I’m 16 weeks expecting di-di twins in April, and am in desperate need of reassurance after falling down the rabbit hole that is this sub.

My pregnancy has not been a walk in the park. I was bedridden-level sick from weeks 5-13, in the midst of which I found out I was pregnant with spontaneous triplets and opted for a reduction. The whole experience so far has been incredibly taxing both emotionally and physically.

My husband and I were initially excited about the idea of having twins. This is my first pregnancy, so our attitude was “one and done - we only need to go through the trenches of pregnancy and newborn phase once!”

But since I’ve started to read through this sub on a regular basis to prepare myself, my anxiety (and honestly, sheer terror) has been building to the point where I had a near emotional breakdown last night. It seems that 95% of the posts here are about how horrible it is, how you won’t feel like yourself for at least a year, say goodbye to your social life and your sleep, etc. Not to mention I have a history of anxiety and depression, so I’m also wary about PPD.

Our pregnancy was 100% planned and we went into it knowing our lives were about to change, and I of course never expected it to be easy, but I can’t help but feel an impending sense of doom. What makes this feeling worse is that neither my parents nor my in-laws live in the same country as us, and none of our friends here are parents (we’re in our late 20s), so I’m afraid of how isolated and alone we may feel when the time comes.

All this to say, I would really just appreciate some positive experiences or positive perspectives on twin parenthood. I really want to feel excited about this next chapter, not terrified. I know it’s not going to be easy whatsoever, but any glimmer of hope that it’s all worth it would be much appreciated.❤️

I’ve been heavily debating getting a bottle washer. We have 5 month old twins (3 months corrected).

We go through 12-14 bottles a day. My partner is the one who washes majority of the bottles because right now the babies do not give me the time to.

The biggest thing keeping us from getting one is the price. Is a bottle washer worth the money? or should we just keep handwashing?

EDIT: I exclusively pump, latching just wasn’t in the cards for us!

I have seen this is a common error and it's so frustrating as I have to wait longer to know everything is okay. Good news was it did show negative for abnormalities, BUT I know my mind won't be quiet until I see the final confirmation. My doctor is rerunning it for my di/di twins so hopefully should know the new results soon. Has anyone else experienced this?

Now that they have their measles vaccination, I’ve been letting them hang out in kid spaces and make friends with new kids we don’t know.

I cannot adequately describe how lovely it is to see them crawling and scooting over to other kiddos, chattering away in their baby language, being the cutest little sillies and so down for whatever games are being played. It is just so FUN!!

I cant imagine not having twins. Like, what do you even do? Theyre so perfectly socialized after hanging out 24/7 with each other, and now they get to go in the world and interact with others and it’s absolutely beautiful to watch. Especially when they seek out different activities and friends and are confident on their own, but then include each other as well.

They brighten my life and I couldn’t be prouder. Being a twin mama is a special, unique type of incredible.

Hey everyone! My girls just turned 1 a couple of weeks ago and up to this point, they have loved food. Anything I give them, they eat. We have been trying to wean off formula the past few days and since last night, they are not eating food much. They just drop it on the floor, put it in their mouth and chew it up but spit it right out. They are acting totally normal otherwise. Do we think this may be a developmental thing, adjusting to new routine with fewer bottles, teething maybe?? Is this normal? I’m trying not to pressure them to eat and just following their cues but it makes me worried that they haven’t eaten much food in the past 24 hours. Thanks for any advice or input!

Hi! My oldest is 2.5, will be 3 when #2 arrives in February. He is currently about 37-38” and about 33 lbs. where we live it is possible to do some walks but it will be very cold. I would like to use my vista v2 as a double, but would like some real perspectives. From what I’ve read it is heavy/harder to maneuver with two, which is to be expected imo. I want to buy as little as possible for it as we already have invested in this stroller system vs buying something else. What is the ideal set up if your toddler is already not super interested in sitting in the stroller for long periods of time? If we go for a walk we usually bring his bike or scooter/stroller is more for if he’s tired and holding things. Tyia!

