Our twins are di/di (they had two sacs and two placentas - the lowest risk for twins). With di/di twins, many docs and ultrasound technicians (including 2 of mine!) erroneously announce to parents as a matter of factly that they're fraternal. The truth is, if di/di twins are the same sex and blood type, there's only one way to know for sure that they are fraternal: a genetic test! Actually, 30% of di/di twins are identical, or monozygotic. Here's the timeline of how the different types of identical twins happen: If the fertilized egg splits early enough, in the first 3 days, the babies will go on to develop their own sacs and placentas (di/di twins). If it splits in the next couple of days, they'll have their own sacs but share a placenta (called mono/di). If the split happens in the next few days they'll share a sac and placenta (called mono/mono, which is very high risk). And if the split happens later they will be conjoined twins (extremely rare and dangerous). There are some other interesting things that can happen. For example the egg could split before being fertilized, which results in "half twins". And it can also happen that the two placentas of fraternal twins fuse, making it appear that they share a placenta, in which case they could wrongly be assumed to be identical. Phew! This stuff is crazy complicated, right!?? Anyway, back to our story! When our girls were born, they did look different. They had different skin tone, slightly different facial features, and different colored and textured hair. However, they shared the same blood type and eye color, so we weren't 100% they were fraternal. As the months have passed, some things have gotten more similar and others more different. Right now, Mia has brown eyes and Emi hazel. Their hair is now pretty much the same brown color but Mia has a lot more of it (probably because I picked Emi's cradle cap out along with lots of hair, whoops!) From what I've read and heard, even "identical" twins can have many differences that result from differences in environment in the womb, and slight genetic changes that can happen after the egg splits. Sometimes they end up with different head shapes, birth marks, hair color, etc! So, every time someone asked us if our girls were identical or fraternal, my answer of "fraternal, we're pretty sure" annoyed myself and probably the inquisitor. I knew I couldn't live with this uncertainty. I just had to KNOW FOR SURE, you know?? I'd heard about the zygosity test in my Facebook twins group and went ahead and ordered the test through Affiliated Genetics (check out their YouTube video which explains twins and the genetic test really well). It was pretty straight forward. You get some swabs and rub the inside of each baby's cheeks and under the tongue and then press on a grid that absorbs the liquid and cells - you have to do this 4 times per baby (luckily the girls didn't protest). We mailed in the tests and then the hard part... waiting! It took just over 2 weeks but finally the results came. Drum roll please.... OUR TWINS ARE FRATERNAL!!!!! Without getting too technical (because I don't really understand it much myself), they looked at 15 different STR markers in their DNA and noted whether they were discordant or concordant. Our girls were only concordant on 4 of the 15!!! So, the results were without a doubt that they are dizygotic (fraternal). We're not a bit surprised, but are thrilled to finally know for sure and be able to answer with certainty the bazillion times a day we get asked! HA!! But it's not just out of curiosity that parents and kids should know their twin status... if twins are monozygotic, it's very likely they will share most medical issues. They will also be an exact blood and organ donor match for each other. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, are no more similar than any siblings (siblings who just happened to share a womb and birthday). They will have an increased chance / risk (depends how you look at it LOL) for having fraternal twins themselves, though! That's because hyperovulation can be genetic and passed down (it "skips" generations with sons, since they don't ovulate obviously, but they will pass the gene down to their girls). There are other things that increase your risk of ovulating more than one egg at a time, including IVF and fertility drugs, but also the following (which were all in play for me): increased maternal age (the eggs are having a going out of business sale and jumping ship 2 or 3 at a time), being a dairy drinker/eater, being tall, and practicing extended breastfeeding or having recently weaned. Because my husband and I have ZERO history of twins on either side of our families, it's not likely my hyperovulation was genetic, but it's possible I've started the trend. We'll see! Maybe I'll get a whole bunch of twin grandbabies in about 30 years!!! How fun! Now that we've gotten our feet wet with this whole genetic testing thing, I'm really interested in doing an ancestral / ethnicity test for all 5 of us. It breaks down what percents you are (again, noooooo idea how this actually works, but I love the idea of it!). Our son Kenzo looks pretty much half Asian and half caucasian, but our girls don't look very Asian at all (yet?). It would be really interesting to see if their blood shows them as not having gotten much of the Japanese DNA! Maybe my husband would like to throw in a paternity test while we're at it, LOL!!!! UPDATED: We actually did find out our ancestry with 23andMe - check out that blog post here or watch the video below! Here are some related posts you may enjoy: We're Pregnant... With Twins!!! How To Prepare for Having Twins My Positive Twin Birth Story Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product and service free of charge, all thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
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As soon as you discover you're having twins, you start googling... How big will I get? How much should i eat? Will I have to get a c-section? What will my belly look like after twins? Well, for the latter question, one catch phrase comes up again and again... TWIN SKIN!
