GoodNight SleepBlog

Twin/Multiple Tip of The Day – Stop Comparing!

August 1, 2012 at 2:44 PM Leave a comment

I’m going to start at the beginning. This tip is even before you start worrying about sleep, okay never mind, tell me you didn’t start worrying about sleep the second you found out you were having twins! No this tip is when you get home from the hospital and you have two babies, the same age side by side and then it starts. The CONSTANT comparison. Everyone tells you not to do it and you know you shouldn’t, you understand the rationale, but it’s soooo easy to do.

With my twins – Twin A – Lila, Twin B – Duncan, they were different right from the start.  While in the womb Lila was the bully 🙂 She stole all the food and took up all the room. Poor little Duncan was squished right under my ribs while Miss Lila was sprawled out, enjoying the time. We had a 3D ultrasound and I swear we saw Lila kicking poor little D in the head :(.  When it was time to meet your little bundles, Lila came out screaming, Duncan came out calm and quiet.  This speaks volumes in what their personality is now.  Lila was awake and alert the first few days, while Duncan remained my chill little dude and barely opened his eyes.

When you have more then 1 child, it’s what you do.  You compare the new baby to your other children.  Well when you have two of the same age it’s almost impossible not to compare.  Why did Lila seem so much more alert?  Why did Duncan eat more?  Why was Duncan so much easier to soothe, and why is he sleeping all the time?  She doesn’t??  I was driving myself crazy.  Lila is doing this but Duncan’s not.  I wonder when Lila will start this and what’s wrong with her that she hasn’t??  I was going crazy, and I was driving everyone else crazy around me, doctors and all.

It wasn’t until they both got a bit older, maybe a few months old, that I started to relax and realized they are both perfectly fine and will master certain skills at different times and display different personalities, because they are different children.  My Lila is my spit fire.  She yells the loudest, laughs the loudest, and can never sit still.  My Duncan is my calm, cool, collective little guy.  He is shy and always full of smiles.  Lila was the first to crawl and walk, while Duncan was the first to talk and sleep through the night :).  Lila follows me around everywhere I go (I secretly love it) but try and get a snuggle from this kid, forget it.  She always has to be moving.  Whereas Duncan is my sit quietly and play boy, but he is the first to give you cuddles and kisses – LOVE it.

So they are both very different and I’m thankful for those differences because it allows me to constantly be learning new things about them every day and how boring would it be if they were both bang on the same!

Take a deep breath moms and dads of multiples.  One may be in the lead on a new milestone or throughout life’s adventures, but the other one always catches up.  My three children, all very different and thank goodness for that!

Entry filed under: Talkin Zzzz's..., Zzzz Tip of The Day, Zzzz Tips. Tags: Sleep Tips, Twins!.