There are few moments in life that completely take your breath away, moments that rewrite the course of your future in the most unexpected ways. For me, one one of these rare moments was the day I discovered I was pregnant with not just one, but two little miracles. The journey from that discovery to the present day has been filled with awe, excitement, and quite a bit of fear, if we are being completely honest, as David and I navigate the uncharted waters of expecting not one, but two babies all at once.
The news of twins came as SUCH a shock to both of us. We had envisioned our family growing and giving our almost 4 year old son a sibling finally, but the thought of literally outnumbering ourselves in one fell swoop was beyond anything we had imagined. The craziest part about all of this is that my whole family kept joking from day 1 that I was pregnant with twins… The morning of our first ultrasound, David even jokingly asked me “Alright are you ready to get some answers and find out how many are in there?” Which I responded back with “Yes, I’m ready to finally prove to everyone that there’s only ONE in there!” But it really was just a joke and none of us ACTUALLY thought more than one would really be in there. So when the ultrasound later that morning did in fact, show us that two really were in there, I really thought it was some sort of prank or I was having a dream.
With something as unique as this, it comes with a lot of questions. Not just from us, but also understandably from others. So here are the ones we’re asked the most!
Are they identical or fraternal?
This is actually something we still don’t know. Our twins are the DI/DI (dizygotic/diamniotic) type, meaning they each have their own amniotic sac and own placenta. There is a good chance they can be fraternal, but still about a 30% chance they could be identical. We won’t find out until they are born and do a DNA test on them, so this is something I’m SO anxious to find out once we get to meet them!
Boys, girls, or one of each?
We got the exciting news that after having our son, we now get to also have two little girls, which you can watch our *emotional* reaction to finding out here. This is very likely my last pregnancy and our last chance to have a daughter, so finding out that we are expecting not one but two filled me with so much overwhelming joy and emotion. Imagining the bond they will share and the adventures they will go on together, brought tears to my eyes the moment that I found out. It was such a beautiful, shocking moment that I’ll never forget.
Did we use fertility treatment?
Twin pregnancies have become much more common since fertility treatments were introduced, but we did not use any fertility treatments to conceive our twins. Ours was a natural conception, just another testament to the unpredictable beauty of life. I joke now that maybe I jinxed myself, since when we were struggling to get pregnant the first time, which I talk a little bit about here, my doctor wanted to put me on a fertility drug that she warned could increase your chances of having twins. I said there’s absolutely no way I want more than one baby at once, so I decided to pass on the drug at the time. And just look at what happened years later!
Do twins run in your families?
This all actually depends on the mom’s genetics and has nothing to do with the dad’s side, which no, twins don’t run in my family at all, which just makes their arrival even that much more shocking and extraordinary.
Did you know it was twins?
I always see stuff about how moms just ‘know’ when they have multiple in there and just have this intuition, but as I said in the beginning of this post, I truly never fathomed the idea of there being more than one. My first trimester was MUCH harder than my last pregnancy, with symptoms so much more intense. But I just figured it was because I was older, or because now I had a toddler to chase around, or wondered if maybe it was a girl in there since my first was a boy. The thought of it being because there were two babies in there is truly something I just never expected, but of course now it all makes sense.
What does this mean for the pregnancy and delivery?
With the type of twins they are, I am technically only allowed to carry them to 38 weeks, but no later than that for mine and the girls’ safety. It’s extremely common for twins to come even earlier than that though, so I’m just saying all the prayers that I even get to make it that far or at least come close to it. At this current moment, I’m not sure if they will need to be delivered by c-section or not, since it all depends on what position they are both in towards the end, and how the both of them (and me) are doing, since there are so many complications that can arise with a high-risk pregnancy with multiples. This is all definitely something I think and worry about a lot, but I’m just trying to remain positive and not stress about anything right now until that time comes.
Even with all of these uncertainties and fears, we’re filled with gratitude for these two blessings. They are the embodiment of hope, joy, and infinite possibilities. And as we anxiously await their arrival, we’re making sure to just try and cherish every last moment as a family of 3, knowing that our lives are about to be forever changed—for the better.
