Lifestyle Tips: How To Properly Prepare For Having Twins

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Having twins is usually considered to be an ‘exciting’ event, but for the parents, it can also be extremely demanding and tiring. There are many adjustments that need to be made, not only by you but especially by your family as well. Your home environment will have to be adapted in order to meet the needs of your twins.

Preparing for childbirth when you are pregnant with twins is a huge challenge, especially if this is your first baby. You need to make sure that you are well-prepared for all kinds of possibilities. You do not just have to prepare yourself but also your family. Here are some tips to be properly prepared when expecting your twins.

Find Good Baby Products

It is extremely important to try out the baby products you are interested in before you give birth. This will help make sure that they work well and make your life easier once your child arrives.

Having a baby is an expensive undertaking. To try and save some money, try to purchase items that can be used in multiple ways, or try out baby equipment before buying it. If you are expecting twins, try twins car seats and a double stroller. This will prevent you from having to buy two strollers. Besides baby equipment, other baby products you need to get are baby bottles, diaper bags, and sleep sacks.

Eat Healthy and Eat for Three

Having twins is exciting, but it can be very hard on your body. Proper nutrition will help give you the energy to have a healthy pregnancy. If you are struggling to eat well while doing errands or cooking for yourself, talk with your doctor about Ready-to-go Tasty Nutrition Shakes. They taste great and are nutritionally balanced for your needs.

Maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy to maximize the chances of having normal labor and delivery. You should gain between about 25-35 pounds (11-16 kg) during your pregnancy (though you may need to adjust these numbers if there are any complications).

Remember that protein is an important addition to every meal because it helps your body make the hormones and enzymes needed to support proper fetal growth. For a late afternoon snack, try air-popped popcorn sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Make a pregnancy diet plan. To meet the increased demands of your body during pregnancy, you will need more iron, calcium, folic acid, vitamin C, and other essential nutrients than you did before you were pregnant.

Eat Your Veggies and Fruit

After the first trimester, eat plenty of dark green leafy vegetables and fruits high in vitamin C to help prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower also contain calcium for your baby’s bones and teeth. Fruits like papaya, kiwi fruit and oranges are great sources of vitamin C. Vegetables and fruits with high water content also help you stay hydrated.

Avoid Alcohol

This is a very serious and important lifestyle tip for any pregnant woman to take into account. If you are pregnant, the No.1 thing you need to be doing for yourself is to prepare your body as much as possible before going into labor with your twins/multiples. One of the best ways to do just that is by avoiding alcohol. Think of the negative effects alcohol has on you when you are pregnant with just one child. Now, imagine what it is doing to your babies while they are inside you!

There have been studies done that show how having a small amount of alcohol each day can have an effect on your unborn children, even if you don’t consider yourself an alcoholic or an ‘alcoholic’. The best thing you can do for yourself and your babies is to avoid alcohol altogether. This is the only way to properly prepare for having twins.

Join a Support Group

Joining a support group provides you with guidance, information, and other benefits that help make your pregnancy easier. This can be immensely helpful for nervous parents who are expecting twins.

A support group consists of people sharing common problems or situations. Not only does it provide an atmosphere of sharing, but you can also learn about others who have already dealt with the issue that concerns you the most. This will help you become more knowledgeable about your issue and see that everything is going to be okay.

It’s even better if you can find one that works for not just expecting parents of twins, but for people who are expecting multiples. This can be reassuring to find out that others have gone through it before and survived.

Find a Maternity Care Professional

Finding the right care will go a long way in preparation for labor, delivery, and postpartum.

When it comes to well-woman care, your maternity care professional (MCP) is the person who will provide you with health and wellness support, education, and counseling throughout your pregnancy. Whether you are pregnant with twins or not, having an MCP is critical in making sure mothers and babies stay healthy. By selecting an MCP early on in your pregnancy, you will have someone who can support you as soon as you find out you’re pregnant with twins.

Preparing for having twins is no easy task, but it does not need to be overwhelming. Educating oneself on how to best prepare both physically and emotionally is important when carrying multiples.

Written by Megan Taylor
Megan is a beauty expert who is passionate about all things makeup and glam! Her love for makeup has brought her to become a beauty pro at Glamour Garden Cosmetics.