Irish Twins?!?

maddie&stephen

I just had a BFP this morning and am in shock. I have a 4 month old and if my calculations are correct this possible LO would be born almost to the day of DD's 1st birthday. I'm just trying to be happy, but I feel guilty that my DD won't ever remember a time when it was just her, overwhelmed at the idea of TWO under 1, etc. 

I know we can do this-I think I just have to let the shock wear off-what other possibility is there really? Anyone else have LO's this close in age? Pointers? HELP! 

katwoman08

I am in the same boat...I just tested positive this morning and my LO is 4 1/2 months.  I am not sure how I feel about this just yet...

morgs8384

Mine are 13 1/2 months apart, so not exactly Irish twins. I struggled with feelings of guilt/shock/sadness/happiness all the time throughout the second pregnancy. Our first we struggled to conceive, so we assumed it would be the same with our second..we were wrong! I would say even the first couple days I still had mixed emotions ( mainly I felt like I was cheating our first out of being the "baby" and not giving him enough one on one time. I couldn't look at DS#1 without crying the first few days we came home). But now, almost 3 weeks into it, I am overall very happy with our little boys. Our second is such a great, happy little boy that really adds so much to our family. I wouldn't change it if I could.

sstover1117

Me!!! Just had my ds2 a couple weeks ago. they are just over 11 months apart. I had a c-section and the time when I couldn't lift ds1 was the worst. Dh went back to work 2 days after we came home and has worked every day since... so that has been tough. Luckily we have family around to help, i just cant wait till I am fully healed and wont need so much help. 

From my short 2.5 weeks with irish twins this is what I have learned....

Very difficult weaning ds1 when ds2 gets a bottle every 2 hours

2 in diapers doesnt just double the diapers... it quadruples

ds1 finds ds2 hillarious

if you have a bedtime routine with your 1st, try to get your newest settled and comfy before bedtime. or without fail, they will both want you at the same time,

I had the same concerns as you when we found out, but to know how close they are going to be will be so much fun. Good luck!!!!!

memali26

Mine are 19 months apart, so I can't speak to having 2u1, but DD1 doesn't remember a time when it was just her, and we think that is actually an awesome benefit to having them so close in age. Looking at how DD1 transitioned to a sibling in comparison to my friend's LO's who were 3 or 4 years old when they had #2, I feel like DD1 transitioned much more easily because she was younger.

At 2.5yo and 1yo, my girls adore each other, are already great friends, and I love that they will never remember a life without each other. 

smerka

I currently have two two year olds.  The older one turns three in two weeks.  I was very upset for the first two trimesters and really couldn't talk about the new baby until after that.  Now I can't see my life any differently.  Life was pretty rough and I didn't leave the house much until the younger one turned one.  Now we get out a lot more.  

The feelings you're having are pretty normal.  You'll get used to the idea and you'll probably actually start to enjoy it.  My boys are pretty close even though they are very different.  And I will say it was pretty nice to go through the second pregnancy while the older one couldn't walk yet.   

maddie&stephen

Thank you ladies-I am starting to feel better; really I'm in shock because we always used a condom so it wasn't like we were trying. I think we'll just have to roll with it and I have heard in the past it's nice to be pregnant when one can't walk yet-so I will for sure be here for any advice-I greatly appreciate it!!

sweetpea2003

Congrats!

About your guilt... You would have had to put a lot of space 4ish years between your kids if you wanted your baby to remember being an "only". And honestly, every baby who isn't a first born never has parents 100 to themselves. So ... Meh ...

I personally think of it as a blessing that my kiddos don't know life without one another. They are best buddies and I think they are so great for each other. Babyhood for my second wasn't harder on him it was harder on me. But I "embraced the suck" and now I am very content with their spacing 16 months apart.

There are pros and cons to different spacings. You'll be fine!

Vitnicki83

Congrats.  My two oldest are 9 days shy of exactly a year apart(11/18/10 and 11/9/11) .  Baby #3 is due 11/23/12 but I delivered at 37 weeks with both of my boys so there is a chance that I could have 3u2.

I know it is probably a little scary right now (I know it was for DH and I when we found out about #2 being so close to #1 and even more so when we found out about #3, but it really is wonderful!  We both always wanted a big family, and we are so happy our children will be close in age and will grow up being such good friends.

Good luck and enjoy every min with both of them. It goes too quickly as I am sure you know!

chicha0719

My son just turned 6 months old, and I am almost 17 weeks pregnant. If I make it til my due date they will be the same age for about 2 1/2 weeks. Ah!

I'm very excited, however, I understand the guilt as well. I think my son will love having a little sibling, especially when they are older. I heard the first year is the hardest, and after that they are just so close that it's amazing.

I think what you're feeling is completely normal; keep us updated and good luck!

kagl08

My 2 are 13.5 months apart, so not quite Irish Twins, but close. The guilt was something I experienced as well. I can say that it go better almost the instant #2 was born. Now, I can't imagine my life without my 2.

