You know that famous quote about the dance team Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers?
“Sure he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did...backwards and in high heels.”
This is how I feel when I meet parents of twins! Parenting one baby is probably the hardest job we will ever do. Even so, every day I see parents doing such an amazing job despite being overwhelmed, exhausted, and busy.
NOW, imagine that bone-deep exhaustion and overwhelm times two. Two times the diapers, two times the spit ups, two times the nighttime wake ups, two babies to feed, clothe, bathe, fill out forms for, etc. All the pizzazz, grace, and skill of Fred Astaire but somehow even more impressive because it is just that much harder.
In the past few months, I’ve welcomed a stunning outpouring of different twin families into my practice, and I am in awe of them all and what they do every day.
I love supporting twin families with the unique challenges they face in pregnancy and early parenting. Growing two babies at the same time is not for the faint of heart (or spine)! Being pregnant with twins means carrying about 10-14 pounds of babies, a few pounds of total amniotic fluid, plus a few pounds of total placentas. That’s a lot to carry around in one’s womb and can be really uncomfortable (understatement of the century). Chiropractic care can help optimize the babies’ positions and their parent’s pelvic bio-mechanics to ensure birthing two babies during the same labor goes as smoothly as possible. No matter how they are born, feeding and caring for two newborns on the outside is never ending and incredibly physically taxing.
What about those little twin babies? As you can imagine, it’s a tight squeeze sharing a uterus with your sibling! Over the years, I’ve supported twins with narrow newborn skull shapes, hip dysplasia, and general body tension as they work to unravel from these tight quarters in utero. Plus all the regular challenges that all little ones face as they adjust to life on the outside.
Unsurprisingly, these families need a lot of support emotionally and logistically too. I love hearing all their unique stories, meeting all their unique babies, validating their unique experiences as twins and twin parents, and helping connect them to all the resources they need to thrive.
Having so many twins moving in and out of my office doors these days feels like a double dose of chiropractic cheer. And that is something I’ll always be happy to have in abundance.
Warmly,
Dr. Lizzie
P.S. Yes, my Grandma was a twin, but sadly, she had a pretty fractured relationship with her twin sister. While their twin relationship is not one to try to emulate, working alongside so many twin families now does make me appreciate their mother, my Great-Grandmother, and all the challenges she must have faced so much more.