My sixth guest post in the Twinterview series is with Amber from Meet The Wildes.
She and her partner Kirsty have beautiful twin boys — Balthazar and Lysander — plus their first child (of the furry-faced variety) a little dog called Posy! Their blog is a visual treat; beautiful photography often teamed with very lovely kid’s fashion.
She’s given some really interesting answers and her birth experience is in stark contrast to Beth, who gave our last Twinterview.
How did you feel when you first found out you were having twins?
Stunned! Though I was the only person who was surprised.
My twins were conceived by IVF and the HFEA recommends that in under-35s (I was twenty-five) only one embryo is put back into the uterus. I had insisted on two and actually signed a disclaimer that basically stated that I was aware of the risks of multiples and wouldn’t sue them if it happened, but I was still incredibly surprised when both embryos took.
My partner was convinced that it was twins from the very beginning, as was everybody else who knew about the IVF and consequent pregnancy.
My partner had always wanted twins and I had found the idea intriguing, so the reality of it felt very ‘right’ to us from the beginning.
Did you have a straightforward pregnancy?
Very. I had a blissfully easy pregnancy, walked for miles every day right up until the end. In fact, I feel healthier and happier when pregnant than when I’m not! I did develop obstetric cholestasis at thirty-eight weeks but by that time I was considered to be overdue by twin standards anyway.
How was your twin birth experience?
Unpleasant. I had wanted as low-intervention a birth as possible but after going overdue and developing Obstetric Cholestasis, I allowed myself to be persuaded toward an induction.
On the day of my induction the ward was extremely busy and — twenty-four hours in — after requiring rehydration by IV, when the midwives were too busy to bring me water, and watching my roommate very nearly give birth unassisted in the induction bay because nobody would check her or offer her pain relief, I demanded a caesarean and was given one.
How did you cope with having twins in the early days?
It was a wonderful time for us. My partner is a stay-at-home mum and I took three months off work. With two of us at home, we managed very well and needed no other help.
We did have some stress when one of the twins lost 11% of his bodyweight and had to be readmitted for a few days, but that was down to his tongue tie rather than anything to do with him being a twin.
Did/do you have an essential ‘must-have’ item and what is it?
A fabulous box set to watch..?
Babies sleep a lot. They like to sleep ON their humans. It’s good to have something fairly mindless on television for zoning out purposes! We started Grey’s Anatomy the day after the boys were born and had finished series ten by the time that they were two months old.
What is the best thing about being a parent of multiples?
If you manage to brush your hair before leaving the house, people think that you are superwoman. It’s a wonderful excuse to walk the dog in your dressing gown and generally be a bit dippy without fearing judgment. Everybody is too busy admiring the babies to pay any attention to you, anyway!
And the worst?
The never-ending attention from strangers. One would think that twins were fairly commonplace these days but apparently not. We’ve found that we have to allocate more time for every out-of-the-house task as complete strangers feel the need to come over to tell us that we have twins, ask silly questions about them or make flippant comments that we’ve obviously heard one hundred times but have to laugh politely about.
And finally, what would your top tip be for any new — or soon to be —parent of twins?
You might find it helpful to join other twin parenting groups – my partner loves her babywearing-twins group on Facebook. That said (and it seems a little flippant in an article like this one) try not to pay too much attention to other people’s experiences. It is so subjective.
You’re an individual, your babies are individuals. It might be difficult, it might not. It might be exhausting, it might not. You might find it enjoyable and you might not. It will almost certainly be wonderful at points.
Comparing yourself to other people will only set yourself up for feelings of inadequacy and disappointment – or else an enormous ego, of course!
To read more about Amber’s adventures, with her lovely boys, pop over to her blog or follow her on Instagram.
EDITORS NOTE —
Since this article was written, Amber and Kirsty have gone on to have another set of twins — two girls — plus a singleton daughter as well!
Just goes to show that being a twin parent is such a fantastic experience, Amber and Kirsty decided to do it all over again!
If you’re a mummy or daddy to twins, triplets or more — and would like to share your experiences as a parent of multiples , in a ‘Twinterview’, please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you!
