The average weight of twins is 2.5kg. But not these big boys!

My fraternal boys Lachlan and Luke, who were not born at the average weight of twins, will be 2 in May and this is their story.

I was divorced with two girls and at 28 years old I had my tubes tied. I had met someone else who had kids also so we agreed that we were “done”. As the years went on and my girls grew more independent that longing for a baby started up again… we bought a puppy! A few more years past and my husband opened his mouth and said “Yeah a baby would be nice.” You said that to the wrong person, Buddy. Haha. My girls were then 9 and 7. I went to a couple of different doctors about having my tubes reversed and they all gave me the same response… do IVF instead.

Our IVF journey

We got all our referrals and tests done and in May 2015 started our first full cycle of IVF. It didn’t work. Now, in this story, this is the part where I applaud every woman who has to go through IVF and it breaks my heart that some women have to travel this shit road to have their blessings. Not everyone knows my twins are IVF because I should feel fortunate enough that I’ve already got two healthy kids, right?! I was distraught when we miscarried at 6 weeks. I couldn’t imagine this being someone’s life.

On to our second IVF cycle using frozen embryos, I stood my ground. I wanted two embryos implanted. I was made aware of the risks and signed a tonne of paperwork to make this happen. This was to be my last pregnancy and I didn’t want this new baby to be like an only child because of the big age gap. I had 11 embryos left but only enough money in the bank for one last cycle. So my bank account was empty but my heart was bursting. From the moment the two embryos were implanted, I felt tiny bubbles and flutters really low in my belly. These babies were making the perfect home for themselves; I just knew it, even before the pregnancy was confirmed.

The perfect pregnancy

My pregnancy was perfect; with no real issues. There was no weight gain, as the babies took everything out of me. There was lots of vomiting and I was so, so tired.  However my belly grew huge and the babies were on track. I saw the OB and midwives no more than with my singleton pregnancies. We found out we’re having two boys, that was the scariest part! Haha. I found out I had gestational diabetes from the glucose test. I managed that with diet alone. Everything was perfect. I never took this for granted, I knew I was so lucky and blessed that we’d made it through each day.

I ran a Family Daycare from home and finished working at 36 weeks when the pain to walk got too much. My mum arrived the day before my scheduled cesarean. She lives four hours away and apart from my husband, she is my only help. She gave up her job and hubby to run my home and allow me to recover for a month!

The average weight of twins is 2.5kg.  I was shocked to find out how big my boys really were.

This was to be my 3rd cesarean, 2nd scheduled. My hair was done and what I could reach was shaved! Ha-ha. My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 6am. We were pre-oped and ready. As soon as the first twin was delivered, I distinctly remember my lungs filling up with air and having room to breathe again! I remember looking up at the big steel light above me and being able to watch my sons being born in the reflection and thinking to myself “Wow, he looks big… He looks big too!”.

At 9:48am Lachlan was born weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces (3.5kg), followed only one minute later by Luke, weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces (3.2kg). I had myself mentally prepared before the birth that the boys could be taken to special care straight away for whatever reason, but nope! They stayed with me from the operating room and we even started breastfeeding in recovery.

After a 6 days hospital stay, to establish breastfeeding, we took the babies home. I only breastfed for a month. Formula feeding worked better for me and my family’s schedule. My boys found their routine at about 4 months old and from day one I tandem fed and the boys slept, played and ate at the same time. I was very strict on their routine and it’s now paying off.

Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat. Who doesn’t want double the love, kisses, cuddles, firsts, lasts and “muuuuuuuuum!!!!”?!?! Xo

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