Twin Things

If your here, you might have two little miracles growing in your belly, or it might be that those little miracles are running around your house pulling all of the toilet paper off of the roll and re-making that mess you just cleaned up. Either way, congrats mama!! In between the shock of being told your having twins, I’m sure you’ve felt excited and nervous and overwhelmed and overjoyed and all the things all at once! Your not alone if you feel a little crazy with your emotions all over the place. My husband and I went through two years of infertility and now have two year old boy-girl twins, Finn and Mosley and they are SO fun! Our lives changed for the better when they arrived, but also our lives got a whole lot harder. They are the joy of our days no doubt, but goodness, it is HARD work! I felt super overwhelmed when we found out we were having twins and didn’t know where to start with buying all the twin things, so I’m here because I wanted to help in any way I can with all the twin questions I get from other mama’s who either just found out they are pregnant with twins or they are in the thick of the tired days of raising twins. I certainly by no means have all the answers, but hopefully some of these products I’ve listed will help you find everything you need all in one place! I’ve also listed out some of the questions that I get asked a lot, so in hope of keeping it all in one place, you can easily find some answers to questions you might have or just some general information that might be helpful for you! You can find that at the bottom of this post along with some encouragement for any new mama’s!

Carrying twins was one of the hardest things I’ve done. Up until about 20 weeks, I would throw up anywhere from 5 to 10 times a day, I had terrible headaches and I swelled and ached and just felt bad all around. I was super uncomfortable as you could imagine it would be growing two babies inside you, but we made it! And on the days where I thought I could no longer carry them, I would just have to take a minute and remind myself that every single day they are inside of me, the stronger and healthier they are getting and honestly that’s what got me through it – well that, and a few warm baths and foot rubs from my husband. 🙂 I made it to 38 weeks which is considered full term for twins, so I was super blessed that we met our goal! Baby A (Finn) was breached, so I had a C-section and they were born 1 minute apart weighing a healthy 6.3 lbs (Finn) and 6.1bs (Mosley). Let me just tell you right now, Every single sleepless night, every body ache, every stretch mark, every sick day, it was all so very worth it. In that moment that you finally are able to hold your babies in your arms and whisper words of life over them, smell them and study every single detail of them, IT IS WORTH IT. So, be encouraged and before you know it, your days will forever be changed for the better. 

I left the hospital with full arms and a full heart, but I would be lying if I told you I had it all together. My emotions were all over the place and I remember riding home from the hospital crying to my husband Zeke telling him I felt like I didn’t even know what our babies looked like. Obviously that was not the case, but I think with the shock of being a first time mom and bringing home not just one baby, but two had me just a little overwhelmed. Yall, I had no clue how to do anything. I figured it all out and about 100% of it was learned from trial and error. I’m so excited to share with y’all some of my favorite products and things that helped us along the way in those early years of raising twins. Some of these things were recommended to me and others are things that we used and loved! Between learning how to nurse two babies at once, healing from a c-section, and dealing with the sleepless nights, we felt like some of these things really made it easier to manage two babies at once and I hope it does the same for you!

