Why Don't We Get an Owner's Manual for Twins? with Twin Mom Brittani Thorne

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat talks with Sayra Yepez – an architect who moved from New York to California to start over, met her partner in August, and was pregnant by December with di/di twin girls.Sayra walks through the appointment where a joke about twins turned real, the conversations that followed with her roommate and her family, and how a relationship that was three months old had to evolve ten years in a week. She is also honest about what came next: a severe postpartum depression she is still working her way out of two and a half years later.It is a story about trust, about how fast a family can build itself, and about why the village – whether you were handed one or had to assemble it – is the whole thing.#TwinMom #TwinParenting #SurpriseTwins #TwinPregnancy #PostpartumDepression #PPD #TwinGirls #TwinToddlers #ParentingMultiples #TwinLife #NewbornTwins #BlendedFamily #ItTakesAVillage #MultiplesMom #PostpartumSupport #TwinDad #DiDiTwins #TwinsOfInstagram #TwiniversityA QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣This series is brought to you by CordBlood.com. Your babies’ umbilical cord blood is a one-time source of precious newborn stem cells, and once the cord is cut, it’s usually thrown away. Banking it lets you collect and preserve those cells right at birth — and with twins, that’s two once-in-a-lifetime chances you only get on delivery day. 👉 https://cordblood.com Use code DUO2 for special twin-family pricing. 💙This episode’s break is brought to you by Twiniversity’s online Breastfeeding Twins class – for the pumping-feeding-formula-repeat stretch Sayra describes, taught by twin parents for twin parents, so you go in with a plan instead of a guess. 👇https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkoutEPISODE THEMES 📝⦿  Meeting in August, pregnant by December – and cracking up at the universe⦿  Read the fine print: birth control is not 100%, and the 2% can come as a set⦿  The burrito run, the joke about twins, and the nurse who said “the scan shows there’s two”⦿  Time is not the same thing as knowing someone – the questions they asked on day one⦿  “Safe” is the word that matters more than the timeline⦿  Trust, but do your homework – and let your sister do hers⦿  Telling the roommate, telling the family in Ecuador, and being the black sheep⦿  Telling his 12- and 13-year-old kids, and a big sister who stepped right in⦿  Everything at once: the lease, the Tenderloin walkup, the two-bedroom, the Atlas⦿  Getting your doctorate in parenting straight out of kindergarten⦿  Severe postpartum depression with twins – and the guilt that comes after⦿  When everyone else’s happy twin story doesn’t match your reality⦿  Nobody’s relationship is prepared for postpartum with twins⦿  It takes a village: the friend who moved in, and building one from scratch⦿  Pumping, feeding, formula, repeat – and a partner learning in real time⦿  Head on a swivel: why twin moms become the hen of every family gatheringGIVEAWAYS 💰🎉 YOU’RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit:https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkoutTwins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkoutBaby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout CONNECT WITH US 🎙️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TwiniversityPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversityX: http://twitter.com/TwiniversitySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversityEmail: [email protected] 

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat talks with Brittani Thorne – a kidney transplant nurse, a twin herself, married to a twin, and now a mom of twins – about the question her day job made impossible to ignore: why do transplant patients get months of education to care for one precious gift, while new parents get a two-minute phone call and “feed them every two to three hours”?Brittani walks through her road to twins after losing her first baby at 21 weeks and having 15 fibroids removed, the NICU stay that taught her (and both sets of grandparents) how to actually care for two newborns, and the support system – parents at her door at 6:30 every morning – that meant she never felt sleep-deprived.It’s an honest look at the education hospitals quietly stopped offering after COVID, why “we’re all just winging it” might be the most freeing thing you hear all week, and how to build the accessory humans who make up for the manual nobody handed you.A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣This episode is brought to you by Dr. Brown’s — the #1 pediatrician-recommended baby bottle in the U.S. Their anti-colic internal vent system is clinically proven to reduce colic, spit-up, burping, and gas while helping preserve the good stuff in breast milk. The breast-like nipple shape supports a proper latch, so going from breast to bottle and back stays easy — which matters when you’re handing one baby to your partner at 3 a.m., or handing a bottle to a NICU nurse so you can finally lie down. 