Elizabeth: Dreams Come True x2

It is so wonderful to have my friend, Elizabeth, share her experiences today! Elizabeth holds a very special place in my family's heart: she was our first babysitter ever. She was the first one (besides Tenly's Godmother, Valinda) to babysit Tenly. While we were working at the ministry, we always found one of the students to be our sitter if/when we needed one. Elizabeth was an easy first choice. She worked in our church nursery (and eventually headed it up), her then boyfriend (now husband) Jonathan worked with Lupe in the kitchen- so we had the opportunity to get to know and adore Elizabeth early on. We instantly became friends and my girls fell in love with her.

Liz with MY 2 girls

Not to long after they were married, Jonathan and Liz left the ministry to be closer to family in Alabama. Some time later she told us she was pregnant, and another announcement followed that it was TWINS! God knows the ones who can handle multiples and those who can't- I am the latter.
Elizabeth is one of those that you just know is "called" to be a Mom. She oozes patience (even with other peoples kids, lol), and has a passion about seeing children succeed in everything they do. There are so many other Mom's, like myself, who  have been so privileged to have Elizabeth impart into their children's lives at a young age. It's great to see her imparting into her own girls and watch her dream to be a Mom unfold- Double time!

My name is Elizabeth painter, my husband Jonathan and I have been married 4 years next month. We  live in Alabama with our Twin girls, Emily and Kaily, who are 18 months- what a HUGE surprise they were!
Growing up, all I ever thought of was becoming a Wife and Mom, I am so blessed to have accomplished that with my wonderful husband and daughters. I never knew if/when/how I would get there, I was just confident that someday I would meet the man God had for me, we would get married and have some kids, 3-4 seemed like a good number.

Things have not been 'picture perfect", for example, my husband has been working out of state for a few months with only a couple weekend breaks to come home in between. I do have help from family and neighbors, but it's not the same as Jon being here and I often find myself feeling like a "single Mom". It's hard enough having my husband far away for extended periods of time, but when you put the "first time Mom with TWINS" in there- it can be overwhelming. We make it a point to make the most of the times Jonathan is able to come home and do everything as a family.
Do you find yourself doing things as a Mom that you swore you would never do? 
While babysitting and working in the church nursery, I always found myself thinking, "my kids will be like _____" or "my kids will never be like _____". I never gave much thought on how I would accomplish that though.

My Subconscious Ideals: 
I'd home school my kids, since I had been home schooled and enjoyed it. We would be in church every Sunday as a family and as involved as possible. We would have a beautiful, perfectly decorated home that wouldn't get messy with toys all offer the living room. Some of those things have com true and others seem like very VERY wishful thinking.
Other Mommy Ideals: 

I would have gone through labor and delivery 100% drug free. I would of breastfed exclusively for at least 6 months. I would have had my child(ren) attached to me, "wearing them" everywhere, keeping them as close as possible at all times. I would of been able to endure cloth diapers and make all of the girls baby food and cooking perfectly healthy meals. Obviously, that list is not possible for Mom's with one baby, much less 2! I am proud of myself though, knowing I am doing the best that I can for my girls (often alone) and learning to trust God completely with everything else.

Schedule or No Schedule? 
My girls do keep somewhat of a schedule. They wake up, eat and go to bed at the same times. If one happens to wake up before the other, I will let her come out and play- although she typically wants to go wake up her sister. When the other wakes up without her sister being in the room., she will start crying. They have been together since forever and are very close. They are wonderful about being able to sleep through noise- one of the great points of twins that helps me out a lot.
Labor Meds? 

I used to tell myself that "labor" in childbirth really means just that "work" not necessarily the "pain". I really thought that if I could make up my mind that it would go smooth and easy, it would.
I did have to be induced a couple days before my due date. I was in labor all during the night, they did finally break my water to try to speed things up. They kept asking what my pain level was and I kept reassuring them that I was fine- very uncomfortable- but not in actual pain. I did eventually get an epidural after that, and we still have several hours to go. Early the next morning, the girls did finally arrive- I pushed them out 40 minutes apart.
Breastfeeding? 

I knew I wanted to breastfeed, and did have intentions of doing it exclusively. But, after the exhaustion of the long labor and delivery (and I lost a lot of blood) and trying to learn how to feed TWINS at the same time, Jon and I decided that we might as well take advantage of the help while we had it. We let the nurses keep the babies in the nursery for a few hours while we had some rest and allowed them to give the girls formula. I did still nurse and pump as much as I could for a few months, but I just couldn't produce enough milk to keep up with those two girls.
I Accomplished a Hard Task at a Young Age:
I knew I could not always  hold the two of my girls and I wanted them to learn Independence and how to self-soothe- of course with them having the confidence Mommy was nearby. I worked on them getting use to lying down on their own and putting themselves to sleep pretty early on. Using swings also helped a lot so that I could get my stuff done.

I Wish I Had Time Away:
I still don't get out of the house that much, besides drive-thrus, banks, and Wal-Mart which has the double seated carts. Unless I have someone else to help carry or push one, it's just to difficult! I am finding that as they are getting older, it is getting easier to do more things without help.
My Advice To Another Mom: 
Don't worry about what others are expecting/thinking. Your children don't really care how you do things as long as they know you love them while doing it.