You ideally want to plan for your twin baby shower near the end of the second trimester; maybe somewhere around 26 to 28 weeks. You definitely want to have it by 30 to 31 weeks at the latest, because you want to get that baby shower out of the way before Mom's on bed rest, before the twins arrive early.
Oftentimes, twins arrive early and you don't want to have to cancel a baby shower because of poor timing. Plan to host a baby shower for twins between 24-28 weeks along in the pregnancy. This is the ideal time because the mom is typically still up and about and comfortable enough to attend the shower.
You can bathe your twins one at a time. Keep one baby in a bouncy chair or swing next to you while you wash the first baby. Dry, dress, and swap them around.
Is your hospital go-bag ready? The average pregnant woman will likely want to pack her delivery bag around week 37, but as a pregnant woman of multiples, it is best to have all of the hospital bag for twins or more, organized by 35 weeks.
These standard charts may not describe optimal weight gain patterns because recommended delivery gestational age for twins is between 37 and 42 weeks with average twin birth weights ≥2500 g to reduce mortality and morbidity.
This could be as little as two or three days or maybe three or four days if mom has had a c-section. This was the case with our twin girls. My wife had a c-section delivery for our twin girls and she was in the hospital for about four days.
The Twin Bath is suitable for babies 0-6 months of age, or until they can sit up unassisted. It fits in most standard sized tubs, and unlike traditional baby baths, The Twin Bath faces the caregiver making it much easier (read: no twisting, turning or low back pain!) to bathe the babies.
Studies show several possible benefits of letting twins sleep together in the NICU. 1 Multiples who are co-bedded seem to sleep better, gain weight better, have fewer episodes of apnea and bradycardia, and (as long as they're about the same size), keep each other warm.
If you put your twins in the same cot, follow the same safe sleeping advice as for a single baby. They should be placed on their backs with the tops of their heads facing one another and their feet at opposite ends of the cot, or side by side on their backs, with their feet at the foot of the cot.
Many parents find that sleeping their babies in the same cot (co-bedding) works well, at least for the first few weeks or months. Research has shown that sleeping similar-sized newborn twins in the same cot does not mean they wake more often; in fact, their sleeping patterns become more similar.
Don't Schedule It Too Early or Too Late
A baby shower should not be held before the 20-week mark in pregnancy. Showers held too late, after 38 weeks, run the risk of the baby joining you for the baby shower. Use these two marks as your best guide.
There's no hard and fast rule, but many baby showers happen one or two months before the baby's due date. Throwing the shower sooner is fine, too; maybe there are scheduling constraints or concerns about the baby arriving early, for example.
The short answer is that there's no "right" time — some parents opt for a shower early on in their pregnancies, while others wait until a week or two before their due dates.
The reality is that raising multiples is hard. You have double or triple the feeding, diapering, and laundry and, as a result, less time to spend cuddling and getting to know each baby. To be sure, there will be days when you feel as if you're walking up a down escalator.
Measures included actigraphy, sleep diaries, and standardized instruments for fatigue, sleep quality, and depression. According to the results, by the time the twins reached full-term, mothers were sleeping an average of 5.4 hours in a 24-hour period, with over 70 percent reporting less than six hours of sleep.
There's no specific age when you should separate your children into their bedrooms. Many people don't have the house space to do that, especially if the children are of the same sex. Plenty of same-sex siblings share the same room until they leave home, and for twins, it's no different.
Newborns (first month with twins): 10 diapers per baby per day = 20 diapers for the newborn twins per day = 140 diapers per week. 2-3 months: 8 diapers per baby per day = 16 diapers for infant twins per day = 112 diapers per week.
While 40 weeks is the full gestation period of the average pregnancy, most twin pregnancies are delivered at approximately 36 weeks (range 32-38 weeks depending on the type of twin pregnancy).
Double Kids, Not Exactly Double Expenses
Your hospital stay as the mother costs about the same with one baby or two. However, each of your babies will get their own charges for in-hospital care.
You'll Be Feeding Babies All Day
Whether you decide to breastfeed or bottle-feed, expect to spend a lot of your time on feeding. Newborns need to eat 8-12 times a day (and night), and you have two newborns. You can see how that adds up to a lot of time. To this I say, this time will pass.
Twins and triplets often don't have a chance to reach a healthy weight before they're born. While the average single baby weighs 7 pounds at birth, the average twin weighs 5.5 pounds. Triplets typically weigh 4 pounds each, and quads weigh 3 pounds each.
The National Academy of Medicine recommends that women who are normal-weight or underweight gain 17-25 kilograms (37-55 pounds) during a twin pregnancy, and that overweight women gain no more than 11-19 kg (24-42 lbs).