👉 drbrownsbaby.comThis episode’s break is brought to you by Twiniversity’s online Baby Safety class – CPR, first aid, car seat safety, and childproofing, taught for twin families. If this whole episode is about the manual nobody hands you, this is the chapter you really don’t want to skip. 👇https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout EPISODE THEMES 📝⦿  Hairdressers need licensing hours – parents get handed a human being with no education at all⦿  Two twins raising twins: when “we’re a twin family” is just standard operating procedure⦿  Brittani’s road to twins – a loss at 21 weeks, and 15 fibroids removed⦿  The transplant comparison: months of prep to protect one precious gift vs. a two-minute discharge call⦿  “Eat every two to three hours” is not a discharge plan – and most people never read the papers⦿  What COVID cut from hospitals – tours, classes, follow-up – and never brought back⦿  Watching your babies on the Angel Care monitor when you’re the one who can read the vitals⦿  Why NICU nurses are the parent-education system nobody tells you to hope for⦿  Nat’s dream: a five-day transitional unit before they send you home alone⦿  Preparing for the wedding day instead of the marriage – and the registry instead of the parenting⦿  Never feeling sleep-deprived: parents at the door at 6:30 a.m. and a husband on the night shift⦿  “We’re all just winging it” – why you should never feel intimidated asking a question⦿  Lean in: aunties, grandmas, and anyone who has raised a baby in the last 60 years⦿  Why a nurse says skip Dr. Google and ChatGPT and go find a real human⦿  Tara, Think Pink Lungs, and the stem cell donor gap that shuts out twin parents RELATED VIDEO 🎥⦿  Check out our interview with Brittani’s Husband Jeremy: https://youtu.be/oHfeZzcVnms  GIVEAWAYS 💰🎉 YOU’RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit:https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkoutTwins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkoutBaby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkoutCONNECT WITH US 🎙️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TwiniversityPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversityX: http://twitter.com/TwiniversitySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversityEmail: [email protected] 

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat talks with Amanda – mom of fraternal twin boys who are now grown men, one of whom is autistic – about what twin parenting looks like from the far side of it. Amanda found out at 23, in college and on birth control, that the two heartbeats on the ultrasound meant twins, and she raised them with almost no internet, no twin-mom circle, and no mother of her own to call.She and Nat go straight at the things twin parents rarely say out loud: the colicky 3 a.m. thought that she could not do this, the fear of being judged in the Target parking lot, and the one decision she would make differently if she could go back.What is left after 24 years is not a system or a hack – it is patience, presence, and the kind of consistency that still has her son heading to bed at 9:00 on New Year’s Eve. A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣This series is brought to you by CordBlood.com — and since July is Cord Blood Awareness Month, there's no better time to talk about it. Your babies' umbilical cord blood is a one-time source of precious newborn stem cells, and once the cord is cut, it's usually thrown away. Banking it lets you collect and preserve those cells right at birth — and with twins, that's two once-in-a-lifetime chances you only get on delivery day. 👉 https://cordblood.com Use code DUO2 for special twin-family pricing. 💙This episode’s break is brought to you by the Twiniversity Virtual Twins Meeting – because the one thing Amanda never had was a room full of other twin parents. Meet Nat and Lauren each month and bring them your biggest twin life challenges, whether your twins are two weeks old or twenty-two. 