In Hospital
How long will I be in hospital for?
This depends a lot on your circumstances. It could be for a few days or may be just overnight, depending on how well you and your babies are, how the birth went, if you had a caesarean or vaginal delivery, how far you are from the hospital and if you are a first time mum or not. The best person to ask about this would be your midwife or consultant who will be able to give guidance
The first few days after the birth will be taken up mainly with the following things.
- Establishing feeding whether breast feeding or bottle feeding
- Changing babies nappies
- Catching up on much needed sleep/ recovering from the birth
- Learning how to do the basics of childcare like bathing, holding your babies properly, feeding them, changing them (if you are a first time parent)
- Coping with visitors all wanting to see your new babies
If you already have other children you will already know how to bath, hold, change and feed babies which will give you a good head start.
First time parents please don’t be afraid to ask the midwife on the ward for help with establishing breastfeeding or how to bottle feed, how to bath your babies and so on. They are trained to help you.
Down to Business – the low down on nappy changing
Before you start to change your babies nappies ensure you have everything you are likely to need to hand there within reach.
This may include
- New nappies,
- Nappy wipes or cotton wool and cooled boiled water
- Nappy sacks
- Fresh baby grow, body suit etc.
- Bin or disposal unit for used nappy
- Laundry basket for soiled baby clothes
Meconium – first baby poo which is a blackish green colour and passed usually within first 24 hours
Don’t be too alarmed if your babies nappies contain a blackish green stool within the first 24 hours after birth. This is called meconium and is perfectly normal. After a day or two your babies bowel movements will change to a yellowish colour. The consistency of this varies depending on whether or not your babies are bottle fed. If you are worried about your babies bowel movements mention it to your midwife who will be able to have a look for you and check that it is ‘normal’.
When changing nappies it is important to get rid of any traces of poo from the skin to prevent nappy rash and soreness developing. Nappies need to be changed regularly especially at first when your babies may be doing poos up to 4 or 5 times a day.
It is a good idea to get your partner, the new grandparents etc trained to change nappies right from the start.
Recovering from Giving Birth to Twins
It will take a while for your body to recover from having twins. You can help it to recover by getting plenty of rest, drinking plenty of water, eating good quality foods regularly. If you have had a caesarean you will more than likely need to have someone to help you lift the babies up at first too. If you have any offers of help take them, as it will help you to recover. You don’t need to do everything yourself to make you a good mum or dad.
Catching up on much needed sleep whilst still in hospital
How much sleep you can get whilst in hospital really depends on how busy the hospital is and if you are in your own room or not. Those of you who are lucky enough to ‘bag’ a room to yourself have a little more chance of getting some sleep than those of you who have to share a busy ward with other mums and babies.
If your babies are asleep try to get some sleep yourself if at all possible. It is likely that the midwives will be popping in to check on you and you will also have visitors who are coming to wish you well, so any chance you get, grab it and get your head down even if its just for a short while.
Visitors
Visitors will almost certainly wanting to come and see your new babies which is absolutely fine as long as you manage to co-ordinate the crowd successfully. It helps if you can arrange a suitable time for your visitors to come in advance, so that you don’t end up with everyone visiting at the same time.
If you want some quiet time with your partner and babies or just need a few hours sleep, don’t be afraid to suggest and alternative time for your visitors to come to see you.
Going Home
Once you have got to grips with feeding your babies and are feeling a little more confident and have been checked over by your health team, you will be able to go home.
Before you go home ensure that your partner or a friend or family member has organised your home so that you can come back into it with a minimum of fuss.
They may need to bring some essential items to the hospital such as
- Car Seats
- Coat for you
- Snowsuits or Blankets for your babies
- Some proper clothes for you (a tracksuit or other comfortable outfit would be ideal)
- A suitcase to carry home all your belongings unless you have kept it with you
At home it would be helpful if you partner/friend/ family have organised the following
- The babies cots/ moses baskets are made up,
- The changing mat set up with items you need next to them,
- There was plenty of tea and coffee, milk, as well as a hot meal ready for your return.
- Ensure that there are enough nappies for a few days
- If you are planning on bottle feeding that you have plenty of formula milk.
