'They chose to stay together': How one mum finally split up her twins

"The hardest part was working out how to divide the ‘stuff’ they’ve always shared. We’ve never bothered to divide clothes, school uniforms, games or books before..."

We always saw sharing a room as an important part of the bonding process for our twins. It never occurred to us to put them in separate bedrooms. 

When our twin boys were born, we slept them in separate Moses baskets in our bedroom. It was handy having them close by for night feeds and I liked them being close to one another as it helped them (and me) settle.

They quickly outgrew the baskets, so we moved them into their own cots in a bedroom together where we could keep an eye on them with a remote-control video monitor that allowed us to switch between the cots. 

At the time, we didn’t have the space for them to have their own rooms but, even if we did, we’d have kept them in the same room.

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Sharing a room eventually became a challenge

They’d been together in the womb and they’d been together non-stop since birth, so it didn’t feel right to separate them. I loved watching their interactions as they cooed and giggled and developed their own twin talk from their cots as they grew. 

Amazingly, they never woke one another; when they were asleep, they were deeply asleep and no amount of screaming would wake them.

But sharing a bedroom proved challenging at nap time as they got older as they just wanted to babble and throw their teddies at one another rather than snooze. 

When they started attempting to scale the sides of their cots, it was time to move to toddler beds.

Karen's twin boys. Source: supplied

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Toddler twins sharing a room

Two toddlers sharing a room was total and utter chaos. They used to jump on each other’s beds and throw their covers on the floor. They’d grab every book from their bookcase and pull everything out of their toy boxes, then they’d throw all of it over the stairgate on their bedroom door! 

As their room was at the top of the stairs, we’d end up with a trail of toys scattered down the staircase. 

Eventually, after running around ragged, they would crash, curled together in bed like a pair of sweet, sleeping angels.

Although it was a bonkers, exhausting time where we had to put them back in their own beds a million times every night, I knew that one day I’d miss it.

Their fine baby hair smelled deliciously of baby shampoo, their perfect, teeny fingers curled around their blankets, and their gentle, contented breathing as they lay squashed up against one another in the tiny bed.

One look at them like this and I’d forget the two hours of excitement it took to get here.

Image: Supplied

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The time has finally come...

As the years passed, we had the space for them to have their own room. We offered it to them but they always chose to stay together and that made me really happy. 

We’ve been lucky as our boys get on so well. They want to be in class together at school, they share lots of the same friends and, although they’re like chalk and cheese, they’re the best of friends. 

Finally, now they’re teenagers, the time has come for them to carve out their own space. We’ve let them lead the way, but they’re ready and they’re excited about getting their own room and designing it themselves (which means endless visits to Ikea to plan furniture and lots of talk about cool LED lighting and gaming chairs).

Now, we’ve got to work out how to divide the ‘stuff’ they’ve always shared. We’ve never bothered to divide clothes, school uniforms, games or books before, but we’re going to need to navigate splitting their things across two rooms. 

I always knew as they grew this would happen, but it’s strange going through the process and wondering how on earth we’re going to decide whose socks are whose! It’s kind of like breaking up with someone, where you have to see who has the most history with an item. 

Staying close

Although they’re ready for their own space, they’ve asked that we reorganise the bedrooms in the house so they can be next door to one another. 

They’re ready for this next step of independence, so long as they’re only divided by a thin wall. One step at a time. 

Originally published as 'They chose to stay together': How one mum finally split up her twins