My Twin Pregnancy…Sharing the Best Moment!
The news of having twins was very exciting for our entire family. My grandma had fraternal twins and while growing up my sister and I used to joke about which one of us would have twins…as it turns out we now both have twins!
I was considered a “high risk pregnancy” due to the fact that it was a twin pregnancy and I was in my 30's, so I felt I had to take extra precautions. I stopped working after the first trimester as my doctor recommended. We soon learned that once we confirmed a viable twin pregnancy, that this was just the beginning. There were many stages during my pregnancy that we were just praying for healthy babies. We did not do the amniocentesis because of the risks involved and settled for a thorough ultrasound.
There were many uncomfortable moments during my pregnancy as I got bigger and bigger! My feet swelled and I had “cankles” and even had to wear a larger shoe size. When I was in my third trimester, I was walking ever so slowly and I remember receiving looks of concern from everyone until it was explained that I was expecting twins. I suffered from morning sickness until the day they were born as well as heartburn. And I slept sitting up. Despite these discomforts, I felt extremely fortunate that bed rest was not required.
My husband and I had a lot to learn since we were first-time parents and we started by reading books and joining a twin forum. We researched products and had a lot of fun planning for the twins. A moment that I will always remember is after we installed the car seats, my husband and I stepped back and looked at the two seats filling the entire back seat of our SUV. We looked at each other and laughed. It was like we suddenly really understood all that was ahead of us!
At 30 weeks I developed Preeclampsia and although I still did require bed rest, the doctors were monitoring me very carefully. My blood pressure continued to escalate and we set a tentative date for delivery. We knew that each week was crucial for the development of their lungs and central nervous system and as each day passed it became quite evident that I wouldn’t make it past the 34 week mark. At 34 weeks we could be somewhat assured that the babies could be delivered safely since there were no other health concerns. So you can imagine our tremendous relief as we reached the 34th week.
This was the best moment of my pregnancy! The girls were born 5.9 and 4.13 lbs and healthy!
Becoming pregnant changed my life, and I’d love to hear more about your best or most difficult pregnancy moments. By replying, you will be entered to win an exclusive Million Moms Challenge Gift Pack, which includes an all expenses paid trip to a conference on mothers hosted by the UN Foundation in DC (Jan/Feb 2012), an iPad2, a custom-made Million Moms Challenge pendant and $50 donation in your name to Global Giving.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Million Moms Challenge. The opinions and text are all mine. Contest runs September 19 to October 16, 2011. A random winner will be announced by October 18, 2011.