Like a Record, Babies!

When you tell people you have twins, their eyes bug out a little. I've heard a lot of people say they were so afraid that would happen to them, like it's some kind of  horrible disease. I think people have an exaggerated idea of how difficult it really is. It's not "double trouble" like people always so cleverly say. I bet it is a lot more difficult for people who have their children very close together. They have a toddler and a newborn. That just sounds much harder than what I deal with. At least my babies are always on the same page.  I had two kids and only one pregnancy! A boy and a girl, and all my dreams came true. They make me feel like "the chosen one." They remind me that miracles do happen and sometimes they happen to you.

People are always asking me, "Is it harder?" My answer is, "I don't know." I've never had just one baby, so I don't know what that's like. But I imagine it's not all that different. You just do things twice. You make more food. You learn to operate things without the use of your arms. You learn.

 My life has changed very dramatically since their arrival. For one thing, sleep is now just another item on my to-do list. It's just not the same. I feel like I have to hurry up and do some chores, or hurry up and enjoy myself while they're asleep, and then hurry up and go to bed because they will be waking up at the crack of dawn.  There will always be baby food that needs making, diapers that need changing, a house that needs cleaning and errands that I might never get to run. I sometimes feel like I do everything twice and then I have to do it again...and again. And the other thing that's just not the same, of course, is the get-up-and-go. That's a thing of the past. I am a little jealous of some of my friends who can just pack up and take their baby everywhere they go. It never slows them down. I can't really do that as easily. I'm getting better at it, but it's not that simple. I have to have a double stroller because I can't just carry them both everywhere. I can't stay for very long because they will want out of the stroller. That's fine, but then my outing becomes solely about staying on top of two babies. It's sort of like trying to hold on to two wet, slippery bars of soap. Sure, I can bring the babies to the party...but I won't be able to talk to you or anyone else.

There are moments when my life feels like a broken record that always skips my favorite part. I have to stop and remind myself that this is fun, that these babies won't be babies for very much longer, and that all the chores and errands can wait. They are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Refocus.

I thank God that I have so much help, that I am not a teen mother and that my husband and I spent six years of marriageless courtship and four years of childless marriage. We needed every single moment of that time to mature and prepare, to sleep soundly for however long we wanted, and to get up and go, go, go.

It's over-whelming; it's fun; it's hard; it's easy.
It's LOVE!