Although I was a twin, I was shocked when I fell pregnant with twins myself. But there were more surprises to come. By Dionne Donovan, 31
As I scrolled through my phone, I spotted a photo that made me smile.
It was my twin brother Lewis and me as children playing on the swings with big smiles on our faces.
I loved being a twin. I’d always had someone to play with and as we’d grown up, Lewis and I had remained close.
We were constantly in touch and always had each other’s backs.
Now, I forwarded the photo to him with a message that said: Have a good day twin!
Then I got to work on my university essay, only I felt so drained, I couldn’t concentrate.
‘Maybe you’re coming down with something?’ my partner said.
‘It’s probably just stress,’
I said.
I was in my final year at uni, so the pressure was on.
Then a thought hit me: I’ve missed
a period.
I bought a pregnancy test and took it as soon as I got home.
It was positive, and I sat for a moment trying to take it in.
Although the timing wasn’t ideal, I’d always wanted to be a mum.
Days later, I went for my first ultrasound.
As the image appeared on the screen, I noticed two sacs immediately.
‘Is that…’ I started, but then I saw one was flickering while the other seemed still.
‘Yes, it looks like twins,’ the doctor said. ‘But unfortunately,
I can’t see a heartbeat for one
of them. It’s early days, but you may miscarry.’
In the same breath, I’d been given the best and the worst news. It felt overwhelming.
I braced myself for a miscarriage, but nothing had happened by the time I returned for a follow-up scan.
And when I saw the sonographer smile, I felt relief flood in.
‘There are two healthy heartbeats,’ she said.
‘That’s amazing,’
I replied. ‘I’m a twin myself and I thought it skipped
a generation.’
‘Well, it didn’t here!’ she said, and I laughed.
When I left the hospital, I felt so excited. There was someone very special I wanted to share my news with.
‘Guess what?’ I said to Lewis. ‘I’m pregnant — and it’s twins!’
‘No way!’ he replied. ‘That’s amazing.’
‘They’re going to be like us,’
I said.
Lewis and I had been the first twins in our family, but now it seemed it was going to become
a family tradition!
As my bump grew, I juggled hospital appointments with exams and essay deadlines.
At 20 weeks, I discovered I was having two boys. But there was another surprise.
‘We believe one baby was conceived two weeks before the other, which is why he’s bigger,’ the sonographer said. ‘It’s rare, but it does happen.’
She explained that although they weren’t conceived at the same time, they still counted
as twins.
When uni ended, all the other students went out partying to celebrate. But I had to start preparing for my new arrivals, so I went shopping and bought two of everything.
Then two weeks before my graduation, I went into hospital for a planned Caesarean.
Jahmar arrived first, followed by Ramone. As the boys were placed in my arms, I felt so happy. They were perfect.
Back at home, although life was busy, we settled into a routine, and I loved being a mum.
Sadly, my relationship with the twins’ dad ended, but they grew into bright, adventurous little boys.
One day, as I left work to
pick them up from nursery, a handsome stranger smiled at me.
I smiled back, and before I knew it, he’d introduced himself as Dee and we started chatting.
‘I have to go and collect my sons,’ I said. ‘But it was lovely talking to you.’
‘You too, see you again soon,
I hope,’ he replied.
Soon after, we spotted each other again and eventually we exchanged numbers.
At first we were just friends, but our feelings grew and we became a couple.
When we’d been together a few years, I fell pregnant.
‘It’s going to be twins,’ Dee said as we headed to the hospital together for my first scan.
I laughed. Everybody had been joking about it.
‘No way,’ I said. ‘One set of twins is enough.’
But as the sonographer got to work, she asked: ‘Do twins run in your family?’
I felt my stomach flip.
‘I’m a twin and I have twin sons,’ I said.
‘Well, you’ve got another two on the way,’ she said.
Dee and I both looked at each other and laughed.
‘What are the chances!’
I said.
But later, I discovered I had a condition that meant my ovaries released more
eggs than normal.
‘It means you are more likely to conceive twins or triplets,’ the doctor said.
It explained why I’d always had very heavy periods and why, despite the odds, I was going to become a mum to two sets of twins.
This time, I discovered I was having a boy and a girl. Jahmar and Ramone, now eight, couldn’t wait to meet their
new siblings.
Dee was with me when Khi and Kiarah arrived.
Although life with four kids was busy,
it felt easier to adjust to having newborn twins this time around. Jahmar and Ramone loved helping out with their new baby brother and sister too.
One day, Ramone looked at me, his eyebrows raised. I’d just rearranged the living room
again and it looked great.
‘Mum, are you pregnant?’ he asked.
‘Don’t be silly,’ I said.
Khi and Kiarah were only 16 months old, and I was taking contraception, there was no
way I could be expecting again.
He shrugged and said: ‘You only start moving stuff around like this when you’re pregnant.’
His nine-year-old wisdom stuck with me and so I decided to take a test.
When Dee returned home to Haringey, London, that evening,
I had news.
‘I’m pregnant again,’ I said.
He cheered, then swept me up in his arms and kissed me.
But while I was glad he was happy, I was worried.
‘This could be really hard,’
I said. ‘Especially if it’s twins again.’
‘We can handle it,’ Dee said.
It was a good job he thought that because at my first scan soon after, we discovered we were expecting another set
of twins.
Although that didn’t come as a shock this time, the sonographer did manage to surprise me.
‘You’re four months along,’ she said.
‘Really?’ I said, flabbergasted.
Busy with the other four, I hadn’t noticed any of the usual symptoms.
My pregnancy was considered high risk this time as it had only been just over a year since my last twin pregnancy.
Juggling pregnancy with looking after energetic Khi and Kiarah wasn’t the easiest.
But everything went well and in time, I gave birth to two more boys, Jaiden and Jahziah.
They’re six months old now and while having six kids — with four of them under two years old — is exhausting at times, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
It’s lovely to see each one sharing a special bond with their twin, the way I always have with my brother.
Twins may be double trouble, but three sets are triple the fun!