Looking for Advice from Other Parents of Twins

Hi Hollie. I have 19 month old twins. I have a click and go stroller that works really well. It's by Graco. I used Evenflo carseats so it's set for them now, but it can be used with any carseat. It comes with all the attachments. It was a godsend when they were newborns/infants. I was sad when they out grew it because it was soooo easy to use! My reaction to having twins!!! I was thrilled! We have no other children and I prayed for two, so I really felt like they were an answer to my prayers! They are fraternal and completely different. I was exhausted from the moment they were conceived! Seriously, they drained my body like nothing I have ever experienced! I think you are a trooper to do this with 3 other little ones! Wow! I had to have a C-section because one of my twins was transverse with her feet down. It was not a good experience, but it was such a short time period... The girls are healthy happy little toddlers now and I love being the mother of twins. The first 3 weeks I thought I was going to die, but each day it got easier. Between nursing them both, pumping, supplementing with formula (I did not produce enough breast milk to feed them both) and the diapering I got very little sleep the first month. I actually halucinated a couple of times. That was scary. But, I got through it with the support of my church, my family and my hubbie. Have a great time!

I am a mother of 3 mos old twin girls. Pregnancy was rough as I threw up constantly during the first trimester. I worked very hard to have them vaginally, dr encouraged an epidural at 7 cm in case we needed to do a C-section. I labored for over 20 hours (I think the pitocin they gave me slowed the process down) & pushed for 3 hrs but still ended up with a C-section. Twin A was sunnyside up & having difficulty getting out. Recovery was easy. Twin B spent 9 days in NICU but is perfectly fine.

It's a lot of work especially if you are used to one newborn at a time. I have chosen to tandem breastfeed & do my best to keep them on the same schedule. If one wakes up hungry & wake the other up & feed them both. In the beginning, I kept them on a 2hr schedule until pediatrician said it was ok to feed on demand (difficult with two as you'll spend all your time feeding) then I moved them to a 3 hr schedule. If someone is hungry before then, they both get fed early.

Products: EZ Nursing pillow, good swing (twins especially if arrive early tend to have sensitive digestive systems and some suffer from reflux, putting them to sleep in a swing helps with it)
Double Decker stroller http://www.doubledeckerstroller.com/index.shtml
- allows two infant car seats to snap in (they also offer a triplet stroller that you could convert for a toddler seat), babies face out & experience the world

JOIN YOUR LOCAL TWINS CLUB - wealth of resources/information & moms who know exactly what it's like

a lot of twin moms give up on breastfeeding in the first few weeks when it's most challenging. if you want to breastfeed your twins, find support among your local twins club or via a lactation consultation with twin experience in your area.

Good luck!
Pam
____@____.com

Hi H.,
I am am 34 yr old mom of 27 mos twins. A girl and boy. It was my first time so I wish u good luck. My preg. was tough.
The stroller which I am still using for my kids is the Graco duoglide. It is wonderful and compatible with a lot of infant carseats. Check it out if u r interested. I used a single crib fot them till they were 4 mos old. when they started moving around I moved one of them to another crib.I nursed them for 7 months, but they would not latch on so I expressed and gave it to them in a bottle. I used a hospital grade machine. I was so thankful when I found the right size cup too. it was available at a store in Campbell.My babies were preemies so I got some preemie clothes after they were born, they were 6 weeks early.(Babies R Us is a good place)
I think thats the major part. I hope I have helped U in some way. If you need to ask me something U can post a messg .

E. Yaseen:
SAHM of 27 mos old twins, a girl and a boy.

Hi H., I have twins of 4 years old and an older son of 7 years old. About your questions, I really had a very normal pregnancy, at the end was a little harder to move and sleep but in general everything was right.

About the stroller first I had double one with one seat before the other, but was really long and unconfortable, I felt like driving a train. Then I bought one with one seat next to the other (Schwim)and was wonderful,not heavy and easy to move but I think is good for 1 year or older.

My twins slept on different cribs.

Best regards,

V.

Hi H. Im A. and I am a mom of Twin 14 month old baby girls. I found out at 6 weeks that I was having twins. I had an US to check to make sure I was pg. I sure was and with two. My girls are happy and healthy. I had a good pregnancy. I was at 35 weeks when I had my babies. I had a c-section and they were doing good, they had to go in to the NICU for a few hours. They had to stay at the hospital for 10 days because they were small and had a hard time eating.

