Life Before Kids Vs. After Kids

before kids

The photo above was taken exactly two years ago. Joey and I were already married for 14 months and hoping to start a family. A few months later, we found out we had two babies on the way. Twins! Imagine that! While we both knew parenthood would entail enormous responsibility, we didn't expect that it would mean...


Being used to watching big movie trailers on YouTube but not actually getting to watch the movies in theater on the first week of showing (or ever, really).

Playing nursery rhymes the whole day and knowing the lyrics and actions by heart instead of listening to normal adult music.

Worrying incessantly over milk intake, poop color/frequency, sleep hours and the overall well-being of two tiny humans instead of being calm and composed adults.

Passing out before 10PM with baby saliva all over our shirts instead of spending the evening marathon-viewing our favorite TV series.

Going out to dinner at 5PM instead of 7PM to avoid disturbing adult only tables at restaurants.

Choosing restaurants because they had enough high chairs or a kiddie menu instead of going with what cuisine we felt like eating that day. 

Planning every single detail of an overnight staycation and mapping out everything that could go wrong instead of just booking a spontaneous out of the country trip.

Packing two medium-sized suitcases (plus a diaper bag and strollers) for said overnight staycation instead of just packing one carry-on luggage each for a three-day trip.

Just settling for clean, washed hair instead of having regular trims and hair treatment appointments booked way in advance (me) or shaving facial hair only once a month instead of once a week (obviously, Joey).

Waking up at 6AM after shushing and rocking a fussy baby to sleep well past midnight instead of sleeping soundly until past noon after a night out.

Before parenthood, Joey and I were well-rested, relaxed and full of energy. We had lots of fun.

Now we're 15 months down our twin parenting adventure.

after kids

We took a picture in the same spot. Now there are four of us instead of only two. We're sleepless, harassed, and exhausted, yet still happy because now we know...

The contentment of a quick nap with our babies in our arms.

The joy of witnessing our toddlers light up at the sight of bubbles.

The pure happiness of snuggling up in bed with the twins while reading "Moo, Baa, La la la!" 20 times in a row.

The wonder of gazing lovingly into our children's eyes and thinking how we got so lucky.

And most of all, the feeling that our love is inexhaustible because of our kids.

I'm sure that between all the tandem nappy changing and twin refereeing going on, I don't get to say this enough:

Thank you, Joey for our two wins and the life we are building together. Even though I hardly have time to comb my hair, we probably won't be able to watch Infinity War next month, and we won't get to sleep in until 2030.

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