If you’re having doubts about having twins (and lord knows I was), this photo should put THAT to rest. If I’d had this photo — Pancake and Sausage, ten days old — when I was fat and miserable and on hospital bedrest, I might not have been such a cranky miserable bitch for my entire twin-pregnancy.
But if YOU are currently twin-pregnant and miserable: I get it. I really do. Which is why I wrote THIS list — it ain’t all as bad as you think / fear, promise:
1. Doctors actually WANT you to gain weight when you’re carrying twins.
None of that 15-20 pounds bullshit, when you’re carrying twins. Nope, whole books have been written about how you oughtta be putting on anywhere from 40-60 pounds when you’ve got twins on board. (I love THIS BOOK, by the way. Buy it. It’s truly THE gold standard in TWIN PREGNANCY books.)
But back to the FOOD FEST: Bring on the cupcakes, the milkshakes, the porterhouse steaks. Putting on the baby weight isn’t just a job when you’re carrying twins — it’s a SPORT. A yummy, yummy, yummy sport.
2. Doctors WANT you to stop working out earlier when you’re carrying twins.
Sure, this might be a minus in SOMEBODY’S book, but not mine. I worked out well into the 30+ week range with Diddy and Gaga, but I had to quit around 16 weeks with the boys. I literally. Could not. Keep. Up. And it was awesome. Bye-bye skipping-pilates guilt. Hello one more hour to sit on my ass and eat ice cream.
3. Doctors are quick to send to you to BED when you’re carrying twins.
Ok, so this isn’t THE coolest thing ever, especially if the bed they send you to is on a hospital ward. I can attest to thinking I was going to lose my mind the couple of weeks I spent on hospital bedrest. That said: I watched three seasons of DEXTER on my iPad, which was fun. And my girlfriends came and hung out and brought me lunch. I haven’t had that much time to hang with my girlfriends since … so if you DO end up on bedrest, do the things that REALLY MATTER. Watch TV you’re behind on. Connect with your friends. And get some sleep, girl! If you’re in the hospital, you can even talk them into giving you Ambien. Take it. You need those ZZZs.
4. Once they finally get here, twins do great things for your figure .
If you’re nursing them, you actually WILL lose the baby-weight, and fast. Nursing Pancake and Sausage, I was back down to my fighting weight in four months. Yep — forty-five pounds lost in four months, because TWO KIDS SUCK IT OFF YOU. (One kid, not so much. It took me a close to a year to pull myself together while nursing Diddy. Same deal with Gaga. The secret to losing the weight nursing is NURSING TWINS.) Even if you’re not nursing, doing everything TWICE burns TWICE the calories, really.
5. Twins do great things for your attitude.
BYE BYE GUILT. Hello, GOING WITH THE FLOW. Seriously. Not nursing your twins because nursing two is a giant PITA? NO ONE FAULTS YOU FOR IT. Not going to every baby class on earth because getting two out the door can be a major PITA, (not to mention paying for TWO is a major hit to the bank account)? NO ONE FAULTS YOU FOR IT. Not responding to every single tear because you can only be in one place at a time? NO BIGGIE, MAMA. Woo-hoo! Give yourself a pass!
6. Twins do great things for your general appearance.
They really do provide that extra incentive you need to shower / brush your teeth before you leave the house. This is because everyone who lays eyes on you when you’re out with your twins is going to want to talk to you. Seriously. EVERYONE. You’d think you were walking the streets with a tiger and a unicorn in your DOUBLE CITY MINI (seriously, people, I can’t say this enough, you NEED THIS STROLLER!) from the amount of attention you and your twins get. So really, buy that pair of cute jeans you wanted. People actually will be looking at you in them.
Oh and:
8. Baby clothes are CHEAPER when you’re buying for twins!
Ok, well, not really, but more in the sense of COST-PER-USE. You know how you justified that new pair of jeans because you plan to LIVE IN THEM? You can go a little nuts at the baby boutiques for the same reason. Instant 2-for-1 value!
So now you can ALL look hot when you’re out-and-about. Not that you HAVE to leave the house that often, because really, no one expects you to. Which is why:
7. Twins are THE GREATEST EXCUSE ever made.
Got me RIGHT off the PTA. Seriously. All I had to do was whisper to my nursery school director that I was pregnant with twins and POOF! no one has asked me to donate even fifteen minutes of my time since. And I say this as someone who practically LIVED at that school before then. I mean, seriously. I should have had a mattress in the corner of the Mommy-and-Me room.
