Amanda Pietersma

Hullo!

I had been sending out emails to family and friends during my pregnancy with twins, when a few people suggested (some more vehemently than others….Greg!) that I start posting them to a blog. And so this began.

While it’s been all about the twins and the pregnancy recently, I’m sure that the adventures of the rest of the family will be written too. There’s me - Amanda - my lovely other half - Greg - and our two other boys, Sam and William. I’m not entirely sure whether or not the animals classify as family members, but they’ll likely appear along the way as well.

Hopefully I’ll get my creative juices flowing and everyone else can keep up to date with the goings on of our little family in the wilds of Chesterville……..

1. Rest, rest, rest!

2. Listen to the doctor/specialist. I did not think - having had 2 babies before - that I was going to have to stop doing a majority of activities just because I was carrying twins. I was wrong!

3. Plan for the event that you are likely to have your twins early. In hindsight I should have planned to have things ready for a month ahead of my due date.

4. Read the book 'When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads: A Complete Resource' by Dr. Barbara Luke. Totally the best book out there for all sorts of information. I read it back to front and am glad I did.

5. Plan to have some help around the house not just before you deliver but afterwards...if it's feasible. I ended up having someone come in once a week to clean a couple of months before the boys were born and for 6 months afterwards. It helped immensely.

6. Eat and drink well. I made sure that I was very conscious of what I ate - there was the notorious 'hamburger and fries' episode that went on for a while though! Although I am not much of a milk drinker usually, I did make sure that my intake of dairy products - including milk - was greatly increased. Lots and lots of water too and the usual good stuff you're supposed to eat.

7. Although you might have it in your head that you will deliver your twins a specific way, prepare for the 'anything might happen' scenario. It's good to know what could happen if things don't go according to plan. The more you know the better. I had planned on having an epidural just in case things went awry and they needed to do a c-section when I went into labour, but there was no time in the end....and no need either as both popped out head first within 3 minutes of each other. I was glad though, that I had got myself prepared for all eventualities.

8. In the same vein, I was ready to nurse my two, but due to a stressful night at the hospital, an unhelpful nurse and the roommate from hell, things got off to a rocky start. On top of that, it took 5 days for my milk to come in and the boys were well onto formula by then as they were ravenous. Not what I had planned for but there you go. I pumped for the first 3 months and supplemented with formula, went totally to formula from then until they were 1 at which point we switched them to homogenized. You can totally beat yourself up about this or go with the flow and what will work best for you and your family. This actually was quite nice as everyone got to feed the boys and it meant for a nice bonding session for our eldest and for Greg too. We made the best of it :)

9. Try to have someone go with you to your appointments. I was lucky in that if my husband didn't go with me, that my Mum or Mother-in-law were available. It was nice to have the extra help - especially towards the end when I needed to use a wheelchair!!

10. Take a twin pregnancy class. Usually offered through a hospital, they are a great way to get together with other mothers and fathers expecting multiples and the information is very beneficial even if you've already had singletons.

1. Without a doubt, my Maclaren rockers. At roughly $130 each they were effing expensive. But you know what? I would pay it again in a heartbeat. The twins are STILL sitting in them for their nighttime bottle and practically lived in them for the first several months of their lives. They have a removable bar and canopy which admittedly can be a bit of a pain as they are joined together, but the bar has dangly toys hanging off of it, and the canopy is big enough to keep them shaded from the sun when outside, and inside when they were sleeping. The shape of the thing is just the most perfect aspect about them. The boys looked comfortable rather than hunched up as some seats can do. There is a soothing vibration you can use and that worked wonders in the early days - we should have ensured that we'd had more batteries on hand however. You can adjust the height of it from laying to sitting upright, put the rockers on or off and keep them strapped in in a comfortable manner. It also folds up for easy transportation. I would say, bar none, that this was the best investment whether you have a singleton or multiples. Wonderful!

2. BOB stroller. Admittedly we probably could have got something similar but cheaper, but this thing is built solid. The one we have is a side-by-side and is of the jogging variety. While I don't profess to have bought it with jogging in mind, it would work well for that use. We live in the middle of the back of beyond on a semi-paved road and this had the most practical set of wheels for such a need. It also folds up like a dream and is a cinch to chuck into our Impala's trunk. It is lightweight and moves pretty well for a large contraption. It fits through most doorways although you swear it won't, so using it at a mall is do-able. I don't recommend buying it if you take your little ones into a lot of smaller stores or shop a lot with them as it is a bitch to maneuver up and down aisles. The only good thing is that while you may have just crashed into the back of someone's legs you can distract them with your cute babies!

3. Exersaucers! These were a dream until the twins learned to crawl at which point these were judged as being too constraining! We had one left over from William that was slightly less flamboyant that the one we borrowed from Eric and Shannon but both essentially did the same thing - trapped the little darlings in a safe spot while they entertained themselves with the attachments. Good for short bursts.

4. Playmat. These activity centre-type things are great too. The twins lay on their backs on one of these from the get go. There are objects/animals etc that hang off of the frame and the mat itself has flaps and things that squeak or rustle. The boys spent many a fine time spitting up on it and staring at the great colours and listening to the annoying (to us) musical doohickey that came with it. They got too big for it eventually, but boy it served a great purpose.

5. Graco doorway jumper. Boy did David love this thing! He swung like a monkey and bounced like a kangaroo - it was fantastic. James was more content to use the outlawed exersaucer on wheels but enjoyed it when he was in it too. We got this one because it had a bumper around it, which meant for far less painful interactions with the doorway. It was easy to clean and attach to the doorframe and seemed quite comfy.

6. Fisher Price 'Rainforest' booster seats. We got these because we do not live in the type of accommodation that could have put up with two high chairs. While we did contemplate these nice, expensive Swedish wooden high chairs that probably would have been a lovely addition, what to do with the existing chairs that went around the table? So, we opted for a couple of these seats, and we have been truly impressed. While not handsome, they are practical, easy to clean, a cinch to take with you if you're going out and pretty durable. They came with an activity tray that was quite enjoyable for the first little while but that they have since grown tired of. Good if you're going to use it while you're out to entertain the blighters while in a restaurant or just trying to keep them quiet while you're cooking dinner..as long as they're not used all the time. Perfect.

I cannot say that the first car seats the boys were in were overly comfortable. They were Snugrides and the twins always looked like they were doubled up like a couple of hunchbacks. They are currently in Eddie Bauer seats and seem to be much happier although I'd be glad to hear of someway of keeping their heads propped up while they sleep.