👇https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout EPISODE THEMES 📝⦿  Finding out at 23, in college and on birth control, that there were two heartbeats⦿  “I have a baby with two hearts?” – the first reaction so many twin parents have⦿  Dropping out of school, getting married, and rebuilding the whole plan around two babies⦿  Raising twins before the internet, when the library was the only twin resource there was⦿  Fraternal boys who look nothing alike – and the classmates who never knew they were brothers⦿  Separating the cribs early because one twin was a wiggler, and trusting that instinct⦿  Noticing a difference in one boy and pushing her pediatrician until someone listened⦿  An autism diagnosis 24 years ago, back when almost nobody knew what that meant⦿  The colicky middle-of-the-night thought she was terrified to say out loud – and why it is more common than anyone admits⦿  Parenting through it without her mom, without a twin-mom circle, and without a break⦿  Toddler leashes, a Target runaway, and letting go of what strangers think of you⦿  The one thing she would do differently: giving the boys more time apart⦿  How the brothers look out for each other now, and the “would you take care of him?” conversation⦿  Routine as comfort – why her son still puts himself to bed at 9:00⦿  Labels and diagnoses keep changing; the kid in front of you does not⦿  What she thinks she got right: patience, presence, and a face-to-face world GIVEAWAYS 💰🎉 YOU’RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkoutTwins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkoutBaby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout CONNECT WITH AMANDA 💬Amanda does not have public social accounts to share, but she said yes to hearing from parents who are where she was. If her story sounds like your life, reach out through us and we will pass it along: [email protected] CONNECT WITH US 🎙️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TwiniversityPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversityX: http://twitter.com/TwiniversitySpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversityEmail: [email protected] 

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat talks with Connie Rutherford — a Wall Street–turned–tech mom, author of Searching for Tadpoles, and a solo mom by choice raising twin girls she was told she had almost no odds of having. Connie walks through the whole road: freezing her eggs at 38, choosing a sperm donor in secret from her traditional family, three IUIs, a failed transfer, and a fresh cycle at 40 where she skipped genetic testing, transferred two embryos at less than 1% odds, and got both. From there it is a twin pregnancy in a boiler-room career, a 17-hour flight home from Taiwan in a face mask as COVID hit, and a book written almost entirely while pregnant. It is a funny, unfiltered, deeply reassuring conversation about building the family you want without waiting for anyone else to show up. CONNECT WITH CONNIE 📖 Grab her book, Searching for Tadpoles — her full solo-motherhood and fertility journey, written the way she wished someone had written it for her. Website: https://www.connierutherford.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/searchingfortadpoles TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@searchingfortadpoles Email: [email protected]   A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣 This series is brought to you by CordBlood.com — and since July is Cord Blood Awareness Month, there's no better time to talk about it. Your babies' umbilical cord blood is a one-time source of precious newborn stem cells, and once the cord is cut, it's usually thrown away. Banking it lets you collect and preserve those cells right at birth — and with twins, that's two once-in-a-lifetime chances you only get on delivery day. 👉 https://cordblood.com Use code DUO2 for special twin-family pricing. 💙 This episode's break is brought to you by the Twiniversity Virtual Twins Meeting — the exact community Nat invites Nicole into. Meet Nat and Lauren, bring them your biggest twin-life challenge of the month (parent preference absolutely counts), and remember you are never doing this alone. 👇 https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout   EPISODE THEMES 📝 ⦿ Freezing your eggs at 38 as an insurance policy — and why it is okay to shop clinics ⦿ The wake-up call: a stage four diagnosis and the fear her kids would never meet their grandfather ⦿ Choosing a donor when the pool is small — ethnicity, CMV status, and the letter about his dad ⦿ Three IUIs, a hybrid cycle, and four embryos that came back abnormal ⦿ The PGS question: are we throwing away embryos that would have self-corrected? ⦿ Going old school at 40 — morphology, ranking, and “it only takes one” ⦿ Transferring two at less than 1% odds and getting both ⦿ Being pregnant with twins in a high-pressure, male-dominated career ⦿ A pandemic pregnancy, a 17-hour flight, and a face mask she never took off ⦿ Writing Searching for Tadpoles — 95% while pregnant, the last 5% over five years GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU’RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout   CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: http://twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected]

