Time for a TWINS thread !!!!!

[smellymelly]

There seem to be a few mums with twins on Mumsnet now, and a few new mums like me, and some expecting quite soon.

So I thought it would be great to have our own thread, as things are different when you are looking after 2 babies.

I also have a ds of 5, and a dd of 2.4, so we have busy house now. I had B/G twins 6 weeks ago and we are doing well.

CONGRATULATIONS!! Glad you are all doing well, I know how busy you must be! You sure have a whole lot of age ranges there to deal with - and how clever to have another boy and girl (from a clothes point of view that is!)

I have B/G twins too (3 yrs) and a dd who is 6.

Thanks Tinygang - but you know I still manage to find many excuses to buy lots more clothes!

Although I don't plan on having any more now, so I will have to sell all their clothes from now on, if I can bear to be parted from them.

How do your twins get along with each other? I am hoping mine will be the best of friends. I wonder if it helps being one of each?

Yes, funny cos I still end up buying lots too! We are drowning in clothes really even though I have passed some onto friends. Even if I ever get round to sorting them though, I know I'll still have to keep quite a few because they're so cute!

My two get on very well, and love having a big sister too. Little dd twin likes to mother ds and whenever she gets something like a sweet or a drink, she waits for his because she likes to make sure he's got some too. Ahhh

How's the feeding going for you? I seem to remember it was quite a full time job in the beginning. I managed to B/F twins for only a few days (although funnily enough I seemed to have more success B/F twins than I ever did with my first). I reluctantly stopped as older dd who was only 3 at the time needed my attention too.

The sterilising and making up of all those bottles is a memory that'll last me forever!

Yeah I'm breast-feeding and it is actually going very well. I feed them at the same time every 3 or 4 hours, and have managed to get them to feed only once during the night. It took a few weeks of them feeding all evening to make me stricter!! And Infacol has helped!

I b/fed my other 2 (singles) and was adamant I wanted it to work even with 2.

It is hard when they both want winding at the same time though, if I don't get them upright quickly enough they are sick all me, or each other!

At the moment they both have snotty noses and horrible coughs which is really getting Dh and me down, as they sound so poorly. But they are still feeding well, so I'm hoping they will improve soon.

I don't want to wish their lives away, but I'm looking forward to them interacting with each other. I was very tearful when I watched them looking at each other for the 1st time..

Congrats on the twins smellybelly, I've got a few more weeks to wait to meet mine! It's great to hear you are managing to bf, I'm determined to try, but not feeling very optimistic about my chances.
I'm also interested in what you were saying about them watching each other. I was wondering what it's going to be like when they are born, do they have some sort of bond already? We've been setting up the cots, but cos of space, the cots are at opposite ends of the room and I was wondering if they would notice the abscence of each other.
It feels like a whole new ball game with twins, there's so much I want to know!!

Congratulations Kelly, for coming this far, do you know what sex they are or if they are identical?

Well I'm still learning myself. But it is fantastic, we still can't believe how lucky we are!

Thankfully mine are ok sleeping separately, and we have even taken them out on their own once. But I don't know if that is because they are B/G twins. I know of a mum locally who had B/G twins 3 days after me, and they only settle when in the same cot.

Ours are still in moses baskets in our room, but we have one on each side of the bed. When they get into their cots, we have them end to end, and they have slatted ends not solid ones so they will be able to see each other.

I'm expecting non identical boys. I'm really excited, can't wait to meet them, although the preg was a surprise.

My cots have solid ends, so I really have no way of arranging them so they can see each other. I decided to skip the moses basket stage this time, as I never used them for long before, babies outgrew it in matter of weeks.

It's great to get all these positive vibes from you, I really feel like I'm venturing into the unknown, and feel very unsure of how we going to cope.

I have identical girls now 3 they seem 2 get on better now they r a bit older. I've had the fighting stage now its the friends stage they seem 2 notice each other more now & play together all though they have allways been together they used 2 play alone now i cant seperate them.

When my dst were born 3 years ago I kept them together in the same moses basket and then cot-bed. Right up until they were 8 months old when they went into their room and the cots were placed foot to foot. It started when the hospital put them in the same "goldfish bowl" to bring them back from SCBU to the ward. They looked so cosy and happy in there that I left them cuddled up together.

Of course it was freezing cold outside, maybe in the spring or summer they would have been less comfortable.

I think that is why they were always such good sleepers which took some of the stress off of me. If one stirred then the other would wriggle to calm him down. It is bloody hard work, Kelly but so worth it, advice I wish I had been given - relax and enjoy it more! I've loved having twins and would love another set of twins (boys prefered!) Yes, I am crazy!

I am so jealous of those who are just starting out. Now my two are just started nursery it is too quiet in this house!

My DTs will be one at the end next week. They are girl/boy twins. They are completely adorable. I've been laughing at them today because they keep fighting. DT1(girl) is a tiny wee thing and she pushed DT2 (huge boy) against the tv and pulled his hair. He cried! Bless him. Later on he had her in a half nelson and pulled her hair and she cried. They look at each other in disbelief and then do it again. Then all of a sudden they are kissing each other and laughing and giggling. They are hilarious. They adore their older siblings and play different games with them. I'm still bfing and enjoying it. DT2 is walking (almost constantly) and DT1 took her first 5 steps on Saturday. Twins are amazing, but I take my hat off to mums of triplets because I can just about keep up with these two.

