[Sweetpea]

Hi all you experienced moms out there. I know lots of you have twins and Im expecting two little girls in March. What can you tell me about how to get prepared. I want tips tips tips. What has worked well for you? what did you wish you'd known? Ive read some books, but I know nothings better than talking w ladies that have been through the real thing.

Advise please

[dlrust1]

I am not a mother of twins. So, I don't have any real world experience to share with you. I do have twins through out my family. So, I will share what I have been told.
Don't buy two of everything like bouncers, swings, etc because you may find there is no demand for it and house will feel like you are walking into Babies R Us. One child may want the swing all the time and the other the bouncer. You just never know.
My moby wrap is a god send. Blaine loves to be in it and it can accomodate two small babies. If you have cuddlers they may want to be held alot especially when they sleep. Hours upon hours of holding a little one gets boring after awhile. The Moby allows me to at least get on the computer. Its pretty difficult to do housework or that sort of thing with it though.
A friend of mine had twins close to when I had Blaine and she claims the one thing she is glad she bought two of was her Boppy pillows because she can move them throughout the house and lay the babies in them next to her. Sometimes she sits in the middle of the sofa with a little one each side.
As a mother of a singleton I will tell you that sleep is a precious thing. Blaine will be 7 months tomorrow and he still doesn't sleep thru the night. Accept help whenever possible especially in those early days. A frustrated and tired parent isn't something you want to be.
Congratulations on your girls!

[missjoli]

CONGRATS! Two boppy pillows are a MUST. We had 2 bouncy chairs, and we ended up using them a lot, but we only had one swing, one exersaucer, and one jumperoo. We got one pack n play, but 2 cribs. THey both slept in one crib until they could roll over. If you travel a lot, 2 pack n plays are probably a must.

We used a swaddle blanket and it was WONDERFUL, and helped get them on sleeping schedules. When one woke up in the night, we woke the other and fed him too. If one goes down for nap, so does the other. WHen one eats, the other one eats. It's so important (for us anyway), to keep them on the same sleep schedule so that we can function. It's worked out so well.

I can't think of anything else right now. My biggest advice is just to keep them on the same schedule. I seriously don't think I could have survived without doing that. Once it was time for the to start dropping their night time feeding, we slowly stopped waking one of the other woke to eat, and then the one that would wake to eat eventually skipped that feeding too. By 6 months they were sleeping through the night (and they were 2 months premature).

[inhishands]

congratulations.. twins are so awesome.. a lot of work but so worth it!!

my suggestion is:
when they come home, write down who ate what and at what time and whose diaper was soiled etc.. you need to keep a log because you will say ok, who pooped etc... in the beginning it is just crazy, pure craziness and thats normal so expect it.. dont worry about the house work just take care of the babies and yourself...
so, here goes...
for bottles, we order little rubber bracelet like things that slide on the bottles so we know whose bottle is who... Non-adhesive and reusable labels for bottles and sippy cups, you can also print out labels too....
SCHEUDLE THEM TOGETHER... feed them at the same time, if ones sleeping, wake them up... put the boppys in front of you and feed them with both your hands... when its time to burp, pick the one up...
change them together, so you know they are both done.
we got 2 swings, 2 bouncy seats, 2 boppys, 2 cribs, the bouncies are a life saver..... do not hold them all the time, let them learn to comfort themselves....
when you go out...(we enter/exit thru our garage) i would place them both inthe garage, open the garage door, then open the once car door... put the baby in, lock the door behind me and get the 2nd baby out of the garage.. (now our garage is attached to the house) i was just soooo cautious maybe too much. anyway.. i still do that to today...
when it came to sleeping, i put them in their own cribs and if they cried i would go rub their back.. not pick them up, put their mobile on.. i would time it... i would cringe and pray that the sleeping baby would stay asleep because they are in the same room...
another thing is.. never refuse help.... anyone wants to come volunteer, let them... and dont feel like you have to entertain them... you need to rest.. if you family comes over.. say ohhh would you mind if i go lay down.... i would bet they would all say ok.....
keep supplies both up stairs and downstairs... diapers, wipes etc... so your not going all over the house.
put babies in swing, my girls LOVED their swing...
when my girls nap and go to bed, i play soft music in their room... its soo cute cause now at 1 yrs old they hum themselves to sleep.....
i think thats about it.... key is schedule, good luck and it will be very hard in the beginning,, but will get easier.... and remember their babies they will cry, and you only have 2 hands but you will be fine....

