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If you were gifted with a two for one pregnancy, you might be thinking about upsizing while you still have time. It can be hard to move quickly, especially if you have two or more growing fetuses inside your body. Take your time, you have awhile, you probably found out by 2 months in.
In This Post:
What to Do When You Find Out
Ultrasounds are shockingly accurate and can usually tell if there are multiple embryos between six to eight weeks. Plus, if you’re using in vitro fertilization (IVF), you have a high chance of conceiving twins; you probably had some warning from your doctor that it was a possibility. This means you usually have anywhere from the start of the IVF to seven months to assess your living situation and make space for an additional child.
This is a fantastic time to assess your home, since you don’t have two newborn babies to deal with or a handful of toddlers to wrangle. Preparing in advance could save you a lot of hassle when these adorable miracles make it into the world.
Can You Upgrade Your Current House?
You can upgrade your current living situation for the double-fun bundles of joy. That means doing things like investing in a double stroller, splitting their room into two color schemes (so someone can keep them straight), and creating a schedule to keep up with the double baby workload. Some small improvements include getting a larger baby playpen or fencing off your living room as a “safe area.” It might involve a little more work to babyproof your entire living room, but it’ll be cheaper than buying a giant play pen. This includes things like covering sharp corners with foam, using gates at the doors, screwing down the TV, covering outlets, and much, much more (like a sturdier gate, since two babies can push a lot harder than one).
There’s no such thing as babyproofing too much when dealing with double trouble twins, so if you’re planning to stay in a smaller home, consider lots of gates and preparing for your home to be taken over by babyproofing.
When Should You Decide to Move On Up?
If your house was just enough for one baby (soon to be child) and the surprise second is making you nervous, moving now is a good option to consider.
There are a few limitations to moving when gestating even one human (let alone two or more!). Since a double birth is often more risky, you will want to reduce your personal stress and not lift a thing. That may mean hiring a mover when you find that perfect place, which isn’t as expensive as you might think. It’s an average of around 200 dollars more to hire a mover versus doing it yourself — plus you don’t have to try to move the fridge.
A lot of the moving stress isn’t in the actual process, especially if you hire a mover. The nerves will usually hit with the selling of your old house and the voyage of finding the perfect place to lay your little peanuts once they’ve burst into the world.
The downside of needing more space for your twins, is that you probably have a little less time to prepare for them, since the gestation period for twins is usually around 36 weeks (or almost a month shorter than a single birth).You can start with areas that you like, places with parks, good schools, and low disaster ratings. You can actually look this up: will your house flood, will a tornado hit, or will an earthquake strike?
From there, meeting with a real estate agent and taking a long Saturday looking at houses, taking pictures, and finding what structures work for your needs will help you narrow down the search quickly. Once you find the dream home, setting up everything you need for your twins will be a breeze, especially if you can convince your friends to spring for two cribs at the baby shower! Finally, sell your old house quickly, so you can focus on the two tiny Wonder Twins.
Finding out that you are having twins can hit you by surprise. Make sure you have room for the two for one special coming your way before your arms are full. You normally have about seven months to figure it out, whether you’re upgrading your current home, or moving to a larger place, it’s important for your babies to have the space they need to grow.