10 Things I Hate About Being A Twin Mom

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life with my seven year old twins for anything. As time continues to pass as a multiple mom, it's become clear to me that there are specific things that impact me and other twin/multiple parents more than parents of singletons.  I thought these differences would fade away as the kids got older and some have (although others haven't).

As a parent I try to discourage my own kids from using words like 'hate' but here we go...

10 Things I Hate About Being A Twin Mom

via The Odyssey

1. Two kids, one parental/maternity leave, for the same amount of time as anyone having a single child.  The burden of double infant daycare, double toddler care, and double before and after care is staggering. Very few places give a sibling discount (trust me, I've asked).

2. Baby groups are all focused on one parent and their baby.  Mommy and me fitness classes and activities (particularly during the early years) gave me FOMO for life with one baby - something I knew would never have. This left me feeling very isolated during a very vulnerable time postpartum.

3. Once a phase is over, it's over.  My kids went from calling me Mama, to Mommy, to Mom. I also have looming knowledge that I will have two moody teenagers at the same time, two new drivers clamouring to use the car, and double university tuition fees ALL at the same time.

4. Hand-me downs within our immediate family are not a thing.  We need two of the same size at the same time, and it gets expensive when everyone needs new boots, car seats, skates, helmets, etc.

5. You need to stop yourself from comparing your kids to each other, even though they're the exact same age, but still try and embrace the specialness of their twinness (it's complicated). You also need to advocate for your kids when others compare them to one another.

Image via Giphy

6. When people call your kids 'the twins' instead of by their names?  Or ask ridiculous multiple related questions to you or your children (like these top hated questions by parents of multiples)

7. When your children are in the same grade and you volunteer for a school trip, whichever class you end up in, as a parent, it feels like you're picking favourites.

8. You're often fighting with Parks and Recreation about getting two highly coveted (hard to come by) spots in the same level of swimming/skating/whatever else.  If you only get one you need to make the 'executive decision' on who gets to go and who has to watch their sibling participate from the sidelines. Same goes for the strange decisions parents of multiples face on whether or not to put their kids in the same or different classes.

via Giphy

9. It's constant and bizarre compromise.  This year Molly wants a Harry Potter Party while Jack wants a Peanuts party.  We're currently spit-balling other ideas because I don't know what I'm going to do when Voldemort steals the Football from Charlie Brown.

10. Logistical riddles become your speciality, whether it's sleep training, diaper changing, sickness running through your home, or scheduling drop offs and pickups.  A couple of years ago I had to pick up two kindergarten children, at the same time, from opposite ends of the school, so was constantly late for one child.


Click here to read 10 Things I Love About Being A Twin Mom.