Twin Confusion

I am forever amazed at how little people know about babies - twins in particular. Sure, not everyone has twins. And I admit I didn't know much about babies before I had them. But how is it that some among us lack the most basic baby knowledge?

Boys have boy haircuts and wear clothes with trucks on them. Their clothes will often be blue, but they will assuredly not be pink. Girls wear pink and their clothes have flowers on them. A girl could be mistaken for a boy when the girl hasn't grown more hair than the boy sitting next to her. However, any pink is a clear indication of a girl.

When you're out with babies, people, especially older women, feel free to stop you to talk to you. I suppose this happens to anyone with a newborn, but the excitement doubles when they see it's twins.

"Oh my! Two babies!" someone will exclaim. "Are they twins?" the person asks.

"Yes, yes they are," I tell them.

"Oh, how adorable," they say smiling at the children. "Two boys?" they ask.

"No, one boy, one girl," I answer.

"How sweet," they'll say. "My niece had twins. Are yours identical?"

Now, I thought it was common knowledge that identical twins are the identical sex. I mean, I knew this way before I had twins. But, you would not believe how often I am asked this question.

"No, ma'am. They're not identical," I'll say. "Actually they have different fathers."

[blank stare]

[pause for effect]

"Just kidding," I say.

A Typical Day

Aunt Julie recently baby-sat the twins for a day. Tracy wrote up a schedule to help her sister, so I thought I would post this little insight to a typical day.

Eugene and Olivia's Schedule

8:00am - Wake Up and diaper change. I usually put PBS on the TV and bring whoever is changed first downstairs. I put them in the Exersaucerer to watch TV until I finish changing the other one.

8:15-8:30 - Feed bottles. Eugene and Olivia both get 7 ounce bottles.

9:30 - Solids. I usually put them in the high chairs but feel free to use the booster seats that are in the spare bedroom. I feed them cereal (use the oatmeal today) and a fruit. I split a jar of the fruit between the two of them and then each of them get 1/4 cup of the dry cereal mixed with formula. You can also put water in the sippy cups for them if you'd like.

10:30 or 10:45 - Nap time. This is an estimate. I like them to be up by 12:30 and not to nap more than 2 hours. So, if they can't make it any later than 10:30, go ahead and put them down. If they look like they could stay up longer, they can stay up but no later than 11:00. They are usually ready for a nap by 10:30 or so.

12:30 - Wake from nap and diaper changes. I usually put on PBS again for the same routine.

12:45-1:00 - Feed bottles. Eugene gets 7 ounces and Olivia gets 6 ounces.

3:15 or 3:30 - Nap time.

4:30 - Wake from nap and diaper changes.

4:45-5:00 - Feed bottles. Eugene and Olivia get 7 ounces.

5:15 - Mommy's home!! (smiley face)

Notes: Olivia has had a tough time with naps lately. She had a hard time falling asleep and will usually cry for a bit. The morning nap goes better than the afternoon nap. I would let her fuss/cry for at least 15 minutes because she will usually fall asleep on her own. But, after 15 minutes you can go up and rock her if necessary. That will usually do the trick.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! Sorry the photos are a little late. Did you think we would let the kid's first Halloween go by without dressing them in goofy costumes? Of course not. That would be irresponsible parenting. Eugene's first girlfriend will need to know that he was a turtle for Halloween. Olivia was a stunning pink leopard.

The twins enjoyed the night on the porch with us, as we handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. It quickly became apparent that we had too much candy, so I started handing out two pieces to everyone. Word spread fast, and soon kids were coming up asking if we were the "Two Piece" house. I hope that reputation doesn't carry over to next year.