Top 10 Must-Have Summertime Toys for Toddlers: A Twin Parent's Ultimate Guide

Welcome to my ultimate guide to summer fun! As a mom of two sets of twins under four, I've discovered the best toys to keep my kids entertained, active, and happy outside. If your kids are like mine, they could be outside from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed. I work in public education which allows me to spend my entire summer with all four of my babies. However, this requires a lot of tricks up the sleeves to keep them entertained. These outdoor toys have turned our backyard into a haven of laughter and adventure. In this post, I'll share my top picks in a variety of price ranges that have brought endless joy to our family. Let's dive into the fun!

Bounce House

I recently purchased this bounce house in anticipation of the summer with four very mobile toddlers. I was trying to come up with easy ways to burn some excess energy while still keeping them contained in the backyard. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews before purchasing this one. I have been so impressed. Our kids are obsessed! It successfully entertained an eight year old, five year old, three sets of twins, and a set of triplets at the same time. You can set it up with or without water. It has a spray hose that hooks up to a "water cannon" and above the slide to create a water slide. My favorite thing about this bounce house is how easy it is to set up and tear down. I can have it set up in less than a minute and takes less than five to deflate and fold up. I purchased a large tote with wheels to store it in when it is not in use.

Reusable Water Balloons

We purchased these reusable water balloons last year and have been obsessed ever since. Our three year olds love to fill them and pop them on themselves, the playground and each other. The water balloons will entertain them for hours. I pull them out with any water activity we are playing. I love these simply for the fact that I don't have to fill up balloons or pick up the tiny pieces balloon afterwards.

Water Table

We were gifted this water table as a birthday present when our oldest set turned one. This table gets used on a regular basis during the summer. The sensory table is extremely easy to put together and is durable. It sustained the weight of my forty pound toddler when they decided to crawl in it. This water table is at a height that is accessible for my one year olds but not too short for my three year olds. It has many attachments that help sustain their attention. My personal favorite is the frog flinger.

Splash Pad

We absolutely love our splash pad. On the really hot days, we hook ours up to the hose and let it go for hours. When our youngest set of twins were six months old and sitting up, they loved to sit in the splash pad while they watched their brothers run through it. We would also put it right under the slide and set up a little water slide situation. The bigger the splash pad the better! Do make sure your kids are wearing water shoes or sandals while running through it as it can get slippery.

Scooters

Our three year old boys LOVE these scooters. I got these for the boys last summer and became masters of these within a couple tries. The boys ride these everywhere. We go on walks to the stream by our house and our boys always beg to bring their scooters. They go everywhere with us around the neighborhood. The boys are constantly begging to go on scooter rides together. I pop the babies in the stroller, click helmets on the boys' heads and go on a scooter ride. I love these because it is something I can easily do independently with two sets of twins while getting out of the house.

Spinning Teeter Totter

If you have twins, you need a teeter totter! All of our kids are obsessed with this. My husband's boss gave it to us due to their kids outgrowing it. Both our three year olds and one year olds love the teeter totter. It is a great way for both sets of twins to interact with each other. The older boys love to bounce on it with the babies and the babies usually giggle non-stop. It has ground stakes to keep if from moving and tipping. It is also light and easy to move if needed.

Swingset

Yes, this is a high ticket price item, but it is hands down the most played on toy/equipment we have. There is always at least one kid swinging or playing in the sand box. It has been a pirate ship, combine harvester and mountain. Our kids are constantly on, in or running around the swingset. The one that is linked is not an exact replica of what we have be is extremely close. This is our third summer with ours and it has worn well. I love that there is a place for a shaded sandbox and the kids love the rock wall. There are so many different swingset design options out there in a wide range of price points. Identify your budget and what you want most in a swingset. This will help you drastically narrow down your options.

Bubble Mower

Our toddlers are obsessed with all things bubbles! They love the bubble mowers and follow behind daddy whenever he is mowing. They will push them around the yard even if they aren't filled with bubble solution. We have gone through a couple versions of bubble mower and these have been the most durable and have not clogged up. I would try to avoid any bubble mowers that require batteries. We have found that they break easily.

