Welcome to Twintales! My name is Carien and I am a mother of non-identical twin boys born in 2015. The first two years after they were born I was not able to do much besides taking care of them. It was great spending so much time with them, but I also was always tired and my body was (and still) is not 100% recovered from the pregnancy and birth. Even writing was too much then. Luckily I made lots of notes, so now that I feel better again I can start sharing my experiences from then and now.
On this website I will share my thoughts, our adventures and everything else that seems worth sharing or discussing regarding raising children, but also the consequences of that for your body, mental health and social life. Not everything has to change when you have kids, but a lot usually does.
We live in Brussels (Belgium) and are raising our boys bilingual. I speak English and my partner speaks Dutch to them. Two years down the line I can say this: its easier for them than it is for me! I am from the Netherlands originally, lived in Cape Town for a while and am now in Brussels for many years already with my Belgian partner.
I am also a member of a twin-group in Brussels which is great fun because its so international, everyone comes from somewhere else. I can only recommend twin-moms all over the world to connect and share. There is so much we can learn from each other and sharing stories, about sleepless nights to fellow mommies who know your pain and can give you tips, helps a lot.
This website is not specifically aimed at parents of twins, although there will be quite a few anecdotes regarding things that only happen with twins. I am sure this website will speak to all parents (-to be) as I often feel that having two kids whom are exactly the same age means you will experience everything there is to experience at a certain age… When I hear another mom telling me about her child I usually think; hey, one of my boys did or does that as well. When one twin sleeps trough the night, usually the other one does not, if you get what I mean… No child is the same, that is for sure, and having twins is double trouble and double the fun.
Enjoy our adventures and share in our exhaustion 😉