Advice for Angelina & Brad: How To Care For Newborn Twins
We can only imagine how happy and excited the Jolie-Pitt family must be with their new arrivals, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Léon. However, we also know they must be feeling a few other things as well... like tired! To help them and their family get a little more peace and rest these first few manic weeks, we consulted some of our favorite baby care experts: Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, Cheryl Lage, author of Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice from Pregnancy through the First Year and Dr. William Sears, author of more than 30 parenting books, including The Baby Book. Here's what they recommend for Angelina and Brad.
Click through to the next page for six great tips.
- Soothe them to sleep with swaddling and a white noise machine. "Swaddle the twins tightly," advices Dr. Karp, whose 5 S's of babycare -- swaddling, side/stomach, sucking, shushing sounds and swinging -- have been a lifesaver to many new moms. "And use a white noise machine. The best sound by far is the sound of the womb. Get that sound on a CD and have it repeat all night long." One benefit of this technique is that it will allow Brad and Angelina to care for one twin while the other is still sleeping. It also will help them when they travel. "The white noise becomes an auditory teddy bear," explains Dr. Karp. "It will create a sleeping tool they can use when they travel to calm the babies to sleep where ever they may be." For Brad and Angelina, who have other kids to care for as well, being able to soothe the twins will be crucial.
- Set a schedule that works for you. "Every family needs to find parenting practices and philosophies that work best for them when amidst the first days, weeks and months with their twin infants," says Cheryl Lage, whose twins Darren and Sarah are 6-years-old now. Like many twins, Knox and Vivienne arrived a little earlier than expected, and doctors often put smaller twins on a frequent feeding routine (like every 2.5 - 3 hours/24 hours). That's what happened in Lage's case. "With that as the cornerstone for routine, we got into a predictable groove that worked well for our babies, and us! For our family, tandem feeding, followed up by diapering both, awake/play/stimulating time after that, and then a pre-next feed nap was the flow that worked well in our house."
- If possible, feed the twins at the same time. As Lage found from her own experience, "Whether by bottle or breast, feeding them together was a great togetherness time for us, and a means by which we could try to get an extra 20-30 minutes extra rest each three hour rotation. For us, those occasional 10-20 minute cat naps whenever we could finagle them were a lifesaver."
- Both parents can "nurse" a twin. "Nursing," says Dr. Sears, "doesn’t just mean feeding, but holding them, rocking them, etc." The difference between the roles of mom and dad is less obvious with twins that a single child. "Fathers get involved earlier, and the mothers let them," he says. "It brings dads out of their parental shells."
- Don't be afraid to ask for help. All of our experts agree, no parent of newborn twins should feel badly about needing an extra pair of hands (or arms) during these early weeks. Or, as Dr. Karp suggests, they could try a swing. "It will allow the twins to feel like they're being held while Angelina and Brad grab time with the other kids."
- Think like a baby. "Here's the best piece of advice," says Dr. Sears. "In any situation that requires action — for instance, one of the babies is crying — put yourself behind the eyes of the baby and ask, 'If I were the baby, what would I want the mom/dad to do?' And your answer will always be right."
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.
Are there twins or multiples in your family? Leave your own tips and advice for Brad and Angelina!
- Posted on Jul 17, 08 at 11:00 AM
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