By: Fran Pitre. Mother of 3 sets of twins, author of “TwinsX3”, “Marriage and Multiples”, and “Moms of Twins Take Care of Business.” Subscribe to her blog and receive the Marriage and Multiples e-book free! Look for more stories from Fran in the coming months! Make sure to visit her yourself at FranPitre.com
One minute your precious twin toddlers are playing quietly…
so you take the opportunity to go into the kitchen and prepare them lunch. Just after spreading peanut butter onto one slice of bread, you suddenly hear a scream, and then another! In no time, they’re both screaming, hitting, and punching each other … what happened?! You immediately notice that they are fighting over one particular toy truck. “Luckily,” you think to yourself, “we have TWO of the same toy truck!” After giving each child his own truck, and placing some distance between the two children temporarily, you proceed back to the kitchen, where you’ve left the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches half-made.
Suddenly, the ear-piercing screams erupt again! You toss your banana-slicing knife down on to the counter top and race back into the family room, only to discover that one of the boys prefers to have BOTH trucks to himself! The greedy culprit runs and taunts his brother while your empty-handed child screams and chases his toy-hoarding twin as if he’d stolen one of his limbs!
As you rush over to break them up and spare blood loss, you realize that one had actually broken the skin of the other while biting his arm … good grief! After verbally correcting both children, hoping that your stern voice and serious facial expression has made an impression, and after washing and bandaging the wounded child’s arm, you think to yourself, “What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to handle this? Are my children abnormally, overly aggressive? How do I put an END to this behavior?
Do you remember this adorable girl? I used to love watching her movie “Fly Away Home” (1996) as a child. She is the second youngest Oscar winner to receive an Academy Award for best supporting actress in her debut film “The Piano” (1993) at the age of eleven. Well that girl is all grown up now, 29 years old. She currently stars in the TV series “True Blood” on HBO with husband of 2 years Stephen Moyer.
In April the couple announced they were expecting their first child together. Yesterday a source confirmed to US Weekly that the couple will be joining the ranks of being parents of TWINS!! The twins, due in the fall, will be Paquin’s first children, and number 3 and 4 for Moyer who is father to 10 year old Lilac and 12 year old Billy. We would like to say a double congratulations to the couple!
How far along were you when you found out you were expecting twins? How long did you wait to announce it to everyone else? Did you tell everyone right away or did you keep it “hush, hush” for a while?
What a special treat for those precious little feet!
How do you know which pair your little ones should wear?
Read the facts below so you will know!
What type of shoes are recommended for babies?
Doctors recommend barefoot walking as long as possible. This allows children’s feet to grow normally and to develop musculature, strength, and the grasping action of the toes. Pediped® recommends using shoes only when your infant is outside or needs additional protection. It is best to select a soft-sole shoe that is lightweight, flexible and is made of natural materials. Pediped created the Originals line of soft sole footwear to be is the next best thing to bare feet and provide the protection and flexibility for both indoor and outdoor walking.
What type of shoes are recommended for those learning to walk?
When your child first begins to walk, shoes that provides proper foot protection while enabling maximum movement is important for his or her foot development. We recommend keeping your child in soft sole shoes as long as possible. Once your child has started walking you can transition to rubber sole shoes, like Pediped’s Grip ‘n’ Go line. For your toddler transitioning for early walking to walking with a more confident stride, it is best to select shoes with a rounded toe box that give plenty of room for toes to move and flexible rubber soles that allow a child’s gait and stride to develop naturally.
How can you find the right size for your children’s feet?
It is best to have your child professionally fitted to determine his or her correct shoe size. But you can also use printable online sizing charts, like the one found here at Pediped to determine the best size option.
Pediped has 3 types of shoes for your child’s growing needs-
Thanks to the experts of Pediped for helping us choose a shoe with the right tread.
One Twiniversity* member will win 2 $50 gift certificates to Pediped.
One entry per person please.
*(You must be a parent or expectant parent of multiples. Membership is free join today!)
[gravityform id=”18″ name=”Enter to Win Pediped Shoes!”]
This story is featured in the Spring Issue of Mulitplicity Magazine.
Written by Julie McCaffrey.