Bubble Machine

I have found the bubble machine of all bubble machines! This thing shoots bubbles out at an alarming rate! It's simple to use and has few breakable parts. The space where you put the bubble solution is open which makes it easy to fill and easy to clean. It also keeps it from clogging easily. It is also pretty small and easy to store. The only down fall I have found is that it goes through bubble solution pretty quickly due to making so many bubbles so quickly.

Balance Bike

Like the scooters, our toddlers love their balance bikes. It has helped them develop balance by pushing, scooting or walking on the bike. The adjustable seat makes it so that our three and one year olds can both ride it. They love to ride their balance bikes around the driveway. It is very lightweight for when your toddler ultimately decides to be done riding it in the middle of walk and you have to carry it home.

baby on teeter totter

Birthing Twins Twice: My Journey Delivering Two Sets of Twins (Part Two)

In part one of our birth story, I described our pregnancy and delivery with our first set of twins. When our boys turned one, my husband and I began discussing the timing of having another child. We both felt that our family was not yet complete. I wanted to experience the baby and newborn phase at least one more time. We discussed the logistics of how we would manage two toddlers and a newborn. It seemed manageable to us and something we were ready for. My husband is seven and a half years older than me and nearing forty. We both felt that the sooner we got pregnant, the better.

In late February or early March, I made an appointment with my OBGYN to discuss going back on fertility medication. I was still having extremely irregular cycles and ovulation was unpredictable due to having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. If you want to know more about this, check out my blog post titled "Overcoming Infertility: A Personal Journey to Twin Parenthood." My doctor recommended that we start on the middle dosage of Letrozole for the first round. When trying to conceive with our first set of twins, Clomid did not work and we needed to use the strongest dosage of Letrozole. My doctor recommended this dosage of Letrozole due to my previous history.

We ended up conceiving with our first round of Letrozole which caught us very off guard. We knew we were at a higher risk of having twins due to needing fertility medication and having twins already. However, the odds were still in our favor that it would be a singleton pregnancy. On my twenty-one day blood draw, my progesterone levels came back extremely high, similar to my first pregnancy. When I got this phone call, my husband and I looked at each other and had an "oh shit" moment. We could not confirm yet that it was twins or that I was even pregnant but things just seemed a bit too similar to our first pregnancy. You could say we had a hunch. About a week later, I had a positive pregnancy test but was in denial and convincing myself that it would be a singleton pregnancy. I was still playing the statistics game. According to my Google searching, the likelihood of having twins while on fertility drugs was one in thirty-five. My thinking was that there was no way I would be the one in thirty-five twice.

It was again at our eight-week ultrasound that we got the news of twins again. Covid restrictions had lifted and my husband was able to join this time. Our appointment was first thing in the morning but I had intentionally taken the entire day off from work knowing that could be getting some overwhelming news. We explained our situation to the ultrasound tech and how we were hoping for one but knew there was an increased likelihood of having two. It was seconds after she put the ultrasound wand on my stomach that we were able to see two sacks with two little heartbeats. This time the panic hit a little harder. We knew what newborn twins entailed. I just came out of a really difficult postpartum experience, and I was realizing that I was going to have to do it all over again. After the shock that we were having twins again wore off a bit, my husband an I began planning what our future family would need to look like. We shopped for a new vehicle and converted my sewing room to the boys' new bedroom. We figured out how we would financially make it all work. I was much more intentional this time because we knew what to expect.

Like the first pregnancy, we scheduled our c-section for when I was thirty-seven weeks. I was scheduled to deliver on a Monday. I woke up the day before, not able to feel fetal movement in Baby B. I decided to go to the hospital to be safe around 10:00am. I went by myself while my husband watched our boys. I called my parents to give them a heads up that I as going in and to be on call in case we needed them to come watch our oldest set of twins. Once at the hospital, they did a non-stress test but everything looked normal. However, they were a little concerned since I still could not feel movement from baby B. The doctor decided that since my c-section was scheduled for the next day and I was already there that they would deliver the babies that day. They told me that there was a couple other c-sections and a twin delivery in the operating rooms that day so it would be a couple hour wait. They said an OR would probably be available around 1:30 or 2:00.

