Catherine With Twins Max & Charlie

Your name?  Catherine

Location? Tannum Sands QLD

 

Names and ages of your children? Max Henry and Charlie Thomas, 3

Facebook Fan Website Member Or Both? Both

How did you react when you first found out you were having twins?  I was thrilled/nervous and decided straight away not to get too worried about raising twins and focus instead on getting them here first!

Can you sum up the 1st year with twins at a glance? Repetition, joy, tiredness, amazement and more repetition! It was all I expected but then some more-thank goodness for a wonderful hubby helping out!

What is one of your favorite twin moments? One of my favourite moments is when as babies Max and Charlie slept in the same position-and they still do! It's still a wonder to me...

 

What is the one piece of advice you give to someone pregnant with multiples? Get things organised before hand, look after yourself and accept ALL help offered-let them hang out washing, cook you a meal, take care of older children for a while-people love to help out!

Newborns Max & Charlie 

Max & Charlie Three year old

Tiffany & Marty's Birth Story

My name is Tiffany, and my husband's name is Marty. We now have the honor of calling two beautiful little 4 month old identical twin girls  our daughters. Week by week, things -have- gotten much easier, we have came a long way from the beginning. After many sleepless nights (still not an unusual occurrence!) trial and error with tandem nursing, cloth diapering, (an attempt to benefiting our babies well being, make a 'greener' choice, and of course save some funds as well!) and all else that comes along with being a new parent, we have found our 'routine'.. 'organised chaos'.. 'system' that works for our new family! 


We have managed to stick to all of our guns on our pre-determined decisions as new parents to twin girls... with the exception of the girls' now beloved... 'sookies'.. 'pacifiers'... god sent gift to a new parent! This is our birth story of how our little miracles came into this world almost four treasured months ago!  May 16th, 2011. The day before my scheduled cesarean, as our leading girl, 'twin A' was breached since week 16. I was so excited all day, the minutes seemed like hours, and the hours seemed like days. I went to the hospital that afternoon for my 'pre-op' work up: blood tests, consent forms, signed into the hospital. 


After all of this was finished, the resident doctor came into the room I was waiting in, to brief me on how things were planned to go the following day and answer any questions. Five minutes after she began to speak, my excitement became mixed with anxiety. I had never even had a tooth pulled, let alone a surgery! My outlook until that day was after waiting 38 long weeks, AND one day to meet my beautiful twin girls was, "going to go to the hospital, finally meet my girls.. and leave!" The terms, 'blood transfusions'.. 'bleeding out' .. etc quickly made me realize that my girls and I had a major surgery to endure before we would all finally be snuggling together safe and sound! I was too stunned to think of any questions, the doctor let me go home and get some "rest" for the night, and I was to return for my appointment at 7am sharp.  


Marty and I returned home at around 6 o'clock, I spent the entire evening sorting baby clothes, going through my checklist of things to bring with me to the hospital. Around 10 o'clock, I went to bed for a total of 5 minutes. My mind wouldn't stop racing, at this point, I crept out of bed as Marty slept and stayed awake the entire night obsessively cleaning, while listening to music trying to distract my mind from every possible thing that may go wrong. After almost 9 whole months, all I wanted was to have my baby girls both safe in my arms.  5 o'clock am. I woke Marty up, as I was already awake, grabbed my things and we drove off to the hospital. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink from the time I had left the hospital the day before to after I had the surgery, so I was extremely thirsty! I blasted inspirational tunes the entire way, we arrived at the hospital at around 6:30 am. 


The first person that met me was the anesthesiologist. She went through a questionnaire, gave me a briefing on what to expect with the spinal and surgery, and gave Marty some scrubs and a hairnet to wear. Before the day-of, I made him promise me he wouldn't leave me.  I was then informed I had to be in the operation room alone to receive my spinal. Marty was a great support system my whole pregnancy so I was quietly upset and alarmed by this surprise.   The doctors took me to the operation room which was very cold in both temperature and appearance. I was told to sit on a steel table covered in a thin sheet of paper and hug a pillow. They first gave me a dosage of morphine in an iv. It made me shiver in the already cold room.. and my nerves didn't help! As the anesthesiologist directed me to keep my back "straight" so she could administer the spinal.. I clutched onto my pillow as my teeth chattered. It is -very- difficult to keep a straight back after having a belly protruding in the opposite direction with two healthy sized babies for 9 months! It took a lot of poking and prodding, but the anticipation was far worse than the spinal itself. The only complications they had was my blood pressure going down significantly from the medication.. there was talk of putting me under anesthesia, but luckily, things ended up working out just fine! 


