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One Born Every Minute Australia Twin Birth Story

One born every minute twin birth story

As parents we all love hearing birth stories.  This was one of my driving reasons to publish as many twin and triplet birth stories on the Twinfo blog that I could.  However, reading about it is one thing, watching it unfold in front of you is another.  Which is the reason why over 484,000 people nationally are tuning in to watch Channel 10’s new factual series, One Born Every Minute Australia.

One Born Every Minute Australia is based on the UK version, and it takes us right into the birth units, via 60 high tech cameras, at Sydney’s Westmead  Hospital.     I was honoured that Channel 10 asked me to interview Bianca, one of the participants.  Bianca and her husband Daniel, appear in episode 5 of the show where we follow the birth of their twins. 

About Bianca and her family

At the time of speaking to Bianca, which was a week before the episode was aired, Bianca’s twins, Hunter and Brooklyn, had just turned  3 months old.   Being a twin mum myself, the first question I asked her was how was SHE?  And how were the babies sleeping?  Bianca thought she was “doing OK” and that thankfully her boy twin, Hunter, was generally sleeping though the night.  Brooklyn, however wants a few more extra cuddles from Mum, but she is close to sleeping though. 

Which is lucky, as Bianca has three other children.  She has an 8 year old, who lives in Sydney with her Dad, and 4 year old Mackenzie whose dad passed away when she was six weeks old.   Bianca and Daniel also have Peyton, who was born last August, and now they have the twins.   Payton was only 4 months old when they found out they were expecting twins.   To further complicate things, when Bianca and Daniel were 7 weeks pregnant with twins they were given the devastating news that 4 year old Mackenzie had Leukaemia. 

Personally, I cannot wait to watch Episode 5, and I’m thrilled to share my chat with Bianca with you.

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Twin pregnancy and an unexpected diagnosis

twin pregnancy and lupus diagnosis

Author: Bianca Jones

Finding out we were pregnant with twins

My husband and I were trying to conceive for a while so when I started gagging while brushing my teeth, I had a feeling it was our time. I went for a dating scan around 6 or 7 weeks, and that was when we found out we were having twins. We were beyond happy and excited, but also oblivious to the difficulties that could come with twin pregnancies and twins. We certainly didn’t expect a twin pregnancy and an unexpected diagnosis!

My twin pregnancy

Initially, my pregnancy was pretty uneventful. I wasn’t overly sick, but had constant nausea and I started showing around 13 weeks. By about 20/21 weeks, I was big. I struggled physically with my job, which was fairly physical and often cried to my husband from the pain on the way home in the car. But I was prepared to bare it until finishing up at 28 weeks.

I hated people telling to me to ‘rest now while you can’, when I was sleeping for maybe 4 or 5 hours maximum a night due to discomfort. I dreaded bedtime, despite being completely and utterly exhausted, I knew I wouldn’t be getting much sleep.

33 weeks pregnant with twins
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Move YOU back up the Priority List- Top 5 Tips for successful eating habits to get YOU back

how to eat well twin mother

Author: Ashleigh Buxton – Pure Wellness by Peach

(Ashleigh is a qualified Nutritionist AND a mother who understands the juggle).

Do you remember it? Or perhaps you are feeling it right now?

That post birth haze and early days at home with a newborn! It is still so vivid in my mind, even though it was 16months ago now!  Where has time gone?

The overwhelming feelings of love, pain, pride, emotional ups and down, ohh the sleep deprivation and the constant thinking about the next feed! I know you get it, I mean at times I just felt like a cow! And as one hard phase came and went, another had begun.

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Haemorrhoids in twin pregnancy. The unspoken joys of a multiple birth pregnancy!

Hemorrhoids with Twin pregnancy

(Please note: This article is an overview of haemorrhoids in twin pregnancy, or triplet pregnancy, and should not replace your health care professionals advice).

Ahhh……the joys of being pregnant with twins or triplets.  Particularly the joy of haemorrhoids.  Haemorrhoids are one of the fun things that nobody mentions when talking about being pregnant with twins or triplets.

What are haemorrhoids?

Haemorrhoids (or sometimes referred to as piles) are enlarged veins in your anus and lower rectum.  The swelling makes them susceptible to irritation.  This can cause anal bleeding, painful bowel movements, anal pain and itching.  Although haemorrhoids can be painful and very unpleasant, they can be treated quite easily, and even prevented. Unfortunately, it is quite common to get haemorrhoids in twin pregnancy. And in triplet pregnancies as well.

constipation in twin pregnancy
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Our miracle twins were conceived with donor eggs

Twins conceived by donor eggs

Author:  Josie Teggeris

Let’s face it right, I never expected to be the recipient of bad news in the office of my gynaecologist. From the tender age of 21, my poor body had been subject to 10 or more laparoscopic surgeries, particularly relating to endometriosis. It somehow became the norm for my pear sized uterus to be put through this so called form of “minimal invasive surgery” every 18 or so months.

I think I was around 36 years old, where I began to consider my age for having children and that’s when I took myself to my gynaecologist to get some tests. After being told I’d need a blood test to see where I was at hormonally, this blood test would also determine whether I had enough eggs to be able to conceive.

