After I discovered that I was pregnant with twins, I sprinted for my laptop. As an avid reader and researcher, I needed to know everything there was to know about twin pregnancy and twin newborns. Though I’d briefly worked as a clinic OBGYN nurse, I still had very little knowledge of the specifics of what I was waddling into. To top it off, I knew next to nothing about babies. I was the first of most of my friends to have children. Because of this, there weren’t very many people for me to turn to for advice. Instead, I initially turned to the world wide web.
There I was: deep-diving into the necessities of my new future and subsequently feeling as if I might drown. Who knew that there were dozens of different types of bottles? Some with special valves and additions. Do we need a wipe warmer? Speaking of wipes, which brand is most affordable and popular? How many onesies will we need for two babies and how often will we be changing diapers? Will cloth diapering save us money or will we be too tired to hand-wash anything? Will I make it to full-term or will we need to prepare for a NICU stay by having preemie items on hand? That reminds me…when should we have my baby shower? We’ll need to have one earlier than normal, right?
The questions were endless. The level of dread that I felt when trying to prepare for everything all at once was debilitating. I didn’t know where to start. Suddenly, I went from jumping with excitement to feeling completely paralyzed.
After a few stressful Google searches, I drove to the bookstore to find something that might offer tangible relief. Considering my preferential treatment of physical books over electronic media, I was hoping to find something to keep handy on my nightstand. I found nothing that specifically focused on twin pregnancy. So I hopped back online and stumbled on dozens of websites regarding twins and how best to prepare for their arrival. Even with all of the information available online, I couldn’t help but feel alone. Everything I read reminded me of the unique challenges that we were facing. I was continuously reminded of how much harder everything was going to be in comparison to singleton pregnancies and life with one baby. I also kept seeing horror stories from others, which certainly didn’t help my anxiety.
It took awhile for me to make peace with my anxiety in order to prepare. I eventually started our baby registry and did my best to remain realistic about what we might need. I was able to gain some insight and advice from a beloved aunt (thank you, Aunt Jenni), which helped me to feel a little more grounded. Google was put on the back-burner in an attempt to slow the information that was coming at me. I started to focus more on enjoying my pregnancy and embracing the unknown. I realized that no amount of research could fully prepare me for all of the what-ifs of carrying, birthing, and raising twins.
Having a strong foundation of knowledge to rely on during pregnancy is a must. This is also true when preparing for life as a parent. But remember that many women have had babies before you and have lived to tell the tale. Don’t get so caught up in all of the recommendations and warnings that you forget how awesome it’s going to be to have double (or more) the amount of love added to your life.
