May 23
Everyone,
This week’s question of the week at the Multiples and More blog is about questions!
What is the craziest thing someone has ever said to you about your multiples and how did you respond?
“Are they twins?” When they were little, it used to irritate me to no end. Two babies, double stroller, one adult…maybe they thought I was a daycare worker? My most favorite come back to that one is, “Well, one is mine and one is my husbands.” I just loved to see the looks people would give me as they were trying to work that out in their heads. Most of the time I took pity on them and answered, “Yes, they are twins,” and then would walk away.
I don’t get that as much any more. Maybe because of the size difference between my twins. They look so different from each other that I think people assume they aren’t twins. Fine by me.
“Who is older?” Why does this matter? Just because Pirate is 7 minutes older than Professor, it doesn’t give him 7 advantages or something. Most of the time I just say, “I’m not sure,” and people nod knowingly.
“Are they natural?” Um, no…they are ghosts. They are part of this elaborate dream you are having. When you spotted us, you were sucked into some kind of alternate reality and are no longer real yourself! Sheesh. Of course they are real. As real as you or I am!
“Do twins run in your family?” This question I have several answers to. Most of the time I will answer “no” and let them debate to themselves what that means. My favorite answer to this question is, “Well, my sister in law had twins two months after I did.” Then they get all excited that twins DO run in my husbands family, even though we know that the guy has nothing to do with twinning. (But they really do run in his family…just with the girls in his family.)
“Which one is the mean one?” Seriously, I had this question asked by an old lady at Jiffy Lube. Seriously lady? They were just barely walking at the time. I don’t think anyone can be mean at that point in your life! My answer? “Well, I’m just not sure since they are so young and all.” Then she nodded knowingly.
I’m afraid I’m not a very good twin myth buster. That knowing nod is so funny to watch!
Safire
Safirefaqs, questions, Uncategorized M&M blog, questions, twins
May 21
Everyone,
Here are some answers to your frequently asked questions:
1- They are sleeping as newborns sleep…in 2 to 3 hour stretches. I am lucky at night that they get their diaper changed (thanks Daddy!), eat, and go right back to sleep. I do try to keep them up some during the day so they will be tired and sleep at night. I also try to get them to sleep the same time Butterfly takes a nap so I can nap or do whatever.
Now, our nights are far from peaceful. Mostly Professor wakes up first, screams through his diaper change, eats for about 20-30 minutes and wants to be cuddled for a few minutes or he’s back to screaming the millisecond I put him down. So we cuddle (me very sleepily, he very happily and also sleepily). I wrap him up, put him down and pick up a stirring Pirate. Sometimes Pirate is not stirring. Sometimes he is screaming and Juice has to deal with him until I am done feeding Professor. (Tandem feeding is not something I do at night, I just can’t yet.)
Pirate also eats for 20-30 minutes, and wants to be cuddled a little too. Oh, and he has to be burped so that takes a few minutes. I often find myself jolting awake while patting him…I’m going to actually burp him in my sleep one of these days. He goes down, I fall into whatever position I happen to fall into on the bed and am out. Repeat in about an hour, hour and a half because it’s taken me over an hour to get everyone sleeping again, and Professor will wake up for his meals on time.
2- They are totally different. Their faces, their bodies, their cries, everything about them are totally different. I have never seen twins so completely different as these guys except for my second cousins. (One is tall and red headed, the other short and dark.) Maybe it’s because I spend a lot of time with them, but I don’t really understand when people say they look very similar. Similar in size, yes. But everything else, no!
3- We are doing fine. Yes we are sleep deprived, some times cranky and sometimes silly. But isn’t every new parent? We do manage to get Juice to work at reasonable hours (you know, before 11am) and we do manage to do things like go to church or to the grocery store. We are doing fine, if only surviving. That really was my only goal for the first 3 months was to survive.
4- Butterfly is doing okay. She is doing better than she was at the beginning of the month. She has started to include her baby brothers in prayers and night time good nights which is a big deal. She does want me to do things like carry her down the stairs because I carried the baby brothers down the stairs or feed her but those are little things in my mind and I am happy to do them for her. She cries a lot, throws a lot of tantrums, and I am frankly too tired to deal with them. Ignoring them sometimes works, enforced nap time works, and distraction works.
5- We are glad grandparents are here to play with Butterfly! She is warming up to them and will actually ask them questions now. Yay!
6- Pirate’s heart thing that they watched so closely in utero was gone the moment he came out. This was our best case scenario. (Granted the worst case scenario was watching it till it went away but still…)
Any other questions?
Safire
Safirefaqs, life with twins
