You get asked a lot of questions when you have twins.
One of the most common as of late has been "How do you do all of these things you like to do, and take care of 2 babies?"
Well friends, here is a detailed answer and look into our everyday life of how we manage mundane tasks while keeping 2 little boys healthy and happy.
1. "How do you take the boys around on errands?"
-If I need to go to a store or somewhere big enough where I will be there for while, I take our double stroller. The boys love going anywhere so they're pretty content just hanging out in the stroller, flashing smiles at everyone. If I need to take them both into somewhere that is not so double-stroller-friendly (Baja Burrito for example), I simply put one of them in a carrier/wrap/sling, and carry the other on one of my arms, which then leaves me with one free arm. Like so...
It works nicely. And I feel a little like superwoman.
And now that they can sit up just fine on their own, grocery shopping with both boys is much easier also. I put one of them in the cart-seat, and one of them in a carrier or sling!
2. "How do you find time to keep up with this blog, your food blog, reading and whatever else your hobbies are?"
-It really helps that my boys go to bed around 630-7 every night. Jeremy and I usually don't go to bed until 11 or so, which gives us plenty of time to ourselves each night. This is when I can be found on the computer, in the kitchen cooking/baking, playing wii, reading, or scrapbooking.
3. "How are you able to cook at home as much as you do?"
-Time management is big here. If you know anything about my cooking style, I don't really like pre-made meals or throw-everything-from-a-can-in-a-pot-and-bake-it type of cooking. I like to start from raw ingredients. This is usually more delicious and nutritious, however, it is definitely more time consuming. You have to find time to chop all the fruit and veggies. You have to find time to make/cook the pasta. You have to find time to knead the bread dough and let the yeast rise. Meal planning is also big. Last minute throw together meals work out occasionally, but I usually have better luck if I know what I'm going to make on which day. This also lets me plan ahead to have dinner ready before 9 pm. Throughout the day, whenever babies nap or are self-entertaining, I take the opportunity to go chop some veggies that I will use for dinner that night. Sometimes, I'll prepare everything the night before, and all I have to do the day of is actually cook it. It's also nice having a husband that knows a thing or two about food, because he will occasionally cook or help out with the cooking when things are really busy. And for those days when babies are not self-entertaining and refuse to do anything except be held...
Sometimes you have to cook one-handed and/or with a baby or 2 on your hip.
4. "How do you have time to work out and stay healthy?"
-Make it a priority. Since we have adapted our way of eating, our diet has become very important to us, as has exercise. Running outside is my preferred method of exercise. However, since I'm working 4 12-hour shifts a week from now until April, I feel like the days that I am home need to be spent with my boys only. I don't like to leave them to go on a run. So, I opt for other methods of working out. If it's nice enough outside, I do take the boys for a run in our double jogging stroller.
Otherwise, I workout either while the boys nap, after they go to bed, or while they are awake and happy playing with each other. Sometimes they will sit there and watch me workout, and laugh.
5. "How do you get them to nap/wake/sleep at the same time?"
-I don't feel like we've really done much to make this happen. The boys just sort of do it on their own, and pretty much always have. They usually get tired around the same times, and nap together during the day (they can get a little off here and there, but not drastically). They don't wake each other up during naps, so sometimes one will wake before the other. As far as bedtime, we do the same routine each night, and they both take to it well, and go to sleep (usually) without a fuss. They sleep straight through the night, and usually wake up around the same time together in the morning. We just got lucky here I guess.
6. "How do you have time to wash and prepare cloth diapers for your twins?"
-I actually just posted about this a few days ago: Cloth Diapers. Washing really isn't that much work. We throw wet cloths into the bag, we spray out the poops in the toilet. When we have a full bag (about every other day), throw them in the wash, dry them overnight, and stuff them later that night or the next morning during downtime (or one or two as needed if there is no time to stuff all at once).
7. "How do you get ready in the mornings and get to places on time?"
-Babies wake up. They come into bed with us. We snuggle. We get up and start getting ready in our room. Babies watch the ceiling fan, play with each other, or fall back asleep on our bed. All while we are showering and getting ready. Then, we change, feed, and go!
And that's how we do things 'round here. If you would have asked me these questions while I was pregnant, I would have no answers. I had to figure it out. Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do. I figure out more and more things that work for us every day, and I'm still learning.
Anyone have any other questions that I didn't answer?
