One of my regrets about our twins’ first year was that I didn’t get more pictures with both my girls.

You may have a similar problem. If you don’t actively make the effort to get pictures with both of your twins, it just won’t happen.

It may seem a little silly to plan for pictures, maybe a little contrived, forced, or posed. But if you don’t plan for it, you won’t get any pictures of you with your babies. Why? Numerous reasons:

• Perhaps you are the one that always takes the pictures. If you are behind the camera, you’re not in the picture.
• If you’ve got other kids, they will be asking for attention, too, as soon as they see the camera.
• The bigger your twins get, the harder it is to physically pick both of them up at the same time for a picture.
• You can’t take a self-portrait by holding out the camera in one hand while holding a baby in the other since you’ve got two babies.

How do you make sure you get pictures of you and your twins?

Plan for it.

Keep it always on the front of your mind.

I found it helpful to make a point of getting pictures with my twins on major events and holidays. For example, every holiday and birthday I try to get pictures with my twins. Do I always get pictures on these days? No. But if you don’t try, then you’ll never get them.

The hard pictures to get are of you and your twins in everyday settings. The trick here is to keep your camera out and nearby.

When you see your twins doing something cute, funny, or spectacular, don’t just think, “Oh, that’s awesome.” Go get your camera (or ask your wife to grab the camera) and take a picture of you and the kiddos.

There are a lot of things about life that are fleeting. Documenting life with photos is a great way to preserve the memories.

Although I had sworn to never take my kids to Disneyland until everyone was potty trained and they were all tall enough to ride all the rides, we somehow found our family at Disneyland with our four kids, ages 4 and under.

When we went to Disneyland, our twins were 10 months old.

We had a blast and you can, too.

Pick the Right Park

Some amusement parks are more kid-friendly than others. Take time before you arrive at the park to spec out things like restrooms (particularly family-style ones), mother’s nursing lounges, stroller parking areas, and if there are any courtesy refrigerators where you can store food or milk. Most parks have maps online that you can study and map out your strategy. A little bit of prior planning will help the day go so much smoother. You don’t want to spend the day sitting on a bench with your crying twins, wondering why you came in the first place.

At Disneyland, we were surprised by how many rides didn’t have a height requirement. We were able to wait in line together as a family and even ride the rides together as a family. Even with our baby girls in tow.

Stroller

You don’t want to carry your twins in your arms all day long. We saw plenty of tired parents who did just that.

Be prepared, take your double twin stroller. Aside from the obvious purpose of a stroller, the stroller also acts as a pack mule for carrying bags and souvenirs that will easily fit over the handles.

Just be aware that your heavy bags are counterbalanced by the babies in the seats. So when you take the babies out, expect the stroller to fall backwards if it is indeed that pack mule just mentioned.

The stroller will also double as the sleeping quarters about halfway through the day. Since your infant twins are used to taking naps, they will eventually get so tired that they will just fall asleep in the stroller.

Baby Carriers

In addition to our stroller, we took two Bjorn front baby carriers. These turn you and your wife into pseudo-kangaroos with your babies strapped firmly to your chest.

These carriers were invaluable in being able to hold our twins without sacrificing our arms while we waited in line and even while we took them on some rides.

Plus, if you and your wife are walking or standing next to each other, you’ll get lots of “Oh, look at the twins!” comments.

I highly recommend the Bjorn baby carriers.

Food

Check that the amusement park you are attending will allow you to bring in food and water. Your kids will be used to certain foods and you need to have those on hand for consumption throughout the day. This is particularly important if your babies have started solids but aren’t past the pureed food stage.

Water is also key, especially since you don’t want to pay exorbitant prices for water once you’re in the park. You will need water to keep you, your wife, and the kids hydrated, as well as needing it to mix with formula for bottles.

Don’t Forget the Sunscreen

This may be stating the obvious, but make sure everyone gets a liberal covering of sunscreen throughout the day. Babies have thinner skin than adults, which is prone to burning faster. You don’t want to have a fun day at the park only to be up all night with crying babies who can’t move without their sunburn hurting them.

Have Fun

Going to amusement parks with little kids isn’t really for your entertainment. You will go on rides you won’t normally ride. But you will find joy not in the thrill of the ride but in watching your twins’ reactions to everything going on around them.

When you reach your twins’ first birthday, you deserve a little celebration. After all, both you and your twins have survived the first year. Congratulations.

You may be tempted to have a big birthday bash with dozens of friends, expensive gifts, decorations, and entertainment.

My advice: keep it simple.

You’ve worked hard over the first year to keep your twins alive and cope with the insanity that two babies can bring into your home. Don’t add to your stress by having a massive birthday party.

Fortunately, the first birthday is the only chance in your kids’ lives when they have no expectations of what a typical birthday should be like. Your twins’ first birthday is therefore your only chance to take it easy. So take it easy!

Presents

What should you do about birthday presents for your twins?

One of our daughters was interested in the paper and the other in the actual gift. This worked out nicely but your situation may be different.

You don’t need tons of gifts. Your babies will want to play with the wrapping paper, then the box, and ultimately, the actual gift. This is a new experience for them and they may very well act upset or frustrated if rushed to the next present.

