"How Do You Do It With Two!?"

Now that the girls are older, there are things that have gotten easier and things that have gotten harder. During parenthood you are constantly changing, you're always adapting to a new way of living as your children get older. I'm always asked "How do you do it with two?" I always answer "I make it happen", a motto my past supervisor, Dana, taught me. But I've learned that there are definitely things that are harder, even impossible, to do on my own with twins. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Going to the park: It is impossible for me to go to the park alone with the girls. I must have someone with me. Akira is walking now so she wants to be every where. She is super curious about her surroundings and wants to join the big kids. She has no fear. Sakura cannot walk yet, but that doesn't mean she isn't interested. She is just as curious as Akira and wants to have just as much fun with the same big kids. Both girls need to be constantly supervised, but they don't stay together. They want to do their own thing. I'm totally down for that, but I can't be in two places at once, hence the reason for a second person. For now the park is a rarity until the girls get bigger and can understand what I'm saying to them.

Keeping them on the same schedule: So far I have been able to keep the girls on the same feeding and sleeping schedule, but it doesn't come without its challenges. Akira is a beast when it comes to eating. I mean the girl can eat! She is always asking for food. Sakura isn't as big an eater. She eats well, but she doesn't continue to ask for more food right after she has eaten. So Akira is definitely up in her high chair more often than Sakura and I feel like I'm always feeding a child. Right when I want to just sit and chill or get a bite to eat myself, here comes the blog ready to consume whatever is in her path. The great thing is she's almost at her average weight for her age, yay! When it comes to sleeping they are also different. Akira doesn't need as much sleep as Sakura does. There are many times when one wakes up before the other (usually Akira and always screaming). So my time to get anything done in the house is cut short because I have to tend to the one that's awake and keep her quite so the other sleeps (which is very short lived since she's woken up anyway. Think it's that twin connection thing). It's also hard when we go out since Akira can stay up enjoying herself and Sakura gets cranky because she wants to sleep. For now I just deal with it day-by-day and thank God for a nice long nap.


Getting the girls to and from the car: We live in a condo on the third floor, no elevator. We didn't think we would have children in this condo, let alone twins. To get the girls from the house, to the the car, and back I use a baby carrier. I can't carry both at the same time and I don't trust myself to carry one down three flights without the carrier. I have the amazing ERGOBaby and use it every day. I strap one in, grab the diaper bag, walk down, strap her in her seat, lock the doors, and repeat with baby #2. I always make sure I have everything ready to go before we start to leave so that baby #1 isn't waiting too long in the car. I’m not a baby-wearer, but a baby carrier is essential to my life. I bet if I just had one baby I would be a babywearing mama. With one baby it's cake, but then again I'm burning some extra calories.

It's normal to have to change and adapt to things as your children get older. It gets more complicated when you have twins, or more, at different levels of physical abilities, and not enough money in the bank to hire some help. So how do I do it with two? I just go with the flow.