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Twins...so many questions!

31 replies

user1471523870 · 31/05/2018 11:16

Hello!
I am a first time pregnant with twins and, at 13+1, I am now beginning to believe it (not entirely!).
I am a bit of a control freak and need to know how to get organized with twins, I have so many questions. We'll probably enroll in a twin antenatal class and hope they'll give us advice.
In the meantime, perhaps some mum of twins will be able to shed some light for me on:

  • sleeping arrangements. We haven't got much space in our bedroom for two cots. Is it reasonable thinking they can share one for the first few months? I was thinking to buy two and keep the second one in the box until they are ready to move to their bedroom. And how old are they when they can be moved in two cots in another bedroom?
  • feeding. I want to breastfeed but we have no help at all, therefore my OH was thinking of doing a mix of bottle and breast, so that he can help/take turns. Is it doable or once they are used to the breast they will not take the bottle/other way round?
  • travelling. What do you need in the first few months for walks/shops? We find the idea of keeping them in their car seats very practical (vs having car seats + pram). We would not have to move the babies when getting in/out the car and the 'pushchair structure' would fit in the boot. But is it the correct way? If you opted for the flat pram, does it fit in the boot?
OP posts:
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AlpacaLypse · 31/05/2018 11:22

Congratulations!

Yes, they can share a cot up to the point where one is disturbing the other - that'll be a few months down the line.

We did mixed feeding, I would bf and express during the day and DP and I would bottle feed one baby each in the evenings. They both soon got used to the milk coming in slightly different ways.

I used a standard double buggy and separate baby car seats, but in retrospect I wish I'd gone for some sort of double travel system to save doing and undoing harnesses every five minutes.

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Iggity · 31/05/2018 11:26

I don’t know much about twins but you need to minimise time in car seats especially when very young. I would keep car seats for the car.

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villainousbroodmare · 31/05/2018 11:32

Get a twin bfeeding pillow like the (appallingly named Grin My Brest Friend Twin) as well as a packet of preemie nappies and at least some preemie clothes. 10d in here with 2 x 6lb babies born @ 38wks and still swamped in newborn sizes.

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JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 31/05/2018 11:38

Hi OP these are my twins. I used safe sleeping guidelines from tamba and a neonatal nurse also had a look. When they got too big for this configuration they went feet to foot with heads pointing at each other if that makes sense!

Twins...so many questions!
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JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 31/05/2018 11:44

Cushions - My Brest Friend agree awful name, great cushion. Clips to you so enables free hands, invaluable out n about.

For home Peanut and Piglet cushion is £££ but worth it for tandem feed.

Also join the Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets Facebook page.

Yes you can combi feed. I am. 14w in, so we will see how it works long term, but they both latch and take a bottle no probs. I was advised by NICU to use Gumdrops dummies as they replicate bfing action. You can get them off Amazon.

Good luck SmileSmile👨‍👩‍👧‍👧

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user1471523870 · 31/05/2018 11:53

OMG you ladies are amazing! Thank you!!

Great that they can fit in one cot for the first few months. And to know I can try breastfeeding and bottle (plan is for DP and I to share bottle feeding in the evening, exactly as you are doing Alpaca - I feel reassured it's not a crazy idea).
And thanks for the suggestions on preemie nappies + cloth and the pillow Villain. I have already noted it down.
Johnny, how cute your little ones! It seems like they have plenty of space for now.

About car seats/prams, I will need to see how I can fit a double pram in the boot. I am also concerned about waking them up every time I need to take them in and out of the car. I don't live near a town centre so car travelling is needed to get anywhere, even if short distances. But if car seats are bad for them of course I will figure out how to get one of those gigantic double prams in the car!

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AlpacaLypse · 31/05/2018 12:17

Grin it's a while since I fed them either breast or bottle... they're at University now!

One of the best things my lovely late dad did was find me a car big enough for all their paraphernalia. It is awe inspiring how much STUFF something so tiny needs, especially when a lot of it needs to be multiplied by two. He gave me a second hand Ford Sierra estate, one of the very last ever made, which did sterling service including all over Europe on camping trips until the head gasket blew when the girls were six. Probably the best car I have ever owned and perfect for the job.

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JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 31/05/2018 12:44

Op on dbl buggies we have Mountain Buggy Duet fits thru standard doorways and in boot of normal family car if you take back wheels off. We have a Toyota Corolla and it fits fine with a bit of a shove!