The solution is to have only a few gifts. If you have multiple gifts, spread them out throughout the day to extend the enjoyment.

For example, our daughters opened their presents from their older brothers first thing in the morning. When the grandparents came to visit later that day, the twins each opened a present. We had dinner, and then opened some more presents.

Should you buy two of everything? It depends. By the one year mark, you’ll know your twins’ personalities and will know if they can share toys or fight over everything. Plan your presents accordingly.

Birthday Cake

We made a big deal of each girl having her own cake. After all, each twin is an individual that just happens to be sharing a birthday with her sibling.

While I think separate cakes will be a bigger deal as the twins get older, the first birthday could probably have done with just one cake.

There is one thing that you must do on your twins’ first birthday: get pictures and video of them eating their birthday cake.

Your twins won’t remember anything but you need proof that you did something for them on their first birthday.

Birthday Guests

How many people should you invite over for the birthday party?. My answer: as few as possible.

Your kids are too young to have any friends and they aren’t expecting to see anybody on their birthday besides those they see everyday.

So the people you should have at your twins’ first birthday party are the people that your kids are most familiar with and the loved ones that want to witness this big milestone (like grandparents).

Ironically, babies typically develop stranger anxiety right around their first birthday, and even grandparents can seem like strangers. If your twins are beginning to exhibit signs of stranger anxiety, you may want to take that into consideration as well when planning your guest list.

Enjoy It!

You’ve survived the first year of your twins’ lives. Now, cherish this day. Take lots of pictures and video. And don’t forget to have someone take a picture of you with your babies!

Soak in the sights, sounds, and yes, smells of the birthday because your twins will never have another one like this again.

We recently took our first vacation with the twins and while we survived, it wasn’t an easy feat.

Here are some tips for surviving an airplane flight with twins in tow:

• It is cheaper if they can be free “lap children” so fly before your twins turn two.
• Flying earlier in the day means that everyone is fresher and it’s more likely they’re at their best than later in the day. The downside to this is that flights are more likely to be full earlier in the day. Something to consider based on the needs of your family: full flight and better behaved, or extra space and worn-out kiddos?
• For planning purposes, it’s good to know that you can only have one lap child per row on the plane. This is because there is only one extra oxygen mask for any row of seats.
• If you’ll be flying your twins as free lap children, you probably won’t be sitting all together, side by side. Plan to be across the row from each other. This way you can pass supplies or even babies back and forth with your spouse across the aisle with more ease than over a seat.



• Pack a bag for each baby that goes with the parent or adult that is holding that twin. This is especially helpful if your twins are mobile. You’ll have your hands full corralling an active lap child and will need to have your snacks, toys, and books at your fingertips.
• Get a direct flight to your destination. Anyone traveling with kids will tell you it’s easier to get on a plane and get off a plane one time than it is to change or connect with other flights. Basically, you want to reduce the amount of time you are on the plane with your kids. It will even be worth the extra money if you can avoid changing planes en route. Just trust me.
• Check all the luggage you can. Especially if you have other kids, you won’t have any free hands for extra luggage to carry on. Take your kids, supplies for them, and a lot of patience. Check everything else.
• You can check your car seats. Many airlines have large plastic bags that you can put your seats in to protect them from dirt and damage during transit.
• Take your double stroller and check it at the gate right before you get on the plane. You don’t want to have to carry your twins and carry-on bags through the airport terminals. Let the stroller carry the baby burden and maybe you can even sling some bags on the back of it.
• Read the labels of the airplane snacks before you give them to your babies. You don’t want to be introducing new foods or risk allergic reactions when confined on a plane.
• Your twins will want to play with the peanut snacks because of the texture and sound of the packaging. While this will provide needed diversion for at least ten minutes, if your twins have teeth, realize that it is possible for them to chew a hole in the packaging and make a really big mess (my wife learned the hard way on this one).
• Have a sequence of toys and activities you can pull out over time during the flight to entertain your twins. Attention spans are short so plan accordingly.
• Make sure your twins have something to eat, drink, or suck on during take off and landing. This will help alleviate any pressure in their ears and will prevent extended pain-induced crying fits.

If you have other kids and have traveled with them before, you probably know a lot of these tips already. However, with twins you’ve got twice as many things to worry about.

The bonus of twins is that they are such an anomaly that people in the airport, on the plane, and during your trip will not only stop and comment, “Oh! Twins!” but will be more likely to help you when they see your hands are full.

Take advantage of those that offer to help because once your kids are bigger, help won’t be quite as easy to come by.

The nurse at our pediatrician’s office is a mother of twins and gave us a great piece of advice to help us remember the first year of our twins’ lives:

Set aside a day of the week to take a few minutes of video of your twins.

Why?

Because the first year will pass like a blur and before you know it, you won’t have any video or pictures of your babies.

Remember that you’ll be sleep deprived for several months after the arrival of your twins. Putting a system in place, like keeping the daily log, will help compensate for your frazzled mental state.

If you take a little video every week, you’ll have a fabulous time line of your twins’ growth and development that you can showcase at their first birthday or save to embarrass them when they get married.

Need a video camera? The sleek, compact, and extremely easy-to-use Flip Video Camera can make your twin video capturing a breeze.