'You've got your hands full'

Gorgeous singing from twin boys - they're going to be big some day!

WHEN this blog was all about twins, triplets and more, I used to regularly post cute videos from YouTube. I thought I'd do it again for a change. These boys are just wonderful!

Because families come in all shapes and sizes...

I'VE just posted about this at Have a Lovely Time, but it's something that I also wanted to add here in case anyone who just so happens not to have a family that fits into a neat 'two by two' box is reading. I know families with triplets or one child then twins can feel the pinch so I hope this can help!

Plus I absolutely love Quentin Blake so I wanted to use the picture again!

DOES your family fit the shape of a standard family ticket?

Or perhaps it's Mum plus her four kids, Dad plus his only child, and the young cousin who lives with them.

Maybe it's grandparents and their grandchildren, for whom they care or big sister and very little sister, whom she looks after. Mum, Dad, Auntie and her daughter.

Yet what’s the shape of a typical family ticket to a museum or gallery? Two plus two.

It's not goodbye...Why I opted out of the Tots 100 parenting blogs index

A FEW people have been in touch since I commented on the latest league table of blogs published by Sally at Who's the Mummy?

This monthly index is a great resource for anyone wanting to find UK parenting blogs, and it's interesting to follow, especially to discover new sites already engaging with their readers.

But ranking my blog on how many comments it gets, the amount of people tweeting or featuring a link, or posting information to a social book-marking site such as Digg or Delicious, isn't for me any more.

I just want people to read and enjoy it.

Twin Tuesday: Jedward are just the latest twins to rock the X Factor!

2009:

Twins and more on a Tuesday: Post natal depression

 

Twins can be a gorgeous blessing but bring extra demands for the parents.

JENNIFER at Twinhappy has a Twin Tuesday event where she wishes multiple birth families, wherever they may be, a wonderful day.

Last Tuesday I recapped about sleep problems with my twins for Josie.

Josie's Sleep Deprivation Carnival had a wonderful response, with lots of experiences and advice shared.

This week, for Twin Tuesday, I hoped it may be useful to dig out one of the most popular posts from this blog, about post natal depression and how, not surprisingly mums coping with more than one baby at once can be more susceptible.

Miranda's story has attracted some very supportive comments and emails. There's still a need for it to be heard as Google continues to send people looking for relevant information our way.

How my twins kept me awake at night, and top tips to stop it happening to you

I'M a sleep deprivation survivor.

This bold statement is in response to Josie at Sleep is for the Weak .

She's asking for news of light at the end of the tunnel - examples of parents who feared they may never again get a good night's kip but have been proved wrong.

That's the good news.

The bad news is it took me years. And in my case, it was more by accident than design.

I'M a sleep deprivation survivor.

This bold statement is in response to Josie at Sleep is for the Weak .

She's asking for news of light at the end of the tunnel - examples of parents who feared they may never again get a good night's kip but have been proved wrong.

That's the good news.

The bad news is it took me years. And in my case, it was more by accident than design.

Twenty favourite posts about twins, triplets or more

 

FROM September 2006, to July 2009 this blog* carried reports by Linda Jones and Becky from Deepmuckbigrake about twins, triplets and more, with news updates and videos.

During this time, the feedback through comments and emails we received meant a lot. Thank you to Becky for all her wonderful help and thank you to everyone who stopped by, especially those who were kind enough to let us know we had written something that had proved informative, entertaining or thought-provoking.

Here's a collection of some favourite posts. They have been picked because we know people appreciated them. If you have just found this blog and have been blessed with a multiple birth family or pregnancy, I hope they may be useful.

Ten things not to say to a mum of twins or more

Blogs about twins

Blogs about triplets, quads, quintuplets, sextuplets...

How and when do you know you are expecting twins or more?

Quick facts about a multiple pregnancy

How a multiple pregnancy differs from having one baby

Postnatal depression in mums of twins, triplets and more.

Two sets of twins: Families share their stories

Triplet has triplets of her own in Michigan

AMIR, Armann and Amari Whitaker were born May 26, 2006, at Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit. Parents are Amber Ali, a triplet, and Andre Whitaker. The babies are in the NICU until they gain weight and can go home. For anyone who'd like to help by donating baby supplies, call Northwest Women's Care at the hospital at 313-966-5101.

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Do you mind when people refer to your children as "the twins" or "the triplets"?

I SORT of know I shouldn't care about this, yet I do. I know it's not the end of the world and there are lots more pressing matters we can all turn our minds to, but when people call my daughters "the twins", it irritates me.

"They have names, you know," I want to point out. (But of course don't because then well, the other person would see that I sort of cared about something so outwardly trivial.)

News round-up: Mum of twins has triplets, plus other current stories

ESSEX mum Joady Dyer has welcomed triplets into her family - and will have no shortage of helpers thanks to her 15-year-old twin daughters.

Joady, 39, also has a nine-year-old. You can read a fuller story courtesy of Bounty, here.

The Sun reports on the arrival of identical triplets Alfie, Sebastian and Zak, conceived without IVF treatment, by Emma Spooner, 28, and husband Ken, 35, of Cockley Cley, Norfolk. The BBC has a lovely video.

"Brainy" triplet brothers who have excelled in science are celebrated by the Reading Eagle.