OMG indeed. I’m so excited to announce that I’ve written a book – an actual real life BOOK with pages made of paper. OMG It’s Twins is a guide to the emotional rollercoaster of having twins, from the moment you find out, through the pregnancy, the birth and those first few months of parenthood.
When I found out I was pregnant with twins (almost exactly two years ago) I couldn’t believe my ears. We’d been for a six week viability scan and the consultant had confirmed that yes, there was a heartbeat and a sac. All good, off you pop! Phew. We spent the next few weeks feeling relived that our baby (singular) was fine and all was looking good. Fast forward to the 12 week scan, and the sonographer asked if this was our first scan. “No, no!” I smiled. “We had a scan at 6 weeks.” The sonographer said, “OK, so you know it’s only one baby, then?” to which we laughed! “Yes, yes, just the one,” I said. Minutes later, as she was scanning me, she stopped, looked up at me with a confused expression and said:
“Sorry. You say you had a scan and you were told it’s only one? There’s two!”
And that, is the moment that our whole world changed.
Navigating a twin pregnancy, and all of the extra emotions, worries, physical conditions, risks, logistical planning and everything else can feel totally overwhelming. Then there’s the birth, knowing what your options are, how your expectations or birth plan might alter now that you know it’s twins. Not to mention the recovery period and fourth trimester, which might feel utterly daunting as your birth date approaches.
Often the advice given in the pregnancy and baby books can feel vaguely helpful but largely irrelevant, when you’re pregnant with twins. Knowing how to feed one baby or how to settle one baby to sleep is all well and good, but two? I had so many questions – how will I cope, looking after two babies at once? What if they both need feeding at the same time? Is it possible to breastfeed twins? What if they both cry at the same time? Should the babies sleep in the same cot? Will we need to buy two of everything?
So in OMG It’s Twins, I speak to a whole host of experts – midwives, doulas, psychotherapists and psychologists, a nutritionist, a women’s health physio – to get answers to all of these questions, and more. I’ve also spoken to loads of twin parents about their experiences, and together with my own twin mum journey, the aim is for it to be everything a twin parent-to-be or new twin parent needs to help them through it all.
It’s out in March 2021 but you can pre-order it now!