Twin skin is basically saggy wrinkly skin that will never bounce back to its former taught self, no matter how much weight you lose or how many crunches you do. Not every twin mom will get twin skin. Some moms will bounce back to their pre-pregnancy bodies in a split second, without a stretch mark or ounce of fluff to show for it. Good for them... but most of us are not quite so lucky.
Some of the unluckier moms will even end up with Diastis Recti, which is a permanent separation of the abdominal muscles. The abs separate during pregnancy, but in some cases, especially multiples pregnancies, the muscles never go back together. This can leave you looking 6 months pregnant for... forever! A physical therapist can guide you through certain exercises that may or may not help, some only find a fix with surgery. On the bright side, they can couple that with a tummy tuck - et voila beautiful belly (minus the hip to hip scar, that is).
We're all so excited to watch our bellies grow through the pregnancy, I even made a stop-motion video about it!
But the belly that remains after your little ones are delivered is not quite so exciting. For the first month or so, you still look very much pregnant. I remember being on the elevator one week postpartum and my neighbor asking in disbelief, "You haven't had them yet!?" Ugh. I nearly socked her!
The fact is, it takes a while for your very overstretched uterus to shrink back, and all the extra fluid and bloating to ease away. But sure enough, little by little your belly disappears, leaving small reminders of the amazing journey your body has been through to carry and birth two beautiful miracles. So, yes. I have twin skin. I have stretch marks. But you know what? I'll take 'em, because I also have the most amazing little twin girls in the world!! And on top of that, my squishy pug-like belly provides endless amusement for my toddler. HA!
Have you learned to embrace your postpartum body, or are you struggling to come to terms with it? Share in a comment below!
UPDATED April 18, 2017!!!
I've been using Nerium Firming Body Contour Cream nightly for 3 months now, it's made a pretty dramatic difference on my twin skin!! It's not gone, but definitely better! I waited until 15 months postpartum, down to pre-pregnancy weight, so my body did all it could do naturally. No more weight to lose, haven't been working out, and still have about a 1-2 finger gap in my diastasis recti. I didn't edit the pix. It's a true before and after, with only the cream at work. Pretty cool, huh? I got my cream free for review, but you can reach out to the rep to try out her Nerium goods here! Sometimes a stroller isn't allowed or appropriate. Sometimes you want the freedom (and cuddles) that babywearing provides. Lucky for us there are TONS of babywearing options out there, from wraps to slings to mei tais and soft structured carriers (SSC's). But what about tandem babywearing, i.e. wearing two babies at once? We just got our hands on a carrier that, in my opinion, blows all other tandem wearing options out of the window. I give you, the TwinGo!! The TwinGo carrier is a 2-in-1 SSC that works together or apart. This means, for example, mom and dad can each wear one baby, or one caregiver can wear one child on the front and one on the back! What makes the TwinGo really stand apart from its competitors is that you can remove one set of shoulder straps when wearing the front and back configuration, cutting out a lot of unneeded bulk! On our maiden voyage with the TwinGo, my husband and I each wore one of our twins in the front carry position... for 6 hours straight (only breaking for boob and diaper time)!! At almost 4 months, they're weighing in at about 14 pounds a piece and by the end of the day we were relieved to take them off but in no way, shape, or form would I say it was painful for anyone. The TwinGo shoulder and waist straps are well padded and designed in a way to distribute the weight extremely well, and the carrier holds the baby from knee to knee, which is ergonomic for their hips and spine. Some features that really stand out to me as exceptionally awesome include:
