Twins Tale – Details, episodes & analysis

In today's episode, Nat chats with  twin mom and former pro snowboarder Tiffany Marshall. Tiffany is mom to mo di twin boys who are 2 1/2 years old, born at 32 weeks gestation, and had a NICU stay. Tiffany reveals she is miserable with her twins' sleep schedule, so Nat flips the script on Tiffany and gives her advice on how to get her twins to bed before 11 pm. 

Tiffany Marshall is twin mom to mono-di twin boys living in Park City, Utah. Tiffany spent many years as a professional snowboarder. After several years competing on the World Cup circuit she decided to finish up college and earn an MBA. She is now a writer and is in the process of getting her first two novels published.

Tiffany's Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Twin Parents:

1. Learn to be the best advocate not only for yourself but for your babies. As a twin parent, you will most likely have to jump through more hoops than if you were only giving birth to a single baby. It only took me a few days to realize that I had to be bold. Not rude, but bold and transparent with my care team. If you think something is wrong, speak up and advocate for your babies. You are their only voice! I feel like a lot of us have this awe of doctors. We approach them as if they are gods (and some of them are) but you have to learn to think of them as part of your team; all trying to win at the same game. Use their expertise to help you succeed with the best possible outcome – healthy babies. 

2. Create an environment at home that makes life easier for you. Moms go through a lot to bring life into this world. Take some time to set yourself up for success. 

3. Being a parent of multiples is such an incredible journey and everyone will want to give you advice (because everyone knows someone with twins and they raised their kids to be absolutely perfect – please, sense my sarcasm here) Do what works for you. Breastfeed for one week or through toddlerhood, allow screen time or don’t, dress your kids the same or don’t, let your kids sleep with you or don’t…Do whatever works best for you and tune out all of the bad vibes. Being a twin parent is challenging enough! 

What She Wishes She Had Done Differently:

1. I wish I would have allowed myself the opportunity to celebrate my pregnancy. Having a miscarriage definitely changes you and your perspective. I was terrified. Looking back, I wish I had those bump pictures and I allowed myself to celebrate those small milestones. 

2. Because I was on bedrest for pretty much my entire pregnancy, I wish I hadn’t left so many balls up-in-the-air. My Jeep was fourteen years old and I meant to really take some time to look at cars before the boys arrived but being on bed rest didn’t allow me to check that off my list. Once the boys arrived, I was so preoccupied with recovering from my C-section, traveling back-and-forth to the NICU, and pumping every three hours, I didn’t have the time or energy to tackle buying a car. So long story short, check off big tasks on your to-do list at the very beginning of your pregnancy if you are able to. 

3. I wish I would have purchased my Willow pumps sooner. I bought them four months after my boys were born and they would have been amazing to have on the drive to and from the NICU every three hours.

Know a twin parent who'd like to be a guest? Have them apply at Twiniversity.com/podcast.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

CLASSES

Expecting twins? Check out our twin pregnancy and breastfeeding twins classes here!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Visit the Twiniversity Etsy Shop

In today's episode, Nat chats with Jayme Wise,  mom to 20-month-old twins, about conceiving her twins a few days apart thanks to multiple ovulation, symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), preeclampsia, delivery at 37 weeks, a rocky start to breastfeeding,  a partner who suffered from dad postpartum depression, and so much more.

Jayme Wise is a catastrophe claim rep who works about 50-60 hours a week from St. Louis, Missouri. She and her husband Andrew have been married since June of 2018 and have 20-month-old twins. They enjoy lots of walks in the park and reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear approximately 600 times a day.

Jayme's Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Twin Parents:

1. Talk about EVERYTHING with your partner before the babies are born. And I mean EVERYTHING. Talk about an action plan for preterm labor, talk about your hospital bag and what it should contain, talk about worst case scenarios for pregnancy/delivery, talk about what your partner would need to do to advocate for you in the event that you can’t advocate for yourself, and talk about what life is going to look like when you bring them home. And have a back up plan for ALL of that.. set expectations with your partner about distribution of housework, baby care, etc. and make sure to discuss PPD in as much detail as you can to be aware of the symptoms / signs. My husband actually got PPD after delivery but we were able to recognize it because we’d discussed it in detail. 

2. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. When you are comfortable enough after delivery to push the stroller, get used to putting both babies in & out of car seats and taking them for walks, on midday drives, etc. Getting out of the house and into the sun whenever possible truly helps to make you feel like a human being again. Going for a walk in the park with your tiny human beings marveling at nature somehow feels 6000 times more amazing when you’ve got millions of postpartum hormones coursing through your body! 

