Well we are well into the 5th month of having our twin girls at home so I thought I would make a list for you all on how we have survived.

1. SCHEDULE. SCHEDULE. SCHEDULE. Now let me dive into this topic for a minute. I sat with my husband just days before the twins were born reading this VERY same recommendation and I turned to him and said “I don’t think I can do a schedule babe, it just doesn’t fit our lifestyle” well guess what? Your lifestyle is about to change. With my first child we didn’t have a schedule at all, but I never felt like we NEEDED a schedule. Twins are an entirely different beast than a singleton. A schedule allows sleep, it allows you to have time to do laundry and wash bottles and all the things that you can’t do if you are constantly holding, feeding, and entertaining newborns. I was extremely lucky that my girls put themselves on a schedule. Eating about every 4 hours. By 2 months they were sleeping through the night and in their own cribs. Believe me, a schedule is a must!
2. REMEMBER FED IS BEST! I know the struggle between choosing to breast feed versus bottle feed. I wanted that connection with my babies I wanted them to get all the nutrients from breast milk but I also knew how much I struggled with my first daughter to breast feed. I knew these babies were going to be born early and that gaining weight was so very important. I knew it was hard to track the amount of food babies are eating when breastfeeding I KNEW I was going to need help. I also knew that my mental health was important and stressing over breastfeeding was not going to do anyone any good so I decided from day one these babies would be bottle fed. The point I am trying to make is do what is BEST for you and your babies. If you produce great and love breastfeeding awesome! If you struggle and don’t enjoy it, there is NO SHAME in bottle feeding, or pumping or whatever combination works for you.
3. STOCK UP ON DIAPERS! We go through an average of 10 diapers a day that’s 70 a week and roughly 280 a month! If you have a baby shower do a diaper raffle. Get as many as you can in all sizes. I luckily have only had to buy like 4 boxes of diapers at this point because we had so many given to us before babies were born.
4. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY STATE OR FEDERAL PROGRAMS. WIC has been my savior. Since we chose not to breast feed we go through $$$ of formula. What I didn’t know before I had my first baby is that you can qualify for WIC even with relatively high income. My girls take special formula and if I had to pay for it we would be look at over $700 a month in formula. These programs are here for a reason use them.
5. LET FAMILY AND FRIENDS HELP. I am terrible at asking for help. I know I can do it all by myself but why? There are days when I really need/want to get out of the house it’s ok to ask for someone to come watch the girls while I run errands. (Now that my husband is back at work)
6. TAKE ME TIME. This goes along with asking family and friends for help. A big part of maintaining my mental sanity comes with getting out of the house and away from kiddos some. My escape has been 3 mornings a week going to the gym while my Grandma gets to spend time with the girls. Do this for yourself however you can!
7. WORK TOGETHER. I chose to bottle feed this being one reason why. I was also very lucky that my husband had 4 months off with me after the babies were born. This made it much easier to keep the twins on a schedule we could feed both babies at the same time, put them to sleep at the same time etc. Having two babies and two bodies to take care of these babies makes a huge difference. Also it is important to know the signs that your spouse needs a break. Working together allows breaks for sanity.
8. DO YOUR RESEARCH ON MUST HAVE ITEMS. I will shortly be writing another blog post with my top items for making your life easier with twins. But I cannot stress this enough. There are items that have been complete lifesavers that I NEVER would have purchased if I had only one baby. Use those long months while you are pregnant to research must have baby items.
9. TAKE A STEP BACK AND ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS. These babies grow and change so quickly, time is a thief. It is so easy to get caught up in the mundane tasks of life that come with babies, bottle washing, diaper changing, sleep deprivation. But while all this is going on you have two beautiful miracles growing right in front of your eyes. Take time to hold those babies, cherish their first smile, laugh, and steps, because one day you would give anything to have this crazy time back.