Twins on the Way...

Are you aware that Grand Rapids has a "twins club"?
Contact me for more information.
You can get everything you may need and all the advice in the world! (-:

Hey A.,

I have a 3 girls. A 3 year old and 1 year old twins. I found that getting really organized before the babies were born was really helpful. You're so busy and sleep deprived that knowing where everything is can help a lot. Take all the help you can get. Falling into a routine takes a little longer with twins, but it's so important. One thing that I found to be the most helpful was writing down there feeding and diaper schedule. It really helped being able to see who ate last or who needed a diaper change. I think I did that for the first six months or so. I highly recommend it. I don't really think any one book helped me more than the others. As for returning to work. I was sooooo ready! I know that you will love your little ones, but being back at work was a relief! Good luck, you'll do fine.
-N.

Hi A.-
I have b/g twins that are 2.5 years old. I have been a member of gomOMS -greater oakland mothers of multiples. they have a really good "new moms" group that deal with the first year. (feeding, sleeping, and other advice topics) they have great advice and support.
www.gomoms.org

they have a resource library of books available re twins and multiples. so you dont even have to invest.

I have a tip sheet that I got from them that I would be happy to pass along if you like.

We basically tried to keep as much on schedule as possible. I would use the car seats for feedings, nursing one then bottle feeding the other, rocking the seat with my foot.

Books I recommend : Harvey Karp "best baby on the block" teaches the 5 "s's technique for calming. It really worked with our twins.

Good luck! Have a healthy, happy pregnancy.

Morning A.!!

Congrats!!! I have twin boys. In Livonia there is a twins group. I lived her when my twins were born.. moved and came back and never got in touch with the group. They used to have meetings at Livonia Civic Center Lib.

They were great!! You should try an d contact them!! I couldn't have asked for a better support group. Even on bedrest they brought me stuff to read and do!!

Good luck!! My prayers are with you.. but it is such a blessing!

~G.

Hi A. -

well, i don't have boy/girl twins, but i have all-boy triplets age 22months.
of course, now that there is a question about multiples i'm having problems conjuring up advice. so first i want you to know that you can contact me whenever you need to.

For feeding, two big things ring clear:

1. Keep track of who eats when by writing it on a notepad or dry-erase and make sure anyone who helps with feeding does this. We had my husbands entire family over for Christmas when the boys were around 4mos old. Nobody honored this request, and i practically went crazy trying to determine who ate when)

2. As much as you need to take naps, too, keep them on a three-hour feeding cycle (or whatever time you are doing). This will help them begin sleeping through the night sooner. I made the mistake of sometimes letting them sleep up to five hours during the day (so i could sleep, eat, shower, wash bottles, etc), but then they'd be awake every three hours at night (because their day and nights are still mixed up)!

I belong to a triplet group and internet forum. But there is one for twins that sounds good, too. I'll have to find the magazine and get back to you about it. (But you could probably do searches on the internet,too. Try Mothers of Twins).

Again, sorry I couldn't provide more info (it's time for my nap!), but contact me whenever you need to.

Dana

I just had a boy/girl twins on March 26, so I don't have tons of advice but I can say they were early so they spent almost 2 weeks at the NICU. They are now about 12 weeks and since I am breastfeeding I cannot imagine being at work, luckily I have the summer off. So here is my advice, while you feel good and don't have the babies get organized, super organized. Buy things now, like diapers, formula (careful with overdoing in case they can't have a certain kind, my son is allergic to cows milk so I can't have dairy), I have two changing stations one upstairs and one downstairs. You can buy jars of baby food, but check expiration dates, have clothes organized by sizes and everything washed so you can just change them out when the time comes. Sleep lots now!!! If I think of anything else I will respond again.