As for the stroller they have them at Target and also Babies R Us. You can go online to find them or just go to the stores themselves. My Aunt bought me mine at Target. Its called a Duo Gilder. I personally have my girls still in the same crib. At the time it was due mainly to not having room for 2 cribs. Now I think it would be hard to seperate them. I am going to wait until they are out of the crib to put them in seperate beds. My girls do great together. Sometimes one will wake the other but not often.

My main advice is to not think about what you are doing as in how hard it is. You will go crazy. People asked me all the time how I do it. I just tell them that I do. Like Nike says just do it. It was very hard at first. But I did everything at the same time. Even if one was asleep I woke her up and fed and changed her with her sister. It worked great for me. They had to wake up and eat every 2 hours. Then they just kept waking up at the same time, not because they were in the same crib. Thats just how it happened.

Now we just love to watch how they interact and play together. They are great girls and they are so different. One is calm and mellow the other is until she wants something then she is a Monkey she screams like one and is very loud. I love having my girls. They are actually from my 3rd pregnancy. I have 2 boys 11 and 3.

Good Luck and just take it all one day at a time. Try to find a Mom of Twins group around your area or find one online. They are wonderful. Cafe Mom has a Mom of Twins group that I belong to and there are LOTS of moms there. Maybe you will be able to find someone in your area who has twins. Anyway you can message me anytime if you have questions. Take Care of yourself.

A. E
Mommy to
Damian, Jaidan, Meghan and Abigail

I live in Vegas too, but in Henderson, so pretty far from you. We have 2 year old twin girls. I wrote a paper title, "What I wish they would've told me," which answers all your questions! Give me your email and I'll attach it and send it in an email to you.

good luck
Y.

At least you know now... my sister went in for the birth of number 5 and came out with numbers 5 & 6 cause she didn't believe in ultrasounds...!!! Midwife found a heartbeat and didn't search around for another...

It was very very taxing on her. She also broke her leg after their birth which put a serious crimp in her parenting abilities, but then again, she had an 11 yr old at the time to help out too. She nursed both exclusively until they ate solids and then tandem nursed both until age 3 or so... They both slept in bed with mom and dad, as far as I know, and they have both grown into wonderful kids at age 4 now! Good luck, God Bless! mamaC

Congratulations H.! I have two 15 month old girls. I had an easy pregnancy until I developed pre-eclampsia. The girls were born at 26 weeks at Sutter Memorial. We have had a rough 1st year but both girls are doing well. We used Graco car seats which fit into the Baby Trend Snap-N-Go stroller frame. Since we had one girls come home four months before her sister, we splurged and got the single and double version of the stroller. Also, once both girls were home, they did share a crib for awhile. We only moved to two cribs when we couldn't fit both of them along with the oxygen tubing together safely. Again, good luck and please don't hesitate to ask for suggestions. Twins are different from singletons.

E.

Congrats H.! I have twin two year olds and though it's a challenge, it's also twice the love. The Graco Duoglider stroller holds two car seats. It works well, has a slim profile and doesn't cost a fortune. The biggest risk with twin pregnancies is delivering early, so listen to your perinatologist. My girls were so little at birth that they slept in the same crib for a while, but it didn't take long before they were awakening one another, so we moved them to their own cribs in the same room. They still sleep in the same room and prefer it that way. Beyond the double stroller, as far as produts go, it's just two of everything. You can also check out the mothers of multiples website for more twin info. They also have clubs in town. Good luck!

My friend had twins and belongs to a group called mothers of multiples. She loves it as there are moms in all stages of pregnancy as well as moms with multiples of all age ranges. This group has been a great source of info and support for her. The web address is www.lvmoms.com Congratulations and Good Luck!!!!

Wow, you are going to have your hands full! I don't have twins, so I can't offer any advice about that. However, I did want to point out that your littlest one is still only 1 year old, right?. That child will need to be in a stroller for a few more years. It sounds like you need some sort of triple stroller, unless you will always have someone else with you to push the single stroller while you push the double. I'm sure there are lots of websites that have triple strollers you can order.
Good luck!