About 6-700 quid new but got ours on gumtree for 250, seriously good purchase

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JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 31/05/2018 12:46
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user1471523870 · 31/05/2018 15:21

Oh fantastic recommendation, thanks!! It claims to be the narrowest on the market for that type of prams, so looks good. We are making a list of prams we like and seems suitable. Next step will be test them in a store that will allow us to bring them to the car to check if they fit!

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letallthechildrenboogie · 31/05/2018 15:33

Hi. Congratulations! I am breastfeeding my 6 month old twins. I don't know about mixed feeding but my husband works away and we also have other children, so it is possible to breastfeed them if you wish. My Peanut and Piglet nursing cushion was wonderful for the first few months. I co sleep with the babies so can't comment on cots. The one thing I would hugely recommend is a twin sling. I had mine in a shared stretchy wrap for the first few weeks then bought a mini monkey twin sling. I would be completely lost without it.

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AlpacaLypse · 31/05/2018 21:12

If that had been on the market 19 years ago I would have killed for it grabbed it straight away!!

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letallthechildrenboogie · 31/05/2018 21:36

It's brilliant. The babies go everywhere in it. We only took the buggy out for the first time yesterday and they are 6.5 months old! It turned out not to get through the shop door, although the little ones enjoyed the novelty value. The sling covers the school run, washing up, cooking, meeting up with friends, even gardening! Will be gutted when they are too big for it!

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AlpacaLypse · 31/05/2018 21:46

I borrowed a Mountain Buggy for someone else's baby that I was looking after (long story). Loved it. But I'm hearing stories through grapevine that they pick up punctures at the drop of a hat. This may be sheer bad luck though, also we tend to put our outward bound baby kit through its paces round here. Very active dogs and some serious off road walks.

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Amirite · 31/05/2018 21:58

Congrats! Twins are the best, I pity ladies with only one as I can’t help but think you could’ve had another one at the same time and get it all over with in one go!

  • sleeping, we used Moses baskets (they each had their own) and they slept fine in them. It all depends how big they are when born, I had two 5 pound-ish babies at 34 weeks, and what kind of sleeping arrangement you’re comfortable with


  • feeding, I combi fed and gave them a bottle of formula in the evening before bed. Then I’d pump to keep my supply up and have stash for the freezer. I used a v shaped pillow over my legs to prop them on and feed them at the same time once they were big enough


  • pram, I love my out n about nipper double but I don’t drive so walk everywhere. They sleep like a dream in it, easy to push and fits through shops and doors without any problems. I bought solid plastic wheels so no punctures and all the walking is great for clearing your mind and got me back in shape soon after labour.


Enjoy it, my two are 17 months now and it’s a lot of fun!
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Freshprincess · 31/05/2018 21:59

Sleeping - we had them in one cot, end to end. When they grew long enough that their heads met in the middle they went into their own cots. This was somewhere between 2-3 months. They went into their own room at 6 months. We just moved the wardrobe out of our bedroom to accommodate the two cots (and we picked narrow Ikea ones to fit).
Feeding - bf them till they starting weaning at 6 months. We had occasional formula top,ups mostly at the beginning. It's hard going at first, but once I'd got into the hang of it, it was pretty quick.
Prams - I had one they could lie flat which also converted into stroller when they were bigger. It was like a tank and I wouldn't really recommend it. I had to buy a bigger car to get the pram and all the rest of the stuff in.
Car seats - i wouldn't recommend walking around with them in their seats, not least because after a few months they will be really heavy. it would be a massive faff carrying two of them. A pram is so much easier.

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AlpacaLypse · 31/05/2018 22:09

OP, start rehearsing a few useful replies now.

My favourite which I am proud to have made up and used several times...

'What's it like to have twins??'

My reply 'It's my normal. What's it like to have only one baby?'

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exhaustedtwinmummy · 01/06/2018 21:03

Congratulations! Another vote here for the Mountain Buggy Duet. Fitted in the boot of our polo...even when we used carrycots for first six months. They just clicked off. We also combined bf and ff for first three months then over to f2f only.

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loopylou1984 · 06/06/2018 10:40

I love my out n about nipper but sadly you can't put car seats on it. We had an uppababy vista for the first year of their lives (actually still use it if just nipping from car to playgroup etc as they're still in their infant carriers at 16 months and it just easier not to move them from car seat to buggy!) and it was fab. Has carrycots, normal seats and fits car seats on. Also has a HUGE shopping basket!
They shared a carrycot to begin with as we're only 4lbish when we brought them home.
They're pricey travel systems but there is a Facebook page for preloved ones and you can often get a bargain.

