Real Life Our family gained three sets of twins
In just two years, Jayne Winstanley’s family trebled in size, thanks to some new arrivals
Like most young children, creating my own imaginary world with dolls was by far one of my favourite things to do. I took great pleasure in playing ‘house’, cooking and cleaning for my family and caring for my imaginary twin boys, who I named James and Joshua. Though I eventually grew out of this imaginary world, wanting a set of twins was something I carried with me into adulthood.
After meeting at university in 2004, John, then 21, and I began dating not long after. He proposed the following year and we decided on a long engagement, with me pursuing a career in events and John in business analytics, before eventually marrying in 2013. Soon after, talk turned to starting our own little family and I told John how I’d always wanted twin boys. In fact, having twins was now very much on my mind because, as fate would have it, John was an identical twin.
I greatly admired the relationship that he and his brother, Dave, shared. Living just a short drive away from each other, I found it endearing that even as adults, they’d
‘I’D ALWAYS WANTED TWIN BOYS’
inadvertently wear similar outfits, and though Dave’s wife, Amy, and I could tell our men apart, strangers would often mix them up.
Happy coincidence
By Christmas 2015, John and I had decided to start trying for a baby and just three months later, when I was plagued by nausea, I took a test. Sure enough, it came back positive and we were both thrilled. A bump began to show almost immediately and at my 12-week scan in June the sonographer revealed I was carrying twins, having released two eggs the month I fell pregnant. John and I couldn’t believe our luck. At the 20-week scan in August 2016, we discovered that we were expecting two boys and John and I immediately decided
on the names James and Joshua, just like I’d imagined when I was younger. My childhood dream was coming true and we eagerly set about painting the nursery white, buying a double buggy and plenty of toys. But the impact of carrying two babies took its toll on my body. The weight of the twins caused immense pain in my pelvis, making even rolling over in bed difficult.
But when James and Joshua arrived safely via Caesarean in December 2016, the pain paled into insignificance. The boys were non-identical, and as I cradled them in my arms, I was amazed at how much Joshua looked like John and how much James looked like my dad, Keith.
After a week in hospital, we returned home to start our new lives as a family of four. I relished dressing the boys in matching outfits, pushing them in their double buggy and snuggling with one in each arm on the sofa. And while I initially was apprehensive about caring for twins, I found it easier than I thought
I would. The boys were good sleepers and fell into an ideal nap and feeding routine fairly quickly.
Then, in the new year, Dave, Amy and their daughter, Ella, then three, had some news of their own to share with us. Waving a baby scan picture in the air, they announced they were expecting twins, too.
We were all so excited, unable to believe the chances of John and Dave each going on to have twins of their own. It was such wonderful news and after a relatively textbook pregnancy, Amy gave birth to non-identical twins, Seth and Jake in October 2017.
A new set
After we visited the new arrivals, with their blonde hair and chubby cheeks, I began to feel broody again. And in early 2018, just after James and Joshua had turned one, I was overcome by a familiar sense of nausea that had accompanied my last pregnancy. John and I were delighted to learn that we were expecting, but when my belly quickly began to swell again, I knew all too well what was to come.
At my 12-week scan, we were struck by a severe case of deja vu when the same sonographer couldn’t hold back her laughter, as she told us we were, once again, expecting twins. It was our family’s third set of twins in two years! And while I couldn’t stop beaming with excitement, John looked petrified. ‘How will we cope?’ he worried.
After the initial shock wore off, he, like me, realised just how lucky we were to be expecting twins again and that no matter what, we would do our best for our babies.
Two months later, we learnt we were again expecting boys, but carrying twins this time round was undeniably harder than the last. With a swollen belly, I couldn’t pick up James and Joshua or bend down to bathe them. I bled throughout, faced constant sickness and nausea and experienced severe abdominal and pelvic pain, which rendered me largely immobile. Still, Jack and Joel arrived safely via Caesarean in September 2018. After a couple of days in hospital, we returned home to join James and Joshua who had been staying with Dave and Amy. Still sore from the op, I found caring for four tots incredibly difficult, especially when John returned to work. Luckily, my parents moved in to help me out and I soon established a good routine with all four children, feeding the younger twins in their rocking chairs, while keeping an eye on the older two as they played, and I bathed each set of twins one after the other. In fact, it got easier as James and Joshua got older, as they loved helping to care for their younger brothers, eager to fetch me nappies, or sing a song to entertain them.
Now, they’re four, and Jack and Joel are two. They all have such a lovely bond and are the best of friends with their cousins, too. I just hope they all remain as close as John and Dave are.
I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have my childhood dream of having twins become a reality, but I’ve been blessed twice which, as far as I’m concerned, is nothing short of a miracle.