Regrets? Heck No!

Someone asked me the other day if I regret never experiencing what it is like to have just one baby. She said she felt sorry for me that I never got to revel in the wonder of a single child. I thought about it for a moment (just a very brief one), and could only come up with one thought:

I never got to hold one baby for as long as I wanted. There was always another one that needed something.

That's it. That is the only thing that I can come up with that makes me just a tad bit sad. And really, that is just a personal thing - neither Ella nor Aidan seem like it had any adverse effect on their psyches.

On the flip side, I choose to look at it from a different perspective and feel sorry for those who only "revel in the wonder of a single child".

I get to "revel in the wonder" of two at the same time.

I will admit that in the beginning, things were not nearly as joyous as they are now. It was hard – unbelievably hard. But, the person that asked me that question has just one baby…and it is impossible to explain what twin (or any variation of multiples for that matter) parents truly endure in those first several months.

Back then, I was a bit jealous of those with singletons. But, it is funny how just a few months can totally change your perspective.

1-3 Months Old
I would take the babies for an outing, Target perhaps, and as we walked through the store creating our own music of screams and wails from two little babies, I would look at the mothers with babies the same age who were perfectly quiet and content and think:

I wonder what it is like to just be able to walk into a store with one baby.

I am jealous of that Mom.

How nice it would be not to be stared at and stopped every two feet and asked the same questions over and over again (are they twins, are they identical, etc) everywhere we go.

4-6 Months Old
When we went on an outing, I was beyond exhausted. I looked at the same mothers and thought:

Ha - You think you have it hard? I laugh at you and your one little baby!

How nice it would be not to be stared at and stopped every two feet and asked the same questions over and over again (are they twins, are they identical, etc) everywhere we go.

7 Months - Almost 13 Months Old!
Outings are sooooooo much fun. Restaurants are a hoot - they are such flirts with everyone and are extremely well-behaved! They love to shop, love to wave at everyone and even chat (babble) with strangers. When we travel through a store, both Ella and Aidan ride with both arms outstretched…they touch and feel everything. Well, truth be told, we knock a lot of things over and sometimes we end up bringing random objects to the register with us that I didn’t notice they had picked up.

Today, I look at those very same mothers and think:

How sorry I am for them that they are not living in the wonderful world of multiples.

How nice it is to be stared at and stopped every two feet and asked the same questions over and over again (are they twins, are they identical, etc) everywhere we go. I am proud to be "reveling in the wonder" of two babies instead of just one.