The Best Hacks for Surviving Newborn Twins
So, you just found out you’re having twins or you just brought home your sweet twin babies from the hospital. In this post, I will be reviewing the top hacks I used as a twin mom for surviving newborn twins.
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**This is a guest post, written by the talented Jeanne Visser from Have Twins First.
How to Survive Newborn Twins
Let’s be honest, caring for newborn twins is a lot of work. But, with a few tricks up your sleeve, it will be easier to survive. And, the good thing is, that even though it’s tough, this is just a phase in yours and your twins’ life.
Without further ado, let’s get to the top tips for surviving life with newborn twins.
Newborn Twins Schedule
Before we get into the top hacks for surviving newborn twins, it’s important you have an understanding of what to expect for a schedule with two newborns at home.
The reality is that newborn babies do not have a strict schedule that they follow. The first six weeks with your twins might end up feeling like a blur.
But, the good news is that newborns sleep A LOT! Most of the time newborns wake up, eat, and go back to sleep shortly after they are done with their feed.
On top of that, often twins are born on the early side. The earlier they are born the more sleep you can expect from them during their first few weeks of life.
As far as feeding, your babies will likely need to eat about every two hours. Sometimes this will be at the same time and sometimes your newborn twins will eat at different times.
The first 6 weeks with your twins will be an on demand type feeding schedule. With two babies to look after, it can feel overwhelming. But, you will survive and get through it.
One of the key things to work on during this time is teaching your twins cues for sleeping. You can do this by having the same routine when they are put to sleep.
An example of this would be swaddling your baby, holding and rocking them for a few minutes, then setting them down.
Surviving Nights With Newborn Twins
Besides introducing a baby bedtime routine, there are a few ways you could go for tackling a newborn twins sleep schedule at night.
One way to handle it is to rotate who takes care of the babies each night. This way every other night someone is getting a full night of sleep in the house.
This option is attractive because you know you will get sleep every other night. A negative (maybe?) is having to sleep in separate beds during this time.
A second option is to work in shifts. One person sleeps for a certain block of time at night, while the other parent cares for the twins. Then, they switch.
This option is nice because you know you will get your sleep, but the negative is you and your partner might not see each other much depending on your jobs and schedule.
A third option is to pick one baby to care for through the night. This is what me and my husband did.
We liked it because we had each other for support, but the downside was temporarily not being able to get a full night’s sleep.
Taking Care of Twins When You're Alone
If you are going to be a single parent with newborn twins, handling nighttime is tricky.
If you can afford it, I would definitely look into hiring a night nurse. Since this is expensive, it doesn’t have to be every night. But, it will be nice to get a break at least a couple nights a week.
It is also not a bad idea to look into this option for couples who are expecting twins. It will be a welcome break to have help at night once in a while. If I did it all over again, I would probably go this route.
Whatever strategy you choose for surviving newborn twins at night, you should definitely decide on what you think will work best for your situation before your twins are born.
If you start implementing it and it’s just not working, you know there are other options to pursue.
How to Survive Breastfeeding Newborn Twins
As far as feeding your newborns, there will be differences in your goals and the help you can receive if you are exclusively breastfeeding twins versus if you are planning to formula feed them.
Additionally, there is always the possibility you are doing a combination of feeding them breast milk and formula.
If you do end up breastfeeding your twins, first of all, way to go! That is HARD work. Personally, I did a combination of pumping for my twins and using formula to supplement.
But, I do have breastfeeding experience because I breastfed my singleton through the first year. Since I had my singleton after my twins, I now know some pointers to help make breastfeeding newborn twins a little bit easier.
One thing that is important to understand if you are exclusively breastfeeding twins, is that you will have to be the one caring for them more often.
This is just natural because you need to breastfeed or pump for every feed, in order to produce enough breast milk. This means at night it will be harder to get a break.
One tip is you could plan pumping sessions and have whoever is around to help you wake up and feed the pumped breast milk. Even if it’s just a couple nights a week to get a break and some sleep.
The other thing that’s important to understand, is that sometimes during the newborn phase your twins will eat at the same time and sometimes they will eat at different times.
I recommend offering a feeding to both twins, if possible, even when only one of them is hungry. Sometimes this will work out in your favor and sometimes it won’t.
