TwinParenthood.com

Coming up with Halloween costumes for twins and multiples can be a lot of fun. There are so many possibilities, because so many great things come in twos. Whether you purchase a costume, or make it yourself, the possibilities are endless. It is also fun to do a whole family theme, where mom & dad get in on the action, too. Check out some of these great ideas to get you started, then let your imagination soar!

Classic Twin Costume Themes:

Thing 1 & Thing 2
2 peas in a pod
Yin & Yang
Candy (M&M’s, Hershey’s Kisses…)
Monkey See Monkey Do
Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil Monkeys
Doublemint twins
Double-Bubble gum
Mr. And Mrs. Potatohead
Raggedy Ann and Andy
Sun & Moon (& Stars)
Playing Cards
Grapes
Crayons
Angel & Devil
Pair of Dice
Salt & Pepper
Samurai & Ninja
Dalmatian & Fire Fighter
Cheerleader & Football Player
Ketchup & Mustard
Hamburger & Fries
Milk & Cookies
Peanuts (Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown…)
Farm Animals & Farmer (cows, horses, pigs…)
Cowboy & Pony
Puppy & Kitten
Butterfly & Caterpillar
Big Cat & Tamer (Lion, Tiger…)
Cat & Mouse
Bride & Groom
Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head
Bumble Bees (Honey Pot, Lady bug, Flower)
Good Witch / Bad Witch
Frankenstein & Bride
Knight & Princess
Tooth & Tooth Fairy
Mummy & Pharaoh
Spider & Buy
Shark & Fish
Frog & Bug
Lemon & Lime
Anthony & Cleopatra
Mac & Cheese
Tarzan & Jane

Cartoon Costume themes:

Tom & Jerry
Scooby-Doo (Scooby, Shaggy, Velma…)
Pokemon (Ash, Brocke, Pikachu…)
The Simpsons (Bart & Lisa, Marge & Homer…)
The Flintstones (Pebble & Bam-Bam…)
Curious George (George & Man in Yellow Hat)
Bob the Builder (Bob, Wendy…)
Arthur (Arthur, DW, Baxter…)
Dora the Explorer (Dora, Boots, Swiper, Diego, Jaguar…)
SpongeBob Squarepants
Backyardigans (Tyrone, Pablo, Uniqua…)
Powerpuff Girls (Blossom, Bubbles, & Buttercup)
Mario & Luigi
Handy Manny (Kelly)
Super Heroes (Superman, Batman, Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Wonder Woman…)

TV Show Costume Themes:

Barney & Baby Bop
Sesame Street (Elmo and Zoe; Bert & Ernie, Big Bird, Cookie Monster…)
Blues Clues (Blue and Magenta…)
Happy Days (Richie & Fonzie)

Movie Costume Themes:

Wizard of OZ (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion …)
Batman & Robin
Batman & Catwoman
superman & Wonder Woman
Toy Story (Woody, Buzz, Jessie…)
Shrek (Shrek, Fiona, Donkey…)
Superman and Lois Lane
Star Wars (Darth Vader, Luke, Princess Leia, Jar-Jar, Yoda, R2D2, Chewbacca…)
Harry Potter (Harry, Hermione, Hedwig, Dumbledore…)

Fairy Tales Costume Themes:

Goldilocks & the 3 bears (a great quads costume or mom can be Goldilocks)
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell
Alice in Wonderland (Alice, the rabbit, the Cheshire Cat…)
The Cat in the Hat (Thing1 & Thing2, The Cat…)
Jack & Jill
The 3 Little Pigs & The Big Bad Wolf
Little Bo Peep (and sheep)
Peter Pan (Peter, Wendy, Tinkerbell, Captain Hook…)
3 Blind Mice

Disney Costume Themes:

Beauty & The Beast (Belle, The Beast, Teacups…)
The Little Mermaid (Ariel, Founder, Sebastian…)
Snow White (Snow White, Dwarfs, Evil Queen…)
Any Disney Princess & supporting characters
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
Donald Duck and Daisy Duck
Lady and the Tramp
Hannah Montana and Jackson or Oliver
Nemo and Dora (or…)
Phineas and Ferb (Perry, Dr. Doofenshmirtz)
Disney Princesses (Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Bella…)
Disney Fairies
Winnie the Pooh (Winnie, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore…)
The Lion King (Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa…)

Hope these lists get you started thinking about the endless possibilities for costumes for twins and multiples. Halloween is all about imagination.  And, making costumes ”from scratch” is a lot of fun — and often creates the best memories.  Tell us what we’ve missed.  What creative costumes have you come up with for your twins?

