Twins due in three weeks - any advice / tips?
Discussion
Our first children. My wife has done a lot of reading, but anybody have tips either for before arrival or the first few weeks after birth.
I'm fairly relaxed about the whole thing but want to avoid looking back and thinking "I wish I'd asked for some advice beforehand".
Any advice gratefully received.
I'm fairly relaxed about the whole thing but want to avoid looking back and thinking "I wish I'd asked for some advice beforehand".
Any advice gratefully received.
We have a 3 year old and our twins have just past 4 months old......
My one piece of advice would be to try and give them a routine as early as possible, and also feed them together, change them together and try and get them to sleep at the same time also.
Oh, and another thing, your going to be very, VERY tired in a few weeks time.
Prepare for hell.......
My one piece of advice would be to try and give them a routine as early as possible, and also feed them together, change them together and try and get them to sleep at the same time also.
Oh, and another thing, your going to be very, VERY tired in a few weeks time.
Prepare for hell.......
Sleep Now! Honestly, have as much sleep as you can because you're going to need it (relentless early nights & early mornings for the next few years!)
Get a routine, esp for evenings. Will be hard as newborns but after few months...
We give our kids a bath each night around 6.30pm
Settle down until 7.30pm then bed for the kids
Don't worry what midwives say, one can offer advice then another will say the opposite. Just use your gut feel & common sense about things. Don't let anyone pressure your partner into breast feeding, if she can then great but some women find it really hard (baby not latching on or very painful) if she cannot do it, no worries (midwives can be pushy about this) formula is perfectly fine (we introduced this after 3-4mths anyway to help them sleep (heavier on stomach)
Good luck!
Get a routine, esp for evenings. Will be hard as newborns but after few months...
We give our kids a bath each night around 6.30pm
Settle down until 7.30pm then bed for the kids
Don't worry what midwives say, one can offer advice then another will say the opposite. Just use your gut feel & common sense about things. Don't let anyone pressure your partner into breast feeding, if she can then great but some women find it really hard (baby not latching on or very painful) if she cannot do it, no worries (midwives can be pushy about this) formula is perfectly fine (we introduced this after 3-4mths anyway to help them sleep (heavier on stomach)
Good luck!
Thanks Soir. Sleep not an issue. Work in legal, up at 5am most mornings, lack of sleep never an issue= 
Have been getting into a routine of going to bet at 9am every night - no life outside work but getting good sleep.
I am very excited but our expectations have been managed on how difficult the first 2 years are with twins.
Have been getting into a routine of going to bet at 9am every night - no life outside work but getting good sleep.
I am very excited but our expectations have been managed on how difficult the first 2 years are with twins.
They are and you are all different....
Nappies are okay, don't worry
Sleep you'll get used to
If they don't suck - bottle
If they don't sleep - dummy
ALWAYS ALWAYS check, Hungry, Gassy, Nappy - with each cry
Calpol and Infocol are great buy some now
Relax and enjoy, the only advice worth anything is ENJOY it, it goes VERY VERY quickly and I'm only a few years ahead.....
Nappies are okay, don't worry
Sleep you'll get used to
If they don't suck - bottle
If they don't sleep - dummy
ALWAYS ALWAYS check, Hungry, Gassy, Nappy - with each cry
Calpol and Infocol are great buy some now
Relax and enjoy, the only advice worth anything is ENJOY it, it goes VERY VERY quickly and I'm only a few years ahead.....
Irish said:
Thanks Soir. Sleep not an issue. Work in legal, up at 5am most mornings, lack of sleep never an issue=
Have been getting into a routine of going to bet at 9am every night - no life outside work but getting good sleep.
I am very excited but our expectations have been managed on how difficult the first 2 years are with twins.
I'm a solicitor used to very long hours too, but nothing prepared me for how draining it is in the middle of the night, and then the early morning... Every single day - and I only have one 4 month old!! Have been getting into a routine of going to bet at 9am every night - no life outside work but getting good sleep.
I am very excited but our expectations have been managed on how difficult the first 2 years are with twins.
My 2 penneth would be to go with the flow as much as you can, make food in batches and freeze in portions, and don't forget to be a couple once in a while.. This seems to be the biggest mistake 10ps and I have made in the first few months of parenthood.
Good luck!!
We had girl/boy twins in Switzerland and then relocated back to UK when they were 4 months old (arranged everything ourselves and even took them on the flight back). As everyone has said the lack of sleep is the single biggest issue. Being completely tired everyday (I used to sleep in my lunch break), getting up umpteen times a night when you are shattered is no fun. However we survived in a foreign speaking country in a flat, 3 flights of stairs and no lift with no family support.
Our survival tips are:-
Don't worry about breast feeding, it's too much effort for your partner.
Does it get more fun - definitely. It is such a wonderful sight seeing them grow together. Ours have always slept in the same room and even though they often wake each other up they also can comfort each other. It is amazing how many people have twins or are a twin and it is such a lovely bond.