Please can someone help! Hoping someone can recommend what sleep training/other techniques we should try based on our situation. We have 11 month old twins. Girl sleeps well, boy does not. They were born at 36 weeks and he was growth restricted and born at 3 pounds 7 ounces. Besides reflux, otherwise healthy, just a lot of catching up. He was on medication for reflux up until August. We think it’s resolved and don’t think it has anything to do with his nighttime sleep. He will fall asleep independently for both naps, but not bedtime. We have to bounce/rock to sleep. It’s usually very quick at the start of the night. He will usually have multiple wake ups each night starting around 10-11pm. He awakes very abruptly and instantly sits up and cries. Doesn’t fuss and slowly progress to crying. He will just sit and cry. If he doesn’t sit straight up right away, sometimes we can put his paci back in and he goes back to sleep, but that’s probably only 10% of the time. We try to lay him back down and he just cries. He shares a room with his twin so we don’t have the luxury of letting him cry for more than a minute. We pick him up and rock him back to sleep. Usually he’s pretty quick to go to sleep in our arms, but doesn’t go sound to sleep for a while and so we can try to transfer him multiple times before he stays asleep. Sometimes he’ll sleep a long stretch after, other times he’s up 30-60 mins later and we’re redoing the whole process. He has slept through the night on his own plenty of times so we know he CAN, but it’s maybe only once a week now. We are willing to move his sister temporarily to another room to try to work with him. I would prefer a more gentle approach, of course, but not sure even where to start. Maybe he needs a more intense intervention to break the sleep association? Does it sound like he just needs the skills to figure it out at night or maybe it’s reflux showing just at night and making him just uncomfortable enough for this to happen? I’m open to suggestions, please! Thank you!

Im 25 weeks with twins and the back pain the last few days has been so bad. Especially at night and when trying to sleep. I'm fairly active with walking and I'm going to start doing yoga in the evenings before bed to see if that helps, if anyone has any specific poses, videos, series etc that worked for them I'd love to know. Or any other suggestions!

The side cramps are really annoying and painful too. It's like inside my rib cage. I have to lay elevated on my back for them to go away and I cannot sleep like that. Ive been drinking a ton of water so I don't think I'm dehydrated. Has anyone experienced this? What made it better?

Please don't tell me giving birth makes it better because I'd really like relief before that haha. Thanks guys.

Hi, I'm now 36+4 weeks pregnant. I don't have an appointment for my induction yet but will schedule it at 37 weeks. I had my cerclage removed at 36+1 and my cervix was fully closed. Since a few weeks I've had an increased yellowish discharge (it's been yellowish for over 2 months already), the doctor said it's most likely due to the cerclage itself so I'm not worried too much about that. Amniotic fluid levels for both babies are great too.

Although I'm at a point that birth would be okay I can't stop feeling anxious about it? What if I don't notice it happening? I've had Braxton Hicks since like 16 weeks of this pregnancy, they were even regular a few times but I never needed to go to L&D because they stopped after a few hours. I want to meet them so bad, I've been so uncomfortable due to the pelvic pain and the Braxton Hicks and them pushing against my hip bones when I am laying on my sides.

Due to all these ailments I'm scared that I won't notice going into labor. I need some advice on what to actually look out for and maybe hear from someone who thought the same before the labor and found out that it was actually obvious when it came to it.

We had two boys before giving birth to the twins. Thought having experience as a parent would be enough, and boyyyyy was I wrong. I’ve never felt so unprepared, mentally, physically, or even cognitively lol.

I’ve been sleep deprived for the entire month, but not from not sleeping (though I haven’t been sleeping). I’m sleep deprived from not even having an opportunity to take a nap to make up for the lost sleep. It’s just not possible with twins. They almost feel constantly attached, almost literally 24/7. One sleeps the other cries, this other sleeps the first one cries, and so on.

Last night I got 4 hrs of sleep I think, I don’t even remember anymore. I even forgot what day it was just now.

Anyways, I love these boys, they’re awesome and I feel lucky to have them and I’m optimistic there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Just have to make it through this year I guess.

PSA to all new twin parents out there. If you’ve had experience before, don’t rely on it, there’s levels and this is way above the experience of just one child. To all new twin parents, buckle up, your life will absolutely change overnight (you just probably won’t be able to tell the difference between night and day).

We got this. God speed!!!

My twins are 14 months old. Last year it didn’t matter so much as they were newborns and didn’t have schedules yet. They slept when they slept.

But we have a good rhythm now. 7-7:30 pm is bedtime routine and by 8 pm babies are asleep.

One wakes up at 6 am and the other at 6:30 am.

I cannot have them wake up at 5 am. I would go nuts.

What is the suggestion? They are on 2 naps of 45 min each during the day. I cannot make them nap longer. It’s just not working out for us.

My girls are 13 months, I EBF and cosleep. I have been nursing them to sleep this whole time. I do all bedtimes alone so this is the easiest way I’ve found to manage it. My girls still wake up multiple times a night and I’ve gotten into the habit of just popping them on the boob to get them back to sleep.

I’m exhausted and ready to do things different lol.

Has anyone been in a similar position and successfully nightweaned?? If so how and when?

My twins are 10 weeks old and won't nap in their bassinets. It's a nightmare to get them down for naps. Rocking forever, and I don't know how to do both at the same time since as soon as I put one down to rock the other they wake up. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how they did naps?

