There have been some aspects of raising twins that are par for the course and pretty similar to our experience in raising our singletons. However, there have been some surprising things about twins, as well.
I have been surprised:
- By how many diapers we’d go through. It seems that they get used up as fast as we can buy them.
- That I’d ever be able to tell my identical twin girls apart at a glance
- That my other kids were able to tell the twin girls apart before I could
- That sleep deprivation was worse than with a singleton
- By how many people gawk at our family when we are all out in public
- That the girls do so many things the same and yet are so different
- By just how much we’d need that twin double stroller to control the chaos in public
- By how big and uncomfortable my wife would get during pregnancy
- By how little time or energy I’ve had to do anything but clean up the house after the kids are all in bed
- By the mountains of clean laundry that stack up on laundry day
- By the sheer amount of toys two toddlers can unleash in less than five minutes if given a chance
- That I haven’t been able to figure out a way to have both twins help me cook in the kitchen (i.e., make cookies) at the same time
- By how much time it takes to get shoes on, jackets on, diaper bag packed, and everyone loaded into their car seats before we’re ready to go somewhere
- At the amount of patience having two sick twins at the same time requires
- By how happy I am to be greeted by two happy faces who run to me for hugs and kisses when I get home from work
- By how truly satisfying being a parent is
If you’ve already had your twins, what is something that surprised you?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Three things that surprized me:
1. How much they sleep! It seems like we just get them up, changed, fed, a bit of play, and then it’s time to go back to bed. My 8 month old twins sleep for 17-18 hours/day.
2. How happy they are. There are so many smiles and so much laughter. Those early mornings are made so much easier when we go into their room and are greeted with two smiling faces.
3. How easy it is to change a diaper. I thought I’d be gagging at every poop. But, overall it’s not so bad.
@Ross – The sleep and happy spirits definitely make life a little easier. On the diaper front, I was like you before we had kids – uneasy about changing diapers – but now I’m a diaper pro!
@Joe, the sheer amount of diapers is why we switched to cloth at around 10 months.