As the twins get older, I wouldn’t exactly say it gets easier, but it does get more familiar. You start to feel a little bit like a superhero mixed with someone who’s completely lost their mind trying to make it through the day. Don’t let that scare you, instead let it encourage you for the days when you might feel the same. I’ve gone through seasons where I felt like surely they would never end. I’ve included some of our favorite products here that we loved to used as the twins got a little older. Being outnumbered by fussy toddlers is hard, but you know what’s the best thing in the world? Having your arms full with your miracles. Waking up to those faces that you’ve studied over and over again. Loving on two babies at once and seeing their personalities come out. Watching their twin bond grow everyday and seeing your prayers being answered right in front of you. I’m here to tell you that it’s hard. Raising kids is hard work, raising twins is one of the hardest things that I’ve done, but it’s truly such an amazing thing to watch. How thankful am I that the Lord has trusted me to be their mama. To raise them in such a broken and sinful world to stand out and be difference makers. All the hard days, the sleepless nights, the stretch marks, the aching body, the mama who feels she has lost herself, who doesn’t think she can make it through one more day, the tired routine of the everyday, the mama who fears she can’t raise her kids to be all that they should be, to all who are scared and anxious and worried and alone – I want you to receive the promise of abundant life right now. The hope of heaven. You are more than enough, you are called to this, and those he calls, he equips. He has gone before you. He never leaves you. You are not alone. Do not fear because “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Your body is beautiful, your tired eyes are beautiful. You are worthy and you are more than enough for your babies. Give yourself grace today, and tomorrow when you wake up, give yourself more, because our God is a God who gives and sustains and makes new. So hold your head up tired mama, you were made for this. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How far along were you when you found out you were having TWO babies?! > This is actually one of my favorite things to tell because I just think it was so fun that it happened this way. Because I was on fertility medicine, they monitor everything super closely, so after the nurse called and told me that I was pregnant (Cue ALL the tears) we went in for our first ultrasound at just 4 weeks! We barely could even see the sac, but there it was! And there was just ONE! Obviously, we were so overjoyed and excited! We came back at week 7 for another follow up ultrasound and still just saw one sac! But it was healthy and growing, so that’s all we cared about. Then we headed in two weeks later for our 9 week ultrasound and for this one my husband Zeke almost didn’t come, but he ended up coming and gosh am I glad he did because almost immediately our nurse’s face went white as she was looking at the screen and she said “have y’all been just seeing one baby? Because there are TWO healthy babies and TWO healthy heartbeats! “ I will remember that moment for life as I looked over at Zeke with tears running down both of our faces. Tears of joy that we faced our time of waiting and were now blessed double the amount. We couldn’t believe it. We cried and laughed and felt like we had won the lottery. Because we did.
• Did your energy come back after first trimester? > Honestly, I was pretty tired throughout my whole pregnancy with the twins. Since they were my first and I didn’t have any other kiddos to chase around, I was able to nap pretty often which was a blessing, but all in all, I just learned to listen to my body. It’s super important to be in tune with your body when carrying multiples to prevent pre-term labor, so rest when you need it and get off your feet when you swell too much. Drink a lot of water and even though it’s not recommended, I had to have coffee. *Also, side note: If you are super sick like I was, sipping on coke through a straw was all I could keep down.
• Did you take a hospital twin class? > Haha I have to laugh at myself because no I didn’t and I guess it’s just my personality to kind of wing it and see what happens, but I really never felt like I needed/wanted to. I think they are super helpful and I’ve heard nothing but great things about them! But I honestly just figured it all out on my own, which probably was not the smartest thing to do. My mom even bought me a book that had a section about twin in it and I never opened the first page. Sorry mama. I did ask my sweet doctor a lot of questions and he was so helpful, as was my dad who is an OBGYN, so that was super helpful as well.
• When one wakes up crying in the middle of the night does the other one wake up too? > When the twins were newborns we tried to keep them on the same schedule since day one and I can say now that has been our biggest yes along the way. They do everything together and it helped keep our sanity when they would both nap at the same time, so yes, at first they would be sensitive to each others cries, but then they just learned to tune it out. Now, ours our two and if one cries the other usually stays asleep, but I will say that they cannot sleep without each other in the room. They find comfort in knowing the other is right there with them. Yes that melts me to pieces if your wondering.
• What are some items you couldn’t live without? > I have listed all the items I can remember for the most part that we loved and used all the time. You can find themhere!
• Did they sleep in your room to start or did they go straight to their crib? > Yes! They slept in their twin pack n play with bassinets on the top (you can find it here) until they no longer had to nurse in the middle of the night. I was way too tired to walk to their nursery and feed two babies, change two babies, burp two babies, and swaddle two babies just to do it all over again in a couple of hours. I think we transitioned them into their room at about 5 months! One thing we loved was our Owlet sock monitors that really gave us a peace of mind! Also, just a side note to you mama’s: I would challenge you to ask for your husbands help in the middle of the night. No, he cannot physically feed them, but zeke and I would take turns nursing one baby, swaddling one and burping one. He would take one and I would take the other. He was awake when I was awake. It was one of the sweetest memories I will have. Let them help you.

Mama’s of multiples or even if your a twin yourself, what’s something you found super helpful to know for raising twins?

• Don’t get overwhelmed by the “phase” they are in. It will pass. As overwhelming as it may seem, try to enjoy it to the full.
• Sometimes they won’t like the same things, so don’t expect them too. Find out what each one loves to play with or is interested in. They may love to play with the same things or they may be total opposites. Instead of getting frustrated with the inconvenience, just appreciate their personalitires.
• Have the twins on the same schedule from the beginning – eat at the same time regardless – even in the middle of the night. ** I would say yes and amen to this a million times over!!
• Things won’t always look the same for you as they do for friends with one baby.
• Coming from a twin: “It always made me so happy growing up when my mom did one on one stuff with me, instead of just always doing everything with my twin.”
• Raise them as individuals. They are twins, but have different needs and personalities. They will behave differently, need love differently, learn differently, and need to be disciplined differently.

What is your best advice and encouragement for a new mama?

• You are good enough and exactly the mama’s those babies need.
• Take lots of pictures!
• It’s all a phase, embrace it.
• Make sure to carve out time for yourself, even if it’s just 30 minutes a day.
• Mom’s On Call (This is an app you can get from the App Store and there’s also a book you can purchase here!)
• Take it one day at a time. It won’t always be easy but its always worth it.
• Do what works for you and don’t compare yourself, your baby, or your home to anyone else.
• GRACE, GRACE, GRACE. It’s all a learning curve. Every baby is different and you are doing great.
• Enjoy the season your in, it goes by quickly.
• Give yourself the grace to feel EVERY emotion that comes with such a big life transition.
• Jesus will carry you.
• Your normal in thinking “x,y,z..” its likely that many mamas share your struggles. Give yourself grace.
• Be okay with things not happening like you “planned.”
• The Lord chose YOU to be that baby’s mama for a reason. Weaknesses and all.
• “It doesn’t last forever” for those sleepless nights.
• Time with husband is so very important.
• Tomorrow WILL come. Don’t waste today, even when it seems never ending.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
• It’s okay if those first few weeks are HARD. It gets better and so much more FUN!