I do love these interviews. Amber’s birth experience sounds horrible. But at least she got two gorgeous little munchkins at the end. we devoured box sets on Nerflix when Little Miss H was first born. Amazing. #TwinklyTuesday Hugs Mrs H xxxx
Thanks Lucy :) Yes — I think I was lucky in comparison. My birth experience was nothing short of amazing! I also had a cesarean but it was an incredible, beautiful experience x
Loving reading all these. My maternity box set of choice was gossip girl. Totally agree with all the daft questions!
That’s something else I’v never seen!!! I need to gen up on my American dramas and get some boxed sets in!! :) X
This is great, I love your ‘twinterview’ logo, really cool. This interview still makes me go wow, I don’t know how parents of two do it, I’m full of admiration! #twinklytuesday
Sabrina x
Thanks so much Sabrina! So happy you like my logo too! That’s made my day! :)
What a fantastic interview! I especially love the bravery of taking the leap of faith in to insisting 2 embryo LOVE this so much. xxx
It’s funny — we went for 2 without even questioning it! I was so sure they’d both take that time too and I think I would have been totally thrown if only one had survived. It doesn’t even bear thinking about now — it makes me sad to think of my little duo as single children! I’m beyond grateful that they both survived the journey xx
Great interview – even with one baby i got through box sets – he wouldn’t sleep anywhere other than on me so most of my days were spent on the sofa breastfeeding and watching him sleep hehe!!! #twinklytuesday :)
TV was definitely my friend in the early days!! I recorded SO much rubbish TV, our Sky + planner was chock full of it!! I lived off a diet of TOWIE and Chelsea when the twins were first born! :)
Great post, I love a good interview! Me and my other half watched the full series of Dexter when my son was newborn. I love that Kirsty felt better throughout pregnancy, it so nice to hear positive pregnancy stories!
Becky xx
What a great way of whiling away the hours when your baby is brand new!! I have never seen an episode of Dexter! Need to hire that boxed set!! :)
What a lovely interview. I would love twins! #twinklytuesday x
Haha! be very careful what you wish for! I always wanted twins!! ;)
I never knew that about IVF in the UK. I had my IVF treatment in Bangkok and my doctor was gunning for us to transfer three. We talked him down to two and lost one at 7 weeks. I think or our next we’ll be transferring one though. Our hands are pretty full already,
#twinklytuesday
THREE??? Ohmygoodness! What if they’d all taken? Whilst it’s really sad that you lost one, there was such a great possibility that all three could have taken and you’d have had triplets! Wow. Thanks for your comment! x
Lovely interview. Very sage advice about not comparing too much to other people. Mine always get attention as twins, but the weird thing is that they’re not – they’re 17 months apart. Doesn’t bother them now, but sure the older one is going to start stropping about it soon! #TwinklyTuesdays
Aaah bless them!! That’s lovely that they get mistaken for twins! There must be a great resemblance! Although the amount of times I’ve been asked if mine are — which they are! — is extraordinary! :)
Congrats! I love how she answered that babies sleep a lot, but on humans, my babies always slept pretty much only when being held, so sweet. #Twinkly Tuesday
My babies slept everywhere!! Not just on us! In fact I was militant about putting them into their own beds for sleep! It paid off though — they’re still great sleepers now at 2! :) x
Great post and fantastic interview. I couldn’t agree more with the DVD box set (and that’s only with single babies) though in our case it was more mindless viewing while bouncing an unhappy baby around than while they were sleeping! For that reason I also wholeheartedly agree with the last point about not comparing with others as all babies, and parents are different! Thanks for linking with #MaternityMondays!
Thanks Caroline! Mine was definitely mindless viewing, I wasn’t organised enough to sort out a boxed set and watched rubbish TV instead!!! Thanks for hosting x
Oh what a lovely post! I am loving reading all of these!! :) Amazing story. So glad you got your beautiful babies. Agree with the attention thing!! People love twins!!!! Jess x
People DO love twins don’t they?! I felt like a mini-celebrity when the boys were first born!! :) x
Fab post, and i wish I had bought a good box set early on as you say they sleep lots xx
Thanks so much Sarah! I do too!! I watched endless episodes of TOWIE and Made in Chelsea on Sky +!!