It only felt like a bee sting! Easier said than done, but any expecting mothers.. DO NOT fear the spinal! Feeling relieved that step one had happened fairly smoothly, I was confident. The doctor then asked me to lay down. It was the strangest thing, first I felt an extremely cold sensation in my lower body, then I couldn't move! I was -told- this would happen, but actually trying with everything in me, I was not in control of any of my body, waist down. So, the doctors moved me in place, I felt lopsided on the table, and tried to re-position myself, but just gave up!  The first incision was made, the doctors asked me if I had felt anything.. it just felt like someone lightly scratching my skin. Marty then came in the room - (with camera!) after what seemed like hours. There was a curtain blocking my upper body from my lower body. The (TWELVE or so!) health careLuckily I wasn't allowed to eat anything prior, so I wasn't able to be sick!  


 They then called Marty to the other end of the curtain, I heard a very gurgled cry and I felt as if my heart almost stopped because I thought something was wrong. (Babies born by cesarean often have a cry that sounds this way, I later read.) I heard the doctors tell me that at 8:50 am, I had a beautiful, healthy baby girl, twin A, Lily. 5 pounds and 12 ounces. It was the most surreal, amazing, treasured moments to date in my life. I wanted so badly to just jump up and see her, but knew that there was another precious baby girl on the way - so overwhelming. One child is an insurmountable blessing.. two at once.. a true miracle. Exactly one minute later, I heard almost an identical cry, heard the doctor say once again, "beautiful, healthy baby girl." Twin B, Julie. 6 pounds and 1 ounce. An equally surreal, amazing, treasured moment, even more so now because reality struck in that I now had two healthy daughters.   After what had seemed like hours, but was maybe all of ten minutes, Marty brought over, both girls, one cradled in each arm. Julie with a pink hat, Lily with a purple (these would become their 'signature colors'). The most beautiful, big dark, dark blue eyes I have ever seen. Their hands were so small I could see the detailed bones in their hands move When they placed their little fingers on their faces. We had finally done it. There the four of us were, our family together for the very first meeting. 


We knew there was so much to come, but we weren't worried. Just so overcome with relief that our babies had arrived safely.   I was moved to recovery, where they brought me my baby girls to hold for the first time. It was long awaited but was hesitant as I was still very shaky. I studied their faces, tried to find words to express how I felt, but there weren't any to justify this moment. After being watched for a few hours in recovery, we were all moved to a private room where we stayed for 5 nights. The nurses were wonderful with teaching me to nurse first one baby at a time, and eventually two. It seemed like such an impractical juggling act at the time, but if you stick to it, and you chose to go this route - it  IS possible. I can even honestly say it becomes easy and routine eventually!   Recovery from the cesarean lasted about 2 months, it seemed brutal at the time, but is now a distant memory. 


I would endure the pain and discomfort all over again in retrospect to get these fast-passing 4 months back. It goes by oh so quickly. Some days are more challenging than others, but when mothers say, "it's worth it"... that couldn't be further from the truth.  

Tiffany, Marty and their new additions  
Julie (Pink hat) and Lily (Purple Hat)

Tiffany, Julie (left) and Lily (Right)

Facebook Fan - Steph Ross

Your name? Stephanie Ross

Location? Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne

Names and ages of your children? Blake and Coby 5 months (Twin Boys)

Facebook Fan Website Member Or Both? Website member

How did you react when you first found out you were having twins? So excited as I have always wanted twins.

Can you sum up the 1st year with twins at a glance? First 5 months have been amazing. My boys change so much from week to week and have completely different personalities. It astounds me that 2 babies raised identically can be so different.

What is one of your favorite twin moments? When the boys first recognized each other and begun to smile at one another.

What is the one piece of advice you give to someone pregnant with multiples? Not to listen to all the negative comments from every one. I was told every horror story and told to multiply it as i was having twins yet I my pregnancy, birth and every stage of development have all been smooth sailing.

a pregnancy journal - the count down is on

So I have hit the 37 week mark almost at the 38week mark which is full term! Wow I can't believe that I've made it this far.. It's very surreal that I'm this far along since with the girls we had them at 33.5 weeks and they were home by now. I have an ultrasound on Wednesday to see how bub is growing and it will be the last one till bub comes.

Dh has told me the days that I'm not aloud to go into labour.. So far Thursday is a no no as he is starting in a new section at work and needs to be there, Sunday is a no no cos Merlin is on and it look like a good one, so I've told him that now he has said that I will probably go into labour on one of those days...

