So we're having twins

[Gratch]

Found out we'll be having twins in late May/early June.  I'm currently alternating between incredibly excited and absolutely terrified...not sure which one is winning out at this point.  We also have a daughter that is almost 4, so we're not complete rookies at the whole parenting thing (thank God...I can't imagine having twins first!).  Just thought I'd see if there were any other parents of twins out there that could offer some advice to keep me sane.  Not sure on the gender yet, we hopefully find out at our Jan 30 ultrasound. 

Also, anyone have recommendations on which mini-van to buy?   Mrs. Gratch is convinced that we need one, so I'll be trading in my last remaining man card to get one in the next few weeks. 

I thought I'd seen a sharp decrease in my gaming time before...

[wonderpug]

They'll outnumber you now!  It's all over.
 

My closest friends had twins as their first kids (almost 5 now, yikes), so I've had a lot of exposure to their experiences.  The good news is that once they get a bit older then their being twins actually makes a lot of aspects easier on you, because they always have a playmate exactly the same age.  The bad news is how those initial months of sleeplessness are going to be exponentially more sleepless.  The logistics of feedings, especially night feedings, are rough.

As for minivans, I'm also in the market.     They all look the same to me, so I'll be curious what recommendations turn up.  I know we have a friend-of-a-friend who thinks the Honda Odyssey is the best thing ever, but I have no idea why.

[Gratch]

Yeah, I've heard that I can basically expect the first 18 months to be a sleepless blur, but it gets a little better after that.

As for minivans, I'm also in the market.     They all look the same to me, so I'll be curious what recommendations turn up.  I know we have a friend-of-a-friend who thinks the Honda Odyssey is the best thing ever, but I have no idea why.

I've looked at Odyssey's, but they seem to be ridiculously expensive compared to other brands with equivalent features.  Maybe that's just a Honda thing.  I need something used and don't have a ton to spend (looking in the $18-19K range), and Odyssey's have all been way outside the budget unless I want to buy one with 90K+ miles (not a chance).

[Arkon]

Yeah, I've heard that I can basically expect the first 18 months to be a sleepless blur, but it gets a little better after that.

As for minivans, I'm also in the market.     They all look the same to me, so I'll be curious what recommendations turn up.  I know we have a friend-of-a-friend who thinks the Honda Odyssey is the best thing ever, but I have no idea why.

I've looked at Odyssey's, but they seem to be ridiculously expensive compared to other brands with equivalent features.  Maybe that's just a Honda thing.  I need something used and don't have a ton to spend (looking in the $18-19K range), and Odyssey's have all been way outside the budget unless I want to buy one with 90K+ miles (not a chance).

Granted, this advise has the caveat that my job entails travel so I end up with free rentals, but that said I have found that renting a few different vehicles for a day or so is a great way, and overall not too expensive way, to find out what make/model you will like.

[Bullwinkle]

Hey, congratchulations!

[hepcat]

Found out we'll be having twins in late May/early June. 

Congratulations!  All I'M having is Pad Thai for lunch.   

[farley2k]

I thought I'd seen a sharp decrease in my gaming time before...

Just think of all the bargain priced games you will be able to get in 18 years when you can play again!


Congratulations.

[Gratch]

I'll be subscribing to the xkcd gaming strategy

[CeeKay]

congrats on your incoming bundles of poo making joy!

[Kagath]

That is pretty frightening.

[leo8877]

Congratulations!

[aegistalon]

Congratulations, first of all!

Now I'll do a little random sharing. This is one of those areas in life where I don't know how my parents survived. By the time they were 22, they had four children. My sister, born in January, and triplets (my brothers) born in October... of the same year.

[Mystic95Z]

Congrats and good luck I have two (17 & 14) love em but lord can kids sure eff up a house lol.

[Autistic Angel]

I don't have any minivan advice, but seriously: Congratulations!

-Autistic Angel

[Hrothgar]

Congratulations and good luck. We bought a minivan a few years ago.  Back then the top two were the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey.  Both went through a redesign in the past two years.  Of course, as with any vehicle, I'd recommend buying recent used.  However, I wouldn't go too old on a minivan since they tend to have very high wear and tear.  We ended up going with the Sienna mostly because we were able to get a better deal on it.   One thing that surprised us was how indispensable the dual power doors and rear lift gate were.  They seemed frivolous when we were shopping, but after living with them, we wouldn't buy another minivan without them, especially when one of you is out solo with the kids.

We have had some friends who went with a full size SUV to avoid turning in their man card.  Generally, the guy was happier and the wife was not.