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

In honor of the launch of our membership community on BigTent, TwinParenthood has put together a Colossal Gift Basket full of fantastic products from our awesome sponsors for one lucky winner.

Are you overwhelmed and bogged down… finding it tough to make it through the day, the next hour, the next minute? Are you newly expecting twins and afraid of what you don’t know? Are you getting more than a double-dose of twin parenthood isolation? Then you need to join TwinParenthood — in the ‘hood — under the BigTent.

TwinParenthood is very proud to announce our new membership community and twins forums.

TwinParenthood is a place for parents of twins and multiples to connect for support and information as we share the joys and struggles of twin parenthood. Connecting. Learning. Growing.

Simply become a member in our new twins community and you will be entered to win! There are opportunities for extra entries — check out all the details on our Colossal Gift Basket Giveaway Page.

Winner will be randomly selected from all entries received by 11:59:59 pm PDT, September 30, 2010.

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Join our TwinParenthood Community!

 
Are you overwhelmed and bogged down… finding it tough to make it through the day, the next hour, the next minute? Are you newly expecting twins and afraid of what you don’t know? Are you getting more than a double-dose of twin parenthood isolation? Then you need to join TwinParenthood — in the ‘hood — under the BigTent.

TwinParenthood is very proud to announce our new membership community and twins forums.

 
TwinParenthood is a place for parents of twins and multiples to connect for support and information as we share the joys and struggles of twin parenthood.

Our online community features active forums – where twin parents and parents-to-be can ask questions, offer advice, and occasionally escape from the day-to-day adventures of this thing called TwinParenthood.

You will also find a rich and growing set of FAQ articles on parenting twins, tools for download, and deals and steals gathered from across the internet as well as some exclusive deals negotiated exclusively for TwinParenthood members.

So sign up today — and begin connecting with other twin parents in meaningful way. Connecting.    Learning.   Growing.

Still need more information? Visit our Members page for more details about our membership community.

Attempting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is a safe and appropriate choice for most women — including those who are carrying twins, according to guidelines released this week by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).  This is great news for women expecting twins.  Previously, VBAC was not recommended for women carrying twins although there were no conclusive studies to suggest that twins posed a higher risk. 

In fact, VBAC was often not recommended for many women, and the rate of C-sections in the United States had risen significantly over the past four decades.  In the 1970’s, the C-section rate was about 5%, but by 2007, it was up at a whopping 31%.  One reason for the increased rate of C-sections was due to insurers, doctors, and hospitals opting for a repeat C-section rather than attempting a trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC).

TOLAC and VBAC do present some added risk.  If uterine rupture occurs (between 0.5% and 0.9% of the time), it is an emergency situation that can cause serious harm to a mother and babies.  For this reason, TOLAC and VBAC should only be undertaken in a hospital where an emergency C-section can be performed in the event of complications.

Patients and doctors will need to work together on a case by case basis to determine if TOLAC and VBAC are appropriate.  New moms having twins should do their research and come prepared for a discussion with their OB/GYN about the possibility for VBAC with twins if that is their desire.  Patients who encounter doctors that won’t even consider VBAC for a twin pregnancy should consider moving to another doctor.  While there may be very valid reasons why a VBAC is not appropriate for your particular twin pregnancy, you should expect your doctor to cover those reasons with you in detail rather than rejecting the option out of hand.

These new guidelines will provide women expecting twins with more options than were readily available previously.  And when you’re having twins — your options are often limited and out of your control.  So bringing back options is always a good thing.  And reducing the number of “automatic” C-sections is a good thing.  Hopefully these guidelines will help to reduce the overall number of C-sections being performed in the United States.

Source:  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Ob-Gyns Issue Less Restrictive VBAC Guidelines“, July 21, 2010.

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

Can you feed twins at the same time?

Absolutely! However, it doesn’t work out for everyone, so it is best to keep an open mind about how feeding will go.

