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One After Two

Getting Your Twins Ready for the New Baby

By Cara Stevens

In many ways, preparing your twins for a new sibling is exactly the same as preparing a singleton for a new arrival, and all the usual suggestions apply: Take advantage of the scores of great new baby videos and books at your local library or bookstore; enroll your older children in a sibling class at the local hospital; paint a positive but realistic picture of life with a new baby in the house; have the children make a picture book of their life with a new baby; and buy each twin a baby doll of their very own.

And when the baby arrives, the same tactics apply for older siblings: Buy each child a present from the new baby; give each child a role or tasks to help care for the new baby and welcome guests and visitors; set aside special alone time each day with each sibling; and double up on the hugs, cuddles and "I-love-yous."

"The key with any new sibling is to be calm," says Dr. Moskwinski. "I let the twins hold the baby, and I was there to supervise. They held him for maybe 10 seconds and then lost interest. I think doing that was much preferable to always saying, 'Don't touch the baby!'"

Want to see more?

• Help Is on the Way: Getting the Support You Need to Raise Twins
• Start the New Year Right: Resolutions for Mothers of Multiples
• You Can Do It! 10 Secrets to Surviving the First Year With Twins
• Talk about it!