Twiniversity Podcast with Natalie Diaz

In this episode, we unravel the mysteries surrounding Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence (TAPS) alongside Stephanie Ernst, a dedicated twin mom whose journey propelled her to advocate for awareness and support for families affected by this rare condition. Stephanie's personal narrative, fueled by her experience with identical twin daughters born with TAPS, serves as the driving force behind her mis...

In this part two episode, we continue into the extraordinary journey of Jen, a twin mom, and Triest, her gestational carrier. Together, we unravel the intricacies of surrogacy and gestational carriership, shedding light on the nuances that distinguish the two. Our conversation navigates through the terrain of assisted reproduction, addressing common misconceptions and providing clarity on the prev...

In this compelling episode, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Jen, a twin mom, and Triest, her gestational carrier. Together, we unravel the intricacies of surrogacy and gestational carriership, shedding light on the nuances that distinguish the two. Our conversation navigates through the terrain of assisted reproduction, addressing common misconceptions and providing clarity on the preva...

We are taking a trip back in time and chatting with OB Dr. Anna Barbieri who is actually Natalie’s personal Obstetrician! Today we discuss Natalie’s difficult delivery day story, post-partum healing, empowered decision-making, and the importance of building a human connection through a relationship between patient and doctor. Find more on Dr. Anna Barbieri here: Instagram - https://www.instagram.c...

Judy Jarka is a first-time momma of twin girls who arrived early at 26 weeks weighing less than two pounds each. Today we’ll be discussing her pregnancy journey up until that point, the experience of early delivery with twins, and how hope is what got her family through their journey of dealing with Infant Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter!  Expecting twins?...

Emily Lewellen is a twin momma and Ultra Sound Technician who decided to roll the dice and switch her Obstetrician at 37 weeks and 4 days. Emily struggled with feeling ignored and frustrated by the lack of cooperation and consideration from her previous set of Doctors. Hence, she decided to take control and find an OB in an entirely different State who supported her desire to have a natural birth...

Jaymisha Rajpara is a momma of twinnies, an Educator, and the Author of the children’s book “Different Twins It's Perfectly Ok.” Today we are discussing Jaymisha’s book about the uniqueness of each child even as twins and how important it is to embrace their differences. We also dive into the truth of the different phases of twin parenting: the early sleepless nights, child tantrums, sweet moments...

Dorothia Rohner is a grandmama of twins and the author of the children’s book “A Wish for Twins: The Tale of Our Two Miracles, " a picture book about the origin of twins. Dorothia found inspiration while sketching bedside to her daughter-in-law one night in the hospital. She wanted to share the specialness of twin babies in a creative way that every family can relate to and find value in. Find “A...

Alexandra Garcia Lopez is a fierce momma of twinnies who made her goal of an at-home birth a reality. Today we discuss the social stigma against home births with twins, Alex’s delivery story, tips to make your birth plan happen, and how to adjust when things don’t go to plan... spoiler alert: they usually don’t!   Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter!  Expecting twins? Twiniversity has y...

Jennifer Barnard is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and the founder of Baby Begin, a company focused on simplifying the treatment for plagiocephaly and torticollis by providing helmet alternatives. Jennifer is passionate about educating parents to explore preventative treatment options for their babies as soon as possible before heading straight to the helmet. Through her early physical therapy...

Hannah Baldwin shares her experience giving birth to her twins early at 27 weeks and 5 days. After giving birth early to her twins, Hannah was told there was a low chance of survival for her babies in the NICU. Through this journey, Hannah talks to us about how she and her husband dealt with such a scary reality, and how they got to a place of hope, healing, and better days.  Subscribe to the Twin...

Lacie Mersman is a mom of identical twins who shares her experience through a high-risk pregnancy with Mo/Mo twins. Having gone through two normal pregnancies before, Lacie went into her 7-week ultrasound not expecting to find out about her twinies and how complicated the pregnancy can be. Lacie shares with us how she was able to keep calm in this high-stress situation and have a happy and positiv...

