So you find out you are expecting twins….now what?
This week’s Twin Tuesday is about preparing for the arrival of your twins. For us, this time was filled with excitement but also some anxiety and worry because we didn’t know what we should be doing to get ready! Let me live and learn for you and check out my list of things we did over the last few months of my pregnancy… and things we wish now we had known to do!
- First and most importantly, take care of yourself! Nothing you want or feel you need to do to prepare is more important than keeping those babies in your tummy as long as possible. Follow your doctors orders, drink A TON of water, eat as best you can, and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Twin pregnancies are different than singletons and it is hard work growing two humans. If your body tells you to stop doing something or you feel you might be possibly overdoing it, listen immediately. Anyone who gives you a hard time, has clearly never carried twins. For a list of products that helped me through the end of my twin pregnancy, click HERE.
- Find a pediatrician that has experience caring for twins and/or caring for premies. We had our two other children at a family practice clinic which we loved and planned for them to see our twins when they were born. When we were in the hospital with the babies and each of them had their own set of issues we were dealing with, our hospital pediatrician advised taking them to a pediatric clinic instead. I was nervous about a doctor I didn’t know, but I honestly feel like this was one of the best decisions we made. Our doctor is amazing. She was clearly very experienced with premature babies and twins and was incredibly reassuring and encouraging as we dealt with our share of issues after being discharged. If we were doing it again, I would have looked for a pediatrician with that kind of experience when I was pregnant so we didn’t have to deal with the last minute anxiety among everything else while we were in the hospital.
- Get all the stuff! If you are having a baby shower with your twins, encourage them to hold it at least two months before your due date. The end of a twin pregnancy can be filled with the unknown and twins are known to come early or mommas put on bedrest. I wanted to be able to get what we still needed while I could move around and be able to shop for it myself. You probably are also wondering what you need to get two of and what stuff you can just buy one of. Check out next week’s Twin Tuesday post and I can help you answer that!
- Prepare mentally that things may not go as planned. To a degree, I believe this is true with singleton pregnancies too but even more so with twins. Things can change quickly when you are carrying two and it’s hard to predict how things will go. We had a fantastic OB who did a great job of explaining a bunch of different scenarios I could find myself in and we felt comforted with that knowledge. I went from having a textbook twin pregnancy with zero complications to in premature labor with two breech babies who had to be delivered by c-section in a day. It was overwhelming but we were lucky that our doctor had spent some time explaining that possibility with us ahead of time.
- Talk with your support system, especially your partner. I firmly believe that raising twins and carrying for newborns is a team sport. Make a plan for how you will handle overnight feedings and how each of you can attempt to get an amount of sleep. Ask for help from your support system when you feel you need it and accept it when it is offered!
- If you plan to breastfeed, strongly consider finding a class or support group or finding out about lactation consultants at your hospital. Before my first baby was born, Josh and I took an invaluable class on breastfeeding which I honestly believe was a large part of why I was successful. I felt nervous (but crazy determined) about breastfeeding my twins and the lactation consultants at my hospital during our hospital stay were amazing. She made a plan for me and helped me any issues I had while teaching my premies to nurse. I’m not sure I could have been successful without those things.
- Talk with your other children and prepare them as best you can. Our older boys were 4 and 2 when our twins were born and we talked a lot about what might happen when the new babies were born. As you can imagine, our 4 year old understand way more than the 2 year old did. We talked about being gentle with the babies, trying to wait patiently if they needed something while Mommy/Daddy was doing something with one of the babies, and that crying was how babies tell us they need something and we don’t need to panic. We also really talked about how these babies were such a blessing to us from God and how wonderful it will be to grow up with siblings.
- Consider taking some time to fill up your freezer with meals for after the babies are born. We did this a little and I definitely wish we had done more. We had some friends/family bring us meals or gifts cards which was amazing but it was definitely hard to get back in the kitchen after we ran out of those! We spent way too much money in those early weeks on take out!
- If you have a job that requires you to perform physical tasks or be on your feet a lot, consider asking if they would allow you to work part-time during the last part of your pregnancy or take on a lighter load. I was determined to save my weeks of maternity leave for after the babies were born, but I knew I was overexerting myself being on my feet (doing experiments in multiple buildings) at work everyday. There were so many times I told Josh I couldn’t do it anymore but decided to keep plugging along and promised myself I would stop working at 37 weeks. Unfortunately I only made it to 35.5 weeks before I went into labor and I wonder if that was a part of the why. I know a lot of women can’t afford to take less hours or stop working early… don’t even get me started on maternity leave in the U.S.
There you have it. Some things to help you prepare for your twins and reduce your anxiety so you can enjoy your pregnancy! Any twin mamas have any other suggestions?