• “Tandem Feeding” just means feeding both at the same time, this could be breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or a combination of those.  But in most articles tandem feeding refers to breastfeeding more than one baby at a time. 
• Sometimes one infant will have feeding issues or other medical problems that prevent that baby from breastfeeding, while the other baby may breastfeed like a champ.
• Sometimes moms will feed one baby and then immediately follow with the other because a helper is not available or for some reason tandem feeding doesn’t work out.
• Some families choose to breastfeed one baby while another adult bottle feeds the other baby — then with the next feeding, the babies are swapped. This gives both caregivers an additional opportunity to bond individually with each baby.

I’m having trouble getting the hang of tandem breast feeding – is it worth it?

As we said earlier, it doesn’t work out for everyone, so it is best to keep an open mind about how feeding will go. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work out for you. There are many circumstances that may prevent you from tandem breastfeeding. Only you can decide if it is worth it to continue attempting to tandem breast feed.  Some of the benefits include:

• Tandem breast feeding can cut the feeding time almost in half
• Some moms report an added closeness between the babies as a result of tandem breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding saves on bottle washing and prep time

Tips for tandem breast feeding

• Practice with a lactation consultant present
• Until you get the hang of it, don’t attempt to tandem feed if you’re alone
• Use a helper to get the babies positioned and to help with burping
• Try to practice at least once a day
• Use pillows! Lots of them
  • Use a double nursing pillow for resting the babies (these are horseshoe shaped, stiff foam pillows that will support two babies at the right level and position for breast feeding). Many twins moms recommend the EZ2Nurse pillow.
  • You may need several pillows under the sides of the double nursing pillow
  • Use a pillow behind mom’s back for support
• Try out different tandem breast feeding holds to determine which works best for you.
  • One way that works well is the “football” or “clutch” hold. One baby tucked under your arm on each side with their legs sticking out towards the back of the chair.
  • Another tandem position is to place the babies in front of you with their legs criss-crossing over each other.
• If one baby is better at breastfeeding than the other, get that baby settled first before adding the second baby

If I don’t tandem feed, how can I deal with two hungry, howling babies at the same time?

The trick here is to cue in to early hunger signals and begin feeding the hungrier baby before either baby gets too hungry.  These early cues include:

• Finger or fist sucking
• Nuzzling into your arm or chest
• Opening and closing of the mouth or smacking
• Moving the head back and forth

If feeding is delayed so that the waiting baby is overly hungry, you can attempt delay or distraction techniques. These include: 

• Use of pacifier
• Placing the baby in a bouncer or vibrator chair
•  Toys
• Offering your (clean) finger for the baby to suck

Twin Tandem Breast Feeding Best Practices

• Keep track (chart) your babies’ feeds (time started, which breast L/R)
• Switch your babies’ assigned breast with each feed
• Practice tandem feeding daily for the first several weeks before making any decisions to discontinue tandem feeds
• Watch for early hunger signs and begin feedings early
• Drink 8 – 12 glasses of water daily (too much or too little can impact milk supply).

Having twins and multiples means more of everything — including morning sickness. The majority of all pregnancies experience nausea to some degree, and that increases with each additional baby in the mix.  The severity of the nausea is also increased with each additional baby.

Pregnancy nausea is usually attributed to the increased hormones during pregnancy. Many of these hormones are produced by the placenta. So, when there is more than one placenta (as in many twin pregnancies), more of these pregnancy hormones are produced — causing increased nausea.

“Morning Sickness” can occur at any time of day, but is often associated with the morning because it can be more strongly felt with an empty stomach. In addition, a twin pregnancy can put more pressure on the tummy — increasing nausea.

One little trick to help with this is to keep crackers or a banana at your bedside. When you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (as pregnant twin mamas often must do), eat a little bit. It is healthy for you and your babies — and will help reduce the morning nausea.

Increased nausea is one of many signs that you might be having twins.

Do:

• Eat small meals often
• Take a nap and get plenty of rest
• Learn your particular triggers and avoid those foods and smells that increase your nausea
• Dress in layers so you can peel off if you get too hot (feeling too warm increases nausea)
• Drink lemonade, eat watermelon, or something with ginger — as these help reduce nausea
• Exercise (but talk to your doctor about the amount and type that would be appropriate for your twin pregnancy)
• Eat salty potato chips
• Consult with your doctor — keep your doctor informed of your level of nausea (too much naseua can indicate a problem)
• Eat healthy with lots of protein

Don’t:

• Do not drink a large amount of fluids with meals
• Do not lie down after eating
• Do not skip meals
• Do not cook or eat spicy food

While morning sickness in a twin pregnancy can be more severe and can last longer into the pregnancy, it is survivable — as is just about everything twin related.  Take it one day at a time, and your little sweethearts will be here before you know it.