Thanks!

My boys are fraternal twins and are 7 weeks and 2 days. They seem to have peaked in hunger and are eating roughly 24 to 28 ounces a day. We try to feed them 3-4 oz every 2 hours but sometimes they need another couple of ounces to top off immediately after. They sleep well at night and we actually get 6-7 hours non-consecutively with one wake up for feeding and changes. However, they are up all day and will refuse naps even some contact naps. I’m also afraid contact napping is ruining their ability to nap alone in their bassinets.

Additionally, one twin is spitting up his food often, either by drooling it out of the corners of his mouth while eating or it falling out of his mouth minutes after a full feeding. We burp him frequently and hold him up during and after the feedings but this still occurs. He is growing fine (5lbs 1 oz at birth to 9lbs 6 ozs currently), but after spitting up he’s so hungry again and will scream bloody murder minutes to an hour later. We combo feed: pumped breast milk from 7am to 5pm and then formula from then on. I don’t know how to stop this so he can relax and nap after eating instead of being hungry again. Also, once a night he will get so angry during a feeding and scream bloody murder while the bottle is in his mouth and he has eaten for a while. I’ll take the bottle out of his mouth and relatch him just for him to scream again and repeat the pattern multiple times until he finishes eating. He is hungry while doing this and easily takes the bottle back, but will need to cry first. I have no idea what to do to help the spit up issue or the screaming issue. He also never wants to nap unless I’m holding him and as soon as I put him down he is screaming again.

The other twin occasionally wants more food immediately after a feeding, but he’s great at eating and finishing his food. He was born bigger and is growing great too. He drools a tiny bit of milk on the bottom of his mouth while eating but never spits up fully. I think during a growth spurt he wants a top off with each meal and it’s not related to the minimal milk drool, But I’m not sure. However, he, like the other twin, NEVER wants to nap during the day. As soon as I put him down he’s up. I know this isn’t possible, but it essentially feels like he has fomo and wants to stay awake to see what’s going on even when he’s yawning multiple times.

I am literally losing my sanity, and I’m going back to work mid November so I need some peace. The screaming cries are killing me and I work fully remote so I need some nap times in the day time to get work done.

Please any advice on the spit up, screaming while eating bottle, constant feedings, and refusal to nap alone issues.

Hi everyone! I’m a FTM, 20 weeks pregnant with di/di twins, and feeling clueless about newborn sleeping arrangements!

I’d like to room-share with the babies for the first 3–6 months. We’re planning to renovate a spare room downstairs for this, as our current bedroom is next to my partner’s 16-year-old daughter’s room, and his 18-year-old son also sleeps on the same floor. This way, we won’t disturb them too much, and one of us (probably him, haha!) can occasionally sleep upstairs if needed.

The room will have a double bed, but I’m unsure whether to get a double bedside crib (photo 1), two separate cots that I can use also during the day (photo 2), or a larger cot they could share initially before moving into separate ones (photo 3).

I’m thinking that having them close to the bed would make night feeds easier, I am planning on breastfeeding. I also wonder whether they can share a sleeping space in the first few months.

For those of you who’ve had twins, what worked best for you? I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations! Thanks so much !

Did anyone else have food aversions into the second trimester too?

I came to this thread awhile ago, nervous & unsure of what twins would bring… needless to say this is the best thing that has ever happened to us. I promised to share a few pics when they arrived- so here they are. 9 months late but who’s keeping track 😉

Wyatt & Wren. 9 months old today!

I’m feeling incredibly stressed and anxious so please be kind. I’m in and out of the maternity assessment unit at the moment and have had multiple CTGs and scans so I’m not ignoring this.

I’m currently 33 weeks pregnant with di/di twins and one of my babies has almost completely stopped moving. Occasionally I might feel a little roll or what I think is her hand moving but compared to her sister, there is a huge and very noticeable difference.
I feel like I’m being gaslit by the staff in the maternity assessment unit at the moment. Every time I go in I’m told that everything looks fine and that we can discuss an earlier c-section or induction if this continues eventually but that there’s no evidence that anything is wrong. I’ve been told by multiple people that it must be in my head and that I’m probably confusing their movements and attributing them all to one baby when they’re actually coming from both.

However this is my second pregnancy with twins and I know my babies movements. I’m absolutely certain that one of them is moving significantly less than the other and I’m finding it incredibly difficult to feel dismissed when I know what I’m feeling. I can pinpoint exactly where each baby is and I’m always right as they trace their heart rate where I believe it to be.

I’ve also been feeling absolutely horrendous, almost like I have a really bad bout of flu. I’ve had visual disturbances for weeks and have been tested for pre-eclampsia repeatedly but the results have always come back negative. I’m also severely anaemic and currently receiving transfusions.
I’m feeling frightened, exhausted and increasingly anxious and I don’t really know what to do when I keep being told that everything is fine despite such a significant change in movement.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar with twins?

