Change of 'tude

When I was pregnant I vowed never to dress my twins in the same outfits. I hadn't counted on the primeval instinct to make them look like little peas in a pod. For a while I indulged this rather twee desire and had the girls toddling round in different versions of the same dress or matching shorts and t-shirt. Just recently I have reverted back to my original dress theory.

Babies don't have the most complex of personalities. Their main characteristics are labelled as good/bad sleeper, good/tricky eater and cryer/non cryer. Now my twins are well over two years old they can do more human things such as choose the direction in which they walk, converse, make other children laugh (or cry) and generally position themselves in the world as singular entities as opposed to two babies whose mother guided them through routines where a step outside of syncronicity brought about bulging eyes and an increased sauvignon blanc consumption.

The first 2 years were merely a test of survival. Whether I dressed them the same or not was irrelevant. I feel inordinately proud that we have made it through still married and with a smidgen of breath in our lungs. Now that the dust is settling into the daily sandstorm of life with small children I want to dress them differently. Partly out of respect for twin1 and twin2 that they are separate people and partly out of respect for the lad who has endured and will continue to endure much shoving aside by friendly strangers who crane their necks inside the pushchair and coo over the visual spectacle of little clones.

I don't want my three to go through life as two groups - the twins then lad. I want them to be three people as well as understanding the natural grouping that twins have. Life is so much more fun with them all chatting, playing and being real people.

photo of twin2 taken by Maree Wilkinson