Product Description

Uncertain where to start, how to coordinate endless double feedings, or how to control the whirlwind? Don't worry -- Elizabeth Lyons and her "multiples" sorority will get you through. For real-world strategies on coordinating endless double feedings, getting the babies on a schedule (preferably the same one), and appearing to have it (and them) under control while out and about, Ready or Not...Here We Come! is the hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is resource no parent of twins should be without.

In her first humor-packed guide to raising twins, Elizabeth Lyons highlights the experiences and strategies of a group of friends who met in a multiples birthing class, and survived their pregnancies and first year with twins together.

Lyons provides the all-important feeling of camaraderie that will keep expectant and new parents of twins smiling and optimistic, and remind them through it all how blessed they are (even when they feel as though they haven't slept in weeks). Ready or Not...Here We Come! combines strategies that Lyons has gleaned from friends, doctors, nurses, and even perfect strangers to form one concise guide that will undeniably prepare those expecting twins as well as new parents of twins to complete that all-important first year.

Topics include:
- Preparing the Lair: Mandatory Gear for Babies and Mom
- Getting Organized: The Key to Success
- Getting Those Babies on a Schedule -- Preferably the Same One!
- Out and About with Twins: Methods of Appearing As Though You've Got It (and Them) Under Control.

"Ready or Not...Here We Come! is the advice you need in the short, funny format your sleep-deprived mind can absorb. Elizabeth Lyons tells it like it is in a laugh-out-loud look at the uncertainty, craziness, and absolute of your first year with twins. An absolute must-have for every mother who wished there were two of her to keep up with the two of them." - Lisa Earle McLeod, author of Forget Perfect

"Elizabeth Lyons’ humorous yet realistic perspective provides new parents of twins with a great starting point from which to embark on that all-important first year." - Dr. Bob Covert, Leading Chicagoland Neonatologist

"Elizabeth Lyons tells it like it really is. From helping you survive back-to-back feedings, living with the stereophonic crying, and coping with a double round of diaper rash, she tells you what to do, what to buy, and what to ignore. My twins are now teenagers, and as a woman who felt like she was the only one coping with double Mommying, I would have sold my soul for practical, supportive advice like this. There is a light at the end of the twins tunnel, and Ready or Not will help you find it. Where was Elizabeth Lyons when my twins were little?" - Kristy Lucariello, President of Performance in Practice and mother of teenage twins

"Finally…a humor-filled, solution-packed, tell-it-like-it-is guide to the first year with twins!" - Betty Jean Young, BSN

Look for Elizabeth's second book, Ready or Not...There We Go! this summer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363072 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 163 pages

Review
"...helping you survive back-to-back feedings, living with stereophonic crying, and coping with a double round of diaper rash... -- —Kristi Lucariello, Mother of teenage twins and President of Performance in Practice

"...provides new parents of twins with a great starting point from which to embark on that all-important first year." -- Dr. Bob Covert, leading Chicagoland neonatologist

"...the advice you need in the short, funny format your sleep-deprived mind can absorb. An absolute must have." -- Lisa Earle McLeod, Author of Forget Perfect and columnist for Lifetime Magazine

"Elizabeth Lyons’ humorous yet realistic perspective provides new parents of twins with a great starting point from which to embark..." -- —Dr. Bob Covert, Leading Chicagoland Neonatologist

"Elizabeth...captures the universal discourse of sisterhood while guiding new mothers of twins through the first year." -- Kathy Voit, RNC, Labor and Delivery RN

"Finally...a humor-filled, solution-packed, tell-it-like-it-is guide to the first year with twins!" -- Betty Jean Young, BSN

"Ready or Not... is the advice you need in the short, funny format your sleep-deprived mind can absorb." -- —Lisa Earle McLeod, Columnist for Lifetime Magazine and author of Forget Perfect

"Where was Elizabeth Lyons when my twins were little?" -- Kristi Lucariello, President of Performance in Practice and mother of teenage twins

About the Author
Elizabeth Lyons lives with her husband, David, and their four children in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Her articles and advice have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Parenting, Pregnancy, The Baby Years, First for Women, Blue Suit Mom, Better Home & Gardens, and on numerous websites.

Customer Reviews

A Must for Parents of Multiples
This book is different from most other twin/multiples books in that it is not only practical but funny and understanding as well. It's filled with the basic information plus little hints and shortcuts that are essential to keeping your sanity with twins. Most of these shortcuts aren't covered in any other of the dozens of twin books I have read. The girlfriend type perspective keeps you laughing. "Ready of Not..." covers everything from what baby items you won't need two of, to establishing a schedule. I can say that my husband and I referred to this book dozens of times in the last year. Of all the twin books on the market (I can say I've probably read all of them!) this is my favorite.

A requisite for new parents of twins!
Anyone who reads this book and doesn't absolutely love it is nuts!

I have a 2-year-old son and 4-month-old boy/girl twins. Admittedly, before my twins were born, I might have thought Elizabeth's take on the amount of work involved with newborn twins was a bit exaggerated. But now that they are here, it's become clear that she's right on! The reality of twins is that you probably won't sleep very well for the first few months, your house won't be immaculate, and you might eat more cereal for dinner than you did previously. If you have older children, you might occasionally feel torn early on regarding the amount of quality one-on-one time you are able to give them versus the amount you could give them before the twins arrived. But that's reality. The other reality, which Elizabeth makes quite clear, is that twins (as well as their older siblings) are an amazing blessing, and each challenge that presents itself has a strategy or two that can be employed to address it. In the end, more than worrying about the state of her house, the state of her diet, or the state of her hair, what's most important is that parents work their way through this time with a sense of humor, an appreciation of the blessings they've been given, and the knowledge that it gets easier and more fun with each passing day.

I highly recommend this book for anyone expecting twins --- or anyone who's given birth to them in the last year. I also recommend a few more medically based books on raising babies, such as The Baby Book by William Sears, M.D., and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth (which Lyons also recommends) to help you understand the more medical aspects of raising children (these books provide detailed information on babies' sleep patterns and getting them on a sleep schedule, and ways to address medical challenges such as reflux and colic), but Lyons' book provides the hysterical girlfriend-to-girlfriend approach (much like Vicki Iovine) that most expectant and new moms of twins welcome with open arms!

A funny read, but...
It was cute, but not a Girlfriends' Guide-quality manual. Very much a formula-feeding, Ferberizing kind of ideology. (The fact that it takes so many pages to tell you how to formula feed your twins should be quite revealing here. I feed my twins in 20-30 minutes inclusive, simultaneously, and if I had to wash 20 bottles a day, I would scream. But if you want to know how, she'll tell you.) First-time moms might really get the wrong idea about breastfeeding based on the treatment of the subject here -- get a second opinion, for the sake of your sanity! It is far easier than formula, after about a month. The book does prepare you for the weird questions and comments you will get as a twin mom. I thought she was overstating things -- but no. The public is amazingly intrusive, and you might want to be prepared. Bottom line: I'm still waiting for Vicky Iovine to have twins.