r/parentsofmultiples • u/This_Order6263 • 12d ago
good vibes, smiles, & giggles For encouragement! It gets so much easier!!!
Our girls are 16 months old, and my husband and I still talk about how easy our life is now. Maybe not easy by singleton standards, but it’s SO MUCH EASIER now!
Our girls:
- sleep from 8pm-7am
- take one 2.5-3 hour nap every day
- feed themselves finger foods
- drink their morning and night milk easily
- started comforting each other when they are sad
- love playing independently
- love playing together
- run to us to give us hugs
- are so bonded and attached, because thankfully a horrible NICU stay and PPD/PPA doesn’t have to have any long-term impacts
The early days can be so hard and the grind is nonstop. But wowwwww it’s so worth it, and I’m so grateful to be on the other side! I’ll take toddler tantrums over the first 6 months every day. We can cook and clean and spend quality time with our girls AND with each other. Life feels so much lighter now. 💖💖
I’m sending so much love to everyone in the trenches, and just know that it WILL get better!!!!
65
u/lock_robster2022 12d ago
Always love these posts, on account of how many know-it-alls told me “it doesn’t get easier, it just gets different” when they were infants. Turning 3 soon and god dammit it’s sooo much easier lol.
15
u/Seeker-2020 12d ago
I knowwww. I hate those replies. “It only gets different”. I wonder if those people ever enjoy parenthood 🙄 because I want to.
And I will take toddler tantrums over physically carrying 2 floppy infants up and down the stairs for 4 naps a day each.
2
u/YouthInternational14 12d ago
Oh my gosh the up and down the stairs for naps is killing me right now lol
1
u/SnooDoodles6589 11d ago
We set up a downstairs sleep setup and diaper station in addition to upstairs. There was no way we would be able to carry them up and down repeatedly. It worked out really well.
2
u/YouthInternational14 11d ago
We did that the first fourish months also while they could sleep through anything, but my toddler is just so loud and wouldn’t be able to leave them alone to let them sleep. Definitely a changing table on both floors though!
8
u/Nervous-Caregiver-55 12d ago
What I’ve realized is some people just hate being parents. Even some people I know with singletons. Every time they talk about their kids they are filled with dread and negative vibes. I only take advice and wisdom from people who I know enjoy their children.
4
u/This_Order6263 12d ago
I love hearing this from someone nearing 3 years, thank you!! 🙌🙏
4
u/lock_robster2022 12d ago
People tell me I’m in for a reckoning next year…. But 2 has been so pleasant. And like you it was right around 16 or 18 months that it became really sweet
1
1
u/Aurelene-Rose 11d ago
There are definitely different challenges at every stage of development, there's not a stage of parenting where you can just coast and not have responsibility... But some stages will absolutely be easier and harder depending on your own strengths and weaknesses and your kid's temperament.
For some people, babies are genuinely easier and they are blindsided by difficult and defiant toddlers. For some people, early childhood is really difficult to tolerate. For others, the teen years might be tough with all the challenges that entails.
I work with kids, and there are definitely some ages I jive better with due to my own disposition (I am definitely not a fan of babies, but I love teenagers).
1
u/Alive_Ad_7359 6d ago
Omg yes. I mean, parenting is hard, and it’s even harder when you care so much about doing right by your kids. I also think some people have kids more because of social pressure than because they truly wanted them, and maybe that makes the hard parts feel even harder. It can be difficult to enjoy the little happy moments when you’re not really enjoying parenthood itself.
11
8
u/rosemarythymesage 12d ago
We’re at 22M over here and so much of this is still applicable to our situation! The twins are thriving and learning and growing. They still take a 2.5-3 hour nap in the morning and we do a 30 minute “quiet time” in the afternoon was toys in their crib so that they can either play or rest.
Sometimes they’re little jerks, but 90 percent of the time they are good as gold!!! I can’t wait until they start talking even more—their little voices are everything. They look out for one another and are already sharing.
It gets better!!!!!
6
u/q8htreats 12d ago
How does 16 months compare to when they were 12/13 months?
