Katie and Zach, the Story: A fairytale with some reality

Bryna, 5 months

Inessa and Bryna

Parenting is truly fascinating. I love watching my babies grow and learn. It is rewarding when they smile at me. I am infinitely grateful for the blessing of their lives, health, safety and happiness. I also do not take for granted the blessing of having twins. Individuals with separate lives whose hearts are bound together forever. My daughters are almost 6 months old. I could not be more proud of them.

Father's day 2013

Katie and Bryna

But let's be honest, this is hard too. We are exhausted.

People have asked me what it's like to have baby twins. For the curious, let's do a visualization exercise to give you a glimpse into my strange life...

What's it like to...

1. Hold twin babies?
Imagine you have two big cats. Wiggly ones. They want to be held all the time. They are injured so you have to support their heads. Pick them up and notice that you don't have a free hand to scratch your nose. Do 10 reps an hour. You'll have biceps in no time.

2. Soothe twin babies?
Now you have to take those injured cats to the vet. And you don't have a car or cat carriers so you have to carry them and walk. Do this one at a time if you can stand the other one crying.

3. Hear twin babies cry?
What? I can't hear you, I've had some hearing loss recently. It seems some babies have evolved to emit a loud sound like a referee whistle, a smoke detector or an out of tune bagpipe band. Now imagine those sounds competing with each other.

4. Take twin babies in public?
Supplies: 2 carseats, 1 bag, 1 stroller or car. Limitations: 2 arms. People stare at this spectacle, even the logistics of getting them in and out of the car while keeping everyone safe is complex. I am proud of these babies and I want people to see how brilliant and sweet they are, but right now they are unpredictable, so I am embarrassed. I know, you say, "babies cry and people know that." But I tell you, if you heard them in a grocery store, you would call the police on me! (see question 3). Let's just say that other parents with newborns say to us, "Wow! THOSE babies can CRY!"

Inessa tailgating after our outing to the Farmer's market

Bryna with the octopus

5. Parent twin babies?
I don't know. We're just trying to keep them alive and well, and if we're lucky, happy too.

Zach with Inessa

Katie with Inessa

6. See your twin babies learn to hold hands and smile at each other?
Indescribable!

Even the most difficult day spent with my daughters is better than any day spent without them. I'm not going to pretend like this is easy (and they are NOT yet sleeping through the night!), but I can keep my sense of humor most of the time.

Inessa and Bryna

Katie and Bryna

Now for some milestones...
Our daughters are starting to roll over, back to front.

They are both experimenting with sounds. They like to chat in the morning and before bed. Inessa makes a laughing sound and Bryna sounds like a low singer. We wondered when they would start to laught because I was expecting a baby giggle. They do not giggle, they laugh. A good hearty laugh, just my style. Inessa plays a game where she bashfully smiles at you when you make eye contact with her, then she hides her face.

Inessa

Bryna loves being in a social environment. I take the babies to Mommy and Baby Yoga. It's a huge undertaking to go, but worth it. Sometimes, the instructor borrows Bryna to demonstrate the poses. Bryna loves this. She smiles at all the other babies and looks proud-as-punch to be up in front!

Bryna

The girls love music. Once, when they were getting fussy before their nap, I was walking around with Inessa, rocking her and humming. I walked into the bedroom where the radio was playing. I hadn't realized that I was vauguely humming the tune that was playing on the classical station, one of the Six Studies of English Folksong, composed for cello and piano. I took Inessa to stand in front of the speaker and she smiled when she heard the cello! She drifted off to sleep with her left hand looking like it was pushing the strings and making vibrato. It made me think of my grandmother, Ruth, who plays the cello beautifully.