The 5 BEST things about having twins... so far.

1.) First, I will start with a positive from my pregnancy... yes, there was ONE positive while carrying around a bulging mound of thumping interlopers.  When I was approximately 16 weeks pregnant with my girls, I learned that I was extremely anemic through a routine blood work-up.  I had already been taking a multivitamin with iron, but was still deficient in my iron needs.  I was subsequently prescribed 325mg of Ferrous Sulfate (iron) twice a day and my levels began to register in the "normal" range.  Okay, not that interesting so far, but wait... I noticed that this really helped with my low energy and I felt pretty good for the rest of the pregnancy.  Then (here's the good part) I delivered the girls and remained on a higher dose of iron and felt SPECTACULAR!  I know this sounds crazy, but it is true.  Yes, I was tired, even exhausted often, but it was not the kind of undermotivated, sluggish fatigue I had been battling for years.  I felt like I was "lively" and could actually handle the previously daunting prospect of raising twins.  The moral of this story?  I had unknowingly been anemic for about 10 years.  I had always thought I was just a "wimp" and that I needed more sleep/relaxation/ease in my life than most people.  Turns out I was wrong... I now feel (at 40 y.o. with 9 mo. old twins) better than I have felt in YEARS and I never would have known that if it wasn't for this pregnancy!  (I am now a huge proponet of women making sure they are getting adequate iron in their diets and I tell this story in case someone might benefit from my experience.)

2.)  (Number #2 is not "politically correct," just honest.) Delivering preterm twins (5 weeks early) with slightly under-developed lungs, they needed to spend a week in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  In the first few hours, they struggled with breathing on their own and each had one apnea incident.  Thankfully, they quickly graduated through the breath, suck, swollow developmental tasks, but they stayed in the NICU for a week as a precaution due to this early issue.  Obviously, having them in the NICU is NOT ideal related to health concerns.  That being said, having nurses take care of them round-the-clock for those first seven days was "angels on high" glorious!  (With my previous two births, the encouraged practice of the hospital was "rooming in" with your newborn which I did... I believed it was essential for healthy "bonding" and earning your good-mother-medal upon discharge.)  Under these alternate circumstances; however, it meant that I was able to allow my body to recover from the delivery or what I call "the trauma of a forced eviction of the squatters from the habitat of my womb."  I was able to sleep when I wanted for the first few days and I didn't even have the responsibility of my other children... it was an intermission of sorts before the big "reveal."  I was able to visit my new mini-me's whenever I wanted and ease into this mother of two thing.  Thankfully, the NICU nurses constantly and affirmingly reminded me to take care of myself and get some rest... soon enough, I would be on my own.  It also allowed our other children to come to the hospital and visit them throughout that week.  They, too, needed to get used to the idea of sharing our lives with Thing 1 and Thing 2. (By the way, the psychic scars from inadequate early bonding have only been slight. ;)

3.)  Being the mother of twins brings you accidental celebrity... and "fame" can be nice for the ego.  As a mother of multiples, you are considered a marvel of the mother species.  It seems that everyone you encounter comments, sometimes just silently with their bulging eyes, in amazement that you are managing the demands of more than one mortal being at once... You are considered "incredible" if you venture into Target with both babies in tow, you are given special appreciation if you attend an event dragging two little minnions along, and you are admired from near and far because you have accomplished the feat of keeping two infants alive simultaneously.  Now, I know that some people don't like the attention that infants bring, but I am just pathetic enough to like the validation from outsiders that having twins is HARD.  (If someone does not sufficiently seem to appreciate my twin-o-fastic feat, I just tell them that I birthed my twins without benefit of pain medicine... one normal and one BREECH!  Okay, now I have their attention.)

4.)  This "best thing" was unexpected...  Watching the two of them discover and interact with their DNA replica is the SWEETEST wonder to observe!!!  Starting at about four months old my girls began to turn toward one another, study each other's face and then lift the corners of their mouths in a knowing smile.  Now, at 9 months, they actively reach toward the other and "chat" about private issues.  It is like watching a beautiful bond bloom... or a secret story unfold of a depth that I will never know, but my daughters will embody.  They are forever bound by the link of being twins and hopefully they have found their forever best friend.

5.)  The joy of DOUBLE everything... Two smiles when I enter the bedroom to embrace them after a sleep, two little warm bodies to lay against mine as we cuddle with hearts content, two staring sets of eyes tracking my movements around the room, two sets of arms reaching for me when I come near, two voices that chirp with eagerness to share their newest thoughts, two, two, two.  Double every delight is a truly a double blessing.  The joys of having twins has expanded my heart into its outer limits... perhaps I should have been given two hearts to accomodate the abundance.

Honestly, I never would have hoped for twins!  When I looked at the ultrasound at 12 weeks and saw two little beings in form, I actually cried with anxiety and fear.  The concept of two needy infants being dependent on my maternal skills was utterly depressing.  I truly didn't think that I could do it.  But in the profound words, "You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have," it has shown me that I am so much stronger than I knew... and having twins was exactly right for me.