Here is a quick list of logistical circumstances you have to plan for before the puke machines and all of their goodies begin invading your den, garbage can and hearts.
Transportation:
*Nothing is more obvious to a parent of one baby who is about to have two more children than a change in how you think about transportation might be a necessity. I am not talking about buying a new or used vehicle by any means. I am referring to the details regarding how transport will work from here on out because in a two parent/two vehicle household, you will now need FOUR, count 'em, FOUR bases in addition to the two car seats themselves. Because we have just one child now, we have ONE infant car seat. Realistically that is 150-200 dollars spent on two new bases and a new car seat for your cars. Opting to have one vehicle for the transportation of just the twins would be foolish. The price of the bases is a lot less than the annoyance of having only one alternative available for transport of the new pair of awesome.
Day care:
*Going without day care is not an possibility for two parents who work and are thriving in their professions. Consider every potential scenario prior to making any decisions on what to do about who is going to watch your kids while you work. Does one of you resign and the other become the single breadwinner? Realistically speaking, even if it costs more than one of your salaries, the sanity awarded to you or your spouse as a result of paying for day care is worth every cent. Not only that, speaking from first hand knowledge, kids who go to day care from when they are very young are 7,985% more socially comfortable than those who hold on to mom's or dad's legs all day. The past mentioning of transportation is vital here because always relying on one parent to cart the twins around is impossible if your schedules are like ours and one leaves first and arrives home last.
Diet:
*Eating out isn't totally out of the question with twins, but if you have one kid now, and he/she is a beast in public meal scenarios, take out is going to be your homie fo life yo. I am never ashamed of my son or fearful that he may act like a terror in some restaurants, but he's a toddler and it's what kids do. Rather than suffering through meals in public, we abstain from many dining out experiences out of respect for other restaurant patrons trying to eat in peace. The parents that get all high and mighty about "their right to eat in public too" aren't paying attention to the bigger picture here: if your kids are distracting to YOU, imagine how the people sitting next to you getting plastered with applesauce goop feels. Be the bigger person and admit when you should just stay out of restaurants. Unless you're with three extra staff members who can take them for a walk while you eat in peace that is.
Clothing:
*Lord of the Hand me downs! You usually don't take a baby out of the house at all during those first three months for evident health and safety issues, so who cares if your little ones are wearing stained pajamas that belonged to someone you've never met before? Goodwill, garage sales and local multiples organizations twin sales rock, as do family hand me downs; take advantage of opportunities to fritter and waste dough elsewhere, because you will spend money somewhere else.
Necessary Equipment:
*If you ask ten parents to suggest one piece of equipment that they would never go a day without as a parent, you will get ten different responses, so start asking questions as soon as possible. As a parent of one boisterous and lively toddler boy, my favorite piece of equipment? The fruit snack. Yes, I know infant twins can't eat fruit snacks, but my toddler boy will, and if he isn't happy, I'm pretty sure my twin babies won't be happy. The fruit snack is my one piece of necessary paraphernalia that I will never leave the house without. Find out what you should always have, and ALWAYS HAVE IT.
Schedule:
*I hear this from every parent of multiples I have conferred with: schedule, schedule, schedule. I cannot speak from experience with two new babies, but I know that when I deviate from a standard regular plan even a teeny bit with a singleton, I pay for it. Prepare for a life, where your entire reality is ruled by a schedule, for the first four years at least.
Meal time, nap and bed time, changing time, shopping time, relaxing time, bathroom break time, babysitting help time, visitor time, doorbell ring time (my best friend has a no doorbell ringing policy for anyone who isn't coming over to babysit at that particular moment), doctor visit time, play time, or any other time you can name without going loco - they must all be devoted to your schedule.
This is one area where nothing else matters. Make it law to family and other visitors that if they mess up your schedule for any reason, they will owe you a case of beer, a complimentary pizza delivery or free babysitting time, and stick to your guns. Respecting the schedule enough to interrupt people mid-sentence is a perfect way of training those around you to be considerate of the logistics of parenting twins without going absolutely and utterly loco. Make it easy.
'So let me tell you about Bali. The beaches were delightful. You wouldn't believe the Mai' Tai's we were served up on Buffy's yach-' "That sounds delightful Betty, please leave, it's time for A & B's rocket-sauce." See? Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Also, calling anything you are feeding to your twins "Rocket-sauce" will immediately shush anyone who has anything to say about anything. Ever.
Joel Frieders is a father of one with twins on the way. He started http://www.havingtwinsnow.com as a way to plot his family's excitement, fears, ideas, education and progression through pregnancy and life as a father of multiples. As of August 10th, 2009, Joel's wife, Julie, is 13 weeks along and just now starting to feel better after terrible all day morning sickness has ruined her first trimester. Find out more at his blog.
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