“I see two sacks,” said the doctor.
“What does that mean? With TWO babies?” I asked.
“Yes,” said the doctor. “Two sacks with two babies.”
Tears of joy flooded my eyes, but that quickly morphed into tears of fear as I thought to myself, “How am I possibly going to handle this?” The stress and exhaustion that come hand in hand with being a mother to a newborn were still freshly imprinted in my mind from those days with my son. I cringed at the thought of facing those obstacles times two.
But with a year under our belts now I can definitively say that although having twins is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, there are also some great perks! Here are my top ten reasons why two is better than one.
1. I love to cook and watch my family enjoy a healthy, satisfying, nutritious meal. What I don’t like is putting leftovers in the fridge and watching them sit until they get thrown in the trash. With twins upgrading us to a family of five there often aren’t leftovers (and when there are, they are eaten by the next day).
2. Yes, getting out of the house may be difficult. And yes, we are often stared at like a freak show. But, for the most part, strangers are really helpful. I’m always pleasantly surprised when someone goes above and beyond. Walking around with twins has shown me how many considerate people there are in the world.
3. I’ve never liked standing in line — who does? But having twins got me a fast pass in life. Maybe it’s pity, maybe it’s empathy, but lines in CVS? No problem. Security line at the airport? Watch out, people — twins are coming through!
4. There is nothing better than watching siblings play together. My girls love their big brother, but when he’s off at school they always have each other. How lucky are they to go through life with their best friend by their side!?
5. I’m not going to lie — having twins is a lot of work, and some days (especially when they are sick or cranky or teething) it can be almost intolerable. But with two there is no time to dwell on the bad. With twins there is always so much to do that the bad days really do go by in the blink of an eye. Now if only there were a way to slow down the good days.
6. My husband and I have always had specific roles in our family. He has a successful career as a lawyer, and I am a wonderful stay-at-home mom. We both relish in our roles, and until the twins came along these roles were fairly separate. Now, we work as a team. My husband has really stepped up to the plate, becoming much more hands on at home and with the kids. And as our separate identities melded together, it’s been great for our family and for our marriage.
7. Not that we should use our children as an excuse, but hey, it really comes in handy. With one child people may not believe you, but with twins people understand, because just looking at us elicits the phrase in just about everyone: “I don’t know how you do it.”
8. I hate being pregnant. I have had severe preeclampsia with both pregnancies, and the twin pregnancy added complications. With a 4-year-old son and our most recent two-for-one special, I can officially say I am done! Now I just have to convince my husband!
9. The way the girls learn from each other is incredible. When one began crawling, the other wasn’t far behind, observing her sister then trying out this new trick. No matter what life throws at them, they will always have the other to help them along the way.
10. Let’s face it, the only thing cuter than one baby is two! Having two is just cuteness overload! Doubling all that joy and all those wonderful moments can almost be too much to handle.
