Having twins is a bit of a beast, to say the least. I had no idea that one is one and two is… twenty.
We’ve had to navigate a lot of uncharted waters and to be fully transparent - the first 4 months were sleep deprived, torturous hell and my husband and I were shells of human beings. Seriously. We don’t have anything figured out, but since we’re all figuring things out as we go (I’m learning that’s parenting in a nutshell), I figured I would share what works for us - in case any of it can work for you.
Or if, like us, you’re also a sleep deprived zombie, know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. That tunnel is 4.5 months long and the light is called SLEEP TRAINING.
So here we go - FAQs - verbatim to how they were asked via my DMs.
How much weight did you gain, and how close are you to losing it?
I gained 55 pounds with the twins. I’m (barely) 5’5 - it was a lot of weight to carry on my frame. My back hurt, I could barely get up at the end - I’d literally swing myself out of bed and just hope for the best - and I couldn’t wait to get it off. I set a goal for myself to lose all the baby weight by my birthday on 11/16 (which is about 6 months and 2 weeks from when I had them), and I did it. I make smart food/exercise decisions… 80% of the time. The other 20% I intuitively eat, travel, drink and don’t think about it any deeper than that.
Why did you choose a c-section over a natural birth?
TL/DR : I didn’t choose it. Having the type of identical twins I had (mono-di) means they shared a placenta, which is akin to two scuba divers and one oxygen tank. Thus in January 2020 my OB informed me I would be having a c-section. It also happened that both boys were breech the entire time.
I’ve clearly never “given birth” the other way, but I loved having a scheduled c-section. For someone who is Type A, OCD, eldest child, structured to a T - it was perfect for me. I knew what to expect, it was planned, it wasn’t frantic, my recovery was very simple, both boys were out and I was all stitched up in < 1 hour, and my scar is very minimal (my doctor - Dr Laurie Green at Pacific Women’s OBGYN in SF is a MAGICIAN).
Who’s with the babies while you workout?
Exercise is a huge part of both mine and my husband lives. It’s as much mental as it is physical for us, and we’ve always prioritized it - and given the other space to ensure our cup is filled up and we get that time to ourselves. When my husband and I were both on leave, we’d workout while the babies napped - either in the garage, outside, or one of us would walk or run while the other manned the monitor. #Quarantinetimes. Now that we’re both back at work (“at work” - at home), and we’re sleeping - we make it work. I usually do a 30 minute walk or run first thing then a Melissa Wood Health, The Sculpt Society or Reformer Pilates class after school drop off.
What are your sleep training tips?
Sleep was a HUGE thing for us. We learned that sleep deprivation is indeed horrible torture. We felt like zombies for a solid 4 months. At about 8 weeks, we got the boys on an every 4 hour bottle schedule during the day (followed 12 Hours of Sleep by 12 Weeks - which was a flat out lie for us but got us on a good daytime schedule) and then let them dictate what they needed at night (usually a bottle or 2).
At about 4 months the boys were eating enough that they didn’t need calories over night, they were waking up for a bottle out of habit. So after confirming with our pediatrician that they were ready for sleep training, one Sunday we watched every video on Taking Cara Babies ABC’s of Sleep and figured out that every single sleep training method at its core involves some crying. So we went for it cold turkey - we had one night where the boys wailed from 1-3:45am straight. It was brutal. I almost broke like 2305759 times (thank GOD for friends up nursing babies to commiserate with during those almost 3 hours!) but you know what? I realize she has political affiliations that next to no one agrees with, myself included, but GD the woman knows how to get babies to sleep.
IT WORKED. Ever since that night the twins have slept 7-7, and if they wake up, THEY KNOW HOW TO PUT THEMSELVES BACK TO SLEEP. I repeat, THEY KNOW HOW TO PUT THEMSELVES BACK TO SLEEP.
This also works for their naps, which are sure things 3x a day, and it works for their bedtime sleep. We also use the Hatch noise machine and have trained the boys that nap-time or sleep time isn’t over until their wake-up music comes on. The thing is magical. (More on that in another post.)
How do you stay consistent with not overeating when you have a weight loss goal?
I’ll be very blunt. I’m beyond proud of my body for growing two perfect healthy babies at the same time. I’m also very grateful to it. But to say I couldn’t WAIT to get the weight off and get my body back and be back to how I feel my best after pregnancy would be a bold-faced lie. Thus I set off to become “me” again.
I’m an incredibly self-motivated person, structured to a T and I have really strong will power (see: Wedding Diet). I know that nutrition supersedes absolutely everything - you cannot cannot cannot outrun a poor diet. So I eat in a way that works for me. I’ll never be able to give up entire food groups. I usually start the day with a coffee then workout. I’ll make a protein smoothie (I top it with sliced fruit, granola, seeds because I need to chew) or eat overnight oats I’ve prepped the night before. Sometimes it’s a sprouted english muffin with scrambled eggs and avocado. Lunch is usually a salad with protein or a snack plate with hummus, protein, nuts, veggies, fruit and crackers. Dinner is almost always a protein and salad and roasted or grilled veggies. I also drink a ton of water - at least 90 ounces a day.
I keep my cocktails and wine intake to Friday/Saturday, eat dessert every single night (I bake a batch of cookies weekly and love Hu Kitchen dark chocolate) and more than enjoy Pizza Friday and a glass of wine every week. Balance. Deprivation isn’t sustainable.
When you have a solid foundation of anti-inflammatory whole foods, your body knows how to efficiently process treats.
Any tips for eating healthy with morning sickness?
Zero. At that point, do what you have to do to survive and get yourself some calories. Per my OB, during the first trimester the baby is so, so small and requires such little nutrients at that point that what you’re eating (or not eating) doesn’t make a difference. I didn’t eat a single vegetable for a solid 10 weeks. I lived off of saltines, and scrambled eggs and toast. Then 14 weeks hit and I was back to my old tricks and craved veggies, salads, grain bowls, the works.
I was lucky to never have actually gotten sick - just incredibly nauseated.
How did you get back into exercise post c-section?
Take your time and respect your recovery - your body has gone through a LOT with major abdominal surgery. Thankfully, my recovery was pretty easy and seamless with very little pain. I went off the painkillers after day 2 in the hospital and took Tylenol for a couple days after that. I walked every day from the day I got home from the hospital to the day I got cleared to work out (6 weeks postpartum). Once I got cleared, and solely in an effort to reduce time spent working out while I didn’t have any time (and the twins naps were very sporadic and not a sure thing), I started to get back into running with run/walking. I did that most of the summer coupled with app HIIT workouts in the garage or backyard.
I do 30 minutes of walking or jogging a day. A MWH or Sculpt Society class via app for another 30. And do 1 yoga or Pilates Reformer class a week. It works for me, it’s low impact, and it’s something I enjoy/can sustain/look forward to.
Hope that was helpful or at the very least, killed 15 minutes for you.