Here's a quick demo of how the carrier unfolds out of its own pocket. This was my first time and you can see how genuinely impressed I was, haha!! The TwinGo can accommodate a total of 70 pounds in tandem mode, or up to 45 pounds in single carrier mode. Because you cannot wear a child in the back carry configuration until they are at least 4 months old and have good head neck control (and many babywearers would suggest waiting til they can sit independently), our babies are not quite ready for this mode!! But, I have a feeling I will be rocking that setup a LOT!! We haven't worn our toddler in over a year, so I don't think wearing him in this carrier will be something we start doing now (it's a different case if you start when they're little and your body strengthens as they grow), but just to test it out I threw him on in the back and one of the babies in the front. It actually wasn't that bad!! As I mentioned above, the TwinGo is well padded and designed to distribute weight across your hips. So in a pickle (like if we were out and my toddler just couldn't possibly walk any more, I could totally make this happen! Looking at the photo below, I'm horrified to see that I didn't have my baby situated in there correctly - she was a bit askew with one leg not pulled out all the way. BUT, this is a great time to mention there is an extra safety strap that buckles in place for the child in the "attachment" carrier when tandem wearing (the safety strap is built into the shoulder straps for the "base" carrier and also the "attachment" carrier when wearing it solo). So, god forbid I actually went on my merry way without realizing my baby wasn't seated correctly, the safety strap should keep her from slipping out the side... So YAY for safety measures, and a good reminder that practicing at home with a spotter is key, as is always triple checking every time that everyone is in there safely before you take off! TwinGo's instructions include great visuals and flagged safety checks to confirm that you have it on correctly, and don't miss their "how to" demo for the dual carry! Stay tuned for my review of tandem babywearing our twins in the TwinGo, coming in a month or two! In the meantime, you can check out TwinGo and if you like, buy it on their site or on Amazon (for about $215). Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product free of charge, all thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
Life as a new mom is... up and down and all around crazy town! Am I right? Check out the fun video I made highlighting the highs and lows of life with a newborn! (Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!!) If you're a fan of Shark Tank, you may already be familiar with the Twin Z Pillow, a nursing pillow designed especially for breastfeeding twins. But did you know the makers of the Twin Z have recently created a pillow for nursing a single baby? It's called the One Z Pillow and if you have a baby or one on the way, you need to know about it! The One Z Pillow, like its Twin Z predecessor, is super comfortable for mom and baby, with a very unique back support built in. It's quite a different feel from the current forerunners in the breastfeeding pillow market, and now that I have tried it I really wish it had been available for me with my son! This thing is really amazing! On both the One Z and Twin Z Pillows, part of the pillow kind of flips up and acts as back support, making it like nursing on a cloud. SO comfortable!!! The minky cover is also seriously luxurious and feels really nice for mama and baby. Of course it's not just for nursing, you can use them for bottle feeding as well, for baby loungers, and for tummy time! But these pillows are not limited to that... before the baby arrives, you can use these as pregnancy support pillows, and after your nursing days are over, these pillows make for great toddler chairs, allow for super duper comfy book reading in bed (or on the floor, or anywhere), and more! The One Z and Twin Z Pillows come in regular or waterproof, the covers have several colors to choose from, and they also offer personalization of the pillow (can you say AWESOME baby shower gift!??). If you have one baby, you can get more info and buy the One Z Pillow here (or on Amazon). If you have twins, you can get more info and buy the Twin Z Pillow here (or on Amazon). Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product free of charge, all thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