3. Love your partner truly, madly, deeply - sounds so cheesy but just try to remember at every single step that this is the person you’ve chosen to be your partner in crime, your love, and your other half. Your babies were born out of the love you share with that person and they’re going to go into the world (hopefully) exemplifying that love to everyone they meet. I heard so many pieces of advice about “not getting a divorce in the first year because you can make it!” And I was honestly a little horrified? Having twins definitely made my husband and me closer and I’m so grateful for that!

What She Wishes She Had Done Differently:

1. Wish I would not have given up on breastfeeding both babies. My hospital stay was rough, and the lactation consultant that we had was just... mean. The day nurses weren’t that helpful in terms of getting babies to latch and I couldn’t stand hearing “well they only need a couple of drops of colostrum! Their bellies are so small!” anymore, so on the second night we finally had to beg a night nurse to order formula, and the twins were eating but then they made an assumption that I just didn’t WANT to breastfeed so I no longer got help. It was such a frustrating and saddening experience. My son refused to nurse most of his first year and would actually scream every single time I tried. Sometimes he’d settle down and nurse and other times he’d fight until I gave up and just gave him a bottle. 

2. I wish I would have worked out more and created a time for myself to actually focus on my health. 

Know a twin parent who'd like to be a guest? Have them apply at Twiniversity.com/podcast.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

CLASSES

Expecting twins? Check out our twin pregnancy and breastfeeding twins classes here!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Visit the Twiniversity Etsy Shop

Nat chats with  Meghan Matthews about her 13-month-old twins, including details on her very easy twin pregnancy and scheduled C-section delivery at almost 38 weeks, her twins' schedule at just over 1-year-old, and how she feels about her twins being very independent of each other. 

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Meghan Matthews is a 34-year-old full-time “essential” worker. She is a bakery manager at a large grocery chain. Works 40+ hours a week and manages her 1-year-old twins. She does so with the amazing support of family.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Sign up for our mentorship program (whether you NEED a mentor or want to BE a mentor!)

Nat chats with  Michelle Piatek, mom to 15-month-old twin girls and a 3-year-old  boy.  Michelle shares a run-through of her day with her girls, including their sleep routine, meal schedule, and how she makes time for her boy as well. 

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Michelle Piatek grew up on the south side of Chicago and earned her BS in nursing at Purdue University. She received her graduate degree in nurse anesthesia from Rush University and currently works in her hometown of Munster, IN as a CRNA. While getting her patients off to sleep is no problem, she regularly struggles with getting her 3-year-old son to settle down for some Zs. Michelle and her prom-date-turned-husband Joey both work full time while raising their son and 1-year-old identical twin girls (with a lot of help from family!) Michelle has always loved organization and efficiency (and twins technically are efficient) and is embracing her new lifestyle of “3 under 4 during a pandemic.” Find Michelle on Instagram @mbecka.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Sign up for our mentorship program (whether you NEED a mentor or want to BE a mentor!)

Nat chats with Glorya Toloso, mom to 2-year-old identical twin boys and full-time online teacher for grades K-6. Glorya shares details about her twins eating routine, nighttime routine, bathtime routine, and how she balances the family workload with her husband.  

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Glorya Toloso is a professional multitasker. Her current projects include: creating and teaching online content for Kindergarten through 5th grade, completing the last year of her Master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Learning Science, and raising identical twin two-year-olds with the help of her husband and four cats. In Glorya’s former life, she was a Lead Preschool Teacher with experience in child development and behaviors, which she uses daily in her parenting. Glorya is a firm believer in self-care in the form of tea, regular therapy sessions, and planners with stickers.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Nat chats with Kate Fraser, an identical twin who had identical twin girls ON HER BIRTHDAY (crazy, but true!) Kate's twins are 6 months old and she shares her birth story with Nat (which includes a vaginal delivery at 36+5 weeks before her scheduled c-section), how it's going with her girls, and what it's like to be an identical twin raising identical twins.

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Kate Fraser is a new mom to identical twin girls and is also an identical twin (as the twin community knows, identical twins are not hereditary). What’s even more special, Kate’s twins, Estelle & Eloise, were born on Kate & her twin, Erin’s, birthday! This is so special for Kate’s family, but given that Estelle & Eloise were born in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, none of her family has met them because they live partway across the country from her and her own twin lives in another country. Postpartum, Kate had several health issues and she is opening up about those struggles with the hope of starting the conversation about how resilient mothers are.  Follow Kate on Instagram and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

BABY SAFETY COURSE

Offered on-demand, the Complete Baby Safety Course includes 30 instructional videos on infant, toddler, and child CPR, a variety of first aid techniques you may need with kids, a full explanation about different kinds of car seats and how to install them, and a room-by-room description of how to best childproof your home. Click here for details.

