Please post your "life with twins" stories here...

[SnowBirdie]

Please share your real life stories about life with twins with us here. Make it sweet and inspirational, and you can help someone just starting out make it through the day.:)

[Wasabañero]

** moved over from the other thread **

Here's what i have been able to come up with so far:

Write a short story/bibliography type thing on Life with Twins. Something inspirational and sweet.

I found out that I was pregnant on 10 Dec 2004. It was the news my husband and I were just waiting for! We did all the normal things to get ready. Bought the furniture, bought the stroller and car seat, etc. Two weeks later, we went in for our first ultrasound. The technician asked us if we had come in for any other ultrasounds yet, and told her that this was our first one. She then told us that “there’s two of them in there”. I never thought I would have twins… but there they were on that screen. I was in shock, my husband was in shock. But as it sunk in, we got more and more excited.
We went back to the store and bought another set of everything… As my due date got closer and closer, we made more and more preparations.

The girls were born on 15 July 2005, and my life couldn’t be better. I thought it was going to be complete chaos… and I won’t lie.. it’s been tough.. but the rewards are so much more. The lack of sleep, and crying days are nothing when you get those beautiful smiles and hugs and kisses.

The first year was a rollercoaster. I didn’t know what to expect. Heck I still don’t. But I take things day by day. Every visit to the doctor for their check ups just reassure me that I’m doing everything I’m supposed to. The girls eat well, they gain weight, and they grow like they’re supposed to.

My husband is such a great daddy to these girls. Every day when he comes home from work, he stops everything and spends time with the girls. I’ll start to prepare dinner and hear tons of laughter in the other room.

I always hear comments from people that sounds like they feel sorry for me.. I don’t know why. I couldn’t be happier.
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[Twingles]

As my oldest son Sam got closer to turning 2 I had that urge to have another baby. I thought we could try for just 1 more but dh was not ready. I was having some issues with my BCP and had to go off of them for 1 wk, well you guessed it I became pregnant that month! By 6wks I was already in maternity clothes and my friends were making fun of me. I had my first appt. and the Dr. asked if I was sure about my dates and I was. He decided to send me for an U/S the next week. I showed up the next week alone and when she had the probe in she said "Are you ready for this?" I knew immediately and asked her how many she saw? She said "2"! I started laughing hysterically and then I just bawled. I cried all day waiting for my dh to come home and when he did I showed him the U/S pics (expecting him to flip out and start worrying how we were going to do it) and asked him if he saw the 2 peas in a pod? He stood there for a minute and then said "yes". I looked at him and told him there where 2 there and he said I know. Go figure he was calm and I was freaking out-it took a couple of months to get over that feeling. I called my mom later that day and told her and she thought I was lying lol.

I don't think anything you read or hear will ever prepare you for twins. My c-section was uneventful and they were born large and healthy at 36wks. The day I brought them home my mom had to go out of town for a week. I remember crying alot and wanted my mommy the whole time. My dh and MIL were off that week to help, they basically cared for Sam while I took care of the twins. I think the lack of sleep was the hardest, they were breastfeeding every 2hrs around the clock and refused bottles. That first year was very difficult caring for a very jealous 2yr old and infant twins, though I miss them being little I honestly don't want to repeat that first year. At 6 months they had RSV along with Sam, myself and my mother. I can remember being so sick and laying on the floor breastfeeding them telling myself it was best for them, I can't even imagine how terrible they must of felt.

It seems so unreal that Sam is 5 and in kindergarten now and Max & Mia are 3. I often wonder where the time went, and honestly as a mom of twins it was hard to enjoy that first year but I'm making up for it now:) I have so many wonderful memories that overshadow and make that difficult first year dim. My children are such a joy and I'm so thankful to be blessed with them. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

[SnowBirdie]

oh, twingles! wonderful and sweet story, and i give you :clap for bf through that illness. you most likely saved them from being much sicker than they were. thanks so much for sharing! :)

Wasabañero, thanks for adding your great writing over here. we are off to a great start!:):clap

[Twintastic]

I am up to this point in submissions

[Master~Debator]

Are we supposed to move our stories from the other thread here?

If so then, it's below. If not, you can delete this post. Thanks.
__________________________________________________ ______

Parenting twins is not easy, and that is putting it mildly.

Becoming a mother of twins was one of the most exciting, frustrating, and meaningful experiences of my life. Newly married and in my late 20's, I felt invincible and ready to take on the world. But on that November day, when I looked into the tiny, perfect faces of my twins, I truly knew what it felt like to feel helpless.

My twins are my first children, and as a first time mother the thrill I felt during my pregnancy, soon turned into a rude awakening during those first three months of parenthood. "Night wakings are the worst" said all my friends of singletons. "We only managed five or six hours of sleep a night, the first three months" they would moan, while my husband and I gaped at them in shock and envy. If we got three hours of rest a night, we considered it a good night. "They don’t have twins, they don't UNDERSTAND" soon became our main topic of conversation (when we managed to find time for a conversation that is). And slowly, we realized that there are not many out there who truly understand.

