Traveling with multiples is a challenge in itself, especially when you have multiples that are still toddlers or babies. The key to reducing stress when you travel with your multiples is to plan ahead and have everything at hand when you need it. Fortunately, it is easy to plan ahead for the extra things that you will need to keep your multiples happy on your next vacation.

Tip No. 1: Special Accommodations
The first thing that you will want to do when planning a family vacation is contact the theme parks, hotels and other attractions that you are going to visit. You will want to ask them if they have things like multiple-child strollers, babysitting services and other special services for people with kids or special services for people with multiples.

Tip No. 2: Have Entertainment Ready
One of the problems of traveling with kids of any age is that they act up when they get bored. The best way to keep your multiples happy on a long trip is to have various activities on hand to dole out when they start to get bored such as coloring books, story books, plush toys and videos. Having snacks and beverages on hand is also a good idea, as meltdowns can occur in response hunger.

Tip No. 3: Packing Strategies
When packing for your vacation, you need to conserve as much space as possible. If you are planning an extra long vacation, consider shipping bulkier items to your hotel or vacation house ahead of time so you don’t have to haul them with you. To make sure you have a change of clothes for each multiple with you at all times, you will want to pack one outfit in your child’s carryon. In your main luggage, you will pack the items your kids will need on their vacation such as shirts, shoes , socks and underwear. Since many airlines are now charging fees for each piece of checked luggage, divide a single suitcase into sections and place each multiple’s clothing in their labeled section.

If you are expecting multiples right now, you probably have a lot of concerns and thoughts on your mind. While you may be thinking about how you will be able to handle feeding, bathing and diapering multiple babies at the same time, it is a good idea to stop for a moment and catch your breath. To make dealing with the prospects of becoming the parents of multiples more manageable and less stressful, take things one step at a time. To start with, think about the basic items you will need to handle the first month of your multiples’ lives.

Furniture
Many parents of multiples find that putting twins in the same crib works well. They keep each other company, and this can actually help to reduce the babies’ initial anxiety about sleeping outside the womb. When selecting a crib or cribs, you will want to look for a crib that is sturdy, that has a locking rail system and that has slats that are not too widely spaced. If you are looking to save money in the long run, also look for a crib that can be converted into a toddler bed.

Baby Supplies
One of the biggest surprises of being the parents of multiples is the sheer volume of stuff that you need. You will need a healthy supply of bottles, pacifiers, bottle cleaners, washrags, towels, baby shampoo, baby wipes, diapers, diaper pales, diaper rash ointment or cream, toys and grooming equipment. As you can see, the more babies you are expecting, the more of these items you will need to stock up on before the little ones arrive.

Baby Clothes
The first month of your multiples’ lives is going to be difficult. Many multiples are born premature so they may spend several weeks in the hospital before you are allowed to take them home. However, when you do get to bring them home, they most likely will still be very small. To get through the first few weeks at home you will need extra-small baby clothes and diapers, such as preemie onesies, socks, baby shoes and jumpers.

Giving your kids an edge in school is one of the priceless gifts that you can give them. One way to give your multiples an edge in school is to develop their desire to read. Literacy is a skill that can be developed early, and really it needs to be developed as early as possible. While being able to read on their own is a skill that will most likely not develop until after they enter kindergarten, you can develop literacy skill basics by reading to them and playing letter and word games.

Literacy Development Activity No. 1: Reading Time
The first way that you can encourage your children to develop a love of reading is to read to them. Even if your multiples have not yet been born, you can still stimulate their minds by reading to them. Reading can become a bedtime routine, or it can be used as a reward. The key is to make reading seem like a fun thing to do.

Literacy Development Activity No. 2: The Alphabet Song
Another way that you can stimulate literacy is by teaching your multiples the alphabet song. The alphabet song makes learning the alphabet much easier for children to do. It can also be a fun activity for you to share with your kids. After they have mastered the song, you can pair the singing of the alphabet song with an illustration of the letters. As you sing each letter, you will point to the corresponding letter on the graphic. This will help your multiples to learn what the letters look like. You can then advance the activity by asking for your multiples to show you where the letter “M” is or the letter “O”.

Literacy Development Activity No. 3: Word Games
As your multiples develop their literacy skills, you can play word games. You will need flash cards for these activities. Memory is a game that works well for a word game. On one card you will have a picture, and on its’ pair will be the written word for the item on the card. For example you can have a picture of a dress on one card and the word “dress” on its match.

Sleep is something that many new parents of multiples feel that they will have to live without. However, while the first four weeks are going to be somewhat restless, you don’t have to spend the first year of your children’s lives sleep deprived. There are steps that you can take to help your multiples get onto a sleep schedule and stick to it.

