Singers and actors Marc Anthony, 39, and Jennifer Lopez, 38, introduce their fraternal twins Emme Maribel and Maximilian David Muñiz, 4 weeks on Friday, in the latest issue of People.
The images were taken by photographer Tony Duran during an 8-hour shoot at the couple's Long Island, NY home over the weekend, and are featured in a 12 page spread in the magazine.
Click below for the full interview highlights.
First, a little clearing up. The babies were born by c-section, but the times that were originally announced by her rep were wrong -- Max was born 1 minute after Emme, not 11 minutes. Max's birth weight was actually 5 lbs, 13 oz, not the 6 lbs initially reported.
The girl's name is pronounced "Emmy," and the twins' middle names are David and Maribel, each derived from family members. David honors Jennifer's father, while Maribel was the name of Marc's sister, who passed away from a brain tumor. Their surname is Muñiz, which is Marc's legal last name and Jennifer's married one -- she uses it in her personal life.
Now ... onto the highlights!
On the time it took to get pregnant:
Jennifer was asked specifically to "set the record straight about how challenging it was to conceive."
J: It was natural. We didn't do in vitro, which I know was reported. Everyone assumed that because we had twins. I wanted to have a baby, but I've always said exactly what I said all those years they asked us since we've been married: "Well, when are you guys gonna have some kids?" "When it happens naturally, I guess!" And that's when it happened. It was a surprise to us.
You start getting older, you think to yourself, maybe [having kids] isn't meant for me. I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I knew that I could. Deep down, I really wanted it badly.
M: It never even entered my mind that it would not happen.
J: Really?! Even after one year, two years, three years ... You know, you start thinking to yourself, "Well, maybe..."
M: No! When you think about it, you only have a small amount of time each month when you can. So you try, and you have twelve shots a year.
On finding out that she was, in fact, expecting:
J: I was in Portugal, performing and dancing my ass off...
M: We were on the phone, and I said, "Baby, I have a sense!"
J: I said, "You think I am?" because it had been so long. When I came back, I took a test. I couldn't believe it! I was like, "Can we get another test, please?"
I think I really got to a point where I was like, "This is not going to happen for me." [But the third test I took,] it was right there in my face. At that point I looked and I said, "Marc, could this be me?" I had tears in my eyes.
On finding out they were expecting two bundles of joy:
J: I was in denial until I went to the doctor [for a sonogram several weeks later] and she said, "Oh my God! There's one baby, see the heart beating? And there's the other one!" Marc started crying again, and I started giggling.
M: One person said, "Everything with you is a production!"
J: I knew twins ran in my family, and we always joked, "Who do you think is going to have the twins?" So, of course, all my sisters were like, "It's you, it's you!"
M: My grandfather was a twin, too.
On her pregnancy experience:
J: No [morning sickness].
M: No cravings.
J: I had one of the best pregnancies ever. And, I have to say, one of the best husbands, who helped me through every emotional moment. Because you're very hormonal! Even though I feel I behaved pretty well through the whole thing.
M: Read my book! Just kidding. It was splendid.
J: I told Marc, I don't know if this will happen again. I want us to share this together. And we went on tour until I was 6½ months.
Why they didn't make an announcement until that point:
J: We didn't confirm it because I didn't want people coming to our show and having everything be about that. I just didn't want that to be a focus.
M: My philosophy was, when you release a statement, who are you talking to? Our families know. Our friends...
J: People were like, "You're keeping a secret!" We're like, "Everybody knows. We just haven't confirmed it in the press."
On the birth:
M: I kept a video diary, and we filmed everything.
J: No complications. [The c-section] went very fast. There's this intense fear and intense anticipation. [Then] they showed us the babies. We look to the right, and there's Emme, screaming with her arms up. They're holding her around her chest.
M: One minute later...
J: There's Max! To me, they both looked like Marc. I think that's the first thing I said, "She looks like you! He looks like you too!" The doctor said, "Did Jennifer get a gene in here or what?"
M: And from that moment, the love affair started.
J: All I could say was, "Thank you, God." I kept saying it over and over and over.
On no longer being pregnant:
J: I miss feeling them inside of me. It's funny -- when their little umbilical cords fell off, I cried. That was the last attachment we had where it was just us.
On motherhood:
J: You hear people say this all the time, but it's not until you experience it yourself that you can put it into your own words. Your heart is connected to them. It feels like there's a string from my chest to theirs.
