How to Cope with Being a Multiple Birth Parent

If you or your partner have come from a family where multiple births feature, then you are unlikely to be as surprised as those whose families have never had a multiple birth before. Feeling like the special ones can take a bit of adjustment.

Once you’ve made the decision to share your multiple birth news with family and friends, reality will really start to dawn on you. Sometimes hearing our own voice as we communicate with others helps to gel a concept in our mind.

But you may not feel like talking about your multiple birth pregnancy and are waiting to process it yourself first. Take your time and do what feels right for you. There is no one right way when it comes to sharing pregnancy news.

Knowing that your partner is with you and is supportive will make an enormous difference in how you view your multiple pregnancy. It can be a common experience for one partner to feel more delighted than the other. Often it is the mother who focuses on the practical aspects of having more than one baby to care for and she will start visualizing and planning for the babies long before they are due. This is intrinsically linked with her nesting tendencies, especially important if there are older children at home.

Interestingly, some fathers view their partner’s multiple pregnancy as a sign of their masculinity and virility. Perhaps forgetting that conception actually takes two individuals and is not a one-sided equation.

If you are already parents, then you’ll have some clearer ideas of what you are in for. You’re likely to be able to recycle some nursery furniture and clothing so the financial costs won’t be so steep. Develop a mindset of grateful acceptance when it comes to offers from family and friends. You’ll be surprised about what you’ll be lent and given; most experienced parents are aware of the costs of having one baby let alone multiples.

• Financial cost of having more than one baby. Will health insurance cover the health-related costs of care especially if the babies are premature or unwell?
• Where to have the babies. Having a multiple pregnancy automatically places a mother in a high-risk pregnancy category. If you live in a rural or regional area you may need to commute to a town where tertiary level maternity services are available.
• How will we cope? In practical, financial, housing, and employment terms this is especially the case for partners who will need to plan time off work to allow for support after birth.
• Long term concerns. These often relate to caring for, educating, and raising more than one baby at a time up to adulthood.
• How to manage older children. You’ll focus especially the emotional support they’ll need as they adapt to being the older sibling of multiple birth babies.
• Concern around the health of the mother. What if something happens? What if the babies are very premature or sick? How will we manage this if it happens?
• Concern about the unknown. Lack of control over what happens can really have an impact on multiple birth parents.
• A possible change in long-term plans. You might have had a vision for a new home, future travel, or something else.
• Many parents silently wonder how they will love more than one baby at a time. But nature has designed us to fall in love with our babies and for them to help us to do exactly this.

You have several options. Many, many couples have experienced the same concerns and worry that you are living right now. Even if you don’t have an extended network of family or friends you are sure to find an extensive level of support through the multiple birth association in your state or perhaps your local area.

It is important to start planning for your multiple birth as early as you can. Many women experience exaggerated levels of pregnancy symptoms when they are pregnant with multiples. This could mean you are not feeling very energetic, especially in your first trimester.

Although you may not feel like moving very far from the bathroom, you will still have the opportunity to think about what you need for the babies. Start early, make lists, and ask for help. If you are struggling to get out of the house, the internet can be your best friend. Blogs, forums, and chat rooms can help you to establish virtual friendships for emotional support.

In the early days of caring for the babies, internet services can also make a real difference to running a household. Outsource what you can and when you are pregnant make a list of favorites on your computer which will help your life run more smoothly. Ask other multiple birth parents what worked for them; a top three list of “must-haves” ideas from other couples will save you loads of time and effort.