Intro

fjamil1

Hello, I am 7 weeks and 2 days today with twins. I was active on the IF board for the past 5/6 months. I did my second IVF cycle in November, and transferred two 5 day blasts in hopes that one will stick around. We already have a 4.5 year old DD, and have been trying for 3 years before moving to IVF. We are really excited for the babies, but also scared at the same time. how will we take care of two babies at once, breastfeed, diapers. what do we need. What kind of stroller/car seats should we go with. 

zazu13

Congrats and welcome!

There are a million opinions on strollers.  Scroll a bit and you fill find threads.  I would pick what type of stroller you want first then see what car seats are adaptable with it. Lots of people like the snap n go. I personally wanted only one stroller to use both with and without car seats. I also wanted a side by side rather than tandem. The only one we found was the Mountain Buggy Duet and we have been happy with our choice. It is compatible with a few car seats, but we went with the Chicco Keyfit 30 which we have also loved.

MrsP419

Congratulations!!  Twins are such a joy and blessing, but very overwhelming at first.  I was terrified when I was pregnant, and have loved being a mom of twins so much!  My DD was 4.5 and DS was 2.5 when my girls were born.

Strollers: my biggest recommendation is to get a double snap and go or a Joovy Twin Roo to start, and then pick your next stroller from there.  We use our Joovy Roo with 2 Graco Snugride seats 99% of the time, and have a Combi SBS stroller for when they are older.  If I was big into jogging/walking maybe I would invest in fancier double stroller, but I really don't need one so I got a hand me down. 

Breastfeeding: I would say nursing my twins was in the middle between my DD and DS difficulty-wise.  Not my hardest experience, but not my easiest.  We supplemented via droppers/syringes for the first week or so, and introduced a bottle between 2-3 weeks for one feeding per night to give me a break.  I used a nipple shield for the first couple weeks, too.  Invest in a giant nursing pillow; those are pretty helpful in the beginning.  We just stopped using ours as much in the past month because my girls can sit up more on their own when nursing.  

Caring for two: With most things, in my experience, caring for newborn twins was like caring for a "superbaby" because I did everything at the same time.  We chose to tandem feed or at least nurse one after the other from the get-go, even if that meant waking one up at night because her sister woke up.  There was a learning curve figuring out the logistics of it (it is definitely more complicated than having just one), but you basically just figure out what works and what doesn't, and learn when to adapt to make things easier.  For example, I used to grocery shop with my other two, even when I had an infant, but with twins, I could not fit 2 carseats + groceries in the shopping cart, so now DH or I grocery shops in the evening.  They just started solids last week, and where with one baby I would do babyfood with the family meal, it is easier with twins to feed them both at the same time, but before everyone else in the family.  You just try different things and give yourself a lot of grace to figure things out.

I know it is overwhelming and scary at first, but it is truly amazing.  You will have a lot of questions as you go, I am sure, but right now, take a minute to enjoy and breathe.  You and your body are doing something amazing right now!!

fjamil1

MrsP419zazu13, Thank you for your help. I was also thinking of going with the Joovy Twin Roo, and two infant seats. 

I like to plan everything, even though nothing goes according to my plan. I am enjoying my pregnancy to the fullest, and I want to enjoy it till the day I deliver. With my first I couldn't wait to see my DD so was happy to be induced at 38 weeks, and regretted not feeling the kicks afterwards. This time I want to go to 40 weeks and enjoy every little kick and hiccup. 

MrsP419

fjamil1 said:

MrsP419zazu13, Thank you for your help. I was also thinking of going with the Joovy Twin Roo, and two infant seats. 

I like to plan everything, even though nothing goes according to my plan. I am enjoying my pregnancy to the fullest, and I want to enjoy it till the day I deliver. With my first I couldn't wait to see my DD so was happy to be induced at 38 weeks, and regretted not feeling the kicks afterwards. This time I want to go to 40 weeks and enjoy every little kick and hiccup. 

Oh I understand the whole plan thing :-).  We were not planning to even START trying to have another baby until now (as in late 2014)...we were actively trying NOT to get pregnant in 2013.  And now I have six month old twins :-).  God has a sense of humor, and I could not be more grateful.

With that said, and I am no doctor so of course consult with your medical team, but I do not know a lot of women who are pregnant with twins who are recommended to go to 40 weeks.  I think I read the average is between 35-36 weeks, and the rest are evicted between 37-38 (mine were born at 37.1 via scheduled C-section).  I think there is a small handful of women on here who went to the 39-40 week range though!  Twin pregnancy is definitely high risk, and there are levels of risk to it.  Do you know what "kind" of twins you are having?  How many sacs and placentas?

fjamil1

MrsP419, I am having fraternal twins with their own sacs.