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.

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

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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.

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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).

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is hit the movies with the kids — for FREE (or very low cost)!  We love to get outdoors in the summer, but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate (either too hot or too rainy). When that happens, we love to hit the movies. Each year the selection of days, locations, and shows seems to grow — and we are the winners!

While we love to escape the weather with an indoor movie — we’ve also discovered a new fun thing to do — an outdoor theater! These are not the traditional “drive-in” theaters. Rather, these are theaters where you bring a low back lawn chair and watch a movie in your local neighborhood.

It is super easy to find movies near you. Just search for “Free Summer Movies” with your city (such as: Free Summer Movies Seattle) or “Outdoor Movies” with your city (e.g. “Outdoor Movies Seattle”).  

See you at The Movies!

• Regal Entertainment Group has their annual Free Family Film Festival with selected G or PG movies starting at 10:00am every Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets and seating are first-come, first-served and are limited to theatre capacity.
• AMC Entertainment offers their AMC Summer Movie Camp at 10 a.m. each Tuesday morning this summer at participating theatres, from June 15 through August 10.  At only $1 admission, it’s an affordable option for summer fun for families and groups. All admission and concession proceeds will benefit two AMC charities, Variety – The Children’s Charity and the Will Rogers Institute.
• National Amusements Bookworm Wednesdays. Wednesdays at 10 starting July 7 for 6 weeks. A fun and rewarding summer reading program developed to encourage young children to read during the summer months. BOOKWORM WEDNESDAYS entitles kids to free admission to a select children’s film when they present a book report at a participating Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas or Cinema de Lux box office.

In the Seattle area, we have some great summer outdoor movie choices:

• The Fremont “Almost Free” Outdoor Cinema.  This quirky and fun venue is not about the kids — its for the kid in all of us. Going national and even international, their website says, “The original idea was to have fun and watch movies in an unstructured atmosphere of irreverent, laid-back, good humor. It became a zany, community-spirited celebration of big screen cult classics spiced with interactive audience games and contests.”  $5.00 suggested donation. Titles include Twilight: New Moon, The Hangover, and Pretty in Pink.  Don’t miss it.
• Outdoor Theaters abound in the Seattle Area — not all of these are free, but worth the ticket for a chance to enjoy the experience of watching outdoors. Check out this great listing of outdoor movies from MyNorthwest.com.

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

Bathing twins is a challenge.  When they are infants (or “twinfants”), bathing is relatively easy — and yet, there are still tricks of the trade that moms and dads of multiples — who have “been there, done that” can pass along.  Still, the logistics of bathing twins can get a little tricky. TwinParenthood.com’s tips for bathing twins should help.

First, I must say that it is not necessary to bathe your infants daily.  We fell into a routine of bathing every other day (or even every 3rd day) with our infants.  When you have infant twins — life is crazy enough without adding stress to your life with self-talk about how you should be bathing your twins nightly.  As they grew, we retained the every other day routine. It has made our life much less stressful.  Of course, we break our routine when the kids get exceptionally dirty and need an immediate bath.

Second, mostly we don’t bathe our children as part of their bedtime routine.  We found it was a great activity to fit into our regular daily routine — to kill the time and just “get through the day”.  Bedtime was a blur and with feeding, diapering, books, and all the “stuff” of bedtime routines — adding bath time was just too much. So we moved it to another time and are much happier for it.

One last thing before we get to the tips from parents of multiples who have “been there, done that”.  Please do not ever leave your babies or small children alone in the bathtub.  Adult supervision is imperative. It only takes a moment for an accident to happen. Most baby drownings occur when the baby is left alone in the bathroom or in the care of an older child. Don’t risk it. Please keep your baby within arms reach.

Tips for Bathing Twins

1. Detachable Shower Head.  Use a detachable shower head when bathing your twins.  It makes it easier to rinse hair and is entertaining for babies/kids, too.  Be sure to get one with an on/off switch so you don’t have to run the water continuously.
2. Visors or Swim Goggles.  Use a baby bath visor or swim goggles for your little ones when washing their hair. Many kids don’t like the water running down in their eyes and these are a fun option to prevent it.

Options for Bathing Twinfants (Twin Infants)

1. Bathing in the sink.  When the babies were very small, we bathed in the sink, one baby at a time.  My back was already sore and I didn’t want to add pain by bending over the bathtub. We put down a foam bath cushion, filled a little water in the sink and away we go!
2. Bathing next to the sink. Again, a back saver. We sometimes used the hard plastic infant bathtub that we put on the counter next to the sink. These are products that are great to purchased “gently used” rather than new.  There are folding options (for saving space), molded hard plastic options, and foam lined options. There are many infant bathtub options, and really any of these products are about as good as the next.
3. Plastic bath seat.  After the first several weeks, we moved to the tub using a plastic bath support or seat.  These are not the “sitting up” type of seats, rather, they cradle the baby in the tub and support your twinfant’s head.  Most often, we opted to have one baby in a bouncer chair next to the tub while one baby got mom or dad’s full attention in the tub.  But, these can also work with both babies in the tub together.

Options for Bathing Twin Babies or Toddlers

1. Blow Up Bathtubs.  When they are starting to sit by themselves (usually between 4 – 7  months), and are more active, nothing beats a blow up bathtub for a fun and secure bath. These little baths are the perfect size for sitting a baby at each end of the tub, facing each other.  The babies are able to interact with each other and play in the water.  The blow up rim helps stabilize them when sitting.  As when they are younger, it is still crucial that you always keep your babies within arms reach.  Also, never fill the large bath tub with water which could allow the inflatable bath tub to float up and tip out your precious cargo.
2. Laundry Baskets.  When they are sitting up well, a plastic laundry basket (or two) is tons of fun for babies to enjoy the bath. Since there are slots in the baskets, the water flows through the basket, while the basket offers support for the baby sitting up.
3. Baby Bath Seats. Although we tried these, these were never my personal favorite. If you opt for these, please be sure to get a newer model — as the older models are not as safe.

Summer Pool Fun

 Blowing up a large pool or filling a hard plastic pool with water is a big undertaking when you are caring for twins.  It’s fine and great occasionally, but not something you want to undertake every day.  And besides, those larger pools pretty much require that mom get in the pool with the babies.  When the babies are still somewhat unstable, it is then a challenge to help keep them sitting upright. 

Little blow up bath tub to the rescue!  Our little blow up tub can also transition out-of-doors for the perfect outdoor pool for twin babies. These little blow up baths are so great for fun water play for twin babies in the summer. Again, place one baby at each end of the tub, and they can splash away. Best of all, mom doesn’t have to swim, too!

Hope you find these twin bath tips and summer pool tips helpful. I think the best piece of advice about bathing twins I’ve heard is to “just have fun”. Something about water seems to strip away not only the dirt, but also the stresses of the day.  I hope you enjoy your little ones in the bath and pool, and I’d love to hear your twin bath time tips. Please leave a comment.

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Whiteley — TwinParenthood.com