As parents of twins, you have to cross an unpredictable set of challenges every day. One such most gruelling situation is when your twins fall sick simultaneously. Not always will twin babies get infected together, only that the chances are higher as with the case of any sibling. Caring for your sick twins without losing your sanity can be painful and exhausting. Today I will be sharing with you few pointers to ease the tension and stay serene when your loveable little twinnies are unwell.
Handling Sick Twins is Nerve-Racking
Being a stellar Mom and Dad of twins, each of you would be experiencing the strenuous, laborious and at times mind-boggling side of parenting. Nurturing two babies at the same time often try out your stability. You may want to check out these tips to manage twin babies.
Feeding, diapering, sleeping, potty training and every aspect of your twins’ daily routine pose a challenge to you. The most daring part of this roller-coaster ride is when your twins fall sick.
Caring for a sick baby imposes huge stress and demands your mental strength and patience. So you can easily figure out how the situation will be when you have to care for your sick twins. I am not overstating here. Yes! Handling sick twins is certainly nerve-racking.
I am a preemie mom and I have gone through some really distressing phases when my twins were unwell together. I have felt depressed and frustrated not being able to handle the prolonged sick days. Yes! I was not able to care for my sick twins without losing my balance. But as they grew up, so did my strength and ability to manage such situations. I learned from my encounters and gained some experience.
My kittens are 4.5 Yrs old and even now when one falls sick I am very certain the other one will eventually become ill (at least in our case, either immediately or within two or three days). Most of the time my prediction comes true. Initially, it was very fearsome and arduous. But soon I realized, this is the reality.
Twins are more prone to get infected with each other.
All I have to do is,
Accept the Fact, Adopt the Situation and Move on.
So here are some tips which I feel will support you while caring for your sick twins.
Keep your Medical Kit always handy
A medical kit should comprise all the primary medicines your twins will need. These are the medicines which your doctor has already prescribed for some common illnesses. Always stick to your doctor’s advice.
Basic medicines for fever, vomiting, stomach pain, cough, cold etc., and medicines related to any specific illness of your twins like respiratory illness or febrile seizures etc.,
You can have two medical kits. One at home and one in your travel bag so that you need on fright if they fall sick during travel.
Isolate them during sickness
When one of your twins is unwell and the other doesn’t show any sign of illness, try to isolate them. This is to ensure if the infection is contagious, it doesn’t spread.
In our case, if one of our twins is down with any viral infection, we send the other twin to stay with my mom. But still many a time, he too gets infected in a couple of days irrespective of the isolation and we end up with extended sick days.
As I said earlier, it’s natural for the twins to fall sick at the same time. They eat, sleep and play together which increases the possibility of infection. So isolation is a simple precaution to protect your other twin. However, this doesn’t guarantee there won’t be any infection.
Also isolating twin babies is easier, but once they grow up they will not like to stay away from each other. If isolation is not possible you can take steps to keep the other twin in hygienic surroundings and try to ensure he is not very much exposed to the infected twin.
Do not panic if both are infected
It will be surely stressful when both the babies are sick due to an infection. It will even be fearsome. But this is when you have to stay calm and nurture them. Do not panic. Make plans to handle the situation better. The below points can help you cross this phase smoothly.
1. Avoid presumptions and consult a Doctor
First things first. Avoid assuming or predicting the infection and administering medicines without a prescription. Always consult your doc and get clear about the actual cause and severity of the illness.
Also if one twin was sick and is under medications and the other twin also falls sick, do not follow the same prescription of your first twin. Get your other twin also diagnosed by the doctor as he may probably need a different set of medicines.
2. Set reminders and track their progress
During this phase, it is quite natural that you will be overstressed. Sleepless nights and cranky babies can impact your presence of mind resulting in messing up certain things. To avoid any such oversights, try to track everything.
Maintain a table to track their body temperatures and their medicines(quantity and timings) individually, so that you don’t get bewildered. Also, set reminders for administering medicines to make sure you do not miss any dosage.
3. Take turns during the night
It will be tough to care for the sick twins during the night as all of you will be exhausted. Take turns, so that one of you can stay near the babies and the other can catch some sleep.
4. Relax your daily work
Don’t pressurize yourself to catch up with your daily routine during these days. Try to relax the barriers and do only the significant chores, so that you will not end up being overtired.
5. Be ready to face numerous tantrums
This will be the most complex part. Your sick twins will seem to be more cranky and bizarre. The illness is making the poor little ones react. It will be tough to feed them, put them to sleep and even make them play happily.
This is very common and what they will need are your cuddles and presence. They will want to snuggle with you all the time. Embrace and make them feel comfy.
6. Request or arrange for help
In spite of all these preparations, things can still go irrepressible. Now is the time you have to get out and request some help. Try to get support from your family or friends or appoint a caretaker.
You can request help in any form like taking care of the babies for some time or backing you with food preparation or anything else you will need. Don’t take everything on your head and end up losing your sanity.
7. Be Strong and Positive
It will be very depressive to watch your tiny kittens ailing. And it will be incredibly hard to manage them during these days. In addition, you will be worried, that the infection shouldn’t get severe and hopefully subside soon.
You will be counting the days when your sick twins will be back to normal peppy mode. It’s okay to go off the mood every now and then. But all you will need to realize is this.
Be Strong and Postive. This moment will also pass away.
That is all I have learned from my encounters. Hope these tips would also aid you in caring for your little ones.
So how do you manage your sick twins? We are waiting to hear some advice from all the super moms and dads. Please share your experience with our readers in the comments section.
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Wishing you all to enjoy this phenomenal journey of Twin Parenting forever!!
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