When it comes to twins one and one do not equal two, says Brona Ni Mhuiri, mother of almost six-year-old Roisin and Orla. "Their energy levels are much higher when they're together, it's more like two to the power of 10."
She tells of the day, some years ago, when she turned around to find her very small twins missing. They had dragged a chair over to the front door, opened it, and were now at the gate, complete with chair. When one child might flag, the other takes over, she says.
Energy, enthusiasm and a sense of mission are fused in her voice as she explains that twins are a family thing - her grandmother had three sets of twins and her sister has a set.
"We were living in Uganda and I came home in what I thought was plenty of time for the birth but they were born nine weeks premature. "They were in Holles Street hospital for the first six weeks." At 3 lb 10 oz each, their weight was fine for such early births, their health was good - it was simply a matter of waiting for them to grow. Born in October, Roisin and Orla accompanied their parents back to east Africa in January. Twins are very common there, accounting for about one in 20 births, says Brona - and it was fantastic living there for the twins' first year.
"Childrearing practices are very different, with lots of love in both circumstances. But it was very much trial and error for me, with no family close by. I was not as relaxed as I might have been . . . the biggest problem is sleep. When one twin is asleep, the other is usually awake so there is no sense of time for yourself. I've always said Amnesty International recognises sleep deprivation as a form of torture. You certainly don't function very well. It is only in the last one-and-a-half years that they have slept right through the night.
"It's very task-oriented. It seems you have just finished feeding one and the other needs to be fed." Brona breastfed her babies and says she had to keep a notebook to make sure both got equal feeds.
Back in Ireland, she found problems just going to the supermarket - checkouts are not double-buggy friendly and most supermarkets didn't have double trollies. This has improved in the past year or two. "So, you could have one child scrabbling all over the shopping, trying to eat raw sausages or blue cheese . . . Pavements are not very double-buggy friendly and there's no room in coffee shops."
A typical day now begins at 7 a.m. The twins have chosen their clothes the previous night (they never dress identically). "We call out the checklist before they leave . . . lunch, drink, bag, books, coat . . . it's all about organisation." While the twins are in their all-Irish school, Brona is teaching in Oldbawn Community School, Tallaght, Co Dublin.
She jobshares, working in the morning: "After collecting them from school, it's taxi service time: Monday, it's ballet; Tuesday, swimming; Wednesday, visit to Granny; Thursday, singing . . ." Then there's homework, in separate rooms.
There are turns to feed the fish, to be first in the bath, to choose the first bedtime story, before bed at 8 p.m.
Roisin and Orla look alike but Brona is not sure if they are actually identical - a blood test would be required. As chairperson of the Irish Multiple Births Association (IMBA), she says it is important that twins don't become "the twins"; they need to maintain a sense of self. "When you stand identical twins in front of a mirror and ask them which is which, they always point to the other one."
IMBA holds its annual conference on Saturday, October 21st, in the Red Cow Moran's Hotel, Dublin. Contact Jeannette Brophy (tel: (01) 874 9056) or write to IMBA, Carmichael House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 (e-mail: twinsplusimba@ eircom.net). See also page 7.
