Author: Alisha Winslade
Finding out we were having identical twins was exciting yet overwhelming.
Not knowing much about twins google was my go to for all things twins until I read about a rare condition called Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome ( TTTS ). TTTS only occurs in identical twin pregnancies. It scared me but I never thought it would happen to me.
Author: Anonymous Twin Mum
Let me just start this by saying I don’t know if I have ever been 100% certain on having babies. My husband and I thought that we would leave things to chance and see what happened, if we didn’t conceive then that was it. Well, little did we know that we would conceive within the first month of leaving things to “chance”!
I guess all the usual things happened in those first few weeks. I took a pregnancy test at home first one was negative, did a second 3 days later which was positive. Went to the GP, had the “I’m pregnant” conversation and was sent for blood tests and an early scan to confirm the pregnancy. I had a conversation with a friend about 3 days before my scan and had a joke saying that I bet that I am carrying twins, we laughed and wrote it off as joke. Well we all know what happened next, we went and had our scan and there were two heartbeats with perfectly defined embryonic structures!
Author: Ashlea Sinfield
So my story starts off as a normal surprise pregnancy. I had fallen pregnant when my daughter was only 4 months old so a massive massive surprise it was indeed.
I went to the doctors and had bloods taken etc. Did all the routine stuff, and didn’t have a clue I was pregnant with twins. The bloods came back, and I was apparently around the 8 week mark. So they sent me for an ultrasound which I did the next week and they didn’t see anything. They said I was too early and they could see my ovary had released an egg – or something along those lines lol. I went home and didn’t think anything of it and rebooked for three weeks later…
So the night before my 8 week ultrasound I had a dream that the male ultrasound tech told me I was having twins when I went for my ultrasound. The dream so sooo real feeling it actually freaked me out. Later that day I toddled off for the ultrasound, I lay down and the tech started. He looked at me and said I don’t know if this is good or bad news. My reply was there’s two isn’t there?
And yep there sure was lol. I held myself together for the rest of it even though I was having a major anxiety attack. I walked out the door and called my best friend who thought I was lying to her lol. Then called my other bestie who had actually already told me I was having twins so she predicted it as well lol.
So after the initial shock I drove home and gave my partner the ultrasound slip and asked him what he saw. He said tw A and tw B. And I was like what does that mean. He had no idea and then I filled him in that it meant twin a and twin b. He looked at me in shock and said are you bleeping serious. Hahaha mind you we have a 7,6,5,4 year old and 4 month old at the time so being pregnant was absolutely crazy in itself. Let alone with two little babies!
My first trimester pregnant with twins as pretty easy no sickness just super dooper tired… Uneventful until 11 weeks when I had a SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) attack. I literally thought I was having a heart attack I couldn’t breathe. The Ambos were called and I was admitted to hospital for a week to try to get my heart rate under control. I was put on heart meds again as I have a previous heart condition that makes any pregnancy risky but having 2 on board made it even worse. So I was super high risk from then on.
Pretty uneventful just kept cooking my little beans all was going well had weekly antenatal appointments had 4 weekly ultrasounds.
Other than being extremely short of breath I was actually do way better than anyone expected. Despite having a pre-existing heart condition and pregnant with twins,my heart was holding up well. I was feeling quite positive. The only downside is from 14 weeks till 6 weeks after birth I had to have clexane needles daily. And I really despise needles! But I sucked it up for my own safety and the safety of my babies.
At 20 weeks we did a gender reveal and got our 5 older kids to pop balloons and suprise suprise two baby boys.
So this is where it all started happening and my not too bad pregnancy started to hit some major road bumps.
Not all baby related some purely hospital related I felt like the hospital I was at was trying to get rid of me in a sense because I was high risk. And I am extremely overweight. So they kept sending me up the Mercy and the Mercy kept sending my back saying that my hospital was fine to look after me as long as the babies didn’t come before 32 weeks.
I was sent to the Mercy via ambulance from my hospital twice due to bad doppler readings from one of the twins. Both times when I got to the doppler readings were fine. They couldn’t understand why my hospital rushed me down there, as it was only one doppler reading that that was a little off. Also, because my twins were both in the 90th percentile there was no cause for alarm. I just needed to be scanned more regularly to watch for any changes. So back home I went.
At about 32 weeks I got dreaded gastro and it was horrendous! It’s bad when you’re not pregnant by when you are it was so so so much worse. I went to the hospital to get a needle to stop spewing and some tablets and it all calmed down so went home again.
