Unexpected news: The moment you discover you’re having TWINS

So, the story begins quite innocently when I first discoveredr that I was pregnant. Hurray! What lovely, lovely news. I already have two daughters so this was going to be my third (or so I thought). For the first few weeks I was giving myself time to let the news sink in that we would soon have a new addition to our family. That and the fact that my body was about to go through a lot of physical changes.

Aside from the constant exhaustion that soon followed and wanting to hurl my guts up at the merest sight of food, I had been considering things like – “Will it be a boy or a girl? I don’t know anything about boys…..Plus I have a large mountain of baby girl clothes so having another girl would be convenient… I wouldn’t have to buy a thing. Also, we’re going to need to re-do the spare room. Yes it will definitely need painting and for that matter probably a new carpet too”.

So many thoughts and questions had been swirling through my mind.

The weeks flew by and before I knew it the date for my first scan was fast approaching. Hubby had gotten the dates mixed up so didn’t have any time booked off to come with me. And considering his work is so busy at the moment, I naively assured him that it was fine, I had gone for pregnancy scans on my own before and this one was purely routine. All they wanted to do was have a look at the baby and make sure that the dates were correct.

I hopped into the car and headed off, assuring him that I would be home soon with some lovely pictures of our newest addition.

Little did I know what lay ahead.

The sonographer was so lovely when I arrived. I did the usual and lay down on the table while she covered my slightly swollen belly with jelly and began the scan. Soon we were both looking at my little baby, a moment that  makes everything very real. I began to relax and enjoy it, now that I could see this little thing moving around with a steady heartbeat. The entire time the sonographer chatted to me as she continued to check the baby from different angles.

But out of nowhere she started to make a “hmmm” sound to herself. My eyes instinctively darted towards her, feeling slightly alarmed that maybe she had spotted something wrong. And then the question came: “Do you mind me asking, is there a history of twins in the family?”

I stared at her as my heart began to thump loudly in my chest. “No,” I mumbled as the reality of why she was asking me this question began to register.

“Well, I am looking at twins here….”

This had to have been the most surreal moment of my life. My heart continued to pound as I stared at her in disbelief.

Twins? Me? How?

This lovely lady then looked at me and smiled as she took my hand and asked “Are you ok? I can see you’ve had quite a shock.”

“I think I’m ok” I replied in a strange squeaky voice, “But I may need some help getting up off this table.”

We chatted for a few minutes as she advised me of what sort of care I would be receiving from now on. She then turned to me and handed me pictures of my two little babies. I stood staring at them as she advised me not to drive home straight away. Considering I was by myself she told me to go and sit down in the canteen with a cup of tea and call my husband.

The thing is as I left her room and walked away a strange sort of calm came over me. I was waiting for the mad panic to set in but it never arrived. It was eerie.

I broke the news to my husband (I made sure to check that he was sitting down first) and after he eventually regained consciousness we both began to adopt the same attitude – this is happening.

The conversation took a practical turn and we talked about the fact that we would now need two of everything. And naturally his mind jumped to the fact that we would also need a bigger car.

I drove home soon after, the same sense of calm laying over me. Don’t get me wrong, my hands were trembling slightly on the steering wheel, but I wasn’t freaking out as much as I thought I would. To be honest I was humbled. All I could think about was the fact that so many women out there struggle to have even one baby and now I am getting two.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been sharing our news with our family and friends and they have been incredible. Their excitement and enthusiasm have lifted me any time I have been having a wobble. Also, their words of encouragement have reassured me that I won’t be alone in this endeavour. We know they are going to help (because I am definitely going to need it!) and somehow we are going to manage.

Plus, my daughters are mega excited that mummy has two babies in her tummy. I’m just assuming that the panic will kick in later!