General

Get good obstetrical care and follow your doctor's advice. This is especially important for multiple pregnancies because of the potential for complications and premature delivery.

Ask your doctor lots of questions. It can be helpful to write down questions between visits so that you don't forget to ask anything that concerned you. For any immediate concerns, always call your doctor at once.

Get plenty of rest. Compared with a singleton pregnancy, you may have to stop working sooner, rest more often, rest longer and make more frequent prenatal visits to your doctor.

Attend a baby care class. Go on a tour of the hospital. Discuss parenting plans now. Parenting multiple birth children is a joint responsibility of both mother and father.

Getting enough to eat

For a multiple pregnancy, sufficient weight gain is often a struggle. Some women increased weight gain with protein drinks (such as Ensure, Odwalla Total Protein), protein bars (Balance, Luna), or high calorie and protein snacks (cheesecake, peanut butter sandwiches, ice cream, milk shakes). It is a good idea to include some sort of protein (meat, cheese, yogurt, milk, eggs, peanut butter) with every meal or snack. You can eat enough for a multiple pregnancy if you are a vegetarian. It is especially important to pay attention to getting complete proteins.  Get your doctor's advice before taking any supplements such as protein drinks. 

It is important to get enough fluids as well. As an expectant mother, a good guideline is to drink a 16 oz beverage with each meal and another between each meal.

If you have problems with nausea, it can help to eat small amounts often. Many women find that if they eat every two to three hours, the nausea is minimized. Also, if ask your health care provider to prescribe a chewable prenatal vitamin.

Bedrest

Bedrest can vary from needing to lay down at least an hour every morning and afternoon to full hospital bedrest. Be sure to ask your doctor what is appropriate for you. Some questions to ask include: How much should you lay down? Does it matter what position you lay in (on your left side, heart level with hips, etc.)? Can you shower daily? Should you use a shower chair? Can you sit up to eat? What warning signs or problems should you watch for?

Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated minimizes contractions that can lead to preterm labor. Develop a schedule or some structure for your days.

Get as much help as possible. If can be valuable to have a relative stay with you, or have a teenager come in after school.

Get relavent information and chat with other moms on www.sidelines.org.

Enter your babies' gestational ages on a calendar and look at it daily to remind yourself of progress.

Purchase a book that describes pregnancy week by week so that you can visualize how your babies are developing. There are also some books that include space forjournaling so that you can describe your days. Possible activities to fill your day include:

Good things to read while on bedrest include: parenting magazines, baby care books such as Kangaroo Care and What to Expect the First Year, books on multiples such as Multiple Blessings, Mothering Multiples, When You are Expecting Twins Triplets or Quads or anything else that interests you.

If possible, change your setting during the day. For example you might spend the mornings in bed and then move to the living room sofa for the afternoon and evening if permitted.

Have a cooler or dorm size fridge within reach. Have your husband stock it each morning with drinks and

snacks to last through your day.

Remember it is easier to be on bed rest than to visit your premature babies in the NICU. Also, prematurity brings many potential health risks to the babies, so every day that you delay their birth is a valuable gift to them.