Good twin parenting books?

Any suggestions? Also, any good general "care and feeding of babies" books?
Not specific to parenting methods, but just what to do. I don't even know
how often you bathe a baby.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

I really couldn't find a twin parenting book when I was pg. And, IMO, no
book will prepare you, even for a singleton!!

~Megan~
"Mama" to twins,
Aidan & Alexis

"Megan" wrote in message
...
I really couldn't find a twin parenting book when I was pg. And, IMO, no
book will prepare you, even for a singleton!!

Megan, you keep scaring me! What in the heck did I do! :-O

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 16:29:02 -0500, "KellyH"
wrote:

Any suggestions? Also, any good general "care and feeding of babies" books?
Not specific to parenting methods, but just what to do. I don't even know
how often you bathe a baby.

We found the book "What to Expect in the First Year" to be
indispensable. It's not specifically for twins, but it contained all
the info that we found essential in raising an infant (or two).
--
-Seth Jackson, proud father of Derek and Mariel(10/1/99). Pictures at:
http://hitmeister.home.mindspring.co...ypictures.html

Music links: www.mp3.com/SethJackson
www.mp3.com/loudspeaker
www.SethJackson.net

I agree with Seth that "What to Expect the First Year" was a good
resource. Don't waste your $$ on a "twin parenting" book as they all
seemed to be the same as any other parenting book, the only difference
was they talked about two babies! The basics are the same only
everything is times two. You can also look into a parenting class at
your hospital, which will teach how to bathe, change diapers, etc.

Ellen

"Ellen" wrote in message
oups.com...
I agree with Seth that "What to Expect the First Year" was a good
resource. Don't waste your $$ on a "twin parenting" book as they all
seemed to be the same as any other parenting book, the only difference
was they talked about two babies! The basics are the same only
everything is times two. You can also look into a parenting class at
your hospital, which will teach how to bathe, change diapers, etc.

Ellen


That's a great idea! DH and I are pretty clueless, haven't been around a
lot of babies. Thanks

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

I'll second the vote for the parenting class at the local hospital! I've
heard of some of the larger metro area hospitals offering parenting classes
geared to twins, I think. I knew nothing, either and hadn't been around
babies that much and I did fine! You will, too! Ask us questions and find a
great pediatrician to talk to, also!!

I liked the "What to Expect the First Year" and also "The Girlfriends' Guide to
Surviving the First Year of Motherhood" by Vickie Iovine. The Iovine book is a
really fun read-- and the author sounds like one of your friends talking to
you-- she's really funny.

-Cindy (mom to Ashlyn and Allyson 6/99 and Jenna 6/03)

In article ,
says...

"Ellen" wrote in message
roups.com...
I agree with Seth that "What to Expect the First Year" was a good
resource. Don't waste your $$ on a "twin parenting" book as they all
seemed to be the same as any other parenting book, the only difference
was they talked about two babies! The basics are the same only
everything is times two. You can also look into a parenting class at
your hospital, which will teach how to bathe, change diapers, etc.

Ellen


That's a great idea! DH and I are pretty clueless, haven't been around a
lot of babies. Thanks

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

"KellyH" wrote in news:38234jF5je67oU1
@individual.net:

"Megan" wrote in message
...
I really couldn't find a twin parenting book when I was pg. And, IMO, no
book will prepare you, even for a singleton!!

Megan, you keep scaring me! What in the heck did I do! :-O


Not to scare you more, but I somewhat agree with Megan. The last three
months (my girls will be three months on Wednesday) have been the hardest
three months of my life (of our lives, since I know my wife would agree.)
Make sure you have help planned for in advance. On the other hand, don't
listen to me too much because our girls have been very colicy as well as
having acid reflux issues, so you (hopefully) shouldn't have the hard times
we've had.

But there are many logistic issues with twins that you don't have with
singletons. A fussy single baby is easy enough to deal with, you can even
hold them for hours keeping them calm with no problem. Two fussy babies are
insane, especially by yourself. My wife can't hold both girls and walk
around for more than a couple of minutes before having to sit down and rest
her arms on something. I've been known to hold both while bouncing and
walking around for 2 to 3 hours at a time, but my arms are almost constantly
numb now (they feel like your cheek does after dental work) even after being
at work away from the twins for 8 hours.

Anyway, I guess I feel bad writing this cause I don't want to scare you, but
I think upcoming twin parents need to be warned a little for what little
handfuls the twins can be. We haven't had much outside help and we also
have a 2 year old to take care of as well, so keep all that in mind.

They are very cute though! And they are slowly getting better (Rebecca put
herself to sleep for the first time this morning!)

