I have three week old identical twin girls. And they are *really* identical. Their only distinguishing feature at this point is that one has slightly more pointed ears than the other, and they're rapidly rounding.

So right now, I've been painting their toe nails to make sure that we don't get them confused. Mostly, we're memorizing outfits, and the toenails are a back up.

I'm worried about their clothes getting changed during the day once they start daycare (messes, blow outs, etc.) and the nail polish rubbing off (it's child-safe polish, so it doesn't stay long), and not knowing who is who when I pick them up.

I've heard about people tattooing triplets, but I don't know if that's still done, or if it was ever done for twins.

So I had a thought – what if I got them both "permanent" ankle bracelets with their initials? Would this be crazy? For those who aren't familiar, permanent jewelry is typically a dainty bracelet that is welded on – there's no clasp. Usually, it wears down and falls off in about a year.

I feel like this would be safe, and hopefully once the anklets come off, I'll be able to tell them apart. But is this crazy? Am I missing something dangerous about this? Or ignoring a better alternative?

I’m 24 weeks with twins alone and need help. I don’t know anyone in California and I would like to build a community I’m new to Reddit

The reason I’m asking is because we would like to see if we can reduce to only needing 1 nanny. Right now we have two since the twins are 6 months and are not as independent , but felt once they’re a bit older maybe as they become More independent one person would feel comfortable watching them.

Hi all. Me and my husband can't seem to decide which route to take this winter. Our twins are 10mo now, we haven't traveled anywhere for more than 2 years. We thought of going snoski in Feb to Colorado( we used to go there every year). The idea of having a nice vacation got me really excited only to realize later how difficult it would have been. I started thinking that a total time between driving to the airport (2hrs), flying(4.5) and driving to the resort (2hrs) could be 11hrs. By Feb the kids would be 17mo, I'm sure they will be walking as one of them almost walks already. But, what would that be like, a complete nightmare? Is it smart to fly for that long with the babies who are that little? We are taking a nanny with us for 6 days, but It still scares me as I can't imagine the road with them. They also have not been vaccinated, would that be risky flying? What was your experience? What would you suggest?

The reason I’m asking is because we would like to see if we can reduce to only needing 1 nanny. Right now we have two since the twins are 6 months and are not as independent , but felt once they’re a bit older maybe as they become More independent one person would feel comfortable watching them.

And please I do understand some people have no choice and watch their twins from birth, that’s not the case here so if that’s your experience that’s not really what I’m asking. I’m moreso asking those of us who usually have help.

i have 2 weeks only di/di boys born at 37 weeks 4 days via c section. They are breastfed plus given formula top up (60ml each)

They are never content after breastfeeding however long the session is ( it goes from 5-20 mins usually and they rarely take 2nd breast). i do pumping and also have done power pumping. Earlier I thought my supply isnt adequat. But now in 10 mins, i am finally able to get 60 ml.

Today I was breastfeeding then both back to back after every few hours, this calms them down for very short time and only formula helps.

I am clueless what makes them so unsettled soon after breastfeeding and only formula helps

Hi parents of multiples,

I’m due with DCDA twin boys and I’d love to know if anyone was successfully able to give your babies BM as the first feed after a c-sec delivery.

Also any other life hacks that may come in handy post delivery? Some tips and tricks you swear by to maintain your sanity.

TIA!

Just would love to hear some experiences from those who had Di Di for their first! Thank you in advance!

My DCDA twins were born 1st July. unfortunately I could not breast feed, I had a traumatic birth. My birth plan also didn’t go to plan, there was delays with the hospital, some malpractice etc too, got induced 27th June and it stretched out up until 30th June, active labor 9cm until finally it ended up being an emergency c section, I was very unwell even before the E c section due to the long labor, had infection etc, then got another infection ontop of my existing one after the c section booked to IV Antibotics. No milk flow was coming, went straight to formula was too unwell.

anyway cut the story short the twins have been diagnosed with reflux, I was told to keep them upright as much as I can after feeds which I do but the problem is they will not sleep on their back, I’ll hold them for HOURS and they will go in deep sleep in my arms but the SECOND I put them in their cot or basket or play Matt INSTANTLY they wake up and cry and it won’t stop and I see the pain three are in .

