Q&A the second

Its Q&A time!

Q : Jenn in Anderson asks "Forgive my ignorance of all things baby, but are they old enough to sit up, or are they just propped up on each other and a pumpkin? (regarding the photo of them in the pumpkin patch)

A: Funny enough - the answer to this is actually a little bit of both. They dont' sit up by themselves, but when placed in a seated position, they normally can maintain it. Of course, while we were at the pumpkin patch we did have a baby blow-out and there was some toppling. Of course this occurred just as some other folks walked right by and we looked like parents of the year.


Q:Ali in DC writes "Do the babies take turns with their demands (crying, soiling diapers, being hungry, desiring bounce/cuddle, etc.) or do they do this in synch? Is there any pattern?"

A: Hrmmm..most of the time, they will take turns with their demands. There have been just a few moments in the past 3 months where both children needed 100% of your attention. Most of the time, these have been cases where we've both been available to assist. When it happens and we're NOT able to focus on a single baby, you improvise and do the best you can.

As for the feeding - they do this in synch, by design. We decided pre-birth that if we didn't feed them in tandem we'd spend most of our time feeding babies.

Most of the time, we'll get one down and quiet, and the other one will "lose their mind." Its great fun on those days. Which normally are Saturdays. Don't know why, but my kids hate Saturdays.

Q: Schmitty from Furman, living out west asks "are their personalities starting to shine?"

A: Oh yes. Smith is his father and Addison is her mother.

Smith is pretty darn happy most of the time, but when he is not...woo-boy, you'd better watch it. (Sound like anyone else you know?) His smile is going to be a heartbreaker some day. He's a little more independent and can entertain himself pretty well.

Addison is incredibly sweet. So much so, that her little feelings get hurt when she's not getting the love and attention she thinks she deserves (Sound like anyone else you know?). Her little heartbreaking cry when you lay her down is comical if it weren't so sad sounding. She's definitely more of a people person loves to be touched and loved on.

Q: Anonymous emailed:"When I got married, I had a" WOW!! I am married and I feel like I am in a little over my head” moment. It didn’t last long and it wasn’t a bad moment, but it happened. I just wonder if it is worse with babies, especially twins. Did you get home and freak out? Like maybe I am in a little over my head, and then you just dive into being parents?

I can only speak for myself, but YES. There are still those moments. I think we'll probably have 'em forever. There are moments that 1) I have no idea what the hell I'm doing and 2) I'm convinced I'm doing something that will scar their lives forever.

But normally in the heat of the moment, you don't have time to freak out. Its only in those quiet reflective moments that you really can ponder on the "OH CRAP" feelings. And luckily(?), parents of twins don't get TOO many of those moments. So, you really hit the nail on the head, you have those moments, and then you just dive into being parents out of necessity. I think that's pretty normal.

Q: Anonymous also emailed:"I noticed when we visited you just handed the babies over and said here you go. I so loved that, some people don’t do that especially with their first children.how do you let people hold them and not be crazy on the inside that they won’t support their head enough or they won’t do something right"

Honestly, this was something that we've noticed as well with other who have had babies. I certainly understand other's beliefs and will respect their wishes, but visitors want to see and hold the babies. So, we decided to just be okay with it and when people walk in the door, we hand the babies off.

As for not being crazy on the inside - well, occasionally you ARE crazy on the inside regarding it. But really, you'd have to be pretty nonchalant about holding a baby in order to really hurt 'em, and no one is going to do that with the parents sitting right there. Also, I know that I've inadvertently hurt them in their lifetime (nicking their little fingers when clipping their nails comes to mind), but they're pretty resilient and I think you'd have to work on hurting them, so its just not something to worry about.