10 Tips for Raising Twins

By Guest Blogger Stephanie, with TwinStuff.com

If you are a first-time mom or even a mom of three, raising a child is no easy feat. Imagine learning you are pregnant with twins. What a great blessing! It is double the love, double the fun. It is going to be double everything for you and your family from now on.

The journey of raising twins starts after they are born. Expect your first year to be tough. Your world will revolve around feeding the twins, burping and putting them to sleep, washing two sets of clothes and feeding bottles, and diaper duties. There is no shortcut to raising kids, but here are some tips that can help make things a little bit easier for you, especially if you are a first-time mom.

1. Ask for help

In a perfect world, you should not raise your child alone. That is what spouses, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and friends are for. It takes a village to raise twins. Ask for help if you need it. Simple things such as changing diapers, cleaning and sterilizing feeding bottles, and soothing the baby to sleep are a huge help. It can buy you some time for a nap to regain energy or attend to one baby while someone attends to the other.

Being a mom is a lifetime job. It starts the moment you conceived until your last breath. If you stress yourself out too much especially during the first few months after your twins are born, you are highly likely to develop health problems or be more prone to postpartum depression, which could be real problems when you are raising your twins.

2. Establish a routine

Establish a healthy feeding and sleeping routine for your twins or you will be up 24/7. That is not good for you, which in turn, is not good for your twins. Sync their schedules so you can accomplish other things, as well.

3. Organize your survival kit

Organize your survival kit and keep it near you at all times. The kit should include extra diapers so you do not have to run to the twins’ room in case you need to, snacks that you can eat to replenish your energy once in a while as you breastfeed or while you are putting your babies to sleep, and other things that can make your daily life easier.

4. Understand that each twin is unique

Twins, even identical ones, are extremely different. They may look alike but they are different in so many ways, and each must be treated as an individual. They have different sets of fingerprints, DNA, personalities, etc. In order to raise them as unique individuals, you must bring out each one’s unique traits and individuality.

5. Be wise with your spending

Raising a child is not cheap. It actually gets even more expensive as they grow older. This is why you should be wise when spending your money. Accept hand-me-down clothes or buy second-hand baby gear. Babies outgrow their clothes and gear faster than you think. The money you can save from doing these things can be spent on other important things in the future.

6. Take a break

A healthy mom raises healthy and happy babies. Do not stress yourself out too much and take a break when you have to. Go get a mani-pedi or have a cup of coffee with your friends while your husband or other family members look after your kids for a few hours. Take a break. You deserve it!

7. Stick to your guns

Accept that you cannot please everybody. Expect people like your parents, in-laws, and other relatives to criticize how you run your house and raise your kids. They will give you unsolicited bits of advice and tell you how you should do things. It is important that you stick to your guns, especially if you are not doing your kids harm.

This also applies when your twins start whining and crying or throwing things just to get what they want. Two against one is not fair. Let them cry and not just submit to their whims. Doing so will help them realize that they cannot poke your soft spot for them and get you into submission. Proper discipline starts at a very young age.

8. Schedule one-on-one time with each twin

One-on-one bonding with each of your babies will make them feel important, loved, and appreciated. This can help you find out what makes each twin unique. As they get older, you can plan play dates or activities based on that.

9. Put your partner first

Surprised? Raising twins can take a toll on you and your relationships, especially the one with your partner. In order to show your kids what a great relationship should look like, it should start at home. Your twins will remember how you treat each other and grow up knowing how to treat other people as well.

10. Expect your life to change

Aside from your work-life balance, other aspects of your life will change as well. If you embrace all these changes, it will lessen the emotional and physical stress of raising your twins. You’ll get creative and think of ways you can raise your babies and accomplish other things.

The reality is that raising a child is hard, and raising twins is harder and overwhelming. While motherhood is tough to navigate, having a plan and following the tips mentioned above can make the journey more manageable.

 

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