3 Pieces of Advice I Didn't Get
9:02 AM |
| One of the first nights home with Campbell & Luke |
Get sleep. Not now while you're pregnant which everyone seems to think is a funny joke. There is no amount of sleep that will help you with newborn twins. You will be exhausted in a way you have never felt. Both you and your husband will want to claw each other's eyes out, you will be so sleep deprived. We were running on fumes and I think my pediatrician could tell when we visited for a weight check after the boys came home from the NICU. She demanded I sleep at least 4 hours a night because at some point you can not remain sane without getting a solid 4 hours daily. So I moved myself to the guest room every night after that from 9:30-1:30. I turned on a sound machine and shut the door so I wouldn't be tempted to go help Mike if the babies were crying. At 1:30 in the morning, my alarm would go off and Mike and I switched places. A few days later, I was a different mom. I wasn't living in a fog dreading the night. I could drive without being in a daze. If you do nothing else, do this.
Get some me time. I remember talking with some moms who said they could never leave their baby with the dad. Yeah that's crazy when you have twins. Mike is an awesome dad and I never questioned his ability to take care of the boys solo from day one. You need to leave for an hour every once and awhile. It does not make you a bad mom, it makes you an even better mom. I found a nail salon 3 minutes from my house and once a week I would pop out to get a pedicure or manicure. I would run to Target or the grocery store. Our families offered to watch the boys so we could get dinner together. Luckily, Mike was home for awhile even after we were released from the hospital but use your support group to get some time for yourself.
Pump when the babies are eating. I had to pump all.the.time. It never stopped. I could only breastfeed twice out of 8 feedings a day because the boys required extra calories from formula to gain weight and help with brain and bone development. But I was stupidly feeding them and then pumping. It took an hour ad half every feeding. Then my wonderful pediatrician helped me out, again, when I called run down from my schedule. Her advice makes perfect sense now. Buy a pumping bra and pump while you feed the twins bottles. Duh! Maybe this isn't ground breaking advice but I never thought of it. I made more milk because I was with the boys and I was killing two birds with one stone. It was life changing.
Take all or none of my advice. Remember that everyone will weigh in on your pregnancy and on your babies once they are here. They mean well but find what makes your day go just a little smoother with your newborn twins.
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