Freaking out over B/G twins! [confused]

[HeatherCatherine82]

Hi, I'm Heather.
I'm brand new to mumsnet, and it's been a HUGE comfort so far!
Ok, so I guess I didn't get off to the best start. I had my first beautiful boy, Elliot George (now 11), when I was just turned 16. I went on to have my little princess, Cecily Elizabeth (now 6), 4 years later.
I have no regrets and love them both to the moon and back.

But now I'm expecting boy/girl twins in mid-feb! I freaked out when I first found out there was 2 of them, and the fact that they're b/g makes it twice as complicated! I don't have the room for them...do b/g twins share rooms??!! I'm a single mum- how do I cope with both? Somebody give me some words of comfort!

Heather xx

[Misfitless]

Wow, so you're due in a couple of weeks?
Congratulations!
You're totally OK with outing, yourself, then?

I suppose they could share a room until maybe 9 years old? I don't know what age that would need to stop, tbh, but it's not something you need to worry about for many years yet.

Are your other children excited?

[HeatherCatherine82]

I'm pretty open about the whole thing, yeah. I mean, that's life, isn't it? And I wouldn't swap my little angels for the world :)

Thanks for your kind words, lovely!
They are pretty excited now :) dd has been overjoyed all along, especially because she gets a sister! Ds took some talking round, but he's quite happy about it now xx

[Margetts]

Congratulations

I have B/G twins and they shared a room for the first couple of years. They could have shared for longer but my DH wanted them to have there own rooms as he was forced to share with his much older sister and hated it. However first thing in the morning they go and see each other first before coming into our rooms. They often have sleepovers in each others bedrooms.

My twins were basically the same weight and height and for the first couple of years were able to share vests and sleeping bags etc.

Do make sure you have some neutral coloured baby grows for the first few months so when you are changing a baby in the night y are not desperately trying to find the right colour!!

If you have time and energy just now I would recommend cooking some meals and freezing them. When friends ask if they can help once the baby is born, I always felt it very useful if they brought a meal with them.

Good luck

[HeatherCatherine82]

Thanks a million for your advice Margetts! I wish I could tell you how much you've helped me. I'll definitely take your advice over the neutral coloured clothes!

I'll get cooking while I still have energy lol :D

How old are your twins now? Xx

[Margetts]

My DT are 7. Best of friends and spend hours playing with each other.
I would also recommend getting the babies into a good routine from a young age. It makes planning to get out much easier.
Good luck and enjoy them x

[DameDeepRedBetty]

Congratulations! Twins are the best thing ever ever (biased, moi? )!

Do you have family around to help? Accept all the help offered, and try to be assertive if you can about what sort of help you need, it's all very well having friends and family cuddling the babies, but actually it's really nice if sometimes they could do a bit of housework while you do some serious baby cuddling - or sleeping.

[HeatherCatherine82]

Thanks for the advice, DameDeepRedBetty! 100% taken on board! Xx :)

[HeatherCatherine82]

Aw! That's so sweet, Margetts! I hope mine get on well :)

I'm naming mine Mary Frances and Albert/Arthur Henry. What do you think? Xx

[Margetts]

Very pretty names. Prefer Arthur

[ShoeWhore]

My niece and nephew still share (their choice) and they are 5.

Posters don't normally give out so much personal info OP, so as to remain a bit more anonymous. Are you sure you're ok with that OP?

[chocolatedrops31]

Hi Heather, just messaging to say think we are due around same time -my c section is on 25 feb with 2 girls. How are you feeling? I'm suddenly really exhausted and can't wait for them to be out (although still feel hopelessly disorganised!)

[HeatherCatherine82]

ShoeWhore - I believe: the more personal the better! How can people give help and advice if they don't know the situation? Xx

[hollyhunter]

just remember that children when they are tiny dont know the difference between pink and blue. that is our gender preference,

they want warm and dry. do not think that you cant put a boy in a pink babygro becuase you can!

[HeatherCatherine82]

Hi chocolatedrops31!

Congratulations! I'm being induced on Feb 15th, so we are due very close to each other- how exciting! Two gorgeous girls :) What names are you thinking about?

I'm feeling exhausted, too. Just want to get them out and see them! I'm VERY disorganised, and still trying to sort everything out...you feel like you have all the time in the world, and then suddenly BAM!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Congratulations!

Twins are great. They are HARD work in the early days BUT if you're due mid-Feb then you've dodged the risk of having premmies, which is one of the hardest bits, AND you've done it all before twice, so you know what to do with newborns!

You will be fine. If yo have any help on hand get it lined up for the early days. Drop any pride in accepting help - you'll find when you're out and about with them you dump a baby on any willing stranger who's happy to hold one while you get the other sorted so it's good practice for that!

Don't worry about the boy-girl thing AT ALL. DD went through a phase of only wanting to wear her brothers' t-shirts and now only wants to wear the brightest colours in the house... and she's still only 2.5. Sigh. DS doesn't give a stuff and would happily wear a pink tutu. Same for toys - doesn't matter if it's a 'girls' toy or a 'boys' toy, they will want to play with whatever the other one is playing with 90 per cent of the time!

If you're planning on breastfeeding there is are great leaflets from Tamba and Bliss, and also a book called Mothering Multiples which has lots of advice in it. IF you're planning on bottle feeding then get kitted out as if you're going to feed an army - large capacity steriliser (or two), plenty of bottles (possibly in different colours in case they end up on different milks/meds), decent kettle etc.

You WILL mix them up one day - a good tip is to allocate left and right to one - so one baby sleeps on the left, their milk is the bottle you put on the left, etc etc, so you never go 'Oh god, which one have I just fed!'.

Oh and bouncy chairs are a life saver!

[AlpacaLypse]

Hi HC, just dropping in to say I've namechanged, got bored of being DameDRB.

Most of us do cover our identities with something silly, if HeatherCatherine is your real name might be better to change it, just so you can have a good whinge about something in the future (and with twins and you being a lone parent there probably WILL be something to whinge about). MN is a well used and well known site, and you'd be amazed how often threads here are top when random internet strangers use Google to find stuff.

[thewalrus]

Hello, I have b/g twins and an elder DD. Twins still share a room at 5 - their choice. DTD made a few comments about wanting her own room a while back but has since decided to stay put (bunkbeds may have been a factor!).
Wish you loads of luck - having twins is brilliant, if exhausting!

[Mandy21]

Hi, congrats, twins are a real blessing .

I have b/g twins, almost 9, they still share. PLanning some work to the house later this year and they'll be separated. Asked DD how she'd want her new room and she said she couldn't picture it without her brother. They are incredibly close and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Yes to beige / white / cream clothes - no need to distinguish then!

[Balaboosta]

She means about your name, not the information in your post! And CONGRATULATIONS! Pink and blue twins are fantastic!