Pregnant with twins after 3 years of trying…by Kate, former publisher at Conde Nast Magazines

I was at Conde Nast Magazines (first Vogue, then Traveller) for a total of 15 years before giving it up to expand my family. It was a big decision and a sacrifice for me to give up work as I know it.  I may return at some point, but I had reached the point where I had to set my priorities in order. 

I had my first child - without trying - at the age of 40...  then spent 3 years of heartache in the pursuit of the second (and, as it turns out, third).  Giving up my career was the final push in terms of trying to get things to happen - and I'm pleased to say it worked.

This is my first blog posting, and appropriately enough, it coincides with the first real squirmings of those two babies in my ever expanding tummy.  At nearly 22 weeks, I was beginning to worry that I wasn't feeling any significant movement in there, but the numerous scans one has to have as a carrier of twins reassured me:  there are really two of them and they are kicking up a storm.  As I slathered on a recommended cocktail of Mamma Mio stretch mark creams (tummy butter, tummy rub oil, & and boob tube) this morning, I could almost hear my skin thanking me! 

I already have a daughter, four in August, and the imminent arrival of twins (both girls, we just found out) in our tight family unit has thrown up a number of issues.  Luckily I have a surprising number of friends, several from my former workplace, who have recently had twins, and on whose experience I can draw. 

One of the first things we have had to do is rearrange our home so that the little darlings can be accommodated near a bathroom - and the only way of achieving this is by commandeering my daughter's room:  in turn, this has meant reclaiming the spare room and giving it to our firstborn, complete with a cosmetic overhaul to make her feel it's her own space.

I found the most gorgeous curtain fabric called Valombreuse at Lorca (distributed in the UK through Osborne & Little), and have covered a pair of tub armchairs in vintage rose velvet which picks out the peony pink in the curtains.

Then I took an edited selection of her artwork from her two years at Montessori School to be framed in perspex boxes (try Fix-a-Frame on the Old Brompton Road - they do it the best), and will be hanging these treasures on a panel of hessian which sits behind the bed.  Et voila!  The room is ready for occupation and any possible jealousy at the intrusion of twin sisters into her living space is mitigated... 

Turning my attention now to the little ones and their needs, at least no redecoration is required since they are moving into a ready-made, girl-friendly space.  But what about the kit we have to buy?  Another cot, certainly, a second Moses basket, yes, that too. Am currently thinking of the ones from Dragons of Walton street  

The biggest decision, and one which all mothers-of-twins-to-be agonise over, is the buggy.  Twins side by side or one in front of the other?  Definitely not double-decker bus style - that's just inhuman!  Current thinking is the Out and About Nipper, which passes through almost any doorway and is lightweight and easy to manoeuvre.  But it doesn't have proper bassinettes which, I remember from when my daughter was a baby, used to serve as an invaluable extra bed...  

Also, it's not easy to attach a buggy-board to; the buggy-board being a vital part of the "deal" with my daughter in bribing her to welcome her baby sisters to her world.  However, I'm almost convinced, with help from my Conde Nast network, that the Nipper's what we need. 

And this is just the start...