This fantastic list is courtesy of The parents of multiples at Microsoft. Do you have any to add? Add them in the comments!
1. Test baby & control baby.
With all the worries that parents of singletons have over every sniffle, delay in crawling and walking, and refusal of anything that resembles a vegetable, you can really start second-guessing yourself as a parent. You start to wonder if you’re the cause of your baby’s delayed development in some category or another. Twins really remove a lot of the guesswork. If one refuses to sleep at night but the other sleeps well then you know it’s probably the baby’s issue and not your own.
One parent said, “One of our babies started crawling a month before the other. Were we worried? Nope. We got one crawling. The other will come along when she’s ready.”
2. Too tired to sweat the small stuff.
Sink is filling up with dishes? Oh well. I’ve got twins. Running late? My excuse beats yours. I’ve got twins. Lawn has grown so long that the neighbor decided to mow it? No guilt. They know I’ve got twins.
A parent had this story to share: When our twins were old enough, we decided to take them to the local Gymboree so that they could have interaction with other babies their age. At the end, they brought the “potential members” together to try to sign them up and answer any questions the parents may have about the program. We were surprised at the list of questions that other people had regarding the background of the teachers, the company, and everything else. We were just happy our babies had a good time and it was close to home.
3. Airport security takes pity on you.
It seems that watching a family struggle with multiple little ones can cause security to lighten up a bit. One family took their six-month-old twins on a 14-hour international trip to see their extended family. After reading up on the horror stories that other parents when through when trying to bring formula through security and knowing that they had to pack enough for two babies with time to/from the airport and in case of delays, they were really worried when they packed 20 pounds of pre-mixed formula in a bag.
TSA must’ve felt sorry for them and decided that we just didn’t fit the terrorist/smuggler profile as they were practically waved through security. The agents even held the babies while the family loaded everything onto the x-ray scanner and didn’t even bother to open the bag labeled, “baby formula”.
4. Babies in diapers is over faster than if you have them at different times.
If these are your only babies then you’ll have half the “diaper phase window” of any parents of singletons.
5. Teething is done in half the time.
From one parent: “Our twins did nearly all their teething at the same time.” If you’re going to lose sleep over a teething baby, you might as well lose sleep over two teething babies.
6. Two armfuls of hugs.
What better feeling than to come home at the end of the day to have both of your babies run up to you and hug you at the same time?
7. Half the pediatrician appointments and it’s okay to be late.
Sure, you need two parents to wrestle with the extra babies at the pediatrician appointment but if you’re one of those dedicated parents who never misses an appointment then you’re burning through a lot less sick time to have appointments.
One parent said, “Doctors and nurses understand if we are 15-20 minutes late to an appointment – Just showing up with 2 babies is a big deal even if we are not on time”
8. Less jealousy among parents.
There are many articles that discuss the jealousy that fathers experience when they’re feeling left out of the bond that comes between a mother and her baby. Not so for the father of multiples. He’s 100% involved on day one! There’s always a baby for each parent to take care of.
9. Instant playmates with one not being significantly ahead of the other.
Not exactly, “Instant”. It actually takes a significant amount of time before they even realize there’s another baby around. The interaction is slow coming seems to take off like a rocket when it does happen. It’s like one day they wake up and realize there’s somebody else to interact with.
10. Every day is a play date.
Who needs to coordinate a play date? They’re on-demand. No scheduling required.
11. Baby Telepathy.
Says one father, “It’s amazing to see the expression of your babies when you’re playing with one of them. Even the one who isn’t getting direct attention can be so amused to watch you play with their sibling. Maybe this would happen with any two babies that are together but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s nothing short of magic. Sometimes when one is crying, the other will take their bottle or pacifier and give it to the crying one. It’s as if they know what they would need in that same situation. Sometimes it works too!”
12. Bath time in half the time.
Once they’re old enough to stand/sit in the bathtub then it’s assembly-line time. Start from the left. Add water to baby as you move to the right. Start from the left and soap up babies until you get to the right. Rinse left-to-right and dry left-to-right and you’re all set.
13. Only one birthday (date) to remember.
Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that you’ll get away with just one party.
14. One date for parent-teacher conference.
Get both babies in the same class and parent-teacher conference time is scheduled much quicker. One brings home homework and you can be sure the other has the same homework.
