Life With Twins

I am asked a lot about what it is like to have twins. Having never had any children besides twins, I suppose it is a hard question to answer. In some ways, it is wonderful. You get these two personalities doing different things all the time. At the same time, it can be a mighty exhausting experience. There is often a baby upset about something, and it is hard to focus on the good moments the other baby is having when you are comforting the grumpy one. The best is often the moments when both kids are at least calm. Maybe not laughing and smiling through it all, but calm. Then, I get to watch them play and explore their world--which I do find fascinating.

I find it amusing how twins are just a magnetic for attention in the "outside" world. We go to the grocery store on Thursday afternoons. The first time I went I was terribly intimidated by how I was going to load up on groceries, push a double stroller, and keep the kids at least from some super level meltdown. It is still a challenge to make it through the grocery list, but I have found that the true hindrance are the other shoppers. I get asked some questions that I don't mind (how old are they? how big were they when they were born?) and some questions I mind terribly (why are they so small? did you use fertility drugs?). Sigh. I am working on a litany of witty comebacks for the more annoying questions.

What's new today? We are still working on the kiddos sleeping through the night, but last night was pretty good. I figure if we get at least one stretch of six or more hours, it counts. Hank woke up around 4:45. The good thing is they do go back to sleep pretty quickly after being feed. Hank has found that he has a new selection of noises he can make and at a new volume (which is, not surprisingly, a super loud new volume). Clara has had a bit of a mellow morning. She seemed to enjoy her exploration of pears--today's new food. Both are taking their morning nap. Later this afternoon, it's an easy day of running a few errands and signing the kids up for the library reading time. Funny how different my days are now from the days when I was still in private practice!

- Christine