Silly things people say about Multiples

[MuckingFuddle]

I was in a lift the other day when a lady walked in and said "Oh look Twins - oh no they cant be haven't got matching shoes on" I did this then said " They are Twins they are just wearing different shoes"

So apart form the usual handsfull and double trouble - what funny comments have you had ?

mucking, I was stocking up on infacol yesterday and got a right funny look off the pharmacist... had to spell it out for her, yes 6 bottles looks like a lot, but they're 6 weeks old, this wind/reflux/whatever is probably going to last another 6 weeks, and there are two of them...

minesapint, you'd want to see my suntan! That's the other advantage to being out of the house all day every day. Also, I figure that if I have a tandem feeding meltdown with the small people and I'm in a cafe, someone will take pity and hold/feed one for me...

Not moaning minesapint - just swopping funny stories
I think mostly people are just interested in multiples and say things before they think to start a conversation - like they cant be twins the have got different shoes on

ok maybe some bits are a bit moany - but I like a good moan it's good for the soul. Like you said though some comments can be hurtful and rude

"Did you know you were having two?"

'Erm..........'

mucking thats what I meant sorry you have a nice story to tell think we should concentrate on those. I keep telling myself if noone took an interest in my twins I would wonder why? and theyre genuinely interested too I didnt have a clue about twins before probably would have made the double trouble comment are they identical etc would be a bit upset if I knew what they went and said about me after! But thats just me I like a good moan about other stuff some days.

beyoglu I know mine is peeling off now need more sun! Has anyone ever offered to do that then? Noone ever has for me! I wouldnt expect them to but now wondering why not.....

feed one of the babies I mean

My DCDA twins aren't born yet and I have recently found out we are having two girls. Some people have responded weirdly saying it is a pity I didn't have one of each! And that I can always try again for a boy! I find it so strange and rude.

minesapint, not yet, but I did ask a nice lady who'd been chatting to us to hold my wee reflux sufferer while I fed the other one...

Last week I had a total stranger ask if mine were 'naturally conceived'. I was so shocked. A middle aged man asking if I have sex with my husband! I answered by doing a guppy face at him in silence for what seemed like 10 minutes.

We had to take DTS to the OOH doctor last night as he had a v high temperature. She said 'oh are they twins? A boy and a girl, how nice'. Then (and this is from a qualified GP)........
'Are they identical?????'
Aaaaaaarrrrggghhh!!

I get loads of lovely comments, which I really enjoy, but they are far outweighed by the moronic things people say. I don't usually mind but I was having a bad day the other day and I just could not be bothered to come up with a response to "oh, twins!" which people seem to thinks a great opener to a sparkling conversation. But my favourite so far was from a lady in a shop who irritated me from the off by addressing me through my girl twin (they are b/g) who was crying, by saying "is nobody taking any notice of you?" even though I was trying to collect my shopping and pay. She then asked if they were identical and when I said no she said "will they become identical?". Wtf???

Don't get me started on them being addressed as "the twins". DH had to tell his parents that they had their own names and to stop referring to them as that. Mind you, I know several twin mums who do do that though.
Fortunately my b/g don't look amazingly alike so as they got older, the public stupid comments definitely slowed down.

To all the people who get asked 'are they twins?' - I get asked the same question every Thursday when I look after my friend's son who is three months older than my little girl and they both look similar. I'm sorry that people say such silly things. I have so much respect for mothers of multiples, what an incredible job you all do. It is so much trickier looking after two babies than one.

I have ID girl, now aged 3. In response to 'double trouble' I've ALWA YS replied, 'nope, twice the fun' and if someone has been unfortunate enough to say to me 'twins, I can't think of anything worse', I reply 'and I'm sure your children feel the same about having you as a mother'. I just can't let it go - thats my pride and joy your talking about and I'm trying really really hard to be the best mum I can.

oh, just remembered, when the girls were about 6wks old i went to a shopping centre with my cousin, we were stood chatting, me holding onto pram, I looked up to see a group of people taking photos of the girls, think they were tourists due to the camera, rucksacks etc, anyway, they saw me looking, smiled, pointed to the girls, gave me a thumbs up and walked off - I stood there opened mouthed and did nothing, still beat myself up about that now!

