Hi! We are Gal and Lauren, friends, and Co-Founders of The Mom Juice, an empowerment network helping moms to prioritize self-care by making it more accessible in their daily lives. Over the next few months we will be sharing our different personal experiences and approaches on the same major parenting milestones.
Conception Journey
Lauren: Dave and I knew we wanted to have kids, but I was terrified of being pregnant because I didn’t think I could physically handle it. I also felt like there were other strikes against me that would make it difficult to conceive. I was 33 years old, and I had an irregular cycle.
Gal: I couldn’t wait to be a mother and I was so excited to get rolling right away. Seth and I got married when I was 25 and I expected to get pregnant quickly. My period was irregular and I was on the pill for almost ten years, but I didn’t think it would matter. Well, the joke was on me. A whole year went by and I was still getting negative pregnancy tests.
Lauren: And there I was, thinking I was going to be the one having the hardest time getting pregnant…and boom! We doubled our luck on the first try.
Gal: Funny how life works out! I ended up going to a fertility doctor. He recommended the HCG Injection that sounded like a magical solution to my seemingly nonexistent ovulation. I’m sure he mentioned twins were a possibility, but when I found out that I was finally pregnant, twins didn’t cross my mind.
Lauren: Twins never crossed my mind either! But I found out at my second doctor appointment around 7 weeks. I was alone when I found out! I told Dave not to come with me because all he was going to see was a dot on the screen. I remember saying to my doctor during the ultrasound, “Oh, look! I see another dot today… that’s a good thing, right?” And the rest is history.
Gal: It’s wild to think about what those little dots grow into! At around 5 weeks pregnant, Seth and I went in for an ultrasound and found out that we were expecting twins. I remember feeling absolute shock and jokingly blaming Seth because he had been wishing for twins since before we even met!
Twin Pregnancy
Lauren: Emotionally, pregnancy was a seesaw – extreme fear and anxiety until somewhere during the second trimester. Then I experienced a huge shift and was filled with joy and excitement. In my first trimester, there was debilitating fatigue, but other than growing an extra baby, my doctors referred to my pregnancy as “boring”.
I was also extremely active, which I think was a huge factor. I commuted to the city for work everyday until I was 37 weeks pregnant, including walking a mile to the train station. On top of that, I also worked out and did lots of prenatal yoga.
Gal: The pregnancy was exhausting, but I am also grateful for my dedication to remain active. I believe that, if we are receptive to it, we learn what we need for motherhood during pregnancy. I learned how to be gentle with myself and accept my body’s limitations. Unlike you, I had intense headaches, nausea and a whole laundry list of issues throughout. I read somewhere that a twin pregnancy = first trimester, third trimester, then couch trimester. I couldn’t agree more!
Birth Experience
Lauren: My birth experience was very controlled and for the most part, calm. Both twins were breech and my doctor advised a scheduled C-section, which I was completely okay with. I suffer from anxiety, so having a birth plan where I knew most of what, when and where to expect was the right option for me.
Gal: That is amazing that you felt such peace with your birth! For me, a natural, unmedicated birth was the most important to feeling that same way. I chose to follow the HypnoBirthingⓇ philosophy and had an empowering experience despite the hiccups I faced along the way.
Although we had such different experiences, the twin mom bond will always unify us. We look forward to sharing more with you about our journeys and welcome any questions / comments @themomjuice!
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Lauren Carasso is a lifestyle expert, self-care advocate, and full-time working mom. Her professional background includes nearly 15 years in public relations working with entertainment and lifestyle clients. She is passionate about meditation, fitness, yoga, matcha lattes, and taking advantage of all that living in the NYC-metro area has to offer. Originally from New Jersey, Lauren currently lives in Westchester County with her husband, David, and 3-year-old twins, Alexander and Bella.
Gal Shyli is passionate about all things fitness, wellness and ‘mom life’. She is a HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator, pre/postnatal exercise specialist and motherhood coach who runs Embrace: Birth and Beyond. Self-care and community have been paramount in her life as a mom, and she hopes to empower others to prioritize both as well! Gal currently lives in Westchester with her husband, Seth, her 2-year-old twins, Lev and Shai, and she is expecting baby number 3 in May.