They Arrived, Two By Two: A Journey in Having Twins

When Laura Rivera went for her 12-week prenatal appointment during her first pregnancy eight years ago, she heard two sentences she'll never forget: Here's the heartbeat. And here's the other heartbeat.

Twins. While having a baby changes everything, moms finding out they're carrying twice the bundle remember being overwhelmed by feelings of surprise, excitement and yes, even fear.

While Rivera was thrilled about the surprise, Arielle Herron said hearing news that she and her husband, Aman, would soon be caring for two babies along with her two-year-old was a little scary.

"I did cry," Herron said. "Some people love the idea of twins their whole lives, but I was someone who would've been very happy with just one. Twins don't run in our families, so it was a total shock."

Herron, a labor and delivery nurse, said one of her biggest fears was going into preterm labor or experiencing medical problems common with carrying multiples. Thankfully she made it full term without complications as well as LeMay.

Rivera went into preterm labor at 17 weeks and again at 24 weeks, which forced the her into bedrest from then until her c-section at the full 37-week term.

Rivera gave birth fraternal twins -a girl and boy. Herron had identical twin boys and LeMay had fraternal twin boys.

All parents said they were thrilled with the genders of their babies. The Herron's already had a girl, Elah, and LeMay wanted at least one twin to be a boy for their older brother.

"It was perfect because I wanted a daughter and my husband wanted a boy, so we were really excited to have one of each," Rivera said.

But finally giving birth to twins was only the beginning. From the hospital to the homefront each family's stories are different, but sleepless nights chaos, tears, laughter and learning were all part of the mix.

Herron's experience bringing her twins Ean and Evan home is probably the most dramatic.

The day she was released from the hospital, Elah was rushed back to the emergency room with a serious E. coli infection. Aman Herron had to stay with her at the hospital the entire first week she was home.

"It was awful because I was so worried about her, and while trying to take care of the babies, but his mom and my mom took turns staying over to help," Herron said.

Most families say they lived day-to-day that first year, dealing with differing sleeping patterns, caring for older siblings and learning things weren't always double the fun.

While Rivera and LeMay are past the difficult toddler stages - Rivera's twins are eight and LeyMay's are five - Herron is still in the thick of it. Her boys will turn two this month.

"So far it's all about survival," laughs Herron. "When one of them is making a mess here, the other one's destroying something over there, and by the time I'm cleaning up that, they've made another one."

Aside from taking shifts with their partners when the other needs a break, and accepting help from others, parents advice other soon-to-be parents of twins to set their infants on the same schedule as soon as possible.

"That's my best advice," Rivera said. "When one woke up we woke the other up, and before you know it, they were even going to the bathroom at the same time."

But "twindom" isn't all hard work and no fun. Although Herron's twosome, still young, do more hair-pulling than hugging, LeMay and Rivera say their twins are close, entertaining each other and exhibiting that special bond that seems almost mystical at times.

"They are such good friends, it's great," Rivera said.

"Now that they're bigger, I actually would say it's easier having two at the same age because they're so close and they've always played so well together," LeMay said.

Parents say what's been the most surprising amongst all the experiences is how different each twin has been from his counterpart, straight out of the womb.

Bigger at birth, Evan is much more aggressive than Ean, Isabella has always been more competative than Christian, and Henry is much more outgoing than his brother.

"They are actually very different," LeMay said. "But it's funny because once the outgoing one 'breaks the ice' for the shy one, he comes out of his shell and ends up being more sociable."

Aside from being lifelong playmates, twins also have a way of helping each other out of a jam here and there.

"I remember one of them would find a way to jump out of his crib, drag a chair over to his brother's and help him get out," LeMay said. "It's funny...now."

While all in different stages of raising their twins, each family agrees watching their little duos grow up together is a special gift.

"Imagine all those moments like having go to preschool for the first time, and always having the other one there with you," LeMay said. "They definitely have a special bond."