TWINS- OMG!

holtkat1 · January 2014

Ok, so I am new to posting on the Bump. I have a 2.5 year old son and I used the message boards to get lot of answers but never really posted....

However, now I am having twin boys, due in April, and I am beyond freaking out. I work full-time and staying home is not an option for me. I realize I am going to be overwhelmed and am looking for some of you lovely ladies to offer up any advice you have.

-I have questions on what stroller to buy....

-My pregnancy is already terrible at 21 weeks, and I went 42 weeks almost with my first....is this normal? I just feel awful.

- have an SUV- do I do three car seats in the middle row or put the oldest in the very back?

-Is it ever safe to put two in the same crib?

-I pumped/breastfed for 9 months with my first and would, of course, like to do the same for the twins but how hard is this going to be? I struggled to produce enough for my first but he was 9 lbs when born and ate a lot.

-Is it even possible to leave the house with three? I am a teacher and enjoyed being very active in the summer with one and realize this is going to be difficult

Sorry, this post is not thought-out, kind of random, but my oldest is napping and I'm trying to get everything accomplished

Thanks in advance! You are all amazing!

Katie

LegalLadyBug · January 2014

Congrats! No experience being a twin mama yet as I'm only 18w. I also have a 2.5 year old and we're hoping to do three across if the seats will work that way. I'm getting the Britax B Agile double for flexibility and planning on putting a twin in a wrap if DD wants to ride in the stroller.

Snugly Ael · January 2014

Congrats!
1. We use the double snap n go. My twins would be 5 months old on the 9th.
2. Yes, it's normal! I can feel your pain. I had my b/g twins at 38w2d via planned c-sec and believe me my pregnancy was very tough.
3. My twins are my first and we have a sedan. We put one baby in front and one at back with either one of us beside him/her. The law here lets us place a baby in the front car seat.
4. Yes, it's safe! My twins shared a crib until they started rolling over in their sleep.
5. I had a terrible time BF my twins. I literally struggled, cried and pumped and pumped and pumped. Later, I decided to quit as it was taking a toll on my health and recovery and on that my supply wasn't sufficient for two.
6. I guess it would be fine as long as your nanny is well experienced and knows how to manage three kids.

All the best! Indeed, twins are overwhelming, but they are double blessing, joy and fun! Believe me, it's all worth it. Till now I've been taking care of my twins all by myself and there are days when I don't even have my hubby around because he travels for work. However, from tomorrow onwards I'll be having a nanny who'll take care of the twins for 4 hours while I nap/shower/clean/cook. For the first 3 months my in laws were here...

Take care and relax. Enjoy your pregnancy.

jocie2581 · January 2014

Welcome and congrats! My boys share a crib - three months old. We will be seperating them in a few weeks.

LegalLadyBug · January 2014

Snugly Ael said:
Congrats!
1. We use the double snap n go. My twins would be 5 months old on the 9th.
2. Yes, it's normal! I can feel your pain. I had my b/g twins at 38w2d via planned c-sec and believe me my pregnancy was very tough.
3. My twins are my first and we have a sedan. We put one baby in front and one at back with either one of us beside him/her. The law here lets us place a baby in the front car seat.
4. I had a terrible time BF my twins. I literally struggled, cried and pumped and pumped and pumped. Later, I decided to quit as it was taking a toll on my health and recovery and on that my supply wasn't sufficient for two.
5. I guess it would be fine as long as your nanny is well experienced and knows how to manage three kids.

All the best! Indeed, twins are overwhelming, but they are double blessing, joy and fun! Believe me, it's all worth it. Till now I've been taking care of my twins all by myself and there are days when I don't even have my hubby around because he travels for work. However, from tomorrow onwards I'll be having a nanny who'll take care of the twins for 4 hours while I nap/shower/clean/cook. For the first 3 months my in laws were here...

Take care and relax. Enjoy your pregnancy.

I'm curious, where do you live that it's ok to put an infant seat in the front? I have never heard of that before.

DoublePortion · January 2014

Welcome! I have no advice, but congrats on your twins!

