To all those still cooking and worried, "Will I be able to take care of two?"

Discussion in 'Pregnancy Help' started by geaemama, Nov 27, 2006.

  1. geaemama

    geaemama Well-Known Member

    Hey ladies,

    I wanted to post to you guys about what you have to look forward to after the babies are born. I know I was worried if I could handle two babies and what it would be like - so I wanted to pass some info on to you!

    Pros:
    1. Now 15 pounds below pre-pregnancy weight!
    2. You get more sleep taking care of two babies than you did when you were pregnant (at least this is what I have experienced!)
    3. You can breath!!
    4. After about a day you learn how to schedule feedings as much as possible and you do get good at feeding two babies at once!
    5. You can make enough milk for two babies!
    6. The only thing better than having one baby curled up and sleeping on your chest is having two babies curled up and sleeping on your chest.
    7. Everywhere you go people are facinated by two babies! (you no longer get the look of, "OMG you are about to pop aren't you!"
    8. You can eat again!
    9. They sleep a lot (at least where we are) so you can still get the laundry cleaned anyway!
    10. It is no where near as hard as you imagened it would be. Even with on in NICU and driving 30 miles to the hospital everyday, it is not as bad as you think it is going to be.
    11. Your older children, no matter how resistant, will melt when they see them!
    12. Your husband is forced to bond with one or both of them just out of necessity (diapers need to be changed!)

    Cons:
    1. Sometimes, one or both babies just have to cry.
    2. Sometimes you have to eat dinner in the living room while nursing a baby.
    3. No matter how strong you feel about nursing, sometimes it doesn't work with every baby (and the pump becomes your best friend - or most hated friend)
    4. The older kids have to learn how to be patient real fast! Bed time stories may be missed.
    5. You still spend the same amount of time on the sofa/in bed - only now it is nursing/feeding/pumping or holding a baby.
    6. The first cold is terrible, especially when the baby is only two weeks old!
    7. Every person who is captivated by the twins and comes up and looks at them turns into a walking pile of bacteria and viruses that make you cring!!!!
    8. You wish you would have bought stock in pampers and huggies (we have gone through 320 diapers in 17 days!!!)
    9. Showers are a luxury that must be taken in five minutes, usually with one or both babies crying somewhere in there!
    10. Feedings turn into an hour and a half episode - between nursing one, bottle feeding the other and then pumping for the next meal (we have one baby that just refuses to nurse so we are giving her 100% breastmilk through a bottle).


    I guess my entire point of this is you can do it! It isn't as hard as people make it out to be! You just kind of fall into a routine and it works. The hardest things for me are I feel like the older kids are neglected, we have one baby that has no interest in nursing, and that one baby really isn't fond of being held as much as I would like to hold her (she is daddy's girl). The sleep thing is a non-issue for me because I sleep way more now than I did when I was pregnant!

    Good luck to all you ladies! Believe it or not you will actually miss being pregnant at one point - even though I know it is so uncomfortable!!

    Angel
     
  2. geaemama

    geaemama Well-Known Member

    Hey ladies,

    I wanted to post to you guys about what you have to look forward to after the babies are born. I know I was worried if I could handle two babies and what it would be like - so I wanted to pass some info on to you!

    Pros:
    1. Now 15 pounds below pre-pregnancy weight!
    2. You get more sleep taking care of two babies than you did when you were pregnant (at least this is what I have experienced!)
    3. You can breath!!
    4. After about a day you learn how to schedule feedings as much as possible and you do get good at feeding two babies at once!
    5. You can make enough milk for two babies!
    6. The only thing better than having one baby curled up and sleeping on your chest is having two babies curled up and sleeping on your chest.
    7. Everywhere you go people are facinated by two babies! (you no longer get the look of, "OMG you are about to pop aren't you!"
    8. You can eat again!
    9. They sleep a lot (at least where we are) so you can still get the laundry cleaned anyway!
    10. It is no where near as hard as you imagened it would be. Even with on in NICU and driving 30 miles to the hospital everyday, it is not as bad as you think it is going to be.
    11. Your older children, no matter how resistant, will melt when they see them!
    12. Your husband is forced to bond with one or both of them just out of necessity (diapers need to be changed!)

