I wasn’t terribly worried about keeping up with Miss H during this second pregnancy; my pregnancy with her was complication-free and I’d hoped for the same the second time around. Plus, I work full-time so my time with Miss H is limited to before/after work and the weekends.
However, twins definitely changed the playing field for us. While my doctors have never said to change my life significantly during this twin pregnancy, I have definitely tried to be much more cautious in a few areas because a multiples pregnancy has a higher risk of pre-term labor and other complications. Below are just a few ways we’ve made some adjustments in our household.
Crib Books
I really like putting Miss H to bed, but for the past couple of months I’ve tried to lift Miss H as little as possible. Which of course means no lifting her into her crib! However, if someone else is there to help me out (Mr. H, family, babysitter, etc), they can lift Miss H into her crib for me and then we read “crib books” together. It’s a simple concept – Miss H sits in her crib while I sit on the floor and read her books. But it has allowed us to still have that special time together.
Lighter Stroller
Over the summer (up until about 29 weeks pregnant) I was still picking Miss H up from daycare solo and walking home with her. While Mr. H and I would usually do drop offs and pick ups together, there were times when he couldn’t be there. We switched to our lightweight stroller (we have an Uppa Baby G-Lite that we love) and it was the best idea ever! We only had about a 10 minute walk from daycare to our house, so it was silly to drag out a heavy stroller. Using a lighter weight stroller meant I could easily get Miss H and I out of daycare and into our house (which meant up our porch stairs) without putting extra strain on my body.
Extra Help
Starting at 27 weeks pregnant, we began having babysitters help me out on Saturdays when Mr. H is working. He typically leaves between 10am-noon, so I’d be on my own from when he’d leave for work until I put Miss H down for her nap at 1pm. The babysitter would arrive around 2:30/3pm (the end of Miss H’s nap) and would stay until 7pm after helping me put Miss H to bed. This was immensely helpful because it meant I was able to get some extra rest and relieved me from having to lift Miss H, bend over and over again to pick up toys, etc. And in turn Miss H was able to have fun at the park and have someone with a lot of energy run around after her! It was great. Now that I’m about to have the twins, we’ve switched gears and have had family stay with us on the weekends for even extra help.
Telecommuting
One thing that has been incredibly fortunate for me is having a job that has been more flexible with me as I’ve increased in size! Starting at 31 weeks I needed to slow down. My commute at that point was train to bus to a long (for pregnant me) walk to my office. It was too much. So at 31 weeks I was able to start telecommuting 1 day per week; a couple of weeks later that went up to 3 days per week, and starting at 35 weeks pregnant I started telecommuting full time in order to give my body as much rest as possible and let these babies continue to grow! I hit the point where my body just could not do all of the walking, and sitting at a desk all day was incredibly uncomfortable. While I know not everyone has the option and flexibility to do this, but toward the end of a twin pregnancy your tummy is just so big! Eliminating the extra work a commute can place on your body is a huge help.
These “tweaks” to our daily life have been incredibly helpful. Being a mom is a lot of work and it can be really hard to take a step back. I love my time with Miss H and feeling like I can handle anything and everything. But I also have the responsibility to the two little babies I’m growing and giving them the best chance possible! Now that I’ve made it to the 36 week mark with this pregnancy (most twins are born between 36-38 weeks) I feel grateful that I’ve made it this far and have been able to let my body rest when it needs to!
guest
I love your updates and look forward to it each time! I am 25 weeks also expecting B/G twins in dec/Jan and have a 2 yo daughter! : ) Since you are weeks ahead of me, I get great tips from you. Thank you!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Congratulations on making it to 36w! That’s super impressive. We’ve made similar adjustments too and I’m only expecting a singleton. Taking the side off M’s crib last week was really helpful. I was scared to do it, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back when he peed the bed while standing up because I couldn’t up the stairs fast enough after nap
The most helpful change by far has been the mother’s helper/baby sitters I hired to come twice a week for 1.5-2 hours each time. They go to the park and just wear him out for me. It gives me time to tidy up the house, go the grocery store, etc. Stuff that’s just getting really difficult to do with a 2 year old who wants to be held and a hurting body that doesn’t let me do it.