Snugly Ael · January 2014

I live in IL. It's safe to place an infant car seat in the front seat as long as the front seat air bag isn't active and is turned OFF!

marcobonny · January 2014

Congrats on your twins!! Get use to being uncomfortable! I started feeling uncomfortable around 20 weeks...but it obviously gets worse. I'm 33w4d today and so so miserable! No the doctor hasn't put me on bed rest but at this point I'm pretty much obligated to do nothing all day. Even taking a shower is a huge accomplishment at this point! Lol not trying to scare you, just learn to listen to your body and rest when you need to! GL!!

whitehousem · January 2014

Welcome and Congrats! I can't help but chuckle at the frantic tone of your post...bc I totally get it!!! Did you just find out it is twins? I am 20 weeks with a 19mo old DD, so similar to your situation.

1. I am looking at the Joovy Big Caboose as a stroller option for the beginning. We go on a lot of walks and I want to have a place for DD. When the twins are older I may look into a triple jogger.

2. I went 41w 5d with DD...but don't worry, I can pretty much guarantee you that your body and/or doctor wont let you go that long. My MFM said 37 weeks was the longest they wanted me to go with mo/di twins. It would have been 38 with di/di. The average birth for twins is 35 weeks. How has your pregnancy been awful? There might be some things you can do to ease whatever discomforts you are having. It's no singleton pregnancy, that's for sure. It's going to be more difficult on your body.

3. No, three car seats will not fit across all SUV's and accessing the third row with a car seat in the the second row is near impossible. I strongly recommend that you get your car seats soon and test them. I have a CX9 and ours do NOT fit three across. We tried three across an Explorer and that did not work either. The new Honda Pilot will fit three across. We are looking at new car options and have also ordered the Diono Radian RXT for DD (even though we love her Britax) bc this is supposed to be the most narrow car seat. We will be using two Chicco Ket fits, so we will see if we can make those work. But an infant seat behind the driver seat is not ideal for DH since he can't move his seat back far enough. So, we will see...

4. I have read it is ok to have them in the same crib for the first few months...they may like it or they may want their own space. They will need their own cribs once they start rolling over.

5. It is possible to BF twins and produce enough milk. I had a hard time BFing DD and am going to attempt to BF both twins, with the expectation that I may need to supplement with formula and it may not work for us. You will need a twin breastfeeding pillow. There are tons of post on this, so just do some research and decide what's best for you.

6. Of course you can leave the house with three! I'm sure it will be challenging at first, but you will figure out what works. With the right stroller and system, you will be fine!

If you plan to go back to work, I would start researching childcare options now. It is VERY expensive to have three in daycare (at least where I live and a daycare that I would choose)...about 4k a month for me. It may be challenging to find someone who can care for all three and nannies aren't cheap either. They run about $20/hour where I live. Maybe find a PT job you can do after DH gets home or on the weekends? Personally, I was planning to go back to work after having a second but now that it's twins, it's not worth it for me to work just to pay for daycare costs. I will stay home and get a PT job if needed. I've been home with DD and was actually looking forward to going back to work, but now I have to figure something else out!

Hope this helps!

holtkat1 · January 2014

Wow! Thanks so much everyone. Your ideas sure help. No, I've known for awhile it was twins but just finding time to let it sink in I guess and we are snowed in. We already use day care for our oldest three days and week and my mom does the other two. We will be doing the same when the twins come, although I don't go back to work until September. What we are going to pay for daycare is unreal, but I will be pretty much working for our benefits, retirement, etc for the first few years.

I do have a question on the snap and go stroller- this is just a stroller for putting their car seats in, correct? You can't put them in this stroller without the car seat, right? I have looked at so many it is starting to become a blur. Also, do almost any infant car seats "snap" into this stroller?

We have an Acadia- need to test the car seat out soon. Oldest is in Britax and we have a Baby Trend infant one and then will obviously need to purchase another infant seat.

