I remember that first ultrasound. What a sight i must have been, walking into that room, alone, but as confident and cool as ever. After a few minutes, the technician pauses and says “congratulations, you are having twins.”

WHAT?! Um, no, please check again. I think I cried a millisecond after she said that, and rambled and babbled. What was I going to do? How was I going to do this on my own? There was NO WAY I could do this, right? Things don’t always go as we plan.

Fast forward 4 years and I am the proud parent of twin boys. I did it. Not only have I managed to raise these boys to FOUR years old, I am slowly learning to raise one of them with special needs. It’s not easy, nothing is, but I would not trade my boys, even on their worst days, for anything else in the world.

My son Aidan has an unknown disease. This disease prevents him from walking, has some developmental delays, and we deal with some minor breathing problems. None of this has stopped me from feeling blessed and grateful about my life. I really believe my sons and I are soul mates.
How do I do it?

I reach out for help. I am not too proud to know that I can’t do this on my own.  I was VERY fortunate to have a lot of angels come my way.  Make these people a part of your network.  Being grateful, thankful and kind will keep these people in your life a very long time.

I take better care of myself as a mother…I used to be a smoker, drinker, unhealthy eater, never exercised…you know, basic mother of the year…I’m changing, and I feel better than ever. (BTW I did take good care of myself WHILE pregnant)

I ask questions. I was in the Doctor’s office the other day and I KNOW my doctor was trying to explain to me in the SIMPLEST of  terms, but I still did not get it.  I did not leave that office until I did.

Find a support group. This is really something I have not done, and it IS on my to do list.  I find a lot of support through my church and friends.  Since my son does have an UNKNOWN disease, it’s hard to find a specific one that can relate to our situation.  I know, excuses will get me nowhere.  I am on it!

Take advantage of resources. My son has speech, physical and occupational therapy once a week.  I RARELY miss an appointment.  These people are wonderful educational resources.  This is what they do for a living, use them.

Keep things normal. What I mean by this, basically my twin boys have the same bed times, same rules, same discipline.  We have routines.  We read books.  We go to the park.  Keeping certain parts of our lives “normal” has really worked for me.

I honestly feel we are never given more than we can handle.  My kids were given a bath, I read them 3 books, put them to bed and asked each of them to tell me about their day.  Aidan told me he “went to the city, climbed a ladder, saved a dog on a roof.”  Hmmm, How was my day you ask?…I just completed another day of raising twin boys…all in a day’s work.