My own personal story about becoming a single mother by choice of twins.
I hope you enjoy it.
Anna xx
Becoming Pregnant
It was my looming 40th birthday, and hearing those words yet again from my doctor – “If you want children, you had better hurry up” – made it clear in my mind that I couldn’t play Russian roulette with my ticking biological clock any longer.
Mr. Right can come later – babies can’t. So I booked an appointment with a fertility clinic to find out about sperm donation.
The process was fairly easy.
See out the 7-month waiting list period, choose a donor and then turn up at the appropriate time for the treatment.
It was a huge surprise for me that only two months later, after two IUI treatments, I received the call (four days before Christmas) that would change my life forever. “Merry Christmas, Anna, you’re pregnant!” I still tear up as I’m writing this, thinking about the joy I felt and the excitement about finally being a mama.
Twins???
Fast-forward eight weeks to my first scan. Sitting with my sister in the fertility clinic’s reception area, I piped up, “Let’s have a bet as to whether there’s one or two.” We both guessed one…
Ten minutes later, the two little dark dots were staring back at us from the screen.“Congratulations, you’re having twins!”
I was thrilled, although there was a part of me that thought I should be terrified. I am a single mother by choice and have twins—am I mad?
Everyone was very kindly telling me how hard it would be – the sleepless nights, the hours of crying, how would I cope?
I just held on to that great saying – ‘Twins are only given to those who can cope’ – and hoped it was true.
Pregnant with Twins
I was truly blessed to have a dream pregnancy. Morning sickness – what’s that? Aches, pains, and swelling – minimal.
I was constantly reminded throughout my pregnancy by all the medical teams about how wrong things could go ‘being a geriatric mother carrying twins’ (charming!!). But I had put the preparation in, so I just focused on keeping us all well.
I finished working at 29 weeks and tried to relax and finish getting things ready for the great arrival. Stress is one of the leading causes of early labor, and I was determined to keep my babies in as long as possible.
READ MORE: Your Twin Pregnancy – When Should You Finish Work
And on the 16th of August, at 37.4 weeks, my two little treasures, Taylor and Amelie, were born.
Reality Hits
The enormity of ‘doing it alone’ hit me in the hospital on about day 4. My hormones had kicked in and I was a mess. Not helped by the feeding challenges I was having.
READ MORE: Tips to help you get started with breastfeeding twins
I was terrified about going home which I think my obstetrician could see, so he was very supportive and waited until he could see I was emotionally ready before allowing me home.
So, eight days later, I carried my new family into the big wide world. I was a proud but very tired single mother by choice of twins.
There was a HUGE sense of achievement in that, a sense of powerful responsibility that really buoyed me up. I had made a decision to have a family on my own and now I had to get on and raise these two little girls.
The First Months with Twins
The first couple of months were a blur of feeding, pumping, and sleeping. And whoever tells you ‘sleep when babies sleep’ either doesn’t have children or doesn’t eat and has an endless supply of burp cloths and baby clothes! It just doesn’t happen.
Thankfully your body gets you through the tiny amount of sleep that you do exist on.
It was taking over 2 hours to get through the feeding/pumping process as it was important to me to feed them one at a time to get that very special one-on-one bonding time. So as I was feeding every 3 to 3 ½ hours there wasn’t a lot of sleep to be had! But you get through it.
I found just taking each day at a time and, above all else, trying to create a calm environment at home. Calm mummy = calm babies. Believe me – it works!
READ MORE: Sleep routines for your newborn twins
I was lucky enough to discover a local family center that supports new mothers with feeding and sleeping issues. They were an absolute Godsend. The amazing nurses not only helped with getting my babies latched properly but the other information you absorb while you’re there is invaluable. They also helped put me in touch with other free support services in my area which I found so helpful.
One of the things I had organized (thankfully) was making sure I had a freezer full of meals – I would highly recommend you do the same. You just don’t get time to cook – it’s the last thing you’ll feel like doing at 9.30 at night – and it’s so important for your milk supply to eat properly.
READ MORE: Discover the extra nutrition you need for breastfeeding twins
The thing I found the most challenging about being a single-parent family is the isolation. I tried to get out at least every other day, even if it was just for a walk, to remind myself there’s a whole world out there. It was (and still is) hard not having someone to share all the little things my two girls get up to. I share the big stuff with family and friends, of course, but there is so much to get excited about each day.
While it certainly wasn’t my plan A to have children on my own, I absolutely wouldn’t change it for the world. I have two beautiful girls who are now 6 and I am proud to say they are kind, respectful, and full of life.
I love that it is my responsibility to grow them into two beautiful, strong, well-rounded women.
Thank God I love a challenge!
My key takeaways
- Spend time with a mama with multiples before you have your babies—they have invaluable info that singleton mums can’t offer.
- Have your nursery and hospital bag ready to go by 25 weeks
- If you can, finish work at 29-30 weeks.
- Fill your freezer with meals
- Keep Calm – remember calm mama = calm babies
- Be organized and plan ahead as much as you can
- Online supermarket shopping
- Get out of the house as soon as you can – the longer you leave it the more overwhelming it will become.
- If you have access to one, visit a family center if you have any feeding, settling, or sleeping issues, or even if you just feel overwhelmed by it all.
- Join your local Multiples Club and sign up to any Twin Facebook Groups you can find. You can post questions you have and the advice you get back is incredible. We have an amazingly supportive Facebook Group so feel free to join us – we would love to support you.
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