Twin Tuesday (er..Thursday): Natalie & Vera
By Dawn Sailors In Featured Twins, Twin Tuesday
This week’s featured twins (just a couple days late) are Natalie and Vera, an absolutely beautiful set of twin girls to parents Beth and Chad. Beth writes a great blog about their adventures in raising twins called Babies Toddlers Twins. Just look at these little faces. Adorbs! I’ll let Beth tell you more:
Are your girls identical or fraternal? Do twins run in your family?
Nattie and Vera are identical. They shared the same placenta. Identical twins can have one or two placentas, but fraternal twins only have two placentas or two that are fused together. Like most people, I didn’t have my facts straight when it came to twins. I had to do a ton of research. While pregnant, I discovered that there are a lot of misconceptions about twins. A common misconception is that identical twins run in families. And often people ask if they run on the mother or father’s side. Identical twins happen spontaneously by nature. Fraternal twins are a cause of hyper-ovulation that can only be inherited by the mother.
With that said, I do in fact have identical twins in my family – two sets of girls! The twins were from my great-great grandmother and my great-great Aunt’s daughter. I have a long list of relatives – three sets of identical twin girls is by coincidence. Although, I do believe other factors are at play – meaning, it all ties in somehow…confusing, yes, but so is identical twinning! Scientists and doctors still have no idea why the egg splits. That is something that drove me crazy when I first found out I was having identical twins. I wanted an answer to why it happens. Now I know that it truly, really is a miracle.
When did you find out you were expecting twins and what was your reaction?
Kerplunk! That was the sound of my heart as it fell to the floor the moment I found out I was having twins. I was terrified. I found out a little over a month in to my pregnancy. It happened during my first visit to the OB/GYN. I went in telling the doctor I was nervous about having a baby. When the second fuzzy image appeared on the sonogram, the doctor gasped and I went into panic mode. The first person I called was my mother. I cried for a few minutes before I could tell her the news. The second person I called was Chad. The first thing he said after I told him was “I knew it! Everyone is having twins these days”! It took a day or two to sink in before my heart went straight to the moon with excitement.
How did you go about picking names?
Years before I was ready to have a baby (or two) I enjoyed making lists of baby names. I don’t know whatever happened to those lists or what names I chose. The only name I remember is Ava. Chad wasn’t a fan of that name among many others that I mentioned over the years. A couple of names that he came up with was Victoria and Sasha. While I was pregnant, choosing baby names was the last thing I wanted to do. I was so overwhelmed. The day after I found out my identical twins were girls, my mother-in-law emailed me some names to help me get started. That night I came up with a list of names that I found on different baby name websites.
Chad’s face lite up when I read off the name Vera. I randomly picked it from one of the baby name websites. I guess I liked it because it’s similar to Ava, but I didn’t think Chad would go for it. Another random name on my list was Natasha. We decided on Vera and Natasha. I immediately started telling everyone the names. A day or two later we changed Natasha to Natalie. I would have liked Tasha short for Natasha, but I can’t imagine Natalie by any other name. I was three months pregnant when we decided on their names. I was eight months pregnant when I decided, intuitively, that Twin A was Vera, and Twin B was Nattie.
What is the hardest part about having twins?
By far, the hardest thing is that the babies always want their mommy in times of need. Many times I’m the only one that can calm them down or get them to sleep. There are times when they are doing just fine with someone, then I walk in the room and they start crying. The next hardest thing coincides with the first – that is, the babies both need me at once. When they cry I feel a sense of urgency. Sometimes I have to let one cry while I finish nursing or taking care of the other. The next hardest thing is when they try to fight off their sleepiness.
What is your favorite part about having twins?
The very close bond between Vera and Nattie is my most favorite thing. I love knowing that they will always watch out for each other and keep each other in check. They have been given the greatest gift, and as their mother I am so thankful.
Thanks so much to Beth for participating in our Twin Tuesday feature! Be sure to visit her blog to keep up with her girls!
If you are a twin or parent of twins/multiples and would like to be featured on Twin Tuesday, email me!
Momdaughterstyle
super cute. now following you blog too
making a quick visit from the alexa hop, using my alexa toolbar.
http://momdaughterstyle.blogspot.com/
Sexy_babymomma
I always wanted twins! Im so glad you wrote about your story! So touching! Thanks for sharing, and you twins are the cutest! :)
Sexy_babymomma
Hi, Im a new follower from the Alexa Hop, loving the blog! I would love to invite you to follow me, J’S REVIEWS AND GIVEAWAYS
Thanks so much! have a great day!