Twins Are Easy...And Hard!!!

People often ask me if twins are easier or harder to raise than their singleton counterparts. My answer is a little of both. Some of the things that make it easier are the very things that make it harder. The only thing I have found to be all the way harder is all the crying, tantrums, and whining! MAKE IT STOP!!!

Easy: If you breastfeed feeding them takes half the time because there is no switching sides, they eat together and are done in 20 minutes!

Hard: Getting two newborns latched on is a bit tricky, and if one gets fussy during a feeding it is difficult to comfort her if her sister is still attached to you.

Easy: They are in diapers together so you are done with diapers all at once.

Hard: Two poopy diapers to change at once is no cake walk. That goes double for the potty accidents during potty training!

Easy: They require the same amount of sleep so they are on the same sleep schedule, if you are lucky!

Hard: They usually wake up at different times during the night and one may wake the other, so mama get little to no sleep in the beginning.

Easy: They sleep together so they don't cry for you because they keep each other company, at bedtime, during the night, and when they wake up in the morning.

Hard: They may mess around for quite some time at bedtime before they decide to fall asleep, and if one wakes up during the night or early, she may wake up her sister, then it's party time! If one says she is scared, the other one inevitably will too! It  is cute to listen to them at night though!

Easy: They eat the same foods. When they are babies spoon feeding is a breeze, you just alternate bites.

Hard: Twice the food mess on you, them and the floor.

Easy: They entertain each other and don't get bored easily, meaning you will not need to spend as much time playing with them, sometimes they won't even let you play!

Hard: They find interesting things to keep themselves entertained, such as, writing on walls, making water messes, spreading lotion over every inch of their rooms, and giving each other hair cuts! I used to get mad about the hair cuts, which have happened to both girls several times, but now I just shake my head. I wonder if they will ever learn!

Easy: They are at the  same developmental stage so they share the same toys.

Hard: They fight over the same exact toy, 

Easy: They are the same size, so they can do all of the same things.

Hard: They can easily kick, bite, scratch. and hit each other because they are the same size! As preschoolers my girls looked like they had spent a few hours trapped in a box with a cat they were so scratched up!

Easy: They share clothes, so no need to separate them. They also share a dresser.  

Hard: They will both want to wear the same article of clothing they both adore on the same day. Fighting ensues! If they have matching outfits, and one gets ruined, the other gets retired.

Easy: They have the same homework so they can work together and I you will only have to explain once if they need help. I always loved doing homework with my twin! 

Hard: As older kids they may divide and conquer, one will do one assignment, while the other does a different one, then they copy each others work!

Easy: They have some of the same friends.

Hard: If one friend comes over they may fight over her. I remember this happening with my twin and I and our friend got very uncomfortable.

Easy: If they get sick it is usually together so they have a sick buddy. They don't get lonely and aren't constantly needing something from you.

Hard: Double the puke, snot, fevers and medicine to dole out.

Being a twin and also having them I have found there to be many benefits, and also many issues. I do not know which one outweighs the other. Lets just say, it is pretty close to a tie. It is all I have ever known so it remains one of life's mysteries.