Mothering Twins: From Hearing the News to Beyond the Terrible Twos (Paperback)

by Linda Albi (Author), Deborah Johnson (Author), Debra Catlin (Author), Donna Florien Deurloo (Author), Sheryll Greatwood (Author) "Whether you find out months ahead of time or at the delivery, the news that "you're having twins" has to rate as one of life's..." (more)
Key Phrases: mothering twins, twin stroller, nighttime waking, Enjoying Our Twins, The Babies Will Need To Stay, Everyday Issues (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Patricia Malrnstrom Executive Director, Twin Services and the Twinline A wonderful book, full of practical tips and thoughtful insights. Mothering Twins is the best book about the experience of rearing twins that I've read in my fifteen years as director of national services for parents of multiples. -- Review

Review
Patricia Malrnstrom

Executive Director, Twin Services and the Twinline

A wonderful book, full of practical tips and thoughtful insights. Mothering Twins is the best book about the experience of rearing twins that I've read in my fifteen years as director of national services for parents of multiples.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 1 edition (August 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067172357X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671723576
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #562,770 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is a very negative portrayal of caring for twins., August 20, 1999

By A Customer

I was so depressed by this book that I stopped reading it halfway through for about a week. I also told my husband that after the babies arrive we will never have any fun again ever. Since I know several families with twins, I know that this is not the case. But it sure feels like it while reading this book.

While I feel that it is useful to have eyewitness accounts of the reality of caring for twins, I felt this book was pretty much a summary of the worst of everything most of us know already, that it is a lot of work, a lot of sleeplessness, a lot of demands, etc.

I also felt that there was not a whole lot of useful information about the specifics of caring for twin babies. The most useful info seemed to me to apply to handling the relationships between the twins when they are older, as well as relationships with older siblings.

None of the contributors returned to work full time while their children were very young. The sections on finding childcare were therefore of limited value.

Finally, since 2 of the contributors were mothers of identical twins, some discussion of special issues related to identical twins would have been useful.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was MY security blanket, December 28, 2000

By A Customer

For what this book proports to do: tell anecdotes of what it is like to be pregnant with twins, bring them into the world, and mother them for the first couple of years...it succeeds.

I stumbled upon this book mid-pregnancy with my fraternal twin boys, our only kids, in the summer of 1993 when it was first published. Because no one else I knew had twins, I depended upon these women's stories to guide me along. I found it very reassuring and reaffirming. I wish I had one now that my boys are about to turn seven and I have questions about schools and socialization. Let's face it..it isn't a clinical resource, it's a support group in book form for the sometimes isolating and ever-challenging adventure of mothering twins.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth getting for the "confessions", January 5, 1999

By A Customer

If you want to find out what women really think about having twins, this is the book to get. You can only read so much about how many little shirts to get before you scream and want to read about someone who's really been through it.

Yes, twins are exciting and fun, and the experience of a lifetime (I can say this now that mine are five). Yet to ignore the hardship and risks involved would be criminal. I wish someone had scared me MORE into getting help through the first few critical weeks. It can be very difficult, and I understand the women who want to read positive, uplifting things about a multiple-birth pregnancy--but there's a time to face facts and arm yourself with the truth.

My main critism of the book is that I thought it needed more emphasis on the fathers. Maybe sections throughout the book rather than one chapter--I kind of felt like they got off the hook.

Also great was the emphasis on being in a support group-- mothers of multiples clubs are indispensable.