When you see those 2 heartbeats on the sonogram, first embrace the joy and adventure of twins. Then, prepare, prepare, prepare. Arranging for a baby nurse, having all the gear ready before you need it and gaining a working knowledge of infant health issues before you're in a red alert situation will only make life easier for your family when those little bundles arrive.

Arrange for Proper Rest in the First Weeks Home from the Hospital- Conventional wisdom teaches new mothers to "sleep when the baby sleeps." For twin moms and dads, particularly those with other children, this is just not an option. Enlist friends, family members and neighbors to care for the twins for even a few hours per day, so you can rest.

Night time nannies, or baby nurses, provide the vital service of allowing mothers to recover from the strain of "double childbirth." By caring for the babies overnight, a baby nurse lets mother have the deep, restorative sleep her body ultimately needs to keep herself healthy. For new fathers, this sleep is also obviously crucial. Older siblings who wake in the night as they adjust to the new babies also benefit from a night nurse, as she allows mother and father to be available to comfort the older child.

Stock up on Diapers, Wipes and Vaseline- Stock the house with preemie, newborn and size 1 diapers. Don't wait until your babies grow out of a diaper to purchase the next size. Having the next size at the ready will make one less emergency trip to the store and minimize messes. The average newborn feeds 8 times per 24 hour period. That means a minimum of 16 diaper changes a day for your twins! Adding changing-table accidents into the equation, that's countless wipes, jars of petroleum jelly...and 1,500 diapers in the first 3 months of life. Say it out loud. One thousand. Five hundred. Diapers.

Buy Straws- You won't be able to eat or drink with 2 hands anymore. Sounds silly, but get lots of straws for your water, protein shakes and coffee. While you're at it, get lots of water, protein shakes and coffee.

Get the Babies on the Same Schedule-- While feeding and sleeping schedules can be erratic the first few weeks home from the hospital, do your best to get those little ones on the same schedule. When one wakes to eat, give the other milk too. When one wakes up, wake the other. After 1-2 weeks, the babies will synch up sleeping and feeding.

Educate Yourself about Baby Tummy Issues- Spitting up, gastro esophageal reflux and gas are extremely common in infants. Learn the symptoms of each one. Then, decide how you would like to treat them if you see symptoms. Of course, you will want to talk with the pediatrician about tummy issues, but as we all know, babies are in the habit of needing the most help after business hours. There are many over the counter remedies such as gas drops, probiotics and gripe water that aid baby's digestion, and can give them temporary relief.

As twins are almost always born before their due date, anticipating your family's needs in advance is an easy tool to make the first few weeks home from the hospital as calm as possible. Arranging for a night time baby nurse is perhaps the most important preparation, as proper sleep allows mother to recover and the whole family to function at its very best.

Denise Stern is the owner of Let Mommy Sleep, LLC, the first and only overnight nanny agency serving the Washington DC and Baltimore Metro areas. She is also a mother to 19 month old identical twin girls and a beautiful 3 year old boy.

For more information about the benefits of overnight infant care, please visit, http://letmommysleep.com/

Image Credit: Jennie Pyfferoen Photography