15. Twin discounts.
There’s a whole industry of people who will be happy to make money from you. Although twin discounts aren’t going to put them out of business, you’re still getting something the rest of the world doesn’t get.
16. Formula switch – one baby is full? Give the bottle to the other.
This works best when one wakes up after the other and the formula didn’t get old. If the first one doesn’t finish the amount you estimated they need, just refill and use the rest for the second baby.
17. Lunches: Make that a double…
Babies get more variety of that baby food. After they share a “Chicken Casserole Puree” (yuck), it’s on to shared sweet potatoes (and parents don’t mind finishing up the sweet potatoes).
18. Less guessing on toys – one of them will love it.
We always hear those parents of singletons complaining about all the toys their kids never play with. It’s a rare thing for the parent of twins. Just find the toys with the good rating, drop it on the floor, and one of them will go for it. Of course, sometimes they BOTH go for it and you have to run interference.
19. Can’t decide between two names? Use both!
Not much to say about this one. We guess that means one gets the name honoring uncle Jehoshaphat and one gets a name that you really wanted to name your baby.
20. The baby laundry is always a full load.
No guilt about half-a-load of baby laundry. That hamper is ALWAYS full.
21. No high-ego, “I can handle it myself,” internal conflicts.
Everybody warns you from the moment you find out you’re having twins: You’re going to be super busy. Be sure to accept any offers of help and delegate work. We’ve never had the, “we can do it ourselves”, ego. Anybody who offers to help will immediately get a task.
You’re not out to impress anybody because most people are impressed just to watch you juggle two babies.
22. Put half the effort in teaching.
One parent of multiples says, “I try to teach both but for sure one of them is hardly interested. So when the one who stays and learns shows off to her sister what she knows, her sister learns from her. I don’t have to spend my time teaching her. For example, one of my daughters taught the other one to read book. Now both of them love books.”
23. You are done at one time.
As a mom, you do not have to take break from your career 2 times. You do not have to go through labor pain 2 times, You don’t have to go through the sleepless nights 2 separate times You just have to do it once.
24. When Grandparents throw in their wisdom and you don’t want it- Twins is a blessing (if they didn’t have twins that is)!
If Mother-in-laws or moms try to teach you how to raise your baby and how they did it, now you have a great way to tell them to back off-“Just say, they are twins, it doesn’t work that way”! And if they still don’t get it, just tell them, they have no clue how it is to raise 2 at one time (esp. if they are trying to throw the guilt trip on you).
25. Less Obligations: Extended family understands if you don’t returns calls.
One parent told us, “I no longer have to worry about returning phone calls from extended family on time. They know what sort of circus we are in with 3 young kids”
26. Lots of cute pictures.
When we said that twins are 10 times as hard as singletons and triplets are 10 times as hard as twins, we believe that they’re also 10 (or 100) times as cute! Picture of the twins smiling at each other, holding hands, lying down next to each other just make our hearts melt.
27. Increased Efficiency.
One parent of multiples told us, “After twins I’m much more efficient and organized at home and at work. This is helping me and my family big time.”
28. Appreciation of little things
One parent said, “Now with the twins if I get a chance to work out even once a week or get to watch recorded TV even once or twice in the week I’m so happy.”
Firetrucks and Firemen are like rockstars to them; they see them in all of their books, they have toys of them... so imagine sitting in a real-live one! The boys are so excited in this photo they went nearly catatonic. 
We were the luckiest family in town!
Firetrucks and Firemen are like rockstars to them; they see them in all of their books, they have toys of them... so imagine sitting in a real-live one! The boys are so excited in this photo they went nearly catatonic. 
We were the luckiest family in town!
Milo waiting for Mommy to stop taking photos and start pushing already!
All three guys play with one of the super fun toys from 
"Come on, Levi. I heard that reindeer can fly. Maybe we'll convince that one over there to take us for a ride."
Great Aunt Phoebe sent TWO of these little Ty treasures to the boys but one has grown real legs and walked away. Of course, Ty only makes their little fluffy loves in limited quantities and we can't find another one - since I didn't save the special hang tag which told us his name. So, I ordered what I THOUGHT was another DoggyDoggy, but when he arrived he was only four inches big. And though I tried to convince Levi that this tiny DoggyDoggy was just as good ... he just didn't buy it. 
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