The whole last trimester I was in and out of the labour ward clinic for multiple false alarms. I bled a few times, nothing crazy just some spotting. Lost my mucus plug early, had some high blood pressure that never eventuated into anything. Plus numerous early labour scares. Safe to say I hated hospital by the end of the pregnancy.
At 32 weeks the hospital decided to give me a round of steroids and now I look back I’m happy they did as it good timing.
The day started off normally. I was 33+5 weeks and had a meeting at 2pm with the senior doctors at the hospital to plan my delivery. I had been scheduled for induction at 36 weeks because of my pre-existing heart condition and pregnant with twins. They were worried my heart not being able to cope with the last month of pregnancy. Plus being a multi pregnancy and I’m morbidly obese. So all major risk factors. And we wanted to avoid a c section at all cost, because of the risk to me.
About 10 am I started getting pains that I fobbed off. I was like “nope, it’s Braxton Hicks. I’m not going to the hospital as I gotta go this afternoon. I will wait till I go I’m sick of it being a false alarm and I felt like an idiot every time I went in and it was nothing”… So the pains kept coming and they were uncomfortable but didn’t hurt so I was like nope not labour. My partner even said I think you’re in labour and I snappily said I think I would know if I was in labour lol…
We went and ate Maccas at the park with the kids and watched the ducks. The pains were still coming. I didn’t time them because I truly believed I was not in labour and I wasn’t wasting the hospital or my time on a false alarm again. I was waiting till 2pm until my appointment.
So we went and did what we needed to do. We picked up my also heavily pregnant bestie as she needed to go to the hospital for a CTG. We dropped the kids off to their Nans. My partners mum said you look like you’re in labour again. I dismissed this coz I would know if I was!
Or so I thought lol.
2pm rolled around we got to the hospital car park still having pains. I got out the car and put my 13 month old in the pram and started walking into the hospital. Then bam…… a pain hit me and stopped me in my tracks. I had to wait for the pain to pass before I could walk. At this point I kinda then said OK I think I’m in labour. I got to the lifts and the pains were smashing me every 2-3 minutes. They were hurting now; making my eyes water and taking my breath away. We got upstairs to labour and delivery for the meeting.
As soon as the doctors saw me they said you look like you’re in labour. We had the meeting anyway, with me contracting the whole way through it. They stopped the meeting early and walked me to the delivery room and told me to jump on the bed. They wanted to check me and do a swab to see if labour was pending at the same time.
I told my partner to run home to get our things, and he took my 13 month old with him to go drop her off at his mother’s. As he walked out the door the doctor walked in to check me saying let’s see what’s going on here. They went to pass her the swab and she said don’t worry about giving me that she’s 9cms and the waters are bulging!
The next minute they pressed the met call button and a billion people ran in. They were shoving IVs in my arm and I just remember dissolving in tears. I was freaking out like I didn’t know what the hell was happening. I just remember thinking my partners gone and I need him with me… Lucky he heard the met call and he ran back. He just had a feeling it was me. Luckily my best friend was getting her CTG done, so he took my 13 month old to her and said Ash’s having the babies can you mind her.
I was then rushed down to theatre with contractions coming every minute. They said I can’t push, so I tried not to. They tried to put in an epidural numerous time and they finally got it in. I lay down but it didn’t kick in for the first twin. Tyler, 5 pound 1 ounce, shot out. Then there was panic, as the second twin Grayson, 4 pound 3 ounces, who was head down had flipped as soon as his brother was out… I was told this is common, hence why they want people to have pain relief. In case they have to reach in and get them out. 4 doctors, one after the other, were reaching in, trying to pull my son out. I was 1 minute off being cut open then they grabbed his little foot and pulled him out…
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the boys as they were taken straight away. I did hear them both let out little tiny cries, so I knew they were alive…
I went to recovery for 2 hours before I was finally taken back upstairs.
I had a shower and walked over to special care where my partner was with the boys I walked in and I saw my twin A, or as I like to call him, Tyler, in the incubator. He was tiny but perfect. They told me he had just been taken off CPAP but was on air.
I walked over to twin b, aka Grayson, and he was sooo tiny and was on CPAP.
Softly I touched their little arms and feet. I was so overwhelmed, but the special care nurses were amazing and were very informative. They were both on antibiotics for 48 hours as a precaution, as they didn’t know why I went into labour. I was allowed to go back and hold Tyler at 2am that morning but I would have to wait to hold Grayson until the CPAP was off. Luckily he was off it within 12 hours and they were both kicking goals…
The next night I got to hold them both and it was the first time it all actually felt real…
Days passed and they got off the air. 5 days passed and they were into open cots having little suck feeds every few feeds.
