Think Twice

I'm a mother of twins.  They are babies four and five in my household.  It was a shock when I discovered there were two babies growing inside my womb.  I laughed for a long time and it was not so much joy as hysteria.  Of course looking at them now, they are seven next month, I cannot imagine my life without them.  They really are a double blessing.

Those earlier days of pregnancy were filled with the not so helpful comments of some passerbys. "You're huge!"  "Is it twins?  It is! Oh my goodness."  "Double trouble."  "Did you mean to get pregnant with twins?" ad nauseum.  This didn't end with their birth.  Strangers seemed compelled to ask "Were they ivf?", "Did you know it was twins?", "Ooh you've got your hands full", "I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone with twins.  It's really difficult, you're going to need lots of help", "Are they twins?".  It was tempting to walk with an A4 leaflet answering their many questions, my two favourites being "If you tell me how your children were conceived in intimate details..." in response to the IVF question and "No they're triplets.  I left the ugly one in the car" as a witty riposte.

Of course that's just one of the blessings/curses that comes along with twins.  When you've had a hard night they are not best appreciated, but when you're on top form you just smile knowing that you're rather clever for producing two at once.

There are some bigger things to think about when it comes to a twin pregnancy and twin birth.  And long before the mother of singletons you find yourself having to make decisions and future plans.  What type of birth will you have?  Where will you have it?  Assumptions are made that you will have a caesarean birth, use a maternity nurse/night nanny and bottle feed.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed with it all and sometimes it is hard to see anything positive in the middle of the harbingers of doom.

Well take a step back.  You have time to make decisions.  At the beginning just enjoy being pregnant.  Enjoy the fact that you have growing more than one life.  Put the worries aside, surround yourself with the positive stories.  Don't listen to labour stories until you have your own to share (something I tell all my mums).  Take a deep breath.  Twins!  A double blessing!!

My babies four and five.  Reception year.