March 3, 2015

What The IV…F?

Recently one of my lovely Twitter friends made and posted a video about her IVF journey. Over my 6 years on Twitter I’ve made hundreds of wonderful Mommies – some bloggers, some not. But after having the twins I found myself seeking more twin pregnant/parents and that led me to chatting to many ladies who had had IVF resulting in twin pregnancy. I have to admit I was totally baffled by the whole process. It’s one of those things you completely and utterly take for granted and are in complete ignorance as no one I knew had ever gone through the IVF process.

Hand on heart if you had asked me I probably would have said that a sperm and an egg was fertilised and popped into the lady and she was pregnant – simple. How bloody wrong was I! The lovely ladies of twitter have accepted me into their community, despite my ignorance and total lack of knowledge about any aspect of the IVF process but I have learned a lot from this wonderful bunch of people.

They have made me grateful and appreciate how bloody lucky I have been. How life doesn’t always turn out how you think it will when you are a little girl pushing your dollies in your pram dreaming of Prince Charming and your 2.4 kids. I have the utmost admiration for what these people put themselves through; physically, emotionally and mentally. I would love for them all to get their happy ending but sadly in reality a lot don’t. And that is hard as a twitter ‘friend’ to comprehend so I cannot begin to imagine the torment, heartache and heartbreak they have to deal with.

If you like me have no real grasp on any of the IVF process then I urge you to watch my wonderful friend Kelly’s video that she has made. She has done it for the sole purpose to share with people what the IVF journey is really like. Kelly and her husband have their beautiful IVF miracle daughter Penny but had you any idea what she physically had to do just to get to the point of implantation? To anyone who has had, has got to have or is having fertility treatment – you are amazing. And I wish you all the best.

If you have a spare 10 minutes please please watch Kelly’s video. As I say it’s not for any profit, not promoting a company or anything. Just a regular family trying to raise awareness of the true story of IVF and share with us all the journey to get their beautiful daughter.

Thank you so much Kelly for letting me share your story, video and journey. I wish you all a lifetime of happiness. You have truly made me feel humble and grateful.

B xx

October 27, 2013

The Mystery of Twins

When I found out I was pregnant I was absolutely thrilled. We had only got married on 30th September so to find out on 24th October that I was pregnant was amazing and also meant – honeymoon baby!

With Charlie I’d had a very easy problem free pregnancy but from about a week after getting a BFP I started feeling rather nauseous. As the weeks went on it intensified making work rather interesting! Then the tiredness and sickness started. Big time. I secretly thought I may be having a little girl as it was the complete opposite of my first pregnancy. However this feeling so ill coincided with Kate Middleton being admitted to hospital so think at my booking in appointment the midwife thought I was jumping on the bandwagon
Anyway, the day after Charlie’s 4th birthday (which consisted of me running back from nursery to puke in the hedge at the bottom of the road -fit!) and then lay under a blanket as everyone sang happy birthday, was our 12 week scan.
How I dragged myself to hospital ill never know but I lay across the chair in the waiting room convinced I wouldn’t be able to be scanned as I needed a full bladder, and at that stage I was vomiting back a mouthful of water! Apologies as we went into scan room that I hadn’t drank and looked horrific but the sonographer and midwife were lovely as I lay down. Then it happened.
All our eyes fixed on the screen waiting to see our little baby when she started to hesitate and said the terrifying line “oh I thought that was the case” which put the fear of God into us but as my husband started to check if all ok she reassured us by saying “there’s baby” so we all sighed a huge sigh of relief. Only to be followed with… “And there’s the other”
Complete silence.
Then I started laughing. A lot. Hub started crying and asked them to check if there was only 2 to which I felt like I had floated out of my body and this was a dream. I can’t really recall much more except my nervous stunned disbelief laughing! We were only 11 weeks and was too early to do any more checks so I remember another scan being booked for 3 days after Christmas and the identical word being used due to one placenta and one membrane
We walked out of the scan room (armed with a scan summary and scan pics as i don’t think we thought it was real!) straight to the doctors to get some anti sickness tablets on the midwives advice both in complete shock and there I made the biggest mistake ever. I went on google. Tip – NEVER type identical twins into google when you’re 11 weeks pregnant as it will traumatise you for the rest of your pregnancy – not to mention the birth!
I have to admit I had no prior knowledge about twins. I remember when I was 5 my friend at school had twin brothers andddd that was about it.
Now, call me crazy but I thought to have twins you either had to be a twin or have twins close in the family but noooo! I have since become a bit of a twin geek and our girls were classed as MC/DC twins which basically meant one placenta, two sacs and one membrane separating them thus being identical. And identical twins are when the egg splits and are a random occurrence – so there you go!
Our scan pics – just so we knew there really WAS two!
B x