2020-06-01_Mother_&_Baby

I putdownmy phonewitha sigh,relievednow

I’d gotthingsoff my chest.I’djustpostedan

Instagramstory abouthow thetwinshadcried

non-stopall day, andthat I wasexhausted.

Whena re plyfromanother twinmumpopped

up in mymessages, I couldhave wept.“You’re

notalone,”it read.“I’vehadoneofthose

days, too.” It wassuch a simplemessage,but

it meantthe worldto me.

Injusteightweeksof havingmy twin

boyandgirl I’ve cometo understandhow

importantit is to be able to vent.I blog

andposton socialmediawhen lifefeels

challenging, likewhenI’msurvivingonjust

onehourof sleep.Havingthat meansto

downloadmy feelingsis a hugehelp. Of

course, I’lltalkaboutthegoodtimes, too

andthere are lots of those!The benefitsfar

outweighthe toughtimes.

WhenI seetheway thetwinscomforteach

other, I countmy blessings.It’s something

totallyunique. If I putthem in their cribto

sleep, then popmy head backin, thetwin

that’s awakewillalwaysbe cuddlinginto the

twinthat’s asleep.And,withoutfail,they’ll

wakesnuggledup together.I didused to

wonderwhetherthey’d be closerif they were

thesamegender,butmoments likethat make

meappreciatehow strongtheirbondreally is.

I don’t know whereI’d bewithoutthe

extra-widecribI bought.It’s calledNext 2 me

andcanbe at tachedto my bed. It can also

be inclinedon justoneside, whichhas been

a godsendif oneofthemis under the

weather.I’ll oftenfindmy two-year-old,

Paisley,standingoverit,makingthetwins

smile.She lovesherroleas bigsister, which

is sucha reliefbecauseI usedto worry that

shewould feel left out.

Beinga twinmumis thehardestand most

rewardingthingI’ve everdone. I’ma naturally

organisedpersonandit’s mademeeven more

so. Ourlives canbe quiteregimentedthese

days,whichis the onlyoptionif we want to

getthingsdone! ButI wouldn’t change it for

theworld.I feel so unbelievablylucky.

Sophie

Thompson, 29,

a PA, lives in

Canterbury with

partner Eoin, twins

Minnie and Frank, eight

weeks, and daughter

Paisley,

two

Sophie with her

newborn twins

With big sister

Paisley

Minnie and Frank

love to snuggle

72 | June 2020 | motherandbaby.co.uk

PHOTOGRAPHY ASHLEIGH SHEA PHOTOGRAPHY