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Nat chats with Linda Grein, mom to three boys (ages 2, and 9-month-old fraternal twins), about her twin pregnancy (including a cholestasis scare) and delivery, the early days with twins, and how she's managing life with 9-month-old twin boys plus a toddler boy. 

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Linda Grein has worked in traditional public, public charter, and private schools around the US as a teacher, an administrator, and now a math coach for schools. She supports schools (now virtually, due to COVID) on strategic planning, professional development, and building internal capacity so that teachers can be supported to create fun, engaging math learning for kids. Although her work isn't aimed towards parents, with the onset of COVID-19 and the uncertainty about schools Linda is determined to support anyone in creating positive math learning spaces and experiences for kids. Find more about resources, webinars, and her constant vetting of all resources out there at eduquatellc.com.

Pregnant with intense itching? It could be Cholestasis

SlumberPod - Take $60 off the purchase of two SlumberPod2.0s or two SlumberPod2.0 combos (with the fans) with the code TWINS2020. This code can be used on both their US website (slumberpod.com) and Canada website (slumberpod.ca).

Precious Little Sleep

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Nat chats with Kirsten Millar, mom to 6-month-old identical boy twins, about schedules, sleep, and daily routines with her sweet boys.

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Kirsten Millar is a Manager at Rocky Mountain Institute, working on electric and gas utility decarbonization. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. Previously, she worked at Uplight (formerly Tendril) in business development. Prior to that she was in Oakland, CA, and worked at Pacific Gas and Electric. She met her husband in grad school at Duke University, they were married in 2016, and had their identical twin boys in December 2019. Prior to twins, Kirsten liked to bike, ski, rock climb, and hike. Follow Kirsten on Twitter and Instagram.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Nat chats with Stephanie and Bo Giddens, parents to 5 boys: 5-month-old twins, two teenagers, and a two-year-old! They share details on how they managed the newborn stage with twins, and what their lives look like now at 5 months with twins.

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Bo and Stephanie Giddens started their lives together 5 years ago. Both had a son from previous marriages that ended. The 4 of them grew to love each other and enjoyed their time as a family. Bo and Stephanie decided that they wanted to have a baby together to complete their little family. Harley was born in 2017. They thought their family was complete with 3 boys. Two short years later they found out they were expecting again. They found out at around 9 weeks pregnant that they’d be expecting two babies! That was the longest doctor's appointment!! Mom was considered advanced maternal age because she would be delivering these two at 35 years old. Bo and Stephanie found out they would be adding two boys to their family! Mama was able to carry the boys to 37 weeks and delivered healthy babies! What a blessing! You can find them on Facebook.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!

Nat chats with Amy Einspahr, a Gen-X single mom who lives on the East Coast with her four boys--a teenager, identical eight-year-old twins, and a rising kindergartner. She talks about "parallel parenting" with her ex-husband, living with her mother, and details on her experience raising 8-year-old twin boys plus two. Sponsored by Zoe Strollers.

Twins Tale is sponsored by Zoe Strollers. Be sure to check out their awesome twin strollers here.

Amy Einspahr is the writer behind A Lady and Four Gents. She is a self-employed single mom to four boys, including twins. Amy traded her full-time career and outrageous commute for more time with her kids. She hopes to inspire and equip other single moms to build confidence, pursue personal independence, and design the life they long for. Find her on Pinterest and Facebook.

SUBSCRIBE

Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to A Twins Tale for more awesome stories of twins at ages and stages from birth to college, from the creators of Twiniversity.

If you liked this podcast, check out the Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz!

MEMBERSHIP

Sign up today for a Twiniversity Membership! Choose from 2 levels starting at $6.99/month to connect with other parents of twins in a monthly Zoom twin club, build your twin parenting community in our private Facebook group, and expand your twin parent knowledge with our video learner library. Click here for details.

FIRST YEAR WITH TWINS

Are your twins in their first year? Check out our free First Year with Twins resource to learn tips, advice, and ideas for getting through your first year with twins!

CONTACT US

VISIT Twiniversity.com for tons of free twin tips!

FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE to our email newsletter!