I was 461 months pregnant at a kid’s birthday party when this momma approached me to introduce herself. This is a thing that twin moms do when they see other twin moms and it’s not at all weird because you are all in THE CLUB together and it’s critical that you share the inner workings of how to survive. She suggested I feel free to sit down while we talked, acknowledging that I probably wouldn’t be able to get back up again. She passed me her phone number and told me to call her when the babies were born and she’d explain.

When the twinados finally arrived she dropped off a meal and a note to remind me that I could call her anytime. She introduced me to a group of twin moms who helped me figure out how to carry two car seats at one time, how to tandem breastfeed, how to extract two slippery infants from the tub, how to buy onesies with zippers because snap suits would give you carpal tunnel syndrome from the endless diaper changes. Twin moms hand-me-down their extra baby gear and carry large bins of Pampers, wipes, bottles, snacks and clothes in their minivans because no diaper bag is ever large enough. They have rockin’ biceps on both arms and know how to hold two kids at once while chasing a three year old. They explain which grocery stores have the two-seater shopping carts and what to say when people ask if you used fertility treatments. They know about the NICU and they know a great night nanny you can call. They invite your whole family over to hang with other crazy twin families and they let you cry from your overwhelm at how hard and wonderful you never imagined it would be. They yell at your kids and you yell at theirs and everyone shares giant portions of BJs bulk sized snack packs. They bring over a blow up bouncy house so your kids can jump and leave you alone for a few minutes. They agree to be your emergency contact pickup person because they are the only people who have enough carseats to cover such an event.

Twin moms cross a crowded store to meet you and tell you they GET IT. They tell you that their twins are now 6 months, 5 years, high school seniors, college roommates, and grown adults…. with twins of their own.