Feb 13

Feb 13 10 Less Frequently Talked About Perks of Having Twins

I don’t know about your dictionary, but this is what I found in mine under the definition of efficiency:

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Of course, there are all of the obvious benefits with the main one being you only have to go through 1 pregnancy (and 1 birth and 1 postpartum recovery) in order to have 2 kids. Automatic efficiency win!! Right? Plus, your kids always have a built-in best friend and likely experience the well-known “twin bond.”

But, what about all of the other perks that people don’t often mention? Considering the first couple of years of having twins can be overwhelming and feel impossible at times, it’s nice to have that chaos balanced by some pretty dang good perks.

Here are my top 10 favorite benefits of having twins that aren’t always talked about!

1. You literally give birth to your own FREE gym membership. Get ready for biceps!

Seriously my favorite perk! I’ve literally never stepped foot in a gym since giving birth to my twins. They ARE my gym. When you’re bench pressing twins around the house all day, it certainly makes you sore and gets your heart rate up. You can feeeeeel the burrrrrrrn when you try lifting them in the air.

2. Get through the diaper phase all at once.

Changing dirty diapers x2 doesn’t really top my list of favorite things to do. It will be great to say goodbye to diapers all at once and move onto independence (or at least that’s what we hope for). Think about how lovely it will be to not have to bring extra diapers to the park just in case and to not have that diaper bill anymore!

3. Mothers of twins are said to live longer.

Isn’t that something? A 2011 retrospective study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal showed that having two babies at once was associated with having a longer life. The moral of the story here? Twin moms are total superwomen (which we already knew!).

4. Some stores/brands actually have a twin discount or freebies.

Some to keep in mind are Buy Buy Baby (they historically give you 10% off if you buy a second duplicate item in store), diaper brands (such as Pampers who sends you money-saving coupons if you mail them your twins’ discharge paperwork), and formula companies (such as Similac—who has a multiples birth program—will send you free formula samples if you submit copies of your twins’ birth certificates). Oh, and daycares also sometimes give a 10% off discount for a second kid! Bottom line is this: it doesn’t hurt to ask!!

5. Celebrity status.

Yep. You’ll feel like you’re walking the red carpet EVERY time you enter Target. I can’t tell you how many people stop and ask their laundry list of questions starting with “Oh! Are they twins?” But twin mama beware, lots of people will ooh and ahh over the babies while trying to touch them—so keep your your shopping cart moving quickly! Ha.

6. The sense of community and support among twin moms is insane!

There is an unspoken understanding between twin moms—we are always there to support each other! Raising twins is a unique and challenging journey and only we understand what it’s truly like. Social media has been a fabulous sound board for so many twin moms to help each other get through tough times!

7. Photo ops literally 24/7.

I’m sorry, but there’s only ONE thing cuter than 1 baby—-and that’s 2 babies! If you only knew how many photos I have on my camera roll….

8. You only pay for 1 photography session (newborn, 1 year, etc) for 2 kids!

There’s no denying that professional photography these days can be crazy expensive. We had maternity, newborn, 6 month, and 1 year photos taken (which totaled to be THOUSANDS of dollars), but at least we only had to pay it once for 2 kids!

9. One birthday party for 2 kids.

Planning a 1st birthday party can be A LOT of work. So, It’s nice to knock it all out at once—one set of invites, one time of having people parade through your house, one set of thank you cards, etc.

10. Your kids learn to share early.

Okay, so they won’t share EVERYthing ALL the time. But think about it—they’ve shared a womb, a bedroom, their parents’ attention, a birthday, and the list goes on. Without a doubt they understand the concept of sharing a bit more than singletons and this probably gives them a head start before they get to the classroom setting!

So, when you’re having a tough day, just keep in mind how many awesome benefits you and your twins have been so fortunate to experience. We are all very blessed to be in this unique position!