i'm grateful for 'twins'

Greetings all,

Twins literally changed my life.  I was a working mother of one, in the high flying oil industry, with a Nanny, husband overseas & extremely scheduled life.  It was my first real job out of University, i managed a dozen departments & spent my lunch hours in the ladies bathroom expressing milk; the job was a fantastic distraction from my husband away for 8 months & calling in once a fortnight + i knew no one in Darwin.

I remember the guys threw me a 25th birthday party in the board room (with a Woolworths $6 cake in domed plastic container) & one said "you're on your way to 30 now, are you freaking out!!"  My response "well, i want 4 children so i'm thinking 30 should see me as a full time mummy of 3 at home".  Career suicide??  I just never pictured myself as a working mother. 

When our eldest was 20 months, we planned another baby, kapow, it was twins!!  I immediately planned my exit strategy from the real working world to mother 3 under 2.5 years & all the homely ways i'd longed for, sewing, baking, gardening, luncheons + the new life schedule of a 4th child at age 28/29!!  Our son was born just after i turned 29, same 2 year 4 month gap as the girls.   

I always thought i'd have sons, sure i loved pretty dresses, heels & accessories as an adult, but just thought i'd have a bunch of messy boys.  Clearly not!!  I have rather girlie girls, they like fishing, mud & dream of farm life, but they love dressing up & sparkles.  Suddenly having 3 girls in the house, had me wearing more pink too.  No wonder i'm spending this weekend making tulle ruffled bloomers to share the girliness with my customers at the next Handmade Market.  7 days of panic sewing!! 

 My parents were visiting us in Darwin when we found out we were having twins.  We played them the video footage of the ultrasound & they heard my obstetrician say "congratulations, twins" just as they saw 2 babies on the screen.  Tears & champagne flowed, my mother said "you needed a challenge" as our first baby was text book perfect.   

 I had the safest kind of twins, fraternal, in their own sacs "just having 2 babies at once".  Apart from horrendous morning sickness & ending up on crutches with a harness to support my belly (my waist measured 130cm at 9 months, pretty sure they were star fishing to take up as much room as possible, they were 6kg combined at birth) it was an 'uneventful' pregnancy.  Trust me, i had an octopus in there, it was plenty eventful, especially when they turned . . . arms & legs sticking out of my belly in all directions - should have known they'd be fighting fit athletes!!

 They are such sweethearts, they are gorgeous friends, rarely clash & have very different personalities.  They have a lot of unspoken connections & share beautifully, they have different ideas, imaginations & spirits.  They have always had calm around them, maybe as they always have their best buddy with them.  Twin 1 was born perfectly, such is her nature to strive for excellence & conformity, twin 2 was breach, so she was pulled out by her feet (that was attractive, a little like delivering a calf) & still has no sense of direction, she is truly unique & quirky.  They slept 12 hours a night from 3 weeks of age, they breastfed for 18 months & just never skipped a beat - school, sports, friends, you name it, they cruise through life.  I hope this gives some mums with multiples or larger families the non horror story they might need to hear . . . they can be a dream, easy & pure joy, not a sleepless, fighting, tantrum nightmare.   

 They've never wanted to dress alike or have matching hair styles.  They have different skin tones, body shapes, eyes & hair - yet people hear 'twins' & can't tell them apart.  Teachers often don't realise they are sisters - in public, they're not often together, they save that precious connection for home.  If one falls & is escourted to sick bay, a friend will take them, i find that really strange, where's the sisterhood, but they are clearly friends at school, sisters at home & twins when they they need to be closer.  I also like it when one gets invited to a party without the other, it proves they are individuals.  As a rule, i make sure each twin gives a seperate gift to the party girl or boy also.

I absolutely can NOT wait to watch these girls grow, if only to see where their sense of style takes them.  They mix & match to create the most amazing ensembles.  When i was making their big sister's formal dress for her primary school graduation (i know, i think it's a farce too) they were drawing up all sorts of designs & ideas. 

Special mention to their big sister who never blinked an eyelid at suddenly sharing HER life & parents with two new little people.  The fact our twins were so quiet, barely cried & were so easy helped lessen the impact on her life & i've never seen any sibling rivarly.  Ditto for their little brother, he was an uber easy baby & while he's relishing the role of "annoying little brother" for the past few years, he truly worships these girls.  FYI we never refer to them as "the twins", but by their names, personal choice. 

So i'm grateful for the special experience that is parenting twins, that they jolted me out of the work force (10 years & counting, never to return thanks), it's simply wonderful.  What else are people grateful for this Saturday??  Ask Maxabella Loves, love Posie
PS last chance to win a ticket to the Small Business Summit in Canberra next Friday, here!!