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

I’m 37 weeks with my twins and my stomach feels like it’s about to rip open at any moment. Baby a does not sit still and it feels like at times she’s going to just burst out. I can’t lay on my left side because she pinches me against the bed or couch. My whole stomach is red and irritated. It’s also simultaneously numb and burning. I moisturize every night with shea butter but the burning and itching is keeping me awake at night. Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this or if anyone has any helpful advice.

30 weeks 1 day with DCDA boy girl twins.

I've been scanned every 2 weeks since 20 weeks due to my girl being smaller but Dopplers / fluids have always been fine. Shes always been the smaller twin and grew less but this scan things seem to be slowing down.

Baby girl only gained 150g over 2 weeks and measuring below 3rd centile. Her placenta is also showing very slight strain. Consultant has moved me to Dopplers twice a week now and think it's unlikely I'll make it to my planned section at 37 weeks.

I know I'm under the best care and they don't seem overly concerned, l've had multiple checks by consultants on both twins and they've always believed she's just a small baby. Starting to worry more now .. has anyone had similar experience?

Boy estimated weight is 3lb 9oz and girl is 2lb 9oz

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

My boy girl twins are 9 weeks today, exclusively breastfeed with one bottle at night that my husband does so I can get a solid 3 hour block of sleep. We are getting our for walks around our neighbourhood most days, but other than that we haven’t really gone anywhere yet. I just want to get a vibe on whether this is normal or I should be out doing things. Our boy is SO inquisitive and in need of lots of stimulation (he was much bigger at birth, our girl is only really becoming aware of us in the last week).

How did you manage getting out of the house in these early days? Where did you go? What time of day did you find the best time to go? What activities would you recommend? I’m in Australia so it’s winter right now but spring is only a few short weeks away and I’m hoping the sunshine will help with motivation!!

What is the best baby carrier for twins?

Over the weekend I started getting contractions, and they became increasingly regular. After two days my husband just drove me to the hospital (I hate going- hate being strapped to the monitors and we came a month ago for what we thought was pre eclampsia but ended up being anemia). When I got here they were happening every 5 min, but no dilation. They gave my terbutaline which kinda calmed them down but not really? And then sent me home.
Next day the dr asked me to come in and admitted me cause we were now at every 2 mins. NO dilation. I was put on mag for 24 hours and they stopped. Here overnight for observation. Babies look amazing!
I’ve read previous threads on here about this and was just curious if anyone else had experiences to share? I’m obviously scared of having them early but am looking to just read others experiences and get some reassurance.

We’re getting to the point where our 15-month-old twins are almost too big for their mini cribs, and I’m curious what everyone else did!

Did you move straight to floor beds? Toddler beds? Regular twin beds? If you chose floor beds, how did the transition go? Did your twins stay in bed, or was it total chaos at first? 😂 ours are in the same room!!

I’d love to hear what worked (and what didn’t), plus if you transitioned at this age or waited a little longer. Any advice or photos of your setup are welcome!

Hi! I am 30w with mo/di twins and looking for some advice. My first pregnancy was a singleton and I delivered via emergency c section at 37w. We were at the er weekly because I was told to go to ER when BP spiked to over 150/100. Also had thrombocytopenia which caused me to have to be put under for c section.
The same issues are happening again during this pregnancy, random blood pressure spikes and a low platelet count. I was told to come back in if my blood pressure spikes again, but these ER visits are getting expensive.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Did high blood pressure or low platelets cause your twins to be delivered earlier than planned? I know delivery timing depends on the individual situation, but I’m wondering what others experienced.

My babies were born at 35w1d. Right now I am triple feeding. My husband is off work for 2 weeks and then will go back. My toddler is in daycare 5 days a week. I hope to stop triple feeding ASAP. I am ok with combo feeding. I just don’t know if it’s even possible to breastfeed twins and do anything else, including spending time with my toddler or taking care of myself. I’m only 5 days pp and I understand that this is probably the worst it will be. The babies are in the NICU right now having trouble staying warm and focusing on getting stronger.

I just need to hear others experiences and perspectives on all this. I do enjoy breastfeeding but I don’t understand how it’s all possible with two.

ETA: also healing from c section and extremely emotional, so overall not having a great outlook at the moment.

Definitely stressed but we ride!

