What You Really Need to Know if your Family is Expecting Twins

Being a parent of twins can be pretty awesome, but at times it is very difficult. If you are expecting twins, here are some things you should know. From experience, these are the difficult things about having twin babies. But there are a lot of amazing and wonderful things that go along with raising twins as well.

 

Teething.

Sometimes they go through phases where they are both teething at the same time and you have 2 babies who are seemingly never-ending crying. Other times one will start teething just after the other one is done getting a tooth. In that case you will always have a fussy baby and it will last for weeks.

Always holding or caring for a baby.

Babies are cute and all, but sometimes parents want a few moments where they don’t have to hold a baby. For at least a year, you and your spouse will be responsible for holding and caring for a baby at every party and social event you go to. This can get to be a drag when you are visiting with friends who don’t have kids and everyone is hanging out watching the game but you and your husband are spending the whole time chasing babies.

Breastfeeding will be a challenge. While many moms are able to breastfeed their twins for as long as they want, from experience this mom would say that breastfeeding twins is twice as hard as breastfeeding a singleton. For the full disclosure on struggles with breastfeeding twins, read this post. But to be fair there is a more successful story by Mercedes from Project Procrastinot  that you may find helpful as well.

If you have other children, you will need a bigger car. Two car seats take up a lot of space, and if you already have a toddler when the twins arrive you will need room for THREE car seats. Sure, it’s possible to fit the whole family in a sedan, but it will occasionally mean that you can’t fit grandma or a friend for your older child in the car with your family. There is also the challenge of fitting a double stroller in the back, which won’t leave a lot of room for groceries, other purchases, or luggage.

Every activity is harder when the other parent isn’t around. Carrying 2 car seats to the car, taking 2 babies to the grocery store, doing housekeeping and making meals are very unpleasant when both babies are upset and you are on your own.

“Fairness” will always be an issue.

If one baby sees you playing with the other baby, she will want to join in and you can’t do everything with 2 babies. Holding 2 babies in your lap while reading a story is quite difficult. And unless you have 2 of everything, they will often want to play with the same toy at the same time, which leads to crying and frustration.

If you are bottle feeding, you will have to figure out a system that works for your family.

Both parents will not always be around to feed both babies a bottle at the same time. One option is to prop one baby in a bouncer or Boppy pillow while holding the other baby. If there are other children in your family, holding a baby while she has her bottle is a luxury. It is not uncommon for moms of twins to place both babies in a bouncer or propped on Boppy pillows while they have their bottles, freeing up mom for a few minutes to get some housekeeping done or to care for the other children.

Expecting Twins? You’re not alone!

Parents of twins will frequently tell you, “It gets easer,” and they are right. The first 2 years are pretty tough when you are raising twins. But from then on it is a lot easier.

Are you expecting twins? Do you have any questions about what lies ahead? I wanna hear ‘em, leave me a comment!