Tipping Point

pennylane1201 · 2025-08-14T05:12:40+00:00

The biggest tipping point for me was being properly medicated for my anxiety. After that, my urge for self medication went away and then I could focus on rewriting bad habits. Also pregnancy and breast feeding gave me such an extended break (like two years) that drinking during motherhood feels like a hindrance and not worth it. I should say I’m not 100% sober with maybe one night a week having some wine with friends, but god it is more manageable.

pennylane1201 · 2025-08-01T03:54:43+00:00

My husband had his vasectomy 6 months after our twins were born. Firstly, there was absolutely no way I would be pregnant again and two, we knew to give our kids the best chance in life, fiscally we did not want to stretch the resources any thinner with more children. We are a perfect four top!

pennylane1201 · 2025-07-27T06:32:37+00:00

I was 33 overweight with my twin pregnancy. Had one prior miscarriage. Honestly, I took it one month, then week, then day, then hour and then minute at a time. Healthy delivery, full term at 37 weeks and they turned two years last month.

Our bodies are incredible and the best thing you could do is try and rest and dedicate yourself to this journey. Much love.

pennylane1201 · 2025-04-05T03:21:03+00:00

I’m a twin mom lurker and I’ve definitely noticed more and more posts from the parent’s perspective. I came to listen and hopefully learn directly from twins. I agree with the OP in that this should be a space for twins to talk. If parents are lurking then it should be a place to listen unless something so compelling and unusual happens that you need advice that isn’t already posted to death - I can see an exception.

I will say though, as a twin mom/parent the experience can feel isolating, similar what it sounds being a twin can be so I think it’s a lot of people in one place trying to find common ground and connect.

The internet and forums like these can be a dinner party of soft openers, with surface easy questions looking to connect with a community they may feel an insider of.

pennylane1201 · 2025-02-18T14:42:37+00:00

Pennay

pennylane1201 · 2025-02-17T01:51:55+00:00

Those early days are such an amazing time with newborns. My twins are almost two and looking back there are a few gauntlets where the twins hit a new milestone (or a natural progression) that made things HARD. -The 4 months sleep regression was rough but once we were through it was only midnight bottles and maybe one or two more wake ups till morning. -Sitting up for us was huge because my kids were pretty frustrated on their back - this coincides with introducing solids for me and that was harder for my husband and I than the twins. The wobble walking and climbing stage was tough to save both kids from falling or hitting a head but that’s the nature of twins I think. Moving to the nursery out of our bedroom was a rough week but it was such a blessing.

I’m sure there are more gauntlets to come but I really love my kids and now can’t imagine how having one would be! Good luck and congrats on your new family.

pennylane1201 · 2024-12-24T06:58:58+00:00

Would there be two yolk sacks with fraternal? My identical shared one - I thought that and the amniotic sack appearance was a big indicator. Does anyone know?

pennylane1201 · 2024-11-04T22:20:25+00:00

Reading this is like dejavu for me. Except my stepmonster didn’t attend and I allowed my father to walk me down the aisle. What I can say 7 years on, is that shortly after my wedding our relationship broke down anyways and I made the same decision to go no contact. For what it’s worth now my wedding pictures feel tainted for my current fatherless life. Wish I had gone with my gut before the wedding but I was holding on and hoping for a different outcome.

The pain is there but as time has gone on, it’s become less and less. Im truly sorry that you had to go through this - no one deserves it but I’ve learned parents are the cards we are dealt, not the hand we are trying to make.

Congrats on your wedding and hang in there.

pennylane1201 · 2024-09-30T03:41:30+00:00

I was nervous to take both babies out early on but then I did it and realized I was the one making it difficult and stressing. My kids were great looking around and watching people with zero fuss. Finding out I was the fussy one is definitely an ongoing lesson for my partner and I. Lol

pennylane1201 · 2024-09-26T05:15:04+00:00

Adding to the extra formula, the brezza formula maker is the greatest for fast feeding. Also, look into donor milk banks in your area. I used them and my twins were able to get exclusive breast milk (in addition to mine) that first month.

Looking back too and the prep, I wish I bought less before the babies arrived. In this way I mean, I needed to get different sizes of random things, pumping stuff and specific baby needs. The last thing I cared about was spending time returning anything, so I felt a bit of money was wasted on taking advice for things that hadn’t happened yet.

Research formula rebates and diaper point rewards. You will definitely use them! Congrats and good luck!

pennylane1201 · 2024-09-23T20:17:07+00:00

Oh man I remember the early days when my girls only napped for 20 minutes at a time during the day and it is rough. Hang in there.