I'm starting to get nervous about the labour and the pain that it brings with it. With the girls I had an Epi when I was about 8-9cm dilated and all I remember was the pain b4 the epi kicked in. I would love to have no drugs but I think the thought of no pain will win in the end :D I can't wait to meet out bub and find out finally if the girls have a little brother or sister. We keep asking them if they want a brother or sister and they keep saying brother.. So DH is like oh they must be right... lol...

We still need to go buy a chest of drawers which we will probably do this weekend as last weekend we were still sick and I didn't want the girls going out in the cold wind we've had here...

My bag is all packed for sure now, got myself some slippers for the hospital :D Bub is apparently 3/5 engaged well at the last appointment bub was so hopefully bub will come sooner rather then later so I don't have to be induced.

Alana (aka mattnalana)

A pregnancy Journal - Not long now‏

I have only about 4weeks till I'm due :o Where has the time gone? I'm still only on 2 weekly appointments at the hospital which I though at the last one they would ask me to come weekly as I was 35weeks but nope, so my next appointment isn't until I'm 37weeks. I also thought that I would have another growth scan cos of my GD but nope they didn't give me a referral for one either. They're not worried at all how big bub is they say s/he is growing perfectly and is still in the 33% range which is great..

I'm getting very uncomfortable especially at night having to go to the bathroom all the time and if I've been sitting down for a while and need to get up I feel like an old woman.. But at least I have made it further then what I did with my twins and I'll be very happy to make it full term even with all the aches and pains it's worth it. I'd rather put up with them for a few more weeks then to have bub in special care and not come home with me. I think that was the hardest thing to do with the girls, leave hospital and not take them with me.

We now have bub's room all set up but can't do the clothes until we know if bub is a boy or girl... I've got out enough unisex outfits to do us for the first week or so. My hospital bag is all packed apart from toothbrush, hairbrush, and shoes... We're picking up my Nan on the weekend who will be staying with us to help me around the house and be here for the girls when I go into labour as DH's Dad will be coming over but since the girls don't see him all the time I know they would freak out if they woke up and he was here and we were gone. So with Nan here they will be ok as they will be use to her being here. So I feel much more at ease about that as I was stressing out about it.

I've decided we're gonna have bub in our room in the porta-cot for a little bit when s/he first comes home, we didn't do this with the girls but they shared a cot so they had each other. Plus its a very cold winter and the less distance I have to walk to do night feeds the better.

Well that's it for now.

Alana (aka mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - Ultrasound Scan 33weeks‏

We just had another ultrasound scan to see how bub is growing. Well bub wouldn't stop moving the whole time but bub is growing at a good rate and is currently just under 2kg mark and is still in the 33% area for growth so not worried about the size of bub yet. Thankfully.. I decided that I didn't want to know the gender that I will leave it as a surprise but DH wanted to know. BUT bub didn't want DH to know at all.. lol.... At the start she had a look and bub had it's feet tucked under so she couldn't see then at the end she had another look and bub's thighs were closed so she couldn't see at all.. I think bub wants to keep us guessing....


Unfortunately we haven't been given any more ultrasound pics to take home :( but we did see bub with their mouth open and waving at us :D





So I have finally packed my hospital bag (well most of it) So I have put in neutral colours for bub and one pink and one blue outfit. I'm just trying to remember what else to pack for me. No doubt I will forget something. But I gotta put in track suit pants and a warm jumper as last time I woke up freezing in the middle of the night at hospital so gotta make sure I got warm clothes, and I gotta put in my breastfeeding tops which I have already been wearing :D and just my toiletries which I only need my toothbrush. Who ever thought of packing a bag when you have baby brain...

Alana (aka mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - Where has the time gone?‏

So I'm now at the 32week mark and boy has that time flown by. Only 7 weeks to go as they wont let me go past 39weeks. This weekend me and DH are busy getting bubs room sorted out and going through all the clothes so I can pack a hospital bag.

I feel like I'm back in my first trimester with going to the bathroom so much cos bub is pressing down on my bladder. Bub is such an active bub always moving this way or that or kicking and punching me, some night I take ages to get to sleep as bub is practising his/her kick boxing. I'm super tired and just want to sleep but with almost 2yr old twins that doesn't happen very much at all. Luckily I've got my grandma coming to stay with us in a few weeks to help me out a bit and so I can rest. So that means yummy grandma home cooked meals.. Yummy yum!

My belly feels like it can't get any bigger which is funny since it was bigger with the girls. but some days it feels like it's going to split in 2 as bub has a lovely habit of stretching right out or pushing it's bum right up under my ribs... ouchies...


