Double Trouble

[Xrayem]

Hi guys,

Just a quickie. Both asleep but not for long.

Have had Jasper in Hospital all week with Bronchiolitis...poor little thing was struggling to breathe. Is home now so all good. Very scared as Finn has just started to sniffle too.

Teen - I hit 3+ of protein and they Caesared me that night. I was 35 weeks though and so they thought it would be safe for the babies. Perhaps they would try and get you further if you hit 3+ earlier. Good luck.

Much love to all.....sorry this isn't more, I just never get any time.

Em

[Quita]

Twenty weeks and two days!

Hi everybody. Been reading every word that I missed since the last time I was on here.

Going to have my third scan next week - its been ten weeks since I last saw my babies - so long!!! Am starting to get worried again - what it one wasn't ok would I know?

I did ask my crappy midwife if she could listen to their heart beats last week when I had to see her; but she told me they don't do that before 30 weeks!!! Beacause its difficult to find them so early and this can cause the mother distress.

So my first question is, is she tell me the truth or is she just being disinterested? How early did they listen to your babies hearts and could they fine them ok?

Secondly I am glad Malinka mentioned weight gain because although I am gaing weight fast now I worry I am not big enough for twins. I eat really well and have had not sickness but I am 8st 1 now having started off at 7st 12. Im sure I'll feel better once I've had a scan. Some of these twin books are really scary aren't they - like a horror film I read them with one eye shut!

Still wanting to go for a 3d scan, did you think it was worth the money?

Which buggy is best. I have heard a lot of good things about the mountain buggy side by side but will it go through the front door?

Is it better to have separate cots or do they sleep better together?

Love Quita xxx

PS Laura Lou my step dad works at Gatwick airport and I have already asked him to get me some industrial ear plugs in case of colic. What do you think?

[kholtan]

Good morning mommies! Happy day to you all!

Em~ Sorry to hear about your little Jasper in the hospital! Sounds like all is well now but I bet it was disappointing to be there. Bet they are both getting pretty big now taht they are over a month old. Pictures! I had to show DH the photobucket pics of everybodies babies. What a bunch of cuties!

Quita~ Moving right along! YEAH! I hate to agree with you but your midwife would have drove me nuts! They have been listening to hb's every appointment I have ever had since 9 or 12 weeks. I know I am perhaps a bit neurotic but it's such a comfort to hear them even when we don't see them. Could you find a new care provider if you wanted to right now? Just curious??
As far as the 3d scan. . . I would love it but unfortunately my insurance won't cover it andI have chosen to spend the money where I really need it right now. I love to look at other people's though!
I would comment on you weight gain but I have no idea what the translation is! I haven't gained much weight myself, only 18 lbs. total, but as long as you and the babies are healthy I'd suggest just making sure you are eating right and all will be fine.

Have a great day everyone! It's nice to catch up with everyone!

Take care~
Kimberly

[teen]

Hi Ladies

Thank you soo much for your words of wisdom re my BP and protein, had a check up with my consultant today and bp is really good at 122/74 and protein down to 1+ which is brilliant compared to 149/90. So happy, and now only have to go once a week for check ups.

Been looking on photobucket at your babies and they are all so cute. xx

Quita: The hospital started listening to my babies heart beats at 18 weeks and do so every time i go to hospital which is approx twice a week.

Can you get transfered to a twin consultant at your local hospital thats who i'm under now, which was arranged even before my BP went a bit nutts. The standard of care is so much better.

Take care, once again thanks sooo much.

T x

[marika76]

Hello all,
Congrats to all the BFP'ers and good luck to all the BFN'ers.. Keep moving forward and it will happen. My question is this: I am currently 24 weeks pregnant with twin boys. These are our first children, and we were considering naming the first born after my husband. We have had a few family members disagree with this due to the fact that we are having twins and we should not choose one to name after the father. They are not identical twins, they are fraternal due to IVf with ICSI. I just know that if we don't name the first one after my husband then we will never have a junior. I would love to hear any responses!! I told my husband that we should really not worry about what others think and name the first after him if that is really what WE want to do??? What do u think??
Thanks for all replies!! Marika

[buckeyegal]

Marika--Of course naming your children should be YOUR decision. My DH wanted to name our son after him, but I put the nix on that. I've read about twins having their own identity issues, and I just didn't think that our son (who already shares a birthday, toys, everything basically with his sister...) should also have to share a name with someone. I thought his name should be his very own thing that no one else in our family has. So, that's what we did. Since you're having 2 boys, that does create some other issues. Whatever you decide, good luck!