Thanks all!

whitehousem · January 2014

Yes, typically a Snap and Go is just for the car seats, which is why I'm looking at the Joovy I mentioned above. It works as both and with most types of car seats (comes with adapters). Can't seem to find a better option at this point for twins and a two year old.

ks3pink · January 2014

I just wanted to add that I am also a teacher and have three kids. My oldest is a big help so I can still go places but I generally do avoid it unless I have another adult. It's just too much hassle, but that's me. Also during the school year, if you don't already, do everything that must be done for the next day at school. I bring home something almost every day and know I probably am not going to touch it but the necessities are done.

mrs_chewie · January 2014

I taught during the first five months of my pregnancy. One thing that got me through was to make friends with your sub coordinator. I had a standing sub plan that could be put in place if I needed to leave during the day unexpectedly. Even though I never had morning sickness, I had really bad dizzy spells and lightheaded feelings. There were many times I went to the ER when I felt like I was going to pass out.

jessican08 · January 2014

holtkat1 said:

-I have questions on what stroller to buy....

I had the DSNG as the other ladies have mentioned until they outgrew their infant carriers.

-My pregnancy is already terrible at 21 weeks, and I went 42 weeks almost with my first....is this normal? I just feel awful.

Unfortunately yes, normal! 50% of twins come before 35w and 50% come after but the chances of you making it to 40w with twins is pretty slim

- have an SUV- do I do three car seats in the middle row or put the oldest in the very back?

I only have my twins so I'm not much help here. I have a Santa Fe and have one baby behind each seat (middle is open).

-Is it ever safe to put two in the same crib?

Some people do but mine were always in separate cribs.

-I pumped/breastfed for 9 months with my first and would, of course, like to do the same for the twins but how hard is this going to be? I struggled to produce enough for my first but he was 9 lbs when born and ate a lot.

I was able to provide *almost* enough milk for my two through nursing and pumping in the beginning until my supply was established - they each got two formula bottles a day. Once my supply was going strong, I kept the 2 formula feedings because I like the flexibility it offered and it also allowed me to amass a good freezer stash. A hospital grade pump is essential IMO, especially in the beginning.

-Is it even possible to leave the house with three? I am a teacher and enjoyed being very active in the summer with one and realize this is going to be difficult

No personal experience on this one unfortunately.

Congratulations and good luck!

Stephanie2167 · January 2014

- We have the Joovy Twin Roo snap n go stroller and really like it. We use two Graco snugride carseats. Once they get bigger, we'll get a Baby Jogger City Mini Double

- I delivered DD1 at 39.5. The twins were born via rcs at 37.3 (they were both breech). At 20 weeks I had a fall and couldn't walk for almost a week. I was so sore after that I could hardly put my pants on. From about 28-32 weeks I was OK and then 32 - 37 was just misery. I was begging for my water to break after Thanksgiving I was so miserable. I'm still so shocked that I made it to my c-section date.

- I have a Honda Accord and I fit all 3 seats in my back seat. We had to buy DD1 a Radian Diono since they are the skinniest carseat. DH put the bases in when I was in the hospital and he put them in differently then I had thought but it works so much better. DD1 is behind the driver, and the infant seats are in the middle and behind the passenger. It works for now but we have no space for anything else (literally I have nowhere to put my diaper bag if I have someone with me). We'll be getting me a van here soon.

- We have one of the cribs in our bedroom and they share it (currently one is in a Rock n Play in our room because she is congested) Once we move them to their nursery (around 3 months) they'll be in their own crib.

- I EBF DD1 for 7 months and only pumped when I went back to work. For me, trying to nurse both is so stressful I was miserable. So I decided to mostly pump (I latch them once a day in hopes that when they're older I'll be able to latch them in the morning and before bed). With DD1 I took fenugreek to produce enough for her. I'm currently feeding the twins each 3oz 8x a day and am still able to freeze up to 20oz. I'm hoping to be able to keep this up.

- Leaving the house...hahaha! I'm only 5 weeks in and have taken the twins and my 3 year old out once by myself. I decided to put on my big girl panties and took all 3 to Pei Wei for lunch. It was a success because I had just fed the twins so they slept the whole time. BUT, I didn't think about what to do whenn DD1 said she needed to go potty. I couldn't send her alone. So i had to lug the double stroller into the bathroom all while leaving our lunch at the table. I'm hoping it will get a bit easier as they get older but who knows.

Good luck!

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