“I will never forget our excitement on the day we headed to my ultrasound when I was 19 weeks pregnant with fraternal twins. I will also never forget the sound in the tech’s voice when she said “she couldn’t find something” and left to get the doctor, the looks on the doctor’s faces, the silent comfort from my husband and the feeling I had just been run over by a bus. I left that day with my first of what would turn out to be many lessons on Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), as this was the day that Baby A was diagnosed with Double Outlet Right Ventrical (DORV) with transposition and a large ventricular septal defect (VSD).
I went home that day, gave our 1 year old son a much too big hug and began to research. By the time I was 26 weeks I was at peace with the news and was used to our weekly doctor’s visits. That was until our beloved doctor looked at me and said “Mrs. McCaffrey, I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” and I didn’t hear much else after that. Baby B was not fine, she too had a congenital heart defect and now I felt like that bus had just run me over and then backed up to do it again. In the U.S., one out of 100 babies is born with CHD and I was just told that for some unknown reasons, both my babies had this disease.
By the time I was 36 weeks pregnant, I was more than prepared in all the areas I could control. I knew every possible scenario for what my children were about to face and felt I had done everything possible to prepare our home. I stocked up at Costco, cleaned and organized our house, prepared the nursery and wrote a 12-page guide for taking care of our older son. At 36 weeks, my water broke and while my sister-in-law raced to our house, I was thinking about how scared I was there was a scenario I hadn’t thought of. Both twins were delivered vaginally less than 8 hours later and the thing I remember most is an immense feeling of loss when they whisked my children away without as much as a hand to their cheek. More
For those looking to host a twin, triplet (or more) baby shower we have put together a list of popular themes and some new and unique ones you may not have thought about! We’ve included a few ideas for decorations, food, drinks and favors. These are ALL gender neutral! For more multiples baby shower ideas visit us on Pintrest! Follow us, we are always adding new pins for our mom’s of twins! 😉
I love this invitation by Gourmet Invitations
Two (or three, four (quad pod) or more) Peas in a pod- This is a very popular theme that can work for however many multiples are expected. How many peas can fit in a pod?
Decorations: Fill candy dishes with Kiwi flavor Jelly Belly for a cute and yummy “pea” table piece. You can also you use peas as a vase filler as seen here at Hostess Jo. (A slender vase with flowers is inside the wide vase filled with peas.)
Food: Pea salad of course!
Drink: I would not suggest you make a pea drink..lol Just serve something yummy!
Favor: Sweet Pea scented hand sanitizer or lotions from Bath and Body Works would be a crowd pleaser!
A Perfect “Pear”(Twins)– This theme’s play on words is adorable for a twin baby shower.
Decorations: There is a lot you can do with pears themselves. A simple chic decoration would to place pears on square white plates as table centerpiece. Tie ribbons on their long stems to dress them up!
Food: Pears are a versatile food that can be paired with (pun intended) cheese and crackers, tossed in dips and salads, or be made into pies!
Full House – (Twins, triplets, quads or quints) This theme is the most original that I found and I am just dying to use it! I found this genius idea at Oh Baby! Custom Shower Decor Blog. This theme could work if you are expecting triplets, adding twins to your family of 3 or if you are expecting quints! Or if quads are expected, you can do a “4 of a kind” play on this theme!
Decorations: Lots of playing cards!! String them with fishing line to make banners, wrap them around rolled napkins, and so much more! Make sure to have decks on the table for your guests to play! Go to the blog to find more ideas on decorating, food and favors! It’s too awesome to put into words, you just have to see it! If you do this for your shower PLEASE share the photos! I would love to see this done for a multiples baby shower!
Cakes- I ran across this 4 of a kind cake set for a mother expecting quads. Something like this would be great with this theme!
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By: Fran Pitre. Mother of 3 sets of twins, author of “TwinsX3”, “Marriage and Multiples”, and “Moms of Twins Take Care of Business.” Subscribe to her blog and receive the Marriage and Multiples e-book free! Look for more stories from Fran in the coming months! Make sure to visit her yourself at FranPitre.com
Twin grow and develop first as womb-mates, … are born on the same day (with rare exception) … are dressed alike … share a bassinet … share a crib … share a bedroom … share, share and share some more. This doubling-up is true for identical or fraternal twins (including boy/girl combos … I know because I did it with mine!)
