What I Know NOW About Twins!

by Molly Schaffer, MA, MFTI, Mother of Twins

Here’s what I didn’t KNOW until my calm and delighted OB told me he saw two tiny little heart beats! I remember thinking, “Oh God, my baby has two hearts??” When I caught up, I remember looking at my husband and seeing a red, giddy panic in his face. I giggled, in a hysterical, crazy-woman sort of way and felt a new and strange exhilaration. I didn’t know ANYTHING about twins!

What I know now, is that this was just the start of a very different kind of parenting experience. From the raging pregnancy appetite and extra special heartburn to the mind-numbing and scary bedrest, the research and hiring of nighttime help to the nursing for two, bonding and attaching to two, bathing two, soothing two, and feeding two. NOW I KNOW and I’d love to share this with you!

I’m so excited to tell you that The Pump Station & Nurtury™ and The Pump Station Mommy & Me will be offering a new Mommy and Me class specifically for TWINS! This class will also offer specific emotional support and practical guidance for the rewarding but challenging task of caring for more than one baby. Differing a bit from other popular twin mommy and me groups, our group will approach each topic and developmental stage from a mindful parenting perspective, which is essentially a slowed-down, less reactive, more intentional and reflective process. Some of the topics addressed will be:

•   getting and keeping your babies on a similar schedule

•   feeding two hungry babies

•   the blessings and complications of bonding with two babies

•   temperament and nurturing individuality

•   partner issues

•   double the blessing/more than double the work: finding and accepting help and support

In addition to the camaraderie and understanding you will find among other twin moms, you will have special time singing and attuning to your babes at the beginning of each class.  Additionally, because our class is 90 minutes, which is 30 minutes longer than some other classes for twins, we will always have time for new mommy questions!

As a mom of 3 year old twin boys as well as a 9 year old boy, I know firsthand about the unique experience of parenting twins. Not only are you a new parent, but you’ve got two little people to contend with. Some days and moments are pure joy and exhilaration, others...not so much. It’s HARD work! As parents of twins we are incredibly lucky to have two little human beings to nurture and love, but the parenting experience is complicated by many factors that singleton parents can’t understand. So, come be with your people and build friendships, learn, and nurture you attachment to each of your little babies.

Molly Schaffer (top in photo) is a psychotherapist in private practice, working with children and families. Molly trained in the esteemed Mindful Parenting program at the Maple Center in Beverly Hills and with the Center for Reflective Parenting in West LA. Molly is also the mom to twin almost 3 year old boys and a 9 year old boy.

Jill Leevan Rosenberg is a licensed clinical social worker as well as the mom of 8-year-old fraternal twin boys. She has led parenting groups with a special interest in twins and multiples. Jill's experience includes providing therapy to families and children at Cedars-Sinai, Stuart House and Santa Monica-UCLA. Jill is the past president of West Los Angeles Parents of Multiples (WLAPOM), and runs their philanthropy, Multiple Helpings.

Classes forming now in Santa Monica! Email Dinora@PumpStation.com for more info.

If you are interested in a Twins group in Hollywood or Westlake Village please let us know by emailing the email above as well.