Twin advice

[niccig]

A good friend is pregnant with twins, her DS will be 2 when the babies are born. She mentioned difficulty finding advice on twins, other than 1 or 2 chapters in baby books. Does anyone know of anything?

Thanks, Nicci

[Twin Mom]

If she is planning on breast feeding I would recommend Mothering Multiples. I just looked on Amazon and BN.com and didn't see it so I think it may be out of print now but I'm sure it can be found somewhere. I took a course at my local hospital called Marvelous Multiples and they sold the book there so you might want to see if there is anything like it in her area. I also got Twins Magazine when mine were young which had some good information(www.twinsmagazine.com). They have a bulletin board on the site similar to this one although I've never used it.

I always recommend that moms join their local twins or multiples club. It is a much better resource than any book as you get to talk with other moms who have gone through the same things plus you make new friends too!

If you do a advanced search here for "twins" I'm sure you will find some other posts that might be helpful.

HTH.

[KBecks]

Just wanted to say she should be careful with how much time they spend in stationary positions (swings, bouncy seats, car seats, etc.)

It's hard to keep up with twins and easier for one or both of them to spend more time in these seats, but that can cause some of the flat head problems.

[kfcboston]

I second Aileen's mention of a MOM (mothers of multiples) club or group in her area. I know there is a national umbrella group with a site......I just can't remember the name. But there's a search engine there for local groups. There's no substitute for other M.O.M.s!! Feel free to e-mail me, or have her do so, if you want!

Good luck to her!!

[Julie209]

Hi Nicci,

I just had twins 6 months ago and looked everywhere for a good book. My favorite by far was : Ready or Not...Here We Come! The REAL Experts' Cannot-Live-Without Guide to the First Year with Twins
by Elizabeth Lyons

It is very similar to The Girlfriend Guide to Pregnancy and the closest to what my experience has been like. I also subscribe to Twins magazine, but honestly haven't found it that useful. Their message boards are great though. The magazine seems to address premature issues more than anything and I was fortunate to carry mine to term.

Wish your friend luck. She's in for a great time :)

Julie

[niccig]

Thanks everyone. I'll pass on the advice. My friend is still a little freaked out and worried how she'll cope with twins and a toddler. I'm sure all these resources will help in some way.

Nicci

[bonbon98]

Congrats to your friend!

Here is the website I think Katie was referring to for finding a twins group: http://www.nomotc.org/

Here's the link to an online forum for multiples: http://www.twinstuff.com/

Here's another website with a page of resources/links regarding twins:
http://www.twinshelp.com/resources.html

And here's a book that I liked: "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads" by Dr. Barbara Luke. Dr. Luke has her own website also: http://www.drbarbaraluke.com/. A few moms from my multiples group went through her clinic when she was at UMich and they delivered good sized babies (7-9lbs each!!)at 37-38 weeks.

HTH somewhat!!

Bonny
Mom to E&E 5/7/02

[jillmk]

Hi! I also second the Dr. Luke book. I'm 19 weeks with twins, and DD will be 2.5 when they are born. So far I've though this book to be the most helpful as far as the pregnancy goes. Not sure after that!

Jill

[ColorBlue]

I also recommend the Dr. Luke book, its absolutely the bible on twin prengancies. I haven't found any book terribly helpful for after the babies are born but the website twinstuff.com was great for those first few months. My twins will be one year old tomorrow!! I cannot believe how fast the year went.

My advice to her on taking care of the babies and a toddler. First have lots of help, another person in addition to the father for at least a month. Second, have swings, bouncies, playards in every room! You never know when you need to put a baby down. Also enroll the older child in a preschool type program ASAP. Get the child used to it before the twins come. This was our saving grace!

Also have a plan in place in case you have to go on bedrest. I did at 31 weeks and we had to scramble to get help. Also drink lots of water, over a gallon a day...keeps those contractions away!

Sorry for the random thoughts! Hope this helps.

Tracy

Grace 11/01
Ella and Madeline...my one year old twin girls!!! WOW~!

[niccig]

Thanks again for all the advice. My friend didn't know of moms groups for multiples, I think she's going to go to a local meeting prior to the babies being born. I knew people here could help her.

Nicci