My husband and I had been trying for children for a long time and we had been through many hard times. After each set back we moved forward together, knowing that one day we would have a little family. After all this sorrow I can not describe how happy we were to find out that I was pregnant with twins! As we drove home from our 6 week scan I was scared to let myself be truly happy as I knew only too well that this joy could be snatched away from us. From this moment until the 12 week scan I lived in fear of miscarriage or vanishing twin syndrome, which is very common and something I was not aware of until our pregnancy.

As we sat in the waiting room I was terrified of all the things that I could be told. My husband and I sat in silence holding hands, just waiting. Finally we were called and tensely waited to hear one heartbeat and then the next. Thankfully both heart beats were quickly found and the sonographer turned to me and said; “Your babies are going to be fine, stop worrying!”. That is a moment I will cherish forever. I am crying as I write this, remembering how much I wanted both my babies.

I knew that my twin pregnancy would not be easy, but I was not prepared for the sickness. Never have I been so ill in all my life! From weeks 6 - 18 I had severe nausea and sickness, I was hospitalised after collapsing in the street and didn’t think I would ever be well again. I was very happy to be carrying my twins and didn’t take any medication as I was so protective of them, however it was also the worst time of my life. The sickness was relentless. Thankfully at week 18 the sun came out and the sickness lifted, I could eat again and felt completely normal. I had a little bump which was a joy and for the first time my stomach was hard, also a joy!

At around week 32 my pregnancy started to get tough again. I was getting extremely uncomfortable, my twins were growing nicely and they didn’t seem to fit in my tummy. Everything else inside me was getting smaller to make way for my babies. Breathing was tough and I had a lot of presentations at work to struggle through. Eating was another problem. I love food and could only eat tiny amounts, but unfortunately I used to eat too much and then be fit to burst for an hour after. And then there was excessive visits to the toilet. I could not be more than 20 mins from a loo!

I left work at 36 weeks and waited for our babies to arrive. I drank raspberry leaf tea, bounced endlessly on my ball and I waited, and waited, and waited…..

As it turns out, my babies did not want to leave their mummy's tummy and I had to be induced. Frankly, by this time I had had enough. I wanted them out and now! We were booked for our induction at 7am on 12 November 2015. I think I will spare you the gory details of the long labour as my situation turned out to be very rare. However, in the end, with a little help, I naturally delivered 2 beautiful, healthy, gorgeous babies. Suddenly we were a family; here come the tears again!

Breastfeeding was my next challenge. I was very lucky and a lovely breastfeeding councillor in the hospital spent several hours helping me and after a few days we were feeding well and ready to go home. Once we were home I was determined to tandem feed. I knew that it would mean less stress, a synced routine and more time for me to try and achieve something! Tandem feeding was tough. It turned out that there wasn’t a cushion on the market that was supportive and functional. I therefore mocked one up and it became the most essential item that my babies and I had. In fact it was so vital to us that I have since manufactured it and it is available via Amazon and our website www.peanutandpiglet.co.uk . This is of course a whole other story, however if you are pregnant with twins or breastfeeding twins then please do have a look. I promise you will not regret purchasing this item!