Finally, and most importantly:
8. Twins are THE GREATEST THING “BABY” THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU.
Here’s why. You know that whole “how can I ever love my second child as much as I love my first?” thing that happens? Well, you can. Your heart just gets HUGER, your love just gets DEEPER. With twins, that happens all at once. Big heart, huge love. And it goes both ways. One baby looks at you with soul-crushing adoration. TWO BABIES? TWO SETS OF BABY EYES STARING AT YOU WITH EXTREME LOVE SIMULTANEOUSLY? Sign me up. And just WAIT till you see them looking at EACH OTHER. OMG. Here’s a little backstory for that photo up top: Pancake and Sausage spent their first 10 days apart — Pancake stayed behind in the NICU, growing, when Sausage came home with me. But the moment they were re-united in their Pack-N-Play, those tiny little babies snuggled up together as if they hadn’t been separated for a single second. It was amazing.
And it continues to be amazing. Every. Single. Day.
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Love this! I have “Irish ” twins… They are a year and 4 days apart so I think this applies to me as well!
absolutely!
You are kidding me aren’t you. ? Which point about TWINS applies to you?
We’re you gestating two At The Same Time? Because that was one really long pregnancy then for the second one.( who bviously stayed in when the other came out.
Do you get Twin discount? Not very correct if you do
Did you nurse two babies at the same time for the first twelve months?
And for the record Irish Twins at born under 1 year apart so you haven’t even qualified for that
Hi Simone –
Pancake and Sausage are twins — delivered 10 minutes apart. (And for the record: vaginal birth, no epidural, and Sausage was breech. Yep. Hit the twin-trifecta, if you ask me.) And yes, I did nurse both tandem for twelve months. Have yet to get a twins-discount anywhere, but I keep looking!
Hmm. Guess you weren’t talking to me — but still: I think any mom with two kids born so close gets the basic drift, don’t you? We hardly have a monopoly on having our hands full!
Seriously, Simone… lighten up! If you haven’t had two kids back to back, (and yes I know what Irish twins are– I’m CLOSE ENOUGH) one nursing the other beginning you have no idea what you’re talking about… IT’S HARD TOO!!!
Checklist Mummy – I was not replying to you at all.But to the person who has decided her challenges are the same as those met by a person pregnant with Multiples or having just birthed Multiples
And yes I have twins too.
It is a very unique thing to experience and I find it very insulting for those with siblings of a singleton birth to calmly proclaim that all those things you had in your list applies to them. They don’t. Irish twins do not present the same challenges that multiple birth pregnancies and first years present.
They have their own challenges -yes.But they are not the challenges of a person with twins or HOM. In fact from a Multiples perspective I would never ever dream of saying to a Mother of Triplets or more that “I have twins so it is just the same as you having triplets”
From a pregnancy perspective ( which much of this post was based) there is no comparison to that of having carried and birthed two children over different years.
I know a person who has two sets of twins born 10 months apart. She has never once pretended she has quads. Or even utilised that silly “Irish” quads concept.
Just for the record Donna.
I have had twins and then gave birth to a singleton 13 mths later… so maybe Irish triplets according to your definition. Having my singleton, so close after having my twins was NOTHING like dealing with the strain of twins. I get that ChecklistMommy is trying to get expecting twin mums to see the lighter side of things but I fail to see ANYTHING in this article that you should be able to relate to.
Donna, you haved no idea what twins are like. Stop pretending.
ChecklistMommy, I didn’t realise it was a competition as to how women birth their babies. Lets not make it that way. Having twins is hard enough as it is!
Oh Jasmine — sorry if you thought I was upping-the-ante! I was mistakenly responding to Simone, who I thought was accusing me of NOT having twins … basic misunderstanding
But also: come on, ladies. We all have our challenges. Some of us are floored by one kid, some of us have ten and don’t bat an eye. I would never presume to tell ANY MOM that I had it harder than she did.
And you are right Donna- as you say if you haven’t had the situation then you “HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT”
I do not have children born one year apart and I cannot being to understand the challenges this presents. So I don’t say having twins is “just the same” because I don’t know.
