Formula:
I know - how terrible of me, right? Well it's hard enough to give enough food to one baby, so two was a challenge. Especially when the hormones in your body set off a bad toothache and suddenly you need a root canal, and then the antibiotics for that root canal give you hives, and because of those hives you need lot of Benadryl, and that Benadryl dried up your milk supply and you can't ever regain that awesome milk supply you started with. So, I am grateful for formula. Also because my babies were premature and needed the extra calories after birth to gain weight. They needed it.
Dave's parents:
They live about 5 minutes away, so they were in the hospital with me through the weekend of hell (birth story coming soon) when Dave couldn't be. We also get to take the boys over there whenever we need a little break, want to go out, or just let the boys have some Nana and Papa time. They have helped us out tremendously, and that is probably an understatement.
My parents:
My mom came out for 5 and a half weeks after I had the twins, and she helped us throughout the night feedings and throughout the hormone-causing spiral of pain and stress (mentioned in Formula section). My dad was able to come out for a few days as well, and spent a lot of time with the boys and did some small repairs on our house. And when we went to California for a couple of weeks for Christmas and New Years they watched the boys almost every day so I could spend time with friends and get out in the sun. My mom and I FaceTime often, and sometimes I do it just so she can virtually watch them while I make bottles or to give them some Grandma time. I'm really grateful for that.
Free bottles from the NICU:
The boys were in the NICU for almost 2 weeks, and in the mother room where you can pump and do other private things, they have drawers full of bottles to take home and store your milk in. You can literally take home as many as you can fit in your bag. We stuffed more in our pockets every day. We just kept those and bought the nipples that fit them at the store. We hadn't paid for a single bottle until they started eating so much we had to switch to the 10 oz bottles. We even got some of those from the hospital too, before the boys were discharged.
The breastpump:
I hate it but I love it. I had to pump after EVERY FEEDING to generate enough milk flow, and to keep a good milk supply in the fridge. They had 8 feedings a day... And while they were in the hospital I had to pump at home every feeding time. It really consumes your day. But I got a lot of reading done, and they were getting my milk. That's all that mattered. Baby Dave refused to breastfeed at about 3 months old. It was really hard for me to accept and I beat myself up about it all the time. I continued to nurse Harrison, and pumped as often as I could to keep giving David milk until Harrison decided he was done too. They got my milk until they were 6 months old. So I'm grateful for the pump because I would HATE if Harrison got all the good nutrients from my milk and David couldn't get any.
Craigslist/friends:
We got most of our baby stuff free from friends or family, or for cheap on Craigslist. We have saved a lot of money that way. We probably spent less money than a singleton mother would (on the one-time costs -- If you need help calculating costs for having a baby in your situation, find out here). Example: We got TWO CRIBS for free from friends. Yeah. Pretty good.
These things have made our life of twins babies easier, more affordable, and bearable.
So if you ever have twins, keep these in mind.
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| Me and Harrison in the first month or two. |