Life with a newborn is no joke. Life with newborn twins? Well, it's not infinitesimally harder, but it's harder... a LOT harder! I now have two months under my belt and feel I'm ready to pass along some of my tips and tricks to those about to embark on the adventure! Babywearing! You can go with any infant compatible carrier for when one baby is fussy and needs to be held. Personally I love the Moby and Mei Tai. But when BOTH infants need to be held and you need to be mobile and/or hands free? You have way less options. If you're very skilled (or have the patience to sit through a bunch of YouTube tutorials and practice practice practice) you can try wearing both babies in a Moby or other kind of wrap. I tried, and failed. It was quite humbling. So I stuck with the WeeGo Twin Carrier, the only one made specifically for two infants. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, or perhaps I'm not wearing it right? All the weight is on my shoulders, but still I wear it at least an hour a day. Sometimes you have two overtired and screaming babies and the only way to get them to both calm down and go to sleep at the same time is babywearing and the WeeGo has been a life-saver for me!! Don't let them get overtired! Babies cry for many reasons, many of which we are hard wired to check for. They're hungry (look for hunger cues such as hands at mouth, sticking out tongues, smacking lips, etc), they have a dirty diaper (pinch / sniff the diaper or take a peek), they're too hot (check for sweaty neck), or they're too cold (hands and feet are not a good indicator since newborns have poor circulation - instead stick your hand in and feel their belly or back to make sure it's warm). You may also have a colicky baby or sporadic gas (be sure to burp them several times at feeding, and try laying them on your lap with head face up by your knees and feet toward your belly and then rotate their legs in a bicycle motion - this can help work out the gas). But in my household, if they're fed and changed and still crying, they are simply overtired. They may not look it. They may not have "sleepy eyes" or be yawning, but they need to sleep... desperately... even more than I do! It's amazing how much time flies and how little awake time newborns can handle. In the first month, they are pretty much only awake for feeding. After that, awake time gradually grows but even at 2 months my little ones cannot handle much more than 1 hour of awake time. If we pass 90 minutes they start flipping out and will not go down without a fight (which is when I resort to the WeeGo carrier mentioned above!). Stay organized but don't stress over schedules! I went to twin prep classes by Twiniversity and Twin Love Concierge and they both had some really great charts for keeping track of feedings, diapers, medicine, sleep, etc. Using those as guides I created one that was more tailored to what I needed to keep track of, and I filled it out religiously for the first week. I quickly realized the sleep portion of it was a pain in the butt - newborns doze in and out, it was doing my head in! For me, keeping track of feedings (which baby took which boob and at what time) and how many poo/pee diapers they had was most important. After a month, I was only keeping track of feedings. And now at 2 months I've stopped the charting altogether. That said, I will keep track of feedings, diapers, and sleep for 2 days prior to each check up since the nurse always asks for those numbers and you don't want to feel like a big dummy (which I always do - "Ummmm 5? 10? I have no idea!!!") Most twin parents say getting babies on a schedule is key, and you can try straight from birth but it may not be worth the stress. My babies had a terrible latch and were not gaining weight the first two weeks so I had to give up tandem nursing for a "laid back" position and on top of that I had to pump to supplement. By one month they were both on track for weight and we were back to exclusively breastfeeding. The doc OK'd me to not wake them at night, but when one baby was up I made sure to get the other one up so they were on the same schedule at night. I kept the room fairly dark at night with the sound machine on, which was their cue that it was nighttime, and they never did get their days and nights confused. We were VERY lucky there! During the day though, I still haven't bothered with getting them on the same schedule. I actually kind of prefer when they are opposite since I can enjoy feeding and bonding with one baby while the other is peacefully sleeping. But we will probably be attempting a schedule soon, the flexible 3-hour "eat-play-sleep" BabyWise schedule worked well for my son from about 8 weeks so we may try that soon. Stay positive!