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat sits down with Nicole Kernan — mom to fraternal twin girls Ollie and Lou (two and a half) — to talk about the thing so many parents feel and rarely say out loud: parent preference. Nicole did everything as a team — exclusive pumping, a husband who took full paternity leave — and one twin still gravitated hard toward Dad, leaving her buried in guilt. Nat meets her in the eye of the storm with the reframe that changes everything: stop trying to be equal, start being fair, and shift the story from "them vs. me" to we — because a child with two parents they can fully depend on isn't a rejection, it's a gift. A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣 This series is brought to you by CordBlood.com — and since July is Cord Blood Awareness Month, there's no better time to talk about it. Your babies' umbilical cord blood is a one-time source of precious newborn stem cells, and once the cord is cut, it's usually thrown away. Banking it lets you collect and preserve those cells right at birth — and with twins, that's two once-in-a-lifetime chances you only get on delivery day. 👉 https://cordblood.com Use code DUO2 for special twin-family pricing. 💙 This episode's break is brought to you by the Twiniversity Virtual Twins Meeting — the exact community Nat invites Nicole into. Meet Nat and Lauren, bring them your biggest twin-life challenge of the month (parent preference absolutely counts), and remember you are never doing this alone. 👇 Join the next Twiniversity Virtual Twins Meeting   EPISODE THEMES 📝 ⦿ Why "my twin prefers Dad" is far more common than you think — and often a person preference, not a snub ⦿ How the preferred parent can flip overnight (first Ollie, then Lou) ⦿ The guilt and shame nobody names — NICU guilt, pumping guilt, and "why not me?" ⦿ Don't force it — but don't let the preferred parent "rescue" either ⦿ The crib standoff, the tantrum only Dad can calm, and the story-time lap meltdown ⦿ Trying to be fair instead of equal (you'll never hit exactly-equal, and that's okay) ⦿ The orange on the counter: how moms and dads carry the mental load differently ⦿ Shifting the whole story from "them versus me" to we ⦿ Why a parent preference can actually be a gift, not a rejection ⦿ Building your bench — twins are not a solo sport ⦿ Protecting your own time, friendships, and sense of self ⦿ It's a phase: your present, not your always — and awareness means you're already doing it right   GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU'RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: http://twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected]

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat sits down with Zach Achatz - a small-business owner, woodworker, pie maker, and dad of six-month-old boy-girl twins - for the conversation she wishes more dads would have: how partners actually show up. After navigating his wife’s PCOS and a fertility journey that ended in a very big surprise (two little black dots on the ultrasound), Zach came ready to talk through every stage of the twin journey. The heart of it is advocacy - his wife fired all her providers by 36 weeks to get the vaginal twin birth she wanted, and they found their yes at U of M with baby A head down and baby B breech. From there it turns practical: dividing the labor by "who’s fastest at what," home automation, honest talk about co-sleeping and sleep deprivation, the doula who steadied their birth, and Nat’s north star for every papa bear who thinks they can jump in later - there is no jumping in later. You jump in now.   A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣 This episode is brought to you by Baby Brezza - a Twiniversity top pick for about eight years running. Their Formula Advanced Pro WiFi starts a warm, perfectly mixed bottle from bed, and their all-in-one Bottle Washer Pro washes, sterilizes, and dries in 88 minutes. 👉 babybrezza.com This episode’s break is brought to you by Twiniversity’s Twins Delivery Day Bootcamp - the exact advocacy and birth-plan prep Zach and his wife lived out here, taught by Nat. 