I couldn’t begin to describe the total elation that I felt the moment my newborn twins arrived. The emotions that had built up all those months, as I waited impatiently to see their tiny faces, all came to the surface in those glorious minutes after their birth. My husband took at least 20 pictures as the girls were weighed and measured. Then I was wheeled from the bright, chaotic operating room full of doctors and nurses to a small, dark, side room. For a few minutes it was just me, my babies, my husband, and my mom in the dark. We were full of excitement and energy even though it was 4 a.m. and we’d been up all night.
The next few days in the hospital are a blur in my mind now. My husband and I slept and ate whenever we could, which was not often because one or both of the girls were crying at all hours. I remember feeling irritated at the constant inflow of nurses and doctors. At one point I may have gotten a little short-tempered with a nurse after being woken up for the umpteenth time from my brief catnap for yet another vitals check, and then this note was posted on our door (probably as a warning to potential intruders).
But our time in the busy maternity ward only lasted a few days and then we were on our way home. My husband drove more slowly and carefully than I’ve ever seen him drive, with our two precious girls snugly fitted into their new carseats.
The twins were 3 days old when we brought them home. My husband and I went through my struggles with breastfeeding twins together. He was by my side whenever possible, even in the middle of the night when he had to get up for work at 4 a.m. the next day. We couldn’t really afford for him to take off more time to help me at home, so he stayed with the twins and I one more day and then went back to work. My mom came over the first 2 days to take my 4th grade son to school. Then, when the girls were 6 days old, I loaded them into a stroller and walked my big kid to and from school.
From day 5 I was caring for newborn twins on my own. Of course my husband did more than half of the work when he wasn’t at work. But for most of the day it was just me.
And I did it. I survived! To you mothers of newborn twins, I can assure that you will also survive (read here to find out how I survived those first few weeks, and here to read about how to deal with the lack of sleep!). In the meanwhile, take some deep breaths, laugh often, and treasure this time. Your twins are only small for a little while. They will be grown up before you know it.