Did you or do you have morning sickness with your twin pregnancy? Any tips for coping?

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

The age at which twins, triplets or more begin to notice each other and interact varies widely.  A lot depends on how closely you keep your twins in proximity to each other.  Do they share the same crib? Do you place them side by side on the floor for tummy time? or under an arch for overhead play time? These factors all can influence their interactions.

Some twins are aware of their twin from day one. Parents of multiples have reported their twins crying more when separated from their sibling.

Hospitals in Europe have long practiced co-bedding of multiples because of the reported benefits for the infants, which include improved weight gain and growth as well as a reduction in physiological stress.  Hospitals in the United States have begun to follow suit. However, hospitals in both countries are rethinking their policies.  

More recent reports indicate that co-bedding can increase the chances of SIDS, although some sources attribute the higher incidence of SIDS among multiples to be primarily related to low birth weight and not necessarily co-sleeping.   A commentary published in the journal “Pediatrics” on November 30, 2007 titled, “Cobedding Twins and Higher-Order Multiples in a Hospital Setting” concludes:

“Although cobedding multiples has become more widely practiced in hospitals in the United States, neither the safety nor the benefit of this practice has been documented in the published literature. Parents should be encouraged to follow established safe-sleep practices for infants at home.”

Even if you decide against co-bedding your twins, you can encourage their interactions by keeping the cribs close to each other in the bedroom. During activity time, you can encourage interactions by placing your twins together on the floor, side-by-side in the stroller, and holding them face to face with another adult.

No matter what age your twins begin responding to each other, it will happen sooner or later. It would be pretty tough to grow up as a twin without forming a strong twin relationship that involves playing, fighting, and emotional support.  As parents of twins, we long for the day when we see the twin bond developing — and some of us must be more patient than others.

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

Twitter is a great place to connect in (nearly) realtime with other parents of twins.  And, in an attempt to do that, nearly every twin parent tries out a search on the term “twins” at some point or another.  But, searching on the hashtag #twins will return about 99% of the tweets related to that fabulous Major League Baseball team, The Minnesota Twins.

#TwinTuesday

This can be frustrating for twin parents that are trying to form a community. So, along came TwinHappy.com.  Jen at TwinHappy created TwinTuesday, a fun day for parents of twins to connect on Twitter — usually centered around a Question of the Week.  Jen usually has a weekly giveaway as well as a “shout out” to all the parents on her TwinTuesday roll call.  Kudos to @TwinHappyJen. It’s super easy to participate — just search on the hashtag #twintuesday to see the conversations, and tweet along – including the #twintuesday hashtag in your tweets.

What is a hashtag?

According to Ben Parr at Mashable, “One of the most complex features of Twitter for new users to understand is the hashtag, a topic with a hash symbol (“#”) at the start to identify it. Twitter hashtags like #followfridayhelp spread information on Twitter while also helping to organize it.” Read more about hashtags in Mashable’s article, ”HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Twitter #Hashtags”. 

Some existing hashtags on Twitter have HUGE followings.  For example, some of the political hastags (like #TCOT  – top conservatives on twitter) are often trending (that is, a lot of people on twitter are currently talking about it).

How do parents of twins connect the rest of the week?

Some parents of twins and multiples have attempted to use the hashtag #multiples.  That works fine, but it is a bit long. When you’re working with just 140 characters, it is desirable to have a short hashtag — to conserve your precious tweet characters for your real content. I’ve seen some amazingly long hashtags, and it’s just crazy. Well, I guess that’s the point.  People often come up with some crazy hashtag and get all their friends to tweet with it in an attempt to make it “trend”.

#TPH – Twin Parenthood

 Since #twins gets you MLB results, I humbly submit a new option, #tph  (for  Twin Parenthood).  It’s short — so it won’t take up too much of your 140 characters. And, it represents the connection many of us want to make — a connection about parenting twins.

I don’t want to “own” the hashtag.  There’s no such thing.  I just want to connect with other parents of twins ABOUT twin parenthood. So, let’s give it a go. What do ya say?

