I believe I helped manifest my twin pregnancy.
And I believe that 100%, despite being a medical researcher with a degree in Science (and a postgraduate Master’s in Research).
How? My understanding is that through my thinking and mindset, paired with supporting my body and fertility in the right ways (including with natural supplements and nutrition), I helped encourage my body to ovulate two eggs at once. Once that happened, the natural conception journey (paired with some strategically timed ‘baby dancing’) did the rest and we conceived two beautiful twin babies.
If you’re reading this, then it’s likely that you may see twins in your future. And at the same time, you may be sceptical about whether you can manifest twins or it’s just sheer luck and coincidence. I hear you. I was you. If I didn’t successfully fall pregnant with twins, I’d probably also stand firm that this wasn’t a thing. After all, to conceive twins, you need to either ovulate two eggs or for a fertilized egg to split. And isn’t ovulation just biology and hormones?
Yes and no. While biology and hormones play a big part in your ability to conceive twins, a really important thing to remember is that for women of childbearing age, our body wants to conceive. I’ll explain what I mean below, but knowing this, it means that if your body feels safe, comfortable and prepared to fall pregnant with twins (because it wants to get pregnant to continue the species), and no medical factors are preventing or limiting this (I know how many are affected by infertility for all sorts of reasons), then it can and will. After all, the irrefutable facts are that:
- I only have one fallopian tube following an ectopic pregnancy
- My twins are di-di meaning two eggs were ovulated
- I have no family history of twins
- I was only 30 so no advanced maternal age
- I literally spent about 6 months trying and not getting pregnant at all, let alone with twins
Before I get into it, I should add that having worked in medical research across a range, I’ve examined and reviewed numerous case studies, trials and phenomenons where the findings go above and beyond the hypothesis (differing notably from what was expected) from a scientific standpoint. In fact, these unexpected findings are published every day. And it’s because we, as researchers and scientists, haven’t figured out why that thing happens or how to replicate it. But it doesn’t mean that event doesn’t have an explanation. And this is where manifesting twins falls I think. Just because it’s not proven or widely accepted, doesn’t mean that it can’t happen – or that it’s not already happening every day.
Manifesting Twins: Your Body Wants To Get Pregnant
There’s a saying among my twin communities, when talking about the strength and resilience of twin moms, that twin moms were “selected” and are a special group of people. While this may provide some with comfort or just solidarity, I very genuinely believe that there is an angle of truth on this: when it comes to twin moms, their bodies know, perhaps subconsciously, that they can handle the physical, mental and emotional demands of a twin pregnancy and raising twins.
Controversial? Maybe. But hear me out: when I was in my early twenties and had the time and freedom to go for runs and enter a few half marathons, I became so addicted to running that my period stopped. My body literally removed my ability to conceive because it knew I didn’t have the energy, strength or mental/emotional resilience or capacity to grow a single baby, let alone two. Then I completed the events, I ticked it off my list, and my enthusiasm for running ceased. I became a normal person who went on normal walks a few times per week. And just like that, my period returned – alongside my ability to conceive.
When I had my firstborn (singleton), we breastfed. We didn’t sleep train or limit any feeding. He fell into a natural routine that involved feeding twice a night, every night. And I mean every night, well past his first birthday. My body was exerting plenty of energy making that milk and tolerating that broken sleep. And so I think because of my naturally petite frame, I never got my period back because my body (or mind) knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it all – keep breastfeeding like I wanted to, and exert all that energy growing another human (and trying to via menstruation).
Unfortunately, we actually wanted another baby – ha. We had planned on trying 11-12 months postpartum. But my body said no. And I had to listen. And just like that, several weeks after my first fully weaned, my period returned, and my body felt it was ready – now that we were both sleeping through the night and I wasn’t having to use so much energy making milk.
If You Learn Anything About Manifesting Twins, Make It This:
So to summarize the above – if there’s anything I want you to learn about manifesting twins – it’s that your body is incredibly smart. It wants you to have what you want and to conceive – but only if it is safe to do so, and that means physically, mentally and emotionally. So once we can fuel and look after our bodies, and then we have that mindset shift and add in that visualization and positive thinking – that’s where I believe the sweet spot is. Because you’re letting your body feel safe and secure in the knowledge that you absolutely can safely carry and raise twins. And once your body knows that, it becomes a real possibility for you.
Steps I Took To Manifest My Twin Pregnancy
So realizing that one of the keys to having a chance of twins was convincing my body that I could absolutely handle having twins – and needing to truly believe it myself to achieve this task – I set off on my twin manifestation journey. Here are some of the steps I took.
Visualizing A Twin Pregnancy: Slowing Down
For two months before our successful twin conception, I took at least several long moments each day to disconnect (no digital devices or distractions, not even audiobooks), be in the moment, and listen to as well as respond to my body. This became my time for visualization.
I visualized my uterus and fallopian tube and ovary. I’d visualize those growing eggs (emphasis on the eggs, plural) if I was in my follicular phase in the first half of my cycle, I’d visualize the release of those eggs during ovulation, and see them traveling down my tube and implanting into my uterus. I did so calmly and with peace. I did not take on any stress or pressure during this time. I wanted to show my mind and my body that I was strong and capable of sustaining a twin pregnancy. And I did just that.
I also visualized the little things – telling my husband, going to the ultrasound and having the tech find two heartbeats, telling our families – I envisioned it all and paired it with wholesome and positive feelings. I even visualized the birth and being in labor. I showed my body that this would be normal, that I would be healthy, that I could handle it with ease. I visualized my toddler being the best sibling to not one but two babies.
I kept visualizing, because if your body doesn’t believe it, then it won’t release two eggs to get you in that situation if it thinks you’ll be under too much stress and in duress – right?
