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Twin Tuesday: Rainoku & Daniel

By Dawn Sailors In Featured Twins

It’s been quite a while since my last twin feature, so I’m very excited to share the adorable Rainoku and Daniel with you today. They’re the sons of Danny and Ricksita, who emailed me a few weeks ago about featuring her boys. I was more than happy to oblige – just look at these two! (BTW, if you’d like to be featured, you should email me too! It’s painless, I promise.) Without further ado, I’ll let Ricksita tell you more about these little cuties!

Are your boys identical or fraternal? Do twins run in your family?
They are identical. I was adopted as a baby (within the family). So my biological father was my adoptive mothers brother. My grandmother had twin sisters and out of all grandkids so far I am the only one who has had twins. My hubby has an aunt who has twins but other than her no one else. So having that said, I don’t believe it runs in the family. What I find funny is that everyone thinks it does because my adoptive father and three of his brothers have twin grandkids. Although they are family to me, we have no genetic ties so I don’t fully believe it runs in the family as it took three generations down from my biological side until I had my twins.

When did you find out you were expecting twins and what was your reaction?
I found out I was expecting twins during my first ultrasound which was taken when I was about 3 months pregnant. The fetal heart monitor first detected what sounded like two heartbeats, that is when I requested to have an ultrasound done to see what was really going on. Boy was I in for a huge surprise that day! My mother and hubby were there to witness that moment and they started to laugh because they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. On the other hand, I was looking at the monitor and I was in total shock. I was speechless for a good five minutes until I started to laugh and cry at the same time. I was in complete awe, I couldn’t believe I’d been blessed to carry two babies. Shortly after, so many thoughts ran through my mind on how I would go about the rest of the pregnancy and care for them once they came.

How did you go about picking names?
I had come up with names a year after the hubby and I got together. I had a few names for girls and a few for boys. I was actually quite surprised as I used NONE of those names. Since my name starts with an R and the hubby’s a D; I wanted the boys to each have R and D in their names. I searched all over the web, trying to find names that I liked while at the same time trying to put our names together to make newer ones. I finally settled with Ricardo Darence and Daniel Royce. The day after I gave birth, my father called me up and asked to change Ricardo to Rainoku (which means: MY KING in our language (Chamorro)). At that time I didn’t agree, I was actually disappointed he didn’t want his grandchild to carry his first name; but I did as he asked. The hubby’s name is Danny and I didn’t want to have a Danny Jr. so I decided to call one of the boys Daniel as they are very similar. Darence and Royce were names I came across on the internet that I just loved so I went with my gut. Thinking back, I don’t think I could’ve named them anything else. I love my Rainoku Darence & Daniel Royce :)

What is the hardest part about having twins?
Raising just one child is tough, especially in this economy. What more with two right? But I feel the hardest thing (and one that gets to me the most) is when they’re sick and I have to watch them go through it. It’s never easy seeing them that way. Aside from that, the hardest times also  come when there’s so much to do and I don’t have anyone to turn to especially when family members are busy. Other than those I think everything else I’ve already become accustomed to. So many sacrifices I’ve made for my sons and I’m glad I have, it’s all worth it at the end of the day ;)

What is your favorite part about having twins?
The saying: “My hands may be full, but so is my heart” is a saying I feel all mothers can relate to. I basically live by that quote. My favorite part about having twins is the joy, excitement, and all the love I feel daily from them. The fact that they will always have each other is also another favorite of mine. They will always have each other to learn from, to lean on, and just to have that twin bond that no one will ever understand but them. Raising them and seeing how different their personalities are but at the same time seeing how similar they are is also another one of my favorites. Being a mother of twins is something I am still amazed about. Even if it’s tough, their smiles and giggles and the way they are with each other always makes me feel blessed. Twins are just amazing!

Are there any other questions you get asked a lot or anything else you can share with us about your family?
I get asked a lot about how it feels to raise twins, whether I gave birth naturally or had a c-sec, how my daily routine is now, and most importantly how do I tell the difference between my twins. I always tell them it’s amazing raising twins even if its twice the work and twice everything; I love it and that’s that! I gave birth naturally (I thank the Lord so much for that) as my boys were both head down. I was surprised they also made it to the 40 week mark at which time I was feeling really huge! My routine has changed a lot since I had my twins, wake up early and head to bed late. I’m home almost every day now. I could never really tell them how I could tell the difference as I’m their mother and mothers know; they really do. Telling them about birthmarks and other markings doesn’t help at all, other than that I can’t really say much as I know and don’t see my twins the way they do. Many people actually make jokes when we’re out in public; that if they were in our position they wouldn’t even have time to fix themselves up or have any time at all to themselves. I always tell them in return that nothings impossible and raising twins is something I enjoy. Is it hard? Of course. Raising a child is one of the hardest things you may do but in return it is also the most amazing thing as well. There are other twin mothers in this island I live in and I love sharing my stories with them as well as giving them advice. One mother in particular had a singleton pregnancy the first time and just recently gave birth to twins; before giving birth she always asked me so many questions and up until now I am still there for her. Nothing’s better than helping another mother out, after all being a twin mother is twice everything and it feels great to have others who can relate to you and who you can lend some advice to as well. My twins are 14 months old as of now and each time I look back I still can’t believe I made it through the first year. Reading books on twins has helped me to cope with so many things I felt during the first year and as many of the books say: it only gets better. Which I feel is true, I look back and actually miss the late nights and having newborns to hold. My life has truly changed since I had my boys and I am truly grateful for all the changes that took place. I look forward to all I’ve yet to experience with them and thank the Lord each day that my boys came out healthy and make me strive for the best each day.

A big thanks again to Ricksita and Danny for letting me feature your sweet boys today and for taking the time to answer my questions. If you’d like to keep up with this adorable family, you can check out Ricksita’s tumbler page here.

Have a great Tuesday, and I hope you didn’t forget to go vote!!!