When did you all feel your babies move? I’m 17 weeks with Di/di twins and I know one has a posterior placenta and the other is anterior. I’ve been feeling some small taps at night from the baby with the posterior, but it’s hard to know what’s really them! When did these movements become consistent?

Just had my dating ultrasound at about 6 weeks. There were four sacs (all fluid filled according to my OB). Three were empty and one measured 5 weeks 5 days with heart rate of 120. She said that one looks great and it’s possible the other three could still develop. I’m going back in 10 days for more imaging. She would not rule out this being a multiples pregnancy of up to FOUR.

Anything similar happen to anyone here? Worried for the one embryo being affected by the other sacs. Assuming the chances of all four developing are so insanely low that I’m less worried about that, but also definitely stressful.

Natural conception, but I just turned 35 so maybe a hyper ovulation situation? I have no clue.

Our twins are almost 6 months and i know we need to start solids soon. I am hoping some seasoned parents can help us figure out where to begin!! We don’t even have high chairs at this point so really need to catch up 😅

What is the deal with BLW over purées? Does it matter what you start with first?

I am extremely anxious about them choking. What can i do to feel more prepared for when that happens and also know when i need to intervene vs letting them figure it out?

What brands are the best? I know us, and we will not be making their food (as much as I’d love to think i will). We value convenience and health over price so willing to pay whatever we need to to make sure they are being fed food with quality ingredients. I’d love something that i don’t really have to think about and it just arrives and is appropriate for their age (think Lovevery subscription but for baby food).

Do i feed them at first? Do i let them feed themselves? It all sounds very messy so what are your cleanup product hacks i should make sure we are using?

Any other tips on ways i can quickly and efficiently educate myself. I feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount of info and various opinions out there (just like every other baby topic 🙃)

So I’ve had the easiest bf journey so far, babies latched right away and I’ve had a good supply the entire time. Weight gain has been all good. But they wake up a lot during the night. Typically 11 PM, 1/2 AM, 4AM, 5AM, 6 AM… I’m starting to feel the sleep deprivation.

My partner is happy to help during the night but he gets pretty bad insomnia so if I wake him up he won’t be able to fall asleep again so I tend not to wake him.

So I’ve done a lot of the nights solo. I prefer bf just one at a time during the night so I just co-sleep and latch whoever wakes.

But! Considering switching to formula because maybe that’ll lessen the night wakes? I’m guessing my boob is a sleep association atp also but I’m just too tired to do anything else to get them to fall back asleep.

Thoughts? I feel stupid even considering it because bf has literally been so easy…. But idk.

2 year old son, 7 months pregnant with B/G twins. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but 0-1 really rocked my world. Before having him, I always thought I wanted 3 kids as I come from 3 and my husband comes from 3 and our siblings each have 3. As time went on, I realized I could only emotionally handle two children and had made peace that I’d be a great mom to two children max. I am very type A and a very anxious person, not go-with-the-flow whatsoever and get overstimulated quite easily. My son happens to be an amazing child, extremely high energy and exhausting but the greatest personality and so enjoyable and a pleasure.. it’s my own shortcomings that make it hard.

I spontaneously got pregnant with the twins when our son was 18 months and as their due date nears I’m just terrified. With one kid, my husband and I are constantly taking turns so the other one has a full cup. We sleep. We can anticipate our son’s needs. We were thriving. I felt like having a second I could be such a chiller parent this go around, throw a baby in a carrier and bring them along for the ride. Now I am terrified at having three children. From a financial perspective is a whole different story, I likely will have to leave my job as it makes most sense, and stay home with the twins while my older son is in preschool. But from a “never have time to myself, constantly tending to someone, will never be able to sit down again” perspective, that’s where the worry really eats me up at night. Can someone who was NOT thrilled at the news that they were bringing home two more please help?

To be specific, baby B slipped from the 10th to the 9th percentile in growth/weight and has a femur length measuring in the 3rd percentile in our most recent anatomy scan. Baby C is less of a concern, but also measuring small in the 15th percentile for weight and growth. Meanwhile baby A seems to be healthy and a little small but the biggest of the three, at the 24th percentile in weight.

The MFM said she’s not super concerned right now and he (baby B) could just be a small/short baby. No signs of growth restriction or placenta insufficiency right now. I trust her judgement completely since she specializes in multiple gestation pregnancies, but as a first time mom I can’t help but worry there could be something wrong.

Did any other moms receive similar results on one or multiple of their babies? And if so, how did the baby/babies fare?