I called my husband to update him to let him know we would be having our babies but that he actually did not need to rush this time. He could take his time and call his parents and buddies. I let my parents know that they would need to watch our boys a day earlier than planned. Once my parents got to our house, my husband came to the hospital. At this point, I had been sitting in a triage room for a couple hours hooked up to fetal heart monitors. Any pregnant twin mama knows that sitting in one place for an extended period of time can get quite uncomfortable. The nurses came in and kept telling us that it would be a little later than originally planned.

At around 3:00, a nurse came in start prepping for the c-section and start an IV. Let me just tell you that I have giant veins. Finding a vein for and IV or blood draw has never been an issue for me. Nurses love me for this reason. However, this time the nurse struggled for the longest time to find any vein. She tried five times prior to calling another nurse in to assist. At this point, I was beginning to feel like a very uncomfortable pin cushion. Once they finally found a vein, they continued with surgery prep.

They had me walk to the operating room around 3:45. I was laying on the table, half exposed, getting hooked up, when the on call doctor got pulled away for another delivery. The doctor asked that I be put back up to the fetal heart monitor while waiting. This looked like me in a frigid operating room, free and breezy for all the nurses who had to hold the monitors on my stomach since they wouldn't stay in place. I laid like this for a solid forty minutes. Once the doctor was ready, the anesthesiologist came in to administer the spinal block. If you read part one, you will remember me talking about the warm, compassionate nature of my anesthesiologist and nurses during my first c-section. The second time around was a stark contrast. Everyone was much more business like and matter of fact. I'm not stating this as a bad thing, it was just so surprising to me since it was vastly different from my first experience.

Once the spinal block was in, everything was very similar to my first experience. However, I found myself to be much more anxious. My arms were shaking and my teeth chattered. I think this is due to waiting around most of the day and gave me time to think and process what was going on. I also had nausea and pain in my shoulder. The anesthesiologist said this was often due to air and gas in my abdomen. The first time went so quickly that I didn't have any time to process. Like before, our babies were born around 5:00 pm. Baby A had inhaled some fluid on the way out and had to suction him. Baby B came out two minutes later. They transferred the babies and my husband to the recovery room across the hall as they sewed me back up. This time all their instruments were accounted for. They wheeled be over to the recovery room to fully hold my babies for the first time. Baby A was named Isaac Louis and weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We named Baby B Emma Irene and she weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19 inches long.

The c-section was fairly routine and similar to my first experience. It was the recovery that was vastly different. Our nurses weren't quite as accommodating and helpful but this also wasn't our first rodeo. We had a better idea of what we were doing. I also decided not to breastfeed this time for multiple reasons, which meant fewer times nurses were coming in to support. My parents were able to visit the next day while our older sons were in daycare. This was something we did not get to experience with our first set of twins due to Covid restrictions.

It was later that evening that things began to take a turn. Earlier in the afternoon, they removed my catheter. Around 4:00, I began feeling intense abdominal discomfort and the aching pain in my shoulder again. The nurses told me that is was again due to gas and air in my abdomen. They encouraged me to get up and walk as much as possible. Any c-section mama knows that this is no easy or pain free task. To try and take their advice, I tried to walk up and down the hall hunched over a baby bassinet for support. This did not help.

As the night went on, my symptoms got worse and my pain was minimized by the nurses. They kept telling me I was just bloated from the c-section. I tried to go that bathroom but could not urinate. This led to even more discomfort. At this point, I was shaking from pain. The nurse came in to tell me that if I did not pee in forty-five minutes that she would straight cath me, which she made clear that neither one of us wanted. Needless to say, this did not make me feel better. I did end up having to have a catheter again but this did not come with any relief. I tried a shower to see if that would help. It did not. This is also not easy when recovering from a c-section. At this point I was walking in circles around my room, shaking and sobbing. My poor husband did not know what to do or how to help. The nurse took my temperature and I had spiked a fever. It was at this point that my nurse came in with an order for a Covid and Influenza test. After waiting for test results, we learned that I had tested positive for Influenza. It all began to make sense. I was recovering from abdominal surgery while fighting influenza, of course my body was going haywire.

