Twins!!! Surprised? Afraid? Happy? Whatever you are, you have twins, so you have to think outside of the box. Raising a single infant is already a tough job. And now you are coping with twins, so it is harder than you ever imagined.
Don’t be so afraid. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, 33 twins are born in every 1000 childbirth. After 1980 the birthrate of twins has increased by 76 percent. So you are not alone. So many parents have to deal with twin babies.
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Coping With Twins
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Get As Much Help As You Can
Every new mom needs to accept the help from her friends and family as she adjusts to having a new baby. This is even more true for a new mom coping with twins. There is double the work and you will have to do a lot of juggling while caring for your new babies.
Feeding your twin babies, bathing your twin babies and changing their nappies is going to be more than a full time job.
Consider asking your mom and siblings to help you out, as well as friends. It may even be a great idea to take on a nanny full time or part time for the first few months so you not only have help with your babies, but you can also take a little bit of time to get some well needed rest.
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Feed Your Twins On The Same Feeding Schedule
Breast milk contains all the essential nutrients that your babies need but breastfeeding is not always easy even when you have one baby. Breastfeeding twins will be even harder, but it is definitely possible to do.
One of the best things you can try and achieve with your twins is a synchronized feeding schedule. If you can feed both your babies together it will make your life a lot easier, plus chances are they will sleep around the same times too.
Try and get tandem breastfeeding right, play around with different feeding positions and find what works for you. It may be a good idea to get a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader to help you achieve this.
Using nursing pillows and towels for better support can help you to find a comfortable position for you and your babies while feeding.
Getting your partner to support you with breastfeeding your twins will help a lot. You can also express milk and daddy can take a turn feeding the twins when he is home from work which will give you a much needed break.
If you are formula feeding your twins it is still a great idea to try and get your babies on the same feeding schedule.
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Bathing Your Twins
Bathing your twins may seem like a monstrous challenge, but it needn’t be a huge problem.
If your babies’ daddy is home, he can hold one baby while you bath the other one. If you are alone you can put on baby in a baby chair or baby swing while you are bathing the other.
It is not essential for both of your babies to have a bath every single day, so if you are alone and you are struggling to cope with twins at bath time it may be best to only bath one baby a day. You can alternate the days your babies bath.
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Play Time with Twins
It is going to take some practice to figure out how to juggle the needs of both your babies. At times it will be really hard.
Both of your babies are going to have to learn to spend time playing on their own.
It is a good idea to start with this early on. All babies need tummy time to learn their skills such as turning over. Make sure you have a good quality play mat that one of your babies can lie on while you sit with the other baby.
When the baby on the floor starts to fuss, change your babies around so they each have floor time and mommy cuddle time.
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Make sure you have a Double Seated Baby Stroller
Now most moms have a stroller for their baby and while it is a much needed and useful piece of equipment for any mom, but for a mom with twins it is an absolute essential.
Your double seated baby stroller will be used like any other moms uses theirs, like going for a walk or when out and about shopping. However for a mom with twins trying to cope on her own a double seated baby stroller can be used like an extra set of arms to keep your babies safe.
A good example is just getting to your car, how do you carry two babies to the car safely and strap them into their car seats on your own? Easy – you put them in the double stroller.
So make sure that you buy yourself the best double stroller and ensure that you are familiar with how to open it and fold it up with ease before heading out with your babies.
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Babywearing Twins
Babywearing is not just for single babies, you can find baby carriers and baby slings made specially for twins. Once again anything that helps you keep your hands free when you have two babies is going to be very useful.
Babywearing is not just convenient but it also promotes bonding with your baby which will help you on your mothering journey.
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Twin Baby Swings
If you are trying to put both your babies to sleep it can be incredibly tough and if your babies are crying at the same time it will be hard to soothe them both.
A baby swing can be another life saver. A baby swing or bouncer leaves your arms free to attend to one child or a way to put both your babies to sleep while giving your arms a much needed rest at the end of a tiring day.
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Diaper Changes
A newborn baby usually needs a nappy change at least every 2 hours and you have twins. This means you will be changing at least 24 nappies in a day.
It is important to have a safe place to put your baby while you are changing your other baby’s nappy. Remember the double seated baby stroller, the babywearing and the twin baby swing? Any of these can come in handy for keeping your baby safe and secure while you are changing your other baby’s nappy.
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Caring for Sick Twins
Your twin babies won’t always get sick at the same time, but chances are high that there will be a good few times when they will be sick together. Any mother will tell you that caring for a sick baby is tiring and distressing, so double that up and you are in for a rough few days.
Night time will be especially tough as sick babies generally don’t sleep well at all. While your husband may need to be at work in the morning you will probably be needing to make it through the day alone at home with two sick babies and you being overtired is not going to help.