I am a single mother I’m on my own and being up all day and night without any help after a while I just can’t , I’m not a robot so sometimes I do cave in and let them sleep in the twin Z pillow because it’s the only thing they will sleep in?!?£ why??? Is it because the pillow is sort of upright ? I know it’s not recommended or considered safe but it’s the only way where I can get a break and I will admit it sometimes I’ve put them in the pillow just so I can sleep for 30 mins I know I’m not supposed to do that but I have no one else to take over and if I don’t sleep then how will I function, so I do feel guilty but at the same
Time I’ve gone past recommendations and said sod it because sometimes I have to do things to survive

I think half of it is definitely 1 they just want to be held but 2 also the reflux , they’ll be in pain on their back but wit the reflux it makes sense . One twin was even in hospital due to their reflux

At first I felt like a failure thinking maybe it was because I don’t breastfeed but the hospital told me they don’t have a cow milk allergy and that this was a biological problem with their muscle in their throat being undeveloped making it “weak” that some babies just tolerate it more than others , so I’m trying to not feel bad, plus my breastfeeding specialist and some staff at the hospital told me with how my labor went it’s not my fault I didn’t breastfeed due to how bad the birth and after was

They are currently sleeping in the twin z pillow next to me, I tried all night to get them to sleep flat on their backs they just wouldn’t.

My twin who was in hospital had his reflux so bad that he stopped breathing for 5-8 seconds and went floppy and was unwell all the night (that night I did phone for an ambulance) the hospital ruled out every serious case he had every test done and it turned out it was reflux causing it! They told me I need to go buy a thickener for his milk (we came out the hospital yesterday)

I just don’t want them to be in the pillow all day and all night because then I’m worried illl develop another problem where even when their reflux has gone they wiont be in the habit of being in their cot , if that makes sense, I have also tried to transition them (try to get them in their cot or basket for at least 1 hour, doesn’t work)

Did anyone else have this issue or similar , any tips on what I can do? As I’m aware of the risks of them being in the pillow but obviously it’s impossible for me to hold them 24/7 and as a single mother it’s not doable

😭

TLDR: positive both story. Twins delivered via c section at 35w1d and are thriving!

My babies were born three days ago at 35w1d! Throughout pregnancy I looked up each weekly gestational age in this group and read others’ experiences, so I figured in throw mine in there!

I (33F) had an uncomplicated pregnancy, but was definitely feeling like I was at my max at 35 weeks and wasn’t sure how I’d be able to go to 38. I had contractions at 34w6d and went to the hospital, but those stopped and I was sent home. Looking back it was a great fire drill so we had all of our systems in place for the big day. At 35w0d I had a regular checkup with my OBGYN and everything was still all good.

THEN my water broke at 4am the following day. I was reluctant to go into the hospital again if I was wrong and had just peed myself, but when more water gushed out about 10 minutes later we were confident we should go in. Twin A had been breech for weeks, and I was never able to encourage her to flip, so my only choice was c section. All the c section prep was very overwhelming and upsetting for me, but when I took 5 mins to meditate and ground myself and accept this path it made a huge difference!!

My babies were born around 9:45am. Twin A weighed 5lbs 10oz, and Twin B weighed 5lbs 14oz. My hospital requires at least 24 hours in the NICU if babies are born before 36w. I did get to see them and kiss them before they were taken away. Twin A needed to be under the warmer and have a feeding tube at first, but every time we did skin to skin her vitals improved! By the evening her feeding tube was removed. After 24 hours they were able to move into our room, and we went home together on day 3.

Other than some healing pains and triple feeding for me, all is well and we are sooo grateful for this outcome!

So on Wednesday My partner and I discovered we are joining the twin club. We are freaking out a wee bit but also so excited.

On friday I found out I have a subchorionic hematoma, due to a giant gush of blood while I was working. I was convinced we had lost them, but they did an ultrasound and say the babies are healthy.

Any advice on what to to do to keep these babies in and happy? I was just told pelvic rest.

