Every year, more than 380,000 babies are born in Canada. Three per cent of those are twins.

This translates into roughly 6,000 sets of twins per year. While pregnancy and birth can always have complications, carrying twins definitely comes with more risk. The fetal death rate among multiple pregnancies is more than double that of single pregnancies, more than half of all twins are born weighing less than six pounds, and multiple birth pregnancies often result in a hospital stays that cost nearly five times that of a single baby.

While these complicated pregnancies can come with a lot of risks, they can also result in great rewards.

Three mothers to twins in Victoria, B.C., decided to share the stories of their experiences.

Giving two types of birth at the same time

Christina Smith is no novice to motherhood. She had two daughters, Lauren, aged 10 and Kynzleigh, age four, when she and her husband, Roger, decided to go for a third.

During her pregnancy, she noticed more headaches than her previous experiences, and a bigger baby bump. Smith thought this could mean she was carrying a baby boy, or even twins, but that something was different.

It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until they went in for the 20-week ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby they realized something was up.

B次元官网网址淭he technician looked at us, and we thought something was wrong,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淗e just stared and said B次元官网网址榶ou know youB次元官网网址檙e having twins, right?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Smith and her family were elated, and overall her pregnancy went pretty well. Ten months ago, when she had reached 37 weeks, however, because Smith was carrying Monochorionic-Diamniotic twinsB次元官网网址� meaning they were sharing the same placentaB次元官网网址� she had to be induced into labour.

B次元官网网址淒octors donB次元官网网址檛 want you to go past 37 weeks,B次元官网网址� she explained. B次元官网网址淎t that point, thatB次元官网网址檚 when placenta breaks down and nutrients arenB次元官网网址檛 enough to sustain two infants.B次元官网网址�

Both of SmithB次元官网网址檚 previous pregnancies resulted in natural births, so she knew what to expect. The first baby, a girl given the temporary title of B次元官网网址淏aby AB次元官网网址� came out naturally, but then SmithB次元官网网址檚 placenta began to tear off the uterine wall and cut off oxygen to Baby B. Smith was taken into an emergency C-section operation, but Baby B needed to be resuscitated when she was not breathing.

Miraculously, Baby B was revived and did not sustain any brain injuries from oxygen deprivation. Baby A was named Avery Isabelle, and Baby B was named Brennley Paige. While the hard part was over, it was still a long recovery for Smith.

B次元官网网址淗aving two different types of birth at the same time, the recovery for that was insane,B次元官网网址� she said. Luckily, her husband Roger and eldest daughter Lauren, her mother-in-law and her church community were able to help.

While Smith knew what to do with a baby, having two at the same time proved to be a big challenge.

B次元官网网址淭here are so many questions, like about tandem nursing, or how do you sleep two babies in the same room?B次元官网网址� Smith asked. B次元官网网址淲hat do you do when theyB次元官网网址檙e sick, should you separate them? How do you feed two babies out in public, you know, feeding and burping themB次元官网网址� it takes some fine tuning.B次元官网网址�

Luckily, there is a large community of multiple-birth moms in Victoria that she could reach out to, including A Victoria Twin Group and the Vancouver Island Multiple Births Association (VIMBA). This has opened up a whole new group of friends to the Smiths, who recently hosted a summer meet up in their front yard where 15 babies were in attendance.

The twins are now 10 months old, and Smith said that while each baby is different, itB次元官网网址檚 been fascinating for her to watch Avery and BrennleyB次元官网网址檚 shared quirks, something often referred to as B次元官网网址渢winisms.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hey have these twin moments where theyB次元官网网址檒l maybe drink their bottles and lift their same arm and hold it the same way way, or reach out and hold each otherB次元官网网址檚 hands,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淭hey have a language that is getting a bit more obviousB次元官网网址� they really know each otherB次元官网网址檚 presence.B次元官网网址�

First-time mom gets more than she expected

Tegan Grymaloski and her husband, Kelly, werenB次元官网网址檛 too sure about having kids; they had planned on packing up and travelling when they had a visit with a group of friends who joked about starting a trend: conception 2014.

Kelly had joked that their lives were really going to change, only to have Tegan later tell him she wanted to have a baby.

The two agreed they would try for a year, and if it didnB次元官网网址檛 work out they would travel instead. Before long, Tegan discovered she was pregnant.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not young, IB次元官网网址檓 45,B次元官网网址� Kelly said. B次元官网网址淲hen I left work I said to my coworkers B次元官网网址榳ith my luck, itB次元官网网址檚 gonna be twins.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Sure enough, he was right.

B次元官网网址淲e were in shock,B次元官网网址� Tegan said. B次元官网网址淓ven when they were out of my belly, and they were on my couch I kept staring at them, it was hard for my brain to process.B次元官网网址�

TeganB次元官网网址檚 mother is a fraternal twin, one of two fertilized eggs in the same pregnancy. Fraternal twins are a result of a genetic trait carried by mothers, while identical twins are completely random.

Despite genetics that gave them a higher chance of fraternal twins, the Grymaloskis were pregnant with identical girls.

In an early ultrasound it was discovered that one of the babies only had two out of three vessels from her umbilical cord. This resulted in something known as Twin Transfer Syndrome, where one twin essentially begins to absorb the other. At one point, one baby was almost half the size of the other.

Tegan had to be very carefully monitored and was in the hospital very frequently.

One day, six weeks before her due date, her husband came home to find her in great distress. They rushed to the hospital, but doctors wanted to try to keep the babies in utero for another two weeks to mitigate the risks of an early birth, which is especially risky for twins.

