Leia and Liesl...Double the Love Cutest Twins
by Amy Steier
(Chicago, IL, USA)
Leia and Liesl...Double the Love
When I first found out I was pregnant with twins, I was in shock. After all, twins didn't run in my family. I couldn't believe it was happening.
After suffering a miscarriage the previous year, I'd be remiss if I were to say I wasn't scared every day of my twin pregnancy. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, although it never did. I only wish I could've relaxed more during the pregnancy and not been so worried. Once you lose a baby, you know it can happen again and you don't take pregnancy for granted...ever.
"Relaxing," though, was nearly impossible because I also had a four-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter at home, as well.
After a remarkably wonderful pregnancy, my twin daughters, Leia and Liesl, were born at exactly 36 weeks by C-section after I went into labor naturally. This brought an even bigger obstacle to me, as they spent 14 days and 16 days, respectively, in the Special Care Nursery for feeding issues. So, in addition to recovering from my C-section, I had to shuffle back and forth between my preschoolers at home, my breastpump, and my newborn twins at the hospital. The heartbreak was immense, as I was also suffering form PPD, too. It got much better, though.
The day I was able to have all my children under one roof was the day I was finally able to "relax." Gratefully, I had a long maternity leave to establish some great routines with all of my children. Now that the twins are six months old, I am back at work and my husband stays home with all of our children. I pump breastmilk twice a day at work and breastfeed when I'm home. Since I'm a teacher, my work hours are shorter than other mothers'. I am able to get home at 3:30pm and spend the rest of my time with my little army of children.
Leia and Liesl are thriving and growing so fast; our two older children have adjusted very well to having little sisters; and life is finally where I can breathe a sigh of relief every so often.
The next step...introducing solid feeding and the chaos that two crawling babies will bring. It's a good kind of chaos, though. It's one I welcome wholeheartedly.
Having twins has given me a new lease on life. I've never felt more accomplished.
