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TWO TO FOUR

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Being a mom of twins and having a career is a balancing act. Everyday is a learning process with its own set of challenges. Almost every week, I feel like my babies take turns going through some major milestone or learn a new skill. At times, it can be slightly overwhelming because I am going through it times two. In the end, I constantly tell myself to take a deep breath and take it one step at a time. Lucky for me, I have two moms in my life that have extensive experience in child care so they provide me with insight on what I should be prepared for and most importantly, how to stay sane.

Early last year, my husband and I decided we were ready to start family planning. Being a few weeks apart in age and in our 30’s, I was warned that it would take us forever to get pregnant. If you have read my previous posts, you know I am notorious for planning things out and getting all the necessary information I need to ensure I am putting my best foot forward for success. Months before we officially started planning, I made sure to remove anything in my body that might help prevent us from successfully starting a family. This meant slowly changing my diet and eating healthy, removing any items that were unpasteurized, I even went as far as saying goodbye to sushi to help minimize the amount of mercury in my system. I started taking prenatal vitamins, folic acid, and iron supplements to help out. Before you knew it, we were pregnant….with twins!

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During our pregnancy, I found myself networking with a group of moms with multiples and physicians who were eager to recommend to me what books to read to prepare me for having twins. If I showed you my planner for 2016, it would be intimidating! With the tasks I had setup on a day-by-day basis, there wasn’t a single day I didn’t do anything that was not baby – correction, babies related. Even the location I picked for our babymoon was strategically selected.

Today the twins are officially 6 months old and it’s amazing how fast time has flown by. My husband and I are constantly in awe watching them develop their motor skills and seeing them change physically and mentally. To be honest, the first few hours after they were born were not easy but after a few weeks we got ourselves into a rhythm that is constantly adapting to make it right for us. I know in my Instagram story, it looks like I have perfected the balancing act of juggling life with twins and running a full-time blog but the truth is, there were times where it was tough. I remember feeling overwhelmed with guilt when I was feeding my daughter and my son would cry out in hunger. Then there is the lack of sleep. I remember the first two nights after they were born, I may have gotten 2 hours of sleep each night…my husband only got about 1 hour each night. I could go on forever…

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Today I wanted to share with you some lessons learned during and after my pregnancy in hopes that if you are expecting, or are planning on having a family, it will be a value to you

  1. With all the supplements I was consuming (prenatal vitamins, folic acid, iron supplements), I wish I had  First Response Prenatal MultiVitamin Gummies were available. It was no fun consuming multiple amount of pills that all tasted eck! I got my hands on these multivitamins very late in the game and they actually tasted…good. They are super palatable and are great for women who might have difficulty swallowing pills or who are experiencing morning sickness. And no water is need
  2. Your body will significantly start to change in the second trimester, and with that likely comes the heartburn. If your pregnancy is anything like mine, an insane amount of heartburn will keep you awake in the middle of the night. To help target this, try cutting down anything acidic in your diet like tomatoes and citrus items.
  3. Stay strong when it comes to your diet. I will admit, I was tempted on numerous occasions to indulge and consume a poached egg or some yummy sushi, and let’s not forget coffee. I know the SOGC say it’s okay to have a bit of coffee now and then, but my suggestion is to stay away from it entirely during this time. Remember, this process your body goes through to create a human being is only for 9 months so be patient and be strong. Don’t put your baby in any position that might risk their mental and or physical health. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.
  4. Get lots of sleep! I cannot stress this enough! Once the little wee ones come out, sleep will be the one thing you will constantly long for. I remember the first night we came home from the hospital, my in-laws took over for five hours….five hours that was spent sleeping and a quick 5-min shower to feel refreshed.
  5. After you have had your baby, take a great deal of time out and let your body heal. This was one piece of advice everyone in my family had to keep telling me because my type A personality likes to take charge of everything. I basically had to have my husband sit beside me to force me not to overexert myself. In the end, I had one mom in my network of moms with multiples tell me how she hurt her body (and opened her stitches) because like me, she couldn’t sit down in one spot for more than 5 minutes.
  6. Get a journal and document everything! I received a journal from a wonderful local PR firm and have used it to track anything the twins have done so I can go back and reflect when they started cooing, recognizing me, rolling over and most recently…crawling!
  7. During your pregnancy, try and keep yourself healthy and avoid (as much as possible) getting sick. There are countless over the counter drugs we can take when we catch the common cold, and they have done extensive research in helping you get better fast (faster than trying to get well on your own). The only catch is, they have done little to no research on pregnant women. No one knows what could happen to your baby if you take any of these medications. Research before you consume any medications, and if there isn’t any adequate information from accredited sources and journals…. consider not using it. Of course, you should always consult with your doctor to be sure.
  8. Take some time out for you and your partner. After the first month of having our twins, my in-laws came over and made sure my husband and I took some time out for a romantic drive and meal while they took over. Those three hours were amazing in helping us connect and feel refreshed and recharged. It helped us re-connect and not forget about one another.
  9. Your baby packs on A LOT of weight during your last trimester so be prepared to potentially gain a lot of weight too. If this happens, learn some best practices of how to get up from your bed or a couch without injuring yourself.  I will be honest, I wish I knew this because around the middle of November, I started getting inflammation between my thumb and hand joint. This made it impossible for me to use my right hand without crying. The pain went on after I had the twins and only got better six months after multiple visits to the physiotherapist’s office.

