Preparing for twins
Hi! My husband and I were surprised and thrilled to find out we are expecting twins from a single embryo transfer of IVF ❤️ Such a blessing! Now, we’re struggling to get a sense of costs for two.
Does anyone have budget spreadsheets / resources for multiples? We rent and are considering looking to buy but want to have a clearer idea of our monthly costs before getting into a mortgage. We live in San Francisco, he works in Emeryville and I work remote from home.
I’m only 10 weeks along but the most pressing question I’m thinking about is care for when they arrive, since neither of our families live super close by (and we don’t have room to host them if they fly in) - but finding costs for a night nurse or postpartum doula has been tricky.
Thank you so much in advance!
Parent Replies
Congrats on your twin pregnancy!! I have an almost-6-year-old and 1-year-old twins. I recommend joining a local multiples group to connect with other twin families. We're in Twins By the Bay which has a strong East Bay presence, and I believe there is a similar org in San Francisco called SF POM (Parents of Multiples). We didn't hire a postpartum doula or night nurse, though I have heard anecdotally that a night nurse/doula for twins will cost around $60/hour, possibly more.
Join https://www.twinsbythebay.org! Our next new/expectant parent group is this Friday morning (we also do Tuesday evenings) and is open to all (no membership required).
Congrats on the twins, how amazing! We are expecting our first (singleton) in May, so I can’t provide insights into overall costs of twins. However, we just hired a night doula and interviewed quite a few candidates and here is what we learned regarding cost:
-every candidate charged $45-$50 per hour for an 8 hour night shift. I don’t know if they charge more for twins.
-Many had a 4 night per week minimum, but not all. We found someone great who will be doing 2 nights a week.
We used Brilliant Births in Berkeley as the referral source. They will do an intake call with you to get information about what you are looking for, send out to their network, and then the doulas will contact you. They have a network of birth and post-partum doulas (day and night).
good luck!!
Congratulations on your twins! I, too, had twins from IVF--but long ago. So, I do not have specific answers for your financial questions. But, I will give a little advice from my experience. I hired a nanny for the first two years as both of us were working. When we compared costs, it was not that much more expensive at the time and she helped around the house while they were napping (baby laundry, cleaning bottles, etc). It also saved us from all the colds that they would have caught! At 2 and a half years or so, we transferred them to a pre-school situation and were very happy there until they were ready for kindergarten. A couple of other bits of unsolicited advice that I was given that really helped me: pump and bottle feed if that works for you. I was a great pumper and it allowed my spouse to help me with feeds and get his cuddly baby feeding time too. Find another twin mama who might be happy to be your hand-me-down or buy at a used price resource! I found one and then was the supplier for someone else. And, don't let anyone scare you about having twins! Experienced parents will moan and groan about how one was so hard, how can you possibly handle two? You can. The first bit is harder, yes. But, then it's easier in some ways when they are growing because they are the same level developmentally. So excited for you!!--Twin Mama