Why having multiples better than just having one!

My daughter and my twin boys are 16 months apart and so the two different experiences are fresh in my mind. On one hand, having one baby is so much easier than having two… but once you have had twins (or more!) there are some things you wouldn’t trade for the world. In my opinion, here they are in no particular order:
This one may come as a surprise, but the reality was much easier than I speculated. The reason was – I felt less bad about letting my twins CYO when they were in the same room together. At least they weren’t alone. I couldn’t bear my daughter screaming in the room by herself, so she still to this day is not “trained” to where she just goes to sleep on her own. Now the twins can fall asleep “together” and do not get woken up by each others cries very easily. Woo hoo!
From day one, when you have to share your parents with someone who requires the same attention, you learn patience (or whatever level of patience is expected from a 1 year old). They also learn social skills earlier. For example, my twins help each other put their pacifiers back in their mouths when they drop them. My daughter was so self absorbed (as she should have been at 1 year as an only child), I doubt that she would have even considered offering a fallen pacifier to anyone else.
I have one twin that is more physically developed and another twin that is more verbally developed. I noticed that when one started crawling and the other saw his brother take off across the room, the latter started working really hard to get his crawling skills up to par. Same with the talking… once one started babbling, the other started paying attention and mimicking him. Peer tutoring! Plus, it’s cute to watch!
I’m sure you’ve all seen the video of the adorable twin girls dancing to their Daddy’s guitar. Moments like these are indescribably rewarding. Anyone with multiples knows what I am talking about. They hold hands and they babble in their own language. Even when they look at each other, you can tell they are communicating without even speaking. I LOVE it.
If you don’t like attention, this could be a con… but I love having my children adored. And there is nothing more adorable, than two identical twin boys in matching baseball hats. By the smiles I put on people’s faces when we walk by them, I think the world agrees. =D
There is never enough time in the day when you have multiples. That makes everything most take for granted, just a little bit sweeter, because we don’t get it all of the time. The extra hour of sleep, when the kids sleep in for whatever reason.. Date night when you can find enough babysitters.. Even just making it through the grocery store with the kids successfully… all of these are mini victories in which we are allowed to relish.
Any others I missed? We need all of the motivation we can get! =)
Melissa, the creator of supermama3.wordpress.com, leads a double life as a full time software engineer and a full time Mommy of 3. She has a 2 year old daughter and 1 year old identical twin boys. She is passionate about music, dance, traveling & people. Her fiance is a civil engineer and a superdad! With three children under three, life gets pretty crazy. However, they feel so lucky to have a healthy, beautiful family and make sure to enjoy all of the little things in life.
5 Comments
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I noticed very early that my twins learned to take turns earlier than my singleton. They were around 18 months old at the time. At almost 2, the special bond they’ve formed constantly amazes me. We’re trying to do more one on one with them and, inevitably, they’ll each ask for her sister when they’re not together. I absolutely love it.
Just found your website through Twitter. Great site! Regarding this article, I noticed that my triplets (6 yr old BGB) learned the concept of sharing a lot earlier than their singleton friends/cousins. Of course, they did have their moments where I had to referee a round of tug-of-war during some of these sharing moments…
Yes, I am constantly referee’ing tug of war!!!! If I had a penny for everytime I said “Share, please” I would be very rich. =D At least they start learning early though.
“Share” was Baby B’s first word. I don’t think she knew what it meant yet.
I HATE the extra attention. For me that is not an advantage. Agree completely with all your others and I have one more to add – twins keep each other entertained and company. I find I am able to leave the room to do things like go to the toilet or answer the phone. With one baby this was nigh on impossible. Great post.