So make an arrangement with your husband that he is on baby duty for half the night and you are on duty the other half so that both of you have time to care for the babies and you both also have time to sleep.
It is also important to remember that while you have agreed on shifts there are two babies, so if both of them are fussing and cranky you may need to be available anyway even if it is your hubby’s shift.
Make sure that you have put everything you will need to care for your babies out before you go to sleep so that when you do get up in the middle of the night you are not fumbling with medications or trying to find a thermometer.
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Join a Local Mommy Group
Even with all the tips and advice you get it is still hard to cope with twins. Something that can make it so much easier is the company of other moms, you can share your frustrations and get lots of support and maybe even help from other mothers. Joining a community of moms will make parenting twins so much easier.
You may even be able to find a twin mommy group where you can talk to moms that know exactly what you are struggling with.
When i found out i was pregnant, i hoped, wished and prayed i would have twins. One boy and one girl, is what i was secretly hoping for. My scan obviously revealed only one baba, i was so disappointed. That baba is now 4 years old and i can promise you now, the universe just KNEW i wouldn’t be able to hack it. I still absolutely LOVE the site of twins, i think they are the most adorable little things out!!! And i look in awe at parents of twins 🙂
Oh my gosh @tamara737 you know when I found out I was pregnant with my first child I wouldn’t have minded hearing it was twins. Yes it would have been a surprise but I don’t think I would have been to scared.
When I was having my scan for my second child the gyni asked me if I wanted to know the sex, I said first I just want to check that its alone in there, then you can tell me what it is LOL
I was so scared dr told me i might have twins but i was blessed with one and its a boy i dont know if i would have survived 2 take my hat of for moms with twins
@lisaanderson I guess when you find out you are having twins you just have no option but to cope, you just have to get on with it. I really admire moms of twins, they really do have so much on their plates.
i also admire moms with twins but yes its true just like u say
I’ve always wanted twins, but was blessed with a daughter and had another daughter 2 and a half years later. I’m actually so glad I had one at a time, because I can’t even imagine how hectic it can be with 2 at the same time! I wouldn’t have been able to coped with twins, my two already drives me crazy at times…hahaha ;o)
I am truly thankful for my son but I personally take my hat off to the moms that have had twins + that is extremely hard work and strength
Wow that’s was my dreams as I was growing up in always wanted to have twins but no luck
I have to say, I was pregnant in 2015 with a baby boy, but sadly lost my baby beginning of June after a car accident. We were torn up, sad and disappointed at the same time, so much mixed feelings and a pain that can never heal. We did not give up. End of January 2016 we found out we were pregnant again…..we were so happy and blessed. We took everyday slowly, not letting our baby into any danger, due to the fact we do not want to lose another baby, but then when we went for our first sonar, the doctor scanned over my stomach and I saw that there is 2 images of a baby, the doctor then told us, “can you see what I see, and I told the doctor, yes I can, but can he please confirm that it was correct”, and yes he did, we expected twins. I was very happy but did not know how to show my feelings, I was still thinking, is it real, am I dreaming, but no I was not, I was actually pregnant with twins, and I tried going for as many sonars as I could so I can see them growing, and just make sure both of them are healthy. Most exciting was at birth, because we did not know the sex of our babies, they are not identical and we had a boy and girl. Today they are already 9 months old, and yes it is very hard work, but I would not have it any other way. I have my routine everyday, and so far it’s working like a charm, and everyday is a good day with our twins. We are so blessed.
I have a twin sister therefor I knew it “might” be on the books for us 🙂 We lived in South Korea for 7 years, and we decided 2016 would be the year we will try to have kids. We loved our town in South Korea, our schools were amazing and we had a good job. January 2017 the twins were born in Korea and we had an amazing experience.
I found out at 6 weeks that I will be having twins 🙂 we were shocked, scared, but also knew it was a possibility 🙂 It was so much fun being pregnant in South Korea, the schools and the staff were so supporting of me 🙂
Anyway, having a routine is soooo important, now at 1 year old they sleep, wake up and feed (eat) together.
I also still breastfeed, and now I enjoy it even more 🙂 they are so adorable when they see me taking out the boob.
The girls are starting to cuddle each other, and that is such a beautiful thing to see 🙂 I’m lucky to see the grow up and be there for them every step of the way. Also my husband is hands on, if he had boobs he would have been the perfect mom.
I love being a twin mom
I would love to have twins. Maybe with my next pregnancy.
Those mothers that have twins are blessed with twice as much happiness that this world has to offer.
I would love to be as fortunate as they are in my next pregnancy.
I’m not a twin mom but I love them.. I wish & hope that I could get blessed with twins