TWINS! That always gets everyone's attention. For any of you preparing to have twins, congratulations. You're in for a ride! I had tons of questions when I found out I was having twins and luckily I had a few people I knew that had twins and could give me some advice. I also read quite a few books about pregnancy with twins and caring for twins after they're born. There's a lot out there. Some advice I followed, some advice I tried to follow but it didn't quite work for us, and some advice I didn't even think about following—it was pure craziness. Nonetheless, it was good to hear because it gets you thinking, "How am I going to do this?" It's all part of the preparation. So here's my advice. Take it with a grain of salt. All families are different, all moms and dads are different, and most importantly, all babies are different. So it may not fit you and your family, but it gives you something to think about. Be warned, this is long, but I broke it up into 2 parts and included pictures to help you stay focused.

If you're not having twins and still want to read this, go ahead! Read it all. It'll make you glad you got yours one at a time.

The Inquirers

When people find out you're having twins, get used to them asking, "Oh, do twins run in your family?" Or from the more bold and less tactful, "Were you doing fertility treatments?" Figure out now how you're going to respond so you're not flustered.

Size Matters

Prepare to get big and uncomfortable—fast. It's true. There's not much else I can say about that. It's gonna happen. This is me at 14 weeks, when normal pregnancy bellies aren't showing yet, and the second is me at 35 weeks, where all moms expecting twins want to get.

Tummy Tubes

Buy a Bella Band or Tummy Tube. They're called lots of different things. What are they? Basically they are a stretchy cummerbund to wear around your tummy and pull over your pants to keep you all covered. If they're good and stretchy, they also offer some support for that growing belly. If you get one early enough they can help the transition from regular clothes to maternity clothes. I myself, as well as many others I know use the band to hold up and cover our jeans when it was time to unbutton them in order to still wear them - when you're not quite ready for maternity pants. Plus, they're great to have after you deliver because they kinda hold you all in. They'll get you back into regular jeans a little earlier if you still need to unbutton them to fit in them. (Don't worry, most of us have to do that for a little while after we deliver.)

Meals

Make frozen meals—as many as your freezer will hold. Brown hamburger, cook chicken, chop veggies and freeze them in bags for quick jumpstarts to meals.

Sleep Expectations

Try not to get too caught up in the "perfect" twin stories, ie:

“My twins were sleeping through the night at 4 weeks.”
or
“My twins were on the same schedule from day 1.”

If you end up having perfect twins, great! If not, you're like the majority of moms who struggle with a schedule for the first several months, and then again when they are sick or teething, or when you travel.

Pillows & Sleep Support

I personally bought several pregnancy body pillows and found none of them comfortable. What worked for me was putting a rice bag (not heated of course) under my tummy when I laid on my side. It was much more supportive, not so bulky and a snap to readjust when you switch sides in the middle of the night. It's a lot less likely to wake up your husband when you use a small rice bag instead of a huge body pillow.

Swelling

Most likely, at some later point in your pregnancy, you'll start to swell. Your feet will become like huge memory foam pillows. It will go away, but disappointingly not right after you deliver. In fact, the swelling got worse for me several days after delivering. But, in 7 - 10 days you'll spend a lot of time in the bathroom getting rid of the excess fluid, and then you can wear real shoes again. Yeah!

Washing Baby Clothes

Wash all the baby clothes prior to putting them on the babies for two reasons:

1. To get germs off
2. Some clothes shrink and if you don't wash them first and wait until they fit into them, the first time they wear them will be the last time after they shrink in the first wash.

Soothing

Read The Happiest Baby on the Block. It's a quick read, but better yet, watch the DVD. Your local library should have it. And make your husband watch it, too. It was the best 45 minutes of preparation we did. Honestly! It's a pediatrician explaining how to soothe and comfort your newborn. He shows techniques and explains why it works. He even does it with several screaming babies on the DVD. It's amazing. We used the techniques and they do work, although it takes practice.

