The under/over/around 1 Twins thread for support, tips on how to survive and enjoy twin parenthood!

[DreamingOfPeace]

BB3: dcda non id girls Sept 2011 (plus ds)
TwelveLeggedWalk: DCDA DD and DS 14.09.11 (PFBs)
Tiggersreturn twin boys (?!) (plus ds age 5)
Wherearemyearplugs twins (plus ds)
Ceeveebee b/g twins 21.11.11, PFBs
minesapintofwine: non-id boys 02/02/2012. dcs 1&2/pfb on good days.
ClaireMarathonFeeder: Boy/girl twins born 08/02/2012, no3&4, dd1 (2001) and dd2 (2004)
rednellie nonID boys 13.03.2012 + DD 03.02.10
Lemele: id boys (plus ds)
Skitoo : DCDA Non ID Boys, 01.04.12 DC 1&2
DreamingofPeace: dcda non id boys, 4.4.12 DC 2&3 (DD Sept 2010)
beyoglu: dcda non id girls 21.4.12
Bigboobsatlast ID twin boys 30.04.12 DC #2&3 (DD Feb 2010)
Scollister mcda girls 3.5.12 plus DD age 4
Twin2makes4 mcda girls plus 2 ds,age 8 & 4

Again, sorry for mistakes, doing this from my phone!

Settle in ladies :)

If they were a single baby they'd be in their own room alone beyoglu if that's what you mean? My DD was in her own room on her own from 9 weeks...

Misery continues here. Stool samples all negative for the boys but diarrhoea ongoing, plus coughs. DT2 wheezy. DD really not well, temp 39.5, floppy, chest infection and ear infection just diagnosed this morning. I didn't get to bed til 4am up with one or other or multiple, DT1 up at 6 for the day. I'm tired and worried.

Sorry for the me me me. Still reading, just busy and knackered.

Can I join? (ID boys aged 11- fine, there kinda old, but does it matter?)

they're not there (I make a lot of mistakes)

Hi all. Well it looks like DTD has dropped her afternoon nap. For five days in a row she has had a sleep before lunch (930/10 ish for 1-1.5 hours) and then powered on through until 7!!! My theory is that because she is nearly 11 months old but not at all active (rolling but not crawling yet and nowhere near walking) that she is just not tiring herself out like DTS is and most other babies her age. He still has an hour in the afternoon. Seems all very odd to me and their nanny is run ragged after today! Oh and on the seperate rooms point - well in order to get any naps and to settle at night I have had to move their cots as far away from each other as possible, they are in opposite corners of the room facing the wall as they were just playing and nattering to each other. God knows what will happen when they can climb out of their beds, we'll have to move house as only 2 bedrooms here.

On a sombre note DH's cousin who he is really close to, like brothers really, has been diagnosed with a very serious aggressive (but treatable) cancer. We will be visiting most weekends (they live 250 miles away) so that combined with work means I'll probably not be posting too much for the next few weeks. Over and out!

Oh ceevee I am sorry. Your poor DH. Sending you lots of love.

Man, I'd love to more mine into another house never mud separate rooms! DD was in a room on her own from 4 weeks, we were in a tiny house so it didn't feel unsafe and everyone slept better.

Poor baby dreams I'm so sorry they're all poorly. Have you thought starting back up the solids might help solidify their poo? Im just guessing and hoping it gets better.

Now, how do I stop my two waking between 9pm and 11pm every night? I can cope with a night waking, but this evening feed is doing my head in. They get put down awake, have no sleep props and nap well. Where am I going wrong? Maybe they're still too small? Both about 6.6kg. Thoughts please!

Welcome oopsydaisy! We'd love you to join us, then you can us pearls of wisdom and reasure us it does get easier. It does, right?

mines I don't think I am brave enough either! I'm going to have an escape room with windows blacked out and the travel cot for if they wake up early from a nap and then fall back to sleep; but whether I'll put them down separately for nighttime, I don't know. DH reckons it would be great as they won't wake each other. I think they will sleep fine again once the inlaws are away but that's another story!

dream I hope everyone gets over their illnesses soon...

Hello oopsydaisy!

ceeveebee that's really awful - take care of yourself. Thanks for the tip on separating their cots! I was thinking about that too.

rednellie no idea about the evening waking - these guys do that as well, last day feed at 7.15 then there's one at about 11. We use it as shift change (I go to bed at 9 in our room with earplugs on and DH sees to the girls till 11 when we feed them and I go over to their room for the night.)

Hi all
So sorry to hear that CeeVee, hoping for a good recovery.

