"Why do you always dress them the same?"

As soon as I found out I was pregnant with twin girls I started dreaming of all of the cute, frilly, pink and purple outfits they would be wearing.  I knew I had no intention of being one of "those" moms that dressed their twins in the same clothes every day.  Hello, the kids are individuals! Why are you crazy moms dressing your kids the same?!

Perhaps I had spoken too soon. Once I became a mom to twin girls I quickly understood exactly why these moms may have dressed their kids in identical clothing.

There are so many things that you have to keep in mind as a mom of twins that may not be in the front of your mind as a mom to a singleton.  For one, you are constantly comparing your multiples, even if you try not to....

Sally is already hopping on one foot and running, and Samantha is still only walking....I wonder if there is something wrong with Samantha...is she delayed?  Should I be concerned?  

Now multiply this mindset times everything...

• Speech and communication skills: Sally knows 25 words and Sam only knows 15; or, Sam is signing a lot, but Sally will only sign more and milk
• How much they eat: Sam eats everything that is put in front of her, but Sally won't eat anything - I wonder if I need to supplement
• How much they weigh: Sally weighs 2 lbs more than Sam, is that okay?!
• How much they sleep: Sam is a great sleeper, but Sally only sleeps 7 hours a night, should I be concerned??

I could go on and on! It's difficult not to drive yourself crazy comparing your multiples! But rule #1 of having multiples....try not to compare them to each other! 

Okay, so I can work on that....but what about when other people do?  Then what?

One day when we were at Whole Foods in the checkout line with the girls when it happened....
"Wow, she is gorgeous!  And how cute is that outfit?!" a woman behind us in line says
"Oh, thank you" I say, smiling at her
"Oh, and you are pretty too" she says to our other peanut....(an apparent afterthought)
"We are very blessed with two beautiful little girls" I replied back

And at that moment it hit me.....the girls were going to get enough input from people around them about who was smarter, who was prettier, who was better dressed.....and I didn't want to play into it. Perception is everything in our American culture.  I didn't want the girls to think that I was purposely dressing one of them in cuter clothes than the other or was treating one girl differently from the other.  From that point forward, I purchased almost exclusively matching outfits for the girls.  If complimentary outfits were available I would purchase the complementary options, but otherwise, everything was purchased in identical sets of 2, from tops and pants, dresses and skirts, all the way down to socks and hair bows.

This is what the girls' closet looks like today...essentially 2 of everything!

The girls will be 3 in October, and they love to pick out what they wear each day. I give them two options.  They can both wear the same, or they can each wear one of the different outfits. I would say that about 97% of the time they choose to wear the same exact outfit.  Maybe as the girls grow older and start school and start to pick out their own clothes when we go shopping they will choose to wear different clothes, but for now, they are almost always dressed the same....and they like it.

What about you? Do you dress your twins the same?  If so, why?  Are our reasons similar?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time - 
Megan

One Word Wednesday - Bubbles!

BUBBLES!!!!

Bubble machines are awesome! Hudson got one for his birthday and all 3 kiddos have been enjoying it thoroughly!

One Word Wednesday!

Mohawks!!!

I CAN do it myself Mom!

"I can do it myself!"

That phrase has been uttered so many times in our home recently that by the end of most days it literally takes all I have to not roll my eyes and respond like "Marlin" (Nemo's Dad) in Finding Nemo ("You think you can do these things, but you just can't Nemo!").  

I get it.  The girls will be 3 in October, and they want to be independent.  They want to be able to make the decisions that affect their daily lives.  And I'm cool with that. Really (okay okay, read, maybe).

 

You want to wash your hands by yourself?  You go for it.  

You want to put your shoes on yourself?  Super!  

You want to vacuum the floor? Sounds great!

You want to pick out your own clothes? You can do it!

But how do you know when to draw the line???

Case in point; the girls love to go to the park.  They are getting braver by the minute on the swings and the playground equipment! But what am I supposed to do when I hear that all too familiar phrase from them... "I can do it myself mom!"....but I don't think that they can??  At what point do you let them take that risk, and potentially fall and get hurt just to learn that maybe they can't do xyz thing themselves?  How do you know? 

And the follow up to that question...how do you know when you are just being overprotective, and you need to back off and let the kids learn on their own and show you what they can really do?

The girls have shown me that they CAN do several things recently.  I didn't think that they could.  

Walking across the super slick steep bridge at the zoo in the Rainforest....I had to hold on with both hands not to fall on my face, but not the girls!

Or climbing up this contraption at the park...I figured they could do it, I just wanted to be able to help them, or to put my hand on their back or booty in case they fell.  They weren't having it!

I was honestly worried for them. But they did an awesome job.  They didn't flinch.  They just did it.  I flinched! I held my breath!  Is that just how being a momma is from this point forward?  Veteran mommas...insight??? 

Thanks!!!

Until next time - 

Megan