You probably mean well, primgravida, but that it's another thing that really gets me annoyed - the trickier thing. I hear it far too much and I really do not like it.
Expensive yes, but not necessarily trickier.

I still get asked if my dtg's are identical. They are 6 yo, one brunette straight hair, blue eyes and pale skin, the other blonde curls, brown eyes and tanned complexion. They don't even look related never mind id twins!

I always reply to people who say 'double trouble' - 'yes but twice the love'

I get asked regularly if it's a different teaching assistant or teacher letting the kids out school if I'm taking both. Er yes I am they're both mine. Always get a strange look because they are in same class but not obviously sisters.

Used to get asked when pregnant with dd3 what I'd do if it was twins again? That used to really annoy me

cupcakes I get people ask if they can take a picture of my twins. But at least they asked. That is terrible and am shocked that anyone would think it's ok to take a photo of a stranger's babies

I don't really understand why it is offensive/annoying for people to comment on how tricky/difficult it must be to be a twin mum. Of course it is harder than having a singleton?

I don't have any others but going by experience and comparing with friends with singles, no it wasn't trickier for us. Hearing it all the time, it is very annoying.

Really? So it's just as easy to feed two as it is one? Ditto settle in the night, change 2 explosive nappies etc? Never any problems where you couldn't go to something because you have 2 rather than 1 -eg I go to monkey music classes but have to take a bouncy chair and one of them sits out part of the class, also have to go swimming with DH whereas all single mums can go alone. It's all manageable of course but it's surely harder than just having one to deal with?

Like I said, I didnt find it harder, I just did what I wanted to .But this thread is about what is annoying to each of us and this is to me. Not necessarily you. So, back to it ;)

The reason why people ask, "are they twins?" is because sometimes you can't be too sure! My friend is a CM and had her DS and her mindee in a double pram. Both were the same age (about a month or so between them) and, to be fair, looked really similar (both blonde, wavyish hair). She used to get sooo many comments asking if they were twins, to which she would laugh and say, "no, one isn't even mine!"

Also, some close in age siblings look really similar. My SILs used to get mistaken for twins all the time (16 months between them and the oldest one has always been small). At the school that I work at there are two sisters, one in year 3 and one in year 4. They are both IDENTICAL! It took me a couple of days to work out that they weren't actually the same person, then I wondered if they were twins - nope, not even the same age!

Fair enough glitter!

primi thankyou for your kind comment. A lovely girl posted on my (shh facebook) wall that she thinks Im superwoman and loads of people 'liked' it. Lol. Made me feel all and . Also i met this lovely old lady today who told me (gushing with pride) about her twin great grandchildren who are now 18 months and trouble- but I could tell she was so so proud of them. Thats what i love about having twins everyone wants to talk to you-though previously I didnt like to stand out so still need to brush up on my end of the conversation skills- again! Whilst I can see that there are loads of stupid tales people have posted some of them really do me as to why people get so annoyed. Though maybe ask me again in a few years! TBH I love that people love my twins and want to talk about them even if they can be a bit ignorant in their knowledge sometimes. I dont really understand why people ask if theyre identical for boys and girls though-Ive been asked if I have b/g twins a few times they are b/b) one lady looked a bit hurt when I said 'no, one just looks like a girl' but I didnt mean it sarky-he does!

Hi Glittertwins, I'm sorry I truly didn't mean to offend you or anyone else. I personally find it harder caring for two babies simultaneously than looking after my own two singletons with a three and a half year gap, but I'm an amateur with multiple babies. Also friends with twins and older children told me that they found the baby years harder with twins, especially night feeds and bottle/ breast-feeding. However, they also said that it gets easier as they get older and their twins entertain each other to greater extent than other siblings. This is a great thread and I've learnt what not to say to parents of multiples.