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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Nov 19 2005 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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Forgive me for being greedy to gleen wisdom from this group...but I am wondering, for those of you with multiples, what was homeschooling like in that first year? I've been told and told that the key to getting anything done is to keep the babies on the same schedule.(Even La Leche says this in "Mothering Multiples.") I am finding that this is easier said than done. I do try to nurse them tandem as much a possible, but really, when one wakes up ready to eat its SO HARD for me to want to wake the other...especially when the still-sleeping one struggled to get to sleep in the first place! There are some days that I feel like all I do is nurse one baby and then the next.
Also, for tandem-twin nursers, did you find that your babies grew too long for the giant nursing pillow? Dd is a very long baby, and at 4.5 mos., I'm wondering how long the pillow is going to work. Did you have another technique?
All wisdom, suggestions, reality checks welcome!
Shawna
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Nov 19 2005 at 5:11pm | IP Logged
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I wish I had wisdom about how to do the homeschooling, but our twins were first.  Right now we do the more difficult or mom-intense subjects while the baby naps. Memorization or reading to me is easy to do while I cuddle the baby on the couch.
I used our pillow until the boys weaned at 1 yr and 13 months. By that time it had cracked in half and had been sewn back together and recovered. I recover it about every pregnancy although I don't use it as much as I did with the boys.
Once the boys' feet could push the back of the sofa, we changed from football hold to what I like to call "astronaut hold." They lay on their backs with their legs going up the back of the sofa, like an astronaut at blast off.  If their heads seemed to low, I put a throw pillow on my lap under the nursing pillow. We never had ear infections which is what I worried about.
I know the scheduling has to be hard, especially since yours are 3 months apart which can be a big deal at this age. Still, the effort to get them eating together is totally worth it. I well remember painful days and nights of waking the 2nd boy so we could keep our schedule, but it worked. At 13 weeks they both slept through the night (10-7) and ate every 3 hours during the day. I was so well reste and always had plenty of milk.
Good luck. You are in my thoughts and prayers. I'm so totally impressed that you chose to accept another baby after just having one. 
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Sarah
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| Posted: Nov 19 2005 at 8:03pm | IP Logged
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I don't have twins but I'm nursing a 3 1/2 month old so I am doubly sympathetic for you. Hang in there! Your're amazing! Since your oldest is 5, I would be very laid back about school if I were you! Let babies be the "school"- that is learning to care for others in need. You're kids are still so little, so don't worry.
I once heard a woman tell a neat story about her child whom she took out of school. It so happened that her grandfather was dying in a nursing home at the same time. She took her son every day to visit him. They played cards, he listened to his great grandfather tell stories, etc. And that was all he did that year, until he finally died.  What the boy learned that year was far more than he would have ever gotten from some curriculum. Sometimes those life opportunities are the best teachers.
Try to plan a read-aloud at least once a day. I thought my oldest needed a lot more school at age 5 than he really did. I'm much more laid back now. Don't feel like you have to have an intense kindergarten curriculum. I'm sure there are others out there who can give you much better advice than I am giving you, but I just wanted to encourage you!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Nov 20 2005 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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Just tried the "astronaut hold" with Jillian-long-legs, and it worked beautifully. Its very cute, with her skinny little toes wiggling up by my shoulder! Thanks for the encouragement on staying the course with the schedule. Both babies are doing REALLY well at night, usually only waking once, and Jillian has gone straight through a few times. Having a good nights rest is such a life-saver for me, and I am extremely grateful for this mercy!
Sarah, THANK YOU for that beautiful story. I needed that perspective change. My 5 year old ds is a very "early bloomer" and strongly desires my attention for focused school time. He is fluently reading and his math capabilities continue to astound us. Its very ironic, because I've always embraced the "better late than early" philosophy of early childhood education. I think our little ones are made to think and act like grown ups way too early! And here God gives us this precocious little first born who is not interested in waiting to learn anything!
I often feel guilty that I should be giving him more substance for school. You have reminded me that an excellent education is not contained in curriculum and academic activities alone. Lessons in caring for others, waiting patiently, being creative-- these cannot be learned from a lesson book! I need to keep this perspective.
God bless you for sharing and encouraging me!
Shawna
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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BrendaPeter
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| Posted: Nov 20 2005 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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Hi Shawna,
Your note brought back alot of memories for me! Our twins will be 7 in February. When they were born, we had a 4 1/2 year old & a 3 year old so our situation was very similar to yours.
From what I can remember, I used the nursing pillow quite a bit but then switched to throw pillows as they grew. I pretty much always nursed them in tandem. I tried to keep them on a 3-hour schedule right from birth - 6, 9, 12, 3, etc. I'm so much more relaxed (& older!) that I have no idea if I'd do it the same way these days - but that schedule seemed to be crucial at the time. I would spend their morning & afternoon naptimes teaching our oldest to read and/or reading to the 2 oldest.
Since your oldest is reading so well, I'd keep him supplied with plenty of books. One of my regrets from those years is that we didn't go on many nature walks. That wouldn't have gotten us into a nice habit.
Now that we have 2 more children (who are quite little -1 & 2 1/2) I really appreciate having had twins! They really entertained each other & were not as much work as people think!
Please feel free to e-mail me privately if you have any more questions.
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Blessings,
Brenda (mom to 6)
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Homeschooling with twin babes?