I have another ultrasound coming up on Friday, can't wait to see bub again and see how s/he is growing. I have decided that I'm not going to find out the gender of bub until s/he comes into this world. I think DH still wants to know so I said that he can find out but I want to keep it as a surprise. I'm still hoping we have a boy but if it's a girl then I'll be just as happy as long as bub is healthy.



The pic is from 31weeks. My belly has really popped out now!

Alana (aka mattnalana)

Old Wives Tales

So today DH messages me and says that at work they are so bored that they are going through old wives tales to try and work out what bub is. So I asked him what conclusion they came to.. It's going to be a boy! I then told DH that those old wives tales are 50% accurate... lol So we'll soon see...

So I thought about it some more and have done a few of the old wives tales. 

1. Carrying high or low - Well I'm carrying high this time so it should be a girl but hang on I carried low with the girls which is ment to mean a boy

2. Cravings - hmmm well last night I woke up at 3am and wanted chocolate so I should be having a girl but then again my blood sugar levels were very low so I needed the sugar. Plus I have a sweet tooth when I'm not pregnant anyway. 

3. Morning sickness - no morning sickness during early pregnancy means a boy but I had morning sickness from early on but with the twins I didn't get it till I was 10-12wks along. 

I even did the Chinese gender ones... One said that it's a boy and it said my girls were girls but another said the girls were ment to be boys and this one is ment to be a girl..

Well I guess we wont know till our next ultrasound if bub wants to show us otherwise we''ll have to wait until s/he comes into this world.  

 Alana (aka Mattnalana)

Negative Multiple Comments

Everyday we as multiple birth parents endure negative & unwelcome comments in one form or another from people who truly don't understand what it is like to be blessed with multiples.

Here are some of the classic comments that we have endured in the past.

‎"I feel so sorry for you" - Sheree - Mum to twin girls 


"The only reason why you have twins is cause of ivf" -  
Sherie - Mum to twin girls


Danielle Glodowski Posted -  I was originally pregnant with quads and I lost one baby at 16 weeks. People had the nerve to say, "Bet your glad you won't have to take care of 4 babies although I'm sure three will still be difficult" -- or they would assume I had IVF (which I didn't - just Chlomid). They would actually ask how we could afford "the treatments" -- I had to ask what they meant! So ignorant! Who raised these people to act this way!!


"Ooh double trouble"  - Alana - Mum of twins


"Awe one boy and one girl, your done" - Well actually I was hoping on 4 & 5 so NO, IM NOT DONE!!! -  Sherri - Blessed mom of boy girl twins


Nicole Seamons Posted  - My twins are only 3 weeks old and already i have a list. As they were prem and in SCN the comment thats most peeved me is "at least you get a full nights sleep" uumm no between expressing and worrying about my babies i didnt get any sleep! Also as been said before "you must have your hands full" not sure what it is about this one everyone says it when they find out i have other kids besides the twins


"Oh yuck! I'd hate to have twins. I'd want to die"  -  Annie - Mum of twins


"Look here comes double trouble oh you poor woman "
Louise - Mum to twin girls


Kim Parker - Got asked what did she did wrong in a past life.


Annie Barker Posted -  When I was preg with my twin girls I stayed quite small.. Someone asked me 'are you really having twins' and when I said 'gee nah, I'm making it up' they proceeded to say "there must be something wrong with them then"


Feel free to post your negative comment below.  And please don't worry we will have some positive comments "COMING SOON"

A pregnancy Journal - 4 days in a row at hospital‏

Day 1: So it's Monday today and my first out of 4 different appointments at the hospital this week. Oh what fun!



So today I had my Anti-D injection, oh I just love getting needles it's so much fun... I woke up at 7am stayed in bed for a little bit cos it was cold but since the girls were up I thought I'd better get up before tehy destroyed the house.. My Twin cyclones..... So up I get jeans on jumper on slippers on. Out to the lounge room, heater on and change dirty nappy times 2.



Then it's make breakfast, wheatbix for the girls and toast for me. The girls don't finish all of their wheatbix so I make them some porridge as well which they share. Breakfast done time to get dressed. I finish getting dressed then I get the girls dressed. Make sure I have everything in my handbag for the girls including but not limited to drinks, snacks, nappies, wipes etc ect


In the car we all get, do the 10min drive to hospital, drive tot he free parking area with fingers crossed there is a park there so I don't have to pay today. Woohoo I'm in luck there is a park at the start of it so a shorter walking distance for us. All out of the car and walk to the hospital, into the hospital, past maternity with it stupid visiting hours, into the lift up a level out the lift and into the clinic.





