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Motherhood is a beautiful thing, and most women look forward to it. However, parenthood does come with its fair share of difficulties. While most parents anticipate bringing one child into the world, some get twins. Twins always fascinate everyone; they are a set of two individuals who share similar features. However, ask even the most experienced parents, and they will agree that raising any child is difficult, let alone twins. It does not mean that the parents of twins cannot raise healthy and responsible children, in fact, most people do it successfully.
If you are pregnant with twins, it’s time to know about the six major challenges you will face. Knowing these beforehand will surely help you prepare well for the challenges.
In This Post:
1. Pregnancy Difficulties
Each pregnancy comes with its set of problems. With twins, most parents get excited about having two babies from one pregnancy. The problem comes with the extreme pregnancy symptoms that accompany it. It is not always the case for all twin pregnancies, but the common symptoms of pregnancy get amplified with twin pregnancies. Increased risks of fear and anxiety accompany twin pregnancies. The risks of placenta problems, preeclampsia, and preterm labor amongst other pregnancy-related issues also increase with a twin pregnancy.
2. Everything Needs To Be Done Simultaneously
Every parent who has had a newborn knows how important it is to create sleep, feeding, and bathing schedules for a baby. With twins, the process becomes more complicated because it means making sure to follow the set pattern with both babies.
When one child wakes up at night to feed, you have to wake the other one up to feed as well. Likewise, you have to feed them simultaneously and try to get them to go to sleep at the same time. Maintaining the same schedule for both children also helps parents plan better because newborns are often unpredictable by nature.
3. Sleepless Nights
Having a newborn means some sleepless nights, and most parents make peace with it after the first few weeks. However, with twins sleep becomes much more of a scarce commodity and physical exhaustion accompanies it.
It can get stressful as the parents of twins learn to cope with their new situation. The solution lies in applying all the tricks to help newborn babies adjust to healthy sleep patterns. Swaddle the babies, create a peaceful environment for them, and get help.
4. Bonding Takes Time
Caring for twins when they are newborns often turns into a juggling role for most parents. The mother breastfeeds one, as the father bottle feeds the other, and then they switch up again when it is bathing time. It affects the parents, particularly the mother’s, ability to properly bond with each baby.
However, after the first few weeks pass by and a consistent routine gets established bonding becomes entirely possible. It may take longer but give it time and patience.
5. Focusing On Being Equal
The parents of twins feel the pressure to make everything equal between their two children. It can get overwhelming especially for parents who may not have the resources to keep the balance.
The reality is that it is nearly impossible to keep it all fair when raising twins. In fact, parents should aim at raising their children to the best of their abilities and not focusing too much on balance.
6. Not Establishing Individuality
The parents of twins and the world in general love to see twins in matched up outfits. Going back to balance, most parents will dress their twins in similar outfits as a way of keeping it equal. What it does is rob them of their individuality. Instead, it is better to foster a sense of identity. It may not be clear how to go about it, but it all starts with treating each child as their own person.
If you are a new parent, you should know these dos and don’ts of sleeping with the babies.
