The day we found out we were having TWINS!

As a child I used to dream of being a twin. Having a best friend by my side constantly to have fun with, laugh and play with all the time and (as one of mine just said reading over my shoulder - you always have someone else to count on). There weren't many multiples around when I was young and I was never friends with any. There weren't any sets of twins, triplets etc. in any of my schools and mostly I just saw articles on them every now and again and occasionally on TV.

When I was pregnant I started thinking about how great it would be to have twins myself and how exciting it could be. I told my family and friends that I would love to have twins and talked about it often - the further along I became.

On the day of my 12 week ultrasound I was in a mix of emotions. Elated to see my baby on the screen, although I sensed a feeling of disappointment that I was to find out there would be only one baby (when I wished from deep in my heart for two). Of course being able to fall pregnant and carry a healthy baby was most important of all.

After an agonisingly long wait in the obstetricians waiting room, watching all the belly's of other pregnant women further along in their pregnancies than mine - we finally had our name called. After a quick discussion, I hopped up onto the table for my scan. He pressed firmly into my belly and we saw a flicker of movement appear in black and white on the screen. As he moved around we could see limbs floating and what appeared to be a heartbeat. He's say 'there's an arm, there's a leg' and of course the head is easily recognisable. My husband was smiling back at me. Suddenly he flips the screen around and says 'brace yourselves'. With confused looks on our faces he positions the image so that there is one baby lying on top of the other and says 'you're having twins'! OMG!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Engrossed in the images in front of us we were now trying to take it all in. He showed us two heartbeats, 4 arms and 4 legs and of course two heads! They were in separate sacs, joined together by a thin membrane. They each had their own placentas and looked to be around the same size. They were both healthy he informed us and said CONGRATULATIONS!

We were so delighted and amazed - and my wish had come true. We had further discussions relating to a twin pregnancy and other things we now had to consider. We then walked out to the front desk and he followed us - telling all the staff and other anxious waiting parents-to-be that we just found out we were having twins. Everyone clapped and said congratulations (it kind of felt like a movie and a bit surreal all at the same time). As we paid they arranged more than the standard routine examinations and I was to have my next ultrasound at 18 weeks. We closed the door behind us, hugged and breathed out. We were having TWINS!