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Help Is on the Way!

Getting the Support You Need to Raise Twins

By Lisa Marie Metzler

Double the blessing. Double the fun. Double the happiness. Double the work! Yes, twins are obviously more work than a single infant. But there is still plenty of help available for parents of newborn twins (without spending a fortune to get it!). Willing hands are as close as your own family, neighbors, local hospital, twin support group or online discussion board.

If you are fortunate enough to have relatives nearby who are willing to help, then accept it! Take all the help they offer. Family members can assist you by watching the twins while you nap or go for a walk. A visiting family member can easily perform a quick clean up in the kitchen or do a load of laundry for you as well.

Lisa and Mike Kaskinen of Bezonia, Mich., are the parents of twin boys and were fortunate to have immediate family living close by to help out when they brought the twins home. "Our parents were a wonderful support," Lisa Kaskinen says. Her sister and niece also joined in to help with the daily care of the twins, while her mother-in-law made a computer-generated sign to post on the front door that read, "Shhhh, Mamma and babies sleeping," to keep well-wishers from disturbing them.

Forget the sugar. The question for your neighbors now becomes: "May I borrow a cup of your time." If you've established a good relationship with your neighbors and they have offered to help, then by all means accept it.

Eva Marie London of Phoenix, Ariz., a mother of twins, says the help of her next-door neighbor was invaluable. London's husband is an airline pilot who works out of town five days each week, and her own family lived on the East coast. Her neighbor provided not only practical support by helping with the logistics of feeding and diapering twins, but also the much-needed adult conversation London missed while her husband was gone.

Want to see more?

• Double Duty: Finding the Right Daycare for Multiples
• Two at Once: Becoming a Parent of Twins
• You Can Do It! 10 Secrets to Surviving the First Year with Twins
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!

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