First Night at Home
When you come home with your baby twins for the first time, try to have a relatively quiet evening. If you have an answering machine, put it on. You will be feeding your babies around every 3-4 hours so that will take much of your time. In between feeds get as much rest as you can, and keep eating regularly.
First Weeks
If you feel up to it, it might help you to get showered and dressed into something comfortable. Obviously if you have had a caesarean this might not be possible, but if you can manage it, it might help you feel a bit more ‘human’ again and ready to cope.
Ensure that YOU have some breakfast and a hot drink first thing, this fuels your body ready to face the day.
Your babies will need to be fed every 2-4 hours in the first few weeks, night and day. The reason for this is because their tummies are only tiny and unable to hold very much milk at a time. Also they tire quickly so need to take on a little milk frequently.
Establishing a Daytime Routine with Twins
Your daily routine will essentially revolve around feeding your babies, changing them, winding them, and letting them sleep whilst catching up on some sleep yourselves.
If you can feed them both at the same time you will be able to get them into a similar feeding and sleeping pattern, but some mums prefer to feed one then the other for at least some of the feeds. At the end of the day you have to do whatever it is that works best for you.
During the day you can change their nappies before a feed to ‘wake them up’ a bit if you need to. If however you notice that they ‘poo’ after a feed, wait and change them then.
Once you have fed your babies, changed them and winded them, you can then put them down to sleep or in their baby bouncer chairs to have some ‘awake’ time
When you are doing your chores around the house, take your twins with you in their bouncer chairs or in their moses baskets. Make plenty of noise, have the radio or the tv on if you want, and make general ‘daytime’ noises.
Your babies will need plenty of time to sleep, especially in the early days after birth.
My baby twins just won’t let me put them down, what can I do?
If you find that they cry every time you put them down check that they are not uncomfortable in any way see checklist. If you have found that they are not hungry, hot, cold, etc try putting them into their cots/ moses baskets and leaving the room, sometimes they get fractious. Give them a few minutes to calm down, go make yourself a cup of tea, and then go back to them. Be aware that some babies like to comfort feed (especially when you’re breastfeeding) -they are not hungry but just like the sensation of suckling.
Establishing a Night time Routine for Newborn Twins
At night time it is very important to keep things as dull as possible for your babies. If you fit a dimmer switch to the bedroom light you can switch the light onto the dimmest setting rather than putting the bright over head light on. If it is not possible to get a dimmer switch you might find it helps to get a table lamp in the room with a night light bulb in it, so you can see what you are doing without fully waking them up.
Change their nappies only if they are very wet/ dirty.
If one of your twins wakes up, it would be a good idea to wake the other one up, unless you find it very hard to feed them both together. If this is the case, feed the one that is awake first THEN awaken the other one, and feed them. This works well until your babies are around 12 wks + where it may be possible to leave the other one until they wake up (as they may actually sleep though)
Before you go to bed make sure you have a couple of bottles ready to feed them if you are bottle feeding. This way you won’t be making bottles in the middle of the night, with your babies screaming.
When should I establish a bath/story/bed routine?
During the first 12 wks you will probably find that day and night all ‘blur together’ to some extent, in one round of feeding and changing.
From around 12 wks onwards it would be a good idea to introduce a more peaceful time after their mid-evening bottle, changing them into a different baby grow or putting them into a baby grow rather than being in their ‘proper’ clothes.
Whether you decide to bath them at night is really up to you. Some parents find that their babies are not keen on baths and therefore give them a bath every few days, others find that they like to give them a daily bath, some mums find that they have more energy in a morning to bath their babies and do it then. Work out what works for your family and go with that.
By the time they are around 4-6 months old it would be helpful for them to have a slightly more rigid routine.
Coping with Crying Twins
If your babies are crying it could be that they are:
- Too hot or cold
- Hungry
- Bored
- Too tired
- Needing a cuddle
- Wet or dirty
- Full of wind, need burping
- Uncomfortable
If your baby/babies are ill, got a high temperature, drowsy, or not producing 6-8 wet nappies a day, get medical help immediately
How can I cuddle both of my twins at the same time?
It can be hard to cuddle both of them at the same time, but you will find a way. You could sit down and put both of them on your knee or you could put one twin under a baby gym and then cuddle the other one, then swap over.
It is fine to cuddle one at a time if you want to, you don’t always have to cuddle them both together.
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