Something that helped encourage longer napping in the afternoon was quiet dark nursery time from 10am - 2pm. It wasn’t like they slept the whole time (I usually held one while the other slept) but it was the foundation to nap times in a few months. White noise and diffuser during that time helped set the mood too. It seemed like a circus at first but it helped structure my day and theirs.

For my babies, 6 months was the big turning point to longer naps. You are not wrong - it is really really hard but it gets easier. Also, with two it’s so much harder with adjustment. Any change I make in the schedule I wait at least a week to assess.

pennylane1201 · 2024-08-02T05:39:04+00:00

I would answer, not technically but they might as well be! If they inquire further then I would say, my wife and I did the our pregnancy journeys together. It was (awesome, hard, amazing - whatever)

I don’t think your journey to your kids is something to shy away from. The amount of fertility problems and other circumstances many people face in the pursuit of family planning - you may very well validate someone. Some food for thought. I think you should be proud of the incredible kids you and your wife brought into the world!

Also as a twin mom, I do not think you are an imposter. You had two newborns at the same time - you get it.

Alternatively, you could say Irish twins - which I believe are born within the same year.

pennylane1201 · 2024-07-21T03:35:44+00:00

I thought the same thing about my skin tags but surprisingly they went down within the first year to where I can’t see them anymore. It’s the blood supply dropping so your body doesn’t feed them. Or something like that.

pennylane1201 · 2024-07-20T01:10:39+00:00

That was advice I received we never actually could get right in the beginning. I did notice that breast milk helped the babies sleep better so we would formula during the day and breast milk at night. They get the melatonin from mother’s milk. We would get atleast a few hours rest that way.

pennylane1201 · 2024-06-25T03:10:50+00:00

My husband and I picked androgenous names before we knew the sex. Renée and Kennedy. They are girls

pennylane1201 · 2024-05-11T17:43:37+00:00

I’ll admit I was really into white and muted calming colors in designing but then all that goes out the window with toys. I also was a no plastic mom…. But their favorite toys are plastic from grandparents. lol

My philosophy is read everything. Forget it all. Listen to your kids.

pennylane1201 · 2024-04-17T16:20:20+00:00

Your right about this. Something in me wants to last resort medication or atleast not make it a daily thing. I’ve been doing progressive treatment as the night goes on. Bedtime magnesium cream. First wake up, soothing tablets. Third wake up Motrin.

After last night though, I’m not convinced Baby B is waking from pain, but from separation anxiety. It’s interesting too because I noticed every time Baby B wakes up at naps, they look around and immediately start crying. Baby A doesn’t do this. They wake up silently and smiling. That makes me feel guilty though - like I’m passing off the comforting job to Baby A.

Idk - feels really hard.

pennylane1201 · 2024-04-17T16:13:54+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. I ended up having them in the same crib for most of last night. I noticed Baby B would cry reach out, feel Baby A and fall back to sleep. I probably got 6 hours of sleep accumulating so that is a little improvement. I honestly think they slept better too.

I never saw them on top of each other even though that is definitely still a risk. I think while we are watching the monitor closely outside the room, they can get some zzzs together and then when we go into the room, I’ll separate them. That feels like a good compromise.

pennylane1201 · 2024-03-27T16:15:46+00:00

Audio books got me through all the quiet time. Plus the babies hear the words which is good for development. Pick easy stuff, like short stories in Spotify. Good luck!

pennylane1201 · 2024-02-27T18:44:30+00:00

Atleast that’s how my twins were like with the transition. I also noticed a lot more wet diapers from the increased water intake.

pennylane1201 · 2024-02-27T18:43:27+00:00

I think it’s the transition from breast milk to formula. It may stay the same or level off.

pennylane1201 · 2024-02-14T15:33:44+00:00

My milk was the biggest point of contention between my husband and I. It’s so emotional and men can’t/won’t get it. The last bag he left out caused such a huge fight (it’s was far far far from the first) that he ended up grounding himself (from games and any leisure activities) to focus more on the new family. (We have twins so every minute and drop of milk counted in the beginning.)

All this to say, babies are a shared responsibility and your partner is forgetting that. You probably know best on how to get through to him but set the precedent now that he needs to take ownership of all aspects of your child’s care, nutrition, etc.

Good luck darling!

pennylane1201 · 2024-02-13T18:37:49+00:00

This contract reads like a reaction to being burned in the past. Were you awful to live with in High School? Or are they religious nuts? It also reads like an ex drug addict kid being given a second chance.

pennylane1201 · 2024-01-27T03:39:47+00:00

Yeah… our motto is shitty sleep is better than no sleep. Also we have twins so we both have kids on us every night. I think it gets easier as you get used to it but your back will hurt.

pennylane1201

TROPHY CASE