Twinning: 5 Things To Ignore After You Give Birth To Twins

Having twins can be the most amazing experience of your life. It can also cause you to wake up in the morning wishing you were someone else. Twinning offers an honest depiction of life with twins from a mom who tries to keep things somewhere in the middle.

The first few months of twinfancy are pretty crazy, and the last thing you need is anything that can pull you down when you’re barely keeping your head above water. Here are some sinkholes to avoid:

1. People who ask, “When are you due?” AFTER you’ve given birth  They mean no harm—tell them “next month” to avoid the mutual embarrassment you both will feel after announcing that you already gave birth last month.

(photo: Paul Williams (Iron Ammonite))

2. Your pre-twin jeans

Don’t forget that you had double the amount of everything (amniotic fluid, placentas, cords, babies) inside you during your pregnancy, so it does take some time for everything to go back to normal. If pulling on your maternity jeans is too depressing, opt for some roomy dresses, or leave your jeans unzipped and cover with a Bella band.

(photo: Jennifer Leduc)

3. APA’s recommendation that kids shouldn’t watch television before they are two

This is excellent advice, and is probably doable with one baby, but I gave myself a “Twin Amendment” on this one out of necessity. I really needed a half-hour break in those early days to restore my sanity. My twins would sit in their bouncy seats and watch a calm, commercial-free baby DVD that held their interest. I would go from being an overwrought crazy woman into a smiling, loving mother, and so for us, it was a win-win situation.

(photo: Kurt_Hammond)

4. Attempts to label your twins

Your twins are only three months old, but that won’t stop people from trying to carve out a lifelong niche for them by saying, “Oh he’s the Fussy One, she’s the Quiet One.” They would be shocked to hear you say, “And you’re the Rude One,” but it wouldn’t be far from the truth.

(photo: origamidoc)

5. The scale

Unless you’re planning on revealing your “Post-Baby Beach Body” on the cover of People magazine, there’s no sense in beating yourself up over a number that may not be as low as you were hoping for. It will come off, believe me, because life with twins is not a sedentary lifestyle. Jillian Michaels herself couldn’t have worked me out harder than my twins did, and I was back into my old clothes in three months.

(photo: Melannie)