By Kat Giantis
Special to MSN Entertainment
Custom-made fur wraps from Dolce & Gabbana. Silver Cross prams (retail price: $3,500 a pop). Silver rattles sitting atop silver platters. A chandelier in the nursery. A butler.
Such is the lap of luxury that cushions the twins of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who, for a rumored $6 million, gave People magazine an intimate peek into their stately, diaper-centric lives.
In the much-touted exclusive, the couple is pictured in a variety of softly lit, sumptuous poses with tots Maximilian David and Emme Maribel, who arrived via C-section Feb. 22.
Among the shots: Lopez looking picture-perfect in a dusty-pink gown and sculpted coif as she feeds one of the infants, and the parents exuberantly pushing the swanky strollers outside their Long Island, N.Y., estate while sporting matching pink ensembles.
"I think I've had a pretty great life so far, but there are moments of magic in your life," swoons Jennifer. "And I think this is going to always be remembered by me as the most magical time."
The duo's domestic bliss comes through during the interview. Here are some of the highlights:
On the conception: "It was natural," says Lopez. "We didn't do in vitro, which I know was reported. Everybody 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."
On her fears it wouldn't happen: "You start getting older, you think to yourself, maybe [having kids] is just not meant for me," she admits. "I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I knew that I could. Deep down, I really wanted it badly." Anthony, however, had no doubts: "It never even entered my mind that it would never happen."
On what they would have done if it didn't happen: "You know, I have three stepchildren [Arianna, 13, Cristian, 7, and Ryan, 4], too," says Jen. "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."
On discovering they were expecting: "I was in Portugal," remembers Lopez, "performing and dancing my ass off ... " During a phone call with Anthony, he told her, "Baby, I have a sense!" Still, two positive pregnancy tests failed to convince her. "I think I really got to a point where I was like, 'This is not gonna happen for me,'" she acknowledges. "[But by 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 discovering they were expecting double bundles of joy: "Marc started crying ... and I started giggling," Lopez says. "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!'"
Preparing for Max and Emme's arrival: "An hour before we go to the hospital, she's decorating the bedroom downstairs, making sure that the carpet is in, rearranging the furniture," marvels Marc. "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!'"
On the complication-free delivery: "It went very fast," recalls Lopez. "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." Max made his debut a minute later. "I said, 'She looks like you! He looks like you, too!'" she laughs. "The doctor said, 'Did Jennifer get a gene in here or what?'" Chimes in Marc, "And from that moment, the love affair started." Sighs J.Lo, "All I could say was, 'Thank you, God.' I just kept saying it over and over and over."
On documenting their arrival for posterity: "I kept a video diary," says Marc, "and we filmed everything. I wanted to do a little time capsule for the babies."
On her decision not to breast-feed: "My mom didn't breast-feed, and I think that was the thing for me. You read and figure out what's the best thing for them."
On the connection she feels to the twins: "Your heart is connected to them. It feels like there's a string from my chest to theirs," she gushes. "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 her body's changing shape during pregnancy: "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."
On the postdelivery deflation: "It's amazing how your stomach just goes, 'Boop,' and it's this jiggly mass. It's funny!" shares Jennifer of her twin skin. "I even play with my little leftover belly, you know? I had to lie in bed towards the end, for four hours a day to put my feet up. But I was very active through the pregnancy."
On her shape-up plans: Lopez says she's hoping to do a triathlon in the fall, explaining, "I want the babies to be proud of their mom."
On mastering diaper changes: "He's the best," boasts Lopez of her hubby. "He puts the help that we have [two round-the-clock baby nurses] to shame."
On the differences between the twins: "Max was very tranquil right from the start. Emme just wouldn't sleep after being born," says Lopez, who answers in the affirmative when asked if they'll be baptized ("Yes -- for sure"). "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 adjusting to motherhood: "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," reveals Jennifer. "[But] 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."
On her total baby euphoria: "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."
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