Just found out you're having twins? Don't miss my post on "How to Prepare for Having TWINS!" and "My Positive Twin Birth Story" to give you some encouragement! And have you seen my "Twin Pregnancy Progression Time Lapse Video"? You may wanna try creating one, too!! And here's a glimpse into our life with newborn twins and a toddler... Do you have tips for surviving life with newborn twins? Questions? Leave a comment below!!
My twin pregnancy, delivery, and recovery couldn't have been more perfect. Seriously, it was about as good as it gets! But when people congratulate me and say they're proud of how well I did I have to say I'm a bit uncomfortable because I really feel like I can't take any credit. If you ask me, it really comes down to something like 30% educating yourself and making smart choices, and 70% pure dumb luck! I'll elaborate...
Educating Yourself & Making Smart Choices:
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, I say! This included finding a birth team I trusted and who had experience with birthing twins, reading books (I highly recommend When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, and Quads as well as What To Do When You're Having Two), taking classes, and of course Googling (a lot!!) and taking what you find with a grain of salt. I ate reasonably well, gained the recommended 24 pounds by 24 weeks (research shows it gives you the best chance of carrying twins to term), and stayed active walking about a mile a day and up to 4 miles a day - right up to delivery at 39 weeks!! (See my post on how to prepare for twins).
Pure Dumb Luck:
How did I avoid Gestational Diabetes, Preterm Labor, Intrauterine Growth Restriction, side effects from Pitocin and Epidural, etc etc?? How did I luck out with twins who had their own placentas, were both head down, and Baby A was bigger than Baby B? Well, it certainly isn't anything I can take credit for!! Everything went smoothly and I am so incredibly thankful, but it really was just luck!!
OK, so now that we've covered that, let's get on with my birth story!!!
Leading up to D-Day (Delivery Day):
38 weeks is considered full term for twins and most docs won't let you go past that. Mine, however, were cool with letting me go til 40 weeks and were monitoring us accordingly. I had several weeks of labor-like Braxton Hicks which were annoying because you would time them, thinking THIS IS IT, only to realize hours later that nothing was progressing and it was time to just go the heck to sleep. When I hit 39 weeks, my MFM (high risk specialist) expressed her concern about me going any longer (risk of still birth!!) and I started to question my OB team, but they encouraged me to keep waiting, which we did! My parents drove up from North Carolina to help out "as long as I needed" and we were all sure that their arrival would give me peace about what we were going to do with our toddler during delivery and things would get rolling, but my girls were simply not budging (I made such a comfy home for them in there??) so we finally scheduled an induction and we went in at 39 weeks 6 days.
Induction with Pitocin:
My son was a 53 hour all-natural labor and delivery, no drugs, it was grueling and horrendously painful, but pretty amazing. I was hoping to go drug-free with the twins as well, but as soon as induction was inevitable I threw my plans out the window and decided to just play it by ear. We had induction scheduled for 11AM on October 6, and waited 1.5 hours to be seen in triage. That was really frustrating, but gave me a chance to scarf down a big lunch down before all food and drink became off limits. We then spent another hour and a half being monitored in triage. I was 100% effaced and 3cm dilated, so thankfully my doc said we could skip the cervical ripening part of induction and go straight for Pitocin. I got a room around 2PM, got my IV in place, and just before 4PM we got the show started with the Pit.
They start your drip with the smallest amount of Pitocin (a synthetic version of Oxytocin, the hormone that gives contractions) and crank it up a level every 15 minutes until you are having strong contractions every 2-3 minutes, but this takes a while. At 4:30pm I still wasn't in any pain and we decided to kick things up a notch by breaking the water of Baby A. Because they weren't able to keep both babies on the external monitors (babies kept moving and both monitors kept honing in on the same baby, leaving one not being monitored), they went ahead and reached up there and placed an external monitor IN BABY A's HEAD!!! Wahhh, this distraught me quite a bit, but it was reassuring to have both babies being continuously monitored finally, and especially so to see them both doing so well through contractions.
