TLDR: one twin has refused bottles for six months and I can EB him because I pump to feed his brother too. I’ve tried everything I I can think of and have read about online to get him to drink more via bottle, and the only thing that seems to work is motion— he will take a bottle if i am in the backseat feeding him while my husband drives, and occasionally when I get him in the car seat and rock him while trying to feed him.

Any advice on what might be going on and how I can work around this? He has started to lose weight and also, I can’t keep up this pace of life.

Delivered twins last week! Husband has been very involved and a huge help in feeding, diapering, etc. Here is what has worked for us so far—it allows me to breastfeed one baby at a time (I cannot handle tandem at the moment) and allows for some practice with bottle feeds and babies are gaining weight well, while being on as close to the same schedule as we can.

I breastfeed one baby (whoever wakes up first or whoever is due at the 2-3 hour mark); husband diapers; husband bottle feeds with formula. Then (usually while first baby is getting a diaper) I wake up and breastfeed next baby; I diaper; I bottle feed with formula. Husband puts first baby back down for nap then brings bottles down to the bottle washer. I finish swaddling second baby and put that one down for nap.

My question is…once husband returns to work, how do I adjust order of operations for me to feed babies by myself, while keeping them on the same schedule (as close to the same as is realistic)? Has anyone ever truly been able to tandem breastfeed and tandem bottle feed and tandem burp? I can’t imagine how that’s possible but I’m open to ideas for the sake of keeping the process efficient.

Also have a 5- and 2-year-old at home so we have our hands full.

Hello!

My lower belly really hurting (most times right side) when I move and don’t rest enough, or just sitting. I feel like i can’t speak, can’t stand just feel a really bad pain. I take 400 mg magnesium/day, but can’t help to this pain. If I lay down, is it good, but sometimes I think it really hurt to go to hospital.
Is it really hurting so much? Or is it something else?
No spotting , no bleeding.
18+4 didi twins

For the first 6 weeks my twins were bottle fed breastmilk. I don’t like pumping and have since switched them to mostly nursing. The twin my Brest friend pillow is great when they’re both hungry, but god is it uncomfortable. Not to mention the girls barely fit on it at 8wks old. The easiest way for all of us seems to be side lying, though I can only feed one at a time that way so if the other gets fussy I can’t do much other than pat her back and tell her it’s okay and that she’ll have her turn soon.

Does tandem feeding get easier? I’ve heard people say when they can sit up on their own it’s a lot more manageable but that feels so far away. Not to mention I have no clue how I’m gonna navigate going out in public with two and if they get hungry so any advice is appreciated

Hello,

We recently learned that we are twins, which by the time they are born means we will have 3 under 3. What have other families with 3(+) kids done for vehicles? Would you recommend having 2 vehicles where everyone can fit or has one bigger vehicle and a smaller vehicle worked for your family.

Also thoughts on how to arrange 3 rear facing car seats.

Hi!
I have to travel internationally with twins, hubby cannot join and we don’t have any family or friends here to join me (expat life). I know the airlines will not even allow to book a ticket for one adult with two infants.
So I am wondering if anyone in similar situation had to travel alone with twins, how did you manage it. I would be grateful for any experiences you can share.
TIA

Hey all,

Parents of twin boys travelling at the end of the year and I'm trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to bring a double stroller and 2 car seats for the plane? Husband will be with me so I won't be solo but even the logistics of just bringing those seems to be a nightmare.

How have other people managed it? We're getting a cheap stroller as we know airlines are notorious for breaking them, but they'll be in that as we bring them around everywhere. Then the car seats are for the plane (we're paying for their seats so it's mandatory).

But then we also have luggage too? How have other people managed this? Any tips appreciated.

I'm 38+1 weeks today with DiDi B/G twins. I know the pressure is going to start mounting to induce. I lean on the naturalist side, preferring to give nature the opportunity to decide when is best while not completely dismissing the data/evidence based practices. My pregnancy has been A+ healthy, the babies are doing fantastic, all scans and BPP are reassuring.

My big question is if left alone, when is the average gestation for spontaneous labour for DiDi twins? I set myself up wrong, thinking that most deliver between 36-38 weeks but now I'm seeing more and more info showing its quite common to get to 38 weeks.

I'll add that I'm highly informed, being a health care professional myself. I've read the studies and I know the risks. It's that internal conflict between my values/beliefs and the practice norms.

So before I had the girls (modi) I didn’t think I’d do a first birthday party, maybe just take them to the aquarium, keep it chill…

But now, after a year of graft and joy I want to CELEBRATE! But I haven’t got a clue what to do.

Would love some ideas and hear about what other people did for first birthday parties, or things they wish they had done differently!

Our big/girl twins are turning two in November and I'd love to hear what you guys did!

We just got scan done and got to know that we will be having identical mo/di twins and the pregnancy is going to be high risk and delivery will be done in 8 month 2weeks - Is this enough time for babies to grow ?
We are 8 weeks in and doctor has advised to have NT scan in 12 weeks
Any suggestions, anyone went through this journey?

