I'm a planner. So when I got pregnant with Connor, I read books. When I found out I was having twins, I read some more books. Many of them said you do not need two of everything when you have twins. This makes sense for a lot of things: swings, bouncers, jumperoos, etc. We live in a tri-level, so it actually did make sense for us to have more than one of certain things, mainly so I wouldn't have to drag two babies, a toddler, a swing and a bouncer from floor to floor during the day.
Much of the reading material I looked at also stated that you do not need two of each toy either when you have twins. And perhaps that is true in most cases. But for my twins, I do need two. Because when you only have one of something, and one twin has it, the other one simply will not stand for not having it. Be it a book, a hat, Baby Tad (which still technically belongs to big brother), or even an unopened bottle of dressing (the kids like to raid the pantry and pull stuff out). At this point, we even give one twin a syringe of water when we give the other one an antibiotic or tylenol because they both feel they should get the same thing, at the same time.
If one asks for more milk at dinner, the other one will hand us their cup even if it's full. At night, I rock and sing to Keira, and as I put her back in her crib, Colin stands up, ready for his turn. Early on, I read that with twins, you should do things in birth order - i.e. give medicine, change diapers, etc - so that you never have to think - did I really give Keira her dose? Or was it Colin? Or was it both? Even now, I think they are used to Keira getting things first, then Colin. I wonder when I should stop this, but for now it works. And they are used to it. Also, if I am rocking Colin, Keira waits patiently for another turn. Basically it comes down to me singing 'Rock-a-bye Baby' about 8 times every night. ;)
But one of the most amazing things I've noticed about Keira and Colin is how they do share with each other (as long as it's not a bottle of Ranch that has caught their attention!) If you tell Keira to get brother's lovey, she will grab it and hand it to him. If you ask Colin to find Keira's boots, he will pick them up and throw, er, politely give them to her. If you give Keira her water cup, she will find Colin's and hand it to him. When Colin wakes early and is downstairs, he will point to Keira's high chair, making noises to let us know that she is not around and that she needs to be.
I will admit, it's exhausting with twins. You have to do everything twice. And with an older brother involved, sometimes you are doing things 3 times. In a row. Over and over. Night after night. But seeing their interactions with each other almost breaks my heart because it's so beautiful.
Much of the reading material I looked at also stated that you do not need two of each toy either when you have twins. And perhaps that is true in most cases. But for my twins, I do need two. Because when you only have one of something, and one twin has it, the other one simply will not stand for not having it. Be it a book, a hat, Baby Tad (which still technically belongs to big brother), or even an unopened bottle of dressing (the kids like to raid the pantry and pull stuff out). At this point, we even give one twin a syringe of water when we give the other one an antibiotic or tylenol because they both feel they should get the same thing, at the same time.
If one asks for more milk at dinner, the other one will hand us their cup even if it's full. At night, I rock and sing to Keira, and as I put her back in her crib, Colin stands up, ready for his turn. Early on, I read that with twins, you should do things in birth order - i.e. give medicine, change diapers, etc - so that you never have to think - did I really give Keira her dose? Or was it Colin? Or was it both? Even now, I think they are used to Keira getting things first, then Colin. I wonder when I should stop this, but for now it works. And they are used to it. Also, if I am rocking Colin, Keira waits patiently for another turn. Basically it comes down to me singing 'Rock-a-bye Baby' about 8 times every night. ;)
But one of the most amazing things I've noticed about Keira and Colin is how they do share with each other (as long as it's not a bottle of Ranch that has caught their attention!) If you tell Keira to get brother's lovey, she will grab it and hand it to him. If you ask Colin to find Keira's boots, he will pick them up and throw, er, politely give them to her. If you give Keira her water cup, she will find Colin's and hand it to him. When Colin wakes early and is downstairs, he will point to Keira's high chair, making noises to let us know that she is not around and that she needs to be.
I will admit, it's exhausting with twins. You have to do everything twice. And with an older brother involved, sometimes you are doing things 3 times. In a row. Over and over. Night after night. But seeing their interactions with each other almost breaks my heart because it's so beautiful.
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