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Three of my four babies are rainbow babies, including rainbow twins.

Rainbow twins after miscarriage

Author: Mikaela Holmes

I have four beautiful, healthy children.  Three of them are rainbow babies, including rainbow twins.

My first pregnancy – daughter

I got pregnant with my first as soon as we started trying.  I had the perfect pregnancy, no morning sickness, no spotting, no other health issues at all.  Our daughter was born right on time at 39 + 3 weeks. 

My second pregnancy – miscarriage

When we decided to try for number 2, again I got pregnant straight away.  We told the family at 7 weeks, I had a missed miscarriage at 11 weeks but only found out at our first scan at 12 weeks.  I ended up having a D & C. 

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Full placenta abruption with twins. My harrowing twin birth story.

twins in different hospitals

Author: Laura Mind

I am finally, after 7 months, able to tell my twin birth story, which involved a full placenta abruption with twins.  It’s taken 7 months for me to be able to speak about this without me saying it as if I’m a 3rd person, totally removed.

premature twins reunited

The birth of my twins

On the 15/2/2019 my DCDA twin boys were born 1.26 & 1.27 pm on a Friday.   I was one week from my scheduled C sec, but I wouldn’t make it.    

At 10.35am, after feeling somewhat off and not taking my kids to school (at the time a mother of 3), I reached over to grab my then 1 year olds toy to feel bleeding.  I reached down, my hand was bright red! I knew I had to get to the hospital straight away.  I got my 7&1 year olds into the car and drove myself 20 mins to the local hospital.  My mum’s house is one minute from the hospital.   I drove up her driveway screaming beeping my Astra sedan horn furiously.  “Get in now I’m bleeding” I screamed at her.  She got into the driver’s seat and as I tried to move to the passenger seat the blood started leaving me at an alarming rate.  She drove to the hospital where I got out alone.   l walked the 67 steps, it took to get through the door to the women’s assessment unit.  By this time, a trail of blood was flowing from me and pooling to the ground at my feet.

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Going on holidays with twins or multiples – are they actually a “holiday”?

Port Douglas Sea Temple

Let me preface this with the fact that our twins are now seven years old, and we travel quite a bit.  What we don’t really do is “holiday” though.  As in stay in one place for more than a couple of nights.  Unless we are staying with family, we tend to move on every couple of days and find a new destination, explore a new area.  

Going on a “holiday” was quite a new concept for me, so going on holidays with twins was a huge step!!!

Travelling as opposed to holidaying – yes, there is a difference!

I remember when we went to Bali when the twins were two.  Everyone kept asking us where we were staying.  I always replied that I wasn’t really sure, but that each hotel was quite central etc.  It turns out that most people don’t go to Bali and stay in 5 different cities/towns/villages in two weeks!! Apparently most people check in once, upon arrival and then check out of their “resort” on departure. 

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NICU and SCN Acronyms. A guide for parents of twins and triplets facing a NICU or SCN stay.

NICU and SCN Acronyms can be very confusing. Especially when these terms relate to your tiny babies. This list may help you navigate those early days

Please note: This glossary is not a substitute for advice from a health professional.  Terms may vary from hospital to hospital.  Please consult your health care professional for full details.

You can find our Multiple Birth Glossary HERE.

A

  • Adjusted age – Adjusted age (or corrected age), is your premature baby’s chronological age minus the number of weeks or months he was born early. For example, a one-year-old who was born three months early would have a corrected age of nine months.
  • AGA – appropriate for gestational age.
  • Apgar Score – The Apgar score is a system used by doctors and midwives to assess your newborn baby’s health at birth. It helps medical staff decide if your baby needs medical or emergency care.
  • Apnea monitors –  Detects the cessation of breathing (apnoea) in infants
  • Apnoea – A short period of time when the baby does not take a breath.
  • Aspirate – To inhale fluids, such as milk, into the windpipe or lungs. Also refers to the removal of fluid by suction (e.g. checking how much milk remains in the stomach)
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Finding out we were pregnant with identical triplets

finding out I was pregnant with identical triplets

Author:  Belinda Smith

“There’s definitely two but I think there’s three.” The sentence that changed our lives! This was how we found out we were having multiples. I was lying on the bed at the clinic for our first scan and it took the sonographer all of two minutes to say these words. The old saying ‘Your life can change in the blink of an eye’ certainly applied here. We were in complete shock, as you can imagine.  Totally floored, dumbfounded and struggling to come to terms with what our future was going to be like.

We had no idea there was more than one baby in there!

At no point leading up to this day was there even an inkling that we were having more than one baby.  This was my first pregnancy so I had no experience to draw from.  However, I was not violently ill or showing really early which are symptoms you would normally expect when carrying multiples.  I was exceedingly tired for the first six or seven weeks and then had intense headaches during week eleven and twelve.  By the time the thirteen week scan came around I was feeling really great. I even commented to my husband on the way to the scan that I was feeling so good they might not even find a baby in there!

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