The Bottom Line
Pros
- Provides practical, pragmatic advice for parents of twins.
- Checklists and task-based chapter organization makes it easy to scan for solutions.
- Author gives very direct suggestions based on her own experience.
- Specific product recommendations provide shopping guidance for parents.
- Realistic - though pessimistic! - advice about breastfeeding.
Cons
- Negative tone presents the worst-case scenario without recognizing the joys of twins.
- I was confused by some of the checklists; they didn't match up to the expanded explanations.
- Some of the advice just seemed odd to me.
- While additional sources are referenced, material is heavily based on author's personal experience.
- Title is misleading; pregnancy info is minimal and many references to toddler twins.
Description
- Chapters include checklists followed by expanded explanations, perfect for task-oriented parents.
- Some of the best tips address the logistical issues of feeding, transporting and bathing two babies.
- If you're easily intimidated, skip this book in favor of one of the many others with a more positive outlook.
- But if you want cold, hard facts and realistic directives, you'll find them in Twin Sense.
- Pregnancy info is minimal; there's more material about deflecting comments from strangers than about your body's changes.
- Although the title describes the book as covering pregnancy and the first year, there's plenty of detail about older twins.
- The author strongly urges the utilization of web resources, yet the recommended sites are disappointing and sparse.
Guide Review - Twin Sense by Dagmara Scalise
If you can get past that, the book does contain some gems of advice, and one of its strengths is its straightforward presentation of tips and strategies. Chapter are organized into four sections: Preparing for Twins, Managing the Basics, Leaving the House and Life After Babyhood. Each chapter is composed of a checklist, followed by an brief expansion or explanation of each checklist topic. This makes it easy to scan for specific situations or solutions.
Unfortunately, there were some things about the book that I just found odd. There were some dubious recommendations ("do your utmost to stay on bed rest after the babies' birth" and "accept that you will have to use bottle props"). Sometimes coverage is inconsistent and uneven. Was it necessary to include a cataloging of the author's current toy stockpile for her three children? Or an entire chapter on deflecting comments and questions? Finally, although the subtitle describes the book as a guide to raising twins from pregnancy through the first year, the actual content is rather skimpy on pregnancy while surprisingly lush in details about toddler twins. In fact, an entire section is devoted to "Life Beyond Babyhood."