We just did a joint birthday party for my kids this past weekend. My DD just turned 2 and my DS is about to turn 1. It was a ton of fun! It was definitely a positive that I wasn't expecting when we had them so close. It's hard, but so worth it IMO. 

hutchins430

We're in the same boat. I have a 5-month-old, born March 29th, and we just found out we're expecting TWINS on March 15th. So it'll be Irish Triplets for us. We were trying to have the second, but a third is throwing us for a loop. I'm freaked out!

ktshafra

I got my BFP when DD1 was 5 months. They were supposed to be 13 months apart but DD2 was 6 weeks early, arriving the day before DD1 turned 1.
I'm 3 yrs older than my sister and don't remember a time it was only me. So I wouldn't worry about that. I am a little worried about dividing my time between them both right now. DD2 came home from the NICU yesterday and so far things are going ok. :
Good luck! It will all be ok.

etude de la vie

Your feelings are VERY normal.  I was ebfing, on the mini pill, never had AF when I got my bfp. My first words after testing were not PG rated and I couldn't even tell anyone the first trimester. 

It did have some perks in pregnancy. She still napped 2-3 times a day and wasn't mobile. If you are super tired and/or having morning sickness this was a perfect situation. The last trimester sucked but DD was walking so I only had to hold her from car to shopping cart most of the time.

DD did have to grow up a lot quicker and she does great with independent play. She was too little to really know what was going on (which is a blessing in the beginning) and really didn't even take notice until he started crawling and taking away her toys. 

I will be honest...life was crazy, hectic, and I hardly felt like I got through the day for the first 6 months or so. If I got one load of laundry done and the dishwasher unloaded it was "a good day!" the best advice I got was get everyone on a schedule ASAP! I couldn't remember who got a diaper change last, who ate last, or what time it was (gave my toddler mylicon more than once) I was so sleep deprived. As soon as I got everyone on a schedule life got much easier. I told myself often "no one ever died from crying" if they had to wait and my nerves were fried! DS had bad reflux the first 6 months so he cried a lot. 

If DS wakes up  first I went in DD room to wake her up. Everyone gets a diaper change at the same time, unless they poop, and we eat at the same time. When DS took more than one nap I did art with DD or play outside with a monitor. I did go out often but heavily relied on my double stroller and had an arsenal of snacks for them while I shopped.  

It really was a blessing and they love the same things, play with the same stages in toys, eat the same things. I now can sit and have coffee and have a conversation with DH...couldn't imagine my life without both and proud I have 2 very close in age. 

L&BK54471

Mine are 11 1/2 months apart and they could be in the same grade in school since DD #1 is born in September and DD #2 is born in August.  Like the PP I was EBF on the mini pill and got my BFP.  I had a very hard time with the pregnancy.  I felt like I was not going to be a good mother to DD #1 since she couldn't be my primary focus.  She has survived and is a wonderful big sister.  Now that we have made it through a year, I would not change a thing.  I love how well they play together.  We are on the go almost every morning and then home for naps in the afternoon.  The situation is not ideal but you have about 7 months to adjust to the situation

Nita2603

Mine are 11 months apart. So far, in day 9, it's not as bad. My oldest still takes two naps a day, he is not jeallous and self sufficient enough to play independently for 5 minutes while I change baby brother's diaper and such things. Pumping is difficult sometimes, as he wants to touch all the time. 

But hey, it can be done. I figure once I stop hurting from my c section, I will be ok.  

mel72

Mine are 15 months apart, technically only 13 months apart since DS1 arrived two months early.  My due dates were one year and 5 wks apart.  But in our case due to IF and age it was VERY planned and a complete shock!

HannahandCarmen

My DD is 6 months and I am 17 weeks pregnant, they will be 11 months apart. I found out I was pregnant with 2 when I was at a doctor appointment because I had been so sick , I had no idea! I cried when the doctor came in and said I was 12 weeks! I was devastated! I was taking birth control, but the doctir said it likely didn't work because i had been so sick from the first pregnancy. I had a very difficult delivery and recovery from 1 and was still dealing with that, in and out of the hospital. When I was making my next appointment at the front, the doctor came out to say that he had miscalculated and I was only 810 weeks. I started crying again and told him that really didn't make a difference!

It took me a couple weeks to really come to terms with this pregnancy and start to feel somewhat happy about it, which in turn made me feel extremely guilty for not being super happy! I ended up having to quit my mat leave and 2 weeks ago, went back to work full time. A whole new round of guilt and sadness came over me because I felt awful leaving 1 at daycare when she was so little, I would miss all of her firsts!!!

It turned out that she was little enough that she didn't make strange and is loving all the kids at daycare! She is happy and smiling when I drop her off and still happy and smiling when I pick her up! That has made the last couple weeks so much easier! Her babysitter is awesome too! She sends me texts and pictures throughout the day to let me know how things are going!

Now that I feel okay about leaving 1 with her babysitter and work is going great, I have actually started to get excited for 2!

On a side note, I started showing super early with 2! At one point we thought there were twins, but the first ultrasound showed only 1 baby! Phew!