4.01.2011

Wherein I admit that I'm not sure I'm cut out for twins

Wednesday morning (3:30 am to be exact) Josh sends me a text saying he locked his keys in his truck and that I'd need to come get him (yes, he works from 3-1). I was up with the babies, and would be up for another two hours (yes, they're still not sleeping). So, by the time 1 pm rolled around, I was beat. However, I couldn't leave my husband stuck at work, so I got the girls ready, threw on a hoodie got ready to leave.

We live on the second floor. Our babies are 18 lbs. These two facts lead us to leave the car seats in the car a lot of times because they're ridiculously heavy with the babies in them. That's what we did Tuesday night. So, when it came time to carry the girls down to the car, it proved to be a challenge. Here's what happened...

I grabbed Lillian with both arms and secured her on my left side. I then grabbed my bag, put my keys in the pocket of my hoodie and grabbed Sophie with my right arm. I walked over to the door, reached for the door knob and smacked Sophie's head on the door. Luckily, she didn't cry and I was able to get the door open and get outside. Then I needed to lock it. Have you tried locking a door while holding two babies? It's kind hard. I shifted Sophie over to my left arm, quickly grabbed my keys, locked the door and just before I dropped them both on the concrete, I got her back into my right arm. I proceeded to go down the stairs and out to the parking lot where it was currently raining. Lillian was slipping out of my arm so in a desperate attempt to save her from falling to the pavement, I gripped her pretty tightly. This induced a Heimlich Maneuver like chain of events which ended up in her loosing her lunch all over the parking lot. I didn't even flirt with the idea of doing anything about it because it was raining and I figured it would take care of itself. That was the only good thing about the situation...

Once I got to the car, I reached into my pocket for the keys only to find them missing. I couldn't put the babies down (no grass, dirty, wet concrete) so this time I scooted Lillian over to my right arm so I could look in my bag with my left hand. No keys. The only place they could be was in the door of my apartment. I spat out a few obscenities (sorry mom and grandma) and make the trek back up the stairs to retrieve the keys. Sure enough, they were there. By this time, my arms were falling off, I was wet, both babies were crying, and I wanted to go back to bed. 

I once again made it back to the car and was able to get it unlocked (not before hitting Sophie's head again on the door). My next problem was that our unlock button recently stopped working. In order to unlock all the door you either have to reach over the seats/car seats or turn the car on, throw it in reverse and back into park. So, I put Sophie in the passenger seat and sat Lillian on my lap while I unlocked the car. I finally got them into their seat and hoped they'd calm down. Sophie did pretty quickly, but Lillian, whose lunch was being washed away, was now hungry. I started to cry a little and said a silent prayer that she'd fall asleep and luckily, within 10 minutes she did. I went and got Josh and all was well in the world again.

So this is what I don't get. How in the world do people do this? I would have given my left foot to have them magically get the ability to stand for that 10 minutes. When I was pregnant, people said to me all the time, "at least it's not triplets...at least you have two hands/arms...at least you're not out numbered...." Well guess what? I am out number for 10+ hours each day and although I technically have two arms, and they're strong enough to hold both babies, they're not strong or coordinated enough to do anything else. 

Sorry for the pitty party. It actually was a pretty hilarious situation (minus almost dropping them on pavement), but I don't know if I can go out with them much more. Yesterday, the 3 of us made a trip to Target to spend some birthday money (even though I ended up getting stuff for the babies...) and I carried them down in their car seats. SO much heavier, but at least I could set them down at will. I think that's the only way I can do this until they start walking. But will it be easier when they walk? Doubt it. Then I'll be chasing two toddlers around. 

So, I'm here to ask the question that I get asked all the time. Moms of twins, how do you do it? I really, really need to figure it out.

And because I know you people like seeing pictures of the babies, here's a recent one of them playing with bubbles. They looooove bubbles. 


