The hardest part about having twins....

asgarrisi

...is not being able to give them 100% of your attention ALL THE TIME. With DS, we were able to constantly give him all of our attention, snuggle him down longer, hold him after bottles, etc (I know he was just one and also our first), but I feel bad sometimes (OK most times) when I don't have an extra hand to help out. We are lucky to be living with my mom for a short while (lucky her, lol!) but it's hard to divide my attention amongst the three kiddies, especially the girls when DS is down for a nap!

 I am also so sad that I started work. I love my coworkers, but it's hard being out of my routine with the kids and by time I get home, it's last bottle, dinner, short snack bottle and down for the night. Same with DS...dinner, play, bath, bed.

Sorry if it turned into a complaining session, but I'm having a hard time, and knowing that my babies are growing so fast and DS, too is hard. I don't want to miss it all while I"m at work!

So, what has been the hardest part for you with your multiples? (I know everyone is at different stages and ages, so this will be interesting what we may have to look forward to!)

#1_BadgeBunny

Id have to agree with the attention thing.  I feel like maybe my LOs would be better at things if there was more of me?  Like they would get read to more... or be better eaters if i could paymore attention to them.  I hate the guilt i feel having 2... i always feel like someone is loosing out.  but i do the best i can and its a lot more than some moms with 1 baby!

your doing ggreat im sure!

arobert123

For me, the hardest part is having two screaming babies who need to be fed and you have to choose one to feed first.

And just for good measure - the best part is watching them play together, and getting double snuggles

schoolsoutbride

Mine aren't here yet, so the hardest part so far is just that having 2 makes everything pregnancy related more complicated. 

The attention thing worries me too.  I'm afraid I'm wrecking my son's little world.

macchiatto

That was definitely the hardest part for me about having twins when they were infants; I had really been looking forward to having our first "child" and to having that time to focus on one LO before dividing my time between two or more children ... then obviously that never happened! It was hard. I think too with twins you spend more time doing "maintenance" (twice the laundry to do, bottles to wash, diapers to change, etc.) that there's also not as much time for snuggling.

lgurian

i remember feeling that way.

and now the hardest part is when they are both getting into trouble who do you stop first? and by the time you are stopping the second one the first one starts again. i find this really frustrating!  

leslie13510

That was probably the hardest part when they were infants, but it's not as big of a deal by this age when they don't really want 1 on 1 attention very often most days. 

I've got 2 things that I think are the hardest now. 

1.  When one gets sick the other *always* gets sick too if it's contagious.  They're still so young that they share cups and toys all the time and there's nothing I can do to stop it.  I feel like if one was even just a year or two older than the other, it would be easier to keep things separate and maybe they wouldn't pass germs around like candy on Halloween. 

2.  Getting them ready to leave the house by myself takes for.freaking.ever.  Neither is old enough to dress themselves yet, and they're both old enough to run away from me when I'm trying to get them dressed.  Or one will steal clothes while I'm getting the other dressed, and will hide them somewhere in the house so I have to go find them.  It was never this time-consuming when they were infants, and even when they first started crawling and walking.  Now, if I want it to take less than half an hour, I have to get them dressed as soon as I take them out of their cribs in the morning (one at a time of course) so I can get it done before they have a chance to run. 

macchiatto

lgurian:

i remember feeling that way.

and now the hardest part is when they are both getting into trouble who do you stop first? and by the time you are stopping the second one the first one starts again. i find this really frustrating!  

So true! And mine do still want a lot of one-on-one attention and cuddling even at (barely) 2 but they are somewhat better at sharing my lap than they used to be. They also sort of understand the concept of "turns" so that helps.

keg

I find the hardest thing is simply logistics.  I'm definitely getting better (my Ergo is my saving grace), but there are places that I'd be more likely to go if I only had one.  With two toddlers, I haven't done things like take them to restaurants or the park by myself.  Or if I go to the zoo or someplace similar, I'm much less likely to let them out of the stroller because I just can't chase two of them at once.  I'm also much less likely to let one walk into stores, etc because she's not as predictable and it's easier to start off carrying one then getting in the middle of the parking lot and having to pick one up while still holding the hand of the other. 

One of the most annoying things is the monkey see, monkey do phenomenon.  If one does something, the other is sure to follow.  I guess there are probably good things about this, but I guess the annoying situations are the ones that stick out (taking shoes/socks off in the car, throwing food, etc).  

The best part is getting to watch them play together and see how they almost always think of their sister.  They're supposed to be napping now but they are having a blast playing together and couldn't wait to get me out of the room.  

jackieb3858

I was going to say attention before I even opened the post. ,I feel like I don't hold them enough because I feel guilty holding one while the other watches. However, I think this has made them more independent which I like.

Haven1

keg:

I find the hardest thing is simply logistics.  ...there are places that I'd be more likely to go if I only had one. 

I was going to say this exact same thing. We tend to leave the boys at home a lot and take turns going places.  I feel bad that they are missing out on seeing the world because it's inconvienent for us.

I have several friends with babies who pick up and go places all the time.  I certainly can take them places, but it tends to be only something I need to do.