Dave Moore penned this piece in January 2016 - shortly after his gorgeous twin daughters turned one.
It’s been tough. It’s been sleepless. It’s been joyous.
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Now, it’s time to share 10 of the things I’ve uncovered over the last 12 months:
1. They're not twins... yet. They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, to the same parents but I've yet to see any of the romanticised "twin" things. I don't have twins. I have two identically aged babies. Maybe, in the future, they’ll become more “twinish” but not yet.
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2. They don't finish each other's sentences. Nina will often say, "Goo da booble goop...", and we are waiting for Anna to finish it off with a, "... gog a doggy dada!" But it never happens.
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3. They don't hold hands. At least not on purpose. They may briefly hold hands as one wrestles a toy from the other's grasp but that's usually just before the tears start.
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4. They're not "in sync". Right now, at the time of writing, Nina is asleep and has been all night. Anna's on the floor in front of me, carefully putting every piece of Lego on the floor into a big box for the last hour. And was up for two hours around midnight. And again at 4 am for about 20 minutes. The only instance when they seem to be on the same timetable is when they both scream for bottles at the same exact time!
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5. They're developing at a different pace. Anna is far better at talking. Everyone's name in the house is relatively mastered, and a few other words are creeping in. Nina is the queen of gobbledygook but hasn't really used a word on purpose yet.
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On the other hand, Nina can walk. Quite a distance too. It's very impressive. Anna's nickname is "Jelly-Legs McGinty". She has zero interest and loves to just flop down onto her nappied bum as soon as you pop her up on her legs. Oh, also, she finds this hilarious, apparently.
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6. They are each more like one of their brothers. Anna and Sam are independent souls and can play away together or on their own for hours. Nina and Andrew demand your attention. "Look at me, Daddy!" "Awwww, you weren't watching!" "Did you see, Daddy? Did you? Will I do it again? Do you want to video me doing it? Daddy? Daddy?" Well, Andrew verbalises these things. Nina just wails and grabs your legs until you pick her up.
7. They don't look alike. In fact, they've gotten less physically similar over the last year, rather than more, so those questions still keep coming. "Are they twins?" Yes. "Are they identical?" Well, obviously bloody not if you just asked the first question!
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8. They can't even manage to get sick together. One gets a bug and is awake at night, while the healthy one sleeps through, oblivious. We feel like zombies and when we eventually come out the other side, bang! The other twin is sick and the sleepless nights continue.
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9. Their brothers adore them. Like, amazingly so. No jealousy. Just pure love. For now. Anna ate one of Sam's Match Attax cards the other day. It was shiny Sergio Agüero. I blamed the dog. Pretty soon, I’m going to kick the girls out of the witness protection program, and they’ll have to deal with their big brothers. Then we'll see what's up.
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10. It's harder than you imagine. A 6-year-old sensitive soul. His 3-year-old maniac of a brother. Two 1-year-olds. Two bottles. Two nappies. Two everything-goes-in-the-mouth crawlers going in two different directions. Whatever you're picturing, it's tougher, more stressful and more exhausting. But also better than you imagine. More fun. More cuteness. More smiles. More love. Twins. It's twice the craic, like.
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