Paige Hullett is an actress, writer, director, and triplet sister! Today we discuss what life was like growing up in a family of multiples and being one of three triplet girls. Her experiences growing up as a triplet have led her to share her stories through film and the showcase importance of celebrating everyone’s uniqueness.  Find Paige: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/paigehullett/?hl=en...

Jen Genel is a Therapist mom of boy/girl twins who went into her journey of twin parenting with hopeful expectations, only to have the realization of the tough reality of being a parent of multiples. After noticing how it was taking a toll on her, she realized the importance of seeking help and being honest about the rough moments along the way. We discuss how when reality doesn’t match expectatio...

Katie Hillier is a mom of boy twinnies who shares her journey online as a twin parent on TikTok (@whenkatiemetharry). Katie shares a raw and honest version online of her life, balancing parenting her two boys and making time to get things done. Of course, sharing her life online comes with a lot of judgments and criticisms from strangers; as Katie puts it, it’s like having a million mothers-in-law...

David Swickline is a School Psychologist and a happily involved father of Twins. Today we dive into some twin dad and husband truths David has learned throughout his life and his parenting journey. His motto is to approach things as a challenge that is doable with the right support around. This servant’s mindset has followed him all through his life and impacted his views and practices as a father...

Christiana Scott is a nutritional therapist and personal chef mom of twin boys and founder of Real Food Littles. Christiana dives into how few resources there are for how to introduce solids to babies and how this lack of information led her to work towards finding a solution on how to approach this realistically for all families. Through her online community, she focuses on education for baby-led...

Odette Claridge is a mom of four, whose firstborn has special needs and after having a second singleton, rolled the dice and ended up getting pregnant with twins. Today we discuss how it’s been for her to raise differently-abled kids and dive into the importance of having a community of support while on this parenting journey.  Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter!  Expecting twins? Twin...

Amy Jones is a mom of a singleton and twinies and today she shares her experience with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and her complicated delivery day story. She has been through such a difficult journey which led to the best outcome, and we dive into her road of recovery with finding hope and peace through it all. Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter!  Expecting twins? Twiniversity h...

Tamara Sam is a mom of twinies and a singleton who has cracked the code on how to have a better experience with your medical team from pregnancy through birth and beyond. Today we discuss Tamara’s game changing tips on how to win over your medical team and work towards making the whole journey more enjoyable, positive, and personable.  Links mentioned in this episode: Tamara’s Blog: Hacking Mom Li...

Erica Gutierrez is a mom of five girls, a singleton, and two sets of twins! We discuss the differences between her two twin pregnancies, how she and her husband really felt about having another set of twins, and how they are navigating family life now after the birth of their second set.  Links mentioned in this episode: Erica’s TikTok Erica’s Instagram Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newslett...

After struggling with fertility for years, Dana Rogney shares her story of an unconventional and unexpected delivery day which resulted in giving birth to her twinies early at 25 weeks. Through this experience, she also expresses how her babies survived the birth, how she and her husband made it through this all during the pandemic in 2020, and what life is like almost three years later.  Subscrib...

Brittany Forsyth is a Canadian momma of a singleton and twinies who shares her journey with breastfeeding and what it is like having a generous supply of breast milk. Through her experience, she has helped many families in need by becoming a breast milk donor and using this as an opportunity to share her gift. Links mentioned in this episode: Haakaa Subscribe to the Twiniversity Email Newsletter! ...

Curtis Burke is a West Coast Dad of Boy/Girl Twins and host of the Uncovered Legacy podcast. He shares his experience as a Twin Dad, the main differences he finds between raising his boy and girl, and how he and his wife dealt with Postpartum Preeclampsia.  Links mentioned in this episode: Curtis Burke's Uncovered Legacy Podcast www.birthx.com CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!   🎉 YOU'...

Wafeeqa Wahid is a globetrotting mom to 4-year old twin boys. She shares how she treats each twin as his own person and nurtures their differences. She also covers how she handles squabbles between her boys what she asks their school teachers to do for them regarding nurturing their individuallity. 🎉 YOU'RE INVITED : Need more support, join us each month for our Twiniversity Virtual Meeting. Meet...