On Being a Dad of Twins

It didn’t take long for me to go from the idea of having one child, to the reality of having two right off the bat.  We ended up finding out we were pregnant with twins very early on, and from the first ultrasound, we’ve been shocked and awed on multiple levels.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being a dad of twins is definitely an immersive experience.  It has stretched me in many ways I never thought possible.  Without the strong community of friends we have in Hamilton, it would have been much more challenging.  From day one it has been all hands on deck, and constant sharing of duties so that sanity can be preserved for another moment longer… This is all done out of love, or for the preservation of it.  Being a dad of twins means you learn everything twice as fast.  Waking up in the night to help support the tandem feeding operation and moving along the assembly line to the changing of diapers…the copious amounts of diapers.   And now continuing to wake up at the literal crack of dawn to change them and give them their bottle. It’s been a blur and sometimes I look back and wonder how we did it.  

I proudly say that I’ve been winging it since the beginning as no amount of reading or pre-natal classes could have prepared me for it. Needless to say, I have learned a lot over the last 20 months.

Now we are in the toddler phase which has been pretty amazing.  This summer we put more miles on our cargo bike than I have put on a bike in years.  Riding around Hamilton through neighborhoods, and along the radial trails has been an awesome family activity for us.  To add another drastic change to our life, we also recently moved (the third move in three years) to a home near Gage Park and have been taking advantage of the amazing greenspace available to us in the heart of the city.  Luckily it feels like we have truly found a spot where we can set down roots and grow together as a family in our neighborhood and ever changing city.

Since having twins I find myself asking for help from other people more than I ever have in the past, and in that light a lyric from a Bob Dylan song always resonates with me:

‘May you always do for others

And let others do for you.’  

Having several hands on deck when being out and about with twins is critical to success, and I’m so thankful to everyone who has helped out over the last year and a half while raising these two gems, Nora and Willa.  The challenges that come with being a parent make the triumphs even more amazing. Seeing their elated reactions when I come home, and hearing their voices screaming ‘Daddy… Daddy!’ as I hear their little footsteps get closer to me, is truly inspiring.  

One thing that has been essential to this transition into fatherhood has been having a solid group of dad friends to adventure with, share experiences and struggle along the way.  I look forward to continuing the journey and documenting some of our steps as we go.

-Hans