👇 https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/DeliveryDayBootcamp   EPISODE THEMES 📝 ⦿ Why raising twins is a two-person sport - and why partners can’t "jump in later" ⦿ Firing every provider by 36 weeks to fight for the birth she wanted ⦿ Getting cleared for a vaginal twin birth when baby B is breech ⦿ Dad as the mouthpiece in the delivery room - the BRAIN approach ⦿ Dividing the newborn labor by "who’s fastest at what," not by gender ⦿ Co-sleeping honestly and safely, and modeling real partnership for your twins   RELATED VIDEO 🎥 ⦿ Want more of the dad’s side of things? Watch Twins Twice with Twin Dad Josh Longmore on our channel: https://youtu.be/YCFempGZeyM    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE 🔗 ⦿ Astrid & Co Podcast - Zach’s wife’s show on finding her voice: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/astrid-co-podcast/id1866448311   GIVEAWAYS 💰 ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout   CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Email: [email protected]  

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Natalie talks with Laurie Donohue, a twin mom of boy-girl twins, about how often standard pregnancy education leaves twin parents out. When Laurie learned she was having twins, she went looking for real data and practical guidance. Instead, most pregnancy books gave twins little more than a passing mention. She eventually found a multiples-specific resource, leaned on family support, and asked her medical team detailed questions to advocate for the birth experience she wanted. Natalie shares how that same information gap helped inspire Twiniversity. Even professional childbirth and lactation training often treats multiples as an afterthought, leaving parents and educators without the support they need. The conversation also covers the fear that comes with the “high-risk” label, the challenge of finding trustworthy twin resources online, and why real support from local twin clubs and other multiples parents matters so much. Most importantly, this episode reminds new twin parents that they do not have to do everything perfectly. Some days, success simply means everyone is fed, safe, and making it to bedtime. You can do this. A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣 This episode is brought to you by Baby Brezza – the maker of the Formula Pro Advanced, the automatic formula dispenser that makes a warm, perfectly mixed bottle in seconds. No measuring, no scooping, no lumps – just press start and it's ready. It works with virtually all formula brands and bottle sizes, which is a real sanity-saver when you're prepping bottles for two around the clock (some parents lovingly call it the "baby Keurig"). 👉 babybrezza.com/products/formula-pro-advanced This episode is also brought to you by Twiniversity's FREE online Twins Delivery Day Bootcamp – the twin-specific birth prep. Nat walks you through twin birth plans, what to actually ask your medical team, and what to expect whether you deliver vaginally, by C-section, or both – so you head into delivery day feeling ready instead of winging it. 👇 https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/DeliveryDayBootcamp NAT'S TWIN BOOKS 📚 Shop Nat's books and more Twiniversity resources: https://www.twiniversity.com/shop/ ⦿ What to Do When You're Having Two: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1583335153?linkCode=sl2&tag=twpgemail-20&creativeASIN=1583335153&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.9EL8HFRXIDLU&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin ⦿ The Newborn Twins Sleep Guide:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637744420?linkCode=sl2&tag=twpgemail-20&creativeASIN=1637744420&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.9EL8HFRXIDLU&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin   EPISODE THEMES 📝 ⦿ Why twin parents get left out of standard pregnancy books and classes ⦿ The hunt for real data (not "Chicken Soup") the moment you find out it's twins ⦿ Pushing your medical team with specific questions to protect the birth you want ⦿ How the "high-risk" label can send your brain straight to worst-case thinking ⦿ Why the resources you need already exist – but stay buried in internet white noise ⦿ Finding your people: local twin clubs, a multiples mom friend, even a triplet friend ⦿ Letting go of control when you're a type-A planner having twins ⦿ Combo feeding, dishes in the sink, and redefining "winning" as alive and fed ⦿ Why real humans beat the algorithm (and AI) for twin support ⦿ The reassurance every new twin parent needs: there's a way, and you can do it   RELATED VIDEO 🎥 ⦿ Want more on advocating for yourself in a twin pregnancy? Watch Black Maternal Health and Twin Pregnancy - How One Mom Advocated for a Safer Birth with Tracey on our channel: https://youtu.be/ksRv-pgBnAI ⦿ Want the long-view reassurance of a twin dad who's been through it all? Watch He's a Twin Dad, a Doctor, and Proof That Fatherhood Changes Everything with Charles on our channel: https://youtu.be/6Tjxo_M5Mxg   GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU'RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout   CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected]  

