(Note from Twinfo:  This is the second part of a five part series, where we will follow Nissa’s journey.   The links to the other parts of her story can be found at the end of this post.)

Author: Nissa Vagg

Twin pregnancy first trimester

The Waiting Game

Twins… two babies, at the same time! My whole body was buzzing with the excitement of it. It was like every hair on my body was tingling and I was so bummed that I had to wait seven and a half months before I could meet them. Of course, I would have been incredibly excited to be having one baby, but to be given TWO, the excitement was genuinely like we had won Tattslotto – I knew the odds were probably about the same and never in a million years could I have imagined that it would happen to us. The news might have been amazing but unfortunately my pregnancy was not. It was horrible. Seriously – it was a truly unpleasant experience. Not that I expected it to be a walk in the park, but I was surprised by how little I enjoyed the process of creating life.

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(Note from Twinfo:  This is part one of a five part series, where we will follow Nissa’s journey from when she found out she was pregnant with twins to their birth.  Links to the other parts of her story will be at the end of this post)

Author: Nissa Vagg

Introduction

I was 29 when I found out I was pregnant. It was a hot summer day in 2017, not long after New Year’s, and not a single thing following that day was as I imagined it would be. Not that I had spent my life dreaming of exactly how this pregnancy, birth and our life would go, but I just thought things would be different. The image in my mind was a bit like the filtered photos you see on social media: setting up the nursery in a stable home that we own…

Me lying on a beach with my cute little tummy sticking up at the sun… My husband holding my hand and watching with awe as our baby comes into the world… And delightful (although sleepless) early days full off baby gazing and cute outfits. But it wasn’t like that at all, instead it was real life. It was hard, and scary and full of ups and downs. At times I really struggled to cope with my reality and my emotions and I mourned the loss of the way (I thought) it was meant to be.

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Author: Caitlin Ryan

What is Hyperemesis Gravidarum?

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is also known as “severe morning sickness”. Doesn’t sound that bad right? It is so much more than that. An all-consuming black cloud surrounds you during what is supposed to be a happy time for you and your family. It is severely debilitating, depressing and isolating and only truly understood by those that have experienced it. Imagine a bad hangover and gastro combined that doesn’t end. For 9 months. 24/7. And you’re getting close to what it feels like to experience HG.

“If morning sickness is a drop of rain. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is the hurricane.”

HG is severe vomiting and nausea in pregnancy. It is estimated to affect around 2% of pregnant women. There is a higher incidence of HG in multiples pregnancies. For some women it lasts for some of their pregnancy and for others like me it lasts the entire pregnancy and only stops once the baby is born (or babies). For some women the symptoms even linger post birth.

I suffered with HG for the duration of my pregnancies with both my daughter in 2014 and my boy/ girl twins in 2017.

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Author:  Emma Thomas

My husband and I had been trying to conceive for some time, however, I had very irregular periods (I only got a period once every 2-4 months), so it was hard to know if my “missed period” was due to being pregnant, or whether I just hadn’t ovulated as usual.  Both my mum and aunty had a condition known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and Mum had warned me that it can “run in the family” and can cause fertility issues.  Women with PCOS often don’t ovulate, so they can go months without periods; this also makes it extremely hard with timing when trying to conceive.

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