After learning I had Influenza, my mind immediately went to the babies. I had exposed them to Influenza in their first hours of life. Cue the mom guilt. What would I do? We already had the babies in the hospital nursery overnight since I was not feeling well. My husband and I decided it would be the safest option to keep them in the nursery until the we were discharged. The doctor on call agreed that the nursery was the best place for the babies at that time. However, our nurse told us that they would need to bring our babies back into our room in the morning. This led to confusion in an already gut-wrenching situation. We pushed back on this and the doctor again ordered that the babies stay in the nursery. This was emotionally challenging for me. While it was able to rest and recover from surgery and Influenza, I was separated from my newborn babies. My husband also went home for part of the time to minimize his exposure to keep the rest of our family healthy.

I don't write this to impose fear in any expecting mother. My children are healthy and well. My newborn twins did not have any attachment issues due to be separated from me and all is well. I also made sure to write very honest feedback on my hospital feedback form. I write this to educate and inform. I wish I had been more persistent about my discomfort and pain. I wish I would not have allowed others to minimize my pain and make me feel as if I was abnormal or not tough enough. I wish I would not have let other try to persuade me to do something that did not feel right as a new mother. Trust yourself. Trust what your body is telling you and advocate for exactly what you need. Talk to your partner about ways you may want them to advocate for you while recovering because you might not feel up to doing it yourself. This experience taught me that I am in charge of my health and the health of my babies. That I do know what is right and when something feels wrong. It taught me to trust my gut and always advocate for myself and my babies.

Birthing Twins Twice: My Journey Delivering Two Sets of Twins (Part One)

What is it like to give birth to twins? How does a twin pregnancy different from a singleton pregnancy? Giving birth as a first time mom is confusing, scary, exciting and overwhelming with one baby. How do you even begin to comprehend what is normal and what to expect with two? I'm not here to serve as a medical expert or to state how a twin pregnancy and delivery should look like. I am here to share my experiences so that other twin moms can find connection and similarities to their experiences. My goal is to also support expecting twin moms in knowing what a twin delivery can look like through my birth stories. While I gave birth to twins twice, both experiences were wildly different. I learned to expect the unexpected and to go with the flow. I trusted the medical professionals that were part of my delivery and recovery process, unless my mommy radar told me something didn't feel right. I'll touch more on this in part two.

With both sets of twins, we learned were having fraternal twins at our eight-week ultrasound. The first time was a complete shock. I was at the ultrasound alone due to Covid restrictions. I immediately called my husband and sent him the ultrasound photos. My husband was with me the second time and we were prepared that twins were a possibility. The shock was more centered around how we would financially make it work and how we would go about raising four under two. Would I need to quit my job? I definitely would need to purchase a larger vehicle. Could we afford it? What impact would another set of twins have our our marriage? Postpartum with our first set was challenging for us. Would we be able to go through it again? My head was racing with questions and concerns. My husband was wonderful in assuring me that we would make it all work and that we would be ok. He was my sense of calm as we tried to figure out all of the unknowns.

While I was pregnant with twins twice, my pregnancies were wildly different. Both first trimesters were filled with nausea and migraines, but that's where the similarities end. I had gestational diabetes in my first but not second pregnancy. My second pregnancy came with some different challenges just due to it not being my first pregnancy. I had painful varicose veins along with additional aches and pains that I did not experience with my first. I also found myself to be a bit more at ease with my second pregnancy. This is probably due to it being my second pregnancy and know what to expect in a twin pregnancy.

With our first set of twins, I had gone into labor and delivery several times prior to being thirty four weeks. This was due to thinking I was losing fluid or not feeling fetal movement. This led my medical staff to believe I might go into labor earlier than my scheduled c-section date. They gave me a steroid shot to speed up the lung development of the babies lungs in case I did deliver before thirty five weeks. The steroid spiked my blood sugar levels which led me to needing to go on insulin with the gestational diabetes. Since needing to go on insulin, I was scheduled for non-stress tests twice a week. This is where they strap monitors to your belly and listen for the fetal heart rates. I was exactly thirty six weeks at one of these non-stress tests when they they noticed low fluctuation in baby b's heart rate. The on-call doctor decided that we would do an emergency c-section due to concern for baby b. Once the decision was made that I would be delivering that day, things went extremely quickly.