Steve

Each time I meet a mom of twins who has "older" twins I usually am
convenience that I too shall live through these stages and as one mom of 12
year old twin boys said "I'm not in a mental institution and they are still
alive - I guess all is going well!" Some stages feel like they will NEVER
end, others (the sweet ones) feel like they are over in a blink of an eye -
all in all - I wouldn't trade them for the world! Tonight at swim club
practice I walked over to Chris to remind him to breath (yeah, one would
think it would be second nature in swimming), anyhow, after telling him to
remember to breath he said "hey mom, you look great"! One can't beat that!

Shirley
Chris and Kathleen 1/95

"Steve Smith" wrote in message
9.130...
"KellyH" wrote in news:38234jF5je67oU1
@individual.net:

"Megan" wrote in message
...
I really couldn't find a twin parenting book when I was pg. And, IMO, no
book will prepare you, even for a singleton!!

Megan, you keep scaring me! What in the heck did I do! :-O


Not to scare you more, but I somewhat agree with Megan. The last three
months (my girls will be three months on Wednesday) have been the hardest
three months of my life (of our lives, since I know my wife would agree.)
Make sure you have help planned for in advance. On the other hand, don't
listen to me too much because our girls have been very colicy as well as
having acid reflux issues, so you (hopefully) shouldn't have the hard
times
we've had.

But there are many logistic issues with twins that you don't have with
singletons. A fussy single baby is easy enough to deal with, you can even
hold them for hours keeping them calm with no problem. Two fussy babies
are
insane, especially by yourself. My wife can't hold both girls and walk
around for more than a couple of minutes before having to sit down and
rest
her arms on something. I've been known to hold both while bouncing and
walking around for 2 to 3 hours at a time, but my arms are almost
constantly
numb now (they feel like your cheek does after dental work) even after
being
at work away from the twins for 8 hours.

Anyway, I guess I feel bad writing this cause I don't want to scare you,
but
I think upcoming twin parents need to be warned a little for what little
handfuls the twins can be. We haven't had much outside help and we also
have a 2 year old to take care of as well, so keep all that in mind.

They are very cute though! And they are slowly getting better (Rebecca
put
herself to sleep for the first time this morning!)

Steve

Hmmm...I'm a bit "off" on this one. Most of my friends didn't buy in
to the books and preparations of parenthoood. They "winged it" and did
fine. I'm a control freak and I needed some kind of plan to occupy my
mind while awaiting the unknown.

I had a handful of books and plenty of time (bedrest the majority of
the pg) to prepare. I had more than just one and I don't recall the
names as they are currently in storage. Go to Barnes and Noble and do
a book search. My absolute favorite was a book on pg and the first few
months by two doctors out of Ann Arbor, MI. They focused on twins and
more. It was absolutely invaluable. I also loved many others for just
singletons. I read them all, spit out stuff that didn't seem right for
me, made mental notes on some interesting things, and made notes on the
really good stuff. There will be so many varying opinions and
research, so just lay it all out on the table once you've read both
sides of the coins and go with your gut. It's much better, IMO, to go
with your gut based on an educated guess vs. a
fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guess

I read up to the first year while pg. I knew I wouldn't have the time
to do this once the girls came, so I took advantage of the bedrest. I
made feeding charts that were needed in the first few months. I made a
plan "A" and "B" for nearly everything so I would eliminate as many
unforseen problems as possible. I know you can't make everything run
perfectly, but you can really eliminate some crud with a little
planning.

Contact your local hospital and speak to someone in maternity. They
likely have a "baby class" and a "multiples class" where you can gain
immeasurable knowledge. Also look into local mulitple groups/meetings.
They may also have a program set up for the soon-to-be parent.
Something else I did was call my pastor. He gave me the number of two
other gals who are moms of twins in our church. They have since moved
away, but they were great supports in those early months.

Lastly, my biggest piece of advice - since I know you're just hoping
I'll ramble some more LOL - is this: Line up help now. Whatever you
do, don't play the martyr. Don't be the Mom who hopes to be superwoman
even when you don't have to, and don't be the Mom who doesn't have
family nearby and says that's why she has to do it alone. If you have
people offering, line them up now and make it clear what you need. If
you don't have anyone nearby, now is the time to call in the calvary.
There are SO many options that people don't think of. (I'd be happy to
share, if you're interested.) Again, make sure the calvary knows what
is needed. I've read many situations where that disconnect of
expectations caused more unnecessary strife for the parents and
helpers. You might want someone to hold the baby while you get errands
done, sleep, etc. You might rather have someone to help with the
housework and errands while you hold the baby.

Anyway, just know that you might not sleep for what will seem like
forever. But, it's just a blip on your radar and the benefits of twins
will just overflow your whole life with so much happiness it's amazing!
A: You really *will* know what to do. B: You have tons of resources
if "A" turns out to be wrong C: If you don't bathe on the right
schedule, put the diaper on inside out, and can't figure out how to use
that blue bulb on their noses, you'll still be a good Mom if you love
'em. They'll be just fine and so will you. I promise

Missy in Indiana