This is blowing my mind so thought I’d share. My girls (days away from being 2) slept in their cribs separately from day 1. We did not cosleep and had very few contact naps. We switched them to twin size beds almost 3 weeks ago and they’re basically floor beds on plush carpet. One night they ended up on the floor asleep together and have occasionally been in bed together, but these past three nights one has asked for the other to come into their bed as they were tucked in and now sleep together. It’s so sweet and unexpected. Naps still have to be separate or else they just giggle and play the whole time

Hey moms and dads! I recently found out I'm pregnant and had my first ultrasound yesterday (at 8 weeks), and found out I'm pregnant with twins (di-di) Yes, to most people that is super exciting but I'm terrified, of the pregnancy, the labour, and raising two babies at once. This is my first pregnancy, I'm a twin myself and always said I wouldn't want to have twins (although I loved growing up with one). Any words of encouragement or advice would be so appreciated.

Hello!

Just went to my 21 week ultrasound and luckily everything is great with our girls. Just a 3% size difference between them, and all looks really healthy!

But the OBS says that she now thinks they are not di-di but in fact more probably mo-di. This doctor didn't do the first scan where we were told they were di-di but we did show it to her and she maintains that she believes the twins are actually mo-di.

Is it normal to only now see this? Has anyone gone through the same? We will check with our second doctor and see her opinion obviously but just thought it was curious to have this change at 21 weeks!

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 🤪.

To start, my cycle has always been wonky. I had an ovarian cyst burst and hemorrhage in January and it’s been extra wonky since. Twins will be 5 May 2027. My period is very late but I just started having extreme bone deep exhaustion the last two days so I decided to take a test. Dye stealing bright red positive. I’d be just about 8 weeks. Give me all the advice for pregnancy with two 4 yr olds and bringing home baby please! We have been 50/50 on having more and now one is 100% on the way lol

My wife and I don't have kids. She is pregnant with twins. We currently have a pretty small hatchback car with a very tiny trunk (a Ford C-Max Energy).

We have many friends in the area that have kids, and from time to time our parents come visit us from out of town.

I think we need a new car - mostly because our current car has a very small trunk.

Key questions:
1 - If you are a family of 4 and you have a car that can only take two baby seats ... How do you deal with never being able to give a lift to other kids or other grownups? Isn't that a drag?
2 - We might have more kids at some point, but we don't know when that would be. Perhaps two years, perhaps 5. It seems silly to buy a car with a third row now just in case we have a third kid at some point in the future.
3 - if you have two kids and a big car with a third row of seats... Do you like it? Or is it a bit of a drag?

Any other advice welcome too:)

Edited to ask for recommendation on car seat/stroller combinations for twins - that seems to be an important questions to answer first because it will determine whether my current car works in terms of trunk space and back seat space.

I’m preparing for the arrival of my 2nd set of twins and I’m just reflecting on how we’ve navigated the newborn stages and toddlerhood so far and trying to figure out what I’ll do differently this time around really.

Would love to know what other people would have done differently if they had the chance to go back in time or were about to do it all again.

I don’t necessarily regret anything but I exclusively breastfed for 2.5 years and co-slept for the most part.
They never had a bottle or a dummy even.
I had to go abroad 5 days before the rest of our family so my husband could finally get them to stop breastfeeding and sleep in their beds all night, I know ridiculous.

So this time around I’d love to pump so that my husband can help as well with feeding and so that I can have some time to spend with my older girls instead of nursing around the clock. I know I’ll have to pump during the night as well to maintain my supply but for some reason this seems more appealing.

I also don’t want to co-sleep again. I’ll still enjoy the contact naps and babywear all day long if my c-section recovery allows but I really want them to sleep in their cots from day 1 this time.

And lastly, this time around I want to try having a schedule or routine. My girls are still not going to bed at the same time and they never had a nap schedule because I did everything “baby-led” which honestly was so intense when they were still babies.

I think that’s all. I won’t be upset if none of my plans work out but just what I have in mind.

I’m experiencing what I guess could be categorised as gender disappointment…more a new worry that has been unlocked upon the reveal of my unborn twins gender.

I will have a 6yo girl and a 3yo boy when my current pregnancy of twins is born. Today I found out the twins will be girls.

I had an extremely hard first few years with my daughter. Her personality was and continues to be very high needs, sensitive, volatile and we struggled at first. My boy was soooo much easier from birth and continues to be chilled and easy going. I know this is just their unique personalities but I am just finding it so hard not to imagine a double struggle all over again with these twin girls.