However, I did not pick up on the sense of urgency that the entire medical team had. This was probably due to me just trying to keep my cool knowing I would be meeting my babies soon. The nurses asked how far a drive it was for my husband to the hospital. I nonchalantly said, "about twenty minutes." I gave him a call and told him to head to the hospital but did not stress that he needed to get there immediately. The nurses kept asking if he was close or how long until he would arrive. It was then that I realized that they wanted to deliver these babies as soon as possible. I didn't think there was a rush so husband was taking his time and excitedly calling his buddies on the drive to tell them we were having our babies.

As my husband got to the hospital, they were just about to wheel me back to the operating room. They had him change and wait in the recovery room while they prepped me and gave me the spinal block. I had the most incredible care team that made the process feel as relaxing as possible. My anesthesiologist was a fellow twin mom and exuded joy and excitement for me as I was become a twin mom as well. My nurses were extremely warm and caring. One had me hug her and engage in a breathing exercise with her while getting the spinal block. Between the incredible anesthesiologist and nurse, I did not feel them giving me the spinal block at all.

After the spinal block set in and I was laying on the operating table, everything moved really quickly. My husband came in. I felt some pushing and pulling on my stomach and Baby A was out. They brought him by my head so that I could briefly see him before they cleaned him up. Two minutes later, Baby B was out. They checked the babies vitals, put diapers and hats on them and took them to the recovery room for monitoring. My husband was summoned to be with the babies in the recovery room. We joke now because I think my husband was in the operating room a total of five minutes.

At this point I thought that I would be quickly sewn up and holding my babies in a matter of minutes. However, I noticed it started to take longer than expected. The doctor and nurses started counting and looking around the room. I asked if we were waiting for something or if something was wrong. The doctor mentioned that they were waiting for an x-ray technician to come with a mobile x-ray lab. I found this to be a little odd and asked why I needed an x-ray. The doctor then told me that they were missing an instrument that they used during surgery. An x-ray was needed to make sure the instrument was not in my body prior to sewing me back up. They reassured me that they didn't think it was because it is a pretty large instrument. Yes, you read that right. They literally had to x-ray me to make sure they weren't sewing a metal instrument in me. I felt like I was in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. We waiting what felt like forever for the x-ray technician and all I can think about is my husband and babies in the other room and longing to be in there with them. My husband later said that no one mentioned to him about what was taking so long and began to worry that something was wrong.

The x-ray technician finally came. I was instrument free, sewn and glued back up and wheeled into recovery. Once reunited with my husband and babies, they immediately put my babies in my arms. Many moms talk about having this overwhelming joyful feeling when holding their babies for the first time. They say it's like an epiphany. I did not have this feeling. I'm here to reassure you that it is ok if you do not have this feeling either. There was so much going on around me and with my body that the moment felt overwhelming. The entire process felt like an out of body experience.

Prior to delivery, we had picked out two boy names but did not know which baby we wanted to name what. After looking at both boys, we both immediately knew that Baby A was Noah John and Baby B was Elliott George. I don't know how we knew. We both just knew. Noah was 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 20 inches long. Elliott was 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19.5 inches long. I walked into the hospital that afternoon at 3:00 for my appointment not thinking I would be having my babies that day and my babies were born at 5:12 and 5:14.

We spent the following three days in the hospital, adjusting to being family of four. There were still Covid restrictions during the time so we were not able to have visitors. After I was discharged, the boys spent one additional night in the pediatric unit. This was due to them having a difficult time regulating their body temperature. The doctors wanted to keep them for observation for one additional night.

During our recovery, we continued to have an incredible care team during recovery. They supported me in my recovery by helping me get up and walking around. They also helped us learn how to care for our new babies. They were so patient, caring and helped up with anything we needed. The anesthesiologist from my c-section even came to visit the next day to see how we were doing and to see the babies. I felt so supported and loved even though our families could not visit.

While I also had a c-section with our second set of twins and delivered at the same hospital, our experiences were very different. Some good and some quite unfortunate. Stay tuned for part two of our birth story blog post!