I experienced so many different emotions when I found out that I was pregnant with twins. We had originally thought there was only one baby and I had been on a week of bed rest because my doctor was worried that I might lose this one. So when we found out there were TWO babies with healthy heartbeats, I was overjoyed. But I was also instantly worried about my relationship with my son and how my heart would expand to love three babies.
I read up a lot on how to prep your younger child for twins coming into the family and how you should make sure your husband and yourself don’t spend too much time with a specific twin. I made plans on having mommy/son dates with Hayden so he would make sure to have attention just on him. I just wanted to make sure I was able to bond with each one of my children.
Once the girls came, it was a crazy first few months. I honestly look back and it’s hard to remember it all. It’s kind of one big blur of sleepless nights. While I was happy that I felt that instant and overwhelming love for my girls that everyone assured me would happen, I didn’t get to spend a lot of one on one time with them. I was trying to tandem feed them to get the feedings over quickly so I could get to other stuff but it wasn’t allowing me to get to know my girls as individuals.
There were two things that really helped me to bond with Olivia and Evelyn individually – breastfeeding and babywearing.
Breastfeeding {and Bottlefeeding}
Right after I got home from the hospital, I started tandem feeding the girls because I was able to get their nursing sessions done faster. If I was going to individually nurse them, well that is all I would be doing! With a 5 year old, it just wasn’t realistic to me. Then, I realized that it was getting harder to tandem feed them the bigger they got and I wasn’t able to concentrate on each one. So I started nursing them {and bottle-feeding them!} separately so I could get that one on one bonding and eye contact time. I love that special time I get feeding just one baby at a time!
I still will bottle feed them at the same time if I’m in a hurry but there’s nothing like snuggling one of them and getting close. My husband also loves to feed the girls one on one and it’s really helped his bond with the babies too.
Babywearing
I never did any sort of babywearing with my son because I just wasn’t exposed to it. Luckily, I know better now and I tell anyone that is pregnant that a must-have is a Boba Baby Carrier! My husband and I each have our own carrier and whenever we are out and about as a family, we always bring it with us. It’s easier than carrying our stroller with us all the time.
The first few months of Olivia’s life, she was very needy. She wanted to be held all the time and wouldn’t even sleep without being held. Well, with a 5 year old and another infant to take care of, what could I do? I wore her! Olivia loved being close to me, laying on my chest as I wore her in my Boba Carrier and she would instantly quiet and fall asleep. I was able to take care of Evie and Hayden while bonding with my baby close to me. I loved being able to just kiss her on the head whenever.
Just yesterday at a party, Olivia just wanted to be held by me so I popped her into my carrier and was able to still talk to everyone, eat and play with my son – all while Olivia looked up and smiled at me. She was so content with me.
If you’re interested in babywearing, you’ll definitely want to check out Boba Baby Carriers and Wraps. I’ve tried other carriers but I’m definitely into the soft structured carriers made by Boba! They have so many different prints and even an organic carrier. They also have wraps if you want to try that too. Boba is a one-stop babywearing shop!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Boba. The opinions and text are all mine.
