How to Handle Having More Than One Baby | Special Guest Anoop Nain
The doctor has just given you the news: you're pregnant with more
than one baby. You may feel joy and excitement, but also this news may leave
you stunned and feeling unprepared.
Relax. If you are early in your pregnancy, you have several months
to get ready, both emotionally and organizationally. If you are further along
in your pregnancy, you still have time, but start as soon as you can because
you have a good chance of delivering your babies early. Approximately 80% of
multiple births occur before the expected due date. Although you may feel that
you need to work overtime to get organized, do your best to get as much rest as
possible before the babies come. Rest will help keep you healthy, so you can care
for your newborns. For some mothers-to-be, this has meant starting maternity leave
early, if financially possible.
Line up help
It can be challenging and physically demanding to care for one
newborn. So it should not be surprising that having more than one baby can
increase the work and stress. With one baby, you can sleep when the baby
sleeps, but with two or more, you'll be lucky to get a five-minute catnap.
Line up help now, before the babies are born. Call relatives and
friends and don't be shy in asking them for help. Neighborhood teens make great
baby sitters; if you're worried about whether they can handle more than one
baby, book two sitters at a time. If you can afford it, consider hiring a nanny
or baby nurse.
Make arrangements to have someone with you day and night, at least
for the first few weeks until you recover physically from the birth. You also
may find it useful to contact an organization like the National Organization of
Mothers of Twins Clubs. The women in this organization have that most valuable
of all traits — experience.
Get organized
In the beginning, a single crib will be sufficient for two
children, but an extra bassinet or portable crib is a good idea. Thus, if one
baby is sleeping and another is fussy, you can keep them separated until they
are both asleep.
A critical purchase is a double stroller. Back-to-back strollers
fit through doors more easily than side-by-side models.
You may find it useful to post a chart in the nursery on which you
record feedings, diaper changes, baths, and sleep times, so no matter who is
providing the care, everyone knows what's been done and what needs to be done.
If you can, try to keep the babies on the same schedule for these activities.
If you are unable to keep the babies on the same schedule, try to alternate
between them. For example, bathe one baby on even days and another on odd days,
etc.
If possible, set up changing stations throughout your house. Stock
them with diapers, wipes, towels and covered diaper pails so you're not running
up and down stairs.
Prepare for breastfeeding
It's important for your own health and well-being that you take
good care of yourself; it's also critical for successful breastfeeding. Eating
right, drinking plenty of fluids and resting whenever possible will help your
body produce the quantity of milk necessary to feed more than one baby. Make
sure you have an emotional support system in place, including your partner and
your physician, a lactation consultant, or another experienced breastfeeding
mom you can call on. This will help if you have questions or difficulty
breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding takes a little more planning when you have more than
one baby. Buy a top-quality, portable double breast pump so that you always
have milk on hand. If for some medical reason, the babies can't take breast
milk immediately after they are born, you can freeze your milk so your babies
can have it later. This also helps establish and maintain your milk supply, so
when your babies are ready to nurse, you'll be ready, too. Some babies develop
a preference for the artificial nipple, making it harder to re-establish
breastfeeding but with help, most can learn to breastfeed. If your babies do
need supplemental milk, explore other feeding options that may be available.
Rest assured that you will have enough milk to feed more than one
baby. Your body produces milk based on supply and demand; more babies nursing
means your body will produce more milk. As you might imagine, breastfeeding more than one baby takes more time. To save time, you may want to try to
breastfeed two babies together, particularly in the first few weeks when
they're tiny and don't move around much.
• You can
position them in front of you with their legs overlapping, making an X across
your lap.
• Or put pillows at your side (and maybe one on your lap) and put the babies face up on the pillows with their legs facing the back of the chair (both babies in the football or clutch hold).
• You can also lay the babies across your lap, with one on top of the other, but with their heads at opposite ends.
• Or put pillows at your side (and maybe one on your lap) and put the babies face up on the pillows with their legs facing the back of the chair (both babies in the football or clutch hold).
• You can also lay the babies across your lap, with one on top of the other, but with their heads at opposite ends.
Alternate sides so that each baby feeds from both breasts. This
ensures that the babies get equal quantities of milk, since one breast often produces
more milk than the other, and gives your babies extra visual stimulation. You
may want to learn to nurse while lying down so you can rest while the babies
feed.
If you need to bottle-feed your babies, get on a schedule and feed
two at the same time to avoid forgetting which baby has been fed and feeling
that all of your time is spent feeding babies. In the early weeks, before your
babies learn how to roll over, you can lay them on either side of you in bed or
on the sofa, bolstered by pillows, and simultaneously feed them.
Encourage individuality
Your babies may look alike, but twins or other multiples are
individuals and should be treated as such from the beginning. Refer to them by
their names, photograph them separately and make sure each has his own toys.
Try to avoid dressing them identically all the time. Find time to spend alone
with each baby, whether it's an outing to the park or just an hour cuddling in
the rocking chair.
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