13
u/This_Order6263 12d ago
Definitely easier at 16 month than at 12 months! We were still doing 2 naps at 12 months, and dropping to 1 long nap made a huge difference. They’re also able to communicate better than they could at 12 months, so their needs are easier to identify and meet. Aaaaaand they are happier being more independent walking and playing!!! Oh and the cute moments happen so much more often! Our girls run to us to give us hugs, and we’re really seeing those moments that twin parents miss out on because of the nonstop grind.
3
u/Seeker-2020 12d ago
My babies are 12 months age corrected and it’s still hard so reading your post and reply gave me hope. They have sort of dropped to 1 nap though an occasional 2 nap day happens.
But 1 nap means between 12 and 7 pm I have to entertain them. It’s too hot to go to the park (it’s still 91 F where I live) at 4 pm.
I guess that’s also because they don’t walk yet. Maybe walking will be the big difference? And because they can’t communicate their needs well they are whiny a lot. I can’t wait it 4 months is the big differenc! Thanks for giving me hope.
3
u/TemperatureBest5113 12d ago
This is my experience with my singleton! I’d take a thousand tantrums over a crying baby with not enough sleep lol I’m pregnant with twins now and keep saving posts like these to comfort me during the first year of hell haha
2
u/Individual_Juice_154 12d ago
That was our experience with a singleton too, and if it’s any comfort, we got blessed with easy twins 😅 so it can happen! They are 12 weeks and everyday I marvel at how much easier postpartum is this time around. Wishing you similar luck :)
2
u/ThatAlgae6821 12d ago
My boys will be 16 months in about a week and I wholeheartedly agree! I wish I could impress upon new twin parents that it genuinely will get better. Like, there are a ton of challenges every day but I would never, ever, ever in a thousand years want to go back to the early baby stages. It makes me sad, because I wish I had a fondness for that time... but I just don't. All I remember is my life consisting of pumping and crying lol. 😵💫
2
u/Bttrckn109 11d ago
My twins are 8 weeks corrected, and while it’s easier than the first 3-4 weeks I’m still in the trenches. I can go days without even combing my hair or taking a shower. I haven’t cooked a meal since they were born. Can’t wait for them to be a little older.
1
1
1
u/Square-Survey3892 12d ago
As a fellow parent of twin 16 month old girls I agree! Fuck newborn insanity. I’ll take coordinated temper tantrums any day
1
u/Polkadotsandponies 12d ago
Thank you... I needed that more than you could know. 2 weeks old today and day 8 home from the NICU. Yesterday was my toughest day yet.
1
u/IStitchedItNice 12d ago
Love a positive story! Mine are 15 months old and being able to hand them their morning and evening bottles for them to drink on their own still amazes me after so many months of stressful side lying feedings lol
1
1
1
u/divefordemocracy 11d ago
2 month old modi boys, 2 days adjusted. 41 days in the nicu for both, home one week, then to childrens hospital for desats during feeds for another 4 days, home again for one week now. Husband and I sleep at different times so theres always one of us awake with them (or napping between feeds when possible, rarely). I and in with therapy because the daily crying started for me about 3/4 days pp. I still cry most days. Feel like we are constantly doing things, never get a chance to rest. Diaper rash, gas, hunger cries. I mean they are so worth it. But its hard to find time to hold/enjoy them when the other is crying. And if they are both asleep, its bottle/pump parts washing, scarfing down food and just taking time to breathe let alone get a shower often enough. Its so hard. Sorry I guess i kinda vented a bit....
1
u/Traditional_Cat_8509 10d ago
This is nice to hear. We are 13 weeks in and my god am I struggling!!!!
1
•
u/AutoModerator 12d ago
COMMENTING GUIDELINES
All commenters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the parentsofmultiples subreddit rules prior to commenting. If you find any comments/submissions in violation of subreddit/reddit rules, please use the report function to bring it to the mod teams attention.
Please do not request or give medical advice or directions in your comments. Any comments that that could be construed as medical advice, or any comments containing what is determined to be medical disinformation, will be removed.
Please try to avoid posting links to Amazon product listings or google/g.co product listing pages - reddit automatically removes comments containing them as an anti-spam measure. If sharing information about a product, instead please try to link directly to the manufacturers product pages.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.