Will it get harder?

ERINPETERSON · July 2013

I have survived the first 6 weeks with my boy girl twins and I must say it has not been as bad as I thought it would be? My babies are very laid back and sleep fairly well. They both nurse well and the amazing part about that is it only takes them 10-15 minutes to eat. I feel like it shouldn't be this good. Does/did anyone else experience this? If yes did it last? They nurse during the day every 2-3 hours and at night they have one long stretch of 4 hours and then its back to every 2-3. I also have a 2 year old who has really been my only challenge in regards to keeping him entertained when I am tending to the twins.

I am interested to see what you ladies have to say

Thank you in advance for your responses!

kellibelle0417 · July 2013

I hope I have it that easy!

carrotcake06 · July 2013

I don't know I'd I'd call it "easy", but it's not as devastating as I'd imagined ::mobile smiley:: honestly, I think a huge part of it is the experience I gained of having done this before w my oldest.

If the twins had been my first, I'm pretty sure I'd have felt like I was drowning right now but instead I'm kinda just eh about it. Yes, it is different than having a singleton. But it's relatable. And I'm just more...idk...laid back? this time. I have a baseline of "knowing what I got myself into" just amped up a bit.

I don't mean to trivialize. This ish IS hard. I'm brutally sleep deprived and my oldest watches way too much TV and eats way too few homemade meals. But my H is amazing and my family is around to help. I'm lucky.

I'm sure it'll get harder. And easier. And harder again. It's all part of the ride.

yinyang124 · July 2013

Great job, mama! There will be times that it gets harder, and there will be times that it is easy (as far as caring for and bfing multiples goes) again. They are growing and their little brains are developing so quickly right now, and you will constantly have to adjust and adapt. I'm sure you know this from your older kiddo though!

Jen0204 · July 2013

It wasn't as awful as I thought it would be either. The hardest part for me was exhaustion and keeping up with their schedule and pumping constantly. I honestly think if I hadn't been so stubborn and had quit pumping early on that it wouldn't have been bad at all. Things got tough when Livy had a colicky stretch for a week or two (around 10 weeks, I think). They got MUCH easier when they started getting up twice a night around 14 weeks, and then once a night a few weeks later. They started STTN at 9.5 months and life since then has been pretty easy. I would be thrilled if they didn't view 6am as the optimal wake up time, but they sleep for around 11 hours a night so I really can't complain. Each stage has it's challenges, of course, but having twins is awesome.

pea-kay · July 2013

The first six or seven weeks of the boys' life, I remember thinking, "this is a piece of cake!"

And then they hit their due date, and "woke up" and became typical newborns. And it got a LOT harder. But we survived! Maybe you will be lucky and your twins will just be more chill.

ERINPETERSON · July 2013

Every post on here is very relatable! I by no means think its easy but I got all hyped up and ready for this to be a miserable first few months and I feel it isn't as bad. Trust me I need some sleep some days and I have the tv guilt for my DS but I'm feeling pretty good at this point.

I couldn't agree more if these were my first I would be a whole different person. My son definitely paved the way to making it more simplified this time around. I am WAY more laid back this time around. Thanks for the feedback

tiffwedd · July 2013

Yes! Lol! I often think about them as newborns and that being so much easier than their 7 month old selves.

Mrs JillB · July 2013

I've totally been thinking this too. I was drowning with my first son at this time. I think maybe its because I expected all of the sleeplessness and craziness that it hasn't been that bad. Plus, this time I know about rock and plays!

bumpuser924057 · July 2013

I felt that way for the first four weeks, and then the past two weeks have been nuts. They are a thousand times fussier, they nurse what feels like all day long, and they often go crazy at the same time so I have one screaming in my face as I frantically try to feed the other just enough to keep them quiet so I can switch them out and take care of the other. Plus, with a toddler in the mix, the lack of sleep is cumulative and starts to wear on you after a while. I can do a few days on three hours of sleep a night, but a few weeks is another matter, and there is no more "sleep when the baby sleeps" when one of your children isn't a baby anymore

. I am hoping it will get easier once they hit the point where they will sometimes be awake without crying. I know it happens eventually, but I don't remember when.

LottaLattes · July 2013

I think all babies are different and everyone will have a different experience. My eldest was a total handful from day one, second one is still super easy. One twin had a lot of issues and I felt pretty overwhelmed, but both needed a lot of holding early on so it was hard. So they might be harder later or you might have easy twins, it'll be neat to see how it goes for sure!

JKGymnast · July 2013

This whole thread is very reassuring! The good and the bad. Thanks ladies!

LISAF1197 · July 2013

Our girls are only 12 weeks old now, but I can tell you the first 2 months were the hardest for us. Between 4-8 weeks specifically, they were super colicky and developed reflux! They would literally cry and fuss alllll day long, and only stopped crying if they were held upright against my chest. I was also pumping during this time so it was just hard. We also have a 2 year old so it was extremely difficult to give him our attention.

You are lucky! In our case, I has gotten SO much easier. They are now sleeping 10-11 hours a night and we have started to develop better routines during the day! They are strictly formula fed, which has helped me dramatically.

Good Luck!

starrkitten89 · July 2013

Ours are 10 weeks, and the past few weeks (I think it started shortly after week 6) have just been nightmarish. The first 6 weeks there would be bad days, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. But the last 3 weeks or so have really tried my patience- I stopped pumping a week and a half or so ago because I felt like that was making it worse stress wise. I have one that takes good naps but won't sleep more than a 4 hour stretch at night, ever. The other one only naps for maybe 20 minutes at a time 2-3 times a day, but she STTN so she eats constantly and I feel like I can never get more than 5 minutes to myself. I thought the constant eating was a growth spurt, but it seems like it isn't stopping

I've been told by other MoMs that it goes in spurts; a couple months will be great and then a couple months will be horrible, so I guess we're in a bad spell right now.

ghl · August 2013

Mine are now 5 months and it's been a bit of a roller coaster. They are generally happy mellow babies but have their share of fuss. I've been pretty laid back overall mostly because I have an older child and remember what the infant days were like. There were a lot of things that felt unmanageable with my first that now I look back and wonder why was I freaking out about THAT??? The first couple weeks were surprisingly easy. They were preemies and slept a LOT. I would basically feed them, and they'd go back to sleep in their bassinets. I was resting to recover from a c-section that didn't heal well, and DH did most of taking care of our toddler. A few weeks later, reflux set in, first in one baby, then the other. Nighttime sleeping got really bad since I had to hold them upright after feeding. And as the reflux got better, their wakefulness increased dramatically during the day and they were never both napping at the same time so no more daytime rest for me. But they settled into routines, and started sleeping longer through the night and things got predictable, even the predictable end of day fussiness. And then along came getting teething, and getting sick. So the ride continues - there will be some stretches where we're coasting along thinking it's not bad at all, and others where everyone is miserable. Enjoy the easy parts and know that when it gets hard, it will get better.

Will it get harder?

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