As Twin Mums we really shouldn't wish away time and we ought to be aiming to enjoy all of the valuable moments we've got with our twin babies but as a parent of twins twice over I am able to truthfully say there are some twin developmental milestones that at the time I thought I could not wait for. Why? Well as a mother of twins managing 2 babies all day each nighttime and daytime and frequently with only one pair of hands whilst man working made for one exhausted twin mum, me.
My own personal wishlist for twin development milestones to be accomplished and why.
Night Feeds. How I can recollect wishing they would slow down or perhaps stop. Why? Because with less than 3 hours sleep per night in bits of about 40 minutes at a time for 1 or 2 long months I was more than just tired.
Twins Able To Hold Their Own Bottles. Because you need to become a pro in Yoga at times to perform the double feed and I wasn't an expert.
T wins Holding Their Heads Up. It makes doing the double scoop up and lift much easier when your babies can hold their own heads up.
Twins Sitting Up Unaided. This really makes life less complicated. It gives you selection of where you can set down your babies. It permits one baby to be carried while they other one can still much feel included without the requirement for baby seats.
Twins Crawling. Hmm, I believed I wanted this marker to occur but then naturally when it does occur and you spend your time trying to work out the way to go very quickly in two different directions you wonder whether you wanted this milestone at all! Safety Gates and/or a play den help to conquer this practical problem.
Twins Walking. Well, surely this suggests less lifting two babies? No, wrong, more of the same different direction Problems. Twins out walking love to go in different directions especially when using reins.
Disposing of the double pram. Well it's heavy and cumbersome and not easy to negotiate in little shops and other such areas. Plus when twins do not really want to be in their pushchair because they would like to walk it's almost impossible to steer double stroller and double children along safely if at all.
Twin Potty Training. The quantity of nappy changes soon become uninteresting and you anticipate saving the weekly money and spending it on something else.
Toilet Training. You're fed up of emptying potty after potty after potty.
Twins Wiping their own bottoms. Why? Because toilet time seems like a sustained relay race where you are doing all of the laps!
Joking apart, in spite of the many myths that surround twins, twins are not likely to reach their milestones at precisely the same time. Sure enough, when one twin begins to talk, crawl or walk the other is sure to copy and follow shortly but it is doubtful that they may both walk on the very same day at the very same time.
One sure thing is your twins will keep you on your toes at each part of their development and you will need to be both creative and flexible when facing the challenging role of parenting twins. Just as you leave one difficult phase you'll enter another. The relentless feeding demands will slow down and before you have the time to reflect, you'll be attempting to contain two crawling babies heading in very different directions so enjoy your twin journey and try not to wish away the milestones.
My own personal wishlist for twin development milestones to be accomplished and why.
Night Feeds. How I can recollect wishing they would slow down or perhaps stop. Why? Because with less than 3 hours sleep per night in bits of about 40 minutes at a time for 1 or 2 long months I was more than just tired.
Twins Able To Hold Their Own Bottles. Because you need to become a pro in Yoga at times to perform the double feed and I wasn't an expert.
T wins Holding Their Heads Up. It makes doing the double scoop up and lift much easier when your babies can hold their own heads up.
Twins Sitting Up Unaided. This really makes life less complicated. It gives you selection of where you can set down your babies. It permits one baby to be carried while they other one can still much feel included without the requirement for baby seats.
Twins Crawling. Hmm, I believed I wanted this marker to occur but then naturally when it does occur and you spend your time trying to work out the way to go very quickly in two different directions you wonder whether you wanted this milestone at all! Safety Gates and/or a play den help to conquer this practical problem.
Twins Walking. Well, surely this suggests less lifting two babies? No, wrong, more of the same different direction Problems. Twins out walking love to go in different directions especially when using reins.
Disposing of the double pram. Well it's heavy and cumbersome and not easy to negotiate in little shops and other such areas. Plus when twins do not really want to be in their pushchair because they would like to walk it's almost impossible to steer double stroller and double children along safely if at all.
Twin Potty Training. The quantity of nappy changes soon become uninteresting and you anticipate saving the weekly money and spending it on something else.
Toilet Training. You're fed up of emptying potty after potty after potty.
Twins Wiping their own bottoms. Why? Because toilet time seems like a sustained relay race where you are doing all of the laps!
Joking apart, in spite of the many myths that surround twins, twins are not likely to reach their milestones at precisely the same time. Sure enough, when one twin begins to talk, crawl or walk the other is sure to copy and follow shortly but it is doubtful that they may both walk on the very same day at the very same time.
One sure thing is your twins will keep you on your toes at each part of their development and you will need to be both creative and flexible when facing the challenging role of parenting twins. Just as you leave one difficult phase you'll enter another. The relentless feeding demands will slow down and before you have the time to reflect, you'll be attempting to contain two crawling babies heading in very different directions so enjoy your twin journey and try not to wish away the milestones.
About the Author:
Mother of Two Sets of Twins talks about her private experiences of having twins both twin pregnancy and beyond