Category: Pregnancy

Outnumbered – Twin Poem

poem about twins

Author: Monica Harber

A poem I wrote about what it is like to have twins.

It’s called ‘Outnumbered’ and it’s about just that, being outnumbered.

Outnumbered

There’s more of them than there is of me.
How can I explain so that you can see?
You never experience the transition from one to two.
Instead, it goes straight from me to a few.
It’s reciting their birth order to remember their name.
Having to choose who first to tend to, torments you, fills you with shame.
So many products, places, outings so inaccessible.
The barriers, preparation, and multi-tasking; unimaginable.
You must sacrifice one to put the other in the car.
Checking that vehicles aren’t near but far.
Your needs don’t come second, but third or fourth.
Still, your heart when you cuddle them fills with such warmth.
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Sleeping when pregnant with twins or triplets

sleeping pregnant twins

Most people are aware that they aren’t going to get much sleep once their multiples arrive.  But what I hadn’t realised is just how hard it was to sleep towards the end of your twin/triplet pregnancy.

It is recommended to sleep on your side after 28 weeks gestation, as this can minimise still birth.  Sleeping on your back puts pressure on major blood vessels, which can reduce blood flow to your womb and thus restrict the oxygen flow. 

Read more about this HERE.

As if that isn’t enough, the left side is the better side to sleep on, as this can help improve circulation, plus is prevents excess weight pressing down on your liver.  

Read more HERE.

Someone who has not been pregnant with multiples themselves will not truly understand the discomfort it can bring.   The multiple limbs inside you, jostling for space, the extra weight, the pain in your hips, back and pelvis plus the fact your bladder is being trampled on means that getting comfortable at night can be somewhat challenging.

In fact, I have had quite a few people say they actually got MORE sleep once their babies were born!

sleeping when pregnant with triplets
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Triplets, twins and reducing the mental load with Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh and twins

Disclaimer: This is an affiliate blog, but I seriously LOVE Hello Fresh, so that’s why I am sharing it. My only regret is not doing it earlier when we were struggling with multiple newborn babies.

Those of you who are regular Twinfo readers know how much I talk about my twins and reducing the mental load where possible. The mental load of being a multi mum is huge (or Dad, but in my case most of their care falls to me so I am writing this blog from my point of view as a mum of multiples).

Plus….did you know that looking after newborn twins take approximately 19 hours a day?

I was at the point where my mental load was causing me to stress about my mental load! Crazy hey! So I decided to do a few things about it.

Triplets, twins and reducing the mental load

Firstly, I paid upfront for a 50 pack of Pilates classes.   Everyone talks about how exercise helps reduce stress levels, so I decided I would just do it.  And by paying up front I knew that this would mean I would go.  As I had already paid for it as I hate wasting money.

Then I looked at some of big things that put pressure on my mental load and Dave and I talked about what we could do to minimise those things.

My top one is Hello Fresh.  I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Hello Fresh as it has reduced my mental load considerably, and has actually made me a happier person.  (Seriously!). 

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Can Identical Twins Be Opposite Genders?

Can Identical Twins Be Opposite Genders or not

Author: Stephanie Ernst

Identical twin parents will all nod their heads here when you ask them what one of the silliest questions they’ve ever been asked is.

“Is it a boy and a girl?” (I seriously heard all of  you out there rolling your eyes right now!)

Can Identical Twins Be Opposite Genders?

Here’s the tea, though: It can happen, but it’s super rare.  We’re talking you’ve got more chance of winning the lottery rare! But it does happen, and it can occur in a few ways.

boy girl identical twins
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PUPPP and twin pregnancy

puppp and twins

Author: Samantha Wolfe

Finding out we were pregnant with twins

“How many do you think are in there? One or two?” My wife asked me as we headed for our dating scan. 5 weeks prior to that I had had a double frozen embryo transfer. This was my 4th and final attempt at pregnancy. My wife and I did reciprocal IVF to conceive our children. She carried our first (master 3, biologically mine) and then we swapped. 

“Maybe one?” I replied. Although I had a great HCG level, I didn’t feel pregnant in the slightest, the only symptom I had at that stage was no period. 

As the ultrasound picture hit my uterus my eyes lit up. There sat two tiny little sacks, with a tiny little baby in each. Ecstatic is an understatement. I felt like I had waited a lifetime for this. 