Let them know I'm here and sit down to wait... Doesn't take to long before my name is called... Go in with midwife, she asks if I'm ok with needles as she hates giving them out and gets a little nervous but is very careful.. Anyway it hardly hurts at all meanwhile Lilli holds my hand and is saying let's go.. Lol... Might have to wait until the needle is out of my arm sweetie... Oh joy have to do that again in 6 weeks time..

Leave hospital. walk back to the car, drive back home, all get out and go inside. One appointment down 3 to go....


Day 2: Tuesday we had our 28 week ultrasound. DH only just made it it time to the hospital before we had to go in as he couldn't leave work on time. Bubba is right on track for growth so not to big or small just right. :D We were hoping to find out what gender bub is BUT bub had other ideas as s/he has its feet tucked under their bum so we couldn't see at all. I guess we will be in for a surprise when s/he comes into this world. Oh well I kinda like the idea of not knowing as we weren't given the choice bub has decided for us. They didn't give me any pics to take home :( which I'm disappointed about maybe I can get them to print some off at my appointment on Thursday. The ladies there were not very nice, as I had to book another appointment for when I'm 32weeks and they are like do you have the form, I left it at home as when I booked the last appointment I rang up. They're like oh you need to bring the form cos we can't do it without it.. Well that is a bit obvious to me since it's not the first one I've had done. So that's 2 appointments down and 2 left to go.


Day 3: Wednesday was my appointment with my Diabetes Doctor. So he has put up my dose of insulin again as I am still having high sugars in the morning. On Mon they got put up and I had a hypo (low sugars) on Mon night so I'm hoping I don't have another one as I don't feel when I'm having them... Other then that not very fun being there for a 3rd day as the girls are over it and so am I to be honest. Tomorrow is my normal Doc I just hope I have the same one as last appointment as she is so nice and not the Doc I've seen other times as he freaks me out. 3 down 1 to go!




Day 4: Thursday and last hospital appointment for the week! woohoo... Got there on time which was good since we left a little late as we had a nap later due to playgroup this morning. Got a free park! Got in there and only had to wait 15mins after my appointment time, usually we wait up to an hr or more... Doc is happy with bubs size, was in there for all of 10min adn then had to go to admissions and put my paperwork in since I hadn't done it yet.



So glad this week is almost over! Can't wait for a sleep in on the weekend just need to get DH out of bed to look after the girls :D

A pregnancy Journal - 28 weeks

28 weeks and the count down is on!

Last pregnancy with the twin I went into labour for the first time at 29 weeks. That was a scary time but thankfully they stopped it. So I'm getting a little nervous as I don't want to go through all that again, plus having the girls who are very much mummies girls it would be so hard as I had to stay in hospital for 5 days last time.

So I have about 10-11 weeks till we get to meet bub, and even though that's not very long I honestly still don't feel uncomfy at all... Even though I get kicked all the time and have a bum that gets pushed up into my ribs occasionally. I think that bub is gonna be a daddies bub as when DH was away for the night bub didn't kick as much as s/he usually does of a night when I'm in bed.





On Tuesday we have our next ultrasound to see how bub is growing then another at 32 weeks then 36 weeks and then again at 38 weeks. We're looking forward to seeing bub again and hopefully finding out what gender bub is this time since last scan bub didn't want to show us.


I think that DH and I should really get stuff sorted for bub, like clearing out bubs room and setting it up, it's full of boxes still as we were ment to do it the weekend just gone but due to DH having his appendices out we couldn't finish it. Need to go buy a car seat for bub and a hug a bug as I will be carrying bub around as the girls now are very independent and want to walk every where. I get to go through all the baby clothes again and sort them all out which I can't wait to do!

I will let you guys know what bub is if bub lets us know. :D



Alana (aka mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - Pregnancy Crazy Dreams‏

Last night I had one one of those crazy pregnancy dreams that you get from time to time whilst pregnant. I woke up this morning and was like wow that was weird and told DH all about it. So this is how my dream went.


I was pregnant and in hospital as I went into labour, so I was waiting around for a Doctor but I wasn't in any pain and the Doctor told me that I couldn't give birth naturally or via a c-section that my husband had to give birth to our twins. I'm only pregnant with one bubba this time so this was a bit odd and the fact that my hubby had to give birth. So anyway hubby gets all ready for his c-section and we have 2 healthy baby girls that are tiny 1.6kg each but other then that no other problems and they didn't have to go to NICU so we got to take them home right away.


When I told DH he was like umm yeah I don't think so that would be a bit odd.