I am a mom of monozygotic 3 yr old boys. I belong to a club with a few members who have b/g twins. I know it seems overwhelming right now but it will be fine. The best advice is to take any help that is offered. and don't be afraid to ask for help. I know I had lots of help from my husband, my mom, and a few friends who came over just to hold a baby. If you want to email me private for info please do. I joined Eastern Bi-County Mothers of Multiples club when my twins were only 1 and I love the help and support my new found friends have given me. I found that mothers of singletons don't always understand some of the feelings we go through. I found through my new friends that the crazy feelings and things I was thinking was normal. Make sure you check out the www.twinsmagazine.com too, I subscribe to them and I love their magazine you can also do their forum, but most of the women live in other states. I live in St Clair Shores if you live close, let me know. J.

I have B/G twins now nearly 7! Take all offers of help, sleep when you can, get your stuff from Mom to Mom sales. If one wakes to feed then wake the other and feed them too - soon they will get on the same schedule and that helps with sleep for you. Most important of all join your local multiples club - I was in Gomoms (greater oakland) but prefer Northern Macomb Moms of multiples as they are less cliquey. They meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Lutheran Church on 59 and Van Dyke at 7.30 and have lots of fun events for parents and kids. The next meeting is a pool party for the Moms at a members house then we will be at the church again the month after that - please come join us!!All the multiples clubs have great clothing sales and fab support groups when you are expecting and after they arrive. Good luck!!

Try and have all white onsies and socks so you don't have to try and seperate and match!

Try to put them on a schedule, it will help you when you go back to work too! also, try to have as much neurtral stuff as possible. Also, don't get double of every toy, but a varity of everything. Good luck!

First of all, find your local mothers of twins/multiples group. You can find it off the State (www.momotc.org) or the National (www.NOMOTC.org) websites. I have been a member of my local group since I was 4 months pregnant with my triplets. They are very helpful with any questions you have and will normally bring you meals when you come home from the hospital with the twins. They will also get you thru if you (God Forbid) get put on bedrest.

When they come home keep them on the schedule that the hospital had them on. My 3 would eat at 3, 6, 9 and 12. Also when you buy bouncers and such, buy 2 different ones. That way when the babies get bored you just switch. Don't ask me about organization because there is none here. lol I lost control when they stopped taking naps. My trio will be 6 on the 29th of this month. :) Good Luck to you and if you need help finding a group just let me know.

M.

I have 14 month-old fraternal boy twins. I don't think there is any difference in how you handle young twins regardless of their gender. I would suggest you accept all offers of help that you receive. I nursed my twins and pretty much fed them on-demand. I used a co-sleeper and would lie in bed to nurse one of the babies, allowing us to both drift off to sleep. When the other baby would wake up, I'd put the one that was sleeping in our bed back into the co-sleeper and take the other one into bed to nurse and sleep. I dress them differently. In my mind they are siblings who happened to be born at the same time and I want to treat them as individuals, just as I do my older child. As for work. I really had no guilt - try to embrace it as a much needed break from the babies. I know I needed it. I like the Dr. Sears books (The Baby Book, The Breastfeeding Book).

I just read over some of the other responses and just want to stress that you CAN breastfeed twins. I actually think this makes things a lot easier. Food is ready on demand; you can sleep while you nurse; you aren't constantly obsessing over how much each child eats because you aren't constantly measuring (nursing on demand means they'll get enough to eat). Not to mention it is the best for babies and for moms. You should invest in a good breast pump or rent one from the hospital.

I didn't, and still don't, bathe my kids daily. Really - how dirty does an infant get? This can free up 10 or 15 minutes per child each day - time you'll be able to fill with other things.

Best of luck.

Hi A.,

Congrats on having twins - what a blessing it is! It's such an amazing experience. I have boy/girl twins that are now 6.5 years old. They have such different personalities, but are the best of friends. The best things that I can advise you to do are to get a noise-maker that has "white noise" on it. It will drown out the door slamming, phone ringing and all the extra little noises that may wake them up. Also, when they're first born, I used a little pillow thing (not sure what it's called) when they sleep. It has a pillow/foam part on each side and is hooked together by a piece of fabric that the baby sleeps on. The pillows on each side give them the "cuddle" effect that they like. We also had a bedtime routine of: Bath, Bottle, Bed. We did this every single night so they knew it was bedtime. Also, when one baby wakes in the night to feed, wake the other one also. You may be able to get a little more sleep that way. It's very important to get them on the same schedule. The bedrooms in our house are all upstairs, and we do most of our daily living on the main floor, so we set up a changing station on the main floor so we weren't going up and down the stairs all day.

