Bought one got one free

[TIFFnTWINSMOMMA]

Hello....
Yep we are having twins...and the natural way, which apparently amazes alot of people lately.. Well I would like any resources other twin mommas have, I am about 16 weeks, and at my 15 week appt I was measuring at 19 weeks singleton...I am so excited and nervous....

Well take care all

[CaptHeather]

Look around for an active Mother of Twins/Multiples group. I'm joining one in Texas. I used Craigslist to find a great lightweight double stroller.

And be very prepared for a lot of folks to ask you if you were on fertility treatments. :) I'm tired of the question, but I try to remember that there are a lot of folks out there who do have twins on fertility treatments and people aren't trying to be rude when they ask. :) Okay, some might be, but I prefer to pretend they weren't.

I have a lot of info at home, but I'm not there. I'll try to remember to send it to you when I get back. :)

[TIFFnTWINSMOMMA]

Thanks captheather

[busymommy-123]

hello! congratulations! We also had twins the 'natural' way identical boys (5 mo) and we also have a 2 yr old boy :) Finding out what the sexes of your babies are is a great way to prepare for when they come. I was able to find great deals on clothes, bedding and equipment that I would have had to pass up on if I didnt know we were having boys. If you join a multiples group, they might have mom-to mom sales and Kijiji is a great site for selling and buying used equipment. shop now, b/c you probably wont have the time or energy to shop after the babies are born!
If you plan to breastfeed that great! I am breastfeeding my boys too :) My advice to have formula in the house just in case you need some. If you have time, sign up for free giveaways from baby companies (huggies, pampers, enfamil, nestle, etc) we get free formula that way and tons of coupons for diapers and food!
Enjoy your quiet time before the babies and learn to say 'yes' to help in any shape or form! (dinners, cleaning, babysitting, clothing)I always used to say 'no thanks i can do it' thinking they were thinking I wasnt capable of taking care of my kids/house but people just want to help out of the kindness of their heart(most of the time)so let them :)
Hope all goes well with your pregnancy and birth of your precious ones! God bless :)

[zinkemomx2]

I second signing up for all the baby companies. Not just formula and diapers. I got free engraved baby spoons, a gazillion of diaper coupons and samples, baby food coupons, etc. Call the 800# on anything baby related and tell them you are having twins. Usually they have a special mailing list. After the coupons stopped coming I called them all again and got put back on for another few months.

My only other piece of breastfeeding advice is a great pump and a comfortable place to sit and nurse.

[Mary_Mary]

After my boys were born (didn't know I was having twins until AFTER my first son was born) lots of people asked if we'd done fertility treatments. Thing is, most of the people who asked knew that we'd been TTC for years. However we hadn't done anything other than some exploratory surgery to check my tubes...I ended up getting pregnant totally out of the blue.

And that was 17 years ago so asking isn't a new phenomenon. Nor are fertility treatments, as several of the families I knew with twins back when my boys were little were a result of fertility treatments, including IVF.

Of course these days the tables are turned for me a bit. My last baby is a result of in vitro and I was actively HOPING for twins, but of the four embryos transferred she was the only one who made it.

I guess when people ask if you used fertility treatments you could simply say, "What does it matter?"

I'm pretty far removed from caring for infant twins at this point, but let's see what I remember....

Drink lots of water. If ever you wake up in the morning and DON'T need to pee immediately then make an effort to drink more water that day.

Make sure you take someone to help you when you go to the doctor. Or the grocery store for that matter. Resign yourself to rarely going anywhere for the first few months.

Accept all help graciously and enthusiastically.

Be prepared for dumb questions even after the babies arrive.

Example: I have seen SO many people look at boy/girl twins and ask, "Are they identical?"

Example: I had WAY more people than I would have thought possible say, "You're breastfeeding? I didn't know you could do that with twins!" My response was always, "Well, there are two of them and two of them...the math works for me."

And...the ever annoying..."Gosh, twins...I could never handle twins." My response to that one was always, "Oh, so you would have left one of them at the hospital?"

[Mary_Mary]

Oh, and I just re-read your thread title.

I've always told people that I got to the hospital when they were having a 'Buy one, get one free' sale or a 'Two for one' sale and that's how I ended up with twins.

