Hazel and Silas at 5 Months: What We've Learned So Far

Hazey Dazey & Smilas

Five months today.  Hard to believe.  In some ways, this has been the longest five months of our lives.  Yet somehow, it seems to have flown by.

We've learned a lot.  We look back on those first three months especially and say to ourselves, "How..what...huh..?"  You couldn't pay us enough to relive it.  Thankfully, things have improved.  A lot.  So what have we learned?

• Two babies, grown in the same uterus at the same time, are still two different people with different likes, needs, and wants.
• Just because a baby might sleep through the night at 3 months does not mean they won't revert to newborn sleeping habits a month later.  Thankfully, they might go back to sleeping through the night by five months (at least one, anyway - see first point).
• Just because they grew in the same uterus blah, blah, blah does not mean proximity helps them sleep better.  Be prepared to have one in another area of the house pretty much always during any sleeping time, including your own room.
• There will only be about two hours from 7am-7pm where both babies are asleep at the same time.  So good luck being productive or catching up on sleep yourself.
• Obsessing about the sleep habits of two infants in the same home on a constant basis may lead to a dependency on Mint Slice biscuits.  Or any other kind of chocolate, really.
• Lack of sleep and therefore, exercise + chocolate biscuits = so much for fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes anymore.
• Twins actually do smile and have even been found to be happy for short bursts at the same time on occasion.
• Twins are actually a lot of fun.  Especially when the above is happening.
• Being the parent of twin babies gives you a very good reason to say "no".  Unfortunately, that means even when you really want to say "yes".
• You come to realize how much you are loved and appreciated by your friends and neighbors.  (Or maybe they just feel sorry for us..?)
• You'll be able to go out and have adventures again someday.  Just not yet.
• Now that the twins aren't covered up and asleep during errand-running time anymore, the stares/stops/questions are much more common.  And you will be sniffed out by any twin parent in a 200-metre radius who will come over with much helpful advice/commiseration to share (which we really do appreciate).

On that last point, we learned the coolest thing today from a lovely Nigerian man.  Also a parent of twins, he told us that in his country, the baby born first (in our case, Hazel) is actually considered to be the younger sibling as the elder (Silas) unselfishly makes way for the younger to come out first.  How beautiful is that?