Like the title says my one and only child is expecting twin boys in March. I’m not looking for a whole bunch of congrats. What I would like, is for you to share some of your experiences with twins.
My daughter is a tiny one. 89 pounds before pregnancy and at 5 1/2 months pregnant she tops out at a whopping 105 pounds. I am worried about such a small frame carrying and delivering twins. At this point each baby weighs 1 lb 4 ozs. right smack in the middle of normal.
My twin boys are nearly nine years old. I’d be very happy to answer any questions along the way. I’m having trouble thinking of random advice.
A little random advice:
Put them to sleep next to each other in one crib. They will pile up together like little puppies.
If the family is bottle feeding, figure out a way to feed both at once. I could prop my babies against my legs in the crook of each knee. You might also be able to set them up on boppy pillows or in bouncy seats. Feed them at the same time, even if one does not seem hungry. They will start to settle into the same eating schedule. Feeding them together improved our day in a big way. I was very reluctant to do it. I thought each baby needed his own individual cuddle and feeding time. Once I started it, at about four or six weeks, we had so much time freed up for cuddles and necessities.
The parents must take care of themselves and each other, too. Be nice to yourself and each other during stressful times. It is okay to put a fussy baby down in a safe place for a moment while you compose yourself or take a five minute shower.
When shopping – twin strollers have a big storage area underneath. It was often easiest to keep the babies in the stroller and place items under the stroller. I’m sure I looked like a shoplifter. My grocery store has double-wide buggies. I could keep both babies in their pop-out carseats, place the seated babies in the buggy, and load groceries around them and on the bottom of the buggy.
Run a load of laundry and run the dishwasher daily so the chores do not get overwhelming.
Look into automatic online shipments of diapers, wipes, and formula.
The best advice I ever received – hold those babies all you want. It goes so fast!
My daughter just delivered twin boys this weekend. I already have one grandchild from my son.
My daughter is also tiny. She normally weighed under 100 lbs but gained a few pounds to get pregnant. When she delivered, she was over 150 lbs.
The babies were delivered by C-section 6 weeks early. My daughter had bad headaches on Saturday and her blood pressure was sky high. I can’t remember the medical term, but they were afraid that she was going to have a stroke. She wasn’t on bed rest but the doctor wouldn’t let her work for the last 3 weeks. She’s a teacher and would have been on her feet too much.
Aiden is 3 lbs 11 oz and Miles is 4 lbs 8 oz. They are both doing well. Mom is doing better as the blood pressure is going down and blood gasses are getting better.
About a dozen years ago my sister gave birth to twins (one boy and one girl) about a month early. Sis was not so tiny as the OP’s daughter, so it was natural childbirth.
We encouraged sis to take all the help she was offered. Those friends who would say " if you ever need any help, just let me know" would be taken up on their offer. Help with laundry, cleaning house, sterilizing baby bottles and prepping formula for the next day, being adult company… whatever.
Nursing is great, but you are not a failure if you cannot nurse two growing infants. Keep some formula bottles ready to heat and eat at all times.
And finally, as others mentioned, get them eating at the same time. It is just one part of establishing a routine that will make her life with twins so much easier.
I don’t mean to rain on a parade but twins are a high risk pregnancy. Have all the doctor and hospital stuff planned out months in advance. Take it to a paranoid level of preparation. Be thankful when it is over that you didn’t need the preparation.
IANAD, but as I understand it, C-sections are the safest route for twins. I can’t help but think if my twins had been C-section then my youngest would not have had her lifetime of challenges.
As point out above, twin strollers are great. It was one way to give everyone a break. I swear I covered every neighborhood within an hour walk of my flat in Shanghai. I have zero doubt in my mind that if for some reason I had left the twins in the stroller within a 5 mile radius of our flat in Shanghai, that kindly strangers would have got them home within an hour. I got exercise, the twins would fall asleep, Mom and others would get a break in the house. It was a win win.
Buy the stroller before you buy the car or mini van. Make sure it is a modular one where the car seat has a base that unsnaps and then you can just snap them in the stroller.
Do all the baby prep in advance. Once the twins are there, you have no time.
Mother in law helping out those first weeks/months will be a godsend. Newborns are a lot of work. Twins are 4x the work. The sleep deprivation is just insane.
I have a cow-orker who’s wife gave birth to twins two weeks ago. He looks horrible and is probably operating on 4 or 5 hours of sleep. He’s happy though.
The little rocker thingies are great. You can put one in and rock with your foot (or wind it up if it’s more automated) while feeding, changing or holding the other one.
