2007GuideToTheFirstYear
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HELP!<br />
I NEED SOMEBODY<br />
Being prepared has been called the key to success. And<br />
having twins or triplets means needing to be doubly or<br />
triply prepared…for sleepless nights, for endless diaper<br />
changes and feedings, for bottomless laundry baskets.<br />
Even if you’ve had other children, caring for twinfants will<br />
be more demanding and quite different than you ever dreamed.<br />
So, act now! Find some reliable helpers to take a bit of the burden<br />
off you during the first six months. After that, you’ll be okay.<br />
Estimates of the time needed to care for newborn twins have<br />
ranged from 120 to 175 hours a week. And triplets? Upwards of<br />
180 hours a week.<br />
But—and this is a BIG but—there are only 168 hours in a<br />
full week.<br />
If you’ll need, say, 135 or 140 hours a week to diaper, feed,<br />
bathe and rock/hold/nurture your babies, you’ll be left with fewer<br />
than 30 hours or so to wash laundry, prepare bottles, shop and<br />
cook, and fold clothes—to say nothing of sleep, go to the bathroom,<br />
shower and comb your hair. Even if all that time went for<br />
sleep, you’d only be getting four measly hours a night (or day?).<br />
Experience has taught us not many of those 30 leftover-hours<br />
will be available for sleep.<br />
STEPS TO TAKE<br />
• Investigate enlisting a<br />
nanny, postpartum doula,<br />
or volunteer every day for<br />
2-5 hours for a minimum<br />
of two months to help<br />
out (volunteers can come<br />
from your church, your<br />
workplace, organizations<br />
you belong to, a neighborhood<br />
teen).<br />
• Set up a schedule of times<br />
volunteers are arriving, by<br />
the hour, so you’ll know<br />
who is coming and what<br />
they’re being assigned to<br />
do. Post this in an obvious<br />
place.<br />
• Become a good delegator—assign<br />
specific tasks<br />
to specific people. Your<br />
volunteers will be most<br />
effective if they are carrying<br />
out the same tasks<br />
each time they visit your<br />
house. Once you assign<br />
the task, let go—don’t<br />
micromanage or try to be<br />
in control of everything.<br />
• Only $19.95 each plus<br />
$8.99 S&H or $39.00 for<br />
two plus $9.99 S&H<br />
© 2007 TWINS Magazine. To subscribe: call 1-888-55-TWINS or www.TwinsMagazine.com GUIDE TO THE FIRST YEAR 21
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