Raising Twins

As a twin mama I get asked a lot of stupid questions. Typically conversations go as follows:

"You have your hands full. Are they twins?"
"Yes"
"They don't look much alike"
"No they are fraternal, and very different"
"Do twins run in your family?" or recently "Was it a surprise?" (usually meaning did you do IVF)
"No they don't" or "Yes it was a huge shock. We never expected to have twins, they were spontaneous"

I typically try to end the conversation there. I hate how having twins means that people can ask you crazy questions about your reproductive system. I always feel a little self concious at church too, which is totally my own doing. No one has ever said anything to me, but we are Catholic and reproductive help is not sanctioned by the church (which I think is stupid but I'll keep that to myself). So I feel like people just assume that is what we did, and everyone is judging me. Which is so stupid, I know they don't. Ok ramble done.

Any way we had a friend who is a fraternal twin in town, she said she and her sister learned how to say fraternal by the time they were three because they got so many questions. But our friends were so different from each other that you never really even thought of them as twins but they have always been very close, which is what I am hoping for my girls.

We treat them as two very separate individuals which based on the research I've done seems like it is the best thing to do since they are two very different people. They've started picking out their own clothes (with limitations or they would wear elmo slippers and cowboy boots everywhere). They choose very different things. I plan on potty training Soph first because Lily has no interest. Lily will use the potty when she is good and ready. I discipline them differently at times because different methods work better for each- Lily will do time out but if you yell at her it hurts her feelings and Soph responds much better to verbal correction.

They are different but oh how they love eachother. They try and sleep in the same bed at night, they act truly excited when they see each other after nap time. The other day they had the following conversation:
"Yeye, I miss you" Big hug
"Soapie, I miss you" big hug
and they kept doing this over and over.

They watch out for each other when they are around other kids. Sophie always makes sure Lily has a toy, and they both want to take turns with each other, forget all the other kids but they are happy to go Sophie then Lily then Sophie then Lily.

It's been an interesting ride so far, I'm a little excited to see how their relationship changes- if we survive the terrible twos...

Hey I Know You!

All of a sudden the girls are playing together. It is a blast to watch them interact with each other more and more. They have always held hands and kind of talked back and forth but now they play and steal toys back and forth. They love to suck on each other, we call it giving kisses. They laugh hystarically when you kiss one of their baby bellies. If I kiss S then both she and L crack up and vice versa. It is so fun to watch them together. I love that they love each other.

Here are pictures from our baby wrestling match yesterday.


You can see S cracking up about L giving her kisses. L sits in the middle of the floor while S rolls all over. S would roll away and then roll back. It was a great game.

More kisses!

This is my favorite. S rolled on top of L and was trying to bite her backside.

Personalities

A lot of my friends ask if the girls have their own personalities yet. I always laugh at this question because of course they do. They are two different people. I guess I shouldn't though because it does surprise me how different they both are. It's pretty amazing that for two people who can't talk or really move yet they have found ways to express who they are so clearly. They have different voices and cries. They like different toys and food. It is pretty amazing.

Here are some of the things that already stand out about them:
L- She is my thinker. She loves to watch and examine things. She is going to be my little engineer. She likes to see how things work. She doesn't just play with her toys but looks at them and figures them out. She likes to examine her hands. She takes a bit longer to hit her milestones but I think this is because she wants to get it just right. When she figured out tummy time she held her head up perfectly, same with holding herself up. She never wobbles like her sister does. She took longer to laugh and smile but she does both so well now. I think L is also more musical then her sister. She loves when we sing to her. When she fusses in the car as soon as we turn on the radio she is happy. She also has a lyrical quality to her babbling. Her personality is more like her Dad's.

S-
S is my mother's revenge. She has my personality. She loves to socialize. She will flirt and laugh and talk with people. She likes to be a part of the party. She hates to nap because she just knows she will miss something. She likes to hit the ground running and is probably a bit more daring then her sister. She rolls already and loves to stand while you hold her hands. She likes to chat and laugh. She watches people and loves to imitate. She hates to eat because she would rather play. She already steals her sister's toys. She loves to have her hands busy- holding toys, or her feet. She is my wiggle worm and is already a busy girl.

I finally have some pictures to post. Thank you Carrie for suggesting Picasa!

Miss L hanging out with Mommy at Aunt J's bday.

Miss S with Nana at Aunt J's bday.