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Lee and I have twin daughters, as you know. I'll never forget the first antenatal appointment I went to: 10 weeks and the midwife felt my tummy, then stated "Dates are wrong, you've got a big baby on board, or it's twins". Argh. My dates weren't wrong, so it was either one giant baby or two (hopefully normal-sized) babies. And then a week of waiting for a scan to  confirm which it was. I'll also never forget the look on the faces of those of you I've known for years when I told you we were having twins. Typical Kate, likes to overachieve. 

Our twins are identical (so much so that some of you can't tell them apart - no names mentioned here to shame you, but seriously Grandad Glynn?) and with an identical twin pregnancy comes a host of risks that don't exist in other pregnancies. Higher risk of miscarriage, fetal loss, Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, premature labour, low birthweight, neonatal morbidity, a stay in the neonatal unit, stillbirth... the list just goes on. My pregnancy was stressful: fortnightly visits to the hospital for scans to check the girls were growing properly (I used to pray all the way there that they would be OK, and I'm the least religious person ever), steroid injections at 24 weeks' gestation because they thought Leila's abdomen wasn't growing properly and they might need to  deliver the girls two weeks later, I had cholestasis - believe me you never want that, it makes you itch and itch and itch. I slept with pillowcases over my feet and used to watch TV with my hands wrapped in wet flannels so I wouldn't claw at my skin.

In the end, the girls didn't want to make an early appearance, as I had been warned they might. I was induced at 36 weeks because the cholestasis had started to make my liver do really crazy things, and the itching was making me want to do really crazy things. 

Saying that a twin pregnancy is different, or that having twins is hard work is an understatement. The lows are catastrophic, yet the highs are monumental. The biggest arguments started in our house concern who is the tallest or the strongest, and the most ridiculous thing is that Grace and Leila couldn't care less that they are twins. If we ask them if they look alike then they are outraged, they think they may have similar hair but Grace is convinced hers is more like princess Elsa's, while Leila thinks hers is. They fight like cat and dog (imagine a sibling that you share everything with, including a face), yet love each other fiercely.

I have set myself this challenge because, no matter how hard it is going to be to kick myself out of bed to train, to don my trainers after a full day on the wards as a student midwife, to spend my Sunday mornings running various races, none of it will ever compare to how hard it was taking home two tiny babies and trying to keep them safe and well and happy on a daily basis. 

I am lucky, I have a happy story to tell. I know that I am fortunate, and I realise that some of the people who I love most in the  world would give anything to be in my position. Twin pregnancies are categorised as high-risk from the word go, they don't follow the normal pathway of care, they don't have the same friendly midwife appointments. They are medicalised and scary. I am raising money for Tamba, an organisation that provides help and support for parents of multiples. They also carry out research, help inform guidelines and policy, and work towards improving the experience and outcomes of multiple pregnancies. They work with healthcare professionals to inform them of how to 'manage' multiple pregnancies, their work is invaluable in this arena.

You don't have to donate much, I appreciate times are tough and we've not long had Christmas, but this is a year-long challenge. Donate a pound here and there throughout the year, forgo a Costa coffee once in the next twelve months and chuck me the cash instead, send me a shipment of bananas for strength, and plasters for the inevitable blisters. Don't roll your eyes when you read this and think, 'There she goes again, crazy woman, never stops'. That's not helpful. Instead, think 'Good for you, one day I'll join you for an early morning  run'. Do it. Join me, sponsor me, drive me to a race, entertain the kids while I do one of the races. 

More importantly, comment, like the page, share it. Half the battle is raising awareness of the issues that families expecting multiples face. And a pearl of wisdom from a mother of twins to those of you not already in the loop: never, ever utter the words 'ooh, double trouble'. I will beat you over the head with my running shoes, or trample you.  It's not a helpful comment, and neither is it helpful to watch me struggle up the stairs or through a doorway with a double buggy. Just saying. 

Now I've got that off my chest, and before I go to bed in preparation for my night shift (unpaid as a student midwife... again, just saying!) I am going on a five mile run to train for the first of my twelve races, which is February 28th. 

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