Diapers

Start buying diapers now. Every time you go to the store buy a package and tape the receipt to it so if you need to return them later you can. Here's how it went for us:

• Preemie Diapers: 6-7 weeks ~ we bought about 6 packages
• Newborn Diapers: about 4 weeks ~ we bought about 5 packages
• Size 1 Diapers: about 6 weeks ~ we bought about 8 packages
• Size 2 Diapers: until about 6 months ~ we bought about 2 packages
• Size 3 Diapers: All babies are in size 3 for months and months. The weight range for them is about 16 - 28 pounds, so they might be the last size diaper you use.

We bought all these prior to them being born and we still needed to buy diapers once they got home. But, if there's a time you can't get to the store you aren't in a crisis for lack of diapers. Also, think of your year supply. I can't imagine having to wash cloth diapers if the time came when diapers were not available to buy. I want to make sure I have disposable diapers even in an emergency. Don't stop buying diapers. If you're afraid you have too many of one size, start buying size three, you'll never have enough of those. And remember, tape the receipt to the package to return them if you don't need them. Or you can give them away for baby shower gifts to other expecting moms if you have too many of one size.

Regarding brands of diapers, everyone has a different opinion, here's mine. We tried just about every brand of diaper out there: Luvs, Pampers, Huggies, White Cloud (Wal-mart brand), the Target brand, Kirkland (Costco's brand). I loved Pampers Swaddlers when they were still tiny. They're very soft and absorbent for boys and girls. As they got to be a few months old I liked Luvs. They are also soft and absorbent, but they're slightly scented, so baby has a nice smell—most of the time at least. When they turned about 6 or 7 months I went back to Huggies and White Cloud. I find them very comparable and so, of course, I use the cheaper White Cloud. The reason I like them is they have an elastic type stretchy back which is good for keeping poop from escaping up the back. Luvs wasn't able to do that once they got older and more mobile. White Cloud and Huggies also have double stretchy elastic around the legs, good for keeping poop from running down the leg. Again, Luvs wasn't so good at that. So my advice, buy several kinds of diapers and see what kind you like and what works best for your little ones. And remember, you may need to change brands as they get older. Don't accept a leaky diaper as standard, try others!

Swaddling

Buy several swaddling blankets. They look like little baby straight jackets and essentially, they are. Newborns love them! Babies will let you know when they've outgrown them. How? Well, ours grunted all night trying to get out of them and usually woke up with their legs and arms free and the blanket wrapped around their tummy like a cummerbund. The growing out of them comes at different times. Our babies were done with it after about 1½ months. Another baby we know used it well past 6 months. It doesn't seem like a long use life, but buy them—they are a good investment.

Bottle Sanitizer

Get a bottle sanitizer. Whether you breast feed solely (pumping on the side), supplement with bottles, or go strictly bottles you'll need it. I have a Munchkin brand sanitizer that goes into the microwave for two minutes. I love it! Couldn't live without it! The best baby thing we bought—honestly.

Lounge Pants

Get several pairs of comfortable lounge pants—not pajamas. You'll have something to pull on quickly once you have a spare minute. You'll be able to answer the door in these an not be embarrassed because you're still in pajamas and it's 3pm but. At the same time, you won't care too much if you get spit up on, peed on, pooped on, drooled on, etc.

Boys Will Be Boys

If you have a boy, be prepared to be peed on for the first several months. Putting a dry washcloth over his little "hose" right after you take the dirty diaper off will help. And if it doesn't, it will at least block it from hitting you in the face. (I think it's the change in temperature that makes them go.) Little girls may surprise you from time to time too, but not like boys!

Nipple Guards

If you're even going to attempt breast feeding and it's your first time, get nipple guards. These are a little plastic shell that covers your nipple. It has holes in the bottom to allow milk to flow out. It protects you from cracking and sore nipples and makes is easier for the baby to latch on and regulate the flow of milk—according to a speech therapist. I wish I started using one sooner. They sell them at Target or you can ask for one at the hospital and hope they have one to give you.

Maintenance

Clear out a cupboard in the kitchen for baby items (formula, bottles, nipples, baby food, bibs, etc.) It's much easier when it's all in one place - especially for your husband or babysitter.

Part 2 will be in a subsequent article. Thanks for reading!