When I first learned we were having twins, I was in shock. I stayed in that state of shock for at least several weeks.
This shock was fueled by fears and questions of how I would successfully care for my family.
One of my big concerns was how my new, bigger family would fit into our current home. I spent several days looking for a new house and running numbers through mortgage calculators online.
Did we end up buying a new home? No, and you shouldn’t either.
Why?
If you want to live a long, happy life, don’t make a pregnant woman, especially one pregnant with twins, move her family and house.
Your wife will get extremely large with twins. This means possible bed rest and definite exhaustion. Think for a minute about how she might handle packing up the house, moving to a new location, and getting settled into a new place.
Moving is stressful even without a pregnancy. So don’t do it.
The good news is that you can wait until the babies arrive and reassess the situation.
Amazingly, twins don’t initially take up too much more space than a singleton baby. In fact, you can even consolidate and sleep both twin babies in the same crib for a few months.
Until the twins start getting mobile, you can survive in your current home assuming you have space for one baby. Twins share a bath, changing table, rocking chair, and even a blanket for tummy time on the floor.
Take a deep breath. Stop searching for a new house. You’ll have plenty of new expenses anyway. Why add a bigger mortgage to the list?
Like this Article? Expecting Twins?
Sign up for the free Dad's Guide to Twins Newsletter and get more practical twin tips and advice each week.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the advice (and for leading me here via twitter).
Instead of house shopping, we brought in a handyman and went through a list of things we’d like done and got quotes for everything.
First up – remove the closet return walls in the baby room to make the room larger and take out the china cabinet and turn it into a giant closet for things like the vacuum, strollers, etc.
Next year when one of them takes a first step – get the deck fixed (cuz it’s currently missing a railing and has a hole in it).
A few more years down the road – add a wall and door to what is currently my office alcove to make it a separate bedroom when they are ready to have their own rooms.
Each job, about $1,000. MUCH easier to budget and spread out than a new house!
@Alex – improving your current home is a great alternative to moving. Thanks for sharing some of the things you did, it definitely gives me some ideas for my own home.
So true! My girls are a year old now and still in the same crib…and they have as many toys as my singletons did. As a matter of fact the only way an outsider would be able to tell we had twins by coming in the house would be the two high chairs. The only place they take up double the space is in our van!
@Dakotapam – I’m impressed you made it a year in the same crib. We moved our girls to separate cribs earlier but still tried to share as much as possible.