Preparing For Twins
Preparing for twins is two fold; mental preparation and practical preparation. To be honest, I doubt that anyone is truly prepared for the onset of newborn twins and all that they bring; even those who have had a singleton baby or those who have more than one child already really can’t truly understand what having two babies at the same time actually means.
Practically speaking there is much you can do to prepare for your twins arrival and being organised will undoubtedly help you in those first few weeks where your life will be turned upside down.
My Own Personal Tip: It is important to be prepared for the arrival of your twins and it’s wise to prepare early because they do have a habit of arriving early! You should be ready to go to hospital with everything you need by 30 weeks.
Twin Baby Clothing
It is hard to know what size baby clothing to purchase in advance as you never know when your twins are going to decide to enter this world so whatever you buy ensure you keep your receipts so you can change the items if necessary. You will discover that your hospital will have items for you to use if you are caught unprepared. You should buy easy to dress items of the simplest kind especially if you have your babies prematurely; vests, baby grows and hats.
Things for Mum
Items for Mum will depend on how you have designed your birth plan of course allowing for flexibility of a twin birth. If you have opted for a natural delivery and all goes to plan then you may want to add snacks and drinks, music and reading material to the normal list of Maternity Night Dress, Toiletries, Maternity Pads, Breast Pads etc. On both occasions my hospital stays were planned C-Sections which allowed a certain amount of easy preparation.
Not all twins are delivered by C-Section but if you do end up with a C-Section will need extra help at home for the first few weeks. You can buy a few Caesarean Recovery Products as shown below.
Preparation at Home
You will need to be prepared at home also. You will need to decide where the babies’ will be sleeping both during the night and the day. Are you equipped downstairs as well as upstairs? Carrying two babies up and downstairs can be really difficult and not always a safe option especially when they get a bit bigger. If you have had a C-Section then the carrying of the twins for the first bit will be even more difficult. Deciding what you’ll need can be confusing in itself what with the array of baby products on the market. Take a look at my guide on what to buy for twins.
There is the whole do we sleep them together or do we sleep them separately debate.
Where and how will you nurse them when you are alone and only have one pair of hands? Do you have plenty of cushions?
You will need to consider which type of buggy or pram you are going to use. This is a massive decision and needs to be given careful consideration. Take a peak at which type of twin buggy for things to consider when buying one.
Then there are all the other bits of equipment you need such as bottles and sterilisers, dummies, baby wipes, clothing, nappies, baby bath, baby toiletries, baby monitor, baby thermometer. Most items you won’t need to double up on as such but there are some that you will.
I can’t really stress enough how important preparing for twins is not only because they might make an early appearance but also because newborn twins really will put the pressure on the parents during those first few weeks with relentless feeding demands and sleepless nights!
My own personal tip: Buy a book to keep a record of feeding times and amounts and any other care needed; it really helps you to remember whose been fed and whose not particularly during the night when it might be your partner who gets up to do the next feed. You can buy pre-printed books or even create and print your own spreadsheet or even just a simple notebook will do the job.
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