Post by ginkgoleaf on Jul 13, 2015 14:46:43 GMT -5
Hi! I'm 11w1d with twins and also have a 4yo DS. I've been reading the board and learning a bit.
I have a few questions so far... - when did you have your babies? - what special gear did you need? We have basics from DS, but what do we need 2 of? Favorite double strollers? - any advice for cloth diapering twins? We CD'd DS but started after the newborn stage, so I'm not sure how many diapers we'd need and what kinds for newborn. Or is it easier to wait till they fit in one-size diapers? I'm sure sleep deprivation will be no joke with two. - did you breastfeed? If so, tips? I did with DS but I'm sure with twins it's much harder.
Anything else I should know or be thinking about? Thank you!
Post by demandypants on Jul 13, 2015 19:01:06 GMT -5
Hi! Congratulations on your twins! Mine were born this past January and are 6 months today. I had a boy and girl and delivered at 38w 2d. They were 7 and 8 lbs! I was miserable those last few weeks, but glad they were so happy inside and not premature. Gear- I have a city mini double and love it. Bought a double snap n go via Craigslist for $25 and used it twice. Used two rock n plays for the first 3 months when they slept swaddled in our room. Nothing else really special though. I had BF'D my oldest for 18 months and tried with the twins. But neither was a strong feeder and were sleepy newborns. Ended up dropping too much weight at birth and we had to suppliment. Eventually after nursing, pumping, and bottles it was too much and not worth the stress for us. Formula has been so wonderful to be honest. The babies sleep so well. We didn't CD. My good friend BF'D and CD'D her twins. With two older boys in the house. So it is possible! Good luck!
My twins were born last November so are 8.5 months now. I had a schedule c/s at 37+1 weeks as both babies were breech. DD was 5 lbs 3 oz and DS was 7lbs 4oz, both were very healthy and needed no nicu time.
As far as baby gear, only twin specific thing was the stroller. We used the Joovy Twin Roo for the first 6 months. Now we use either the City Mini GT Double or the MacLaren Twin Triumph. Oh, and we also have 2 ergos which has been helpful.
We didn't CD, and I only bf until 6 weeks so can't help you there.
Having twins was a big shock for us, but it has gotten easier as they've gotten older. We've learned as we've gone and honestly can't imagine life without them.
I had my b/g twins at 33 weeks in October so 9 months old now. My water broke so complete fluke I went early. I was able to have a vaginal birth. They were 4 and 4.4 lbs and spent 1 month in nicu just working on feeding. Healthy otherwise.
I EP and have since day one. It's a ton of work but I make enough for them so trying hard to make it to a year. I set small goals along the way. My best advice is get a hands free bra and a hospital grade pump. I rented a symphony when they were 5 mos as my supply dropped. I recently bought a spectra after a recommendation MMM. It was hard in the beginning but eventually I was able to pump as I fed them. 2 boppies is how I feed them. We got a ton of use with them for tummy time too.
I had a double snap n go used and hated it. I bought a graco ready 2 grow since I have graco car seats. I loved it. I also have a baby jogger summit double for running and LOVE it. If I didn't run I would do citi mini double.
Mine slept in RNPs until 5 mos and we loved them. I also had 2 bouncers and 1 swing but got those used later on.
Post by ginkgoleaf on Jul 13, 2015 20:46:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips, I'm looking everything up now.
Interesting that so many of you didn't like the double snap n go. We used a single with my DS a lot at the beginning. Is the double just too hard to steer or what?
linz, I've read those Spectra reviews, do you like it better than the Symphony? I have a Pump In Style from DS but will likely get a new pump of some sort through insurance.
There is pros and cons of both pumps. Spectra is cheap... $135 on amazon. I was paying $60 a month for symphony. So long term it's worth it. Its super light weight. One downside is you can't pump in car. I did that a few times with my symphony but not daily so wasn't a deal breaker for me. I do like that the spectra has a timer on it.
I use a PISA at work. I used that for the first few mon the but it started taking almost 30 min to pump so thats why i rented. It works fine for work though.I also got a ton of clogs in the beginning. I used the Symphony in the nicu and knew hospital grade is the way to go if you EP.
Thanks for the tips, I'm looking everything up now.
Interesting that so many of you didn't like the double snap n go. We used a single with my DS a lot at the beginning. Is the double just too hard to steer or what?
Thanks to gifts we ended up with a double snap and go and a Joovy twin roo. The DSNG was terrible. The twin roo was amazing. It's also a frame but the car seats snap in width wise instead of length so the stroller is much easier easier to steer. Also it's really easy to fold. Definitely look into the twin roo.