OUr two share 99% of the time, but DS has been really unsettled some of the past few nights so he's been co-sleeping back with me, and I think DD sleeps longer in the mornnigs without him there, but does cry if she wakes in the night to find herself alone. Co-sleeping with crawling boy not so much fun as cuddly newborn either, he keeps sitting up in the middle of the night and head-butting me!

Hi to Oops. You're very welcome to join us and please share some words of experience, but I think there is a thread of older multiple mums who might be more help to you. I think their posts are 'Do you ever wonder?'

We hung onto the dream feed for ages - preferred sitting up to watch some telly then waking them around 1030 than going to bed and getting woken at 3am!

Hi all

ceeveebee really sorry to hear about your dh's cousin, hope treatment is not too hard on him.

dream really crap about the diarrhoea, I thought the same as Rednellie..might be worth a try? Hope they get better soon.

aargh crying upstairs...

on your advice, the boys have had banana tonight

DD is much better today, huge relief. She was so rough yesterday afternoon, temp 39.6 and wasn't even opening her eyes, and she'd only drunk 3-4 oz juice in 36 hours so I ended up panicking and taking her to the GP again

ceevee, that sounds so hard, terrible for your dh's cousin and hard on your little family too. I reckon it'll be a phase with yor DD, she'll get moving and re-start her nap, hopefully!!

I'm going to have a little nosey on the older multiple mums thread for hope but hello oops, you're welcome here

and red, I wish I could get bedtime sorted. Like claire (if its still the same for you) mine just don't self settle... well dt1 certainly doesn't, dt2 might, sometimes, but often likes to be fed to sleep too

well, kind of calm here but dt1 up. dh has brought him down to watch telly when I asked him to go up as I'd just been up to dt2, and dt1, and only been down 5 minutes. I'm actually really pissed off he just rought him down and didn't even try to establsh bedtime/actually try to settle him... So I'd best go and try myself (thoguh the only way I manage at, is to let him lie by me in bed and feed on and off til he's asleep- hardly ideal )

Hello dream no mine are still feeding to sleep... Partly because they hardly have any naps during the day, dtg especially ( and no,not even feeding her ), and by the evening they are so wiped out its a few gulps and zzzz. They still wake up at night though once or twice. At completely random times.

They are now 8 months and totally exhausting. There is always one whingeing or crying, often both. I always have a background of crying , I'll be feeding, changing, rocking one and the other is howling... Or I'll try get something done and they're both howling.

It is just so awful. I am feeling bitter and resentful (with what or whom I have no idea), that I sm unable to enjoy my babies and care for them like I'm used to do (ie not leaving one to cry because I'm tied with the other).

I actually cried with them today. I know it WILL pass, but I don't want them to gtow up and not remember much about their baby years.

I am sure you all know what I'm talking about.

Another me me post, sorry ladies, you are my sanity savers!!

ceevee am so sorry about your dh's cousin as the cancer is treatable then this is some hope though? good luck with all that travelling but he sounds like he needs you and you are good people for being there, though I'm sure you want to be.

I agree with dream maybe the nap thing is a phase but saying that if she is happy without one....

dream oh your poor dd you were right to take her to the docs glad she is a bit better hopefully everyone else will be too .

welcome to oops tell us more about yourself! dream I wouldn't check out that thread in case it doesn't encourage us! Angsty teengers may not seem such an issue to us lot now but it will...

claire I'm sorry you are feeling so down. I feel sympathy for you as ours are the same age. I hate the whinging but am gradually able to ignore deal with it and I chuck toys at them all day! I usually go out a lot but the last 3 afternoons dt1 has been grizzling in the pushchair and have tried all sorts with him. Grr. It does get better you know and look at your older dc's to know this. These years are few in the grand scheme of things just perservere (we all do) and hell I'm wishing the early years away so much I took a week off my maternity leave!

So..me and dh have been bitten on the bum as yesterday were bragging to each other 'look how well our dc's are sleeping at the moment 12 hours every night for a week we are so lucky blah blah'. Last night...up every hour from 11, up from 1.30-3am straight (including the earliest night feed they've had in months). Then up playing and laughing (loudly) from 4.30 to 6. Up for day at 6.45. I've put them down for a nap now and claire I feel like crying too! Chant with me...this two shall pass...

waves at beyou and twelve where are the others? skit and scol and super triplet mum baileys?

Ceeveebee have you thought about skipping the morning nap and putting her to bed after lunch? My eldest two dropped the morning nap pretty soon and by 10 months they would have a big one at 12ish.

Thanks for words of encouragement mines sorry to hear about the rough night. Hope they'll be back on schedule soon. Am soo about 12 hour nights.

Had a better day today, I have come to the conclusion that my two nap much better at home (especially dtg who hardly sleeps in pushchair/car), so I put them down when looked tired at 10ish and slept for two hours! Which meant yhat for the next couple of hours they were much happier.