Then all they were in for was to establish full suck feeds and get past the gestation that the hospital allows them home. so they were only in special care for 2 weeks and 3 days then we got to bring them home…
What can I say we have 7 kids out life is full on but perfectly imperfect.
The twins are thriving.
Tyler has colic and is exhausting but I think the end is near as he is settling a lot easier now.
Grayson has itchytosis, a skin condition where his entire body peels. So we have to moisturise him 3 times a day, but he is the happiest little man.
They are 4 months old and have just started giggling. They light up my life daily. I cannot even remember what life was like without my littlest men. They truly complete me
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Author: Gillian Smith
We are a blended family. I have had three boys and my partner has had three girls from previous relationships, they range in age from 21 down to 6.
In February 2017 I went on a holiday to Queensland with my boys, I spent a lot of time feeling unwell, I felt as though I had pulled lower abdominal muscles and thought wow it’s been a long time since I went swimming, I felt nauseous because of the heat.
When we returned I still didn’t feel the best, I had at the end of 2016 had a mirena IUD removed and began taking the contraceptive pill, I was convinced it didn’t agree with me, after another month of feeling off I returned to the GP, I had what I thought was a mass in my stomach, fearing the worst I told my GP the pill doesn’t agree with me and I’m not sure that I don’t have something in my stomach. She did a couple of investigations and instead of the news I expected (a return of cancer from years ago) she told me I was pregnant. Not just with one but two babies and not just pregnant either, near on 14 weeks.
Author: Skye Gardiner
At the age of 11 I was informed by my doctor that I could not have children due to being diagnosed with Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I grew up convinced I would never have children and learnt to deal with it, you know, the doctor told me so, so it must be true.
In August 2015 I met my other half, I was 24 and it was never anything too serious. In April I started to feel a bit off and thought “hmm get a pregnancy test just because why not rule that out first” it was a Monday afternoon when I did the test and I was terrified to look at the stick. Sure enough it read positive! Dumbfounded was the initial reaction followed by a “it can not be true!” The OH came over and I broke the news to him expecting him to run for the hills, we weren’t “official” (and we had both come out of long term relationships and we were having a ball living the “party” scene)
Author: Caitlin Ryan
Even though I was pregnant with twins (DCDA) I guess I just thought in my head I would have an uncomplicated natural delivery. Just like my first baby, but I would just push two babies out this time. That was the delivery option we had been discussing all along in my OB appointments. It didn’t exactly go like that though. The 3 of us ended up in 3 different parts of the hospital post birth………………
Grocery shopping with twins and multiples can be a long process. Everyone wants to stop and have a chat! Here are 26 things you will hear. Over and over again.
A – Are they both yours?
B – Better you than me!
C – Can they feel each other’s pain?
(Note from Twinfo: This is the final part of a five part series, where we will follow Nissa’s journey. The links to the other four parts of her story can be found at the end of this post.)
Author: Nissa Vagg
Two days after being discharged, I went to visit my childhood best friend Zoe. I probably shouldn’t have because I could barely touch the steering wheel, only the very tips of my fingers could reach, but she was cooking me dinner and was going to help me decide which rentals to apply for in Tassie. Dinner was lovely, we found a few houses that looked good, and as I stood up from the couch to leave something popped…. I guess that was the pop I had been expecting, but it still took me by surprise. Water started pouring out from between my legs, and I gasped and ran to the toilet to check what was going on. It was happening – my waters must have broken; the babies were coming. Thankfully we were only 10 minutes from the hospital, and in a blur of apprehension and excitement, Zoe drove me in.
Author: Danielle Lyne
We had 2 girls who at the time were 3 and 8 months. We thought we would try for one more as we really wanted a boy to finish our family off. First month trying and we conceived. The first ultrasound is one I will never forget. As the wand was put on my belly I immediately saw 2 sacs. I gasped and said ‘oh no’ my ob put the wand back on my belly and then we saw 3. I swore….a lot. All 3 babies looked great with nice strong heartbeats.
My pregnancy was pretty smooth sailing. We found out at 17 weeks we had 3 boys. All separate sacs and placentas. We were warned of preterm labour and expected the boys to be here between 28-32 weeks. Week 33 rolled around and here I was measuring 54 weeks and feeling ginormous.
