Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool

by Shelly Vaziri Flais

Offering practical, “can-do” advice for anxious parents expecting or already caring for twins, this handbook guides from the first news of twins’ impending arrival and continues through their early childhood. From how to set up the nursery, synchronize feeding and sleeping schedules, and potty train two children at once to discipline, family dynamics, and fostering individuality, this doctor-cum-mom shares her experiences of what works and what doesn’t and encourages parents to not only survive but also enjoy their twins’ early years. A special appendix on caring for triplets as well as preterm babies is also included.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Shelly Vaziri Flais M.D. F.A.A.P. is the author of the American Academy of Pediatrics book, "Raising Twins, From Pregnancy to Preschool– Advice from a Pediatrician Mom of Twins." She is a board-certified pediatrician, wife, and mother of four, including identical twin boys. Dr. Flais trained at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine as well as Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She has learned the most from her four kids, all born within the span of four years.

In addition to her AAP book, Dr. Flais has written for "Twins" and "Chicago Parent" magazines. She has been interviewed for "Parents," "Parenting," and "Healthy Children," as well as various radio and TV outlets. Dr. Flais was honored to be named an iParenting.com Mom of the Month in August 2009.

Reviews

[Trisha DeBoer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the information in this book. I am definitely not going to use all of her advice, but that's not because it's bad. We just have different parenting styles.

She does repeat some information a bit, but maybe that's because parents of twins have full brains already! Ha.

Anyway, I would recommend this to parents of twins so they can get ideas, as well as think about how they want to raise their twins.

[Jill Ur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devouring all the twin books!! I liked this one. I really appreciated that it focused on the day to day logistics of having twin newborns and caring for them. It was realistic without being all horror stories.

[Tonya Vondersaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about parenting multiple children at once. that being twins, triplets, quadruplets, or just multiple children in the same home. It starts with the children being young and small, all the way up to high school. It talks about getting into a routine so your life becomes easier. It is important to ensure that each twin has their own identity/individuality, and doesn't feel like they're being lumped in together in all circumstances. They need the time and options to try different things. It also reminds parents that when you have two, their experiences can't be the same because you are one person and can only do what you can do. The attention you give will spread out over time.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review for the first edition: I like the strait forward information from a pediatrician. As a mom of twins, she does share some personal anecdotes, but not too many like some of the other books I've read. Two small, but distracting, things about the writing: too many exclamation points and numerals are used instead of spelling out numbers under 10.

Additional thoughts after reading the second edition: I appreciate that this book covers toddlers, preschoolers, and school aged twins; many twin books only cover pregnancy through the first year. The author shares many practical tips in addition to covering developmental stages. She cut back on exclamation points in this edition, but still didn't spell out numbers under 10, which is odd for a published work.

[Katie Curlee Hamblen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book for presenting a lot of information succinctly. It seemed to hit the high points of preparing for twins and newborn care. Other books that are more detailed can be overwhelming. I also liked its positive tone. It didn't shy away from the potential complications of twin pregnancies and newborn health issues, nor did it harp on them and try to scare the life out of an expectant mother of twins. For someone who already worries as much as I do, no scare tactics are needed to get me to take care of myself during pregnancy.

I read the pertinent parts and will likely come back to it for its descriptions of later phases of raising twins when I need to. I don't need to know about caring for 3-4 year olds yet so much as figure out the first six months. :)

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like advice written by a kindly friend who also happens to be a doctor, and who knows that you don't have a lot of time in your schedule for fluff. Shelly Vaziri Flais covers all the basics in a manner at once affectionate and wise, but without any unnecessary clutter. It's a great book for parents feeling overwhelmed by the idea of raising twins, and really instills a lot of confidence that you can do it. It's a great supplement to any child birthing books you might already be reading.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's certainly an okay book, but it wasn't what I expected. I thought a book written by a pediatrician who has twins would give more insight into the medical realities of pregnancy and birth of twins with some practical tips too. It wasn't informative enough in some respects and often repetitive. I was really surprised that the only info about premature birth was a short appendix. I also don't think her adherence to Ferberization & strict schedules is the way I want to start things off with my twins.

[Nancy Kallusch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the pain and pleasure of raising twins from a mom of twins plus 2 and pediatrician, so she knows the experience and the book learning parts. I read through the infancy chapters, satisfied that we had all survived it, the toddler chapters were nail biters, and finally, the preschool chapters reminded me that it gets easier. Highly recommended to read DURING your twin pregnancy, don't wait like I did!

[Nole4Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a couple of books already and this has been my favorite. There is a lot of discussion on basic routines. I feel like I have a better handle on how my days may look and what to expect. She also talks about various things that are needed for twins such as 2 cribs instead of 1. I definitely don’t feel as overwhelmed and now believe that it will be tough at first but I will survive.

[Evonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Carianne Hirano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had useful old school tips that I appreciated. Not written very well though.

[Kaylynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has great tips that I like to go back and look up. Its also a good reminder that I'm not in this only, other people have raised twins and know how hard it can be. I also like that it has information from birth to preschool years.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I skipped over the pregnancy parts since my babies are already here and I didn't get to the older baby/preschool part before I had to return it to the library. So basically I only read the newborn-6 month section and it was good but nothing I hadn't read in other books.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

NO, I'm not pregnant with twins! This book is written by my high school friend Shelly Vaziri Flais. I want to support her, check out her book, and maybe share with my friends who DO have twins.

[A.L. Sowards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful and optimistic! The author has a tendency to use exclamation points at least once a paragraph, but other than that it was easy and enjoyable to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for parents of twins! Referred back to this book many times even as the twins were growing! Highly recommend this book!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very medically informative and straight-forward approach to parenting twins. I like that it's written by a pediatrician who's also a mom of twins.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book packed with good information with a positive slant towards those first months with two babies to care for. I highly recommend it!

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable book full of practical advice to wrangling your new additions, all the way into preschool.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good advice, I liked this book. I just hope I have the brain cells to remember the gist of it once these babies come!

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't finished it since it goes through preschool, but the advice sounds just like what friends with twins tell me. I guess I'll find out in a couple of months how valuable it is.:)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author is strictly business, not a ton of anecdotes or humor. But the book is packed with information and was a fast, easy read. I recommend this book.

[Bethany Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Challenge: self help

[Zaira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. It's very informative. I skipped sections because the advice was very secular and does not match the Christian context.