IMG_8186

Also, Lacy gave me a pretty fantastic birthday shout out. Check it out. And thanks for the facebook messages, texts, and phone calls. I didn't respond to hardly any of them because... I didn't, but they were much appreciated.

14 comments:

  1. Oh man, I don't have an answer but I must say I appreciate your honesty as I am about to take on this endeavor with my twins arriving this coming in a few months. It is sooo nice to hear that you are human and have the ability to admit it's hard sometimes. Thanks:) You are an amazing mommy to them!!

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  2. Hi there. I just happened upon your blog by chance. Your girls are adorable. I have identical twin girls who are 4 years old. I remember the first year, but I don't remeber going out, because honestly I didn't. I have one girl that's 20 months older then the twins and so we all had no life until they were about 2. I know it's hard to carry two full carseats, but thats the only way to do it. Your muscles will build. But really I got babysitters as often as I could so that I didn't have to take them with me. The best thing I can tell you is that it WILL get easier and let any who offer help do so.

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  3. I've never met a baby who didn't love bubbles. So cute!

    My mom said she never left the house alone until we were almost 2. She said she tried to go to the mall once when we were about 6 months old, but she only made it to the door of the mall before she turned around and went home. Apparently we were both screaming.

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  4. You poor thing. Good thing you can laugh about it now.

    I have one 2 year old and a 6 1/2 month old. I have no idea how you do it! I am so thankful that my 2 year old can walk, though sometimes thinking he might bolt off does pose problematic.

    Good luck! Maybe an infant carrier for one baby or even two and put one on your back and one on the front? I have seen someone do that.

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  5. Oh Brittany! I remember so well how hard it was with twins back when they were little and helpless ~ I actually cried a bit reading this post!! I have been there. How did I survive? I just kept swimming. I laughed (afterwards) in the face of the absurd ridiculous things that happened to us... and I firmly believed (or at least forced myself to believe it!) that I wouldn't have twins if I couldn't take it. There are many times (even now) where I shout out loud into the Heavens to God "Hey Man, give me a break today okay? I'm falling apart here!!" or "God, I don't know what to do. I am totally lost. Tell me what to do here!!" I speak out loud to God on a daily basis ~ it makes me feel less alone and I almost always have the answer soon afterwards. :)

    You will learn to balance two babies and a cake and purse and be able to lock the door at the same time. Your method will come to you. I am a scheduler. I am rigid in my ways and hard to budge when it comes to how/why/the way I do things around here in our house. But it works for me. You will find what works for you. :)

    I've totally Heimlich'd my kids before ~ lol. Good thing for that rain, huh? :) Now walking, my daughters have become good listeners at waiting while I lock the door, etc. They don't run away and I'm gonna be faster than them anyways. :) As they get older, you will be able to be more adventurous in your outings and you'll get to know the times of day when it's good/easiest to take them out, etc.

    AND when all else fails (because that happens from time to time), take a break. When my girls were little, there were many (many many many many many) times I stuck them in their cribs with some books and soft safe toys for ten minutes, regardless of if they cried or not, and threw myself into the hot shower to decompress. Your kids will be safe in their beds if you need to take a break. And it's okay to step back and do that when you need to. I have found that even a 7 minute super hot shower can flip my attitude and energy back on. :)

    You are not alone, girl! You will survive!! I wish I had been part of the blogging community back when my girls were babies ~ I could have used such reassurance. Now you go pour yourself a glass of something yummy and relax. :) Happy Belated Birthday! :)

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  6. I think you're awesome! I very rarely leave the house and when I do I drag someone along. There simply is not a way to do it better than you did. I think you did great! Nobody was injured too badly and your girls still love you. I would have made my husband walk :)

    About them not sleeping...you have probably tried everything. Someone recommended the book Baby Wise to me and I followed it farely religiously (sometimes it was a bit too strict for me.) But my boys are both great sleepers. Maybe I'm just lucky. I am so sorry you can't get a good nights rest. That was the hardest part for me at first. I don't do well without sleep. :) Carson still gets up once in an 11 hour period but Creed consistently sleeps straight through. It is worth a try! I think you are super mama. I have a lot more help than you and there are still days I'm not sure I'll make it.

