Just found out it's twins...throw your tips at me

[Courtney555]

Hi guys. Not first pregnancy. Not planned. Just had 12 week scan and discovered there's two of them!!

May I ask, those of you with twins, what do you wish you had known then, that you know now? What do you feel has been a lifesaver? What did you stress about and it turned out to be no big deal?

What products could you not live without and what was a waste of time? Anything you would do differently?

Please help

Also, if I work out how to attach the images, if anyone can make sense of that "nub" thing, please enlighten us with your guesses as to what either may be? Xx

No tips, just big congratulations!

Congratulations! You might get more tips if you ask for this to be moved to the multiples section?

Congratulations! How cute, how do you feel about it?

No tips as I have no children myself but I couldn't not congratulate you!

Ah, yes that might be an idea, how do I ask for it to be moved?

I've not had twins myself but I'm an identical twin and just want you to know you're babies will have a best friend for life, it's the best thing being a twin I don't know what I would do without my sister ❤️
Congratulations and good luck xx

I have 14 week old twin girls, so massive congratulations!! First of all you’ll be at hospital a lot!! So prepare for lots of appointments!!

My top tip (and this may be controversial) is routine routine routine!! It’s the only way to stay sane!! We were in SCBU for 3 weeks and honestly it was so hard but my god they came home in the best routine. If you choose to breast feed then that’s absolutely fab for you, I expressed whilst in hospital but bottle fed when we came home. I 100% would not have coped without my DH being able to share the load.

In terms of items you need, the best thing we got was a twin pillow, you can pick them up for about £20 from Asda and are the perfect thing to pop your babies on whilst you do something else like change a nappy or get a feed ready.

When people ask what they can get you, don’t say baby clothes tell them to bring food!!!! Because you will not have time to prepare anything yourself.

When DH goes back to work, make sure you have a sandwich in the fridge & invest in one of those insulated travel mugs to keep your coffee in as without it you’ll never drink a hot coffee again!

Most of all just try to enjoy your pregnancy! I spent so long worried all the time to appreciate that actually I had a relatively good pregnancy.

Twins are fab, bloody hard work but absolutely fab!

Xxxxx

Hi there all,

We're going to move this to multiple births for OP - congratulations!

Hiya, my sister has identical twin boys. She says:
1)When your twins are tiny, it’s easier to bathe one while the other hangs out next to you or near you in an infant rocker chair. Once your babies are around six months old and able to sit up on their own, Keter bath seats (which suction to the bathtub) can make it easier to give both babies a bath at the same time.
2) Write initials on their sleep suits or a dot of nail varnish on one of their toes to easily identify!
3) Twin baby carriers are a life saver
4) Have a daily routine eg feeding, naps, bath, nappy etc
5) Drink plenty of water and nourish well, especially if breast feeding. My sister started them on solely breast milk and then did breast milk and formula combination.

Congratulations + good luck!

No idea - but you may want to start researching 7 seater cars! :) :) congratulations!

"Bring food"... I like that, it's not something I would have thought of, but that's a great idea.

7 seaters, we had looked at RR sport...anyone know how easy it is to get a double buggy in the boot if you have one of the seats in the back row up?

Oh yes we upgraded to a 7 seater to accommodate the girls and our dog 😂 we got a out n about and this is how it fits in the back of a Ford Galaxy. We found that only a ford galaxy or Seat Alhambra had big enough boots, the rest you couldn’t fit a laptop bag in once all 7 seats were up

Congrats courtney555 I'm currently 30weeks with twins so I don't have any advice yet but I found out at my 12 week scan too. Do you know what type of twins you are having?
As PP I have upgraded to a Citroen Grand Picasso for the bigger car and have a twin feeding pillow.
Expect to have lots of appointments with a consultant every 2-4 weeks depending on type of twins and how they are developing.
Yes to the routine, that's the main advice I've been given. Try and get them onto the same schedule so feeding and sleeping at the same times, otherwise you'll spend your whole day and night dealing with one then the other!

Congratulations!! I would love to have twins... My neices are twins and my brother and his wife have done a really good job and raised two independent but very close little girls.

I know what helped them was to join a lot of twin groups!! A strong network of other twin friends has been helpful to them. Not just support from people who know, and can give helpful advice etc, but also for all the online sales of second hand twin stuff. They get lots of clothes etc massively cheap through keeping an eye on all the FB groups. Enjoy!!

I have twins. I got through it by sticking fairly rigidly to the Gina Ford twins book. Not to everyone's taste but it worked for me. The first year is definitely the worst.

I got two double buggies. A huge sturdy one for walking (Mountain Buggy?) and then a lighter one for the car (Out 'n' About?). Try and get them feeding & sleeping at the same time. Much easier. Batch cook veg/fruit for weaning. Buy ready made formula milk if not feeding yourself.

I'll add as I remember. Do not panic, that's the main thing. Totally doable.

@alittlebitdemented I’m following Gina Ford too. I’ve stuck pretty rigid to the meal times, the nap times are a bit of a work in progress as they’re still so young. I absolutely could not have done it without this routine though

I'd say two girls based on the parallel lines in the nubs - congratulations! My boys had a distinct sticky up bit how exciting x

Lol into TAMBA charity, they have forum, helplines, discounts and much more for you. Congratulations!