If you need help visualizing a twin pregnancy, start here with understanding what twin ultrasound pictures look like – here are mine at weeks four, five, six and seven.
Twin Pregnancy Prayer
I also created my very own prayer for a twin pregnancy, and said it every day. Whether or not you’re religious, feel free to give it a go. I can guarantee that it won’t hurt! I said mine before bed. And sometimes over a cup of tea in my ‘slow’ moments. Sometimes twice daily. This is actually the first time I’ve ever shared it with anyone! Interestingly, a lot of the twin moms I’ve met since that prayed for twins also created their own version of the same prayer. Coincidence – or the power of visualization and manifestation? Again, as a science-based researcher, I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Nutrition For Manifesting A Twin Pregnancy
The thing with manifestation is that you have to set yourself up for success in all of the ways, including the physical. This means being mindful of and proactive with your nutrition. Specifically, getting all the good nutrients, vitamins and food types that are proven and evidence-based (in most part) to assist fertility. A few simple things I did for my fertility nutrition, which also put me in the right positive mindset to be able to confidently tell my body that I’m ready for twins and am perfectly capable of conceiving, growing and raising them included:
- I ate my super breakfast bowl every morning. I absolutely concocted this breakfast based on what I read in the book It Starts With The Egg and it contains SO much goodness that I wholeheartedly believe amplified my ability to conceive (and ovulate two eggs at once). It’s essentially a blueberry-based porridge with chia, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, ground almonds, maca powder and butter. I used to add goji berries but then stopped. I used whole milk.
- I ate fatty fish at least twice per week. Salmon is my absolute favorite.
- I took my supplements daily – again I got this list from reading It Starts With The Egg and doing my own research. I personally took high-strength fish oil twice daily, CoQ10, vitamin D, prenatal vitamin mix, iodine, folic acid, iron, B12, zinc (because my bloodwork showed mine was low) and my secret weapon: soy isoflavones.
- I drank as much water as I needed to sustain a twin pregnancy before I was pregnant. I’d easily be drinking 3-4 liters daily, if not more.
- It’s not really classed as nutrition, but I also made sure my thyroid levels were in the optimum conception range. And interestingly enough, the month they were finally under 2.0 was the month I fell pregnant with the twins – I’ve shared more about my thyroid levels before, during and after pregnancy here.
Exercise For A Twin Pregnancy
Let’s be clear: I did not become an exercise junkie. In fact, I didn’t even do any high intensity exercise. But I did push my toddler in his stroller to a park that was much further away (approximately 30 minutes each way) about 4-5 times per week. Why? Because while I wanted to show my body that I had heaps of reserve energy for baby growing, I also felt it was important to show it that the pregnancy wouldn’t ‘overshadow’ my ability to lead a healthy life and take care of my health. And that was the best way I knew how. Plus, these walks made me feel so good – both from the effect of exercise on my body, and the quality time and fun stroller chats with my toddler. It made it so easy to see him as an incredible big brother.
Saying No Lets Your Body Say Yes
The last thing that I made a super mindful effort to do was to say no a lot more. Sounds easy? Not for me. I am a high-functioning self-proclaimed people pleaser. Since childhood. I find it difficult to let people down and say no. I take things personally. It was a steep learning curve – but once I had something a lot greater to focus on – an incredible reason to say no, it became super easy. The mindset shift I used was asking myself: if I was pregnant with twins right now, would I do this? And if the answer is no, the answer was no.
Getting pregnant with twins naturally fast
While I completely believe that I helped to manifest my twins, I also believe that this is a gradual process where your body takes the time, energy and effort to get you to a place where it’s ready to sustain that pregnancy and make it possible. It doesn’t happen overnight, unfortunately. And if anyone tries to claim something does (and they’re not a fertility specialist offering ovulation induction) then they’re trying to sell you something that’s not proven – so run for the hills. Manifesting twins does not need to cost you a single thing.
Doing what I did took many months of slow but very real changes to my mental and physical health, as well as my thinking. I didn’t implement everything overnight, nor did I get it right 100% of the time. Instead, I just listened to my body and took a very responsive, ‘real’ and nurturing approach. After all – if you can’t take the time to nurture your body, you’re not telling your body that you have all the time and patience for twins – right? And trust me, twins take a lot of time and patience!
What puts you at a higher chance for twins?
While there’s a lot that’s unknown about manifestation, the good news is that there is a lot that is known about increasing your probability of a twin pregnancy. Research has shown that your likelihood of a twin may be naturally higher if certain factors are at play. One is your genetics. If twins run in your immediate family, especially on your mother’s side, your chances of conceiving twins might be elevated. This is due to the hereditary nature of hyperovulation, where more than one egg is released during ovulation.
Age is another factor, with women over the age of 30, particularly those in their late 30s and early 40s, having a higher likelihood of conceiving twins. The theory here is that the hormonal changes in the later childbearing years can lead to an increased rate of multiple eggs being released during the ovulation cycle. I’ve personally heard some of my twin mom friends explaining or theorizing that given that egg quality declines over the years and that many of the eggs remaining have a higher likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities, the body chooses to ovulate multiple eggs at once to try to increase the likelihood of one fertilizing, implanting and becoming a successful pregnancy.
Interestingly, and something that I didn’t realize, is that your body type may also influence your chances of a successful twin pregnancy. Research suggests that taller women and those with a higher BMI might have a greater propensity to conceive twins. Researchers aren’t sure why exactly, but it could be somehow linked to the body’s nutritional resources and how they impact reproductive hormones. Stay tuned on that one, I’m sure some more solid research will come out over the next decade.