Emily Oster

3 min Read Emily Oster

Emily Oster

Wins, Woes, and Twins

Your stories for the week

Emily Oster

3 min Read

Today: three more stories for you, by you.

We also have a question from a reader who is pregnant with twins and wants some book recommendations.

P.S. Thank you for your kind messages for the Highland Park moms last week. As one reader, Grace, put it so well: “It will take all of us, and it will not be quick or easy, but the antidote to despair is action.”


Taking turns

—Jessica

When my son was born, I told my daughter (2.5 years old) that only one kid could cry at a time. By some miracle, it mostly worked! And today, on a hike in the White Mountains, my son (now 6) was complaining/crying, and my daughter (now 9) nicely asked him if he was done, because she wanted a turn to complain. The one-kid-cries-at-a-time rule still works in our house!

Back to birthing

—Mamma Helping Mammas

Made it through my first week back to work as a labor and delivery nurse after my now three-month-old was born. Only a few tears (all mine). It has been meaningful to see my work through a different lens as a mom and to get to continue to work with my coworkers, who I love and who also delivered my baby when it was my turn to be a patient.

Where are the vaccines?

—Frustrated

Yay, we can finally get a vaccine! I figured I would get my kids Moderna. But as I tried to do that, I found it would be a challenge to get them any vaccine at all. First — no one brought Moderna here. I mean no one. So we will go Pfizer. Walgreens doesn’t vaccinate kids under 3 (0 for 2 there). CVS will with a minute-clinic appointment but only for 18 months-plus (1 for 2 there). Local pharmacies and health departments — all 5 and up (0 for 2 again). Pediatrician doesn’t have it; wait, maybe they do, but they aren’t making appointments. No one seems to know. After two years of hard, why did this have to be so hard? I’m countless calls’ deep and still have no appointment.

This week’s reader question

I just found out I’m having identical twins and am freaking out. I have your books but am looking for something more specific to the twin experience that isn’t going to be too fluffy and can help me prepare. I’ve looked myself, and there is so little — it’s so isolating! Any recommendations on what to read?

—Two at Once, Twice as Fun?

Got any ideas or personal advice on having twins?

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