This is the only crazy dream that I can remember but I'm sure I will have many more. But at least last night I got to sleep through the whole night without having to use the bathroom at 3am or some other ungodly hour.
 
by Alana (aka mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - Halfway There

So we are now past the safe stage of 24wks. Bub is very active and kicks mostly at night when I go to bed and doesn't like DH's hand on my belly, bub will stop kicking so poor DH has only felt a few kicks. I still don't really feel pregnant at all and if it wasn't for getting kicked then I wouldn't even know I was. We have been trying to come up with a few names for bub but it's so hard as we don't want something that 10 other kids in his/her yr will have, but middle names are easy. If it's a boy then it will have DH first name as his middle name and if it's a girl it will have a name from the family history like our other girls have. Oh and her first name has to end with A just like my name, and our daughters names. Gotta have some tradition I think.

25 weeks

Just thinking ahead of time atm but last time in 5wks I went into labour for the first time with the twins (29wks). The Doctor said I shouldn't go early this time and last time was just because of the twins, so I hope so but I would love to have bub at 38-39wks naturally as the Doc wants to induce me because of GD, he doesn't want bub getting to big. So I'm gonna be trying every trick and tip around to go into labour naturally. But that's still a while off although I know it will be here before I know it.


It's going to be very interesting as DH is putting in for another Job and if he gets approved then we will be moving down to VIC in July! So I'll be 35wks or so along. So I will have to have a hospital bag packed ready to go and note down all the hospitals on the trip down just in case. Good thing though as we will be only 2hrs from DH's mum and step-dad so she will drive up to babysit the girls when I go into labour.



We can't wait until our next scan which should be at around 30wks as the Doc wants to check on babies size so hopefully we can find out what the sex is. I don't mind if we don't find out but I know DH really wants to know. I look like I'm carrying high so that means I'm ment to be having a girl but with the girls I was carrying low, so who knows. Only time will tell.





Alana (aka mattnalana)

A pregnancy Journal - Cheeky Baby

We went and had our 19week ultrasound last week, unfortunately the program they put the images on I can't get it off that and onto my computer. But anyway, we decided to find out the sex! I was nervous and excited as we already have two little girls we were both hoping for our little Prince. So in we went, I love the place we go to as we have to wait only 5mins before my name gets called so my bladder is very thankful. So in we go I lay down and she starts doing all the testing she needs to do which she is finding hard to do as bub is laying on his/her tummy, so back to my tummy. She finally got everything she needed after me turning from side to side trying to get bub in a better position. So her next question "Do you want to know the sex?" To which I reply "Yes"






She has a look and tries again and again but bub doesn't want us to know he/she has their legs crossed over and is still on their belly... She couldn't get a potty shot at all and bub refused to uncross it's legs... So now we have to wait. DH is convince it's another girl while I think we have a boy, but I was wrong with the girls so who knows.... Mother's instinct didn't work last time... I have been doing all the old wives tales and the Chinese gender calendar thing wondering what we will have. I know people would say it doesn't matter what you have as long as it's healthy, yes that is true but I believe everyone has a gender that they would like to have. Some are because like us we already have 2 the same gender, others it's because they feel like wouldn't be able to handle that gender for what ever reasons.





It got me thinking about Gender disappointment so I googled it. There are so many people out there that are disappointed in the gender they gave birth to or about to have. A few people make mean and rude comments etc that they should be happy to be able to have a child, these people are happy they are able to have a child, just like I am, but I know I will be a little disappointed at first if or when we find out that we wont get out little Prince. I know I will love another little girl no matter what but it would be nice to have a mummies little boy. So if there is anyone out there that had gender disappointment, you're not alone there are many people out there that have gone through it and when you first see your baby you will just have unconditional love for it no matter if it's a girl or boy.

Alana (aka Mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - Those First Kicks

I am now 16 weeks into this pregnancy, and have finally felt those first kicks I've been waiting for since falling pregnant. It's very strange only having one baby in there kicking but feels just as special. This time the kicks are focused to my right side whereas last time with the girls it was all over the place. I've heard people explain the first kicks as butterfly wings but I find it more like bubbles popping. At first people said to me oh that's just gas but I knew it wasn't. So I'm once again feeling bubbles popping and I love it!





I can't wait until DH can feel bubba kicking, everything he puts his hand on my belly bubba will stop kicking. The girls use to do it all the time to him as well, it drove him crazy and I can tell it's already driving him crazy cos he just wants to feel his little bubba kicking. At least the kicks will only get stronger from now on, I just hope our little bubba is good and doesn't wake me through the night with his/her kicking.





