I am currently on my third cup of coffee.
I have logged 8,421 steps on my FitBit.
It’s only 9 a.m.
My morning has flown by in a blink…..let’s not even talk about the blur that my first year with twins has been!
This morning we had an early wake up call: 1 a.m.
The last time this happened to us seemed so long ago.
As I lay in dark early this morning, one eye peeking out from under my eye mask trying not to stare at the glow of the clock on my bedside table, I am reminded in this peaceful moment just how lucky I am. Really, I mean it. My little buddy is wide awake, teething and ready to party. I take a deep breath, knowing I have a long day ahead of me, and smile. This is my new normal…and I LOVE IT!
You see, it would be easy for me to moan and groan about these early morning wake up calls.
But to be honest, the not-so-distant memories come flooding back to the time in my life when I could only hope and pray for the day when I could call myself a mom. Now that I have teething babies who need me at 1 am…I am their gal! I know that these days when they need me in the middle of the night will soon be gone, I mean, it has only been the first year with twins.
Life on the job for any new mom is full of ups and downs. My husband and I have shared many parental high fives when we figured out how to gracefully manage life with two babies. Double burp? High five! Double bottle feeding while pumping…high five! First night the boys slept through the night…double high five…sadly, we then woke up every 2 hours wondering if they were ok! Luckily, we adjusted.
Our year has been filled with what feels like a life-time of major accomplishments…even though we know we are only getting started.
We mastered sleep schedules for two totally different kids, simultaneously.
We synced their nap times so that I could…gasp… brush my teeth and maybe eat lunch.
We sold a house, packed up and moved to a new town.
And in the end….we celebrated a year of incredible memories with two little miracles.
We are incredibly thankful for the village of family and friends that pitched in to help us adjust to our new life with twins.
We are thankful for our gracious neighbors, who at any moment, show up with lunch to hold babies so that I can have a moment to eat, baby free!
We are forever indebted to our wonderful parents who would drive long distances from other cities, to help out and watch the boys so that we could get a quick nap for ourselves or pack for the move.
When I think back to the whirlwind that was the first year with twins, these are the biggest take-aways that stick out in my blurry mom memory:
- Your heart will burst on a daily basis! This may seem impossible but it happens…over and over and over. You love your spouse, you love your family, no question. But the love you have for your children is an overwhelming, unconditional, crazy kind of love! Rocking with the boys before they go to sleep at night and looking at the dimples on their hands, brings me incredible joy. The boys are so perfectly a part of our hearts, it’s almost hard to imagine what our life was like before they showed up.
- There are a lot of tears….and most of them will be yours. The kids cry because that is their only way to communicate when they are itty bitty; what’s my excuse? There are times when I cried because I was exhausted and not sure what the heck I was doing. But there were so many more times when I cried because I realized how lucky I was to get to witness this twin thing as their MOM! This past year I cried tears of joy because parenthood has brought pure happiness to my life. My emotions have been on a wild ride, some out of hormonal imbalance, but mostly now because can look at my boys the same way my parents’ looked at my sister and I growing up. I get to see life through a new lens.
- Learn to trust your mom instinct. It goes without saying that raising kids (especially in the first year) is HARD! It doesn’t matter if you have one, two, or a whole gaggle, there is a lot to learn and it takes time to find your groove. There will be moments when you feel like you’ve got it all under control and master something. Then, moments later, you feel like you’re heading in totally different direction and have no clue what you are doing. Give yourself a little grace, forgive your mistakes and trust your instincts as they are the best guide you have!
- Understand that perfection is hogwash! Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I put on a pair of jeans or had my teeth brushed at a decent hour. Did you say makeup? Oh I try to throw on some tinted moisturizer every now and then, but it doesn’t happen on the regular. Toys, sippy cups and teddy bears are thrown all over the house. Now it looks the way it should, like a home full of laughter and joy. My biggest concern each day isn’t my outfit, how my hair looks or that my house is perfectly in order. My priorities have changed…now I care to focus the minutes in my day on soaking up every memory that I can with these two little men because, as everyone tells you, they grow up way TOO FAST!
- You will take more pictures than the memory on your phone, iPad and the cloud can hold all together. Who cares? Take them anyway. You will want them. Babies change so much in the first year; they morph into these amazing little beings right before your eyes! Take all the pictures you can. You’ll spend hours at night or when you’re away from them, flipping through the memories that those pictures tell…it’s truly priceless. You are creating a story with those pictures, keep snapping!
If you don’t have enough time to throw them into an album and print, don’t STRESS! Life is too short. I probably won’t have an album until they are in college. Go make more memories with the kids instead.
My husband likes to say that being a mom to our boys is the greatest gift I will ever give them. I am still trying to live up to that compliment, but I swear I will work as hard as I can to be there for my boys. The days are long but the years are short…this first year with twins was gone in the blink of an eye. Here’s to celebrating all of the small moments in the years to come.
Let’s celebrate together…share with us some of your favorite memories from the first year with your babes! Videos and pictures are surely welcome.
Share with us in the comments below!