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

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Many new parents having twins, triplets or more wonder and worry if they should hire someone to help care for their twins in the first several weeks or months. Based on my own experience and the results of several surveys conducted by TwinParenthood.com, the resounding answer is YES.

• Yes! If you can easily afford to hire help for the first several weeks, you will not regret doing so
• Yes! If you can’t easily afford to hire help, but can scrape together money to hire help, you will not regret doing so

Still, many twin parents will tell you that hiring someone to help you with your twin infants’ care is not strictly necessary — especially if you have volunteer help.

Volunteer help can come in many forms. It may be family that come to stay with you, or it may be a church or neighborhood community that rallies to your aid. Our previous article, Twin Baby Shower Gifts that Provide Real Help for Mom, gives some great advice about how to incorporate volunteer signups into your twin baby shower. 

But, not everyone has a support network to step in. So, hiring help makes sense. Once you have decided to hire help, the next question quickly arises. 

Should we hire help to care for our twins during the day or night?

Day:  Typically you’ll get more for your dollar during the day if you hire someone for daytime help with your twins because you can hire someone that is willing to do more than strictly baby care (fix lunch, do dishes or wash bottles, for example).  And, daytime help is typically less expensive than night help.

Night:  Getting at least one 4 hour uninterrupted sleep stretch can make a huge difference in your physical and mental well being. If you don’t have at least 3 caregivers in your rotation, you will have difficulty being able to achieve at least one 4 hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep. If you are not able to schedule this in without paid assistance, then you should hire night help.   

What type of help should we hire?

The type of help you will need depends a lot upon your particular situation, your financial reserves, and how much volunteer help you will be receiving. If money is unlimited, you can hire several types of help to cover all the bases: a post-partum doula for right after the babies are born, a night-nanny for the first 3 – 4 months, a day time nanny and a housekeeper.  Unfortunately, the reality is that most of us can’t afford all of that.

Regardless of what type of help you decide on, you should interview your candidates to ensure they have experience with newborns. Experience with twins is nice, but not strictly necessary.

Doula:  A post-partum doula has special expertise with newborns and mother care.  A doula is usually more expensive than other types of care. Doulas are often available for over-night care.

Nanny: A nanny may live in or out, but typically a nanny works only for you – in your home. A nanny is usually considered an employee of the household (and thus, you will usually need to pay vacation and holidays, and consider the tax implications). Nannies responsibilities often include additional tasks such as laundry, dishes, and other light housework. Be sure this is discussed prior to hiring your twins’ nanny.

Night-Nanny: A night nanny is a nanny that works at night.  Often they try to rest when the babies are sleeping, but may do some household tasks such as emptying the dishwasher or folding laundry – again, be sure to negotiate this prior to hiring.

Au Pair: An au pair is a foreign national on a work visa for a 1 year term. They live in your home and are paid a small salary, room & board, and travel & insurance expenses. Typically, they are required to take some kind of coursework (which you will need to make accommodations for in their schedule). Keep in mind that an Au Pair is not a 24 hour caregiver although they live in your home.

Daycare Providers: This is usually in someone else’s home or facility and your babies will not be the only ones receiving care. Daycare providers must be licensed.

Baby Sitter: Not always, but often a baby sitter is used on an irregular, as needed basis. Baby sitters also do not usually perform extra tasks such as light housework.  The term “baby sitter” is often used as an over-arching word to describe anyone who provides child care.

Mother’s Helper: Typically the least expensive of all options. A mother’s helper can be a high school student that comes over after school to help with housework and baby care. Usually a mother’s helper does not take on full responsibility for caring for the babies – but assists with mother present.

Housekeeper: One option not often considered is to hire a housekeeper who will take care of the house, the dishes, the bottles, the pump, cleaning the bathrooms – all of the things that you will not have the energy to do.  It is easy to become resentful of your twins’ caregiver who is spending sweet cuddle time with your babies while you are off doing household chores.  Wouldn’t you rather pay someone to do the things you don’t want to do, while you dedicate your time to your twinfants?

All of the options available for the early weeks of care with your twinfants often seem overwhelming. But, don’t be tempted to put it off, to “wait and see” what you’ll need. To be on the safe side, you’ll want to plan, interview, and hire your caregiver before reaching your 35th week. If you are very unsure and expense is an issue, start with hiring a part-time housekeeper or mother’s helper.

Bottom line, you will not regret having the help. 

What did you do in the early weeks or months?

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com

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