the babywearing series | double-take: babywearing with twins

I remember the first time I tried to wear my twin girls at the same time.

My friend had called to tell me that she was at a café just down the street, and asked if I wanted to bring the babies down to say hello. Our stroller had been ordered but hadn’t arrived, and I was alone at the house. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try the twin hold in the Moby Wrap – how hard could it be? If that mama could do it on YouTube, I could, too.

I maneuvered their tiny bodies into the wrap, but they weren’t quite fitting. This one needed to move over here, this one needed to come up like this…and I watched in horror as their bodies leaned in and their heads smacked together. Their cries broke my heart, and I quickly lifted them out of the wrap and called my friend to say we wouldn’t be able to make it.

Besides that semi-traumatic experience, babywearing has been both enjoyable and practical for our little family. My girls were born five weeks early, and “kangaroo care” was an important part of their development. When we brought them home from the hospital, we were able to give them more skin-to-skin contact by using cozy fabric wraps and slings. We were able to take them out in public without straining my hypersensitive new-mama nerves, because they were safely wrapped up with us.

As they’ve grown older, wearing them has been my lifesaver. I’m a stay-at-home mom, and I spend most of the daytime alone. When you have two teething babes who just want to be held, one in the sling and one in your arms is enough to calm them down. Attempting to go the store alone while lugging two infant carriers is a pain and a hassle, but both babies in their own carrier (one on front, one on back) or one in a sling and one in the cart makes it much more manageable.  If one wakes up from her nap first, I’ll strap her in my Boba carrier and she’ll work right along with me, buying me a little extra time. If we go on a walk, I always keep a carrier in the bottom of the stroller, just in case.

Just last week, I was getting all our gear ready for a trip to the grandparents’. I was trying to get it all down to the car before their nap was over, but it just wasn’t happening. Improvising (the key to raising kids, right?), I put one girl in her carrier, one in the double stroller, and used the empty stroller seat to stack our bags and roll everything to the car. It took a few trips and we made quite a spectacle cruising through our apartment building, but it worked!

My favorite times, though, are when their daddy gets home. If the weather is nice, we each take a baby and go on an evening walk together. We get to talk and catch up on the day, and the girls like to snuggle up inside, their little eyes peeking out, taking in the world from a safe place.

We’ve worn them at the beach, in restaurants, to museums, and around the house. We recently graduated from wraps and slings to soft-structured carriers, like the Boba or Ergo, for more support, and we’ll continue wearing them until they’re too big, or until our backs say, “no more!”

###

Dear friends, I hope you’re enjoying this babywearing series so far. Make sure to say hello to Megan and visit Boho Mama. (Thanks Megan!!) Are you as fascinated by twins (and twin moms!) as I am? Would you ever dare wear a double??

P.S. We are camping out bush all this week! That means unplugged, baby!!! No internet, or even phone access for me. (Crikey!) I’ll do my best to respond to your emails and comments when I return. 🙂

Join our Babywearing Carnival

Do you have a post on Babywearing – why you love it or which is your favorite type of carrier or maybe just a photo post of you wearing  your little one? At the end of the Babywearing Series, I’ll host a link-up for you to add your link. Prepare your post (or freshen one up from your archives) and keep your eyes open for it to go live on Saturday, March 10^th. Please use a text link or the image below on your carnival post.