My husband took a nap while I enjoyed cable TV from my bed. Pretty ironically and much to my amusement, the Friends episode where the woman giving her baby up for adoption to Monica and Chandler had a surprise delivery of twins! Ha! I took it as a good sign :) By around 5:30pm the contractions started getting strong and I was having trouble enduring them (picture me groaning and cursing and writhing around like a possessed woman!). Oh yeah, I was also puking my guts out and going through major bouts of shivering, like I couldn't control it at all, my whole body was shaking! Our midwife was amazing, giving me back rubs and putting hot packs on my back, she was just so calm and encouraging! So great! The Pitocin had made it's way up to "8" and my midwife decided that my contractions were unnecessarily overwhelming so she turned it off completely and to our surprise my contractions kept on going with no need for the Pit boost.
Heaven Sent Epidural:
At 7pm I was 8-9cm dilated and the anesthesiologist popped in saying he was about to go into surgery and if I wanted an epidural it was now or never. Well, I think I thought it over for all of 30 seconds before screaming "I WANT IT!!!!" to which my husband and midwife asked "Are you sure?? / You're almost there, you can do this" and I was like screw you guys, give me the damn drugs!!! It took him a while to get all of his stuff ready, and the worst of it was getting into place on the bed and not budging while bent over hugging a pillow through a couple of contractions. The shot with the local anesthetic was not much more than a pinch, and I don't recall if I even felt the actual epidural being placed. I mean, when you're in the middle of ridiculously painful contractions, every other discomfort pales in comparison! Once it was in, they had me lie flat on my back so the drugs would disperse evenly, this was tough too because it hadn't kicked in yet and laying on my back through contractions was HELL!! But sure enough, within a few minutes the pain started fading and eventually all I felt of the contractions was painless pressure. I never lost sensation or control of my legs, I could wiggle my toes and pick my legs up, etc (though they wouldn't let me get out of bed). I was absolutely giddy that I felt so amazing, on top of the world, epidurals can be amazing!!!! I had such a fear of them because they can be a slippery slope to distress in babies, contractions slowing, and c-section, but in my case it did exactly what it was supposed to do and made me one happy mama!! The puking and shivering stopped, and I was able to relax again. Bliss! I questioned why I didn't do this hours ago, but reminded myself that I had wanted to know just how bad Pitocin-induced contractions were, and also that starting epidural too early could have slowed or stopped progression and caused many problems.
Ready to Push!
By 8pm I was fully dilated but not feeling the urge to push. My doc let me go another hour to see if the urge kicked in... It did not, so we did a practice push and I guess I passed the test cuz he said let's head on over to the OR (twins are required to be delivered in there due to the risk of emergency c-section, and also so they can fit the dozen or so people required - OB team, nurses, pediatrician for each baby, anesthesiologist, etc.) It was odd to be in the OR. Very bright and sterile, many people but it didn't feel crowded or circus-esque surprisingly. I was on a flat surgical table, though the were able to tilt it a bit so my head was higher. Still, not as comfy as the bed in the labor room! We jokingly placed bets on how long it would take to push out the twinkies. I thought at least an hour and my OB bet me a sushi dinner on it being quicker, thank goodness that was a bet I didn't win haha! They removed the bottom half of the bed and had my hubby holding my left leg and a medical student holding my right leg. I guess this is much better than stirrups? I got over the awkwardness of it pretty quick!
Once everyone was in place (my midwife was delivering with my OB next to her), they said I could start pushing with my next contraction. It was really odd to feel absolutely no pain and not really feel the need to push, but I have to say it was really really great!! Birth with no pain, yes please!!! They guided my pushes just like with my previous birth, telling me when I was pushing effectively and when to take a deep breath and keep going. It was extremely helpful! My OB asked if I was a swimmer (I'm not), he was apparently impressed with my breath control?? Ha!