The diapers, the constant rotation of everything, the diapers, the endless loads of laundry, the diapers, the massive amounts of bottles to wash, sterilize and fill daily (we did sixteen a day), did I mention the diapers? Getting the right mix with formula, and more diapers. That was only our mornings.

Life soon got to be one endless round of schedules, but by the fourth month, we were sailing in less choppy waters. The babies slept longer and they didn’t just lie there anymore. Our attention shifted to how beautiful they were, and every little turn, smile and gurgle released the stress some more. By the sixth month they were sleeping through the night and life was sunny again. Their antics kept us entertained and we loved showing them off to the world.

It didn’t last long of course, because the teething hadn’t begun yet, and when it did, we were back to endless wakings at night, and painful cries of distress (both theirs and mine), it got to be so much that some days I actually considered having myself committed. But we survived, and when the year finally ended, I mentally patted myself on the back while I watched my beautiful, healthy, glowing babies cut into their first birthday cake. Everyone congratulated me and beamed at my success.

What they didn’t see, was me swallowing a big lump in my throat and fighting back tears, as I remembered all those sleepless nights and all the stress of the first year, knowing full well that I would do it all over again in two heartbeats

[SnowBirdie]

thanks! that saved us from having to move it..lol. perfect, anne! :clap :clap

[Free Bird]

:cry
Great story Anne!

[Smidget]

OMG anne, that was BEAUTIFUL!!!

[Free Bird]

When Jeff and I decided to get married we discussed children. We discussed not having any to be exact. You see, we felt we already had a great blended family already. 6 kids to be exact! We felt our "family" was "complete". In 2004, I found out I was pregnant! Jeez, we hadn't even gotten married yet and we sure weren't planning on expanding the family. After the initial shock wore off and we settled into the fact that we were going to be parents again the pregnancy ended abruptly. I was only about 6 weeks but I was devestated! I know it wasn't something we had planned but it was there and I was in love, not just with my husband and my current children but with the little one growing inside me. I finally wrapped my mind around the idea that "it wasn't meant to be" and continued on with life and a wedding and the continued plans of no more children. Fast forward to June 2005, I wasn't feeling well. I "knew" I was pregnant. Now, how am I going to tell the man that I married that even though we agreed not to have more children the my birth control had failed and here I was pregnant again. I told him, and he surprised me by say "I knew it!" He'd figured it out before I did and the funny thing is, I wasn't even "late" yet. We knew it was a sign from up above that we were meant to have a child together and that obviously God's plans were different than ours. At about 5.5 -6 weeks, I started having "problems" again. "Oh my God, not again!" We went to my OB and she confirmed that we had most likely suffered a miscarriage, however she still saw a viable heart beat. We were having twins and apparently lost one. It was bitter sweet. I'm embarrassed to say that we were a little relieved for many reasons yet the fact that we lost a child we created killed me. I was determined to stay strong for the one still growing inside me. At my OB's request, I went to the hospital for furhter sonograms. I told Jeff to go back to work and convinced him I was ok to go alone. I cried the whole way to the hospital. Deep in my heart I was devestated! I begged God to forgive me for being less than thrilled when I found out I was expecting. I promised to do what ever he wanted of me as long as this little one stuck around.
You can imagine my surprise when the Tech at the hospital advised that we had Two viable heart beats! "What? You're kidding? But my Dr said..."
She assured me there were two and gave me a picture to prove it. We had suffered a loss but we were still having twins! I was elated! I never knew someone could go through such a range of emotions in such a short amount of time. I called Jeff up and again he blew me away with a "I knew it!" I had to know, "How they heck did you know? Hell, I didn't know!" His response made me wish he would have gone with me because I just wanted to hug and kiss him all over! He said: "I knew He wouldn't do this to you again. I just didn't realize he would give us the first one back too." Anyone that knows my husband will tell you he is hardly a religeous person. I was blown away. Yes, God gave me my angel back!

It as still kind of stressful because shortly before finding out that i as preggo, I had lost my job. Once we found out I was preggo with twins we decided that my dream of being a SAHM would finally come true.

I had a less than perfect pregnancy. I ended up on bedrest at 18 weeks and delivered at 34 weeks. 8 days in the NICU and too many sleepless nights to count have brought us to Megan and Morgan being almost 10 months old. There have been many ups and downs, mostly ups in our case. We have been very fortunate that we got really good babies. Well, it's either that or maybe age has given me more patience. I'm 36 years old and have 6 bio children and a great step-son. Never in a million years did I see that one coming.

Things haven't exactly been textbook around here. Being a SAHM is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I have a whole new respect for my own mother who was a SAHM and she didn't have nearly as many kids as I do. Megan has some developemental delays and we have to go see a PT twice a week and a OT once a week. It's been really hard to see that two children that are the same age and came from the same mom be so different. Morgan is our Silly Monkey that extremely outgoing and has reached every milestone on or ahead of time. Megan is our Sweet Snuggle Bunny and has done things at her pace. She is definately doing things now, just at her own pace. Between therapy 3 times a week, helping 4 kids with homework, baking cookies, cooking dinner, playing softball (hey, a mom needs an outlet) and I am also big into sewing and stuff, sometimes I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. On top of everything PPD reared her ugly head the girls were about 6 months old and I have been on antidepressants since.
That in itself has been difficult. I have always considered myself a pretty strong and independant person and this has been hard to deal with.

