12-month update

About 2-3 years ago when we were visiting my partner's family in Florida, I saw this TV commercial that I really liked! So when I explained it to my partner what the commercial was all about:

"You always went for tall, dark and handsome types, so who would have thought the love of your life would be short and bald! Having a baby changes everything"... He paused at first, gave me a look and said: "Who would have thought?!" lol - He likes to pick on my thinning hair and being short according to him - although I am 5'9" tall! :)

Anyway I cannot believe couple of years later, Anjali and Arian have become the love of our lives, and yes having a baby does change everything! We just celebrated their first birthday having a party with 40+ of our friends and family. The babies are too young to understand their first birthday, but I think for us it was celebrating a major milestone. Sharing a few pictures from the party and this summer below.

Babies each have 6 teeth. They now eat everything and have switched from formula to cow milk. Anjali is very close to walking - she holds the furniture while walking around, and Arian is crawling. Developmentally He is a little behind baby sister although he's 4 lbs heavier! :) 

Life has been good  but very busy with the babies. Although for a while I struggled with back pain and sciatica due to carrying/wearing the little ones. I have learned to be careful with my back and do my daily stretches / yoga. 

This past Spring / Summer, we took a few trips with the babies including a week in San Francisco, CA visiting my sister, then Boston, Lake George and Montreal. 

I haven't been that active on the blog land lately but happy to see SCI and Dr Shivani have expanded their business to Nepal giving other gays and singles the opportunity of becoming parents. These days we do think about a year ago when we were in Delhi for baby-pickup, and it brings back so much memory. I have to say we do miss New Delhi. Maybe in couple of years we will be ready for another baby!

Until next update, never give up on your dreams...

Babies having a great time at Coney Island on Labor Day

Anjali turning on TV to watch her cartoon!

Babies at 11 months

Arian playing in our Montreal apartment

Arian at 9.5 months

Arian enjoying the picnic in Lake George, NY at 10.5 months

Anjali being playful while Arian is serious by the lake in Lake George, NY

6-month update

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. Today our twins turned 6 months old, so it's time for an update.

Anjali and Arian are doing very well. They are becoming mobile! Anjali has been turning over, and Arian is close - it could be because he is about 2 pounds bigger than baby sister! :) They are changing daily. We have their 6-month appointment with their pediatrician next week. Hopefully we can start them on solids soon.

Looking back, I must say the first 2-3 months was rough specially with the sleep deprivation. I read a very interesting metaphor in my "Juggling Twins" book:
"Looking after infant twins is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. That is, the bridge is so long that by the time the paint crew finishes painting it from end to end, they have to start again back at the beginning with the next coat. Similarly, in the first months of having twins, one cycles repeatedly through the changing, feeding, burping, swaddling, and putting to sleep of each baby, one to begin the process over and over and over again."

On top of that, we had to deal with acid reflux, colic / gas problems with Anjali. I have kept wondering how single parents of twins do it. I hope they have some help. Thank God things eventually improved! Now for the most part, the babies sleep through the night for 8-9 hours straight, and we haven't even sleep-trained them.

I have to say in past few months, I gained a greater appreciation for parents specially moms for what they go through to raise children. Despite all the hardship, we love being dads. When the babies smile at us, it really melts our hearts every single day.

I was able to stay home for the first 3 months, and since the new year we have hired a wonderful nanny who takes care of the babies during day. Hiring the nanny was quite eventful. We replied to a few recommendations from other parents in our neighborhood, Park Slope. When we tried to set up interviews, 2 nannies refused to interview as soon as they found out we are same-sex parents. As you can imagine, it was disheartening to hear those words, as we were not expecting homophobia in our neighborhood. Fortunately that incident has been really the only bigotry we have faced as new gay parents. Something tells us it won't be the last! For the most part though, everyone around us has been very supportive.

My parents adore their new grandchildren and are so happy for me. I still cannot believe last year I wasn't even out to them. I never thought I will get to see this day when I can share this with my parents.

This year we had a rough winter as we got record snow in the New York area. Thank God Spring is finally here so we can take the babies out regularly.

Here are some pictures of the babies since my last update:

Baby Arian at 3 monhts

Baby Anjali at 4 months

4-mo Arian

Arian has mastered the art of putting himself to sleep! He puts a blanket on his face to block the lights and keep himself warm like that!

Anjali at 5 months on her bouncy chair playing with her Russian doll

Anjali practices turning over at 5 months

Hope everyone in the blog land is doing well.