Everyone says enjoy them, but really it is very hard to do as you are in sleep zombie mode. Take lots of pictures and videos as we still love looking at them when they are so young.
Our survival tips are:-
Don't worry about breast feeding, it's too much effort for your partner.
- Take turns to sleep, even in the day.
- Take turns to do the night/morning feed, e.g. one would do the night feeds and the other did the early morning feeds and swap the next night (only way you can get 4hrs sleep a night)
- Get them regular and in sync - it is difficult but it is possible and most certainly works - we were feeding them every 3hrs.
- Make sure you eat and drink properly yourself, you are going to burn up a massive amount of energy, we both lost a lot of weight.
- Get Calpol (for pain) and Karvol (for blocked nose) - both do a great job
- Take help from anywhere, we had meals on wheels in Switzerland and it basically saved us as there are no proper ready meals there.
- Make time for each other and don't get too stressed. You are both in the same boat and it WILL get better.
Does it get more fun - definitely. It is such a wonderful sight seeing them grow together. Ours have always slept in the same room and even though they often wake each other up they also can comfort each other. It is amazing how many people have twins or are a twin and it is such a lovely bond.
Everyone says enjoy them, but really it is very hard to do as you are in sleep zombie mode. Take lots of pictures and videos as we still love looking at them when they are so young.
Irish said:
...lack of sleep never an issue=
You have no idea. Take turns with your wife, sleep whenever you can, never refuse help, get a routine ASAP and pray for the day when they sleep through.
Twins are wonderful, but by christ it's hard at the start. Once they are older and more aware of their surroundings it's ace - they interact loads and it just keeps getting better.
Irish said:
I am very excited but our expectations have been managed on how difficult the first 2 years are with twins.
2 years? 
ours just turned 3 and still don't sleep through the night!I wake up every morning with a little boys knees rammed in my back and his brothers head on my legs.
We did what a previous poster did and got our boys in sync so just as one has finished feeding the other woke up, feeding and burping was about a 30 minute exercise, with 4 hour naps in between.
Also make sure you have a good pushchair, I spent £200 on our first one, and the wheel fell off after a year. So we dug deep and got a nipper 360 which I think was around £500 with accessories , worth it as we still use it today and all it needs is the tyres pumping up every now and then.
Join Tamba for a while, they're a great help for finding twin groups and such, and they have access to a lot of resources.
Enjoy it, it's hard work, but the most rewarding feeling ever.
Routine is everything after a month or six weeks or so you should be able to get into a set routine. The thing about that is that you will then be able to work out based on time of day etc which of hunger, tiredness, discomfort is causing the tears. Some people get VERY set in the ways of not disturbing their kids routines as you'll find out.
IF you can afford it don't be shy about getting a maternity nurse in....when they are three months old or so they will be getting to the stage when they might possibly get through the night. The trouble is that as parents you do the wrong things mostly because you are so tired you will do anything to get some sleep!
When both my kids were about three or four months old we spent £100 a night to get some help with a maternity nurse getting our kids into a decent night time routine. After three nights my son who has been waking three or four times a night was sleeping twelves hours solidly....that is the best £300 I have EVER spent. They don't do anything you can't do but they stay up for three or four nights (read about controlled crying and other such things) which when you haven't slept properly for four months isn't easy.
IF you can afford it don't be shy about getting a maternity nurse in....when they are three months old or so they will be getting to the stage when they might possibly get through the night. The trouble is that as parents you do the wrong things mostly because you are so tired you will do anything to get some sleep!
When both my kids were about three or four months old we spent £100 a night to get some help with a maternity nurse getting our kids into a decent night time routine. After three nights my son who has been waking three or four times a night was sleeping twelves hours solidly....that is the best £300 I have EVER spent. They don't do anything you can't do but they stay up for three or four nights (read about controlled crying and other such things) which when you haven't slept properly for four months isn't easy.
Digging up an old post here.
Mrs Hoddo and I are expecting twins later this year. Some great advice written above which I know will come in use.
When people talk about getting the babies in sync, how do you do this? Wake one when the other is feeding? Change both nappies even if only one needs changing?
Mrs Hoddo and I are expecting twins later this year. Some great advice written above which I know will come in use.
When people talk about getting the babies in sync, how do you do this? Wake one when the other is feeding? Change both nappies even if only one needs changing?
Hoddo said:
Digging up an old post here.
Mrs Hoddo and I are expecting twins later this year. Some great advice written above which I know will come in use.
When people talk about getting the babies in sync, how do you do this? Wake one when the other is feeding? Change both nappies even if only one needs changing?
Yes, even if one wakes wanting a feed,and the other is sleeping, wake them both.Mrs Hoddo and I are expecting twins later this year. Some great advice written above which I know will come in use.
When people talk about getting the babies in sync, how do you do this? Wake one when the other is feeding? Change both nappies even if only one needs changing?
You will find after a few weeks they will fall into it. It is very hard for you at the beggining, but stick with it and it will pay off.
Force your routine onto them and not theirs onto you.
Ours are 26 months and are still a handfull, its great fun though.
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