I had two singletons before I had twins, so I thought I had the kid thing figured out. I had a boy, and I had a girl. And we’d already been through a lot — ear tubes and colic, reflux and hand-foot-and-mouth, lice and stomach bugs, bunk beds and sharing, princesses and Cars. Boy was I […]
As a mother of twins, I always listen a little harder when I hear stories of other twin moms. Whether identical or fraternal, parenting twins has its own challenges and complications but, most of all, stories of love. On December 1, Courtney Hughes celebrates her twins’ birth, but only one, her daughter Caroline, will be able […]
Now that I have finally (!) emerged from the fog of twin newborns, we’re into the next stage of babyhood — toddlers! I’d be lying if I said this was any easier than newborn twins, but it’s hard in a different way, as all phases of childhood are turning out to be. So here are my 10 […]
Nurse Jessica Hamm remembers the first time she laid eyes on the 14-month-old girl admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Wolfson Children’s Hospital with horrific injuries. Suffering from a skull fracture, brain bleed, broken femur and fractured wrists, malnourished and with a fresh handprint-shaped pattern of bruises on her little face, baby Delilah […]
Target checkout lady, looking at my cart full of baby food and smiling cheerfully: “Must be Feed the Baby Day!” Me, with just my daughter (one of four kids) in tow: “No, I have twins. She’s just one of them.” Target lady: “I had twins. Twice.” Target lady carefully looks me over and sees my […]
I’m the pick-up parent, the one who does the afternoon shift. I get to work early, when it’s still dark some mornings, so that I can leave in time to get them before extended daycare ends or preschool closes or ballet starts. I get them at the end of the day, when they’re tired out, […]
This is not how I planned my life. And by that I mean — four kids didn’t even occur to me. I grew up as one of three, and that’s what I wanted for my own family. For a few long, dark years, we weren’t even sure we would have a second child. And then […]
Jennifer’s story is brought to you by the March for Babies, sponsored by the March of Dimes.Growing up, I had heard of March of Dimes and my family always contributed when the envelope with the dime arrived in the mail. Little did I know that in 2011, my life would change in a way that put […]
This weekend, I cleaned out my twins’ closet. My son is giant, 20 pounds at eight months, and pretty much skipped straight from six-month clothes to 12-month clothes. I missed a box, stored under the bed, of hand-me-downs that he had already outgrown, and there were things in the closet I knew didn’t fit him anymore. […]
Let me start this off with an apology to those mamas I know who have multiples — I’m so, so, so sorry that I had no idea how tough some of your days were. I should have spent my Saturdays at your house holding a baby, brought you dinners and coffee any time I had a […]
Sitting in my car in the hot, dirty parking garage, hands shaking, I looked down at my phone and pressed my husband’s number. He answered immediately. “Well, how was it? Was there a heartbeat?” “Um. Yes. Yes, there was. There were two.” “I’m sorry, what? Two?!” “Yes. Two.” “I’m driving. I will call you back.” Click. I […]
