Just after some tips and tricks on welcoming our twins (due in August) to our little family.
DD will be almost 2.5 years when the twins arrive, what are some suggestions on a smooth introduction?
DD is a handful at the best of times, not naughty or poorly behaved, just very active, very loud and talkative and currently demands our attention a lot of the time (I know, what toddlers don't do this?).
A few people have suggested that once the twins arrive we should plan some Mummy, Daddy and DD 'dates' where we just take DD out for an activity on her own (park playdate, milkshake treat etc) ... what have other people tried? What worked?
We have family close-by, so finding babsitters for the twins should not be too much of an issue.
Congrats on your twins. My DD was 1 day shy of 19mths old when our twins arrived so she really didn't understand why she had to share mummy & daddy's time.
We found that spending time doing silly things with her when the boys were small and slept alot was helpful. We would play with balloons, bubbles and put on the wiggles and sing and dance together.
As she got older and I could spend more time away from the twins we then designated special things that are just her and us. Daddy takes DD to swimming lessons on Saturday's as a daddy/daughter thing, my parents now take her on Wednesdays for about 5 hrs and they go to the park and feed the ducks and play on the swings (this is a good chance for her to spend time with her grandparents without having to share the attention and I get some one on two time with the twins) and I will generally take her with me to do grocery shopping on the weekends or if I have any other running around I have to do when I can leave the twins with DH for a few hours.
Saying that I have found that if she is out with me, daddy or her grandparents she always is excited to come home to see her brothers so you might find your DD adjusts well to having 2 new siblings.
DD is 2 1/2 next month so is now a similar age to your DD and at the moment her brothers are asleep and she is on the floor at my feet colouring in and tracing around my feet, so really so long as she feels included and not "pushed out" when your twins arrive she should be o.k. I made sure that when the twins were really small and everyone paid attention to them that they always included DD as it is easy for people to forget about the older child when there are babies around - especially twins - you will find that people will do that without even realising they are doing it.
Oh and as a gift to DD when the twins were born she also got her own 'twin babies' (twin baby dolls) when she came and visited me in hospital.
Congratulations! It is such an exciting time. My DS was a little older when our twins came (3 and a half) but we did much the same as Kelly above. He loved 'helping' even if it was something as simple as carrying nappies up to their room or fetching me a facewasher. I just also had to be quite organised. Snacks for him prepared and in the fridge, a fresh water bottle put within his reach - because everytime without fail, I would sit down to feed the babies and "Mummy, I need a drink/food'. He also recieved a few new puzzles, dvds etc when the twins arrived which kept him entertained.
We do spend one on one time with DS but don't make a huge deal about it. If I am groccery shopping on the weekend, I will often take DS and we will go and have a hot chocolate together, or DH will take him down the footy oval/cricket nets to have a play. We often will sit down and play a board game after the girls go to bed - he loves Connect 4 and Operation. He has handled suddenly being part of a family of 5 really well!
An older sibling for twins is lovely. My girls adore DS. They follow him around and they think he is the funniest person in the world
2 year old toddler & twins on the way
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