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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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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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. 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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Author: Gina Mullins

My story of pregnancy, difficult birth, sickness, moving across the world and then doubling my family and I would not have it any other way.

So quick background before the twins: my husband (Irish) and I (Dutch) met in a country pub in the middle of nowhere, about 5 hours north of Perth and it was instant attraction. I joked with him the first night I met him that we would get married and have kids. If you would know me you would instantly know that that is odd. As far as I remember I have always said that I would never get married, never have children and would not live in the Netherlands (well at least I got 1 right).

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There is a pretty funny meme about pregnancy that shows a woman pregnant with her first child lamenting to a woman with baby and toddler about how tired she is – while the woman with the children knows her tiredness may have only just begun.

There is a particular tiredness we feel during our first pregnancy that we look back on almost fondly with later pregnancies – because once you add one or more other children to the mix, your level of exhaustion takes on a whole new level. To help with this we have put together some tips, tricks and general good advice for dealing with your active toddler while pregnant with twins.

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Author: Tracy Benge 

Feeling queasy and nauseous, I took that test and waited for the two lines to appear on the stick, ok that’s a lie it was my 5^th test after 4 negatives but I just couldn’t shake the feeling I was pregnant.

We had finally started out on our actual “trip” we had been waiting forever for, well the last 3 years anyways. You see we live in a 40ft converted bus roughly 11 x 2.3 metres of living space. Two adults, a 13-year-old boy, 4-year-old girl and now expecting twin girls. After a few months on the road our 16-year-old son returned to our hometown to live with family.

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If you haven’t thought about having a babymoon when pregnant with twins or triplets – you need to get onto this trend immediately! If you are pregnant with multiples, then you deserve a babymoon more than ever. You won’t get to rest or relax for about 12 years after your babies arrive, so take this opportunity right now.

No one ever regrets a babymoon

If you are new to the idea, a babymoon is a last holiday as a couple before your babies are born and the entire universe is turned on its head.

A babymoon may sound like a frivolous concept, and may not be the best way to spend your money right now if you are saving up for all of the babies you are to have. But, trust me, babymoons are awesome, and no one ever regretted having a babymoon.

There are ways you can do this so you can keep the cost down and look after yourself and your babies at the same time. You don’t need to fly to a desert island to get the rest and relaxation and time with your partner that you need – this can be done anywhere.

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Author: Lauren Cotter

When my obstetrician did a very early scan at 6 weeks and announced, ‘it may be twins,ʼ all my husband Ben and I could do was laugh. Of course it was twins, you see our pregnancy was very unplanned, we already had two beautiful healthy kids aged 3 and 18 months and decided to leave it there for a while. Or so we thought.

Our emotions quickly shifted from comical disbelief to fear as the reality dawned on us as I was born with a rare condition called uterus didelphys.

Uterus didelphys and twins

Uterus didelphys means I have two uteruses and two cervixes.  I had had two vaginas which I had surgically fixed at 16.

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Please note:  This is recommended to be used as an overview only and has been compiled from a variety of web resources. For further clarification on any term and any medical advice, please speak to your health care professional.  

Some terms are more ‘general’ baby terms however I have been requested to include them.

Please contact us if you would like a term added or updated. Thank you.

A

Adjusted age – See ‘corrected age’

Advanced maternal age – Pregnancy when the mother is 35 years old or older.  Sometimes referred to as a ‘geriatric pregnancy’.

AMBA – Australian Multiple Birth Association was formed as a volunteer organisation in 1974. AMBA is the only national charity in Australia focused on improving the lives of twins, triplets or more and their families.

Amniotic sac – a bag of fluid inside a woman’s womb (uterus) where the unborn baby develops and grows. It’s sometimes called the “membranes” because the sac is made of 2 membranes called the amnion and the chorion.

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Congratulations! Finding out that you are pregnant with triplets can be both a surprise and a delight. From stronger pregnancy symptoms to eating advice and guidance on risks, there are a few things you should know about this kind of pregnancy experience.

There are few women in the world fully prepared for being pregnant with triplets. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were just under 60 sets of triplets born in 2017.

The proportionof confinements resulting in a multiple birth has remained fairly consistent for the past decade, ranging from 1.5 to 1.6% of total confinements. In 2017, there were 4,528 confinements resulting in a multiple birth and 60 of these were triplets or higher order births. There were 50 less multiple births in 2017 than in 2016.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Even if you knew having three babies was likely and even hoped for, you will probably still be surprised by exactly what a triplet pregnancy has in store for you.

Women everywhere, every day, are absolute mum-bosses at having triplets – we know that you have got this!! You might just need a little heads up on what to expect and time to get ready for one or two (or three!) of the extra treats that could be coming your way.

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