Im a runner so our big kid stroller is a baby jogger double summit. I really want a city mini double but haven't been amble to justify it. We also have two single umbrella strollers we use for travel or sometimes I'll wear one and push one.
No advice on diapers, I pumped/combo fed for 10 months so I don't have great advice there.
Besides the strollers I don't think we've had a lot of twin specific things, anything that worked for your first should be fair game to try.
My girls were a high risk type of twin so we're born 2 months early and spent 2 months in the NICU, then had oxygen at home. They are almost 2 now and completely healthy and developing normally. Congrats and good luck to you for an uneventful pregnancy. Twins are a lot of work but a ton of fun!
Hi! I'm 11w1d with twins and also have a 4yo DS. I've been reading the board and learning a bit.
I have a few questions so far... - when did you have your babies? - what special gear did you need? We have basics from DS, but what do we need 2 of? Favorite double strollers? - any advice for cloth diapering twins? We CD'd DS but started after the newborn stage, so I'm not sure how many diapers we'd need and what kinds for newborn. Or is it easier to wait till they fit in one-size diapers? I'm sure sleep deprivation will be no joke with two. - did you breastfeed? If so, tips? I did with DS but I'm sure with twins it's much harder.
Anything else I should know or be thinking about? Thank you!
I know this is almost 4 months old, but Hi!
I had the girls at 36w4d I only bought 2 car seats, 2 cribs, and ultimately 2 rock n plays because they slept in those a ton! I only ever had one bouncy, one swing, one jumperoo, one exersaucer. As far as strollers I had a double snap n go but honestly, I do not like snap n go strollers. They are difficult to turn and maneuver and just aren't a nice ride. So I use my City Select with the car seat adaptors. It gave me the convenience of the car seat but better stroller. I also have a Maclarent Twin Triumph that is a double umbrella. I use that for Dr. appts now, travel, quick trips in the store etc.
I did nurse the girls. Just weaned last week actually just before 20 months. The fact that you nursed your son will be a huge advantage I think. I was more confident the second time around so even though it was really, really hard, I knew I could do it since I had done it before. Many people swear that tandem nursing from day 1 is the way to go. This did not work for me. It was far too hard because they were very sleepy for the first few weeks so I was constantly having to try and wake them up to latch, unlatch, relatch, etc. So I didn't tandem nurse much until they were about 5 weeks old. Then I did it almost exclusively except at night when I nursed one at a time almost exclusively.
Many people also found that the one up both up approach worked best at night. This didn't work for me. I found that if I tried to wake the sleeping baby then they didn't take a full feeding because they weren't ready yet. So they ended up not taking a full feeding and waking up again about 30 mins later or whatever. So I was better off just letting them wake on their own. I also hated tandem feeding at night because it's a huge production to get set up with a pillow versus side lie nursing in bed. I ended up co sleeping with them and would just roll from one side to the next to nurse.
If you have any questions about nursing or anything just let me know or send me a pm. I'd be happy to answer them. There are a few bf multiples/twins groups on facebook too and some of them can be helpful. If nothing else just to skim during motn so you know you aren't the only one suffering through it lol. Nursing twins is really hard at first. But it does get easier!
Hi! I'm just seeing this now since @awinter bumped it.
We CDed and my kids never needed formula (still nursing now at 21 months).
For CD: We used newborn prefolds and covers and then switched to one size when they were big enough. I can't remember how many of either we bought, but basically enough for one kid x2. Twins are often premature and/or somewhat smaller, so if that is the case you'll wear newborn longer. We did a few weeks of disposables at the beginning because the newborn CDs didn't fit yet, but still wore the prefolds for a significant period of time. We did laundry everyday. We quit at 18 months because the laundry routine didn't fit into our lives anymore, partially because the downstairs neighbors complained to the landlord about overnight washing. Oops.
BF: I had a long drama filled start to breastfeeding, probably largely because my babies were premature, started on bottles in the NICU, and had tiny mouths compared to my giant nipples. But I had success with supply via pumping and was able to transition to 100% nursing. I almost always fed one and then fed the other until my girls were around 10-11 months. Tandeming was something I only did if I had my BF pillow and they were both absolutely desperate. At 11 monthsish they started freaking out if I was nursing the other one, so I switched to pretty much exclusively tandem nursing, mostly me sitting on the floor and them kneeling next to me.
There's a lot of crap out there that makes you think you can't CD or EBF with twins, so I think it's important for people to hear that it's possible. If you have further questions let me know.