10 Tips for Your First Year with Twins

I’m not quite sure anything can prepare you for the first year with twins until you step foot into it. Life with newborn twins is ROUGH and JOYOUS all at the same time.

Sleep deprivation and adorable milestones all at once. Adjusting and balancing take time, but these 10 Tips for your First Year with Twins really helped me survive.

10 Tips for Your First Year with Twins

#1 Don’t Compare Twins

From the second they are born twins will have differences. Especially boy girl twins. Twins eat, learn, grow, and act differently.

One of my twins was jaundice, one loves the soothie, one has very fair skin and the other has a darker complexion and drier skin. One twin reaches milestones before the other twin and vice versa.

#2 Mandatory Me Time

You NEED to schedule me time for yourself during the first year with twins. I don’t care if you go sit in your car and stare at a barn, although I hope you do something a bit more exciting.

For the first three months, I didn’t leave the house unless it was to head to the doctor’s office. I was tired, still adjusting to this new world with twins, and didn’t feel like primping myself for a night out.

When I finally did, it was the best thing for my soul and I regretted not doing it sooner. Trust me when I tell you me time after having a baby is mandatory.

#3 Get Organized Before Twins Arrive

Even before the arrival of twins you’ll want to get organized. Again for those in the back. Get organized before delivering twins. Momma ain’t gonna have time for that after.

I did pretty well, aside from an area in the basement. That area is still sitting exactly as it was almost 2 years ago. It’s on this year’s Fall Cleaning to-do list though!

#4 Always Have a Diaper Bag for Twins Ready To Go

Have the diaper bag ready to go saves me at least 15 minutes every time we leave the house with twins. Plus, I don’t forget anything because it’s already packed.

Diapers, wipes, back up soothie, toys, and a change of clothes are always packed in my diaper bag for twins. Grabbing bottles/juice cups and snacks on the way out the door is all I have to do.

#5 Accept Help With Twins

People will offer help during your first year with twins. TAKE IT! Don’t be embarrassed if the dishes haven’t been done in a week and you can’t remember the last time you showered. All the more reason to accept the help when friends and family offer.

#6 Easy Meals/Meal Train

Dust off your Mealthy and gather a list of freezer meals because easy meals are all you’ll have time for until you get into a routine with twins. The first week we were home with the twins, dinner was taken care of each night.

Friends dropped off casseroles, my mom brought over sloppy joes, and others had pizza delivered. You know what? It was the best thing ever to have people do that for us.

Meal Trains are a great way to set something like this up. People can pick a day and a dish and the train begins.

#7 Have No Fear

This is way easier said than done but once you conquer something once, it gets easier. That first trip to the grocery store alone with the twins was scarier than the first Nightmare on Elm Street Movie.

Our first dinner out at a restaurant was equally as terrifying. But you know what? Both went very well and everyone is still alive. I just had to put on my big girl panties and do it. Give yourself the old “Little Engine The Could” pep talk when fear starts to strike.

#8 Multiples Club

Join the Multiples Club in your area. It has a wealth of information as well as parents of multiples that have been through it before.

I’m a fan of advice IF it is solicited. Having a group of parents of multiples who you can turn to is essential to that first year with twins. I’m lucky enough that my best friend runs our Multiples Club so she was always getting “After Hours Texts” with my crazy questions.

#9 Are They Twins?

I have to mention this because you are going to hear this question. A LOT. I honestly figured people would put two and two together, but with so many blended families I guess I see why they ask.

The first 997 times someone asked me if they were twins I simply said “Yes.” Then a friend sent me one of those hilarious ecards about twins and decided that would be my answer from now on.

#10 PLAY

Yes, I’m talking to you mom. For me it’s not about playing itself, it’s about watching the twins experience and learn.

Seeing their tiny fingers learning to grasp the arm of their favorite stuffed animal. Sticking shapes inside of holes and watching their eyes light up when they finally get one in the right place.

Those wobbly legs daring to defy gravity as they float mid-air to take the biggest step ever (the thoughts I assume are going on in their head…) Oh, and those baby fights that twins have when the other has the toy they don’t want, but no one else can have.

The first year with twins is a fun, interesting, and exhausting ride. Hopefully, these tips help you out if you are feeling overwhelmed with twins or want to feel a little more prepared to add mom of twins to your resume!

Save these 10 Tips for Your First Year with Twins to remember when your twins arrive.