by Cassie Kristof

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: June 18, 2009

It's going to be okay. Being a parent to multiples IS different to parenting singletons, and its very rare that anybody else will truly understand the multitude of conflicting feeling of fear, frustration, happiness, wonderment, joy and sheer tiredness than other parents of multiples. From as early as I can remember I had always wanted twins, and am now the proud mum to two year old terrible two. But the reality is that at much as it is truly a blessing, it is also hard work and you will need help.

My husband and I were overjoyed that the excessive morning sickness and tiredness this time round DID mean that there was more than one baby in there! Seeing the two little blips on the screen sent us both into a joyful shock. Then reality hit with sever morning sickness that lasted all day and meant I couldn't move without being sick, which made it extremely hard to care for my two year old son. My husband was running his own business and working long hours and I found myself losing weight and becoming depressed. By the time I was 7 months pregnant with the twins our marriage was already disintegrating, and to top it off the twins were very large and pressing on a major artery meaning that if I stood or sat for more than a few minutes I would pass out.

The twins hadn't even made an entrance into the world yet and already I felt alone. There was very little help from my family or my husband and my two year old was already showing signs of frustration that his mummy just couldn't give him the attention that he needed. All I could do was hope that the twins would come soon and everything would improve.

The twins however, had no intentions of making an early entrance and at 38 weeks, with both babies on the rather large side and in the breech position I had an elective cesarean. Suffering exhaustion and depression the day they were born was full of mixed feelings of joy and relief. My little girl was born first weighing 6Lb 2 oz , then my son arrived one minute later weighing a staggering 7Lb 9oz. It was no wonder that by this stage I could barely walk!

Recovering from a c-section was extremely different than recovering from a natural birth. I am allergic to most pain relief medication and trying to care for and breast feed twins whilst in pain and being possibly still in some state of shock was extremely tiring. My son developed a high pitched scream that lasted day and night and the midwives were encouraging me to wake my daughter up by undressing her down to

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