Hi! This is the story of our wonderful twins, Aidan and Nadia. It all started with the decision to finally marry my second husband and have a child together, letting nature take its course as to when that would happen. I have 3 children from my first marriage, and Bob has 2 from his, so this was a pretty major decision! We figured we would make it an even six-pack, just like the Brady Bunch if we had a girl. Boy were we in for a surprise!

Well, just a month after the wedding, my period came a couple of days late, and it only lasted about 24 hours. I thought that was strange, so I decided to take a home pregnancy test. It was negative, so we relaxed. Then the next month, no period at all! So I ran another home pregnancy test, and this one came up positive almost immediately.

Since all 3 of my previous pregnancies had been incredibly easy, I was unconcerned, and didn't run off to the doctor right away. I did notice that at about 2 months, I went from not showing to, "Whoop, there it is!" I also sufferred from terrible morning sickness all the time, which I had never had even once with the others. Then my sister picked up a booklet of old wive's tales to determine the sex of a baby, and for fun we went through it. The results kept coming up about 50-50 for boy or girl. She started joking about it being b/g twins, but I thought it was just a joke!

Finally we went in at about 22 weeks for the first OB visit. The regular tests were performed, and we went home, having heard a strong healthy heartbeat. Then on a Friday, the nurse called and said we needed to get into the hospital first thing Monday because the alphafetoprotein count was off. I tried to ask her for some information, and she then told me that it meant our baby had Down's Syndrome. So we spent a weekend crying and trying to figure out what to do. We almost opted not to go in for the amniocentesis because we knew that abortion was not an option for us anyway. Ultimately we decided that it would be better to know for sure so we could be prepared.

Monday came, and we went in for the genetic counseling portion of the visit. The genetic specialist was asking questions and kept making comments about how our numbers "just didn't make sense". We went through my family history, and had started on Bob's. He made an offhand comment about his father having been a twin, but that his twin hadn't survived. She seemed to be thinking pretty hard, then asked if I had twins in my family. I said that my grandparents had on both sides, but that none of them had survived, and she just said, "Well, that would explain it." Then we were ushered into the testing room. As I changed, I heard her tell the technician that I was scheduled for an amnio, but that I would not need it if the ultrasound showed twins.

When the ultrasound was started, the technician swiped up one side of my growing belly, and down the other, and said, "Yep, that's what it is!" We didn't know what she meant, but she said, "Here is your first baby, and here is the other!" We laughed and cried, and shouted with relief...then the shock hit us... we would have seven kids! Twins!

So the calls started, and everyone was very excited. We would have the first twins in either family, and everyone wanted to be a part of it. The initial excitement wore off pretty quickly though as I was put on total bed rest immediately after Christmas. I was due in March. Then in January, I was put on a home uterine monitor to watch for premature labor. I was also referred to the high risk doctor at the hospital who specializes in multiple births. I was having an ultrasound every 3 weeks, and an OB visit every two weeks. On one ultrsound, we watched Aidan clobber his sister in the head a few times, and then yank on his umbilical cord as if he were trying to yank it out! We knew we were in for some fun. The bedrest part of it was very hard though, as I wasn't allowed to go anywhere except to the doctor. I thought it would never end!

Then the fun really started. I went from having 24 hour morning sickness to having almost constant heartburn from the pressure of the babies pushing up on my stomach. The home monitor kept picking up contractions, we would be rushed off to the hospital, and the contractions would stop. Twice they were stopped with Tiburtaline, which made me feel paranoid and claustrophobic, as well as nauseous. I was also beginning to develop pre- ecclampsia. I was drinking gallons of juice and water to keep the contractions down, and I was swelling up like a balloon! By 32 weeks, we were having non-stress tests weekly, OB visits weekly, and what seemed like nightly hospital runs. Actually, we made a total of 13 trips to labor and delivery only to be sent home, bloated and depressed. My doctor kept promising me that if I made it to 34 weeks, he would let me go if I went into labor. I was counting the minutes by then.

My ankles had long since disappeared, and I could hardly bend my fingers they were so swollen. So when I went in for the 14th time with contractions at almost 35 weeks, they decided to admit me. The bad news was that they still wanted to stop the labor! I cried and begged, and even got mad because I had crossed that "golden date" of 34 weeks, and the babies should be mature enough.

