I never in a million years thought I’d be writing about my twin pregnancy, but here I am! It was the epitome of “the days are long but the months are short.” I was miserable every day, but looking back it feels like I just blinked and it was over. It’s crazy how that works!
Baby Fever
After our completely unexpected pregnancy and miscarriage in July (which you can read about here) I was undeniably in baby mode. We decided to kind of “see what happens” for a few months afterwards, and I took a test a few days before Thanksgiving 2021, and sure enough, I was pregnant. I was hesitantly excited and decided not to tell a soul until the morning of Thanksgiving. My husband woke up to a cute little greeting on the potty haha! We decided not to tell anyone until after I had a doctor’s appointment, just in case things ended the way they had the last time. It was kind of fun having that secret between just the two of us for awhile!
Say whaaat!?
I was pretty anxious and aware of every little pain and cramp I had those first few weeks. I was terrified of miscarrying again. On December 5th I was having some pretty intense pain on one side and decided to go get checked out to be sure everything was ok. I went to the ER by myself and they did an ultrasound, but the tech wouldn’t let me see the screen, so I had no idea what she was seeing and I was a nervous wreck. I was told I had to wait for the ER doctor to go over the results.
So I was sitting in the room by myself, and I don’t know how many of you have the online chart app through your healthcare provider, but I have the app and I got a notification that I had a new test result. I opened it and it was the ultrasound photos the tech had just released to the doctor. I’ve seen a LOT of ultrasounds in my day, and I knew immediately what I was looking at… TWINS!! I remember I literally said out loud and alone in my room “what the f*ck!” and started crying and laughing at the same time.
The ER doctor finally came in to talk to me and told me that it was the earliest he’s ever seen twins on an ultrasound, and that there’s a high chance this early that one twin may be absorbed and not make it. Vanishing twin syndrome is what it’s called. Great.
Telling Our People
I went home after all that in complete shock – I honestly was pretty much TERRIFIED and extremely overwhelmed. Hubby and I decided to wait to tell anyone until our next appointment and it was agonizing. I was already starting to feel the “morning” sickness at 5 weeks and by the time we got to our appointment at just under 7 weeks, it was becoming difficult to hide the nausea.
December 17th we had an ultrasound with the sweetest tech that walked us through the entire thing. She explained that I had ovulated from both ovaries that month and both eggs had been fertilized, so we were for sure having fraternal twins, not identical. They each had their own sac and their own placenta, which is the safest type of twins to carry. (They can’t steal nutrients from each other!) We went home from that appointment and couldn’t contain the secret anymore.
I wish I had gotten photos of us telling the kids and my mom, but I was a shaky mess because I was so nervous! We had the kids open two boxes with ornaments that said “coming soon 2022.” I remember my mom said something along the lines of “yay another baby!” and I said “well, how many ornaments are there?” and her eyes got really big and she said “TWINS!?” We announced to the rest of family by sending a text message with a photo of me wearing a shirt that said “growing twins.” Everyone was shocked to say the least! We waited to do an “official” Facebook announcement until New Years Eve.
The First Trimester
The first 12 weeks were mostly uneventful. I was ridiculously nauseous and was on two different nausea meds to help get me through. (That lasted until 22 weeks!) I ended up having to go get IV fluids to help get me hydrated, and I was prescribed protein shakes because I just wasn’t getting enough nutrients. And I got Covid, which was fun (not!) But overall, it was probably the easiest trimester!
The Second Trimester
Sometime during the second trimester I ended up having to see a cardiologist for some of the long term effects from Covid I was experiencing. They monitored me for a week and everything looked healthy, but the symptoms made me have horrible anxiety.
Gender Reveal and Baby Shower
At 14 weeks I got the results of the genetic testing and everything looked good. I wanted the babies genders to be a surprise to my husband and I for the gender reveal, so I sent the info directly to my bonus daughter, Melea, and my soul sister, Sara. Melea and Sofie (my 13 year old) planned our gender reveal, and my good friend Amy photographed it. I felt SO strongly that it was a boy and a girl, I would’ve put money on it! Ellie was sure, too, and she was super disappointed for about two minutes when we found out we were having two boys!!
I had an amazing baby shower during my 25th week. My soul sisters came and helped me prep and I had so many friends and family that helped and made it so special and beautiful. I had to sit in a chair through pretty much the entire thing because I was so swollen and uncomfortable, but I still had a great time. We are so lucky to have the support system that we have and I am grateful everyday!
I had multiple labor and water breaking scares towards the end of my second trimester. I told my OB that I knew that these babies were going to come between 33 and 34 weeks, I knew it in my mom gut! Baby A (Zakai) was breech in all of our ultrasounds, which meant if he stayed that way I was automatically going to have a C-section. I really didn’t want a caesarean though – I had dreams of an unmedicated vaginal birth, just like what I had with the girls, with my birth photographer there to document my amazing twin birth. So I started researching and implementing ways to get baby to flip.
Belly Photos!
My dear friend Amy of Amy Quinn Birth & Photography knew how much I regretted not having maternity photos of my other pregnancies, so we went all out and did two separate sessions! I got to wear some of my favorite dresses from my own client closet and celebrate my big beautiful bump. I felt like an absolute goddess and after that experience I honestly can’t recommend it enough!
The Third Trimester
Every twin group and book I got advice from told me to be ready to go by 28 weeks because you have no energy and everything hurts after that point with twins. So at the start of my third trimester I had all my bags packed and I was ready! I was absolutely miserable and uncomfortable. I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t sleep. My bathtub and my body pillow were my best friends. And baby A was still breech, so we started talking about a scheduled cesarean, which was really messing with my plans! I went swimming, I did upside down handstand looking things, I used ice, I used music, I worked with my physical therapist, that boy would NOT flip! By about 32 weeks though I finally was starting to come to terms with the C-section, I just wanted those boys OUT OF ME! I was HUGE!!
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