It is still a long day to go from 12 to 7 without a nap and she was ready for bed at 6 but I couldn't risk the early wakings.

Hope you are all ok, we havent seen BB3 in ages and lots of others.

Hoping to get some decent sleep, night night

That's great they napped so well Claire!

My DD also went to one nap at 10/ 11 months ceevee .

Rant alert:
I feel like the meanest mummy ever holding down screaming DD and physically forcing her to take abx for her chest infection. She won't remember this, right? :( She's miserable, and sleep all over the place, can't get her down til now ish or later, then up loads but may sleep in my bed 6-8am...

DT1 really wheezy and whiney. Coughing til he's sick +++ I had 3 full changes of pjs last night, him 3 bags. Seriously, I'm miserable. Plus sore, sore almost has me in tears to touch it boob. Again!!!!! Think its as DT1 not interested in feeding often and on/ off like a yoyo, plus DT2 joining in too quite a bit. Is it going to get better for us anytime soon because life is hard here. Tired.

Right, now I've whinged to an extent DT1 would be proud of I'm off to bed, as they're only ever really briefly all asleep atm.

Sorry ladies, another selfish post from me...

You're a trooper dream! Hoping it gets better soon.

Now a drumroll please... my inlaws are leaving! Thank the fooking lord. Last night the upstairs smoke alarm right outside the girls' bedroom went off and not surprisingly they had a bit of a disturbed sleep for about an hour after that, a couple of dummy spits and we were up and down a bit through dinner. Father in law is like, oh, that'll be the teething starting. FFS, did you not hear the smoke alarm, you know the one that was screaming in our ears for 5 minutes before I managed to get the ladders upstairs to switch it off? Fecker.

Yay to inlaws leaving beyoglu!
And dream I have no idea how you are still sane with your dramatic lack of sleep!

As it happens, lovely long naps are no longer happening , instead, tone or the other is waking every. sodding. hour fromm 11ish onwards it's now been a couple of weeks and every night seems worse than the other. Yo top it off dtb woke at 5.30 this moring, followed by his sister an hour later. I tried going to bed when they went this morning but he woke only half an hour later, managed to settle him,then she has woken after another half hour! So he's having a nice long sleep, while I'm munching chocolate and syriggling to keep awake while dtg is in the babycagegiant playpen being ignored amusing herself.

Gawd why did I think was a good idea to move away from friends and support neteork with two babies??!

I am rapidly losing the plot Claire... Bloody nightmare here... S really, really coughing, often til he's sick. Miserable. B too, plus temperature and super miserable. DD now feeling better, though on day 7 of no food, losing weight quickly now. S can't sleep at night, too bunged up and mucousy, he wakes every time he's laid down. I've got a pillow under the mattress for both to prop them up but its not enough. And oh, how I prefered just feeding when they woke. Neither will feed, so its walk, rock, jig, sing. For hours in the night, and get one down and the other wakes up. I am so, so fed up and knackered, I'd like to leave home. Arghhhhhh!!!!

At least I've got my support network though Claire, I'd be stuffed without it. Especially at times like this with illness too, my children have all cried so much today, I'm not sure there's been longer than a couple of minutes without tears. I was in tears by the time Dh got home and my mum was here helping though she won't do nappies and isn't that proactive with helping, she does at least play with them

Oh and beyoglu, but of course its the teeth. A bloody loud smoke alarm would never bother a baby... Yay for them leaving!! Does this mean its just you versus the babies most of the time now? My new conclusion is that's not as bad as you imagine unless they're all ill . Sigh. Good luck anyway!

Have you arranged to meet up with ceevee and her pack of twin mums red? What's the news from your end? Sure you'll be able to cheer us up, I'm no fun at all...

I was just thinking of the time we set off our entire apartment blocks fire alarms resulting in 4 fire engines turning uo and DD slept through it all...

We're ok, DT2 on a trial period of no steroid cream and me dairy free. Not really having the desired affect on his skin but at least we'll get referred now.

Sleep is up and down. All the kid's seem unsettled from 9pm till 2am and then everyone decides to sleep. I had 5hrs in a row one night -single longest period I've slept since Christmas.

Sorry you've got poorly ones againdream. And I'm sorry you're feeling down too Claire. Moving is flipping tough. I should know!

Good work on ousting the in laws beyoglu. Mine would not be staying at our house. Ever. My mum came up for 2 days last week - nice to have some help and DD loves her to bits.

Anyway hello to you all. I'm off to catch up on Strictly. Yey

Hello ladies. A quick check in from me. Have been reading and couldn't leave without posting to show my solidarity with all of you finding it hard at the moment. I am right there with you!