Sorry that should say look up not lol.

Congrats!

Our twins are 2.

Firstly, have realistic expectations of yourself. Twins is hard. The newborn stage is pretty savage. It starts hardest and gets continually easier, but the first few months are a bit of a killer.

Establish a routine. Don’t be shy about asking for help. Be kind to your other half, even when you are so mad with exhaustion that you think you hate them. And be kind to yourself. It’s hard, but you can do it. And it gets easier.

You don’t need two of everything, but you two of lots of things. Moses baskets. Rocker chairs. Car seats. All that.

Biggest investment is the twin buggy. We spent months on this, and finally plumped for the bugaboo Donkey. It’s very expensive, so maybe look for second hand if money is a concern.

TWIN FEEDING PILLOW. You can get one on amazon. Honestly, this was our BIG “cant live without” item for the first 6 months.

My wife decided against breastfeeding for the twins. If you decide the same, definitely go for LOADS of bottles (we bought 20) and a perfect prep machine for making the milk. Personal choice obviously. Bottle feeding meant I (the dad) could share he load.

Assuming you’ve got an involved husband/partner, get him to take as much time off as possible. Consider shared leave. I took the first 3 months off and I’m glad I did.

Be prepared for complications. Twin pregnancies are naturally high risk. We got to 36 weeks before a planned induction as one of the boys hadn’t stopped growing. Both had a few days in incubators and one needed surgery under general anaesthetic. I’m not trying to scare you - maybe yours will arrive uneventfully. But twins tend to be complicated, so maybe just get your head around the possibility of a scare along the way. (Our boys are perfectly healthy now).

Once you’re all home, GET OUT every day. Baby cinema. Baby groups. Whatever. Just getting out every day in the first few months of chaos will make you feel human again.

Good luck! Twins is a wonderful thing. I love mine to bits.

I have b/g twins - now at Uni. I bf and DH and I did one each at night to limit the amount of time we were awake. Didn’t get any routine in place until they were six months and I went back to work and they were at nursery. Either DH or I have family in the UK but my DM flew over for weekends and DMil came for six weeks (she’s a teacher and came for her summer holiday). Take any help which is offered whether it be to give a bottle, put on a load of washing or prepare a meal. Congratulations!

My twins haven't been born yet I'm 28 weeks tomorrow ! However tips for you ! Rest as much as possible, plenty of water, make sure you take all the prescriptions you are given, I forgot to take mine for a week and felt like crap . Make sure you ask any and all questions to your docs and midwives even if you feel like you're being silly ! And congratulations! Twin pregnancy is very hard but worth every minute when I feel their little kicks and rolls.

Have you been told what kind of twins you are expecting ? X

I have twin nephews they are 3 months old. If you decide to formula feed a perfect prep machine is a must it’s so much easier especially in the night.
My sister bought two chairs that swing for them and they love them, it’s a similar motion to being rocked to sleep so all that needs to happen is one baby takes to it then at least you can use it for one and see to the other.
I’ve watched her struggle a lot and she regrets not having a firm routine from the start so that’s something you could consider

Mine were 11 last week. Seems like yesterday. They. Are lovely and get on really well now.

It was very hard work, without doubt.

Look after yourself - and that includes your mind! When they are born look after yourself some more - making time to go out without babies is non-negotiable for staying sane.

Don’t try and do more than one errand a day - post office AND baby group? not if you don’t have to!

It’s great for realising what IS important for parenting though - you won’t be agonising over how much ‘tummy time’ you’ve given them.

Get a white board and when they are ill or feeding when tiny you can write on the board what you gave them and when (for medicine this is worth doing).

Operate on a ‘just in time’ supply regime! - Don’t buy stuff until you need it - one cot will do for six weeks. Don’t accept gifts of equipment you don’t need ‘yet’.

If you breastfeed then be sure to have a large glass of water and a snack nearby - it’s not easy to get up once you’ve settled. Always carry snacks because double BFing makes hunger come on like a tidal wave. (Emergency high energy snacks but plan for slow release snacks at regular intervals - oat cakes and peanut butter or cheese)

Be prepared to ask for and accept help - especially in train stations. One baby buggy can be bumped up stairs but a double needs help.

Congratulations! I'm going to disagree with a pp and say don't bother with a twin feeding pillow. In fact don't bother with most "twin" stuff - mostly not needed! And 9 years on we still haven't got a 7 seater - not really needed 7nless you have a huge family.

Congratulations! My twins are 2. Ifed them both together by sitting them either side of me in bouncy seats with a bottle in each hand.

When one wakes up to feed in the night wke the other and feed them - only way to get some sleep. Similarly get them both napping together as soon as possible otherwise you'll never get anything else done.

Accept all offers of help from anyone. Whilst pregnant and once they are born.

How old are your older children? Dd was 2 when dts were born. We agreed that feeding times could also he TV time for her. One nap per day was in the pram so she could walk with me, play on the swings etc. I also used to set up easy snacks and activities for her first thing in the morning that she could sort out for herself if my hands were full.

I'm sure I'll think of more later. Good luck!