My friends are great! For every baby I’ve had, they’ve thrown me a shower! I almost wonder if they just like playing baby shower games. Regardless of their motives, I benefit from their generosity! So when we found out we were expecting not our 4th baby, but our 4th and 5th babies, my friends went into overdrive! They were only too thrilled to be planning a baby shower for the twins.
Being the very efficient women that they are, they naturally wanted me to sign up for a registry to avoid gift duplication. (Is that really a problem with twins?) Since I really like opening presents–I was eager to comply! So the shower date came and went and I stocked the twins’ closet, and organized all their baby things. Everything was set up just so and life was calm. And then I gave birth!
I knew that twins would be hard. After all, these were not my first babies. I was an experienced and well-seasoned mom! But I had no idea how much harder having two babies at once was rather than having one baby at a time. So in honor of my twins turning 1 this month, I am reminiscing and thinking about what I would’ve asked for, if I had only known. . .
1. Clothing for two is useless if it‘s never cleaned. . .bring me laundry service! Someone to come over, do the laundry, fold the laundry, put away the laundry–that’s what I really need!
2. Freezer meals. . .my husband can wield a spatula. . .but please, stock my freezer with meals for my whole family for at least a month so that we‘re not subjected to a month of fried egg sandwiches!
3. HELP! I need not one, but several extra sets of hands to keep up with twins, a 2yo, a 4yo and a 6yo.
4. Play mates. . .my older kids need to know they are not forgotten. . .I just can’t get to them right now. Take them out or have them over on occasion.
5. Grocery service. . .pea pod doesn’t deliver here so would you?
6. $$$$$$. . .adding two people to your family at once, even if they are little people, takes a HUGE bite out of the budget!
7. Lunches. . .I have two babies–I do not have time to make lunch for myself or my other kids.
8. Housekeeping service. . .not just someone to fluff the pillows. Someone to do the floors, counter tops, vacuuming, mopping, bathrooms and windows! That’s all I need.
9. Babysitters. . .I like to shower occasionally. I may even like to wash my hair some day too!
10. Ongoing help–one of the hardest things about having more than one baby is that there is lots of help in the beginning but after awhile, people think you should have it together. Let me assure you that I do not have it together.
Please don’t misread me, I am so grateful for my fantastic friends. And I love the cute coordinating outfits as much as the next mom, but if I had to do it all over again, I would know better to skip the registry and ask for the help instead!
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