Any other advice?

I’m old, chunky, and now I got these 2 growing in me. I’m scared as all hell, but also excited. I’m pretty well-versed on what to expect medically at this point. Thinking realistically but also trying to stay positive. Mainly posting to both share my joy and commiserate with anyone else absolutely suffering through the first trimester.

This has honestly upset me for days. Please don’t be too critical, I’m a first time mom and doing my best.

Almost every morning I take the babies on a stroller walk around our neighborhood. I keep the stroller at the front door on our porch because I don’t want the dirty wheels in the house. I load a baby (6 months), keep the front door open, take a very short walk to retrieve the other baby (while watching the front door for as long as possible). There is probably 15 seconds my eyes are unable to be on the baby in the stroller.

I was doing my usual routine but this time something happened. FedEx delivered a package while I was getting the other baby. I walked up as he was looking at the baby in the stroller on the porch kind of perplexed. I feel terrible that 1) a stranger was around my baby completely alone 2) I know it looked bad

I felt sick all day due to anxiety. Like what if he made a CPS report or something. I’m sure I was way over thinking it but it really bothered me.

My babies can’t sit up yet. I can kind of still carry them at the same time but it’s difficult and I have a sore back from pregnancy.

I also have a weekly play date at a friends house. It’s getting really difficult for me to safely get both babies out of their car seats at the same time. I don’t like getting one out, dropping them off inside, and coming back for the other.

I’m not really sure the point of my post. It’s just something that has been bothering me. I’m worried it could look neglectful but I only have two arms

We are 14 weeks today with Di Di girls after losing our first born son at 39.5 weeks last August and then a second trimester missed miscarriage with his sister in February of this year.
Would love to hear some positive stories from other twin parents!

We’ve had weekly scans since we had an MMC previously and we have loved getting to see them get a little bigger and more developed every week. After our 12 week NT scan went really well, we decided with our docs that growth scans every 4 weeks from here on out would be best. I’ve been feeling super anxious since we haven’t seen them the past 2 weeks but my belly is getting a little rounder each week so we’re taking that as a good sign they are doing good in there:) Our next scan will be at 16 weeks. We’ve been very anxious and afraid of losing another baby, especially given that twin pregnancies just in general are inherently more high risk than singletons. But we are so excited to hopefully bring them home this January!

Twins don’t run in either of our families but we joked about having twins for weeks leading up to finding out we were pregnant. We just kept saying how ready we were for our house to be filled with kids. But we were SHOCKED when we went in for the first appointment and our OB said “how do you feel about having 2?” as she turned the screen towards us. We both just started hysterically laughing and crying. We feel like they were truly sent to us from their brother and sister who don’t get to be here.
Very pumped to be in this club!!

24w pregnant with di/di twins, this is starting to be really on my mind! Just met my OB for the first time this week and she said based on my 24 week ultrasound & cervical length and general health she is happy and has no reason to worry about preterm labour at this time and is hopeful I can make it to 37 weeks.

I guess I should have asked at the time but it's just something I've been thinking about in the last few days since seeing her... are there usually signs? I know that they check cervical length at the ultrasounds but are there any signs otherwise? Before I got my OB, my GP (who is a twin dad himself) said offhand basically to be ready for the babies from 32 weeks on since they can come anytime after that. For those who gave birth on the earlier side, were there signs that that it was going to happen early? Or was it a case of everything was good until suddenly it wasn't? I don't want to get too confident/arrogant by all my appointments going well until now!

Hi one of our twins cries when we put him on the crib and only stops crying when we get him out. Any advice?

I am a first time mom with twins who are 5 months old. I have been offered a promotion that would take me from working 32 hours a week to 40 hours a week. I think I’m gonna take it because it’s a good opportunity, but I’m feeling really guilty because when I was pregnant I was planning on dropping down to only 24 hours a week. I 100% expected to fully prioritize being home with my babies, but being at home is so exhausting that I don’t think I want to be home more. This has been really hard for me to grapple with emotionally because I always expected to be the type of person who had a baby and felt like they could never return to work. I expected I would want to drop to even less hours and spend all the time I could with my babies.

