In today's episode, Nat chats with Vanilynne Gulla, mom of 3-year-old twin girls plus a 6-year-old singleton boy. Vanilynne shares all the details of life with a "pair and a spare", including a bumpy twin pregnancy that lasted to 37 weeks, how well her son did when bringing home the babies, how different her twins are, what their bedtime routine looks like, and much more.
Vanilynne Gulla is a former military brat, having lived in 10 different homes and gone to 10 different schools by age 10. Because of this childhood, she's come to appreciate the culture and diversity around her, from food to customs to points of view. This knack for observation led her to a career in TV research, where she analyzes what people like and want to see more of on TV. She lives in NYC, living her best life with her husband Dan, 6-year old son Eli, and twin 3-year old daughters, Alma and Ramona. She prides herself on raising her children to know and be proud of their multicultural background, and once they're old enough to appreciate it, hopes to take them to the places of their heritage.
Vanilynne's Top 3 Pieces of Advice for Twin Parents:
1. Breathe! Diaper changes, endless amounts of laundry, getting food on the table aside, take a moment to realize what a superhero you are bringing these wonderful human beings into the world. You, yes you, are doing an amazing job.
2. Make time for yourself to show your children you are your own person too. Whether it's fitness, leading an advocacy group, maintaining a fashion vlog, DJing, or selling your creative wares on Etsy, don't forget to do you! It is definitely easier said than done in the first precious months, but when you are ready to give yourself permission to carve out time for you, do it.
3. Taking photos of your kids is great, but, moms especially - make sure you are in photos with your children. Posed photos are great, but don't overlook the value of photos of you and them in everyday situations like mealtime, bathtime, etc. Think of the feelings that you and your kids will have seeing these photos again 20 years down the road. It won't matter whether you didn't have makeup on, or had spit-up on your shirt, or that you didn't have time to otherwise pose. Polished or not, make sure you are in photos!
3 Things She Wishes She Had Done Differently:
1. I need schedules and routines to feel like I have a sense of control. There have definitely been some times I wish I were looser to feel more in the moment. One day, I'll find that right balance!
2. I find I sometimes give in too easily to the twin who's demanding something or crying more. Doing so rewards that twin in the wrong way - being more intentional with boundaries and rules is something to focus on!
3. I wish I exposed my twins to a variety of foods a lot sooner. I was brought up as a child to not waste any food and that made me hold back from making new foods for my twins anticipating we'd have a lot of leftover food on the floor. While my girls are certainly not the pickiest kids in the world, I do think their palate would be much wider if I worked a little harder at providing them more types of food.
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