Whether you had multiples first, or had a single to practice on before your multiples arrived, raising a set of twins (or more) will always throw you for a loop.
We reached out to our Moms of Multiples community and asked them to share some tips or tricks they’ve learned that make life a little easier, whether it’s traveling, mealtimes or time outs, it’s always nice to get some ideas on how to better handle some of these situations.
I know from the very beginning people offer lots of advice, but one of the most valuable pieces of information I received was to force them onto the same schedule, no matter what. My girls did a little bit of time in the NICU so getting them on the same schedule wasn’t terribly difficult because it was pretty much done for us. Keeping them on that same schedule was fairly easy but did present problems periodically. We managed to push through and just kept in mind how tough life would be if they got off schedule, we would have never gotten sleep.
Vicki Scruggs, Mom to 4 year old identical twin boys suggests a different take on time out… “When both children are fighting over one toy and the fight cannot be resolved by trading or bartering, the toy goes into time out. This is great because they understand the concept of time out. It’s a simple way of resolving a problem until they both can compromise to get the toy out of it time out. If they cannot compromise, the toy will stay in time out forever. We have had a yellow convertible in time out for at least a year, and honestly they have completely forgotten about it.”
If you need some advice on traveling, Alicia Bailey, Mom to 17 month old, Girl/Girl twins offers this tip, ” I divide my list into categories: Feeding, Baby Care, Clothing, and Baby Gear. Under each heading I list what I will need for the trip. As my girls grow and their needs change, I edit my list, for instance we no longer use bottles, but take sippy cups instead. So far, we have taken them on three trips, each 3-5 days and it has worked like a charm. I also take a copy of the list packed in their bag, so I don’t forget to bring it all back again.”
Mom to 4 year old, Girl/Girl twins, Shirley Lewis agrees with the “feed one, feed both (all)” advice I mentioned above and adds some of her advice about positive reinforcement.. How many times have you heard the term “Double Trouble?” she recommends to not let people scare you when they say things like “I don’t know how you do it.” “Twins are fun, sure they are hard work, but if you keep them on a schedule and form an assembly line of sorts, things will be much easier…”
As your multiples grow so do their personalities and will, they are also busy trying to figure out how to be individuals. Lewis also offers, “Stay out of their arguments. When they argue or bicker at each other, let them work it out. They will start resenting YOU when you try to stop one from being “mean” to the other. We have no idea how deep their relationship is.. they have to share everything. Bickering at each other is their own way of showing independence from the other… it’s healthy..that is unless they start drawing blood.”
Are you raising multiples? What advice do you have for other Moms looking for tiny little bits of information that might help make life with multiples even a tad bit easier?
I am a total ‘Naptime Nazi’. if anything for my sanity as well as for them ! And I make my toddler take the late nap with them. One of the best tips I ever read was to turn them into twins that look out for each other by habit. If one has a drink give him two and have him take it for his brother for example. I love this and and can’t wait to use it on all three.