When someone offers help - TAKE IT! It was nice when people offered to come over to help out. I could take a shower or just get out of the house for a bit. Make sure you have "couple" time with your husband and make time for yourself and don't feel guilty about it. When Mom is happy - everyone is happy.

Feel free to call any time ###-###-#### if you need anything.

Good luck!
C. S.

Hi A.,
I am not a mother of a multiple, however, I am a childbirth educator and I have heard of a website that might be of help. http://www.nomotc.org/ helps you locate a Mothers of Twins Club in your local area. You might also try www.meetup.com and see if there is a local twins group in your area.

If you are interested in learning more about HypnoBirthing, the childbirth classes that I teach, please be in touch via www.YourPeacefulBirthing.com

Good Luck with everything!
J.

I don't have twins but a co worker does and I had a step daughter who was 9 months when my son was born. For my co-worker it was there first pregancy so they had no other children to compare it to he said it was easier that way. I asked him one day how he managed to do it they both work and she has lupus his answer was keep them on a schedule. He has a boy and a girl and they are about 3 now. The other thing they do is he was working nights and she worked days we worked 12 hour shifts so he was on a 4 on 4off 3 on 3 off schedule when he would watch them during the day she would get an hour when she came home from work to un wind where she was not responsable for taking care of the children it worked the same when he worked weekends. then they would work together to get the babies dinner and bathed and in bed by 830. It worked the same for me when I had both kids in the house only I usually didn't have help. You have to keep the kids on a schedule unlike twins those two had there own schedule when she would visit it was difficult two different schedules. The plus side is they always have someone to play with and enertain themselves.

www.grmotc.org
We are a local twins group and I know of several who have boy/girl twins, all different ages. Me, I have two boys. I would suggest getting a very good breast pump, If you plan on breatfeeding. I would have gone longer if I had had a better pump. I breastfed my two until 13 months. I know of some who have gone as long as 18 months. So it can be done. I also found the double breastfeeding pillow help me a lot.

The message board for the Grand Rapids Mother of Twins has lots of suggestions also! Our semi-annual garage sale is in October and you can get lots of baby items & clothes very cheap. This has helped me a lot. I believe it is the 4th & 5th.

Also, on the website, there are several links to different websites and resources.
Good luck!

I have twin boys...but this information may still be useful:

On sleeping, I highly recommend you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I did not do CIO, but I still recommend the book. There is lots of valuable information on the science of sleep, it helps. Most moms of multiples I talk to do recommend this book.

Agreed with the schedule recommendation. It's one of the most important thing you can do. If you are looking for example schedules, I liked the ones in The New Contented Little Baby Book. Feeding and sleeping times only though ... I can't recommend the rest of the information in the book.

When they are little, keep cloths simple. Cotton basics for day and night. We keep them in sleepers during the day when it was winter. Saved me time, and they were comfortable.

My best organization recommendation is to "have it where you need it". Our dining room buffet table is a diaper changing station. It might not be a pretty dining room anymore, but it works. And, it's worth it!

As the babies get older, doing an AMAZING baby-proofing job will help you in the long run. This is a big task, and if done right, will take you a while. BUT, when you have 2, it's indispensible to know they are safe and allow them to come with you where you need to go. Don't be afraid to put up gates where you need them. You can patch the walls later.

TWINS magazine is worth the subscription, and I also consult www.twinshock.net sometimes.

First, please take care of yourself. You're at high risk for premature labor.

Second, seriously consider breastfeeding for so many reasons. LaLeche League has a wonderful book, MOTHERING MULTIPLES. You can get more info on nursing/mothering twins on their website, www.llli.org.

Good luck!