    Cons:
    1. Sometimes, one or both babies just have to cry.
    2. Sometimes you have to eat dinner in the living room while nursing a baby.
    3. No matter how strong you feel about nursing, sometimes it doesn't work with every baby (and the pump becomes your best friend - or most hated friend)
    4. The older kids have to learn how to be patient real fast! Bed time stories may be missed.
    5. You still spend the same amount of time on the sofa/in bed - only now it is nursing/feeding/pumping or holding a baby.
    6. The first cold is terrible, especially when the baby is only two weeks old!
    7. Every person who is captivated by the twins and comes up and looks at them turns into a walking pile of bacteria and viruses that make you cring!!!!
    8. You wish you would have bought stock in pampers and huggies (we have gone through 320 diapers in 17 days!!!)
    9. Showers are a luxury that must be taken in five minutes, usually with one or both babies crying somewhere in there!
    10. Feedings turn into an hour and a half episode - between nursing one, bottle feeding the other and then pumping for the next meal (we have one baby that just refuses to nurse so we are giving her 100% breastmilk through a bottle).


    I guess my entire point of this is you can do it! It isn't as hard as people make it out to be! You just kind of fall into a routine and it works. The hardest things for me are I feel like the older kids are neglected, we have one baby that has no interest in nursing, and that one baby really isn't fond of being held as much as I would like to hold her (she is daddy's girl). The sleep thing is a non-issue for me because I sleep way more now than I did when I was pregnant!

    Good luck to all you ladies! Believe it or not you will actually miss being pregnant at one point - even though I know it is so uncomfortable!!

    Angel
     
  3. socalkristi

    socalkristi Well-Known Member

    Thank you so much!!!!!!! I am in the home stretch and was getting kind of scared. Thank you, THank you, thank you and your babies are beautiful.
     
  4. Heathermomof5

    Heathermomof5 Well-Known Member

    THANKYOU!! I NEEDED TO READ THAT!! I am glad your girls are doing
    so good!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
     
  5. kuchar

    kuchar Well-Known Member

    What a wonderful post!!! Thank you so much for writing this!
    Helen
     
  6. Dianne

    Dianne Well-Known Member

    A you can do it post is always well received! It is definitely true that everyone's experience is different and while some may be more challenging, others may be a little easier. No matter what experience you have, we will do our best you help you!
     
  7. Michelle B

    Michelle B Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
    Great words of wisdom! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! We can all use a confidence booster! It's nice to hear that having two isn't that much harder.
     
  8. KrisV

    KrisV Well-Known Member

    Wow- how great to read! Thank you!!
     
  9. K.C.

    K.C. Well-Known Member

    Thank you so much for that. I'm open minded aboutit and I know that there may be some differences in experiences here and there, but this is exactly what I needed to read today.....

    Especially number 3 on your pros! [​IMG]
     
  10. Overachiever

    Overachiever Well-Known Member

    So glad to hear your positive message! It's sweet of you to bounce back over here to expecting, knowing how we grind away with worry.
    I hope things continue to go so well for you and that I have an equally satisfying experience! Thanks, Angel.
     
  11. stephsboys

    stephsboys Well-Known Member

    Angel,
    You cheered up a lot of people today!
     
  12. yellow77

    yellow77 Well-Known Member

    Thanks so much for your positive words. That was so sweet of you to take the time to write for us. Congrats on your babies!
     
  13. ENOB

    ENOB Member

    What a GREAT post. Thank you posting this, as today is one of my "down" days of how am I going to be superwoman when the babies get here. I will be coming back to this post quite often to reassure me that it CAN be done. Thanks for the words of advice. [​IMG]
     
  14. Disa

    Disa Well-Known Member

    Just wanted to say thank you aswell !!! And basically agree with what everyone said before me *points up*

    [​IMG]
     
  15. akameme

    akameme Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    thank you for a great post....i'm really starting to freak out...after almost 7 months of focusing on growing healthy babies, the prospect of caring for two humans - outside of me is daunting.

    Being on bedrest hasn't helped...it's made it hard to prep for the babies.

    One thing on the diapers, we want to stock up, but there seems to be such a divide b/t what brand people like - we are afraid to buy too much of one brand and then we hate it [​IMG]

    Thanks again for the post...
    Miriam
     
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