40 Things You Never Knew Before You Had Twins
4-16-2015
My babies turned little kids (cry) are 5 years, 1 month & 2 weeks old.
Some of these are funny but very true.
1) That both your belly and your uterus could stretch so much without breaking.
(And you will miss that belly to and the crazy movements inside of it. Hard to imagine when you get really uncomfortable and want them to come out so badly.)
2) That you could form such a close relationship with a doctor.
You saw him or her enough along the way. Mine and I were so close, we all could have double-dated for dinner and a movie, and it wouldn’t have seemed odd. Not even with the fact that there’d be two people there that saw my vagina 
. My doctor became a very good friend. (I did know him prior, but you do see them enough during a twin pregnancy, unlike a singleton one, to make it feel this way.)
3) That being given two babies to hold in the hospital could feel so incredibly overwhelming yet unbelievably miraculous and joyous.
There has never been another feeling on earth that I can recall quite like it. It’s scary for a split second, ”Oh gosh, how am I going to do this with TWO.. or even just hold these two like this without them being put into my arms by a trained nurse?” I think we all had that fear of dropping, they are so small and fragile. And the fear of ”Oh God, when I get home and I’m really alone with these two, how will I manage?” But at the same time (after birth while holding them) nothing feels so meant to be and so utterly magical. I felt proud of myself to! Everything falls into place. (And nobody gets dropped 
.)
4) That you could get carpal tunnel syndrome (or close) and back pain changing so many diapers, cleaning so many bottles and giving so many feedings when your twins are newborns, but it turns out, it was all so worth it. And you won’t know it at the time, but you will miss even those days in years to come.
5) That you could neglect your own laundry so much, but still have so much of it to do every day.
6) That people can be very nosey, aggravating, stupid, unbearable, time-consuming, mentally draining, NOT pressed for time themselves, chatty, personal, opinionated, comparative, oblivious, ‘stalk-ish’, and I am sure there are many more adjectives to describe them, but that is good for right now. Don’t have your twins yet? You’ll soon know what I mean.
7) That you could have such a hard time picking out the right stroller. Front to back, side-to-side, which make and model. What investigation twin parents and twin parents-to-be do on the subject. Who knew how important and life-changing such a choice could be? FYI- Go light, go EZ folding, think smart!
8 ) That picking out two names could be so much harder than picking one. And I don’t even mean twice as hard, but like 10 times as hard. Should the names go together at all? Be rhymey? Should they start with the same letter? Should they be quite equal in length? Should they be equally simple or fancy? Should they have similar meanings? What about middle names? It is definitely one of the toughest choice you make before their birth.
9) That a diaper bag could be so heavy.
I had no regrets with the Ju-Ju-Be brand. Your shoulder will totally thank you for that memory foam padding, and there are other great amenities to. Be prepared for heavy packing if you aren’t there just yet.
10) That watching two babies sleeping could be SO amazing. Your body did this. These are YOUR babies. You are a miracle worker! God is so good! How did you get this far? I just remember it all seeming so surreal. Staring at 2 cribs while pregnant in twin shock, I never could imagine them both filled with a healthy baby in each one like that. Watching them together after all went well and things did turn out that way, there was sheer elation. It’s a relieving and unbelievable feeling.
11) That the thought of two walking tots could scare you so much well before it even happens.
I was fearing so much that my twins would walk and be all scary wobbly at the same time. I was so glad we got a couple month buffer between babies on that one.
12) That your wallet could be so empty, yet your heart so full.
13) That you could get so much exercise without needing a gym membership.
You never knew your arms could look buff like you are lifting weights at the gym every day, yet you don’t have time to hit the gym or work them out at all. It’s all twin muscles. Heck, in the early months I weighed less then I do now, as I was so busy I didn’t always have time to eat at first or eat as much as usual when I did, and I was always running around. It was a great un-intentional diet and fitness regime.
14) That you would ever consider a minivan, or realize how much better it is and how much easier it makes your life with kids. I never wanted to be that ‘person’, now I say, ”What the hell took us so long?”
15) That you could multi-task so well.
I can’t tell you how proud I honestly was of myself. I never knew I had it in me. I was pretty unorganized and not very structured prior to them. When I was pregnant I predicted crash, burn, fire everywhere. It felt awesome to be able to manage things better than I ever did before in my life. Others commended me to. That felt terrific, admittedly.
16) That no matter how little or long it took to fit back into your old clothes again it was the greatest feeling in the world. You were ready to throw them all out while you were pregnant. (I know I socked away all of my tight stuff, jeans and tops, and former bathing suits, etc. in the garage. I never thought I’d use them again.) I grieved the ‘loss’.. seriously. I have met other twin moms who once felt the same way. I wasn’t nuts .
17) That twins aren’t best pals right off the start. You may be dismayed by the lack of a ‘twin relationship’ early on. Most twins are not born holding hands. It takes awhile for them to really notice and react to one another, and there’s more fighting than I know I expected and fewer kisses, but as time goes on you see more of a bond and relationship shine through. It makes all your days as a referee totally worth it.
18) That you’d become a town celebrity. Any town you really travel into, actually, but in your town EVERYBODY knows of you, even if you don’t know them. People are just drawn to you and to your beautiful, little twins.. sometimes to annoying levels. Suddenly you will know how it feels to be on the A-list. Would you really want to be Angelina Jolie? You have an idea of what it must be like now.
19) That you would never be on time again.
(No worries, people come to expect it .)
