advice: 37 weeks pregnant with 2nd set of twins (18 months apart)

hearts2adopt

Hi! 

I am about to give birth to my second set of twins. My first twins are 18 months old! I am a little nervous about the logistics of things. I am looking for any advice you all may have about 4 kids under the age of two or having two sets of twins so close. Encouragement? LoL  

please and thank you! 

CNYBride05

No advice but good luck!!

JenyB6

I do not have experience with 4 under 2 but you will find your groove. The big plus us you already know what is in store dealing with twins. Try and not think to much about "what if" take things one step at a time. Good Luck you will do great.

mrs.peeps

Hi!  I'm mostly a lurker but I thought I'd chime in.  I have two sets of twins that are almost exactly 2 years apart (2yrs 4 days!).  When we first found out that we were pregnant with our second set of twins I was very overwhelmed--it seemed like too much for me to handle, but we have survived and you will too!  The first year was hard (the kids are now 3yrs and 1yr) but keeping everyone on a schedule really helped me.  

You can do this!!  Things that helped me:

--Our neighborhood and my school (I'm a teacher) put together a meal plan and delivered meals to us 2-3 times a week for the first few months.  It was so generous and awesome so we didn't have to think about meals for a while.  

--Our next door neighbor has a 5th grader who is wonderful.  I hired her as a mother's helper and she came over and play with my older two about once a week.  It was perfect--she would play with the older girls in the play room, read books, etc and I could focus on just the babies for a few hours.  

--We hired a house cleaner that comes every two weeks.  Worth every penny.    

--A strict schedule helped (still helps) me a lot!!  This is the only way that I get any "me" time and time to do all of the household chores.  

--I became a stay-at-home mom after having my second set.  I joined the Moms group at my church, MOPS, and the local Moms of Multiples.  Meeting up with other Moms has helped me--I've found a great local support system which has helped keep me sane.  

Good luck and let me know if I can help.  You got this!!    

whitehousem

I "only" have one two year old and one set of 11week old twins, but I will say that it should be nice having the 18 mo olds have each other as playmates. My toddler wants my attention and it's hard for me to constantly entertain her while caring for the babies. I used to watch a little boy her age for a year and they played together a lot and I had more time to do stuff around the house. So, at least you have that going for you. Try to get the new twins napping while your older twins are napping. I started schedules with the twins way earlier than I did with DD and since around 7/8 weeks they have been napping around 1pm when DD does and also we put them all down at night around the same time. So helpful! Good luck, you are amazing!

PGwithNo3

Congratulations!  I only have twins, but, I think that you should say yes to everyone who asks if you need help (try to lock them down to a day at the time they ask).  Don't be afraid to ask for help, too.

hearts2adopt

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and suggestions! Any advice on how to feed two newborns plus two toddlers? 

HeavenBlessedMom

I had a 16 mo old when the triplets were born. They were in NICU between six and eight weeks. Best piece of advice is your older ones a lot of attention and be with them alone each day, even if only for an hour.

mrs.peeps

@hearts2adopt

Honestly when I would feed the babies that was the most stressful parts of my day.  It was a juggling act every three hours but we all survived and you will too!  Those long days seem like such a blur now (and it was only a year ago!).  My saving grace was a very strict schedule.  The babies ate every three hours during the day (8am, 11, 2, 5, 8pm) and I worked the toddler's schedule around the babies' schedule (for example--the toddlers napped at 1:30 so I would put them down and then feed the babies at 2).  Not every day was perfect but most days went pretty smoothly if I stuck to the schedule.  

Things that helped:

--I did all of my prep work the night before.  I made all of the bottles for the next day and I also made the toddler's lunch.  

--I went to the Dollar Store and Target's dollar bins and bought LOTS of new toys.  I would pull those out when I feed the babies to keep them entertained and occupied.  Things that worked well:  coloring books, stickers, the water-pen coloring books, anything Crayola with the magic markers, books, little people figures, etc.  I would rotate through these every 2-3 weeks so when I would pull back out the Elmo coloring book & stickers they were excited since they hadn't seen them in a while.  

--Flashlights were another big hit with the older girls.  We would play the "flashlight game" while I fed the babies.  This would entertain them for an HOUR (it was amazing).  I would say "Where are Mommy's toes?" and they would have to point the light on my toes, etc.  

--But most of the time I would feed one baby at a time so I could walk around to manage the toddlers.  I would feed a baby while sitting in the playroom doing a puzzle, helping another go pee-pee on the potty, etc.  It was a lot of walking while holding a baby and a bottle....

--The older girls were in Mother's Morning Out twice a week and that helped a lot too.  

--And I'm not going to lie---we also watched a lot of tv when I would have to feed the babies.  Curious George, Sesame Street, Sofia the First, etc... 

You will manage and survive.  Feeding two babies while managing two toddlers was my biggest worry and it was hard.  Many days tested my patience but we got through it and you will too.