Category: Blog

Being a mum to adult identical triplet girls

being a mum to identical triplet girls

Author: Lindy Fien

Well, here we are. My identical triplet girls (Shannen, Kaitlin and Courtney) are finally adults, and I am so proud. Life in our family has been a roller coaster from the day we found out we were expecting triplets.

pregnant with identical triplet girls

Finding out we were pregnant with triplets

There were big changes in the year 2000. A bigger car, my boys 10 and 12 yrs had to learn to share a room and my attention. Endless bottles, nappies, clothing, bathing, feeding….it all seemed so overwhelming. So, we formed a production line, an organised routine that got our girls to adulthood with my sanity still intact. Not to say there weren’t times when I questioned my ability to parent, but I realised I’d been given this amazing task and damn it, I was going to get it right.

raising identical triplet girls
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Night Nannies for twins and triplets. What do they actually do?

nanny twins

Night Nannies for twins and triplets sound like an amazing idea!!! And I wish I had known about them when my babies were little.

But what do they actually do? And how can they help your family? Twinfo recently interviewed AnnMarie, the Founder of Night Nannies. AnneMarie is also a twin mum herself!

What is the difference between a Night Nanny and an overnight babysitter? 

Great question! An overnight Nanny is someone who holds qualifications in early childhood development or nursing and provides a tailored service specifically for infants. This service provides all aspects of respite, routine guidance, settling techniques and feeding assistance. Postnatal Education and Care sums up our Overnight Nanny service.

Babysitting to us is a basic evening service after 6pm where we come in and the parents go out for a nice relaxing dinner knowing that their older (sleeping children) are being cared for and supervised.

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What multiple mums want for Mother’s Day | 10 things we really want.

what twin mums want for mothers day

You can’t miss it.  The marketing for Mother’s Day began a month ago – you know, all the “beautiful” flannel pyjamas and fluffy slippers are piled high as you enter the shop.  However, if your household is anything like mine, my partner will turn to me a few days before Mother’s Day, with a panicked look in his eye and ask me what I want for Mother’s Day!

And here, Mums, is where we get it wrong.  If you say “Oh nothing, let’s just spend the day as a family’, then that’s what is going to happen!  Before you know it, you will be left looking after the kids while your partner is out mowing the lawn and doing all the general jobs that need doing on the weekend.  And you will go to bed feeling disappointed.  So don’t feel bad about being brutally honest.  If you want to have a hot bath ON YOUR OWN (with no bath toys in sight!) then tell your family that their job is to clean the bathroom, and remove the bath toys.  Your partner can then take the kids out to the park for an hour to let you soak in peace!

twin mum mothers day
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Babymoon when pregnant with twins or triplets. Why you need one!

babymoon while pregnant with twins

If you haven’t thought about having a babymoon when pregnant with twins or triplets – you need to get onto this trend immediately! If you are pregnant with multiples, then you deserve a babymoon more than ever. You won’t get to rest or relax for about 12 years after your babies arrive, so take this opportunity right now.

No one ever regrets a babymoon

If you are new to the idea, a babymoon is a last holiday as a couple before your babies are born and the entire universe is turned on its head.

A babymoon may sound like a frivolous concept, and may not be the best way to spend your money right now if you are saving up for all of the babies you are to have. But, trust me, babymoons are awesome, and no one ever regretted having a babymoon.

There are ways you can do this so you can keep the cost down and look after yourself and your babies at the same time. You don’t need to fly to a desert island to get the rest and relaxation and time with your partner that you need – this can be done anywhere.

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Life as twin parents. An overview of our first three months as twin parents.

twin life

Author:  Lauren Cartledge

Now that the girls are 3 months old, we have learnt so much about life as twin parents in such a small amount of time. Your entire world changes (for the better) and it isn’t all about you anymore. Here are some of the few things we deal with on a daily basis:

Strangers wanting to touch / look at the girls at the shops (or anywhere out of the house).

As flattered as we are that people love seeing the girls, we get stopped whenever we are out multiple times a trip by random people asking about them.

Their top questions or comments:
“Natural or IVF?”
“You have an instant family you don’t need anymore!”
“You are SO lucky I’ve always wanted twins”
“Are you sad one isn’t a boy?”
“Oh girls! You are so lucky you don’t need to try again”
“Do twins run in the family?”
“Did you plan to have 2 at once?” (the best one yet haha)

Don’t get me wrong, we secretly love life as twin parents and the attention they bring (especially from friends and family) but when a total stranger approaches us, lifts up the covered sheet on the pram and sticks their hands in to touch the girls we get really shocked, and usually a polite “Oh please don’t touch them we wouldn’t want to wake them up” follows.

new parent of twins
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Postnatal Depression and Twins. My story

post natal depression and twins

Author: Amber Waugh

My twin story started a little over 4 years ago at my 12 week pregnancy scan. My husband, Chris and I already had a son, Caden, who was about 18 months old at the time. Chris had only ever wanted one child, and with me wanting three we decided to meet in the middle and have one more child to complete our family. Well as fate would have it, I seemed to get my way that day. We were very shocked to hear we had two little beans nestled inside me, each with their own sacs and placentas. We later found out that they were identical, via genetic tested after they were born.

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I became a solo twin mum when my twins were 5 weeks old.

solo twin mum survival tips

Author: Jess Hanrahan 

Nobody tells you what it’s going to be like, having twins. Probably because not many people know. But even other multi mums will only tell you how amazing and special it is. Because it is. But nobody tells you about the depths of struggle that you are about to experience. And yes, the joy really does override it all. But you best be believing that the hard times are real AF too. 

I became a solo twin mum when my twins were 5 weeks old.

I packed up my girls at 5 weeks old and fled with what little belongings I had the strength to gather up at 5 weeks post emergency C section slash nearly dying slash two weeks spent in hospital. They had no idea that Mummy shouldn’t be driving, or that Mummy was about to become a 30 year old solo twin mum, or that Mummy was, for the first time in her life, genuinely afraid. They also had no idea what a happy, harmonious home life looked like or felt like, so I held that in the fore of my mind while all the other “hards” battled it out for top spot in the back. 

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Caesarean twin birth at 36 weeks and 2 days

twins born at 36 weeks

Author: Melissa Lourey

Finding out we were pregnant with twins

We found out we were having twins at our first ultrasound at 12 weeks. It was my second pregnancy and I did the math and realised the twins would most likely be born before my daughters second birthday. Despite the typical pregnancy complaints (and the initial shock of finding out there were two), things were going pretty smoothly, and I waddled my way through the first two trimesters without any drama.

28 weeks pregnant with twins

At 28 weeks I tested positive for gestational diabetes but it was kept under control through diet. My dream birth scenario was to make it to at least 37 weeks and go into labour naturally and deliver them vaginally. The universe had other plans.

34 weeks pregnant with twins
34 weeks pregnant with twins
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Triplets, twins and sleep. Tips from a holistic sleep consultant.

sleep and triplets

Catherine, owner of Dream Winks is a holistic sleep consultant who has a special interest in multiples. Today she shares with us some insights about multiples, twins and sleep.

As a parent of multiples, you wonder a lot about your triplets or twins and sleep and how you should be approaching it. How things are different for you compared to parents of singletons, and maybe what you should be doing differently to other families or even what you did with your first baby if you aren’t a first time parent.

Do triplets and twins sleep differently to singleton babies?

Yes you have double or triple the number of babies, but does that mean they sleep differently? Well the answer is yes and no.

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