    This week was tough for me too. Creed was sick and needing a breathing treatment every four hours. We had 4 doctors appointments and now Creed needs one of those gorgeous plastic helmets so he doesn't have such a lumpy head. Moral of the story...Twins are awesome, and twins are hard. Hang in there!

    Wow...comment or novel?

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  7. Oh how I wish I could've witnessed this! You sound like superwoman to me! It's already hard enough to juggle one child while paying for things at the register and then signing the receipt etc etc. I can only imagine two. But they are soooo cute and I bet it only gets easier. I am sure you hear that, but think about when they will be more independent. Cherish these days! Everyone says that to me and I say, I know I know. But when they get older they probably wont want us anymore. I hope that doesnt happen, but everyone says it will. Sad day.

    don't get offended by this, but do you have a favorite child? Lillian? haha. I'm just teasing.

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  8. I have no advice, but store some up for me.
    And that is the cutest picture I've ever seen.
    Seriously. Ever.

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  9. Ah Brittany, I'm sorry! You're doing awesome! I couldn't have done much better with just my one kid :-) Like everyone else has said, you'll get the hang of what works for you. Sometimes it just takes time to get in the groove of doing EVERYTHING with kids. You're great, I love you!

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  10. How do we do it? We just do. You'll make mistakes, learn from them, and get better. Being a parent is hard. Being a parent of twins is really, really hard! But even though it doesn't really get "easier" -- just different -- you do get better at it, and that makes it seem a little easier.

    (((hugs))) I've hit my kids' heads on things too. More than once. :)

    And we spent the first year on the second floor too. It sucked. I just kept them in their seats because that was the only way I could do it.

    And that bubble picture is the cutest thing ever!!!!!

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  11. I think every mom has a day like that, at least once. It's a rite of passage. I'm quite sure I have hit each one of my kids' heads on the door frame--more than once. Sometimes days like that are just good to keep us humble, I guess.

    And sometimes days like that help us to tell our husbands to call a home teacher instead. :)

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  12. LOVE the picture! I just want to say you are an amazing, wonderful mom! I live on the 3rd floor and have a little chunker, Henry weighs 20 pounds, and I can barely handle that with just him! I am also extremely clumsy and it scares me getting him up and down those stairs! If you want to still use the carriers, try this product: http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Falcon-Infant-Seat-Carrier/dp/B000EFOQMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1301842159&sr=8-1

    I wish you lots of luck!!! <3

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  13. Thanks for your honesty. You are awesome. I have never taken my twins out in the car on my own exactly because of the situation you described. (I'm lucky to be able to walk to lots of shops and places with the boys in their stroller.)

    It will get easier...once the girls sleep through the night you'll feel like you can take on the world.

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  14. Four words get me through so many of my questions about how to do things with twins: ONE AT A TIME. Seriously. It's so much easier on you and they don't die while they wait. I used the carseats FOREVER. Even if it meant leaving one carseat at the top of the stairs while taking one down and then going back for the other and doing the same thing. Now I'll leave one kid in the house (safely behind the baby gate) while I take one out to the car and strap them in and then come back for the other one. I'm sure (like someone said above) you could always leave one in the crib too. It sounds awful to leave one in the house or in the car alone while you get the other, but it's only for a minute and it keeps them safer in a lot of ways (mine now are at the age where they can take off running while I'm strapping a sister in). As much as I can, that's my trick if I'm by myself. It makes it possible for me to go to stores or out to events or anything else and my girls are learning to be really patient which is an added bonus.

    All this being said, when it's three in the morning and raining and you've had interrupted sleep--anything you do is PERFECT.

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