The Joy of Twins and Other Multiple Births: Having, Raising, and Loving Babies Who Arrive in Groups

I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with fraternal twins and this book has been of great use to me. I plan to attempt to breastfeed both babies and the section on breastfeeding was the clearest and most concise that I have found so far. I especially appreciated the sections giving the pros and cons of breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding. When I began this book, I actually planned to bottlefeed but when I learned that the changes in the breastmilk that accompany a premature delivery actually promote neural development, I quickly decided to breastfeed for at least the first few months. The author's use of diagrams to illustrate the many breastfeeding positions possible with twins was a god-send, as was her suggestion that the nursery contain a chair wide enough to lay one baby down next to you. It saved me from buying two narrow glider rockers that would not have worked for me at all!In addition, the book's positive attitude goes a long way towards balancing out many of the horror stories other authors of twin books seem compelled to include. It is nice to find a book that puts its faith in you as a mother, rather than assuming every parenting theory to come along is the be-all and end-all.My one caveat with the book is its title. When I saw the title (namely, the word "having"), I assumed it covered pregnancy to some extent. However, I disagree with the previous reviewer who said this book is of no use until the 8th month. Many twins are born prematurely and I doubt I will have much time to read the parenting books by the time my twins arrive! My suggestion is that expecting moms purchase this book as well as one that focuses on the pregnancy itself.

We bought four books on twins prior to birth of our twin boys and found this one to be the best by far. Most of the other books, at some point, focused on the negative side of raising twins, but this book focused only on the positive. I would recommend this book first and formost for future parents of twins.

Generously sprinkled with captivating photos of twins, this book was a fun read. It's focus is not so much on the diapering and daily care issues of having twins, so much as the emotional health of the new mother of twins and the family. The author strongly suggests that establishing adequate support systems is a key to getting through those first few months, and offers practical suggestions to help moms get what they need from other people. Other chapters focus on general parenting issues which will be of assistance to those whose twins are first-born children.