Only 2 more weeks till we have the 18 week scan, so excited to see bubba again and we can find out the sex. Yes we have decided to find out if we are having a boy or girl. We already have 2 beautiful little girls so we are hoping that we have a son growing in my belly this time. So we'll soon see, and if we do have a boy it means I'll have to go through all the girls clothes and get rid of most of them, just keep the ones that are my favorite. But if we have another girl I'll have to sort through the clothes and get them organised into the different sizes. Poor DH will be out numbered if we have another girl.



Alana (aka Mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journal - OMG Talk About Baby Brain!

So today I have been having so much trouble getting my head around the fact that today is Wednesday and the 9th.. I keep thinking that it is the 10th, so I got DH to come home from work early got the girls ready for their appointment with the Doc for their 18month immunisations. Got to the Doctors and they're like um sorry but your appointment is tomorrow... *Slaps forehead* So now I've got to push their appointment back as I don't want to drive to QLD the day after they have needles.





I don't ever remember being this bad last time. Then I was thinking oh I don't need to put the dogs in tomorrow to the kennels as it's only Wednesday but no tomorrow is Thursday.. DH just kept laughing at me... I hope it doesn't get much worse then this...





But on a side note I'm actually starting to look pregnant.. woohoo well to me anyway other people prob just think I'm still carrying baby weight from the twins.. People still give me that look when I tell them I'm expecting again cos the girls are 18months old they're like really? I'm like yeah. Every other family usually has the second bub with 2yrs of the first bub so why should it be any different for us? Just because we had twins first up..



 Alana (aka Mattnalana)

Pregnancy Journal - Does the worrying ever stop?‏

I'm at the magical 12wk mark, but when do you really stop worrying that something will go wrong.


The risk of miscarriage greatly reduces when you hit 12wks but it can still happen. There are so many what if's that it is hard sometimes to just enjoy your pregnancy. It's hard not to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong as it is in every book you read and the Doctors let you know what could happen. Do we stress ourselves out to much by thinking of all the bad stuff and therefore end up with a complication? Or is it that we don't think about it at all and end up with something going wrong because we didn't know what to look out for.



There is so many things we get told not to do or eat while pregnant. We can't eat so many different things as there is a chance that it will affect your unborn child and as a mother you want to give you baby the best start to life. So we avoid all the stuff our Doctors, family or friends have told us to avoid eating or doing just to be on the safe side. It gets me thinking about mothers 50 to 100yrs ago and I'm sure they were given different advice.



There is also the NT scan to take into consideration. I had it done with the girls and DH wants me to get it done again but my thoughts are why bother? I mean even if it shows a high % I wont take the next test to get it confirmed so I will be wondering the whole pregnancy what this new life has in store for me. I'm not a high risk as I am youngish (26) and don't have a family history of anything really. So I don't see the point of having it done. And really who wants to drink a whole heap of water and hold it while someone presses the thing onto your bladder or when your walking from your car to the appointment trying to think of anything else other then that you really need to pee.



So I think I will wait for the 18wk scan to see our baby again. That's so far away but it will be here soon enough. I remember last pregnancy I just wanted to meet my girls but then when they were here I missed feeling them kick inside my belly. I can't wait to feel those first movements, hopefully they will come soon...




Alana (aka Mattnalana)

Multiple Birth Parents In The Spotlight

Multiple Birth Parents in the spotlight over at Working At Home Parents, click on the link below to read all about the owner of Multiple Birth Parents and how it all come about.

http://www.supportawahp.com/2011/in-the-spotlight-multiple-birth-parents.html

A Pregnancy Journey - How many are in there?

Well we have our first ultrasound today. We are both so excited and can't wait to see our little bubba/s for the first time.

The first question I think we both ask is How Many Are in There? Who would of ever though that this would be a first question for us. Last time when I was pregnant with the twins we joked around about having twins but neither of us knew that we had twins in the family. So when the person doing the ultrasound was moving it over my belly at first I couldn't see the picture but my partner could and he had this weird look on his face and I immediately thought Oh God somethings wrong. But nope she turned the monitor to me and went here is Baby A and here is Baby B I was gob smacked. So I think this time that is our very first question.......


We are having the ultrasound done as we really don't know how far along I am. I though I would be about 11wk atm but the Doctor thinks about 8wks, I have a long cycle so he said it gets very confusing so he would rather know one way or the other. Hey I'm not complaining I get to see our baby/ies today!

So now I have the lovely task of drinking 1litre of water and holding it in. God last time I almost peed myself and had to use the rest room and let some out otherwise there was no way I would of made it through the ultrasound. So this time I'm not going to drink as much water as last time I was told I drank to much but only drank 750ml so this time I will drink 500-700ml and hopefully that should be alright. I mean I go to the bathroom so much it isn't funny. So sick of seeing that bathroom... Well at least I haven't had my head in the toilet this time round. Well I better start drinking that water now. So I'll finish writing this when it's all over........ Wish us luck!

