Reflections on My Twins Turning 8

My youngest children are twin boys. They are fraternal and each is unique in their own way. They are a pleasure and for the most part, a joy to be around. They turned 8 this past week. It is hard to believe, my babies are 8. It seems like only yesterday I was waiting to go into the hospital to be induced to have them. I made it to 37 weeks of my pregnancy and then one day my water broke--a leak actually--and I was summoned to deliver these precious babies. I wasn't ready. I wanted a few more weeks. I had a 17 month old and 3 year old at home and I knew the arrival of these babies was going to change everything for everyone. But the boys couldn't wait and on a cold January night, just past midnight and five minutes apart two little cherubs came into the world.

I must admit that I was so nervous about taking care of them and the rest of my family. How was I going to manage feeding them and everyone else? I knew I had many sleepless nights ahead of me.  Many of my twin mom friends (that I met through the SF Mother's of Twins Club) were all set with night nurses and nannies. We couldn't afford the expense of a night nurse. Thankfully, for those first few, long and tiring weeks, I had someone even better than a night nurse to help me--- I had my mom. My mom came to stay with us and help us adjust to life with 4 kids just days after the boys were born. She was our saving grace, our own Oma Poppins. Whatever needed to be done, she did. She'd help with our two older kids, she'd do laundry, she'd make delicious dinners and she would even take on the role of night nurse. She would take one baby and feed him bottles throughout the night and I would take the other. For six weeks, our days were focused on taking care of these precious little newborns and their two older siblings.

I spoke to my mom on the boys' birthday and she reminded me of those early beginnings. We laughed about how for six weeks we never got out of our pajamas and we rarely went outside. She also told me something that she never had before that really moved me.  She told me that those weeks were some of the most peaceful weeks in her life. That during this time she felt extremely content. She said that focusing on my tiny little babies and meeting their every waking needs, made her feel that she was doing exactly what she needed to do and this felt right and it felt good. Our conversation made me take pause and reminded me that I need to take pleasure and find peace in the little things I do each day. That contentment is there, I just need to stop and reflect and appreciate the every day moments in my life.