Topic: Twinning

Twinning: Playgroups Are A Life Line

The twin playgroup I joined when my twins were about 10 months old turned out to be a lifesaver for me, and six years later I’m still in contact with all the original mothers. Our group consisted of seven mothers and 14 babies, so there was never a dull or quiet moment. There were actually so many unfinished conversations that we’d often have a follow-up group email afterwards, giving everyone a chance to finish the thoughts that had been interrupted by a fall, a bite or a diaper change. More »

Twinning: Some Twin Moms Definitely Go For The Natural Birth Fantasy

Last week, I wrote about own desire to go straight for the c-section when delivering my twins. But both my cousin Rena and friend Christina are heroes in my eyes, because I couldn’t contemplate going through what they did to bring their twins into the world.

After having her first child vaginally, my cousin Rena delivered her twins vaginally, and hearing her story while I was pregnant with my own set of twins reinforced my decision to schedule a C. My cousin is very much like me in that she tells it like it is. I knew that more than anyone, she’d tell me the real deal without an ounce of sugarcoating, and that’s exactly what I needed.
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Twinning: I Never Got Caught Up In The Natural Birth Fantasy

I’m one of those women who never felt that “natural” birth sounded all that natural—and even if I only had one baby my ideal delivery would have been a c-section. So one of the first things I wanted to make sure was that my doctor would be on board with a scheduled C. Luckily, he believed that c-sections are the safest way to deliver twins and said that would have been his suggestion anyway. More »

Twinning: The Key To Sanity Is Keeping Infant Twins On A Schedule

I was so far gone by the end of the third month that I couldn’t visualize things getting better. My sleep deficit got worse and crying became something I did as regularly as breathing and walking. I couldn’t think of a better plan. I was just slogging away, trying to keep these two fragile little humans alive and happy. More »

Twinning: Taking My Peanut-Allergic Son Over The Atlantic Went Way Better Than I Expected

I wiped everything down with Wet Wipes—the window, the window shade, the remotes, the trays, and the armrests. I had just started cleaning the seat and the floor with wide strips of masking tape when my seatmate arrived to see that she was sitting next to a Crazy Peanut-Allergy Parent. I assured her I wasn’t a lunatic. It was just our first flight and I was doing everything anyone recommended to get through it. More »

Twinning: ‘Mommy And Me’ Classes Are A Bust

First of all, don’t be disappointed if you’re not allowed to sign up. Sad as it sounds, many classes such as baby gym classes (like Gymboree) and swimming lessons have a one adult to one baby requirement. This works out for the stay-at-home-mom with a live-in nanny, women with partners who can take time off, or women with agreeable relatives living nearby. But it’s not such a great deal for the rest of us.

One of my friends hired a babysitter to come to baby-gym classes with her, but personally if I’m paying for a babysitter, I’m going shopping or out to dinner. More »

Twinning: I’m Raising My Kids As Laid-Back, Underscheduled Children Of The ’70s And ’80s

One of the best things about growing up in the 70’s and 80’s was the laid-back pace. The “overscheduled child” problem we see today just didn’t exist. My mother wasn’t constantly driving us from one class to the next—the most we did outside of school was baseball, softball and one musical instrument each. Summer vacations stretched out before us with only a week or two dedicated to a trip or vacation. More »

Twinning: I Did Everything You’re Not Supposed To Do When Your Kid Hurts Themselves

I come from a family of worriers so naturally once my twins Allie and Nick were born, I signed up for a “Pediatric Emergency” class so I’d be ready for anything. It was an excellent class led by an experienced ER doctor. He told us all the things you should do if your kid gets hurt, like expect a lot of blood from facial injuries and don’t panic because the large quantity of blood makes it look worse than it seems. He told us that kids take their cues from us, so definitely try not to look panicked when they get hurt or your kid will freak.

Sadly enough when my twins were two years old, I forgot everything from that class in an instant. More »

Twinning: Birthday Parties Are An Etiquette Landmine

I don’t know any parent who particularly enjoys kids’ birthday parties, but no parents dislike them more than parents of twins. Twins are cute and birthday parties are cute, but somehow mixing the two into a twin birthday party is more problematic than anything I thought something cute could ever be. All sorts of questions are raised by mixing twins and parties, and I’m no Emily Post, but I’m here to offer my veteran advice. More »

What We're Reading:

Twinning: Taking Care Of Sick Twins Means Double The Projectile Vomit

Taking care of one sick baby is bad enough, but two sick babies can nearly put you over the edge. One of the lowest moments of my twin motherhood had to be after my twins both projectile vomited in their high chairs, and in a blind panic I grabbed my What To Expect the First Year book to look up what you’re supposed to do when your kid is puking. Most mothers would know what to do, or would stay calm and carry on, but with both babies covered in puke and screaming their heads off, I blanked. More »

Twinning: Vacationing With Twins Is Way Less Fun Than It Looks

We made our first pit stop to clean ourselves up, and to find me a new t-shirt. Vaguely clean but stinking like puke, we all got back into the car. The screaming continued as did the vomiting. Despite being more than halfway there, I got to the point where I told my husband to just turn around. I was done, and our vacation hadn’t even started. More »

Twinning: I Defied Twin Convention & Kept My Twins Together Through Kindergarten

Having twins can be the most amazing experience of your life. It can also cause you to wake up in the morning wishing you were someone else. Twinning offers an honest depiction of life with twins from a mom who … More »

Twinning: It Takes A Century To Leave The House With Twins

Imagine carting around two adorable pieces of luggage that can scream, eat and shit: it’s not so much fun. Just the preparation for going anywhere was exhausting. If you’re one of those care-free “let’s just wing it” types of parents who turn up without bottles or spare clothes for your babies, then lucky you. You’ll get out more, and I’m sure your baby will survive. Unfortunately I’m the type of self-conscious mom who felt that it was my responsibility to have everything the babies needed at all times. More »

Twinning: My Twins Have A Love/Hate Relationship

My 6-year-old boy/girl twins are either best friends or mortal enemies, and lately they seem to favor being the latter. More »

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