P and G, September 2004
When I was pregnant with my twins, I remember reading something that warned parents of multiples against thinking their babies needed them any less because of having been born a multiple. I was bummed when I read that.
We did our best to parent our twins as we had our oldest. I nursed them, they were fed on demand, we co-slept, we tried to hold them when they cried.
Their first few words were Mama, Dada, ball, and baby. The twin who woke first from a nap tried to rouse his brother, calling, “Bebeh! Bebeh!” They summoned each other this way to examine new toys or things they shouldn’t get into. When G had croup and I took him to the ER, he saw his reflection in a window and thought it was his brother. He got excited and started calling out to him — “BEBEH!!!” They started calling each other by name when their little sister was born.
Sometimes when one gets in trouble, he’ll sit in time out crying for his brother. The other day, I scolded G for being too rough with our kitten. He ran to P, who then came to confront me for “being so mean to Diffin.”
P and G, January 2010
They fight and hurt each other’s feelings sometimes, but the bond between them is more than I ever dreamed it would be. And while there is no substitute for a parent’s love… I’m not always sure my boys would agree.
***
P: Diffin, what are you gonna be when you grow up?
G: I am gonna work in your restaurant with you!
P: But you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.
G: I will, so then I won’t have to be away from you.
- Overheard 02/01/10
When Jen isn’t creepily photographing her children in their sleep, she blogs at Diagnosis: Urine.
gaah! that is so cute. i really hope my boys are that close.
.-= pam´s last blog ..02/01/10 =-.
That right there may be the sweetest exchange I have ever heard in my life. I hope my girls have that kind of relationship.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
My daughters recently told me that while Jesus picked us for their parents, they asked if they could be twins.
.-= Sadia´s last blog ..Birth order =-.
Your boys are so cute! All of your babies are so cute!
.-= Viv´s last blog ..Am I even your mother? =-.
Just lovely and what I hope for as my twin girls get older.
Watching my kids interact has always fascinated me- I assume because I’m an only child. But now, watching my twins together- it’s so freakin cool!!!
.-= Jayme´s last blog ..Random Tuesday Thoughts =-.
I’m looking forward to hearing what our girls think about being twins, and I hope they share a special bond like your boys.
I recently read an article about twin sibling relationships where the author broke down by gender and twinning type whether they were likely to be close throughout their lives. The list for “most close” to least went like this:
-Identical Girls
-Identical Boys
-Fraternal Girls
-Fraternal Boys
-Fraternal Boy/Girl
My boys are fraternal and although I have no idea how close they’ll remain throughout life, at two they are definitely best friends and partners in crime.
So take that terrible parenting article with your awful ranking system. Ugh.
.-= Cristal´s last blog ..Patched up one leaky hole but as luck would have it… =-.
Way cute. I wish I was that close to another person!
SOOOO sweet!
This is tangential to your post’s main point, but it is so rare to hear of other parents who tried to parent their twins as they did their single babies. Many times over the past 8 months I have wondered if I was crazy or stupid for letting them nurse, feed on demand, sleep in our arms, etc. Sure, we sleep trained them when they seemed ready, but we never scheduled them. Thanks for the reminder that a few others do the same.
.-= nonlineargirl´s last blog ..Random Quote and Unrelated Photo of the Week =-.
Hey, we have done that too (continuing the tangent) as best we could! The sleeping/nursing/holding sure was hard the first 6-8 months or so (what am I kidding, the sleep still is at 20 months, ha) but you do what feels right, ya know?
Back to the main topic — I have seen a similar closeness with my girls, getting more and more noticeable now. The mirror thing happens here too! That must be weird for them! And now that they are talking, its heart melting to hear them talking to each other when they wake up. Love it! Great post and pictures!
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Finally, the post on discipline I have been meaning to write… =-.
Ok, I am menopausal, but still – that made me cry..
.-= janine@phantom zucchini´s last blog ..Don’t Be Frightened!!! =-.