Tegan was in hospital for two weeks, having contractions the whole time. Kelly said he had watched his wife become more and more ill, and begged the doctors to induce her. Eventually, they did try but Tegan did not respond.

Kelly was told to go home and rest, but was called back shortly after and told that his wife was unresponsive. He returned to the hospital to find Tegan moaning and unconscious, though doctors could not figure out why.

TeganB次元官网网址檚 state resulted in an emergency C-section, and both girls came out healthy. They were named Avery and Paige Grymaloski.

Kelly found himself completely overwhelmed as a new father to two with his wife still unresponsive. He stayed as one of the only men in Mother and Baby ward, and had nurses show him how to change a diaper.

A few days later, Tegan woke up and Kelly told her she did such a good job delivering the babies. Tegan stared at him in shock.

B次元官网网址淲hat babies?B次元官网网址� she asked with a slur. It would be months before Tegan would remember most of the surrounding circumstances, or regain full speech. Doctors never were able to determine what caused TeganB次元官网网址檚 condition.

Now fully healed, Tegan, Kelly, Avery and Paige are a thriving family. The twins are four years old.

The girls, Tegan explained are truly miraculous.

B次元官网网址淭hey ended up being a bit behind in speech, because they could understand each other,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey know when the other one is hurt, even if theyB次元官网网址檙e in another roomB次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e very empathetic to one another.B次元官网网址�

She said that having two babies in her first pregnancy was really a blessing.

B次元官网网址淭he lucky thing when you have multiples first is you donB次元官网网址檛 know any better. We didnB次元官网网址檛 know any different, we just had to keep them alive,B次元官网网址� she laughed. B次元官网网址淲ith twins youB次元官网网址檝e got to make that decision when theyB次元官网网址檙e running around and ask yourself B次元官网网址榳hich one is in more danger?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

The girls live up to their reputation; the first words they spoke ended up being B次元官网网址淒ouble trouble!B次元官网网址�

Discovering your IVF babies have siblings

Maria Doucette had always wanted to be a mom, she knew it since she was a kid. But as life unfolded, a good partner didnB次元官网网址檛 come along, so when she was 43 Doucette decided to take it into her own hands.

She tried 13 rounds of intrauterine insemination, and had been pregnant three times, suffering three miscarriages. Doucette then decided sheB次元官网网址檇 try one more time, this time using in-vitro fertilization.

When she was 46, she went to a clinic in Barbados and used an egg donor from Barbados and a sperm donor from Georgia, and was implanted with two embryos.

B次元官网网址淔our days later, I just knew it,B次元官网网址� Doucette said. B次元官网网址淚 could feel it, my uterus felt full.B次元官网网址�

She tested on the fifth day, and discovered she was pregnant.

Doucette had a healthy pregnancy, and gave birth via C-section to her daughter, Kinley and her son, Tayten, now both four years old.

Egg donors remain anonymous, but Doucette had asked for a sperm donor with open ID so that some day her children could at least know who their biological father was. Seven weeks after giving birth, she went to the donor website to sign up to learn the fatherB次元官网网址檚 identity, and realized she could actually find out almost immediately.

B次元官网网址淎 week later I get an email from a girl who had just had a baby from the same donor,B次元官网网址� Doucette said. B次元官网网址淭he last sentence of her email read B次元官网网址業 live in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.B次元官网网址� I dropped my phone.B次元官网网址�

Not only did this woman live five minutes away from Doucette, but she gave birth one day before Doucette did, in the same hospital.

B次元官网网址淲e were in the hospital, giving birth to brothers and sisters!B次元官网网址�

Kinley, Tayten and their half-sister, Grace all look alike and play together regularly. They call each other brother and sister. Doucette is GraceB次元官网网址檚 Aunt, and GraceB次元官网网址檚 mother, Alisen Buchigani, is an aunt to Kinley and Tayten.

Doucette has joined a Facebook group for parents of children from the same donor, and cousins as well since his brother also donated. She also joined a separate group called Single Moms by Choice, for women who used a donor.

B次元官网网址淲e have such a beautiful community now,B次元官网网址� Doucette said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 neat because every time we have a get-together, we can look after each othersB次元官网网址� kids.B次元官网网址�

Doucette noted that she wants to normalize donor children, and has agreed to be in an upcoming documentary to try to do so.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e a single mom itB次元官网网址檚 hard, but when youB次元官网网址檙e a single mom with donor kids itB次元官网网址檚 even harder,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e want to make donor kids the norm, there are so many of them. When my kids go to school and other kids ask them B次元官网网址榳hoB次元官网网址檚 your dad?B次元官网网址� they can say B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檝e got a donor dad,B次元官网网址� and that should be okay.B次元官网网址�

Two babies means a whole new community

While twins may have had a harder journey in the womb, statistically speaking twins do not face any adverse affects in their adult lives from being part of a multiple birth. Some studies even conclude that twins may live longer than average, with speculation that it could be from having a constant source of support.

Additonally, while two tiny new family members can double a familyB次元官网网址檚 size, they can also expand the community circle tenfold.

Over the past five years on Vancouver Island, an average of 93 multiple births happen every year, most of which are twins. Many multiple birth support groups and communities have formed to help parents learn about and celebrate their little duos, trios and more.

The is a volunteer-run group that hosts meals, playgroups, a kidsB次元官网网址� mega sale, and events for families with twins, triplets or more. There are dozens of public and private groups also available on Facebook.

is a national group that has run for 35 years, and is the only national support organization for multiple-birth families in Canada.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com

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