Well, in about 15 minutes at 9:56pm Baby A (Emi, 6 pounds 11 ounces) popped out and was placed immediately on my chest and my hubby was instructed to cut her cord. I tried to stop them because I wanted to delay clamping til the cord finished pulsating, but they said they can't do this with twins because there's no time. They weren't joking either... After a few minutes of bonding and taking photos, Emi was taken to the bassinet behind me to be checked by the pediatrician and my OB "guided" Baby B down and into proper positioning with gentle massage on my belly. Just 6 minutes after Emi's debut (in just TWO PUSHES), Baby B (Mia, 5 pounds 9 ounces) was out at 10:02pm!! I simply couldn't believe how easy delivery of these girls was, I didn't realize a birth could be so easy and painless!!! I laughed, a lot, and cried. The joy and surprise was just overwhelming!!
Recovery
With a total of 21 minutes of pushing, despite it being 2 babies, the recovery from this birth was WAY easier and quicker than my previous, which was 2 hours of pushing out an 8-pounder followed by pretty bad bleeding. Within 2 hours of this birth I was up (unassisted) and using the bathroom, pretty amazing for post-epidural! The after pains (especially when nursing) were much worse, but only lasted a week. The only pretty bad part was some back/hip pain that started while pregnant. I ended up seeing a chiropractor at 2 weeks postpartum, but it didn't help and at around 3 weeks it went away on its own, which was a huge relief!
In a nutshell...
Just because you're having twins does not mean you will have tons of problems throughout the pregnancy and deliver preemies via c-section. Yes, these can all happen, but there is no point in freaking out about the possibilities that hopefully will never happen (and even if they do happen, chances are mama and babies will all be perfectly fine in the end!). It is completely possible you will have a kick ass easy pregnancy, quick and wonderful birth, and amazing ride into the world of being a twin mama!! Good luck to you!! And in case you missed it, check out my baby bump progression video, followed by the video recap of their birth! You just got slammed with the shocker that you're pregnant with twins. Now what? It's a headspinning, terrifying, and thrilling time to be sure (check out my blog post from when we first found out to see how we reacted). There are a few things you can do to help you come to terms with your new (probably very unexpected) situation, start actually being able to sleep again, and keep you and your little ones healthy and comfortable. Here's what helped me: 1. Read BOOKS and beware of Google
As far as educating yourself, the Internet can be both a blessing and a burden. Think twice before googling certain questions and phrases - what you find can be absolutely terrifying and cause much unnecessary anxiety. That said, I did a LOT of googling in the first few weeks and do not regret it. But I know my mentality - I'm definitely the "prepare for the worst and hope for the best" kinda gal, and I find reassurance in understanding the worst that can happen, knowing the signs and symptoms, and then brushing it off and not worrying about it unless it actually happens. If this doesn't sound like you, then stay away from Google! 2. Take a twin specific class If this will be your first birth, you should take a birthing class. A class through your hospital or birthing center can be great because they will go over the policies and procedures and you'll know better what you can expect. However, if there's a specific method you want to learn that is not offered through your hospital, you should definitely look elsewhere. Hypnobabies and Birthing From Within are a couple of great ones you might want to consider if you're trying to go for a natural birth. Keep in mind, however, that these birthing classes are usually focused on first time parents having ONE baby. Birthing twins, either vaginally or via Cesarian, is a whole other ball game, and for that you need to take a twin specific class. I took two recently and can't recommend either of them highly enough!! Twiniversity runs two different 3-hour classes on the first and second Monday nights of each month in New York City, led by Twiniversity's HILARIOUS founder, Natalie Diaz. Their 101 class covers everything from what items to include on your baby registry, to what you can expect during a vaginal or Ceserian delivery, how to find a nanny and pediatrician, and how to deal with NICU time. Their 201 class covers things for the babies' first six months, like how to breast or bottle feed, sleep train, diaper, travel, etc etc. Each class is $160 per family, includes a fabulously yummy Italian dinner, and you'll be sent home