Twins Advice

M.,
I have 4 year old twin boys and they were born at 32 and a half weeks. They were on oxygen only for a short while, but they were in the NICU for a month. They were born at 2 lbs 10 oz. and 4 lbs. 10 oz. I could go on and on with advice, but every child is different, which is also why you don't like any of the books you've seen so far. The only thing I can do is give you my email address and you can ask away. I answer any questions you have or give advice on situations anytime. ____@____.com My name is C..

My mother bought me a book "Raising Twins" by Eileen M. Pearlman, Ph.D., and Jill Alison Ganon. I haven't had a chance to really get into the meat of the book but the little that I have read is pretty good. I also just joined a MOM (mothers of multiples) group. They are all over. I have found that just establishing a group of friends with multiples has really helped me. My twins are 7 months now and I also have a 2yr old. Things are busy. Just trust your insticts and things will be fine. After your girls turn 6 months things get so much easier. You can establish a routine and they will start to sleep better. They also really start developing personalities which is so much fun to watch thier similarities and thier differences.
Good Luck with everything.
M.
P.S. If you find a great book please let me know. I am now actually getting some time for myself.

Go on line and check out Growing Child. It is excellent. They won't say this is the thing, but rather these are all good approaches. I read a lot when our kids were young,this was the best. Our children are mostly grown,and when Rachel had a child this is what we got her. It comes on line in a book or in monthly issues. They also offer lots of suggestions on other sources you can check. We had 5 kids who were all nursed and thats when I did a lot of reading, This is among the best.
Nelda C

Hi M.!

My fraternal twin girls were born at 36 weeks. Honestly, haven't really found a book that I like either. I used Baby Wise as a "guideline" to get the girls sleeping through the night and on a routine initially. Now at 3 months I am finding they are both so different in everything from sleeping to eating. If you already have 2 kids I am sure you are on the right track. Just remember they are two different little people with different needs. The biggest challenge for you will be finding balance with your 1 month old twins requiring so much attention at this age. Wish you the best! Let us know if you find any good books.

Congratulations! I have a 3.5 yo son and 9-month old twin boys born at 38-weeks. The first couple weeks were fine, the next 8-weeks were the hardest of my life. One twin started sleeping through the night at 11 weeks, saved my life. The other is still a night waker, but anything is better than those first 11-weeks.

I searched high and low for good twin books and did not find anything particularly insightful, a friend gave me a really old copy of "Raising Twins" which was interesting, but not earth shattering. Obviously, you have two children so you know the basics.

I breast fed my 3.5 yo and it was wonderful, I tried with the twins, but it was a nightmare, they did not latch on well and cried a lot. I put them on formula and it was fine. My aunt told me if was God's way of saying I had enough on my plate.

Mine shared a crib and it worked great, I also tried to do as much as possible at the same time, feeding, napping, that way you have a little time for the older ones.

Good luck!

I am also a mother of twins, a boy and a girl who are now 2 years old. They were born at 36 weeks. I have not been able to find any good books. I just winged it. As far as the weight issue, I started by babies on cereal in their bottles at about 2 months old. Of course, your doctor will not recommend this but it does help with sleeping and with nightly feeding. Rest as much as you can and when you can. You will need it. Good luck and feel free to email with any questions or comments.

feed them every two hours, if only a small amount. Wake them if you need to. I know it sounds crazy, but they need the calories and energy. Also make sure they are kept nice and warm. The less energy they have to use up to maintain body temp the more they store. Enjoy your precious gifts.

I read your question and feel that I can help. First I will tell you that I am a stay at home mom of a 8 year old boy, 6 year old boy and 4 month twin girls (mine were born at 37 weeks). I will tell you that I found a wonderful book that is called "Ready or Not Here We Come"! and was written by Elizabeth Lyons (hopefully you have not already read). She knows what she speaks of since she is the mother of twin boys. I read this book prior to delivering my girls and have referenced it pretty much every month since. You can get it at Barnes and Noble and probably any other major book seller. It is a very quick read and is truly funny and informative. There are many other books out there that go through what you should and should not do for newborns from the medical aspect but I would say the best advice on that front is to form a great bond with your family physician/pediatrician and his/her nurse. They will be your ultimate guide to medical advice and questions. As for little things like trying to find your mind, getting rest and forming a complete thought I promise that it will all come in time.
If you have not already bought a crockpot I would definately agree with Elizabeth Lyons and tell you that it is the best invention ever made. Although I can find time to make a meal at 5 or 6pm there are days when I still cannot find the energy to stand in a kitchen that long. Especially when you have 2 other kids to take care of.
I am here for you if you have any questions or just want to talk to someone who is going through it and has been there.
I would also recommend checking on a Moms of Multiples group in your area. You can check them out at www.nomotc.org (it may be .com instead of org but you can always find it by googling Moms of Multiples). If you have not heard of them they are soley open to moms with multiples from twins all the way up. The best part is you can join for a minimal fee and they do biannual garage sales in which you can sell your used items and buy others in twos.
A few other things, if you are not writing down when the babies eat, pee and poop I would highly recommend it. We are still doing it because otherwise I just don't remember when anyone ate. I also use this for medication when I have needed to and it makes it so much easier even with just Tylenol after their shots. Pretty much all of this is covered in the book I spoke about and then some right down to getting out of the house with 2 of them. I will tell you that I have my time down to about 2-2.5 hours of getting us our of the house (that includes only me and the girls). Trust me you will have it down to a science in no time, my husband has no idea what I do or my rationalization for it I just do it and he just asks what he can do to help.
Best of all, breathe...this is truly so much fun once they start to interact more you will lose yourself in them.

I hope that this helps,

J. S.

My twins are 15 months old. Born at 38 weeks. I love being a mom. There are times when it's very stressful, but so rewarding! Congratulations!
I have not been able to find anything very informative about raising twins. Most of the information seems to be on singletons.
Good luck and I'll let you know if I find anything.

I am sure your local library has books on twins and even you can find information about twins via the net. Most importantly miss M. is that you use what God has placed on the inside of you. Only you can be the best judge on how to be the best steward over your children. lotsa love...lady

Congratulations. I have 4 year old twin boys. The first few months can be tough. My advice is to make sure they eat at the same time. If one wakes up to eat, wake up the other one to eat also. Otherwise you will only be getting about 15 min of sleep at a time and it will be hard to get them on a good sleep schedule later. I also started my twins on cereal at 2 months and had no problems with it. They started sleeping thru the night at 2 1/2 months. Also, plan ahead. If you know you are going someplace the next day pack the night before. It still takes at least an hour for us to get ready to leave the house. I also recomend keeping an extra diaper bag in your car at all times in case you run out of something while you are out. I still keep extra clothes in my car.

Congrats on your twins! I'm a first time mommy to 1 year old twin boys. They were born at 32 weeks and were in the NICU for 4 weeks. The best book I purchased was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". My boys were on a great sleep routine by 4 months old. Even today they are great sleepers! They go to bed at 7pm and don't wake until 7am all while taking an hour morning nap and an hour afternoon nap. Good luck! Feel free to email me offline if you have any other questions. Twins are so much fun!!!