For a while, most parents of twins enjoy pairing up our little duos because, well let’s face it, it’s fun, and they’re so darn cute! We’ve lots of “twin sets” of clothing outfits, bedding, toys, etc., and we naturally enjoy them. Now, I’m not saying everything has to be exactly the same. Some little girl outfits are same style but are different colors, or the same pattern is found on your daughter’s dress which matches her twin brother’s pants or vest. The children themselves grow in an awareness and become used to this type of treatment … for a while.
Then comes the day when one little girls falls in love with one dress that she must wear day after day, yet her twin doesn’t really show any interest in that same dress. Or, as his mom, you notice that one of your sons is very interested in a particular toy which his twin totally discards when given it.
Twins or not, identical or not … each child is demonstrating his or her own unique individuality. More
It’s 12:30. The twins and I are in the car, driving home from a play date.
“Everlynn?! Vivian!? Stay awake! Please don’t go to sleep…”
God I hope they don’t go to sleep. What’s the speed limit? Oh great, the sky is black. It’s about to pour.
It’s pouring. Maybe it will keep them awake.
I glance into the mirror. They are out cold.
Perfect. Oh well.
Nothing I can do. Should I slow down and let them sleep, or keep going? If I hurry then they will only get ten minutes. Hmmmmmm…
12:45
Alright, we are home. Should I leave them in here to sleep? It’s just a garage.
Why does this creep me out?! It’s not too warm- not too cold. I could totally sleep in here. I could turn on Kyle’s work bench light, so if they wake they won’t be scared.
No, they will wake up since the car is stopped.
It’s still pouring… maybe the noise will help them stay asleep… maybe. Okay, how asleep are they? Yeah, they are knocked out.
Poor babies. They need sleep. They’re both teething hard core. They are barely sleeping at night. They need to nap…but I know they won’t stay asleep.
Should I TRY and transfer them asleep? Yeah right. Been there, tried that many times.
If I wake them, they will be wired. Oh! I could get bottles ready and have the rooms dark and ready for a nap… yeah, that is a good idea…
…slowly getting out of the car… STUPID beeping!
Errrrr… shutting the door… okay this is working. Still sleeping. Running up stairs… bottles bottles… shutting windows, turning off lights…
Okay, gotta get them out of the car, without waking them too much… oh, but they are SO cute and VERY asleep… I should just leave them in here…
…I should get a fan for noise. And the monitor…. running back up the stairs.
Got it. More
There are certain challenges when rising multiples, you will need two or more of the same item at the same time; cribs, high chairs, bikes, and so on. How do you manage on a tight budget? Maybe you can get hand-me-downs from family members or purchase second hand. But maybe you like to match or co-ordinate your twinkies, at least on certain occasions. Why not shop at your local twin club re-sale event? What a better place to get items for twins than from a family with twins!
Are you a twin club leader in charge of your re-sale event? Here are some tips from others who have had successful events.
“We have 218 members, 112 sellers and had $50k of sales for our recent Fall sale. We have a Fall and Spring sale and it’s our biggest fundraiser… We get a line starting at 8am for our 9am opening. We moved to a much bigger space, so we are looking to increase our sales further….We’re finding we need to think of ways to market our sale every year to get the word out. Fortunately, we have good word of mouth, but as kids get older, you constantly need to find new buyers. We use My Sale Manager. We’ve used it for the last 3 sales now and it’s been great. The bar coding makes the lines move faster and there’s less data entry error since you don’t have to read someone’s handwriting. A lot of sellers noticed this year that their lower priced stuff went faster than their higher priced stuff. The economy is very tough out there!” – Judy M. More
By: Fran Pitre. Mother of 3 sets of twins, author of “TwinsX3”, “Marriage and Multiples”, and “Moms of Twins Take Care of Business.” Subscribe to her blog and receive the Marriage and Multiples e-book free! Look for more stories from Fran in the coming months! Make sure to visit her yourself at FranPitre.com
so you take the opportunity to go into the kitchen and prepare them lunch. Just after spreading peanut butter onto one slice of bread, you suddenly hear a scream, and then another! In no time, they’re both screaming, hitting, and punching each other … what happened?! You immediately notice that they are fighting over one particular toy truck. “Luckily,” you think to yourself, “we have TWO of the same toy truck!” After giving each child his own truck, and placing some distance between the two children temporarily, you proceed back to the kitchen, where you’ve left the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches half-made.
Twiniversity 