Thankyou for pointing out why you don’t understand the challenges of carrying or having twins
Great piece! If your going to do the bed rest, weight gain and all the rest, why not get two instead of one?
Right? That’s what I thought!
All of these reasons are so true! (Oh and baby clothes really are cheaper. The Osh Kosh outlet near us gave a twin discount, which I used until my boy/girl twins were probably 12. Not sure why I deserved that, but I took advantage of it!) And just wanted to show you this, one mom-of-twins to another: http://www.thissortaoldlife.com/2012/02/24/happy-birthday/
Mine just turned 14. I don’t know that I’ll ever experience anything as amazing and wonderful as having them (even though, yes, some days were really hard and sleep deprivation is not a pretty thing!). Love that picture you shared of yours.
That’s a GREAT TIP about the Osh Kosh discount! Thank you!
Gonna wander over to your blog now … Thanks for coming over here!
My twins are 5 and I have to say, being a mom of twins has also made me realize that I can succeed at just about anything I put my mind to! It’s been honestly the best thing that’s ever happened to me (even on our worst days…and we have plenty of those)!
And just to add on to what Rita said about twin discounts, here’s a list of more I’ve cobbled together: http://www.thetwincoach.com/p/discounts-and-deals.html
FANTASTIC — I’m sure my twin-mom ‘listers will dig that! Thanks Gina!
Although I have a singleton, I think your positive, upbeat, and relaxed attitude towards pregnancy and parenting are wise words for any mom.
sarah, you just made my day — i am having such a NON-wise-parenting day! (spring break, be damned!)
What a good attitude (or maybe i should say spin?
you have about the whole thing. That fact that you lost 45 pounds in 4 months is A-Mazing.
Thanks, Jordan. Where would I be without a little good spin? Or a stiff drink …
I really enjoyed your list. My boy/ girl twins are 6 months old. And I’m learning to love every minute. It was very hard at first , they spent 28 days in the NICU, but we are finally getting a schedule. And really enjoying each other. I just love those sweet smiles, and you just can’t put a price on double the baby giggles!!
Just found this great article – we are expecting identical twins in February. This has really become our “mantra” as it helps us both stay positive & begin to get some reasonable expectation of what might lie around the corner. Any suggestions for post-partum twin guidebooks? (I am getting that twin pregnancy book you suggested.) Or – seriously – could you just keep writing a lot of articles about it and we’ll click on the ads on your page?
Jeff — congrats! In all seriousness, come February, email me questions and I’ll blog you the answers! Or, email me questions NOW and I’ll blog you the answers! Good luck!
Thank you for you thoughts and experience with twins. I appreciate people that are straight shooters as I am myself. I am 18 weeks pregnant with identical twin boys sharing a placenta. My anxiety has gotten a little bit worse with this pregnancy and also having my very active awesome 3 year old son. I am excited and very nervous. I take a low dose of ambien and wish I didn’t have to take it but have had a couple anxiety attacks because I wasn’t able to sleep and have to work. I am so afraid that one or the other is going to cause a problem with the babies because some doctors are so hesitant to prescribe it. I am only working 5 more weeks and am trying alternatives for my anxiety and will try to stop taking it as soon as possible.
Danielle: first off — take it as easy as possible! TV is your friend … park your 3yo in front of it! Long baths, reading before bed, no TV, no WORK after you get home! Just … slow … down … and all the best to you!
So, I came across this blog while googling “checklist for traveling with twins”. Mine are 5 months old (plus an 18 month old). Number 6 on your list made me pee my pants. Loved it.
Now can you make a list like this for why a 20 hour plane ride with twins doesn’t suck???
Oh Shira, believe me — that 20 hour plane ride DOES suck! That said … the 5 mos will be WAY easier than the 18 mo! Can you swing plane tickets for all three of them? If so: drag those carseats on (GROAN!) and tie those kids down! Snacks, kid headphones, lots of TV and stickers stickers stickers for the toddler. Expect to do a lot of walking the aisles … and GOOD LUCK!
read this today, almost 22 weeks into my pregnancy with twin girls. needed it more than you know (actually – you probably do). thank you!!
Carrying twins is no fun … I have never been a fan of pregnancy, but twin pregnancy was THE WORST. But you will get through it and on the other side, it’s pretty effing awesome, promise.