Things only parents of twins understand

India loses more than a million lives each year to toxic air, various studies have shown. Many Indian cities top global pollution lists as enforcement of laws is lax. Every mother's journey is different and unique and no one knows your child better than you.
But there is something about being a parent of multiples that bonds you to other parents managing two (or more babies) as you recognise each other's invisible battle scars that other parents just won't understand.
As most parents of twins will relate, a twin mum once said, "Being a parent of twins is like running a marathon you didn't train for." As a mother of twins, I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Here are a few things only us mothers of twins do and understand:
Granted, this only happens when your twins are babies or toddlers, but be prepared for the same set of questions on repeat every time you leave home (I imagine this is something that celebs feel but with the paparazzi):
Having one child can be expensive enough already, but having two at the same time is definitely heavier on the wallet, as hand-me-downs and sharing essential items isn't always possible in this case.
Only mums of twins will understand that paying double for buying exactly the same toy or set of clothes is justified. Trust us, buy one-get-one-free gets us super excited, and bulk buying becomes the shopping norm.
Even though the answer is usually no, most of us have gone through baby and toddlerhood asking for twin discounts.
As mentioned above, buying two of almost everything is not cheap (hello nappies and formula), and most times seems like a waste when the babies will outgrow them very soon.
Most stores are kind enough to offer a small discount at least for the second item though, so it's worth asking.
Most mums with one child complain that they haven't been able to do anything all day, let alone have the time to shower and cook. Imagine all that with two when you literally don't have a free hand to do anything.
So spending any form of quality time with the babies, and that too one-on-one is a sheer dream for mums of twins, at least until the toddler stage.
Even then, mums of twins run the risk of being labelled as favouring one child over the other, so you're always trying to spend equal time with both of them.
Even though twins form a "unit", they are two little individuals and deserve to be treated as separate individuals.
Constantly comparing them to each other and lumping them together at the same time is not fair to them, so having to remind other people that they have their own identities can be a little challenging.
It's true what they say that your social circle starts to change after having children, and that you naturally tend to hang out with parents of other children.
But hanging out with parents of other twins is literally a life support, especially when your twins are babies. Mums of single babies and children at different ages and stages are great, but they just won't understand the little things that you go through on a daily basis with two.
READ ALSO: 8 things a first-time parent should know about childproofing their home
This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.