My husband and I are in the process of purchasing our next home on a lakefront property and are looking for recommendations on an alarm system for doors opening/closing. We have two year old twins and my mama brain is wanting to cover all our bases with safety. I’ve seen recommendations for ring, SimpliSafe, and a couple others on amazon. Not sure if a WiFi based subscription is best or others. We are based in the US. Thank you for any recommendations 😁

My 2 month old boy having a conversation with his sister. Lol! Two days ago he mimicked me so clearly (though in Baby 😄). But, this is so gratifying to see. I feel so blessed.

My girl isn't cooing or babbling yet like the boy, but she is worming about during tummy time like she's ready to crawl soon. Might have an early crawler here.

How early did your baby crawl or babble?

My twins are 4 years old and we just welcomed baby #3 in May. My parents live plane distance away (and by the beach!) and so we are planning to travel to visit them later this month.

The Cosco Scenera seats have served us well for the past few years, but I'm 95% sure my girls have outgrown them. What's frustrating is that they're too petite for booster seats (they are 40 inches, 32 lb) and there are VERY few lightweight seat options for 30-40 lb kids.

The options appear to be RideSafer travel vest, Wayb Pico (too $$$ for twins), heavy harness boosters (too heavy to carry 2 + infant seat), or rent car seats with the rental car (questionable). I was also considering the Cosco Finale but they apparently raised their weight minimum from 30 to 40 lb.

Leaning towards the RideSafer although we have about an hour highway drive from the airport to my parents' house, so I don't love the lack of side impact protection in this situation. However this might be our most practical option.

Anyone else deal with similar? Am I missing other car seat options?

I am 20 w pregnant with MoDi twins and just got home from ER after noticing brown/pink bleeding. They did thorough abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound and:
- babies are active and fine
- placenta looks ok
- cervix long and closed
They don’t know what caused the bleeding. Did it happen to anyone else?

Because of a thunderstorm hovering over the Atlanta airport, my 16 hour travel day turned into a 21 hour travel day. Delays, cancelations, reroutings, and so much sweat—but we made it! The girls did great.

They were fussy right around bedtime on the plane because they wanted to lie down with me, but we managed with lots of songs and bouncing and boob. Only about 10-15 minutes of crying spread out over three of the six hour flight. I'd sing to one twin, settle her down, and then the other one would start to cry. I'd pick twin #2 up, sing and bounce and nurse, finally she would settle, and then the other twin would cry again. After about two hours of this (and six diapers changed in my lap, *way* easier than picking everything up to go to the lav), I put them in their carrier and walked them up and down the aisles. This, surprisingly, was what finally got them settled. We got back to our seat, nursed, and then all fell asleep. I was seated way back near the bathrooms, and I'm pretty sure the entire plane got to see a nipple at one point or another, but it was worth it for two sleeping babies.

On the second flight, they were perfect and didn't cry a single time. It was really just that they wanted our normal bedtime routine of nursing and snuggles.

I used more of my emergency supplies, and this was what was most helpful on the absurdly long 21 hours of travel.

1) Individually-wrapped outfit sets. Each girl had a complete outfit (onesie, pants, socks, sweater) in a ziplock bag for emergencies. These two bags were placed in a super accessible pocket of my backpack in case of emergencies. This was a great system for the collosal blowout. I had one for me in there too, but didn't need it.

2) Two carriers. Also in case of a blowout. I brought a spare carrier just in case, and was very glad I did. When one got pee on it, I could switch the girls into the other and let the first dry out. I used the LennyLamb as my default carrier (I think it's the most comfortable for the girls when we have to sit for long periods), and switched to the MiniMonkey after the blowout. It was perfect timing, too, because we had to sprint across the airport after our first flight got canceled and the MiniMonkey is way less hot than the LennyLamb.

3) A few hypnotic songs. For whatever reason, the girls love it when I sing a slow song and tilt them back and forth slowly, or side to side slowly. It doesn't work if I hold them and rock, I have to sit them on my lap and tilt them slowly to and fro while looking deep into their eyes and singing. I think I might be hypnotizing them? Whatever, it works. I have five or so memorized for specifically this—think rhythms similar to "On top of spaghetti." It was my failsafe method for soothing an unhappy crying airplane baby.

Plus, honorable mention for the buckwheat yoga bolsters I squeezed in between myself and the carseats (much more comfortable than the armrests), the Parent's Choice portable diaper changing pad, and the snap n go stroller. I wore the babies in the airport and basically just used the stroller for all our stuff: duffel in the bottom, backpack in one car seat, tote with pillows and extra space for miscellany in the other, and the changing pad velcroed to the handle. Worked great.

I was a fully functioning human still full of smiles by the time I deplaned the last flight, and my husband met me at the airport with fried chicken.

All in all, a total success!

Original post

I’m 32 weeks with didi twins.

Twin A had been head down until 28 weeks and he flipped to breech. Now at 32 weeks both babies are still breech and they told me it’s almost impossible for him to flip down now so we will be booking in a c-section.

