This week sees our lovely twins turn six months old, an entire half year in our lives, an entire half year unlike any other. There has been plenty of nappies, 2am crying fits and bottles being made. There’s also been loads of firsts, loads of smiles and laughs, loads of hugs and accomplishments. Overall, it has been an amazing, if at time trying, six months. Our twins have brought so much into our lives and greatly improved life to no ends. The love they already show is spectacular. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from being a father and want to continue to ‘grow’ along with them.
Things I Wasn’t Prepared For
The amount of things that we need to keep the kids going and underestimating how much room two small babies’ stuff needs. A double pram, two bouncers, two high chairs, two pretty much everything, boxes of nappies and wipes, plus toys, play mats and more takes up a LOT of room. We’ve had to try and get clever to fit it all in. While it may not all have a space, we’ve done a pretty good job managing the hordes of baby stuff in our house.
I was fully prepared for crying fits. In no way, was I prepared with the emotions that come from the different types of crying. I can deal with the hungry cry, the dirty nappy cry, the tired cry and others. However, in the rare cases, mostly teething related, I find it almost unbearable to be holding one of the kids and trying to comfort them during a pain induced cry. It is so completely heartbreaking, I’ve found myself reduced to tears for not being able to relieve the pain instantly. This is obviously a result of the amazing love we feel for them, but that’s is what makes it even harder. Gladly, these instances have been few and far between. Like any parent, I want the twins to be happy and healthy. It’s just really tough when it’s 1am, you’re already sleep deprived and it’s been a long day already to deal with the heart melting tears and cries of a child in pain.
Things I Didn’t Expect
At about three months old, our daughter started sleeping through the night. From many horror stories, it just didn’t sound like this would happen until closer to a year old, but she is definitely our little sleeping champion! Her amazing ability to sleep through just about anything, including a crying brother, has really helped us. She is definitely more chilled out of the two and it’s her sheer amount of calmness that has allowed us to take care of her more demanding brother. We make a very strong effort to make sure that she doesn’t get left out and gets the same amount of cuddles and attention even though she isn’t screaming for them.
How quickly they learn is mesmerising. They’ve gone from doing nothing other than laying in a cot to being on the verge of crawling. In such short instances, it seemed like they were learning some new skill. Things like grasping objects, mimicking us, rolling themselves over and more make it seem so remarkable that they’re only six months old. We’ve read a good amount on child development and can see why it is so important to get them learning from such an early age. They pick up things so quickly and get very used to and comfortable with newly inherited skills exceptionally quickly. It even scares me at how fast they acquire these new skills and abilities.
Great Surprises
My absolute favourite thing is the first thing in the morning when they wake up. They’ll give us a couple of squeaks from their cot that says, “Hey guys, I’m awake, come get me!” Now I won’t lie, there are times that I wished they went back to sleep for another hour or so, but there is nothing as endearing as walking in and seeing one of these two looking up at you with fully open eyes and the widest smile you’ve ever seen. It’s the look of pure happiness that shows just how much love they have in their hearts that you are there for them. It never gets old. I even find myself wanting to wake them during the night just to get one of their famous smiles.
Finding something new that makes them smile is the best. Really, anything that makes them smile is one of the best things about having twins or kids in general. Current smile generators include playing rocket ship, where they get lifted into the air and moved around the room like a space ship gets those really hearty laughs. Recently, tickle spots have emerged and when in a good mood, this is a sure fire way to get them in hysterics for a couple minutes. It’s these moments that make all the dirty nappies, never ending loads of laundry and bottles to clean, crying fits and such all worth it.
When you see the smiles on their faces, you know all is right in their world, which as a parent is all you need to feel you’re doing a good job by them. After six months, I’m in just as much, if not more, love with them then ever before. They consistently make us smile, help us to grow and give us unrelenting love, all which we try to reciprocate as much as possible.
Twin Daddyo 