Caring for one newborn is overwhelming enough, so it can seem downright impossible when you add a second baby to the mix. But with patience and some time-tested tricks and tips, you can successfully care for infant twins and maintain your sanity.
Here, both experts and moms share their do’s and don’ts for caring for twin babies:
1. DO sync their schedules
Getting your twins on the same feeding and napping schedule is essential. Otherwise, you’ll constantly be feeding babies, with Twin A ready to eat just as Twin B goes down for a nap.
The best way to synchronize schedules? “When one infant wakes up to feed, wake the other one up as well,” says Dr. Shelly Vaziri Flais, M.D., a pediatrician, mom of twins and the author of “Raising Twins: Parenting Multiples From Pregnancy Through the School Years.” “This is the one time where the ‘rule’ about never waking a sleeping baby needs to be broken.” She recommends getting a twin feeding pillow to make it easier to nurse or bottle-feed both twins at once.
2. DON’T separate older twin babies
Once your twins are sleeping through the night, it may be tempting to put them in separate rooms so they won’t wake each other. But that will only teach them to rely on total silence to stay asleep. “Let the babies sleep in the same room to get used to each other’s crying,” says Alesandra Dubin, a Los Angeles mom of boy-girl twins. “They’ll learn to sleep through anything.”
If only you could do the same!
3. DO connect with other twin moms
“I joined my local Moms of Multiples group,” says Jennifer Conti, a mother of twin boys in Staten Island, New York. “We set up play dates, had moms’ nights out and supported one another. It was my saving grace!”
To find a group in your area, visit the clubs at Multiples of America.
4. DON’T double up on everything
Two babies means two of everything, right? Not necessarily. “You never know what your babies are going to like,” says mom Nicole Tobias. “So start with one swing or bouncer, then buy another if you need it.”
More often than not, you’ll find you can get by with only one of each. Of course, you will need two car seats, cribs and other essentials.
5. DO choose gender-neutral clothing
If you’re the parent of boy-girl twins, dressing the two will be much easier in the early months if you opt for unisex onesies and sleepers. “It saves so much money and sorting efforts,” says Dubin.
6. DON’T get clothing with lots of snaps
“Opt for zippers over snaps,” Dubin says, “Every second counts when you have two!”
7. DO buy baby essentials online
Twin babies go through diapers, wipes and other everyday items at lightning speed. So Christina Szydlik, a mom of boy-girl twins in Burke, Virginia, had all of her baby essentials delivered through Amazon Family. “No panicking when the diaper supply got low, no carting giant boxes through the store, no unloading the car,” she says. “Everything was delivered in less than 48 hours!”
8. DON’T go in alone
Caring for twin babies is a lot of work. There are two mouths to feed, two diapers to change and two different cries to soothe. So don’t be afraid to get help from friends, family or a nanny.
“I thought I should be able to handle it all while my husband was at work,” Szydlik recalls. “Wrong!” She ultimately hired a part-time nanny to help with baby care and household chores.
9. DO go with the flow
Perhaps the biggest DO comes from Thuy Mai, mom of four boys (including one set of twins) in Federal Way, Washington. “We took each day at a time and did not let the fact that it was hard work stop us from going anywhere,” she recalls. “Today, at age 3, the twins are pretty easygoing!”
Try not to stress too much about caring for your twin babies and enjoy each moment as it comes!