All in all, as nerve racking as it can be, being a SAHM is the most fullfilling thing I can do. Being the mom of twins has been beyond fullfilling. I used to get angry when people would look at me with pitty when they would see me out with all my kids and they would give me the "Oh double trouble" or "better you than me" and the countless stupid comments that us twin parents get. Now, I just look at them and say, "You know what, yeah, my hands are full but my heart is overflowing!"

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Well this got longer than I anticipated so, feel free to pick it apart and only use what you need. After reading it, I see it can fit under different catagories so you guys decide which section to use it in. :hug

[SnowBirdie]

lissette! we wouldn't leave out one single word! what a wonderful story, and you have a very special family! wow...that is nice that megan is doing things at her own pace, since she is still getting them done. i know it is hard when one twin struggles and it comes easily to one. we have that too at times, but i guess each just has to do things her own way. :cheer

thanks for taking the time to write that, and i know your story will inspire lots of moms to believe they will survive the adventure. :)

[Loosey]

Everyone's stories are so beautiful!

Ok here's mine... I hope this is what you are looking for!

My husband and I wanted to try for another baby and thought it would be "perfect" if we had another boy as we already had one son and two daughters. We got pregnant right away which was really surprising as I had some difficulties getting pregnant and staying pregnant in the past. I wasn't late yet, but I had such an overwhelming feeling that we had done it on the first try that my sister convinced me to buy an early pregnancy test and take it in the Target bathroom! Yep! We were having baby #4!! From the minute I got that positive test I knew I was having twins. I can not explain how or why, but I did. When I would tell my husband my suspicions he would tell me to bite my tongue! We found out for certain we were having twins at my 8 week appt. I remember I called my MIL first and I was crying and she asked me what my husband thought....omg I didn't even tell him yet!! I called him and I was STILL crying and he got really upset because I couldn't talk so he thought we had lost another baby. When I said NO! I'm crying because I'm happy! He said he was confused and then I told him we were having twins...he said he was going out for a smoke and hung up on me! I decided to stop by his office since I was about 2 minutes from him and he didn't even remember hanging up on me. hehe. I showed him the u/s pics and we just sat there in my car laughing and laughing. At 10 weeks we confirmed they were identical. I was so scared about them being identical (I was so obsessed with TTTS!), but I wasn't scared about them being twins because I had 3 kids already so I already knew everything there was to know about motherhood right? Wrong! The PTL and bedrest showed me this pregnancy was like no other pregnancy I ever experienced. We found out at 16 weeks that we were not having the boy that would make our family "perfect" and that, in fact, we were having two more girls! 2 boys and 2 girls was no longer perfect to me, perfect was what I was blessed to be given...5 healthy kids!

The girls were born at 34 weeks exactly by ceserean, a first for me. They were in distress and needed to come out fast. I didn't get to see my girls other than that brief minute after birth, for 36 hours. I didn't get to hold them for 48 hours and that was the longest 48 hours of my entire life. This was followed by a difficult week in NICU (I know..pretty short in comparison) and I never had such a broken heart as I did the day I had to leave my girls. I remember being so sad and my heart felt so heavy thinking they must need me and couldn't understand why they were making me leave and I think I must have voiced that to my husband because he reminded me that I had 3 kids at home that needed me more. His logic was they were old enough to understand my absence...the babies were not. I felt torn. The week in NICU was then follwed by several difficult months filled with reflux, screaming, crying, frustration, and minimal sleep. I was so angry that when I looked back on these days I would not remember an ounce of happiness, but I would remember total misery. Well, thankfully I can tell you that is not the case. I remember it all...every single wonderful second. Being a mom of twins has taught me so much and my girls continue to teach me something every single day. They taught me really fast that even though identical, they are two very different personalities and both require heavy doses of patience at times! I'm not sure why, maybe it was that they were so early, or maybe it was that they were in critical condition when they were born, but I have learned to appreciate the little things. The milestones that I took for granted with my singletons now bring tears of joy! It takes them a little bit longer to do some things and I have learned to not get so frustrated that they aren't doing what other babies at their age are doing...they will get there soon enough! I can't describe the happiness I feel when their faces light up when daddy comes home from work, or when their big brother gets home from school, and most certainly when their big sisters walk into the room. I can't imagine my life before the twins anymore. It's chaotic at best now, but I wouldn't know what to do with myself otherwise! I am thankful every single minute that I was chosen to be a part of this life of raising twins. My girls are 7 months old now and I am still in awe of them and I imagine I always will be.

[gypsymom]

:pinkheart Everyone's stories are great.

[SnowBirdie]

what a sweet story, 1Boy4Girlz, and thanks for sharing it! i know it was hard coming home with them in nicu, but sounds as if you ended up with a beautiful family! :)

[Twintastic]

I am up to this point in submissions.