Blog

Author: Angelique Woodburn from the Midnight Gang

Ah toilet training! I think every parent you speak to will have some kind of toilet training story! It is such a hot topic amongst parents and strangely can come with so much pressure. If you have a toddler (or two or three!) you will no doubt have heard the question ‘are they toilet trained yet?’ Often from a well meaning friend or family member, but it can be really frustrating and often triggering when these kinds of questions or comments come your way. So, how do you know if your child/ren is ready for toilet training? What will you even need? And how do you manage toilet training with twins? Below are my top tips and checklists I have compiled over the years of working with twins as a nanny and also with my own three children.

Author: Veronica Jack

The scars from birth, paired with hours spent breastfeeding twin babies, left me couch bound. Your role as the father to our twin boys and committed partner never slowed. Changing nappies and consoling babies. Ensuring I was eating, drinking, resting and the list went on. I would cry. Cry because the babies wouldn’t latch. Cry because hormones were racing. Sleep deprivation was at its ultimate. But you…you were tired too.

I imagined mums of single babies feeding through the night while their partner slept before getting up for work. I wished I could do the same for you, but transporting and maneuvering both babies onto the double pillow was a juggling act. Impossible alone. Sometimes it would take us over half an hour to get both babies latched and feeding. By the time they had finished, it was time to begin the whole process again. All the while I was crying. Crying in pain, frustration and sheer exhaustion. Feeding two babies was no walk in the park. It was harder than I had ever imagined it to be. You put on a brave face. For me…for us. Never complaining or trying to explain how hard it was for you.

Before giving birth, I promised I wouldn’t allow myself to change. Barking orders and complaining about things like dirty dishes in the sink didn’t feel like me. As the days ticked by and the debt of sleep weighed heavily on my ability to think rationally or clearly, impulsivity took over. Words fell out of my mouth. Snappy, irritable words. I tried to stop them. I wanted to run away from myself, but you only moved closer, with a patience and empathy I didn’t deserve.

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Author: Veronica Jack

In the past I’ve written about my experience of mothering twins, but I think with the perspective of time, my understanding keeps evolving.

I’m learning that the first 18 months were the hardest. The slow paced cuddles, and moments to connect through eyes, body and mind were hard to find. The bonding, the getting to know each other, the all encompassing sense of ‘wholeness’ with my new baby was stolen from me.

Author: Laura Wilson

The first year of your babies’ life you’re navigating your new life and then all of a sudden, it’s your twins first birthday and you’re thinking what do you even get one year olds. There’s always somebody in your circle who tells you they don’t need anything or they won’t remember the day anyhow. But you want to celebrate, especially having multiples, it’s a huge achievement to reach one! 

I started counting down to our twins first birthday from 12 days postpartum!

From 12 days postpartum, I’ve been counting down to reaching one year. I’m the type of person who really likes to focus on goals and achieving those goals. And having the goal of reaching one has been good for my mental headspace. But for the past six months, I’ve been trying to navigate what to do when we did reach one year old. I’d always appreciate connecting with other mum’s with babies of similar age to see what they were doing and throw around ideas. So I’m writing this article to share how I navigated my twin’s first birthday in the hope that it might just help you do so too.