Two to Kiss, Two to Love: Two of Everything

How many times have you heard that twins are “two for the price of one”? I’m guessing quite a bit. That saying is so unbelievably inaccurate, right? The only thing twins have ever shared is your uterus.

Now you need a double stroller, double the diapers, double the wipes, double the clothes, double the sheets, double the blankets, double the food, double the cups or bottles, double the plates, double the utensils, double the hair clips, two cribs, two crib mattresses, two pack-n-plays, two car seats, two exersaucers, two Bumbos, two swings, two (okay, 40) binkies, two infant carriers, two high chairs, two bike seats, and if you can grow another lap, you might as well do that.

And that’s just STUFF (and there’s a whole lot more than that)! After the stuff, you have double the doctor appointments, double the admission, double the plane tickets, double the preschool cost, etc.

Wouldn’t it be nice if twins really were “two for the price of one”? “Oh, actually ma’am, you only need to buy one plane ticket.” So, how glorious that would be.

But what I have the hardest time with is TOYS. Do I really need two of each toy? I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve thought, “If I just bought two of those, no one would fight!” And then I do, and they still end up fighting over the SAME toy as I hand them the one that is IDENTICAL to it. What am I missing? Does that particular toy have something that its identical partner is missing? (Or maybe your twins are identical, and so they are having some kind of identity crisis where they know that the toys are NOT identical in every way? Ha.) And then, somehow, that same twin that has the first identical toy, also needs the second identical one and can’t share. Explain that logic to me.

So then I don’t get two of any toy, because, really, they have enough toys they can play with, so go pick anything else, right? But suddenly, the toy one twin is playing with is the only toy in the entire playroom and I’m wondering why they have any other toys.

So, what's a girl to do? Tell me mamas! What do YOU do?

For now, I think I'll stick to twin outfits, and skip twin toys because I'm never going to win that battle. (And I probably won't win the twin outfit battle later, but I do right now since they are still little.) Obviously, it needs to be an opportunity to teach them to share, to show them they don't always get their way, and sometimes life isn't as fair as they think it is. Teaching them to share is a great life skill. I could write a whole post about our rules for sharing, but for now, I'll simplify and tell you that it's important that they know they can share, that it's nice to share, but also that they can stick up for themselves. It is actually a huge life lesson because as they get older, they need to know they can't just get anything they want, whenever they want, but also that it's important to be nice to people. And guess what?! They get to learn how to share from the time they are born. They have a built-in sharing buddy!

So for now, teach those kids these beautiful lessons now. And be grateful they have the opportunity to learn it so young. Not all kids get that 24/7, but twins do! How cool is that?

Oh, you have a third kid as well- and that kid also wants everything the twins have? Have fun with that. ;)

Enjoy double the blessings, double the fun, and double the love mama. Don't we just love our twins?