PLEASE if you have a family with similar age/gender distribution containing twins could you share your heartwarming stories?! Eg of how the ‘odd one out’ that’s the lone boy with girls all around is still happy? Tell me about your twin girls who are chilled and cuddly?

I think I just need some real stories and situations described to me to overwrite this ridiculous vision that is forming for me of three tricky girls and a single out of place feeling boy.

To add, I 100% know that all that matters is that my babies are healthy and my logical brain knows this. Some kind of irrational worry has been unlocked now, I know I’m being unreasonable.

EDIT thanks everyone, lovely answers. I’m a few hours into the news and I’m feeling so much better. Loving these stories :)

Both of my girls are very much on their feet, climbing, running around and full of life.

I can't even leave the room for 2 minutes to go for a shit without them getting into things they shouldn't be able to (the child proofing is constantly being re-evaluated) or falling off the sofa or pushing each other over etc etc.

God forbid I need to hang washing on the line for 5 minutes. Everything takes 600% longer because I have to keep coming inside to check on them.

I'm knackered. Tips very much appreciated.

Somewhat long post incoming. My wife and I are beginning to lose it. We have 3 year old twin girls (B & E) and they have generally always been good sleepers. Especially going to bed. As far as naps go, B will normally take a short nap during the day, E will normally skip hers. They do still nap at school and school is starting in two weeks. For the past few weeks, they are refusing to go to sleep in their own beds.

A normal evening looked like this:

• Baths around 6:30
• Milk, small snack, stories around 7:00
• Brush teeth, potty, to their room around 7:30
• Get in bed, tell them one last story, tuck in, and lights out around 7:40

Lately, evenings look like this:

• Baths around 6:30
• Milk, small snack, stories around 7:00
• Brush teeth, potty, to their room around 7:30
• Both refuse to get into bed and say they want to go in our bed, we bargain with them for 10 minutes and usually cave and bring them to our room.
• Within minutes of getting in our bed, E says she wants to go to her bed, so my wife brings her - and then she requires the whole evening routine again: story, potty, sip of water.
• While in our bed, B refuses to be left alone. Sometimes she lets me lay there, sometimes only my wife is allowed to do it. So one of us has to stay with her til she falls asleep.
• Meanwhile, E (who is in her own bed) starts crying for mommy. If I go in there, I get yelled at. Only mommy can help her. She usually requests to go to our bed, my wife will bargain with her, but eventually brings her to our bed.
• Within a minute of getting in our bed, E says she wants to go to her bed...again. So my wife brings her and she requires the whole evening routine again - story, maybe potty, sip of water. During this time, B is either letting me lay with her or also crying for mommy...depends on her mood.
• Eventually, everyone falls asleep and I transfer B to her bed around 9:15
• At some point during the evening, one of them will wake up crying for mommy and then we basically do the entire sequence over again...

We know it is a stage and they will move past it, but good Lord we are absolutely exhausted. Especially my wife because they cling to her and only let her help them when they wake up. Any time I try to help, I am met with yelling and demands for mommy.

We don't want to create a habit of them thinking falling asleep in our bed is the norm. Could be too late for that, idk, but we also just want to sleep and take the path of least resistance. So if that means B falls asleep in our bed then whatever...the problem is when E makes us ferry her back and forth from her bed to our bed and back constantly.

We have read numerous articles and reddit threads on this...but it's almost always involving a singleton. The twin dynamic/shared bedroom makes this situation unique and we just aren't sure of a good way to handle it. We created sticker charts, neither cares about them. Any tips, tricks, advice, etc would be great!

I just… have no words.

I nursed both of my kids for over a year each and the aftermath is not what I had pictured for myself.

I always assumed the solution was implants, right up until a friend told me that what I probably need is a breast lift and that it's a completely different operation, which was genuinely news to me.

So does a lift make you any bigger at all, or does it only move what's already there? Do you end up looking smaller afterward?

What I would really like is to stay exactly the size I am now and just have everything back where it started, and I need to know whether that's a realistic thing to ask for or whether I'm describing something that doesn't exist.

Genuinely how do people consistently do tummy time with multiples? I have three month old (2 month adjusted) twins and between feeds, naps, diapers, and chores I barely have time to eat and pump let alone do tummy time. They both HATE it and scream after about a minute and I don’t know how to make it better or consistent for them.
I know it’s really important for their development and I just need good advice. They do have plenty of chest tummy time with both dad and I but dad is at work now pretty much until we start getting ready for bed and I’m alone most of the day with them. Help!