Slowly and surely we are beginning to accept the fact we are expecting TWINS. I just have to share with you though, it has been interesting the things that run through your mind as the mother finding out that you will not only have one baby to take care of in 7 short months, but you will have TWO babies to take care of in as early as 6 months.
(Twins usually come early if some of you readers {Tadd} didn't realize that before)
Initially, all I could think about was having to buy TWO of everything! TWO cribs, TWO carseats, TWO strollers - okay just one but with room for TWO babies, diapers for TWO, clothing for TWO, TWO bedding sets...you get the idea! It was difficult not to get overwhelmed and to think solely about the money aspect of things.
Nursing TWO babies is a little overwhelming to me. We had already talked about it, and I was planning on nursing the babY (when we just were thinking of one). Now that there are TWO mouths that need to eat every two hours for the first little while...I'm not sure what will happen. I would like to think that we will be able to figure out how to make it work, because formula is so expensive. I also would like to be able to do more with my day than sit in a chair and feed babies all day. I guess we will take that as it comes. Who knows. Maybe the football hold on each side like my mom suggested really will work. Or maybe it will just be worth it to spend the time to nurse them each individually. Or maybe neither one will want to, or I won't be able to nurse, and we will have to figure out how to pay for formula after all. That is just something we will have to take as it comes.
Perhaps the biggest shock for me when it hit me was, I cannot carry TWO carseats! Those things are heavy! It takes two arms for me to carry one. That revelation hit me with a whole load of overwhelming thoughts...How will I get them from the house to the car? How will I go grocery shopping - only one carseat fits in the front. Even if I put one in the back too, where do the groceries go?? I told Tadd I am going to have to take our stroller everywhere! It's the only way I will be able to tote those darling babies around. I joked I will have to put them in the stroller just to walk from the house to the car, put them in the car and then take down the stroller and put it in the car too.
And then of course there are the even more random thoughts...like
I will have to potty train TWO kids at the same time!
TWO highchairs? How is that going to fit in our tiny kitchen? And how do you put TWO spoons of food in TWO different mouths?
How do you carry TWO babies?
At church, do I take both babies out to feed them at once? Or take one, then bring that one back to Tadd and take the other one?
And just in case you all really wondered (like my mom) if I am actually having TWINS, here's another belly shot to prove it! Yep, it's officially a pregnant belly folks. No more of the
"muffin top/maybe I have a belly/maybe I don't phase"...
It's here!
And it's not going anywhere other than outward...because it just seems to get bigger everyday. Those nuggets are busy growing. And yes, in case you also wanted to ask, I do wonder how enormous I will be. Because if this is 11 weeks, thinking of 30 weeks is a little terrifying - let alone anything past that!
And no, I don't wear the same shirt everyday...I heard you should take every picture with the same shirt so you can tell the changes better?! We will see if I continue with that, or get sorta bored with it...And also, forgive the dorky smile. This was me saying "Really, you want a full body shot?!" as Tadd took a picture.
Oh, and another random tidbit, I told Tadd that it is probably a good thing we didn't wait until the "safe" 12 week mark to start telling people. I am pretty sure with this belly already here at 11 weeks, people might have started to notice!
So, no, my brain is no longer capable of
thinking about anything other than TWINS. And no, I am not sick of people
coming up to me and asking me about it. I love talking about it, it is what I am most likely thinking about anyway, so I might as well be able to talk about it too!
Still,
even with all of the random overwhelming thoughts, I take one look at
those ultrasound pictures and I'm completely in love. Already those
little nuggets have melted my heart. We truly are blessed. I know we
will figure it all out. It's just fun to give you insight to the
craziness that goes on inside my brain.
If it makes you feel any better my sis in law nursed twins in the football hold at the same time for about 9 months.
ReplyDeleteJust think- TWO kids kissing you, TWO kids hugging you, TWO kids saying "mama", A baby for each of you to snuggle, TWO toothless grins, FOUR tiny feet with 20 tiny toes,TWO best friends. You've got it made, sister!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you're getting tons of advice, but I just want to share the advice I've learned/seen from being an aunt of twins (I lived with her on and off since they were born to do whatever I could to help and be a "nanny" of sorts for her) feel free to take it or leave it, I won't be hurt, I just know the feeling of, "Oh my! Now that I'm expecting how am I going to x, y, z?" But with twins it sounds like that panic is harder to wrap one's mind around, so here it goes:
ReplyDeleteMy sister did the football hold, got both babies fed at the same time and none the wiser (they were numbers 5 and 6, she had to make time for the 3 older kids), but it took about 2 months to really get it down once they finally figured out how to latch on. When she had to add formula to breast milk she had two Boppy pillows to prop them up on and still fed them both at the same time. Twins share everything, like sickness, so two spoons aren't necessary. One spoon, one bowl of food (double batch) and take turns. My nephews are 6 now and still are really good at turn taking and sharing. Also, you might want to hold off on two cribs. Again, my sister tried that, but they cried until they were next to their sibling, then they fell right to sleep. When she changed them to toddler beds, she put out two, they were 1 and couldn't crawl into bed, so they'd meet on the floor and sleep next to each other (she started putting them in the same bed). Even now, they have their own beds, but they sleep better when they get to sleep in the same bed on weekends (week nights are a no go, as they play instead of sleep and are tired for school). And the dressing the same, she's against it, but decided to let them choose as they got older, and for several years they'll dress identically, or opposites, because that's what they want and it's one less battle. Each boy potty trained at a different time because they weren't ready, but once the one did the other was close behind.
And most importantly, just breathe. Raising twins is one of the hardest things on the planet, and doing that only makes you stronger.
(When I first told my sister I had a friend expecting twins she asked me to tell you something from her, but I didn't want to be a damper on such exciting news (we've wanted twins our whole marriage, she thinks we're crazy and always tells us such), she said, "It's not a damper, all moms of twins give the same advice to moms expecting twins, it's knowledge, that's all." So, from my sister, "I'm so sorry! You'll get through it, it will be hard, but when they're around 2 or 3 things will seem easier, but the first year is the hardest. It's not weakness to ask for help, and doing it will save your sanity. Have a HUGE birthday bash when they turn one to celebrate that the four of you made it through the hardest year, and to thank everyone who has helped y'all make it there."
Good luck! And just breathe! You wouldn't've been chosen for such a blessing if you couldn't do it.