with a big bag of swag, including pacifiers, bottles, and Natalie's best-selling book, What to Do When You're Having Two. Twin Love Concierge (TLC) offers "Expecting Twins" workshops in the Tri-State / New York City area (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Lower Westchester, Northern Westchester, Connecticut), Los Angeles (Hollywood & Pasadena), Boston, Miami (South Miami & Biscayne), and Houston. The 2-hour class costs $105 per couple and covers everything from what gear you do and don't need, preparing for the birth and NICU, what to expect in the first few weeks, and techniques for breast and bottle feeding. You'll be added to a private Facebook group of TLC grads and be sent home with a Parent Pack of useful information and helpful charts. In New York City, TLC also offers a 3-hour long "Bringing Home Babies" class which is a combo of the above twins prep and a RN-led birthing class specialized for twins, a great option for those in the NYC-metro area!! It costs $250 per couple. 3. Join local and virtual twins clubs Virtual twins clubs on Facebook can be extremely helpful and supportive, but as with Google, can overwhelm you with heartbreaking stories and negative comments as well. So, join at your own risk! Personally, I love love LOVE the Private Page of National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs Inc, a 10K+ member Facebook group. Have a question about whether or not something is normal, want feedback on baby names you're considering, or just want to compare bump photos? Post away!! This group has been so amazingly helpful to me! You should definitely search out your local twins group, and depending on where you live there might be several. You can do a search on the Multiples of America site, or ask in the above mentioned Facebook group for a recommendation in your area. My local group is run through Yahoo and charges a $20 membership fee, but the amount of for sale and for free items being offered via e-mail every day more than makes up for the joining cost! You can seriously find just about anything you need - you shouldn't have to pay a cent for your double snap 'n go stroller, those are a dime a dozen in these twins groups! I snagged a My Brest Friend Twins Nursing Pillow for $20, picked up bags of maternity clothes and a baby swing for FREE, and am lined up to get a matching set of 2 Pottery Barn cribs and changing table next month. SCORE!!! Not to mention you can arrange meet-ups and make lifelong friends with some of these families. If you're in Brooklyn, definitely join FB's Brooklyn Parents of Twins as well as the Yahoo group BBPOTC - great for buying / selling twin gear for cheap (and lots for free, too)! Other great virtual Buy/Sell/Trade for twins groups are:
4. Keep an open mind and positive attitude You may have certain expectations for your pregnancy, birth, and new family life. But you should probably go ahead and throw those out the window. You are "high risk" and will be treated as such, no matter how healthy you and your babes are. You will give birth in the OR (yes, even if vaginally) with upwards of 14 medical staff in the room with you. You and your little ones will be the center of attention, for better or for worse, for a long time to come and you'll have to deal with daily comments ranging from "Are they NATURAL??" and "Are they identical??" (even when they're obviously boy/girl), to "You sure have your hands full!" (like, DUH!) So, the quicker you can come to terms with it and not only accept but be happy with the new normal, the better! Cuz... TWINS!!! That is freaking AMAZEBALLS!!!! Welcome to the club ^_^ 5. Read my other twin-related posts If you want to read them all, click and scroll through the categories of "Twin Pregnancy" and "Twins". If you only have time for a few, here are my faves: 6. Document your pregnancy! Whether this is your first or sixth pregnancy, twins are something incredibly special. If you go full term, your belly will grow to a size you never knew possible!! So, embrace it and document it!! Be sure to take weekly photos - share online or keep them for yourselves, with or without a shirt, just be sure to document it because you will look back on those fondly with your children and just not believe you were actually that big!!! I decided to make a stop motion video of my belly growth, it was pretty easy and an amazing keepsake, check it out here: |
About ME:I'm a NYC metro area mom blogger living in NJ with my Japanese husband & our 3 kids (twins plus 1), focusing on fun and honest product and travel reviews, saving moms time finding the best for their families! Find what you need in the menu bar or search section above! Categories
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