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Jenniferb21 · 08/06/2018 18:24

Hello I have twin identical girls who are now 6 weeks old and have a 2 year old as well.

I bought a donkey bugaboo (on eBay I spent a fortune on my first pram for my first born and didn’t want to again) got it for £700 instead of £2000 new (for full
Travel system) you can use maxi cosy car seats in the pram base which is a god send for short visits to shops. I limit time to an hour in car seats for health and safety reasons. It’s a lovely light weight pram and unlike most double pranks babies are side by side so not looking at the back of another seat.

My girls sleep in one cot they did in hospital and have ever since.

Invest in a good feeding pillow I tandem feed at home which saves lots of time but do feed them on their own if one demands it and the other doesn’t or when our snd about. BF twins is totally possible my
Advice would be take snacks and a big bottle of water to bed I’m always starving. Invest in a decent double pump so you can get help and don’t worry if out and about and need to feed them both. Try to avoid bottles for the first 4 weeks or so if possible to establish breast feeding and I wouldn’t give dummies until 6 weeks if you can I’m not giving dummies at all.

Also stock up on nappies wipes cotton wool
And snacks you will go through SO many and it’ll be a godsend not having to run to shops so often. Aldi is fab for nappies and wipes x

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loopylou1984 · 09/06/2018 08:34

Following on from Jennifer's post. Dummies have pros and cons. My girls were 6 weeks early and were given dummies in neonatal to promote the sucking reflex. They are also meant to help reduce risk of SIDS. I found them invaluable when they were tiny as one could suck their dummy while the other had a bottle.
Obviously you have the problems of having to get up to give dummies back in the night when they lose them, but for me personally the pros outweighed the cons.

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Iwantaunicorn · 19/06/2018 17:19

My DTs are now 4 months. We had a next to me crib, they were side to side, then toe to toe and then they went in to their own room and own cots (we didn’t have space for 2 in with us) at about 8 weeks because they were so wriggly and would kick each other in the face and wake each other up! We have the angelcare sensor pads under their mattress which goes absolutely nuts if they don’t move/breathe after a few seconds so I’m not too worried about them being in alone (plus I’m right next door).

I tried ebf, milk wasn’t there so bottle fed and expressed one feed for them a day for the first month, then ff only. I’d definitely get a twin pillow, whichever way you feed it’ll be useful!

We have a bugaboo donkey for them, beautifully light and easy to turn, but with the car seats attached we struggled to get in most doors so started using the carrycots and can get around most places with ease.

I’d recommend 2x Euan the dream sheeps, my two love theirs and now (thankfully) sleep through the night.

I’d definitely suggest getting amazon prime, saved my bacon on many of an occasion!

Congratulations!

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randomnumber44 · 01/07/2018 09:36

I'm a bit late to this but thought I would share anyway! We bought 2 cotbeds for our boys. One stayed in the nursery and the other we took one side off and cable tied it to our bed. Both boys were fine in that up to just over 6 months (and they are not small!) when we moved them into seperate cotbeds in their own room. It made breastfeeding at night much easier to have them right there.

I would definitely recommend the Facebook group breastfeeding twins and triplets UK. There are plenty of mums on there who combi feed as well as ebf so you should be able to get any questions answered. I found the harmony duo pillow a lifesaver in the early days of cluster feeding. It also has one side designed for bottle feeding so may be worth looking into.

We have the bugaboo donkey2. I only have a small car (Peugeot 207) and found with the carrycots I had to put one in the passenger seat and one in the back with the frame. Not hugely practical but much better now they are in the buggy seats and i can fit both in the boot. It's a fab pram though and i found if I was going somewhere I wasn't sure I would fit I could put the buggy down to single and have the other baby in a carrier (in fact I'm doing that today when I go to a village open gardens). We have 360 spin car seats that don't leave the car so never used them as part of a travel system.

I've forgotten what else you asked so there may be another reply in a minute!

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Newbabies15 · 07/07/2018 12:13

Congratulations! I’m a first time mum of twins too. They’re 4 months now. Mine still share a cot. I formula fed them. So far they’ve taught me - the path of least resistence is best - whatever is easiest! And also to let go of wanting to be in control. You’ll love it - it’s liberating.

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Aisha01 · 09/07/2018 15:41

Hi.. iv been blessed with twin boys who are just over 2 months.. i dont know but should they be waking up every three hours during the night for feeds still, i heard as they get older they sleep longer.. anyone with similar situation?

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