Georgia's motherhood story – My journey to an instant family

My journey to a family began in July 2015, two months after our wedding. It brutally finished on my shower floor in September 2015, our first and thankfully last miscarriage. I can now see why “it wasn't mean to be”, but I hated those five words at the time and couldn't see a world without my now ‘Angel Baby’.

We took a break due to me suffering horrendous acne from the pregnancy that required me to start a course of Accutane, a drug which is a big no-no to fall pregnant on, just more salt to rub in the wound. Fast forward to June 2016 when we discovered that were blessed to be pregnant again. It was the day of our dating scan, Hubby and I were extremely anxious and scared to be too excited to see this baby as we knew that heartbreak was very possible.

The Sonographer was eerily silent during the scan and asked if it was okay to proceed with an internal scan. My husband’s face dropped as the last time I had an internal scan it was to confirm the loss of our last baby – we both felt sick to our stomachs. Soon the silence was broken with words I will never forget, “There’s two babies in there” – WHAT? Followed quickly by disbelieving laughter – Could it really be…TWINS? Nothing can prepare you for the feeling when you thought you’ve lost your baby, only to discover not only are they okay, but there’s also another one in there that’s okay too. We had always wanted to be a family of four, so the news was very welcomed, albeit terrifying at the same time.

It was then soon confirmed that we were in fact having identical twins. For those wondering, identical twins aren't hereditary (fraternal twins are) however every second generation in my husband’s family there have been identical twin girls so there must be something in the water! “GIRLS” – the Sonographer confirmed at our 14 week scan that we were expecting two little girls, my world was complete. After having a difficult and distant relationship with my own mother, I was so happy to finally have the chance to have that mother-daughter relationship that I had always dreamed of and envied in so many others. In that moment I knew that I was going to love, adore and fiercely protect these two girls with my life.

Fortnightly appointments with our hospital went from being a novelty to almost a chore. Whilst the care we received was second to none, the constant stress of the size & weight of the twins, gestational diabetes with insulin, o-negative blood group, potentially TTTS (twin to twin transfusion syndrome), foetal monitoring and the never ending list of ‘what-ifs’ took its toll on us. We also had to become quickly accustomed to many new terms when it came to having twins – singleton, multiple, identical/MCDA, fraternal, tandem etc. Your imagination begins to run wild in good and bad ways picturing your future life with two newborns – How will I feed them both? Will I be able to tandem breastfeed? Do I need two of everything? How will I decorate a nursery fit for two? Will my stomach ever look the same again? Will I love them equally? What if I like one more than the other?… It’s never ending.

I was lucky enough to finish work at 25 weeks, so that way I could rest at home and cook these babies for as long as possible, and that I did. I was induced on the 9th March 2017 at 37 weeks pregnant – full term for twins. The girls were head down and in position so I was able to try for a natural delivery. Hubby and I arrived at the hospital just before 6am, I was taken to the labour ward and Twin One’s waters were broken straight away. I was then given oxytocin via a drip to bring on my contractions and had the anaesthetist arrive to give me my epidural (a requirement by the hospital for all twin births).

I was unfortunate enough to experience a vasovagal syncope during the placement of my epidural (fainted upright whilst vomiting) and after a few hours we realised that the epidural wasn't working as effectively as it should, so the anaesthetist was back to fix the line into my spine. Once the epidural was successfully working, I didn't feel a thing and happily relaxed on my hospital bed for several hours whilst hand expressing colostrum with the help of my midwife for when the girls were to arrive.

At 6.05pm it was time to push, not that I could even feel where to push thanks to the strong epidural in place. I pushed for 30 minutes with help of my midwife, trainee Doctor and husband, however we were soon to discover that Twin One was coming out ear first. The Obstetrician was called and she tried to manually turn Twin One to no avail. Suddenly the room became filled with people – another Obstetrician, two anaesthetists, multiple midwives and nurses and a gentleman to take me to theatre. THEATRE is not what I wanted to hear.

I was quickly briefed from the Obstetrician that due to Twin One’s position she would need to be delivered vaginally with the help of forceps as she was so low in my pelvis and that it would be highly likely Twin Two would need to be delivered via caesarean. This wasn't what I had planned, a vaginal & caesarean birth, however at this point my motherly instincts had kicked in and all I wanted was what was best for the girls and I didn't care what happened to me.

I was wheeled off to theatre, kissed my husband goodbye and asked him to promise me that no matter what happens, he needed to stay with the girls the whole time and not worry about me. They told us both that we would be reunited in around 10-15 minutes in the operating room once I had been given an extra dose of anaesthesia. In the end it took a large dose and close to 40 minutes for the additional anaesthesia to kick in to ensure I was numb enough for a caesarean. I was reunited with hubby, who bless him had thought something very bad had happened to me or the girls and it was now go time. I had an episiotomy and Twin One, Elle, was delivered with the help of forceps at 8.16pm, weighing 2406g. We were lucky enough that Twin Two, Pia, slotted right into place and was delivered vaginally at 8.24pm, weighing 2632g – no caesarean required. Both of the girls were healthy, breathing fine and were able to be with me that night – what a miracle!

My little girls are now 10 weeks old and thriving. I am tandem breastfeeding every 3 hours, with a dream feed at night, they are great eaters and so far we have had no problems. They are sleeping very well for the most part and we are really starting to see their very different personalities come to fruition. Life is certainly a lot different now that we are an instant family, but I wouldn't change the double nappies, double cuddles, double washing and double kisses for anything less. ..Oh and did I mention double coffee?!

ABOUT GEORGIA

Georgia says: Amateur DIY (my ideas are always better than the end result!), puffer jacket addict, AFL lover, insanely OCD – many say I was the “perfect” person to have twins!

Hood: Sunbury

Children: Twin girls

Motherhood in 5 words: new, devoted, appreciation, fierce, daunting

Fav family-friendly cafe: Spotted Owl, Sunbury (they do a take-away much-needed-coffee for me as I don't fit through the door!)

Coffee order: Regular flat white with one sugar

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The information in this story is a unique and personal reflection of the writer's experience. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website.