Four years ago, in mid-December, we went in for a fun ultrasound at just shy of 13 weeks' along to take a peek at our baby because I didn't want to wait for our anatomy scan at 20 weeks to see them for the very first time.
Thank goodness we didn't wait. The instant the technician turned on the ultrasound machine and brought the sonogram into focus, she instantly saw what we never saw coming.
She asked if we saw what she saw.
I, naively, pointed out that I could see our baby curled up on their side.
She paused, and said, "Not that."
And then my husband said what she was waiting for us to figure out.
It was twins.
When you go from expecting one to expecting two
We found out at just shy of 13 weeks' along that we were having twins, and we were absolutely shocked.
Even though I'm a fraternal twin, at no point up to that point had I even entertained the remote chance that there could be multiple babies growing inside of me. We'd planned for one. I hadn't felt sick enough for there to be two. I didn't feel big enough for there to be more than one. But, as a first-time mom, I didn't have anything to compare or contrast against. Everything was just par for the course of what I'd heard other people experience during pregnancy.
Never mind the fact that we'd just gotten the results from a very expensive blood test and had received a very official-looking letter in the mail two days prior that told us, in writing, that there was only ONE fetus in my womb.
In hindsight, I should have known something was up when my first positive test said I was already two to three weeks along and I hadn't even missed my period yet.
I'm convinced our identical twins with their identical blood type and chromosomes must have tricked the system because the bloodwork also told us we were having a single boy—not two.
This just goes to show that you don't know you're only having one until only one comes out.
Case in point: I'm a twin, and my parents found out at their 20-week anatomy scan that—surprise!—they were having twins when my dad commented in the waiting room how much longer it was taking for this appointment than it had with their previous two kids. The nurse, who couldn't officially tell him the news, told him with knowing eyes that everything was taking literally twice as long to measure.
When you go from having a regular pregnancy to being high-risk
In one moment, we went from looking forward to welcoming one little baby—one fun and exciting thing that felt care-free and faraway—to being in a very real and serious situation that we had to jump into with all pistons turning.
Beyond needing to go for much more frequent monitoring to make sure each baby was growing as they should be, things shifted into high gear very quickly.
We walked into the appointment care-free and walked out shell-shocked. It was suddenly Go Time, and we had to start planning immediately for baby items that would not only accommodate twins but would also hopefully save space or prevent our home from being overcome with needing to have two of most baby things.
On top of that, we had to get our nursery and baby areas set up before these twins came early, as most twins do. I knew from personal experience, as my twin brother and I were born 10.5 weeks early, and my niece and nephew (also twins) were born 6.5 weeks early. I knew we'd be lucky if we made it that far. Fun fact: our identical twins were born with one day gestational difference from their twin cousins, so they did, indeeed, also end up being born 6.5 weeks early.
And with that, the possibility that our twins would need to spend time in the NICU also became something we had to think about and be prepared for. If you're wondering what it's like to welcome your babies prematurely and become a NICU parent, you can find some solid advice from fellow twin parents who've been there.
Pivoting to plan for two babies
The day we found out we were having twins was the first instance of what was going to be many future scenarios of "having to do things more than once,", as we'd already started putting together our baby registry with items meant for just one single baby.
Suddenly, a single stroller wouldn't do. And we'd need two of the same car seats for whatever travel system we ended up going with.
And there were a bunch of other considerations that needed special thought, too.
We also had to think about how much space things would take up in our home and be wary of that while deciding what we truly needed multiple items of and which things we could get by with just one of. If you just found out you're expecting twins and are wondering the same thing, you can find a helpful list here.
Expecting the Unexpected
With their set of twins, my parents went from two kids to four. They had less warning and less time to plan to welcome two at once than my husband and I did when we found out that we were going from zero kids to two.
When you're trying to conceive, you hope for the best, but you should also always be prepared to expect the unexpected.
Like the surprise that comes with finding out you're going to be welcoming twins instead of a single baby.
I'm sure glad we got surprised with our set of twins, and I'm also glad my parents got surprised with their twins because I'm the one who turned out to be that unexpected baby.
How did you find out you were having twins? How far along were you? What was your reaction? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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