[busymommy-123]

yes..a pump is great! I use mine almost everyday!
Something I found annoying what people said was"Oh, I'm glad it's you and not me" what's that supposed to mean? I feel like replying "You are glad I'm going to have sleepless nights and twice the amount of work while you sit back and watch?" or "you wouldnt want something amazing as being blessed with twins for yourself?"
More i've heard often is(from close friends and family and strangers):
"what were you thinking?" "how are you going to handle it all?" "are you crazy?"
do people really think we've put a request in for 2 babies at once?
Twins are a blessing and very unique, so I'm thankful for what God has given us and not them..lol!

[Mary_Mary]

Oh yeah, the 'better you than me' comment is beyond annoying.

I was THRILLED about having twins and was actively rooting for another set during all my subsequent pregnancies!!!!

[TIFFnTWINSMOMMA]

OMG, thank you for the insights...I love the comments people say...

We are having twin girls, so that is exciting since our first is a girl...lots of clothes already...I am sure glad I saved them.

[CaptHeather]

Glad for the update! And I hope you start posting belly shots so my thread won't get lonely. I totally forgot the list I got emailed, so I'll try and remember again when I get home. :)

[aussietwirler]

Hi, I've got 18 mth old twin boys. We think they are fraternal but waiting on DNA testing to confirm.

People can be so nosy and negative when you are pg with twins & continue to be so afterwards.

I try real hard to smile and let them know it's not the end of the world.

The usual ones are..

Are they natural - um pretty real to me
Were you trying - How does one try to have twins
Was it IVF - No it was SEX
Do twins run in your family - Well they do now!
Gee you're going to have your hands full - yep full of babies
Oh I couldn't cope - Oh so you'd send them back?
Better you than me - Hmm I guess so

I can give you a whole list of funny responses I found somewhere else that I found hilarious.. if you are interested?

Anyway, I just have to say given the theme of this forum, that I found Breastfeeding them a huge challenge and was stunned at the number of people who were really negative and pushed me to give up!

"but there are two of them and only one of you".. has no one heard of supply equals demand!!??

It may be hard in the beginning but it is so worth it.

Having said all the above, I've had plenty of twin friends who have fed twins with no problems at all :)

Good luck, keep us informed and I'm happy to share the journey with you.

Join your local twin groups and a twin forum if you can.. only a twin Mum understands a twin Mum!

[godiva87]

i have identical twin girls. i breastfed until they were 6 months, i was 3 month pregnant when i stopped breastfeeding them. because i had a lot of people tell me i couldn't breastfeed when i'm pregnant. so i stopped wish i breastfed them longer. my son was born 1 year an 10 days after my twins. so i get a lot of "your crazy." an "glad thats not me" . TIFFnTWINSMOMMA, if you lived near me i have bags an bags of identical clothes for girls. an One way i could tell my girls apart when they first came home was i painted their big toe nails. it helped alot. but now i can tell my girls apart. their personalities are so different. if you have any questions i dont mind answering them. good luck an enjoy them it goes by so fast!

[Little_Mewx2]

hi my Name is Sarah Yammamoto i apologize if i sound a bit dorky saw your ost i also have twins myself two little girls 3 months old. Kimmy and Mille. I adore them greatly my first litter so to speak hah....iv enjoy having them around i feel it completes me.

[CaptHeather]

Hi Sarah! Glad to see you!

[Sassafras]

bump

[TIFFnTWINSMOMMA]

I won't be posting pics because I don't like fat pics, and I don't want to be in front of the camera, but here is an update...I am 26 weeks, tummy measured 30 inches, I gained 7 lbs in 4 weeks. their heartbeats were 138 and 144...so far so good...

[Cry_Baby]

I love the title on this thread.

[TIFFnTWINSMOMMA]

I just wanted to post a quick update, I have a dr appt friday, so i can give you more stats then. I currently have out grown size 1x maternity shirts.. these girls seem to be growing healthy and big...which makes me happy, since I worried in the begining they would be too small. Also, I can wear size 3x mens sweat pants and they don't fall down...in other words I am getting huge. If I stand straight and look in the mirror sideways my tummy looks like a torpedo, or a huge watermelon or two beach balls. The stretch marks started to expand past dd (ie previous pregnancy) marks, which I am okay with since Ihad so many with dd, I didn't expect anything less..haha.