#write31days series/IRL note: For the next week, I will have double features for each day to give space to catch up with the 31-day series. Everything I wrote about regarding how raising twins takes a village and abundant grace we have experienced the past few weeks, this past week especially as the girls were sick and couldn’t go to school the.entire.week. With the exception of A. going on Wed. – but then spiking a fever of 103 later that night. #momguilt The village of grace looked like me reaching out for help and asking for meals, and friends graciously reading between the lines to know that this meant I felt pretty desperate. At the end of this week, I can honestly say that I feel both worn out and refreshed. #graceparadox

Ok – if you’re like me, you probably had no idea that there were so many books on twins out there. All of these were extremely helpful, and I’ll try to categorize these as “best for …” in order to differentiate between them.

#1 – Best for twin pregnancy, labor, and delivery: 

When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein

Besides making you feel like, “whew! I *only* have twins,” Dr. Luke is warm in tone and knowledgeable in her advice. It was almost as great as my biweekly visits to my incredible OB-GYN and midwife. It includes sections on bed rest, a recipe collection at the back of the book, specific weight gain goals, and what to expect if your babies spend time in the NICU.

#2 – Best for practical tips and advice for pregnancy through year one of twins: 

Twinspiration: Real Life Advice from Pregnancy Through the First Year by Cheryl Lage

This mother of twins throws in lots of humor to make you laugh as you wonder how in the world you’ll make it through … ! She also has a great blog that has been incredibly helpful to let me know what to expect along this journey, since her twins are a few years older than mine.

#3 – Best for practical tips and advice from newborn to toddler phase of twins: 

Juggling Twins by Meghan Regan-Loomis 

This is another mother of twins who is also quite humorous. My mother-in-law read this book and she said she found it very helpful – that it covers everything and gives specific ideas. I wholeheartedly agree.

#4 – Best balance of medical advice and practical wisdom for the first 5 years of twins by a mother who’s also a pediatrician:

Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool by Dr. Shelly Vaziri Flais

She is straight-forward with helpful advice and not a lot of “fluff” with a style that is both readable and practical, like discussing the specific steps of how to actually transport twins from your house to the car when they’re still infants.

#5 and #6 – Best for sleeping and feeding advice for the first year of twins if you choose to take a more structured approach:

“A Contented House With Twins” by Gina Ford and Alice Beer 

There will be some British English “translation” required – such as deciphering that “dummy” refers to pacifier/etc. It’s a combination book, written primarily by a British nanny who’s an expert on child-rearing with introductions to each chapter by a twin mom. She is very, very specific, giving an hourly/daily schedule as a guideline which could be off-putting to some. Worth sorting through for some good gems and advice on the desperate days and weeks of raising newborn twins. Especially if you don’t read her book title as a promise!

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins by Dr. Marc Weissbluth 

Dr. Weissbluth applies his formative insights and instruction on developing healthy sleep habits from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child to twins. It’s best to read/browse his general sleep book first, and then read the twins version.