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Nat talks with Mallory Reeves – a nurse and twin mom of boys, plus an older daughter – about something the internet loves to call impossible: exclusively breastfeeding twins. Mallory breastfed her singleton first (a rocky, painful start that a second lactation consultant completely turned around, leading to 18 months of nursing), and when she found out she was expecting twins she decided to give it a try with a simple rule: if it works, amazing, and if it doesn’t, a fed baby is a good baby. Five months in with her boys, it’s working.  Nat and Mallory walk through what actually got her there: ditching the myth that you must tandem feed from day one, learning to feed and teach one baby at a time, leaning hard on her husband as her number-one support, and booking lactation help early so she had validation and a safety net. They get into the meat scale her hunter husband rigged up for weighted feeds, why poops and pees are the real proof your babies are thriving, and why babies – like the rest of us – choose their own meal sizes (a “potato chip” feed one time, a “tomahawk steak” feed the next).  The conversation also clears up a lot of noise: breastfeeding should not hurt for more than a few seconds, oversupply is not the flex social media makes it out to be, you need almost no special gear, and the right breastfeeding pillow depends on your torso, not the trend. Nat shares why the right lactation pro – ideally an experienced IBCLC with multiple-birth experience – matters so much, how virtual consults can solve everything from latch to flange size, and the truth that lactation support has been a covered benefit since 1994. Most of all, this is a reassuring, funny, myth-busting episode for any twin parent who has been told they can’t – with Nat’s north star throughout: the goal isn’t exclusive breastfeeding, the goal is no regrets.   A QUICK SHOUTOUT 📣 This episode is brought to you by Dr. Brown's — the #1 pediatrician-recommended baby bottle in the U.S. Their anti-colic internal vent system is clinically proven to reduce colic, spit-up, burping, and gas while helping preserve the good stuff in breast milk. The breast-like nipple shape supports a proper latch and makes going from breast to bottle and back so much easier — exactly what you need when you're feeding two. 👉 drbrownsbaby.com  This episode’s break is brought to you by Twiniversity’s online Breastfeeding Twins class – everything Nat coaches Mallory through here, in a self-paced course built just for twin parents. Get the latch, positioning, and tandem-feeding confidence before your babies arrive. 👇 https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout   EPISODE THEMES 📝 ⦿  Why “you can’t breastfeed twins” is mostly noise – and how Mallory did it anyway ⦿  Breastfeeding a singleton first as the best set of training wheels (but not a requirement) ⦿  The IBCLC difference – getting the right lactation support, not just any opinion ⦿  Letting go of the tandem-feeding pressure and feeding one baby at a time first ⦿  Husband-as-number-one-support, and booking a lactation visit for a day or two after home ⦿  Weighted feeds, the hunter’s meat scale, and trusting poops and pees as proof ⦿  Babies choose their own meal size – the “potato chip vs. tomahawk steak” feed ⦿  Breastfeeding should not hurt for more than a few seconds – pain means a fixable problem ⦿  Why chasing oversupply (and over-pumping) can backfire into mastitis ⦿  You need almost no gear – picking a pillow by your torso and skipping the nipple-shield hype ⦿  Trusting your body again after IVF and a hard first start ⦿  Taking it one day at a time – and the rule that ties it all together: no regrets   RELATED VIDEO 🎥 ⦿  Want the full breastfeeding-twins walkthrough? Watch Breastfeeding Twins on our channel: https://youtu.be/SJz9sIYUj5g   GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU’RE INVITED: Need more support? Join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year. For dates and more details visit:  https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/MKse3EVR/checkout ✔️ Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout   CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: http://twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected]