The ultrasound went well. I'm 11wks along today so I was right and the Doctor was wrong.. lol

So I guess your all wondering how many bubs are in my tummy.... Well we only have ONE baby this time! Woohoo! What a relief it was to find out that there is one healthy bub in there. I love my twins like no tomorrow but I am glad I will only have 1 baby as I don't know if I would be able to handle 2 newborns and twin toddlers... I know that other mums have done it and I take my hat off to them. But I guess if we did have another set of twins on the way I would cope. I didn't think I could do twins the first time but I did.

When I rang to tell my mum that the ultrasound went well and I said guess how many bubs we have? She said 1? and I said add another 2 to that 1.. Well you should of heard her.... Apparently all the people at the pub were looking at her cos she yelled "What the Hell" at the top of her lungs... lol.... Then I came clean and said nah we only have 1 this time, and she was like oh thank god!

My morning sickness is slowly going away but I still feel a little yuck some nights and I have to brush my teeth in the shower because when I lean over the basin to rinse my mouth out I will almost chuck. Don't know why that is as it happened when I was pregnant with the twins as well.

Alana (aka Mattnalana)

A Pregnancy Journey - Am I ready?

Am I ready?


That is the question that I don't have the answer for. Do any of us really know if we are ready for that next challenge? Well weather I'm ready or not in Aug 2011 there will be another bub or two joining our family.



I'm currently 10weeks pregnant with our 3 or 3 and 4th bub. Don't know how many we made this time as we haven't had a scan yet. We got our BFP on the 10/12/2010, but I had the signs there before I even thought that we would or could be pregnant. It all started one Monday night when I was watching two of my favorite shows Hellcats and Vampire Diaries. In the space of 2hrs I went to the loo 4 times, so every half an hr which I thought was a bit odd but didn't put 2 and 2 together. We had only started TTC a few months ago and because it took us a year to fall pregnant with our twin girls there was no way in the world I thought it would happen so fast.




Then the cravings started all before we took a test. I argued with DH that they weren't cravings it was just I really felt like eating that particular meal. And never mind that my Rotti has a habit of sleeping right next to my bed when I'm pregnant and of course he started doing that but I just thought it's to hot for him to sleep in his bed so he is stretched out under the fan. So when AF didn't show up I thought oh hand on a min I prob should do a test, so I went and brought one but didn't do it for a few days as I didn't want to get my hopes up and be disappointed and go through it over and over again like last time. So when I finally did test well HELLO 2 dark lines straight away. Yep I am pregnant, so I took picture on my phone and sent it to DH cos he was working. He was speechless, but over the moon.




So I rang up my Doctor to get an appointment and of course the first one available was Dec 21st well that was no good as that was the day we left to go down to Vic for Christmas. So Christmas came and went and we got to tell immediate family down there and other immediate family on the phone as they are in a different state but they were all so excited and one of their first questions was "How many are there this time?" Our answer "We have no idea"

So once we got back home I rang the Doctors again to get an appointment and got one but it isn't until the 12th Jan, so I'll be 11weeks along by the time I see the Doctor for the first time.. opps.... At least I can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and get the referrals for my 12wk scan and the bloods in the one hit, instead of having initial bloods then going back to get my scan referral and more bloods.




My morning sickness hasn't been to bad, I haven't chucked up this time round yet, although I only did twice or maybe three times with the girls. I just feel yuck for most of the day but it is getting better. But I think the worse thing is this time around is I am so tired! I just want to sleep 24/7 but thats a bit hard with DH at work and twin toddlers that want my attention majority of the time.




Im just wondering how on earth I'm going to manage a newborn or two and two toddlers... hmmm Although you never get dealt anything in life that you can't handle. Well I hope so anyway. I never thought I'd be able to mange twins but I've done it and it wasn't that bad and now I look at mum's with only one baby who say oh it's so hard and I think to myself I'll take your one baby and raise you two.




The one thing I'm not looking forward to is sleepless nights, oh how I love my sleep although this bub/bubs are already keeping me up. I forgot how much you went to the loo in that first trimester. I remember the last one trimester when I had two heads sitting on my bladder, but the first trimester I can't remember it being this bad.



Well I can't wait to find out if we have one or more in there, but we are both praying for one this time round. We'll soon see, but if it's another set of twins I'm sure that somehow we will manage and MBP will be my life line and the mum's that have done two sets already I take my hat off to you.


Alana (aka Mattnalana)