First, talk to your OB and GI about long-term complications.  Decide if you ended up with twins...are you able /are you willing to raise twins? If you had more then a singleton pregnancy would you selectively terminate one or more?

Likely, you need to think about yourself and your resources.  Maybe you will be grateful for whatever you get.  Maybe you 'know' one infant would take you to the breaking point. 

I guess my point is, no one may have answered because it is so highly personal.  Do you have money for other cycles? Emotionally able to deal with cycle failure? The list goes on and on of questions. Ultimately, it is your personal decision. Women on here have had twins and singletons...and done well.  

What do you want?

I should add...do what you want and feel is best. I don't think there is ever a perfect time or way to have kids. And I think you are maxed on however many you have at the time. I have three...and I always felt maxed with whatever number I had at the time if it makes sense.  I couldn't imagine the stress of twins but I never imagined the stress of three either. Lol. You just roll with it...and it all seems to work out. 

Hello! I had twins in 2014- j pouch in 2003.  My pregnancy was uneventful with the exceptions of a bowel obstruction at around 25 weeks - painful for me, but no negative effects on the babies!  I carried them to term - 38 weeks, 3 days, and both babies were born healthy!  I breastfed for the first 13 months, needed to pump/ supplement for the first two, but they were EBf as soon as I got my supply up (this is common with twins born to a healthy mom).  I have never had a singleton, so I can't speak to how hard things are once they're born- it's all I know- and, well, it was rough . But a newborn is incredibly tough whether you're having one or two.  I LOVE being a twin mom and wouldn't have it any other way!

Now that the babies are asleep...  a little more information.  I struggled with infertility for 3 years and we did 6 IUIs.  The 2nd and 6th one were successful, with the most recent resulting in twins.  

 

I am just a lady who had twins with a Jpouch, so I recognize that this is NOT an acceptable sample size to make any science-based decision  Unfortunately, there are few if any studies performed with women in our situation so I guess we all work with what we get.   As I mentioned above, I had quite a few mitigating factors that helped support a healthy twin Pregnancy:

(1) my surgery was at least 10 years prior to my becoming pregnant.  I had progressed to a "normal" BMI and was otherwise healthy and eating well. 

(2) I'm normal height to tall-ish (5'8"), which, according to a handful of twin books, is helpful carrying twin to term. 

(3) I was 32 when I became pregnant and delivered.

(4) I live in a metropolitan area and have access to perinatologists and close prenatal tracking. 

 

A few detrimental factors:

(1) I have epilepsy and must take anti-seizure medication, which carries neurological risks to an unborn child.  To be honest, all my doctors were much more concerned about a complication arising from Epilepsy than from my UC and JPouch.  

(2) My babies presented breech / transverse throughout the entire pregnancy, so the C/S, vaginal discussion never really took root.  And I emotionally prepared for a C-Section (which was a cake-walk without complications.  Easy-peasy and I was able to start motherhood totally rested - vs. after 48 hours of labor). My babies' birth was warm, magical, and filled with love, even as a surgical birth. I look fondly back upon it.

(3) In California, even spouses are entitled to 6 weeks of partially paid leave.  My husband took 5 weeks of leave and it made all the difference in the world.  I struggled at first with breastfeeding, and needed him there to bottle feed after I pumped.  He is the reason I was able to get through the first few months without going nuts.  I also was able to stay home.  I know everyone's financial situation is different, but we chose to rent something small (instead of buy a home) for a few extra years and so we had a considerable amount saved up before we began our infertility/pregnancy/newborn journey.  Not having to worry about money while having my husband by my side was incredible and essential for me. It was pretty magical for him, too. Plus, now I get to stay home with my two little loves.  Hurray!

 

Best of luck to you!

Thank you both for your responses! It's true that it is a deeply personal decision and its hard to calculate what you can handle, not to mention have any sense of what you will actually get. I do appreciate hearing your thoughts though. Because of the specific natures of each of our situations, I feel that the thoughts I get here are often the most realistic, partially because people know that it is an individual thing and we all know what it is like to have things go differently then the way we planned. Anyway, thank you all so much for helping me think of things to consider. 

 

My last surgery was a very long time ago (almost 18 years now) and my BMI and eating are fine at this point, so while I am nervous about the physical stuff, I know that I have some reserves and a lot of perspective for putting up with discomfort. That said, I was a postpartum doula and a birth doula for many years so I know that twin pregnancies and births are basically considered high risk regardless of the state of the mother. Plus, they obviously result in a lot of extra work on the flip side. Fun work, but work, so there it is. I am continuing to contemplate. Thanks again for the input! 

You may need/want to see the quality of embryos to decide.  My first fresh cycle I had 3 day 8 cell embryos so we transferred the two strongest.  We all believe both implanted based on hormone levels but by 8 weeks we had one - he will soon be ten.  When I did my second fresh we had a 6 day hatching embryo that the techs and dr said had a 90% chance of implanting.  Since I already had a two year old that made the decision to do one very easy.  That embryo is
My feisty 7 year old girl whose personality fits the description hatching embryo :-)