What to Do When You’re Having Two: The Twins Survival Guide from Pregnancy Through the First Year

Diaz, a Manhattan mother of fraternal twins, founder of the Twiniversity Web site, and director of the Manhattan Twins Club, brings her experience and the collective wisdom of her online community to this niche offering in the What to Expect genre. As multiple births in America increase due to IVF treatments, older maternal ages, and better medical outcomes for preterm labor, the medical system has developed more standard processes for dealing with them. This handbook proves most successful in clarifying these processes, telling the expectant twin mom how to handle such things as bed rest, to avoid preterm labor; a delivery that may place in an operating room with medical students watching; and a likely stay in the NICU for one or both babies. Diagrams for tandem nursing and co-swaddling are clear and helpful. But Diaz wades into murkier waters with a mix of consumer advice, personal opinions about controversial topics like cloth vs. disposable diapers, breast vs. bottle feeding, and sleep training, as well as several half-formed advice beyond her expertise, in realms like baby proofing, financial planning, and marital issues. The book is most suitable as a supplement rather than replacement for standard baby books; parents will likely want the wisdom of the professionals as well. Agent: J.L. Stermer, N.S. Bienstock. (Dec.)