Difficult Pregnancy
How lucky, one pregnancy that yields two babies! Right? While there are benefits to a two-for-one pregnancy, there are also some extreme side effects that can prove unpleasant. Some of the regular symptoms of pregnancy are magnified with twins, and sometimes a twin pregnancy brings its own unpleasant complications. The increased risks add anxiety and fear to an uncomfortable physical state. That’s why, from the very beginning, pregnancy is one of the hardest things about having twins.
Lack of Sleep
Yawn! Most bleary-eyed parents would agree that the lack of sleep is the absolute worst thing about having baby twins. Any newborn is likely to keep odd hours, but balancing the demands of two newborns means that sleep is a scarce commodity for parents of twins. The physical exhaustion adds strain to an already stressful situation as parents learn to cope with multiple babies. It is hard enough to function when well-rested, but parents of twins must learn to survive on shots of sleep measured in minutes rather than hours.
Finding One-on-One Time
Is there enough of me to go around? When children arrive at staggered intervals, parents can find ways to engage with them individually. But parents of twins often feel very concerned that they are short-changing their multiples, who must share their love and attention from the moment they are born. The demands of modern life leave barely enough time for family activities, much less unlimited opportunities to interact one-on-one with each child. Yet, that exclusive attention is vital to multiples as they develop their individual identities. The guilt is one of the hardest things about having twins.