Thanks for the tips Hannah. It's so nice to get some input from mums who have been there.
I found out at my 20 wk scan that it's possible for separate placentas to be identical twins as well. I highly doubt it for me - IVF, 2 embies transferred - but it will be interesting to see for sure. The dr said if they have diff blood types, then obviously they're fraternal. But if they have the same blood type the only way to tell for sure if they're identical or not is via genetic testing (or I suppose we could wait until they 'grow into themselves' and see if they look alike or not!)
AFM, well, I'm having a really rough time at the moment. In early May I had a big fall at work and it turns out that the impact of the fall knocked my pelvic structure out of alignment. And then this in turn has put pressure on my muscles and nerves. It got to the point where I was crying sitting at my desk at work because the pain was so bad. So I'm off work for 3 weeks to allow it to heal. It's very boring because I can't sit for long (hence the lack of posts!!), I can't drive very far, I can't walk for very long, and I'm not very good at stairs (and I have a 2 level house....). So I'm a little down in the dumps. But hopefully it will improve soon and I'll be back to normal before I know it.
Azz - not sure if this helps, but I was about 2 when my twin sisters were born. I asked my mum about precisely this the other day - how did I cope? Did I love them straight away? Was I jealous? It was a slightly different situation because mum didn't know she was having twins until the second one came out (can you imagine!!!) so she wasn't able to prepare me for two siblings in the lead-up. ALthough obviously she did prepare me for one. Apparently mum encouraged me to talk to the baby in her tummy, put my head there, listen, etc. Talked to me about what a privilege it is to be a big sister etc.
Then when they were born, my parents bought me my own 'newborn' doll and a baby bath. Mum knew she would be so busy, and needed to keep me entertained and apparently I just loved doing everything she was doing. I copied to my little heart's content. I loved bathing my baby at the same time she was bathing my sisters, I loved feeding her, burping her etc. I don't know how long it lasted, and i don't know if that's what the experts would recommend these days, but she said it certainly worked for me.
Dad also really stepped in (I'd expect that these days, but I think then it was a bit different) and he would take me on special outings on the weekend and other times he'd step in with the twins so I still had some one-one-one mum time.
And I know it was a long time ago now, but I truly don't remember feeling any sort of resentment or jealousy. I mean who really remembers life at the age of 2 anyhow. I have a few fleeting memories, but nothing substantial.
She said it became harder when the twins were old enough to play with themselves because they were just such a tight unit. They didn't need anyone else, so we never really played together or anything like that. They just didn't invite anyone into their own little world.
My boys are kicking like mad lately. I can even see my skin move when they're very active. It's the lovliest thing. I just cannot wait to meet these two little beans. I already love them so much.
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