INSIGHTS ABOUT TWIN PARENTING FROM A TWIN DAD

We think twin dads are superdads and we are on a continuous quest to learn more about their insights into twin life. We interviewed Greg Pinn about how it is being a twin dad to his adorable twin girls, aka the Pinn Twins. 

Read on to learn about what fascinates Greg about twin fatherhood,  what twin myth he thinks need to be debunked and what has surprised him the most. 

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?

My name is Greg Pinn. I work from home in financial services.

WHAT FASCINATES YOU THE MOST ABOUT TWINS (ESPECIALLY YOUR OWN)?

I have identical twin girls who are 4 years old.

The weirdest thing lately is that they are speaking in the plural.  "We want mac and cheese for dinner." or "We want to go to the park."  When they do this, they've never discussed it before and they seem to always agree when they say it. So weird.  

Because they're identical, the differences between the two of them, both physically and mentally, are so interesting to watch develop.  One of my girls has a brown slice in her otherwise blue eyes. She has it in one eye and her sister doesn't. She's had it since birth.

 

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST FEAR YOU HAD GOING INTO BEING A TWIN DAD?

I was pretty freaked out when we found out (around 10 or 12 weeks).  

Neither my wife nor I had ever imagined having twins.  We were thrilled to have a baby, but twins hadn't crossed our minds.  I think I was most afraid of the unknown.

I felt like I understood what having a kid would be like, but twins was just crazy.

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT YOUR TWINS?

Watching them develop their own skills, likes, dislikes, and personality has been very fun to watch.  

They are growing into two unique individuals with a very close bond that I'll never understand.

WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE MYTH ABOUT HAVING TWINS YOU WOULD LIKE TO DEBUNK?

The only way to know for sure if you have identical vs. fraternal twins (if they're the same gender, of course) is to have them genetically tested.  

Most people assume based on if they are di-di or mo-mo or mo-di that they are either identical or fraternal.

Our girls were di-di, which is normally fraternal twins, but they are identical.  The tests are like $100. I think it's worth it both so you know for sure as well as potential medical benefits later in life.

 

IS THERE ANY ADVICE ABOUT HAVING TWINS YOU WISH YOU HAD BEEN GIVEN?

For the first year, everything must be on a schedule.  We lived by our schedule. Nothing got in the way of it.  This started in the hospital.

Fed every three hours, and we asked that the nurses and doctors only came in during the first hour.  It would take about 1.5 hrs to feed, which gave us 1.5 hours to eat, sleep, bathe, whatever. By having the staff only come in during that first hour, we would have the last couple hours to ourselves without having interruptions while we were sleeping.  When we got home, we continued with a very strict schedule.

Feedings were every three hours and we started on-time TO THE MINUTE. Nothing got in the way of the schedule. This was so important to keep our sanity.

Thank you, Greg. You are true super dad! Please never stop documenting your girls' journey - the photos makes us so happy. We really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions.

We love getting to know to know twin parents and their journey, and this is our latest interview in our twin parent series.

Twinning Store was established by twin sisters K & E in Los Angeles in July 2017. We sell clothing for twins and twin parents, because we rule!