Absolutely, [this is the happiest time of my life right now]. Having children is the biggest thing that can happen, I think, to a woman. You win an Oscar, get nominated for a Golden Globe -- you know, whatever things you think are big -- I can't even think of anything that can match the actual miracle of giving birth and having your own child. It's beyond anything you could ever imagine.
On the change parenthood has brought:
J: I knew I'd be protective. I knew I'd love them intensely and passionately enough to stay up for the first three days after giving birth, because I just wanted to keep staring at them.
I've been very career-oriented my whole life and very focused on my own world and my own life, and all of a sudden the focus just shifts. It's like, "Whoosh!" I want to do everything for them.
I think I've had a pretty great life so far, but there are moments of magic in your life. And I think this is always going to be remembered by me as the most magical time. With all the things that Marc and I have done and accomplished in our lives, this is the biggest thing that will ever be.
On her decision not to nurse the twins:
J: My mom didn't breastfeed, and I think that was the thing for me. You read and figure out what's the best thing for them.
On bottle and diaper duty:
The couple have two round-the-clock baby nurses, but they say they like to do the grunt work themselves.
M: It'll be 3 in the morning, and we'll be like, 'Next feeding in 30 minutes! Okay, cool!'
J: I [get up]. Marc does too.
M: I don't go to sleep!
J: We don't go to sleep until 6 a.m. now. We're still in the first month, of course!
He's the best [at diaper duty]. He puts the help that we have to shame. [He tells me what to do.] I have no ego about learning, I never have.
M: [We're having trouble with] the quick draw when Max needs to pee! I was like, when a little boy gets a little shiver, he might do a little squirt action. So you keep the Pamper on until you get the other one under, then you do the little flap.
J: I haven't mastered that one yet.
M: He [only squirted] her!
On each other as parents:
M: She's a phenomenal mom.
J: He's such a natural with the babies.
On the twins' personalities and physical features:
J: Max was very tranquil right from the start. Emme just wouldn't sleep after being born.
Emme is a total girl. You take off her clothes and she covers up, and her hands are very feminine. And she has more hair than him. And he is like a tank, with these little arms...
On if they'll be baptized:
J: Yes -- for sure.
On her weight gain and nesting:
J: I gained a good amount of weight, which I was focused on because twins can sometimes have low birth weight. I gained 45-50 lbs, a lot for my frame, but for twins it's right on. [After they're born,] you lose so much. It's amazing how your stomach just goes, "Boop," and it's this jiggly mass. It's funny!
Right now, [I don't care about getting my old shape back]. I even play with my little leftover belly, you know? I had to lie in bed towards the end, every day for four hours a day to put my feet up. But I was very active through the pregnancy.
M: An hour before we go to the hospital, she's decorating the bedroom downstairs, making sure the carpet is in, rearranging the furniture. I said, "Honey, you're going to give birth in about two hours." And she's like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but that chair in the corner..." I said, "Baby, we have to go!"
J: That's my way. Even when I was doing that, I was thinking, "What could I do this year to give me a great feeling of accomplishment?" I want my babies to be proud of me. "Maybe I'll do a triathlon."
M: An underachiever over here. "Oh, maybe I'll do a triathlon because I've never done that before!"
J: I want the babies to be proud of their mom. Probably in October. September, October.
On adoption possibilities:
J: You know, I have three stepchildren too. We were really enjoying our lives, and we have Marc's kids that we get to enjoy. They're angels. But I would never rule out adoption.
Private vs. public school:
J: We haven't decided yet. We have a few years before they have to be in school all the time. If we're traveling a lot, then obviously I'm not going to want to be away from them. They'll have to be homeschooled. If we're in one place and doing something different and we can be in one place...
M: We can do both.
J: It's decisions that we'll make depending on our lifestyle so that the family unit is always together. I think that is the most important thing to me.
On the nursery:
Although they have an expansive (and expensive!) nursery, Marc and Jennifer often take the twins to bed with them instead.
J: Their room is right next to ours.
On gifts:
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes gave Bonpoint outfits. Eva Longoria Parker and Ken Paves gave a pair of Silver Cross prams. Dolce & Gabbana gave custom-made fur wraps.
J: It just made me feel so good that my children were being welcomed into the world.
And as the interview winds down, Marc makes it clear that Max and Emme are all he's thinking about lately. He tells journalist Peter Castro,
No offense, but I'm dying to get back to the kids.
Source: People, March 31st issue