20) That it would be so hard to leave the house every day- prepare everything you need and dress two small, squirmy kids, make sure you have everything, though trust me.. you WILL forget something for quite a long while, etc.
21) That two for the price of one is the most inaccurate statement on the planet you ever will hear, and that double trouble might be true during those terrible two’s and tumultuous three’s (as I like to call them), but it is still the most common and thus annoying thing you will hear but will never admit to, even during those hard times. (The double trouble part.)
22) That two smiles and two kisses every day could warm your heart so much.
I remember welling up many a time. Sometimes I still do when I do get a tender moment through the chaos.
23) That finally getting out with your partner or spouse would feel so incredible yet so strange. What do we talk about? Oh yeah, guess what little Steven did today? April has the cutest little BLANK. You find that no matter how hard you try, for a long while IF not forever, you can’t help but talk about your twins when you should be ‘romancing’ one another like it was before. No worries, you are normal.
24) That you could burn so many calories at the park from chasing two kids in two different directions. You quickly realize God did not program them to move in the same direction as one another. Often it seems like they go opposite on purpose !
25) That you could feel so tired at the end of a long hard day. The work was admittedly tough but very rewarding. You survived another day and so did two little lives God entrusted you with. That makes you a super-mom every day!
26) That you’d become so assertive.
I was once a shy person who wished to blend in with the crowd, do what I had to do and get home. With one baby you can do that, I had already been there before, but twins make you the center of attention, and thus you are forced to become assertive. For me it was honestly a really good thing. I’m not saying I never got tired of the same questions, sometimes far too personal ones, however, it did make me open up, become more social and definitely more vocal with things. Also, I stood up for things much more so as my patience with people lessened. I had to protect my own.
Oh no, don’t mess with a multiple mama. Don’t dare cut me off and risk my twins’ safety, don’t dare let your snotty nosed child touch my infants or stick their head in the stroller, etc. etc. I didn’t become mean, I became how I always should have been.
Just a pic folks!
27) That raising two babies at once (twins) and two babies of different, even very close ages could be SO very different. That is why try to debate as they might (other people who have never had twins) they will never, EVER know how untrue their statements of their kids being just like twins really is. Unless they ARE twins, it is different. I have done both.. I know.
28) That finally sleeping 8 hours again could feel so damn good.
29) That your computer could be so full of pictures and videos you would need to buy not one but multiple hard drives along the way.
I don’t know about you, but it has nothing to do with being a blogger to me. I just find twins fascinating, and I just feel like I need to capture EVERYTHING, though it still never seemed to be enough. If you are a new twin mom DO go and burn out those cameras. After a really hard day now I look at those sweet photos and videos before bedtime, and it helps alleviate my stress and prep. me for some sweet-er dreams.
30) That accidentally sticking your hand in doo-doo would not make you AS grossed out and as squeamish as it certainly would have before.
31) That no matter what you do, try as you might, if one twin gets sick the other will to.
(Give up the fantasy! I’m 5 years in.. it does not work!)
32) That two children who were in the womb for 9 months together and may even share a lot of similar physical traits could have such insanely different personalities.
33) That you’d ever admit to needing help from anybody.
No worries we may be super humans, but we are still humans. We all need help at some point in time. It’s ALL normal. Take it whenever need be when it’s offered.
34) That one day you will again wear your make-up, a nice hair style- not just a messy bun or pony tail, a pretty dress without any spit up on it, a pair of sexy heels, and that you will ditch the sweats most times (at least outside of the house anyway), but definitely keep the UGGS around during the fall/ winter. Those never get old. You may continue on with the stretch pants after twins. They are just so much more comfy than jeans. Do try some jeggings though for that ‘jeans look’ with ‘legging comfort’.
35) That you could worry so much or laugh so hard.
Twins can scare you at times (lots of times), but trust me.. they will do things that will make you laugh like crazy along the way, hence why my camera is always in hand. America’s Funniest Videos we will surely be appearing on one day. You just might to! Twins are crack-ups!
36) That you’d crave some ‘me’ time badly, but still miss your twins so much. Much like the date night thing, they’re still always on your mind.. try as you might.
37) That your love, attention and sanity could stretch so very far. You never pictured it possible before they were born.
38) That your twins will not always be these two sweet, little dumplings.
As much as they might fight and then go and play innocently together, they also do gang up, and before you know it the double mischief comes along. They help each other get into trouble by becoming a ‘shady little team’. You have to have eyes wide open all of the time. Even when still innocent they get into EVERYTHING, and then with each other’s help they really CAN get into double trouble. Mine at times are like Thelma and Louise, but I’m on to them, and I still find that far cuter than fighting any day. At least they are on one another’s side .
39) That such little people could make such a big (no huge) mess, and that silence could seem so WEIRD when you actually get some.
(Watch out for silent toddlers though. That usually means trouble .)
40) That your life was incomplete before.
You may be like me only hoping for one last baby, or perhaps OOPSIE your twins were totally unplanned altogether. (Meaning you were not trying at all.) Whatever the case is, you never realized in these situations that you were missing so much in your life – that is.. until you had twins!
*BONUS 41) That a glass of wine after a long, hard day could taste and feel so good!*
Congrats multiple mamas, and if you have some more of these of your own to share PLEASE DO. I could go on and on.. add them below!
Happy multiple motherhood!
(It’s all worth it and then some. And it will get easier then harder then easier again in totally different ways. But it won’t stay the same, this I do promise. These ARE the times to remember. Both the good and the (bad) hard. It goes by far too fast.)