[missjoli]

Great advice! I almost forgot about patting their little backs (or butts) to sleep. Once they were several months old (depends when and if you decide to do this), we stopped picking them up when they would cry at night. We would pat their butt or rub their back to sleep. If they were too upset, I would hold one to calm him for just a minute, maybe sing to him and rub his head, and put him back down. We have a rule that we NEVER leave their room when trying to calm them in the middle of the night. They rarely wake up after they've gone down, but when they do, we follow this rule. They will ONLY sleep in their beds now.

[crescendo97]

I have 9 month old boy/girl twins. I guess the main thing I use was the two pack and plays. My babies did not sleep in their cribs until they were 5months old. Buy lots of oneis my babies stayed in those during the day and night I was so tried I never went anywhere so lots of the cute outfits went to waste. Just be prepared you might deliver early. My two loved the be swaddled the miracle blankets were a godsend. Get ready for lots of fun and lots of work.

[Sweetpea]

Thank you so so much for this wonderful advice! I really appreciate it alot. Theres so much to think about. Tips from those who have lived it are so valuable. If you think of anything else, Im interested and listening

[futuremom2b]

Just wanted to tell you congrats and let you know I am about 10 weeks ahead of you so we can go through this together!
I love your post and read all the tips too!

[fossie]

I reiterate the importance of a schedule! People without twins think it is cruel to wake a sleeping child up but doing that to feed them, and keep them on schedule was a lifesaver for us. We did look like a Babies R Us at times (and still do just with different things), but for me it did help to have two of most things. Two boppys were necessary since that is what we fed them on, two bouncers and what we used to get them in and out of the bath, two swings since they both love it and it was great to have somewhere that they were happy to put them down for a break. The double snap-n-go was a must for getting out and about and now we use a cheap Jeep double umbrella stroller that is easy. Congrats - I imagine that it won't be as much of an adjustment since you already have children but of course that brings different challenges. It is awesome having twins - the first few months are HARD, but now it is great.

[Celeste]

My twin boy/girl are 13 months and it has been a crazy year but wonderful as well - especially once they start sleeping!

Two Boppys are a big YES. We had one swing, one exersaucer, one bouncer and a jumperoo - they never liked any of them so they were never much help.

We had the Arms Reach co-sleeper attached to our bed and they both slept in it together for 5 months. It was great. It made nighttimes easier. Nursing twins was insane but it was better having them close. I never mastered the breast feeding them simultaneously so mine were never on the same schedule and it was crazy. By 5 months, things settled down but prepare yourself for a really rough first few months. My husband really had a hard time with it all. But they have both been sleeping in their own cribs through the night since 6 months old so now we are feeling more rested.
Twins are great, I have an older one as well and it was very hard on her at first but now they all have such a great time together, it's wonderful to watch. You will never be able to give them the one on one time you did with your first which is good and bad in some ways. They tend to be more independent since they "fend for themselves" more than firstborn singletons do but you will occassionally feel bad that you don't get the chance to deal with them very individually.....I tried as much as possible but we don't have much help so it is hard.
Accept all the help you can get....you will need it.

[hopeless?]

Maybe I was the only one who didn't know to do this..but after a few months I started making bottles as needed...In the begining I started out making a whole days worth a bottles, then I switched to boiling water and setting up just the water in whatever oz they were drinking and then when it was time to eat I would add the formula shake and serve! God I wish someone would have told me this from the start. You don't think it's really a big deal to premake them but when your not sleeping for days and you have to heat that bottle up and then make sure it's not too hot or too cold...forget it. Also, keep track of when they eat so you can watch for a pattern.....and if they are crying a lot in between a feeding...give them a few oz..I kept them on track but sometimes all they want or need is a little snack. if it continues you then know to start increasing the amount during reg feedings. I agree with all the great advice already given...I would say to get to bouncers....this was a huge help during feeding times!
When needed ASK FOR HELP!!! You will need it!

[docshoney]

You will be exhausted and in survival mode for many months .

We started pre-making the formula in a shake and pour pitcher which was awesome. We didn't pour the formula until it was needed but we had it ready. We also bought a smallish Crockpot which we put water in and had it on 24/7 to heat bottles in. This was a huge time saver.

2 boppy's is a must and the miracle blanket was awesome. I didn't breastfeed so they only stayed in our room for a month then we moved them to their room which frankly was the best thing we ever did. I have a video monitor that hooks to the tv so I can keep an eye on them. We separated them into their own cribs at 5 months and own rooms at 10 months because their sleep habits changed.

My husband created this great spreadsheet for us to keep track of their formula intake, the time they ate and all diaper changes. This allowed us to see patterns and establish a schedule. A schedule is absolutely key. They started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks.

Remember to drink and eat and use the bathroom yourself. I ended up with a UTI because I would forget to do these things.