water worked miracles---especially for Ryder in the early days. The gripe water box says that it can also cure hiccups, and amazingly it does! Supposedly it can also cure hiccups in adults too, but I haven’t tried that yet.

AVENT BOTTLES vs. DR BROWNS BOTTLES vs. PLATEX DROP-INS BOTTLES

Winner: Playtex Drop-Ins

Nearly all of the bottle packages claim that their bottle can do everything short of curing cancer and creating world peace. In my experience, I did not notice a difference in the brands as far as air intake and reduction of colic and gas. Here are the Pros and Cons of each bottle that I found:

Avent: Pros: Easy to read numbers on the side Cons: more leakage problems

Dr. Browns: Pros: Easy to read numbers on the side, no leaks, nice shape Cons: extra parts to clean

Playtex: Pros: come in all five of my colors, disposable liners mean fewer dishwasher loads, heat quickly in water Cons: measurements are harder to read, buying liners can get expensive

As a sidenote: Target makes the best generic liners for the Playtex bottles and they do go on sale every once in a while!

HUGGIES DIAPERS vs. PAMPERS DIAPERS

Winner: Pampers.

My all time favorite diapers are the Pampers Swaddlers (Pampers premium diaper line). They are soft, rarely leak and have minimal graphics on them. However, they are a bit more expensive, and when you multiply things by five it really adds up, so I actually use Huggies (at Sam’s Club the Huggies box contains nearly 50 more diapers than the Pampers box for almost the same price---that’s a whole day and a half worth more!) As far as generics go, I haven’t had any luck finding a generic brand that I really like. I definitely notice a difference in leakage when I use the generics.

A few other baby products I wouldn’t want to live without:

Crumb Catcher Bibs (Baby Connection brand from Walmart)---these are the best bibs ever. They bottoms snap up to form a little pocket (the crumb catcher). The pocket sticks out a little ways so it actually does catch most everything. When the baby is done, the bib unsnaps flat so that clean-up is easy!

Lavender Lotion: I use this on my babies every night before bed and they love it! The lavender scent is very relaxing.

Beanie Beds: Someone in Arizona gave me these and they were so wonderful for the first four months. They gave the babies a cozy, more comfortable place to sleep, since they have to be on their backs.

Precious Moments Classical Music CD: We turn this on every night when we are doing the bedtime routine. The music is very soothing and relaxing.

Baby Bjorn: This really wasn't that useful for the quints, but when I had Kaiya, it was a lifesaver! It is very easy to get the baby in and out of (vs Snugli brand which was nearly impossible for me---this was a few years ago, though, so they might make them differently now).

PS---I wanted to mention that the fabulous facelift my blog received is due to Hilary Keegan. After seeing the pictures on my last post, she generously designed a new layout for me. I love it! Thanks Hilary!!

Baby Stuff Showdown