32 weeks pregnant with twins

No gonna lie, I had a textbook pregnancy up to 32 weeks. 

As I laid down in the examination chair for a quick ultrasound in my obstetricians rooms, he looks at my belly just under my belly button “…is that itchy?” Pointing to an itch that had started about a week earlier. “Yes actually, why? What is it?” Thinking it was just itchy stretch marks from my skin stretching. “You’ve got PUPPP, Pruritic-itchy, Urticarial-like mosquito bites, Papules- big lumps, Plaques- really big lumps, of pregnancy” 

I left the rooms that day with my induction date. My obstetrician telling me that it doesn’t harm the baby, however it causes insanity in the mother with the itch. Pfft really? How bad could it be..? Let. Me. Tell. You! 

twin pregancy puppps
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Naming same sex twins or triplets. How to decide who gets which name.

Naming same sex twins

Choosing names is a tough job at the best of time.  But its even tougher when you have to choose more than one!

And then of course you have middle names.  And what if you don’t know the gender – then you have to think of even MORE names!

You can read our blog on choosing names in general for twins or triplets HERE.

However, once you have FINALLY decided on the names, if you have same sex twins your job isn’t quite done.   You still need to decide which baby gets which name!

Often parents get very bogged down in this, as they feel the pressure of getting several years down the track and maybe thinking that the names would have been better the other way around!   Don’t panic though.  You will find in most cases that babies seem to grow into their names, and you will (hopefully!) look back and think there is no way that Baby A could have been called Baby B’s name.

naming identical twin girls
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The ABC’s of emotions when you find out you are pregnant with twins or triplets

Shock when find out pregnant with twins

Nothing, and I repeat nothing will ever replace the multitude of emotions that you will experience when you first find out you are pregnant with twins or triplets.   And that is perfectly normal.   

You will spend the next few days…..or even weeks or months……..oscillating between excitement and fear, plus every other emotion in-between. 

Twinfo is here, every step of the way, starting withy our online pregnancy course.

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Possible TTTS, TAPS, preeclampsia, HELLP Syndrome and twins

preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome twins

Author:  Sherrie Phelps

My pregnancy and birth story is almost like something out of a movie! We had possible TTTS, TAPS, preeclampsia, HELLP Syndrome and twins!

Possible TTTS at 26 weeks pregnant with twins

Easy smooth pregnancy until my ultrasound at 26+5 weeks at Dubbo Base Hospital. The doctor and MFM at Nepean were concerned about possible TTTS so they told me to go to the birthing unit and do at least 15 minutes of CTG monitoring to see how the babies were coping.

Because they don’t usually do CTGs until 28 weeks due to small babies being able to wriggle away from the monitors we were in there for a while. I started getting anxious and started having a panic attack. The midwives put electrodes on my ankles, wrists and chest for an ECG test and a cannula in my arm. My husband ran into the bathroom nearly throwing up cause he hates needles. Several hours later we went home.

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Reasons people decide against finding out gender of twins or more

reasons not to find out gender of twins

Congratulations you are pregnant! How exciting.  Oh wait…there are two babies?  Three babies????

Suddenly all the rules have changed.  The panic sets in. The fact that you were never planning on finding out the gender of your baby may change now its TWO or THREE babies.  Planning mode kicks in and you decide you now need to definitely find out the genders.   But take a step back.  You don’t HAVE to find out the gender just because there is more than one baby in there.

surprise gender twins

Reasons people decide against finding out the gender of twins or more

For the surprise factor

The desire to have a surprise at the end of the pregnancy means some people choose to not find out the gender.  In todays technologically advanced world you may know the date of conception (from careful ovulation tracking to IVF), the date they are to be born (elective c-section or induction) and even what they look like (have you seen how clear the latest 4D cans are!!).  So to find out the gender is really the last of the unknowns. 

There aren’t that many surprises in life that can equate to this.  That moment when you see them for the first time and find out their gender is equated to a moment time stands still.   Plus you know what they are for the rest of their lives, those few months of not knowing is so exciting.  And it is fun to keep everyone guessing.

Be warned though, you may face backlash from family and friends (and even strangers!).   Be ready for comments like “I could never, how will you be prepared?” or “but you’re having two………”.  Let me assure you, all the gender specific clothing in the world will never actually prepare you for having multiple babies!!

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