Planning for Twins

This blog is in many ways a spiritual journey for me. My family is the most important thing I have, and I plan for it to last forever. My husband and I are soulmates. Our dreams, plans, and favorite gelato flavors grow closer together with each passing year. I have two beautiful children, both born at home in the water. Axa Elisabeth turned three in February. Raj Dominique will be one next month.

This blog is the story of my desire to add twins to our family.

At the beginning of my pregnancy with Raj, I became suddenly obsessed with twins. I was sick all the time and gaining weight like crazy. With Axa, I gained twenty-five pounds. She was born twelve days early and weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces. During my pregnancy with Raj, I gained over forty pounds. He was born nearly a week late and weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces. He was a second baby, but searching through my feelings and the events of the time, I feel inclined to think that he had a vanishing twin.

I was a little crazy. I told everyone I was pregnant with twins. I read every book I could find on the subject, and combed the internet for stories about homebirthing twins.

At my fourteen-week appointment, my midwife thought she heard two heartbeats. Added to my feelings and my appetite, I thought twins seemed quite plausible. But by the time we had our ultrasound at twenty weeks, there was just one baby.

Apparently, this phenomenon is quite common. During an early ultrasound two babies are detected, but several weeks later, one has disappeared. Sometimes there are classic signs of miscarriage (cramping, bleeding, etc.), but more often there is no external sign, and the second twin is simply reabsorbed. One in eight pregnancies is estimated to begin as a multiple pregnancy. Only a small fraction culminate in a twin or higher-multiple birth.

I adore my little boy, and the timing would not have necessarily been the best for twins. But ever since, I’ve been longing to have twins. And now I’m planning it.