Step No. 1: Pick Sleep Times and Awake Times

The first step in establishing a sleep schedule when you have multiples is to pick when they “should” be awake and when they “should” be asleep. For example, a normal bedtime for infants is 7:30 p.m. and a normal wakeup time is 6:00 a.m. Obviously you will have many awake and asleep periods, but the 7:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. period needs to be established early on. To establish this as a time to be asleep, you will want your home to be dark and quiet during these times, even when you get up to change your multiples and give them their nighttime feedings.

Step No. 2: Set Up a Going to Sleep Routine

The next step is to set up a going to sleep routine. This routine is going to be a cue to your multiples that it is time to go to sleep. This routine can include things like taking a bath, listening to a soothing CD, changing into bed clothes, cuddling with a special bedtime toy or listening to a story while lying in bed.

Step No. 3: Set Up a Wake Up Routine

Just as important as your bedtime routine, is your waking routine. This routine will include steps that will signal to your children that it is time to be awake. For example, you can open curtains, turn on lights, put away nighttime snuggle toys and make the house more lively with sounds and energy.

Step No. 4: Be Consistent

Like establishing any other type of routine for your multiples, consistency is critical. This means that you have to stick to the routine, even when you are away from your home. Consistency is this routine is going to be very important during the first two to three years of your child’s life. Obviously, you may need to adjust when they go to bed or wake up based on their changing sleeping needs, as well as adjust what toys they want to sleep with or play with as they get older. However, the routine itself needs to remain the same.

Seasons are changing and soon cold weather will replace the mild temperatures and conditions associated with early fall. As the temperature drops, your multiples will need warmer jackets, hats, gloves, boots, rain gear and other pieces of cold weather gear. The more children you have, the larger the pile of outdoor gear and clothing accumulating at your door. This can be cumbersome and unsightly, but also add minutes to your early morning routine. To avoid all of the problems associated with winter wear clutter, you need to get organized. Fortunately, it is easy to do.

Organizing Your Multiples’ Winter Gear: Personal Baskets
The first way you can keep the clutter near the door down to a minimum is to buy each of your children their own outerwear baskets. These baskets can be plastic mesh baskets, wicker baskets or metal baskets. The key is to buy a container that is large enough to hold things like gloves, hats, scarves and other small pieces of outerwear clothing. On the outside of each basket, label it with the name of one of your kids. Then push the basket up against the wall so that your kids can find their basket quickly. To make the baskets more personal, buy each multiple a different color basket.

Organizing Your Multiples’ Winter Gear: Footwear Storage
Boots and shoes can quickly clutter an entryway during the winter months, especially when you have multiples. To keep the clutter down to a minimum, and to help keep everyone’s footwear organized, you need to set up a footwear station. This can be as easy as taping squares on the floor and labeling them with each child’s name, or you can line up wooden cubicles along the wall and assign one space to each person in your family.

Organizing Your Multiples’ Winter Gear: Coats and Snow pants
One reason why small kids don’t hang up their coats and winter outerwear is that they can’t reach the hangers. To make hanging up their coats and snow pants easy to do, all you have to do is install a coat hanger low enough for them to reach. You can use individual hangers or you can install a coat rack. Again you will want to create a label with each child’s name on it and place it next to their assigned coat hanger.

Preparing an elder child for a new baby is quite a challenge. Though your older son or daughter may be fascinated by the changes in your body during pregnancy, he or she may be less than thrilled when a real live baby shows up and demands Mommy’s attention 24/7.

There are a few things you can do to make her feel better about the whole thing. Give your older child the role of “big sister” or “big brother” as soon as possible, so they start to think of the baby as theirs rather than as an interloper. If she’s old enough to do it discreetly, tell her first and give her the opportunity to tell the rest of the family.

Reassure her constantly that her place in the family is special, both before and after the baby is born. I tell my kids that there’s no one who can replace my firstborn in my heart, and no one who can replace my baby in my heart. (I only have 2 kids, so if you have more you might want to just call them by name…no one can replace my 2nd and 3rd kids just doesn’t have the same ring to it!)

When you bring the baby home from the hospital, it’s helpful to have the dad bring her in so the mom can give some extra attention to the elder child. I told my older daughter (completely truthfully) that I missed her terribly the two nights I was away from her in the hospital and it made her feel much better.

Above all, don’t get upset if your normally sweet-natured, older child throws tantrums or starts regressing. A new sibling is a big adjustment and this behavior is normal.

I breastfed my younger daughter for exactly one week due to the fact that my older daughter would run in the room and bounce on the bed every time I tried it, which caused me intense pain. In retrospect, I might have solved this problem if I’d thought of a way to include her in the procedure.