Well, the retained water began to break, and my blood pressure came down. My doctor felt then that I could now go to full term of 40 weeks! Even worse, he wanted me to stay in the hospital for that entire time. He put me on a regimin of very strict bedrest (bathroom only!), non-stress tests twice a day, and monitoring in between. Luckily the high risk doctor came to my aid, and said that if the lungs of both infants were mature, he could override my doctor and induce labor for me, which he felt would be best for all parties concerned. So I agreed to an amniocentisis to determine if the lungs were healthy. I was horribly frightened of the long needles, but I decided it was worth it. As it turned out, it was completely painless, and the results were that both were mature.

So the next night I was given gel-packs to soften my cervix, planning to induce the next morning. That turned out to be unneccesary because I went into labor almost immediately. I was given an epidural, which was strongly suggested in case I needed a c-section. I was also given an IV for the same reason. Let me tell you, the epidural was wonderful! It was the best I had felt in weeks, and I kept joking that if I had to do it over, I would insist they put it in somewhere around the 4th month, LOL.

When the water broke for the first baby, the gush of water was so great that the doctor had to change clothes, only to get soaked and change again the next time she checked me! I dozed off and on during the night as things were porceeding slowly. Then I woke up, and it was time. I had to move into the operating room as another precaution.

When I went to move onto the gurney however, the catheter for the epidural was knocked loose, so I had no medication being administered. I was told it would be no big deal, since I would probably deliver before it even wore off. So away we went.

Now, if you have ever seen the actual operating/delivery room, you know that the leg restraints and stirrups are located at a height of about 8 feet (okay, so I am exaggerating, but it is very high!) and the table feels about a foot wide beneath you. There was quite a crowd in the room around my husband and I. There was my OB, the high risk doctor, a high risk resident, the regular nursing team, the high risk nursing team, two pediatricians, and others I had never seen before. I could hardly focus on what I was trying to do! I had a goal in mind though, so I pushed and my sweet little Nadia was born. She was waved in front of my face, then taken off to be cleaned, and I was told to push again! At that point, all I really wanted to do was hold my poor crying little girl, and it was hard to muster up the energy to do it again.

I was trying though, and then the bad news hit. Aidan had turned sideways (transverse) when Nadia was born, and had an arm lodged up over his head. The doctors kept trying to turn him, but every time I would push, he would pop right back. Then the doctors started muttering abut his heartbeat dropping. I started to get scared. Then my doctor said, "Well, that's it, it's gone. We have to take him out right now."

Now I was really terrified! Everything was happening at once! My husband was ushered out of the room as I protested. The doctor was swabbing my stomach, nurses were draping me with sheets, and a cart of vicious looking tools was brought to the table. As the doctor raised the scalpel, I cried out that I had no anesthetic. He tried to reassure me that yes I did, and I was crying that I didn't. He gently but firmly stated that the epidural would keep me from feeling it, and I informed him that I didn't have one! He replied that I did. Finally, the nurse that had helped me onto the gurney spoke up and told him what had happened. He called for the anesthesiologist immediately, and then informed me that I would be knocked out, which made my fear even worse. I was crying on the table, my husband was crying in the doorway, and my daughter was crying in the bassinet. Even the nurses holding my hands and trying to soothe my fears were crying. The high risk doctor was calling out directions, and the high risk resident announced that 2 minutes had gone by. The anesthetic was added to my IV, and I was out.

I woke up in the same room I had gone through labor in, and at first I thought it was a bad dream. I reached down to check my belly, and felt a huge bandage. and a sharp stab of pain, so I knew it was real, though I was still confused. A nurse rushed to my side from the chair in which she had been keeping watch, and she reminded me of what had happened. That was when I found out that I had a vertical cut, and several staples, which would have to be removed later. Then she asked me if I wanted my daughter, who was asleep in the room. We were moved to the maternity ward, and my son arrived shortly after. Both babies were fine, though Aidan had a large bruise on his forehead and on his arm fron the pressure of pushing against it.

I nursed them both exclusively for 6 months, and almost exclusively then until Aidan weaned himself at about 11 months, and Nadia weaned herself at about 12 and 1/2 months. From the time I tucked both of their fuzzy little heads under my chin and felt them nestled up to me hungrily, I knew that it was all more than worth it! I would do it again too, if it weren't for the fact that we have such a crowd already!

They are 16 months now, and both are doing very very well. They play together, laugh at each other's jokes, and fight like demons over a treasured toy or bottle.

If you have any questions, or are in a similar situation, please feel free to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .