As a mother of twins, I always find it interesting to hear the comments that perfect strangers make. “Oh, that must be double trouble” or “Boy, I bet your hands are full”. My favorite one was a statement I received frequently when I was pregnant with them…”My, what are you going to do with TWO babies”? Um, gee, I was thinking I would keep one inside until the first one is at least two. Then I’ll give birth to their sibling. That one always amazed me. I found it to be such an ignorant question.
In all truth, being the mom of twins started out being incredibly scary. The day my husband and I discovered we had two bundles of joy in there instead of one was a day I will never forget. When that ultrasound picture popped up and I saw two little sacs I knew immediately what we were in store for, even before my doctor said the words. I myself started to bawl like a baby and my husband, well, I think he just went numb. Life as we knew it was over.
Over the course of the next several days, I cried off and on almost consistently. How were we going to handle two kids at once? We needed two car seats, two cribs, two high chairs and God only knows how many diapers. And what about college? How were we going to manage that? Finally, reality set in. We were going to be the parents of twins. I actually began to get excited. Two first smiles, two first coos, two first laughs and two first steps. That is a lot of “firsts” that many people don’t get to experience. Then I felt lucky.
As luck would have it, we ended up with a boy and a girl. Both happy, both healthy on their day of birth with ten fingers and ten toes and perfect. All of my fears seemed to disappear the moment I looked into their eyes. Sure, all of those initial fears still existed, but now somehow I knew they would work themselves out. Things would be OK.
Yes, my hands are full some days. As now four year olds, my precious little babies have grown into a little boy and little girl with their very own and distinct personalities. They are adventurous, striving to be independent and full of life. They are my biggest challenge in life but yet my most rewarding. Yes, some days they are double trouble. They feed off of each other. What one does, the other must try as well, even if the first already got in trouble for it. They test my patience as well as my discipline skills. However, most days they are just double the fun, hugs, kisses and love. To hear your child say “I love you momma” is enough to make the “trouble” all worth it.
Although some days, I wonder how I’ll cope, at the end of the day when my children are sleeping soundly, I sneak in to look at them. I can’t wait for the next day to begin and deal with the chaos all over again. Now when I stranger comments, “Oh, that must be double trouble” I just reply, “No, just double the love”.