7402Now full disclosure, it took me four months to conceive and the truth is, every woman’s pregnancy journey is unique. Four months of using the First Response Early Results Pregnancy Test until we finally saw two lines. It can detect the pregnancy hormone 6 days sooner than a woman’s missed period. Four months of trying that changed our lives in going from a family of two….to a family of four.

Ever since we had our twins, I’ve had a few friends ask me questions regarding how we got pregnant so fast…and with twins. So here is to debunking a few myths.

  • We were told that it would take us a long time to conceive because we are in our 30’s. Truth is everybody is different. Some might have difficulty conceiving, whereas others might find it easy. For us, conception was all about timing. We found the right time to conceive and maximized it.
  • As you already know, we didn’t get pregnant right away. It took us 4 cycles to conceive. Getting pregnant is like a game of chance, and the highest probability of you getting pregnant is  when you are ovulating. Using First Response Ovulation Test will help you identify exactly when you are ovulating.
  • One myth I kept hearing from a lot of people was that using birth control in the past would prevent me from getting pregnant right away. I don’t know about you, but waiting for four months seems pretty fast.
  • When we told our family that we were trying to have a baby, we had family members dropping off sugary sweets that would supposedly help in mobility. It helped in the mobility of the needle on my weighing scale to go up by 10 lbs!
  • Oh, and if twins run in your family, find out before you try and conceive. This will help you a great deal by mentally being prepared. I didn’t find out that twins run in my family until AFTER we had our first ultrasound and saw two blips on the monitor.

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by First Response but all thoughts and opinions mentioned here are my own.

 

21 Comments

  1. miri
    August 24, 2017 / 1:58 am

    Congrats on managing twins and work. I really admire you. I have a 15-month-old daughter and work 80%.
    XO
    Miri

    http://currentlywearing.com

    • Grey Canvas
      Author
      August 28, 2017 / 3:29 pm

      Thank you so much Nistha! You are too sweet !!
      xo
      S

  2. Jules
    August 24, 2017 / 8:29 am

    Great tips mama!!! Thank you for being so honest about motherhood. It’s so refreshing 🙂 And those babies are delicious

    • Grey Canvas
      Author
      August 24, 2017 / 8:40 am

      thank you so much Jules and thank you for stopping by! Your little one is too cute! I’m still hunting for his adorble bones footie pajama <3

  3. August 26, 2017 / 3:13 pm

    This is a great pregnancy story. I worry about myself since I’m not married and older, but hope to have a family one day. Congrats on the twins! My sister has twins and they are so much fun because they are so different. 6 months is a fun time, but 6 years old is where we are at with my nieces now. And they are a blast to hang out with. You have so many fun times ahead!

    xx Yasmin
    http://banglesandbungalows.com

    • Grey Canvas
      Author
      August 28, 2017 / 3:24 pm

      Hi Yasmin,
      Thank you very much for visiting my blog Yasmin and reading my story. I am a first believer that age is just a number. So many people told us that it would take a long time for us to conceive but we did in a fraction of the time they told us. We feel super blessed having twins and it’s a joy watching them grow together and become the best of friends. Congratulations to your sister on getting twins! Wow, they are 6 years old, makes me look forward to when mine become that age.
      xo
      S

  4. August 27, 2017 / 9:25 am

    Thank you for sharing this incredible experience with us. The myths you listed are so interesting. I do have a history of twins that run in my family and I am terrified. But I am so in awe of how you have balanced it all so beautifully. Having a supportive partner is so important. Wishing you all much happiness. Stay blessed!

    Xx
    Nikki
    http://www.nikkilivinglife.com

    • Grey Canvas
      Author
      August 28, 2017 / 3:28 pm

      Hi Nikki,
      Thank you for visiting Nikki! Always love reading your comments. It was amazing how many myths I came across ever since I got married, it was a joy to help set the record straight from my own experience. hehe there is no reason to be terrified of twins, its a blessing. It’s just when I don’t get enough sleep that it bothers me but 99% of the time I wouldn’t have it any other way. I owe my sanity to my husband, he is a hands on father and like me, we want to enjoy everything the twins are going through together.
      Thank you for your kind words and again for stopping by
      xo
      S

  5. August 29, 2017 / 3:02 am

    Thank you for sharing your story! Side note – this dress looks incredible on you. Hard to believe you had twins!

    Kendall
    http://www.weekendall.com

  6. Jessi Malay
    August 30, 2017 / 1:10 pm

    omg congrats girl!! I hope you have a smooth pregnancy, and thanks for the tips babe. I’m having my first, so these were really helpful <3

    XO, Jessi
    https://www.mywhitet.com/pregnancy-vlog-2/

  7. August 31, 2017 / 6:50 am

    Thank you for sharing your experience babe! I love reading the insight into other women’s pregnancy journey. It’s so true that we are all so unique and do things at our own time. Such a great and insightful blog!!

    xxx

    Ashley

    http://www.missgunner.com

  8. September 1, 2017 / 1:32 am

    Aww I really enjoyed reading this, I love twins so much and I hope to have them someday. Your babies sound so adorable! Thanks for sharing this with us, I’m not planning on having a child anytime soon but the tips you shared will definitely come in handy in the future. xx
    Coco Bella Blog

  9. September 6, 2017 / 12:58 pm

    Congrats on your twins! It must be so hard to take care of them both but I have all the confidence in the world that you’d be a great mother!

    Kim
    Simply Lovebirds

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