Raising twins & staying sane
Being a parent is tough… being a parent of twins is a challenge. Nothing can prepare you for that. After hearing the words – congratulations, you are carrying twins – you do not know how to react. Happiness, fear, anxiety – you feel it all at the same time. Nobody can understand you unless they have been in the same situation.
I used to hear people saying – how the hell are you coping with all that?! To be honest, I have no idea. At the beginning I felt like a robot, doing all the things in an exact order, not letting anything to disturb my daily routine – feeding, bathing, sleeping. Everything had to be perfectly organized. I don’t remember sleeping for more than two or three hours in the first six months of their lives. By the time I was done with feeding both of them I had like 45 minutes before doing it all over again. Who needs sleeping anyway, right?
Organization is the most important thing while raising twins – feeding and sleeping have to be at the same time. If you don’t do that, well, you are doomed. In the beginning it might be difficult, but it is really helpful in the long run.
What if you mix the babies? Yes, that thing happens. Just mark them somehow. I had name tags on their cribs. One of the twins had a bracelet. I never dressed them the same. And even after all these precautions it happened to me once to start feeding the same baby twice. And it took me a while to realize why he wasn’t interested in drinking milk.
There is another thing you need to learn how to tolerate if you have twins – the reaction of others when seeing them. Sometimes it feels weird when people start looking at them on the street. At that moment I am not sure if they envy me or feel sorry for me (probably the latter one). And, of course, the inevitable questions – are they twins? I can’t even make a difference between them sometimes – so what do you think!? Who is older? Who cares when the difference is only two minutes between them. And how can I be sure that they haven’t mixed them up in the hospital? And so on…
My twins are two years old now, they are unstoppable, curious, fearless – and thanks to them I gained some super powers like superhuman speed and teleportation, that is, appearing next to them in the last moment and saving them from all dangerous situations, superhuman strength – carrying two babies at the same time isn’t easy, super sight – being able to see what’s happening behind my backs.
And soon I am facing the biggest challenge – potty training. With my oldest son that went quite easily. He taught how to use a potty after only a day, but with them I have a feeling that it is going to last for 2 or 3… months. Anyway, wish me luck! :)