In this special Father's Day episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Natalie sits down with Dr. Charles Glassman — internist, life coach, podcast host, and twin dad of identical girls now in their late 20s. Charles and Natalie cover the full arc of twin parenting from the moment of the surprise diagnosis (spoiler: his wife was "just pregnant" until a 16-week sonogram revealed two heads) all the way through the extraordinary milestone of his daughters celebrating their 21st birthday together in Paris — and the business partnership they've built since. It's an honest, warm, and deeply encouraging conversation for twin parents at any stage, told from the rare perspective of a dad who is also a physician, a middle child, and someone who has learned — sometimes the hard way — that patience, perspective, and knowing when to take a time-out are the best parenting tools in the kit. Charles opens up about the regret he carries most (not carving out enough individual one-on-one time with each twin), the moment he confirmed his daughters were monozygotic at Disney World, why discovering their identical DNA at age 12 may have accelerated their drive for independence, and how — after going to different colleges on purpose — they ended up choosing the same semester abroad rather than spend a year apart from each other's best friend. Plus: the "Daddy takes a time-out" technique that every twin parent needs to hear. Connect with Dr. Charles Glassman: Website: www.charlesglassmanmd.com The Coach MD Podcast: Listen on Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-coachmd-podcast/id1728326555 His daughters' creative agency: Aperitif Collective — sister-owned branding & design, Miami - https://www.aperitifcollective.com/ Instagram: instagram.com/coachmdofficial Facebook: facebook.com/CoachMD X (Twitter): @CoachMDofficial  YouTube: youtube.com/@CoachMDofficialEPISODE THEMES 📝 Parenting four kids (two singletons + twins) and learning to navigate the balance Why clumping twins together as a unit can feel necessary — and why twins may eventually push back on it The power of the 'Daddy takes a time-out' discipline technique for parents who feel triggered Discovering at Disney World (age 12) that the girls were 100% monozygotic — and how it may have changed them Going to different colleges to establish independent identities — but then refusing to go abroad a semester apart Celebrating their 21st birthday together in Paris: the twin bond that always wins Why individual one-on-one time is Charles's biggest parenting regret with the twins What birth order as a parent does to your parenting style (the middle child theory) How parenting shaped Charles as a physician — and as a human being GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU'RE INVITED: Need more support, join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year.  For dates and more details visit. www.twiniversity.com/Membership  ✔️Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkoutCONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected] 00:00 Twenty-seven years of twin dad wisdom 01:55 Meet Charles: an intro to today's guest 08:20 The twin pregnancy surprise nobody saw coming 10:10 One twin in the NICU: the blur of those first months 12:25 From two boys to four kids: navigating the zone defense 14:00 'The boys and the girls': grouping twins and why they push back 16:50 Finding out at Disney World they were identical all along 19:30 Age 12, a DNA swab, and 99.9% monozygotic 22:00 Different colleges, same soul: the drive for independence 26:35 'I can't miss a year with my best friend': choosing the same semester abroad 28:30 'Daddy takes a time-out': the discipline technique every twin parent needs 33:10 Parenting under pressure: how Charles kept calm coming home from a heavy shift 37:00 The twin bond through high school — and why it matters so much 38:10 His biggest regret: not making more individual time for each twin 44:00 His daughters today: Aperitif Collective and living in Miami 47:40 What fatherhood did for him as a doctor and a human being 51:55 Wrap-up and where to find Twiniversity