It sounds like I'm in for some fun! I've just had such an easy time with my ds and dd, who have never been any trouble at all, I do wonder how I am going to cope if things are different, esp as I don't have any support here.

I'm really happy I'm having boy twins, dp wanted a son, (my kids are from prev relationship) and I am hoping they are going to be close.

Mums who already have children - can I just ask how that worked out? My dd(4) is really happy to have baby brothers on the way, she actually told me she wanted another baby before I even told her I was pg!
My ds(2.5) is another matter. He is used to being the baby, and is not keen on the idea of more. I am worried about how he is going to react, esp cos twins are going to take up so much of my time.
dd and ds are very close, and it really is going to be a huge change to the family when two more arrive!

kelly1978 you have the same ratio of kids as me ds 10 dd 7 & dt 3 twins were last its a shame your other kids wernt older or they could of helped u a bit but im sure you will b fine. Is your youngest still in a buggy r u giong 2 have a triple buggy or just a double?

I'm trying to wean my youngest out of the buggy, no way I want to push a triple. If things get desperate I might try to put a buggy board on the back of my twin buggy, or one of the babies will have to go in a sling. Luckily I live on top of everything so we don't have to walk too far to get anywhere!
I do feel a bit sorry for ds tho, he's only 2.5 and since I found I'm pg, I'm really been trying to get him to grow up! The nappies have already gone, he's got to be a 'big boy' now!

MMMM - how amazing to still be b/f at 12 months.

Kelly - my other 2 kids are also from a previous relationship, ds1 is 5 and dd1 is 2.4, they are a little more clingy but generally ok.

Well actually ds1 is being a bit of a shit this week, but I don't think school helps!

I was more worried about dd1 as she is still 2, but she is fine. Dh has taken loads of time of work, so with him being here really helps as we can spread our time around, and also I can take the older kids out on their own between baby feeds!

I still can't believe I have 4 kids, but it is not as hard as I thought it would be at all. Dd1 is toilet training this week, (managed to miss out the potty altogether ) and we are all going to France by car in May, when the babies will be 5 months old... we must be mad!!

to be honest smelly, I'm too lazy to make up bottles. I fed my singeltons until they were about 18 months and I was determined to feed the DTs until at least 1. I'm now trying to cut it down as I actually want my boobs back. Having 2 on them is a bit draining and time consuming, especially as it's not so easy to feed them at the same time anymore. DT1 stood up in the centre of the room without help today. She's walking 5 or 6 steps at a time now. DT2 walks 15 to 20 steps at a time. Soon he won't crawl at all. This year has flown by and I can't believe that they are about to be 1.

Oh, and we are lucky that dd1 walks very well, and hasn't used a pushchair for a few months now, but I do have a seat to go, a buggy board with 2 steps so they can sit down too.

How exciting to have them walking, did they do it close to each other?

Also do you still feed them together, and if you do how the hell do you get in position?? Mine are only 6.5 weeks and I'm running out of room on the sofa! I'm trying to get their legs to go up the back of the sofa now, but sometimes they slip down and get a bit squished. It doesn't do my neck any good, I keep getting really stiff, and I do find winding one when the other is still feeding quite painful on my neck. If I don't wind them as soon as they come off they throw up on me or each other !! But I love b/f, so I would like to do it for as long as possible....

Duh, just read your message again, so you are not feeding them together! I should concentrate more!

Hi all
This is just a quick post to say hello. I'm 37 weeks with twins (don't know sexes) and I'm feeling really crappy with a cold/nasty chest. Was hoping to be induced recently but am now glad I'm not looking after two newborns and feeling like this.
Catch up with you all soon, well done smellymelly for starting this thread.

wishing you well bubble. Be glad that you've gotten to 37 weeks. Well done!

smelly, I do sometimes feed them together. Have you got a v shaped pillow? I swear by it. I don't think I've ever felt that either of them were particularly safe when I was feeding. I was pretty convinced that I would drop one or other of them. When I'm desperate I feed them together, but as they are bigger it is easier to do them one at a time. It does get easier, so well done for wanting to stick with it!

My DTs seem to do things within 2 weeks of each other. When they started crawling it was as I predicted, opposite directions. Now they follow each other like puppies, unless they are up to no good and then it's divide and conquer. Ah yes... the joys

Also, I found it easier to feed on an armchair or a rocker. I put their legs over the side if you see what I mean, so that they didn't get too squished!

Hello all you Mums of twins or Mums-to-be, my identical DS twins are now 6yo, and a real bundle of laughs. With you all talking about BF really brings back memories, it seems like no time since I was feeding both.
Mine can be the best of friends or sworn enemies, but they never fall out for long.The house is full of constant noise,until they go to bed.I feel like I'm always saying,"Don't climb on there", "Don't jump on that",or most of all"Stop running", but they are such fun !!!
You ladies have great times ahead of you,so enjoy, my "little babies" have grown so quickly

we'll be calling on you for advice jac and laughing at the stories you tell us which will help us forget those dreadful people who keep telling us how awful it must be to have twins.

my dt were little rotters yesterday first they flooded my downstairs loo in 2inches of water all up the walls spilling out into the hall all over the laminate floor then to top it off a few hours later they some how managed to get there mits on a tube of face cream & decided to redecorate my upstairs landing with it not just the walls but the carpet to.could of strangled them don't you just love the fun of it all.But i still love em.

I have 2 year old identical boys, and a 3.5 year old boy as well (18 months age difference). Hard work but increasingly rewarding and fun.