Twins:
Ready or Not... Here We Come! by Elizabeth Lyons (when you're serious about being prepared) She outlines what you'll need, how you can even pretend to function like a normal human being with infant twins, and how you can rearrange your brain to be the organized super-mom that others will be in awe of.
Ready or Not... There We Go! by Elizabeth Lyons (for twin toddlerdom)
Because once you get through that first "tough year," it only gets more complicated. You may be sleeping through the night, and have a schedule. But now you need to entertain these two, and protect your furniture! Your sanity! And don't even start with me about the twin potty training.
Twinspiration by Cheryl Lage (when you need a break from being seriously prepared and want fewer panic attacks) Sometimes it's just nice to read some heartwarming stories and start to feel incredibly blessed (as you should) about having a double helping of baby.
Feeding:
Blender Baby Food by Nicole Young
Do not expect making baby food to be super inexpensive. It is easy. I will give you that. But it is more of an up-front cost. And it's inability to be very portable kind of sucks. But I did it! It was nice to give the girls "actual" food. And it's broken down by age range, there's nutrition information, and it extends beyond just purees to some really great recipes for toddlers and the whole family! It's format is very easy and not at all scary and complex. (like Super Baby Food
)Sleeping:
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth
I cannot emphasize enough how important proper sleep and scheduling is for twins (and I'm now convinced for simply any baby- singleton, twin, triplet, etc.) This one is a good book for when you have those 'help! How do I fix this exact situation' feeling. There are lots of ideas in here, and fixes for your specific child's little quirks. (there will be many)
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins by Dr. Marc Weissbluth (a new version just for twins! Wish I would have had this one too!)
I could only look and see that this book would be "available soon." I longed for this book. Having something specifically geared towards twins is invaluable to the twin-mom's psyche.
On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
Read it. Just do it. It's so much more than a "cry it out" method. In fact, that phrase doesn't even begin to resemble this program. It's so doable, and pretty much works miracles. While there have been hiccups, both my twins and my new singleton have slept through the night- and I mean from 9pm to 9am by two months of age. It's not just a luxury, it's a necessity. This also has some very compelling arguments for you "attachment parenters" out there. Read up!
Post-Baby Marriage:
Mom's Needs, Dad's Needs by Willard Harley
I have begged the husband to read this with me. He's finally come around. It has some really "duh!" advice that you just don't think about when you're in the thick of parenting and trying to sustain a romantic (or even generally loving relationship) with your spouse. Try not to let this relationship fall by the wayside. It's crazy what just a little inattention will do to your marriage. We waited too long to address issues after the twins were born. We thought we were just too busy. But after putting the twins down to sleep- and wanting nothing to do with each other, we decided to take a different approach. (who has time for marriage counseling with infant twins? Nobody!) This was our marriage counseling, and we need to beef up on it every now and again to keep things running smoothly. Ok- that's probably enough personal-sharing!
Post-Baby Body:
Pick Your Spot Pilates with Ellen Barrett
I like Ellen. She reminds me of Lorelai from The Gilmore Girls. (and more recently Parenthood on NBC) Her workouts are short, helpful, and I like being able to say 'You know what? My butt feels really big this morning, let's do something about that!' It's also never gets "too easy," so you can keep doing it no matter what your fitness level. (Although I should probably include that I've never been a super-duper-fitness buff. I could never do a triathlon! Of course, I never wanted to)
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