WIC and twins?

[annettemarie]

Can anyone tell me what WIC looks like when you're pregnant with twins? once they get here? Is anything different? Thanks!

[DeerMother]

I think it differs a bit state to state and I only have twins. My pregnancy check wasn't different from my other pregnant friends' checks. I think I got the same food when I was bf them as moms of singletons. I dropped it when they were about 9 months until age 2. I am no longer bf and just get checks for them. I get double the amount of food, just like if I had two children of different ages that were not bf.

[newmommy7-08]

It does depend on the state, and I haven't seen what ours is yet...but the girl in the office told me it's the largest package they offer. It'll be interesting to see because already we get a ton w/ just me pregnant and 2 year old DS... We get something like 10gallons of milk a month, 6 12oz boxes of cereal, 4-5 containers of juice, 8 bags of beans, 2 dozen eggs, 2 or 3 small loaves of bread, $16 in fruits and veggies... and that's just off the top of my head, there's also cheese, tuna, beans, and farmers market checks.

[SashaBreeze]

I just had a WIC appointment a few weeks ago and it was my first one since finding out I was pregnant with twins. My food went up a little bit for being pregnant with twins, but not by much, I'm thinking like 1 extra gallon of milk and a couple of other things.
When the nutritionalist found out I would be breast feeding the twins she was excited and told me that they dont have a printed copy of what I would be getting for that first year while nursing because it is fairly rare but that it would pretty much be double that of what you get for nursing a singleton.

The only real concern I have is what in the heck will I do with all the baby food and baby cereal they are going to be handing out to the little guys???? Maybe just not use those checks or something???

[rachel7628]

Does anyone know if they count both babies when they qualify you? Our income is too much as a family of 4, but OK as a family of 5. I assume I'd have to bring an ultrasound pic to prove twins?

Sashabreeze - If we end up qualifying and using WIC, we'll just discard the vouchers we won't use. Our main motivation is to have formula if I have low-supply issues again, but the help with cheese and produce would be awesome.

[annettemarie]

Yes, they counted both babies. And I have an obscene amount of food on my checks because I am pregnant with twins, and apparently the breastfeeding twins package is even more.

As far as discarding/not using checks-- definitely check the rules in your state. Here in PA we don't have to get everything on our checks or use all our checks, but I know that in other states, that isn't the case.

[Marisgirl]

I just had my appointment today too, and I almost hit the floor with what we get. I mean, we were able to have tacos tonight for dinner with us just having to go and get the taco meat. That may not be a feat for most, but I was as happy as a lark.

The breastfeeding package is a rarity here in Chicago too, and I felt a bit like a sideshow with all of the people stating that I was having twins. LOL! I do have to say that I am pretty happy with it, and to know that we don't have to pay these ridiculous prices for milk and cheese etc., makes me a bit more comfortable. We also have a two year old on WIC and paired with her - we actually have to go to the WIC store every week now, instead of every month.

[rachel65655]

I'm not sure about how much extra milk and eggs you get breastfeeding twins because we don't have it put on our checks. We have a farm and milk our own cows and have chickens and I don't get those things so I told them not to bother to put them on the checks. I did get extra cheese and the amount for fresh/frozen fruits and veggies was 1.5 times that of a mother nursing a single.

[lolar2]

Originally Posted by SashaBreeze

The only real concern I have is what in the heck will I do with all the baby food and baby cereal they are going to be handing out to the little guys???? Maybe just not use those checks or something???

Baby vegetables, especially carrots, are good in spaghetti sauce, and baby rice cereal is very good if you sub it for some of the flour in pancakes.

[annettemarie]

I used to have a recipe for using the cereal in cookies, LOL! I guess I'll have to find that again...

[KempsMama]

Someone should start a thread and make it a sticky for recipes with WIC baby foods.