Hi everyone!
My name is Amy and I am a mama of 4 + one on the way! I am a twin myself and having twins has been a really special experience. I have a twin sister and I have twin girls. I share lots of real life moments, encouragement, mama tips, and more on my Instagram. You can follow me here!
I’m excited to share a glimpse of our day to day life here on Twin Talk! Lots of people stop me in the store or at church or at the park and comment that my hands are full and that I must be busy. (Which is totally true!) But the best part is answering “You know, it’s really fun! I am never bored and am constantly entertained by these sweeties!”
This is just one day documented — our days vary a lot. Nap time is never at the same time, meal times change and schedules are loosely based on routine rather than an actual time. I found that for our family putting a set time on things only set me up to fail. I could never stick to the schedule and it seems that everything in our house takes longer than I anticipate. I’m learning a lot about being flexible, giving myself lots of grace, and being patient with each day because it honestly isn’t in my control.
My family’s story starts in the fall of 2008 when I met my husband in college. He was my barista at a local coffee shop in a small town where we went to school in Tennessee. We went on our first date in April 2009, got engaged in July, and married in December. (Yep — all in one year!) We moved to Nashville (my hometown) and it’s where we have planted roots and settled down.
One of the hard parts about getting married was telling my husband that my chances of having a child was only 10% with medical intervention. I had lots of testing done and changed my lifestyle and diet to try to improve my chances of having children but mostly to get healthy.
One month after we got married we got pregnant. (SURPRISE!) We were completely shocked and so excited. I was only 22 years old and both of us were still in school. By the time our son was born my husband was working full time and I decided to stay home. Our son, Aiden, was born in October 2010 perfect and healthy. But when he was three days old, he died at home. We don’t have any medical answers for why he passed away, but God has given us a lot of peace about what has happened. Almost five years later and it is still really hard and has changed my life forever.
After Aiden died we were nervous we wouldn’t have any more children because Aiden was such a surprise. We signed up for foster parenting and were about to begin classes when I found out I was pregnant again!
Our sweet Elwood was born in March 2012. He has brought so much joy and redemption into our lives.
And just as we thought I was going to get an ovary taken out because I had a cyst covering it, we found out we were pregnant again! And the shock only got more exciting — at our first ultrasound when I was 8 weeks we found out we were having twins!
My twin pregnancy was really hard. I was very sick in the first trimester but healthy and active. I went running, I took care of Elwood, we went swimming every day during the summer… and then at 32 weeks I went into early labor. I went to the hospital with contractions thinking they would give me medication to stop contractions and I would go home in a couple hours. Well it turned into 5 days in the hospital getting steroid shots and being closely monitored as they got my contractions to slow down. I went home on full bed rest and had to get full time help for Elwood while my husband worked during the week.
I made it to 37 weeks and my beautiful girls were born at 6lbs 15oz (Kate) and 5lbs 14oz (Milly). They were healthy and didn’t have to go the NICU or anything. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days before coming home and jumping into this crazy life we have!
We were pretty convinced we were done having children and then on Christmas Eve I found out I was pregnant again. I’m 20 weeks pregnant with a little boy and we are thrilled to welcome him into our family in August.
Here’s what a Monday looked like for us! We had a busy weekend with lots of outside play time, running errands, and staying up late so we took it easy and spent the day at home before my son goes back to Mother’s Day Out the next day.
6:45am My husband and I wake up and shower before the kids wake up.
7:00am My three year old son wakes up with poop in his underwear. We rush him to the bathroom and get him cleaned up and dressed.
7:15am The girls wake up and start chatting. My husband goes to get them out of bed, change their diapers, and get them dressed for the day while I get myself dressed and my hair brushed, etc.
7:30am We sit down for breakfast. We choose to do easy things — today it was cereal, banana, and a fruit bar.
8:10am My husband leaves for work and I get everyone cleaned up and playing in the living room. I get out toys for them to play with while I clean up the table and dishes. (And sneak in a cup of coffee!)
8:45am I put Thomas the Train on for them to watch while they play and I get a few chores done. I did some laundry, cleaned up the bathroom, and folded some cloth diapers.
9:10am I’m feeling nauseous and a little dizzy so I put some peppermint oil on.
9:15am We head upstairs to the play room. We spend a lot of time in the playroom — there’s nothing they can’t touch and so many fun things for them to do! I help them improve skills like coloring, putting parts together, playing pretend, working together, and playing music. (This also include a lot of diffusing arguments, redirecting when fighting over toys, saying sorry when they hit or have an accident, take away a toy, and taking turns.
11:15am I head downstairs to start lunch while the kids play for a few minutes. Milly was very upset that I came downstairs and cried at the gate for 15 minutes while I got their lunches together.
11:30am Lunch time
11:56am Both girls have clean diapers, their lovies, and a book and are quiet in bed. I get my three year old on the potty while I take a few minutes to clean up the living room and kitchen. I pick up toys and get dishes done.
12:15pm My three year old is quiet in bed and I head downstairs. I make some salad, a hot dog, and chips and hummus. I caught up on the show Revenge from Sunday night and turn the TV off and lay down to rest.
2:45pm Elwood comes downstairs from his nap and he snuggles up with me on the couch for some iPad time.
3:15pm I hear Kate awake and go in to get her. Milly is still asleep so I leave her in bed. Kate joins Elwood on the couch to watch a show on the iPad to keep the house quiet while Milly still sleeps.
3:30pm I hear Milly awake and get her. I change both girls and get their shoes on while I send Elwood to go potty and get his shoes on too.
3:45pm We head outside to play in our backyard. They all love to get dirty, dig, collect leaves, swing, slide, and chase our dog around the yard.
4:45pm We all head inside. I get everyone’s hands cleaned off and get them set up in the living room to watch the movie Cars while I cook dinner. The girls are pretty restless because they smell food and don’t understand that they have to wait. Elwood was getting tired and wanted some mommy snuggles. In between stirs and cooking, I sat on the floor with the kids and they took turns getting snuggles and kisses.
5:35pm I serve dinner. Tonight it’s tacos! (My kids’ favorite) My husband walks in the door around
5:45 and joins us to eat. Both the girls have second helpings while Elwood struggles to finish his one taco.
6:25pm We clean everyone’s hands, get diapers and PJs and head upstairs for bath time! Our kids love baths. We add lavender oil and some bubbles and let them play and wind down for bedtime. We get everyone in their PJs and Ben takes the girls downstairs to put them in bed. I stay upstairs with Elwood and get him to go potty and pray and sing before turning out the light.
7:05pm The house is quiet and everyone is in bed. My husband and I do dishes and wipe down the counters and table. Time to sit down and do some writing and watch shows while my husband goes out with a friend.
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