Dream, you are like a bloody superwoman! Glad dd is beginning to feel a little better. I am sending lots of 'get well' vibes to your dts... back to 100% immediately and fantastic sleepers to boot - you deserve it!

Claire, you must be knackered. Is it teething do yoyo think? I put everything down to teething but not fire alarms

You must have the patience of a saint Beyoglu. My own parents drive me mad after a few days, let alone DH's. Have you got any one nearby to help out now or are you mostly on your own?

My dts are really hard work still

Bollcks got to go

posting one handed as dt2 woke early today... again. At least this time is a reason because she had her first full night out of the swaddle and in her sleeping bag - it was a lot less bad than I was expecting tbh but still the longest she slept without intervention was 2h 30 mins (while DH was on duty, natch) and she had a 40 minute chatter at about 4.30. Cheers darling... still, she's learning to cope with it, and I now know DT2 can sleep through quite an amazing noise level! We just added a bath to the nighttime routine too so possibly that's still freaking them out as well ("what, why are we in the bath? Is it Saturday morning? I don't understand!")

Once her sleep improves a bit I'll start on DT1, and then we'll try and get past the clocks going back and then the plan is to try and wean them off the night feed. I know some baby sleep experts (and ceeveebee?) say they can need a night feed up to 9 months; it'll probably take us to then to get the whole swaddle weaning and new GMT routine sorted! And I am not switching back in spring...

dream I hope things get better soon! It's got to, they're all ill, they'll get well again. And yep it's just me again... I'm fine with doing it alone as long as DH is about to help with the nighttime.

red hope the sleep all calms down... I wonder if the coming of the dark nights is freaking them all out...

bbl on me own now. THANK GOD...

ok there goes dt1...

Hello again all
Sorry to hear that you are feeling down Claire. Having 4 DCs including twins makes you a super mum in my eyes even if you don't feel like it some days. Are they at that frustrated stage when they can't get around yet and just seem to spend all day crying - it will pass as I am sure you can remember!

beyoglu bet you are glad to have your house to yourself. I always think the 'help' is far outweighed by the inconvenience of having inlaws to stay. In fact usually when they have been to stay the DTs get too used to constant stimulation and spend the next couple of days being very clingy and whingey. I know none of you probably want to hear but re night feeds, my two have been sleeping 7-7 since 5 months (sorry) with the odd teething related exception.

red your landlord is a total knob. At least you are close by now so you can view houses yourself. Let me know if I can do anything to help when you need to move again. Did you hear about the poor woman crushed by a falling branch in kew gardens a couple of weeks ago in stormy weather? Just terrible.

Daytime naps now back in force - the nanny was having none of DTDs wilfull behaviour! I wish they could consolidate their two naps into one lunchtime nap but they are always both so tired by 930-10 ish so they are napping for 1 hr in the morning and 1 hr at about 130-2. And DTD is so close to crawling, she had come on loads in the last week. Can't believe it's only 4 weeks to their birthday!

DH is going up to see his cousin again tomorrow, he is in the throws of chemo and apparently doing very well. He hopes to go home in 3 weeks time - by which time he will have been in hospital for 6 weeks without seeing his DCs which is really hard for him (and them). Then he'll have to go back in over Xmas. But it is looking good long term

Oh this is how puts always been, with 3 little uns there's always something.

Meanwhile, quiet docile DT1 has cut his first tooth. Didn't even know he was teething. And miracle if miracles not only did DD put clothes on with no fuss, she PUT THEM ON HERSELF! Yeehaw

Sorry x posts there!

Yeah, we knew about the woman at kew because we were there. Really awful.

Thank you so much for the offer of help. I've got so used to managing on our own I'm a bit blown away with all the offers!

Ach god who was it who said they had no sleeping through the night action till 9 months? Anyway I know there was someone. My OH came in from work yesterday full of woe because his admin told him her kid only slept through at 10 months, but actually that cheers me nicely not just because of schadenfreude because he just spontaneously slept through at 10 months! See I can handle the night feeds, what I can't handle is the thought that I have to go through some weaning/pacing the floor scenario before they'll actually do it...

We're having an OK time here in the land of swaddle weaning... DT2 did a tolerable night last night in her sleeping back and better than the night before, so maybe this won't be a month long whingefest as I was fearing... and DT1 just had a respectable nap with one arm out - didn't even mean to do one arm out but she was rubbing her ear very contentely so I thought why move her? DT2 is a bit nap resistant today and the bloody buggy has a shredded tyre so could get interesting later but she's pretty chipper just now... what you said ceeveebee, on Monday after the inlaws went and OH went off to work they were all clingy and whiney but they're much cheerier now again. DT2 has managed to shuffle round to the tumbe dryer and is kicking it and laughing at the noise! Brilliant.

red congrats for a painless first tooth!