In this episode of the Twiniversity Podcast, Natalie talks with Maddie Rahlf, a twin mom of three girls, about the "double whammy" delivery - giving birth to one twin vaginally and the other by C-section in the very same hour. Maddie shares how her twins were a complete surprise - a natural, spontaneous twin conception with no twins in the family, discovered at her 12-week ultrasound - and how reading Nat's book helped her find solid ground once the shock wore off. Because Baby B had a marginal cord insertion and was measuring under the 10th percentile, Maddie's pregnancy included weekly maternal fetal medicine (MFM) monitoring and an induction at 36 weeks. Natalie and Maddie walk through the delivery almost minute by minute: an easy vaginal birth for Baby A after only a few pushes, Baby B flipping transverse the moment she had the womb to herself, the attempts to turn her, a cervix that closed back up, and the placenta concern that finally made a C-section the safest call. Then comes the twist - it was Baby A, the vaginally delivered twin, who ended up in the NICU on CPAP, while Baby B stayed right with mom. The conversation also gets into recovering from a vaginal birth and major abdominal surgery at the same time, the empowerment of being given the choice to try for a vaginal delivery, and Nat's "use your BRAIN" framework (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, Nothing) for making decisions in the moment. Maddie's biggest takeaway: if it happens, it happens - you figure it out one day at a time, and you'll have a pretty cool story to tell. This episode is a reassuring, myth-busting conversation for any twin parent who feels anxious about the possibility of a double whammy delivery. EPISODE THEMES 📝  ⦿ Finding out it's twins by surprise - a natural twin pregnancy with no family history  ⦿ A twin pregnancy with a marginal cord insertion and weekly MFM monitoring  ⦿ Being induced at 36 weeks and choosing to try for a vaginal birth ⦿ The "double whammy" - Baby A vaginally, Baby B by urgent C-section an hour later  ⦿ The surprise twist of which baby actually ends up in the NICU  ⦿ Recovering from a vaginal birth and a C-section at the same time  ⦿ Why being given a choice in how you deliver matters so much  ⦿ Using your "BRAIN" (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, Nothing) to make decisions  ⦿ Life now with twins plus a toddler - taking it one day at a time RELATED EPISODES 🎧  ⦿ Curious what a postpartum doula actually does?  Listen to Your First Night Home with Twins with Postpartum Doula Lauren Oak: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-first-night-home-with-twins-postpartum-doula/id1382948352?i=1000501133817  ⦿ Wondering whether a doula is right for your twin birth?  Check out Should I Have a Doula with Twins? with Guest Doula Kim Collins:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/should-i-have-a-doula-with-twins-with-guest-doula-kim-collins/id1382948352?i=1000429208724 GIVEAWAYS 💰 🎉 YOU'RE INVITED: Need more support, join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet Nat and Lauren and bring them your biggest twin life challenges each month of the year.  For dates and more details visit. www.twiniversity.com/Membership ✔️Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! https://www.twiniversity.com/subscribe/ Expecting twins? Twiniversity has you COVERED with online classes! ⬇️ Breastfeeding Twins: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/HTaVcGhH/checkout Twins After Singletons: https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/hegrd8Ez/checkout Baby Safety (CPR, First Aid, Car Seat Safety, Childproofing): https://twiniversity.mykajabi.com/offers/AccFMLk8/checkout CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Twiniversity Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/twiniversity/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twiniversity/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twiniversity X: twitter.com/Twiniversity Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60TDcDJoEtQHwqLzZ8L9rX?si=9734d507f23845e6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/twiniversity Email: [email protected] CHAPTERS  00:00 The "double whammy" delivery 03:00 Choosing your provider and your birth 06:45 Meet Maddie 07:35 A surprise natural twin pregnancy 09:50 Twin pregnancy vs. a singleton pregnancy 10:45 Baby B's marginal cord insertion and weekly MFM visits 13:20 Induced at 36 weeks and choosing to try vaginal 14:45 An easy vaginal birth for Baby A 15:45 Baby B flips transverse: trying to turn her 17:45 The placenta concern and the call for a C-section 20:35 Inside the C-section: the shakes and the epidural 22:30 The surprise: Baby A goes to the NICU 25:00 Recovering from a vaginal birth and a C-section at once 26:35 Advice for moms anxious about the double whammy 27:55 Born an hour apart: every twin story is different 28:35 Delivery day boot camps and the "use your BRAIN" method 34:25 How life is now: twins at nine months 35:20 What we stress about as twin parents 36:45 A house of girls and chasing milestones 38:25 The twin community: making friends with a double stroller 42:00 Wrap-up and where to find Twiniversity