My twins are almost three and now that I’m out of the fog of sleep deprivation and constant feedings, diaper changes, and other baby care duties–I have to say that having twins is a blast. Someone asked me recently if there was anything remarkable about the way they developed verses how singletons develop and what was the hardest part of parenting multiples. No doubt, had you asked me one year ago I would’ve answered that sleep deprivation was the hardest part of parenting multiples. By 5 or 6 months, all of my children woke once in the middle of the … Continue reading →

I was recently with a group of moms and one of them asked me this question: How can you possibly live up to the attachment parenting ideals with twins? I think it’s a valid question, but it requires a paradigm shift in what we think attachment parenting actually is. What is Attachment Parenting? There are already some good articles on this site about attachment parenting and what it encompasses. I think the problem in envisioning how someone might parent twins this way is that we’ve tended to narrow the AP style down to certain behaviors (like slinging, breastfeeding and co-sleeping … Continue reading →

I realize that most of my readers don’t have twins or multiples. But since I do, I feel compelled every once in awhile to write something specifically geared towards those families! Christmas time, at least for us, has presented a unique set of challenges for the twins. Our girls’ were six months old for their first Christmas–hardly at an age where gift giving really mattered. If people had given the wrapped empty boxes they would’ve been equally happy. In fact, based on my experience with five children, I would venture to say that if your child is younger than about … Continue reading →

Or insert any other adjective instead of aggressive. Which one is the shy, mean, nice, one? As a mother of twins I hate this question. It necessarily confines me to label one or the other. Equally annoying however, is the tendency to assume that if one is one way, the other must be the opposite. For example, the girls were recently watched and someone asked which one was the aggressive one? That would be Emily. Hands down–Emily is aggressive. She likes to play physically and is most happy being tossed through the air or wrestled to the ground. She instigates … Continue reading →

If you’re looking for a scientific explanation for how twins form their own identities, I don’t have one for you. This is only my own thoughts as my twins grow up and become more and more distinctive every day. This blog was prompted by the comment of a very sweet but elderly lady who noted that the girls were dressed too much alike. “Sure they look cute. But they’ll never form their own identities that way,” she admonished. Their Own Identity I used to assert with authority that I wanted my twins to form their own identities. It sounds good. … Continue reading →