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.