Wow! You made it, you brought two beautiful little babies to your home. Two little babies to call your very own. And believe you me, I know how miraculously wonderful, exhilarating and exhausting it feels when you do the feed, sleep, poop repeat routine. I also know that it has been what 3 months already and you haven’t stepped out at all because who can step out with twins without carrying their entire household, 6 adults and a bucket full of clothes and diapers. Let us just say, going out with twins is not easy but what really is! So, my dear friend, if I can give you one advise today it would be to breathe easy and get some fresh air. Who knows it may just become an adventure of a lifetime or a nice little ritual that you look forward to every month.
In this blog post, I, your friend, and fellow twin mom will share her secrets, a few pearls of wisdom but most importantly lots of encouragement for you to get out of your house with the twins in tow.
First things first, let us keep the expectations low, the visit short and the plan flexible. More often than not, your first visit with twins is going to be at the Doctor’s and since this is unavoidable – you do manage it without any major incident. Just carry a bag with essentials such as formula (in case you are nursing then yourself), diapers, wipes, extra pair of clothes etc. Now that the Dr’s visit is out, we will get down to the real deal which means going out for a meal, taking a flight, a park or a beach or even a holiday for that matter.
As we have established by now, going out with little babies has too many variables – when they get hungry, when they decide to poop or when they decide to nap is a little bit fluid with most babies having some sort of routine post 3 months. My most important learning is that if you do have other caregivers around, take them with you so that you are not solely responsible for all things babies. If indeed you do not have multiple caregivers and it is just you and your partner then ensure that you divide responsibilities and be perfectly willing to ask and chip in as required over the course of the outing.
I, my husband, parents, and nanny went out for an anniversary dinner when my babies were about 1.5 months old. Apart from the babies’ bag, we researched a little bit on the place – you do want the restaurant to have large tables and ample space to walk around, babies like to be carried around and hence it is good to check these before you book a table. When you do get to sit down for the meal, ensure that babies have been fed, are warm and generally chippy. If they are not, try giving rattles and carrying them for a bit so that they calm down and you can enjoy your meal. Most babies, like to observe a new environment and should generally not get bothered much. If your babies are older (say 7 months+) then you may want to order something for them as well. My perfectly napping 9 months old woke up when we had just started having our meal at a restaurant during an overseas vacation. It was only two of us and it was a bit of mayhem. So, we gave them the fries and the meal ended well. Any time you are out and about, you can let go of some boundaries – I had not introduced salt to my babies that time but well I did end up giving them the fries because once in a while it is OK to let go! 😊
Now let’s get down to taking flights – there is not much space to walk around, the pressure goes up and down and you general don’t have multiple options. So, try and see if you can take a flight around their nap time - carry snacks, water, toys, books to keep babies engaged. And if after trying everything, your baby does get jittery and screams and howls – it is OK. Do not get too bothered about what other passengers are thinking. Just breathe in, bring your calm, confident parent out and swoop the baby in your arms. If you relax, babies do tend to relax. If you get anxious, babies do get more anxious. Trust me when I say, once you have taken your first flight, you will be so much more comfortable in taking the next. You might actually wonder why did you choose to not take these trips sooner. One important aspect though is how do you keep your hands free while traveling. Do you prefer a baby carrier or a twin stroller - either works well on airports and you must never think that it is ok to let go of that at least till your babies are two years old.
Last but not the least, you can also take a vacation – it will be a lot of effort, it will be tiring but it would be worth it. If you can take a caregiver along nothing like it, but if you can’t – then know that you and your partner can very well travel with your babies. My top tip would be to first go to a location that is not too far off, I mean don’t go straight to Norway with your babies. Go to a warm place, carry medicines, know that babies schedule would be off, know that some days you may just not be able to do any sightseeing but some days you will be able to go to the beach and that would be magical and wonderful! So my dear friend, please don’t tell hold yourself back, pick a date, a restaurant and off you go and when you do, come back and tell us your little story, your anecdote, your first time out with your twins 😊!
We would love to hear your story about that first outing with your twins – share your experience in the comments below
