Marvelling at her rapidly growing belly during her third pregnancy, Rosie O’Sullivan vividly recalls texting her family and friends after the first ultrasound.
“Only one [baby], phew,” it read.
But just weeks later, the Auckland mum and her husband Darren were in for a huge surprise when the 13-week scan revealed not one but two babies.
“I had already had the prenatal chromosomal testing, so I was feeling super- confident. This scan was just a formality,” tells Rosie, 38.
“But then the sonographer asked, ‘Do you see what I see?’ You couldn’t fault it, there were two babies there, like they were on bunk beds.”
A few minutes of panic followed as the expecting parents processed the news.
“It was extreme shock, like, ‘How am I going to parent two more?’ I wish there had been a camera of us walking in versus us walking out. I don’t think you could have got two more different situations,” laughs Rosie.
As she talks to the Weekly, now six-month-old twins Gerry and Agi are asleep in the background, and it appears everything is under control, but Rosie is refreshingly honest about the challenges.
During her pregnancy, the busy mum of Molly, five, and Pippa, three, struggled with gestational diabetes and the strain of carrying two babies on her small frame. It was an intense time with lots of practicalities to consider, like finding a new house and car with enough space for the twins and their older sisters.
But Rosie, who also runs an insurance advisory company with Darren, took it all in her stride – even when she went into labour early at 36 weeks and two days, just hours after they moved house.
“The babies were breech, so I was booked in for a Caesarean at 37 weeks, but we had just finished moving house when I got this extreme pain like a long contraction,” explains Rosie. “We went into hospital and there were a few issues with my blood tests, so I went in for an emergency C-section.”
While Rosie knew there was a significant chance her babies would need some medical assistance after birth, she didn’t expect to be in hospital for 10 days.
“I just didn’t realise the level of support these little ones would need,” she says.
“I didn’t realise the level of support these little ones would need,” says Rosie.
Gerry was born first, making his presence known with a loud cry. Agi came shortly after, only she wasn’t making any noise.
Determined not to panic, Rosie trusted the experts and thankfully both babies were declared healthy soon after.
However, they were small and needed extra nutrition via feeding tubes, so the family were sent to the new Whitinga Ora Pēpi ward.
The first of its kind in Aotearoa, it’s a joint initiative between Starship Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland Women’s Health (formerly ADHB), providing comprehensive support for higher-needs babies that don’t meet the threshold for NICU.
“We’ve got this!” Rosie and Darren with Agi (left) and Gerry.
Opened in November 2021, the collaborative approach means families receive care from nurses, midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians and lactation consultants to build parents’ confidence
and skills for the best start once home.
For Rosie, it was exactly what she needed as she learned how to tube-feed the twins, and eventually wean them off the tubes while on a rigorous pumping schedule as well as recovering from surgery.
“I cannot speak more highly of our experience and I strongly believe we wouldn’t be in the position we are now,” she enthuses. “I was able to breastfeed for six months and a lot of that was due to the support of Whitinga Ora Pēpi.”
Unlike traditional hospital rooms, the new unit is also set up so whānau can stay the night comfortably, with all furnishings and medical equipment funded by real estate company Barfoot & Thompson.
These days, life is a blur of babies, children and work, and despite her initial fears about life as a mum of twins, Rosie is loving it.
“When I look back in the car, it’s always a bit buzzy, like, ‘Wow, there’s four of them!’ It’s very hectic,” she says. “But there’s a reason why we have them. I couldn’t see that when I was pregnant because it was so physically demanding, so it has surprised me how much I enjoy it.
“It’s been a real adjustment with highs and lows, but we’re very lucky and I maintain a lot of that is due to the support we had from Whitinga Ora Pēpi. The caveat is, it’s a hard slog, but it’s such a joy.”