[Scraper]

Congratulations and good luck. We bought a minivan a few years ago.  Back then the top two were the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey.  Both went through a redesign in the past two years.  Of course, as with any vehicle, I'd recommend buying recent used.  However, I wouldn't go too old on a minivan since they tend to have very high wear and tear.  We ended up going with the Sienna mostly because we were able to get a better deal on it.   One thing that surprised us was how indispensable the dual power doors and rear lift gate were.  They seemed frivolous when we were shopping, but after living with them, we wouldn't buy another minivan without them, especially when one of you is out solo with the kids.

We have had some friends who went with a full size SUV to avoid turning in their man card.  Generally, the guy was happier and the wife was not.

I will second this. We bought a 2009 Sienna two years ago. It has the dual doors with a remote that opens and closes them. Makes things a lot easier. Honestly with 3 kids you need a mini van and not an SUV. The Sienna also features TONS of storage space and the trunk area behind the back seat easily rivals any SUV rear space.

[Gratch]

One thing that surprised us was how indispensable the dual power doors and rear lift gate were.  They seemed frivolous when we were shopping, but after living with them, we wouldn't buy another minivan without them, especially when one of you is out solo with the kids.

Yeah, these two have been Mrs. Gratch's specific requests. 

We have had some friends who went with a full size SUV to avoid turning in their man card.  Generally, the guy was happier and the wife was not.

I thought about going that route.  She then reminded me that she would be driving it 99% of the time anyways, so why does it matter if I'm happy with it?  It was a good point.

[Gratch]

And the verdict is...two boys!   

[Isgrimnur]

  Cheers! 

[Autistic Angel]

Can they tell yet whether the boys will share a mana bar, or will they be able to split up and earn job points separately?

-Autistic Angel

[Gratch]

They naturally switch classes at level 2 and move from "poopslinger" to the much more sinister "home-destroyer".

[USMC Kato]

Upgrading their skills and talent trees are going to be expensive

[Caine]

Gratz!

Have you thought of two similar names that will make it harder for strangers to tell them apart?

I recommend that if you want them to take any skills from the rogue class.

[Gratch]

Whichever one comes out first will be Corbin (the oldest boy in our family has had a "C" name going back something like 9 generations, and both me and Mrs. Gratch like that name), but we're undecided on the other.  Got plenty of time to figure it out. 

[Caine]

Whichever one comes out first will be Corbin (the oldest boy in our family has had a "C" name going back something like 9 generations, and both me and Mrs. Gratch like that name), but we're undecided on the other.  Got plenty of time to figure it out. 

might I suggest "Carbon" for the humorous possibilities? 

[Isgrimnur]

A HS buddy ended up with Colin and Kaden. 

Corbin was the 207th most popular name given to male children in 2011.  Sadly, Korbin came in at 528.

For more research, ideas and suggestions, might I recommend the SSA Baby Name site.

[ATB]

Minivans come down to two choices really: Honda and Toyota.

We have a 2002 Sienna that we bought new and it still purrs like a kitten.  It's had some minor problems (horn stopped working, a couple of door handles broke but both these things happened at the 10 year mark) but no major ones to speak of.  We've done routine maintenance but  all told have probably spent less than 2k on unexpected issues and we're at 150k miles.

Not sure what your budget will be but if you can stretch for the Sienna it'll pay dividends in the long run. A friend of ours who has a 2000 just rolled 260k.

And congratulations on the babies!

[PR_GMR]

Congratz, Gratch!!! 

[Laner]

Congratulations!  I read the life's greatest accomplishment thread, didn't realize you were an IVF survivor; my wife and I went did four rounds, 13 embryos (after several rounds of IUIs).  Of which only one worked (our now-3.5 year old).  Glad it has been more successful for you - the process will suck you dry in more ways than one.

[Gratch]

We landed yesterday on a 2011 Toyota Sienna



The 2011 and 2012 all had exactly the same features, but the 2012's (with the same miles) were around $3-4k more expensive.  I'm eventually going to get the interior re-upholstered with leather, but other than that, we got everything we needed.  It's a surprisingly nice ride...even if I automatically feel 10 years older while driving it.

[Gratch]

Starting to get down to crunch time.  Mrs. Gratch had her 35 week appointment this morning, which means we're in the "safe zone" for delivery.  They weighed in at 5.2 and 5.9 lbs, and according to the doctors seem to be "a model of healthy babies".  Other than the general uncomfortableness of carrying 11 lbs of baby in her belly, Mrs. Gratch has done remarkably well through the pregnancy.  They're trying to get her to June 7 (38 weeks), but we'll be going in on a weekly basis to evaluate and that could change.

I've gone from counting down months to counting down days...hoo boy.   My biggest goal now is to max my Neverwinter toon before they show up.   

[Kagath]

So when you putting up your games cheap in the trading area? You are clearly not going to have time for them.