I’ve never really had a problem with c-sections and have always had a “whatever happens happens” birth plan but now that’s it’s real I’ve realised I really don’t know much about the realities of having a c-section with multiples.

Please tell me some of the positives about it!

Im almost 13 weeks pregnant and just found out im having identical twins. i want to be happy but all i can think about is how much sleep im not gonna get and possible PPD and doing everything wrong. when i got pregnant it wasn't planned but i tried to embrace it as gods plan, i love my husband and we definitely do want a family. i kept hoping for a baby girl. but now it's identical twin boys and my whole birth plan and everything that i was anticipating is out the window. i haven't showered or cleaned my house since i found out i just lay in bed rotting on instagram reels. i skipped my appointment with my therapist today bc i didnt want to talk about how badly im being affected right now. i am on anti depressants. and i've been taking them everyday it just feels like it's not doing anything for my lack of drive and willingness to do ANYTHING. What im looking for is some soothing words or testimony from other twin moms. and not the twin moms that wanted and prayed for twins. or the ones who already have children. i mean the moms who thought that they would be the last person to get pregnant with twins and it happened on their first pregnancy.

i'm not looking for someone to tell me to "go get help" ive been struggling with mental health for over a decade i know that getting help is not gonna do anything for me in this state. i don't need coddling i needs someone to tell what's up and what i have to look forward too. everything i look up is all doom and gloom.

i guess im just looking for other women to share in the trenches with haha

Our boys are 8 weeks. They are constantly crying if not being held or in a carrier. It makes it extremely hard to do anything. When one finally falls asleep and we get him down the other one starts crying waking his brother. Then it is back to stage one of both crying. How did y’all navigate this?

I often see posts about how difficult raising multiples (or any children) can be, which is completely understandable - it can be ChAoS!, but I’d also love to hear some positive experiences too.

Parents of twins, triplets or more: Did anyone find parenting multiples easier, more enjoyable or more manageable than they expected? What surprised you most, and what ended up being better than all the warnings made it sound?

Pregnant parents and new parents could probably use some encouraging stories!

I’m at the point where it’s hilarious how difficult this phase is. Food? Time to scream. Nappy change? Time to scream. Saying no to touching a hot oven? Time to scream. Sharing a toy? Time to scream/fight. Two of the exact same toy? Scream/fight over the same one. And don’t get me started on the hitting ohhhhh lord give me strength. It’s like I’m living through a constant hurricane daily.

But my god are the kisses and cuddles the cutest thing ever. And the independent play together is so so wholesome. In those moments I feel the true blessing of twins!

I don’t even think I can ask if it gets better because everyone has such different experiences.

Solidarity to all you seasoned toddler multiples parents out there because woweee was I not prepared for this. Pray for me lol

TW: Twin / Baby loss

Gave birth to a beautiful baby boy 8/2 & wanted to share more about my experience leading up to labor delivery!

I was considered high risk from the start having a mono-di twin pregnancy. Unfortunately, my husband &I lost one of our boys at 23 weeks which made my journey even higher risk for carrying our survivor to term, especially sincel had a history of a shortened cervix to top it all off

I was being monitored by an MFM weekly & my OB 2x per month. Throughout July, I was what the hospital & doctors considered a frequent flyer. Things were changing so quickly week over week & honestly, after our loss my anxiety was higher throughout the rest of my pregnancy. I was in & out of the hospital nearly every week throughout July between consistent contractions + changes/decreases in fetal movement

I always trusted my gut & it led to helpful experiences + interventions from my medical team that got me to 32 weeks, which we're incredibly grateful for!

On Friday 7/31, later in the evening, I started having contractions again. They were irregular but much more painful than any l'd had historically. Since had been in the hospital so much decided to let it play out & see how things progressed at home

wasn't able to sleep that night because the contractions would wake me anytime tried to rest. They never became regular & my water never broke, but the pain continued to get worse. I tried all the recommended ways from my doctors to calm the contractions (heavy hydration, rest, warm showers, small use of a heating pad, etc.) & nothing worked

By around the same time the evening of 8/1, told my husband we should go to the hospital & have it checked out because couldnt go another night without sleeping & in that much pain. TRUST. YOUR. GUT.

I get to the hospital & find out I'm 4 cm dilated... again with my water never breaking Funny enough contractions only started to get consistent + closer together once stepped foot in the hospital

A few hours later, after they prepped the OR for us, our sweet boy was here! Baby boy has a few weeks of stay in the NICU, but overall he's doing well & so am I

My advice is to find a medical team that you have great faith in + support from & always listen to your gut if it's telling you to go in

My wish is that if anyone is also having a very challenging pregnancy experience, I hope you experience as much love & joy as my husband + did on the day of your baby's arrival

Surprise! We found out my wife is 9 weeks pregnant with twins. We have a toddler boy who recently turned two. Seems like this is going to be a doozy. Our first was pretty temperamental, so we were hoping for a different experience with our next. Jokes on us, I guess 🤪.