Twin Post! Surviving the first few weeks of life.

So.. Thomas and I had little to no help on what to expect when having twins. Everyone gave us advice on what to pack for the hospital, but no one with twins gave us advice. So if you are having twins, or you know someone about to have twins,  share these little nuggets with them so they can be a little bit more prepared. :)

Assign each baby with a color:
Even if your twins are fraternal, they will look so much alike right after birth. The pediatrician will ask you questions about each individual baby, visitors will want to know which one they're holding, and the nurses will need to give a dose of shots to them. One slip up of figuring out which baby did what or took what could become a really bad situation. For us, we made Brody wear blue and Noah wear green. We had blue and green caps that they wore at all times and had blue and green nuks so they wouldn't share germs. (that didn't last long lol)


Hospital picture outfit:

Because you're having twins, your babies will probably be slightly smaller than the average newborn. Try to find a cute preemie outfit so they don't look like they're swimming in the new, cotton newborn outfit you bought specially for their first picture. Also- the hospital photographer will take pics of one baby, then both babies, then the other baby. That calls for a heck of a lot of bight flashes in their new little eyes. The photographer will want the "perfect" picture so she will take 162 pictures while your babies are screaming because of the annoying bright flashes in their face. Put on your mommy pants and tell the photographer that it doesn't have to be perfect, chill out on the flashes because you would like your babies to have eye sight one day.


Never be alone:
This is a no brainer, but I just need to say it. For at least the first 2 weeks you need help and a whole lot of it. You are on pain meds and are still so sore from delivery. YOU NEED HELP. Not only during the day, but 24/7. I truly thought that me and Thomas could handle it by ourselves. NO. Don't do that to your husband. He'll still be taking care of you that you need more hands to help take care of the babies. You need your mom, your mother in law, you sister, your aunt, your cousin.. really anyone who has any sort of mother instinct somewhere down deep.. you need their help. You have two very demanding babies crying for your attention and unfortunately it is not physically possible to do this.

Have a meal manager:
Let me just say, I have the best sister ever! This was the biggest blessing after coming home from the hospital. She organized about 10 different families to cook dinner for us. Every day after her own work day and 3 kids to take care of, she would ride out and pick up dinner from those sweet, sweet families that cooked for us. We had a hot, delicious meal every single night with leftovers to have the next day for lunch. Seriously, that was such a huge blessing for us every day. There is no time to cook or leave the house so having someone bring it to you is the way to go. Thank you, Jamie and all of those families that cooked for us! Y'all are awesome!!
Side note- It's important to have one person, preferably a female family member or close friend, to do this task for you. You will be topless the majority of the day bc of breastfeeding, so visitors and male friends aren't a good idea to have the first few weeks.



Let your babies sleep:
(disclaimer-- I am not a medical professional, this is only my opinion)
While you're in the hospital the nurses will wake you and your babies up to breast feed every three hours. When you go home, you assume you need to continue this cycle. DON'T. You're babies will definitely let you know when they are hungry. In my own personal opinion, if you wake a baby throughout the night to eat, he will get use to waking every three hours, even if they're not hungry. This can be a very, very difficult habit to break. Other twin websites/blogs say if one wakes up to eat, wake up the other one. I have a difficult time doing that. Your babies need one on one time with Mommy. Its hard on you, and you will feel like the only thing you do all day is be topless and feed (and it will be for a while),  but I believe it's best for building a relationship with your babies. ----(Breastfeeding twins will be a different blog at a different time)
You will have to do what's best for you. Like I said before, this is what I believe and what worked for me personally.

These are called Rock n Plays. They slept in these for 3 1/2 months in our bedroom before they started sleeping in their cribs. These are great and easy to move around. Don't waste your money on a bassinet. These are perfect for twins. 

(The secret on how we crib trained two babies in one night is another post at another time)