At the end of the day, you will end up mastering breastfeeding a single baby and tandem breastfeeding your twins.
Bottle Feeding Newborn Twins
If you are pumping or formula feeding, you will be able to get a little bit more help with feeding your twins.
When help is around, take up any and all that you have. Feeding your twins a bottle is a somewhat easy task you can ask people around the house to help with.
An important thing to do with bottle feeding twins is mastering quick bottle preparation.
You will also need to figure out how to feed twins by yourself. This was something I stressed about the first 6 weeks because I did have help.
I was very worried about what would happen when my mom left, I had no idea how I would handle my newborns alone.
But, guess what? You just figure it out, because you have to. I did practice tandem feeding them their bottles while she was still staying with me. This allowed me to feel slightly less stressed about being alone.
How to Get Out of the House With Newborn Twins
Trying to find a change of scenery besides your own house when you have newborn twins is difficult, especially if you are caring for them alone.
The best thing I did was take a walk any day that was nice enough when I was home on maternity leave.
The reason I liked this was the stress level was low. If one of them cried, I was outside and not really bothering anyone.
Plus, I was still close to home. If I had forgotten anything, I could just run home and get it.
I think it’s a good goal to have to go outside and take a walk as much as possible with your newborn babies.
How to Run Errands With Twins
There will be times that you want to do more than take a walk with your babies. And, it is possible to do this.
The best way to go about this is have your diaper bag packed for twins and ready to go and in the car. Plan for only one or two errands and know exactly what you need to do.
Secondly, plan to leave as soon as your twins have finished a feeding to maximize your time. This is not to say you can’t feed your twins when you are out. But, if you don’t want to worry about that then, this is a good way to do it.
Personally, I found it easiest to just go out for short trips. Also, I would go to places that were close by, since newborns need to eat often.
Newborns also sleep a lot, so running short errands can actually be okay. Most of the time or maybe even the whole time, they will just be asleep.
I do think starting with small trips are good because you get practice. You can see what it takes to get out of the house with twins. Then, you can build up to longer outings as you get a feel for what you can handle.
Tips for Surviving Newborn Twins
So, there you have it. Those are all my tips from sleeping to feeding to getting out of the house with newborn twins.
Before I go, here is a list to summarize the top tips for surviving newborn twins.
- Introduce a baby bedtime or sleep routine.
- Pick a strategy for handling your newborn twins at night, preferably before they are born.
- Consider hiring a night nurse, especially if you will be caring for your twins alone.
- Be prepared to feed newborn twins OFTEN. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, having the correct supplies ready for feedings will help them go more smoothly.
- Taking a walk is an easy way to get out of the house with newborn babies.
- When running errands with twins, start with quick trips that are close to home.
I hope you are able to put some of these tips to good use. Getting through the newborn phase with twins is a lot of work, but you can do it!
What About You?
Are you pregnant with twins or a mom to newborn twins? What are you most worried about with having two newborn babies? Share your biggest concerns in the comments below. And, be sure to share this post with other twin parents that might find it helpful.
About the Author
Jeanne is a mom to twin girls and their little brother. She is a working mom, working full time as a process engineer. In her free time she loves writing on her blog Have Twins First, to share parenting tips for babies, toddlers, and twins.
Hello
I would like to know that
After the birth of each of your children
While you’re still breastfeeding
How long will it be before your postpartum period returns? Personally, I haven’t had a period since giving birth in a long time. My 2nd and 3rd pregnancies were while breastfeeding and I didn’t have my period. We already have 6 little girls in our family (3 pairs of girl twins): Sofia and Jojo, 8 years old, Anna and Elsa, 4 years 6 months, Maddy and Olife, 1 year 4 months. My husband and I let everything happen naturally. Birth control for each of our children Rely on breastfeeding as natural birth control only. And currently, I still don’t have my period after giving birth.
Hi Goldie, I apologize for the great delay!
It really varies by woman. Some women (even if exclusively breastfeeding) have their periods return within the first couple of months, while for others it doesn’t return until a few months after their child is completely weaned. I’ve fallen in the middle with mine returning at 10 months pp, 12 months pp, and 10 months pp. Currently 12 months pp with baby #4 and no return yet. It is so interesting!