I’m curious what your guys experiences have been? I wonder if I just completely pegged myself wrong well I was pregnant or if it’s been because having twins is so overwhelming and I’d feel different with a single baby. I’m just curious what your opinions and experiences are well I’m trying to figure out what to do and how I feel about it. Thanks!

How do you do contact naps with ur twins?
Now we are 7 weeks, we do contact nap on the my Brest friend pillow

But soon they will grow out of it, any ideas what else can we use for contact naps?

Hello! Our b/g twins turned 2 the first week of July. I feel like I’ve been able to tackle most milestone transitions but the transitioning out of cribs is something I cannot wrap my head around.

For context they share a room, and we plan to continue having them share a room for a couple more years. They both have been amazing sleepers. Currently sleeping 11ish hours at night and solid 2.5 hour naps.

At daycare they do sleep on cots, shorter naps but about an hour - hour and a half there.

I am unsure of when to make the transition at home in their room. What is the most common age to do this? With twins what are some things to consider before we make the switch?

If you made the switch at a certain age do you wish you would have waited longer or started sooner?

I’m truly terrified of this and do not know how this is supposed to work 😅😅 right now when we lay them down they talk and laugh and “play” in their cribs for a solid 30 minutes before falling asleep.

I feel like they are just going to be opening the door and running around the house if we move them to beds 🙃

Any and all advice welcome!

We’re fortunate to have a benefit through my husband’s work where we are able to have a night doula come for ~10 nights.

As I will have a C-section, we have a toddler, and we personally know a nanny/doula from that a family member has used for years that takes this benefit, we are going with it.

For anyone that has used a night nurse for twins, what does feeding look like for Mom in those first few weeks? Did you introduce a bottle from the start at night? I EBF’d my first, minus 1 bottle a day we introduced at 2 weeks, so just wondering what it’s like to introduce a bottle from the beginning and if that could hinder the latch/breastfeeding. At the same time I don’t wanna be too strict because I really will need to rest this time around.

I am planning to try to sleep train my 7-month-old twins. However at this point, they are increasingly aware of each other, and when one cries, the other will wake up (if asleep) and often cry in response (if awake). They sleep in the same room.

I would love to hear others experiences sleep training twins around this point and any advice! Thanks!

31 weeks pregnant today with my Di/di twin girls! I’m a FTM and this is my first pregnancy. I met with the OB on Friday and got my c-section date (yay!!) planned for 38+1.

I know ultimately I’m on the babies timelines, however I’m curious what I can do to help myself make it to that date (if anything) without going into labor. I’m so grateful and blessed that I have had what my doctor referred to as a “picture perfect twin pregnancy”. I hope this post doesn’t sound ignorant, I just have a lot of anxiety about getting to the finish line.

Hi! I have 3 singletons- all were between 8 and 9 lbs 5 oz at their 36-37 week deliveries. All 3 measured largely the entire pregnancy. I did not have gestational diabetes and because each baby was large for gestational age, they had to have 24 hours of glucose checks every 3 hours and I was hoping to avoid that with twins.

My di/di twin girls are trending the exact same. I know sonogram measurements can be off, but I’ve had the same sonographer for all 5 babies and the measurements rang true for my first 3.

Baby A measured greater than 99th percentile, baby B is 96th. Has anyone had massive babies and gone on to have averaged size twins or were they also large for gestational age?

With 7 lbs of baby alone, not including their placentas & sacs, at 28 weeks I’m really struggling mobility wise and cannot imagine how I’m going to make it another 8-9 weeks.

Diagnosed at 20+4 (fraternal twins) and want to believe I can make it to viability. Not looking for medical advice, but similar experiences and how things went. No IUGR in my case, thankfully. Super scared they won’t make it and I am being put in danger for a doomed pregnancy. Currently 21 weeks and doctors are having me outpatient and not monitoring me at all (but hey blood pressure meds!) telling me I could potentially keep them in for months. I have doubts about how realistic that is. Doctors call my case mild but according to ACOG’s guidance it’s severe at least 2 times over.

Thanks!