When you’re expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads Book Reviews
When I found out I was pregnant with twins, I looked to pregnancy books to help, but they approached twins as “a little extra pregnant”. It wasn’t until this book that I started REALLY knowing how to care for myself and my 2 babies. It saved my pregnancy and my sanity. A MUST! For example, the worshipped “What to expect when you’re expecting” books gave me absolute INCORRECT information regarding exercise, diet, weight gain, working… and I spent the first part of my pregnancy miserable that I was losing weight and feeling awful. Something in my gut told me that 10 pounds in the first half of the pregnancy wasn’t enough for twins. Also, the diet they wanted me to follow was making me throw up every day. My body, again, told me to just eat whatever I could keep down, but “THE BOOK” made me feel guilty about even LOOKING at a cheeseburger. Well, again, THANK GOD I found Dr. Luke and Tamara’s book. It confirmed everything I’d already felt was right. Plus, it is written with a great positive attitude with so much encouragement. I would not be having such a healthy pregnancy without it. I will never stop being grateful for this book! I’ve told so many people about it and am happy to spread the word. READ IT READ IT READ IT!
I have several of the leading books that cover twin and supertwin pregnancy, and this is by far the best of them all. First, this is one of only a handful of books devoted primarily to multiple pregnancy, as opposed to what you do with the babies once they are born. It therefore covers in much greater depth issues like special dietary requirements for multiples, signs of preterm labor, how to cope with bedrest, and more. I bought this book shortly after my multiples were diagnosed because I didn’t want advice on whether to give the babies rhyming names or let them sleep in the same crib — I wanted guidance on how to get through my high-risk pregnancy with as few complications as possible, so that I would be able to go home with two healthy babies. And this book does an excellent job of educating you about potential problem areas (without being unduly scary) and more importantly, listing concrete and do-able things that will maximize your chances of avoiding these problem areas. Second, this is one of the few pregnancy books that isn’t patronizing, cloying in tone or hopelessly dumbed down. The authors clearly respect their audience and this comes through in the style and tone. Third, this book is written by people who know of what they speak: a physician who runs a moms of multiples clinic at a well-regarded teaching hospital, and a medical journalist who has twins herself. Also, anecdotes taken from real moms who survived multiple pregnancy are interspersed throughout, giving excellent tips and helping reduce that “I’m a freak” feeling one can get when instead of having a blissful trouble-free pregnancy, one has to deal with serious medical issues. If you are pregnant with twins or supertwins, you owe it to yourself and your babies to read this book and discuss it with your doctor.
My girls were born at 31 weeks — we got even THAT far because of Dr. Luke and Tamara’s book. I read this one from cover to cover several times. It was the only book I was able to find that really explained in detail the difference between a multiple pregnancy and a singleton. I’ve experienced pregnancy and birth five times, but my twin pregnancy was completely different in almost every way. It was because of Dr. Luke’s advice that I put myself into a Perinatologist group’s care, and because of their proactive care when I began to show signs of preterm labor, my twins arrived at 31 weeks instead of 26 or 28, as they were threatening to do. Because of this book’s eating plan, my girls also arrived at excellent weights for their gestation age — 3 1/2 lbs and 4 lbs. While I was hospitalized prior to their births, the information this book provided prepared me to handle the interventions that were necessary; gave me enough knowledge to ask the right questions on my specific condition; and helped me to accept without shock and fear the special needs of my newborns in the NICU. We’ve been very blessed — our girls are doing fine and are coming home after less than 3 weeks in the hospital. If it wasn’t for all the information in Dr. Luke and Tamara’s book, I would have been a basket-case! Instead, I understood what was going on at all times, and the need for certain procedures both for me and the girls. I honestly believe that my twins are here strong and healthy because of the information this book provided. It is a must-read for all parents expecting multiples.