Kimberly---OMG--My nipples hurt like hell, and I know they shouldn't, but they do!!!!! I was almost positive that my kiddos were good at latching on, but now that we're feeding at the same time.... So, I called my lactation nurse, and she suggested pumping for a little while to give my nips a break. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can do this much longer. I'm curious to hear what you learn in your class. I told myself I'll give it one week...if I'm still in pain, then I think I seriously might go straight to bottles.

Laura--I did pick up some Dr. Brown's bottles yesterday after I had a bfing meltdown.... I LOVE the bottles!

[LauraLou]

Em- Great to hear from you! I'm sorry that Jasper was sick. I'm glad to hear he's doing better.

Quita- You do have a crappy midwife! I am a high-risk OB nurse and we start checking for heartbeats with a hand-held doppler at 16 weeks. You can usually hear it earlier than that if the mother is thin. So the 30 week thing is complete BS! Can you see someone else?

Marika76- DH and I had the same problem. We decided not to name one Jr because I was worried the other one would feel bad that he wasn't named after his father too. But it is completely your decision and you should do whatever you feel is best.

Kim- I'm glad to hear you like the Dr Browns too. Sorry to hear that you have such sore nipples. Please don't feel bad if you decide to stop. I decided it was more important for the boys to have a healthy happy mommy and feed them formula, than have a cranky sleep deprieved mad woman caring for them.

Kimberly- I didn't have a 3d scan either. The sonographer at the hospital where I worked said the 3d scans don't come out that well with twins anyway. So I decided not to spend the money on it, as there were many other things that I could use the money for.

Nicholas and Jeremy are getting big. They had their 2 month checkup this week. Nicholas is 9lbs 1oz and 21" long. Jeremy is 10lbs 3oz and 22" long. They got their first shots and were very unhappy about it!

They are still colicky in the evening but are now sleeping longer. Sometimes at night they will go 5 hrs between feedings. It gives me hope that someday they will sleep through the night!

I know some people don't believe in this but I have started putting them in their crib when they are colicky at night and letting them cry it out. When they have eaten, burped, have a clean diaper and cry even when I hold them, that's when I put them in their room. I go in to check on them, give them their pacifer and sometimes pick them up for a minute or two, but then put them back down. They will eventually stop crying and fall asleep. Sometimes it takes them awhile but other times it just takes a few minutes.

It has really made a difference in how I feel. I was so unhappy and frustrated, trying to hold two screaming kicking babies for hours each night. It was really wearing me down. I was afraid I was getting postpartum depression. I know some people think it is wrong, and if I only had one baby, if they didn't have colic or DH wasn't out of town all week, I might not do it either. But at the moment, it is working to keep me sane! Hopefully they will outgrow the colic soon and this will no longer be a problem!

[buckeyegal]

Laura--I'm very close to going your route with the feedings...I'm giving it one more week or so, and then I'll see how I feel. I agree with you...happy mom makes happy babies. Don't feel guilty about putting the boys down crying--they're 2 months old now, so they should be starting to learn to self soothe (at least that's what I hear!). Plus, you have to do whatever's necessary to keep sane. It's better for your boys to cry in their cribs than in a stressed out mommy's arms while she's "losing it". Take care. I hear things will get better as the twins get older!

Ellie has come down with a cold. I'm not sure how. Poor thing. She's totally stuffed up. I've been using saline drops and the aspirator to help clear her out. I just hope Braeden doesn't catch it. However, I have a feeling that will be a lost cause....

Take care gals!

[kholtan]

Hey busy mommies! Hope this finds everyone well and happy.

Marika~ The jury is in. . . do whatever you and Dh want! I love Dh's name and wanted to name our son Bodie after him but he doesn't want to now. Names are so personal and your family should respect whatever you decide.

Kim~ You poor thing! I don't blame you for setting a time limit. Nursing is just one of those things that even when you put your best foot forward sometimes it still doesn't work out. My way of looking at it is that if I can do it GREAT!!! If I can't, I refuse to feel like I failed. It's so personal and all babies and mothers are different. I will report back any good suggestions after my class on Wednesday if I hear of something. I hope Ellie gets rid of that cold soon and Braeden never gets it. Good luck with that.

Laura~ You are doing exactly what I plan on doing. DH's mother has already told me I am cruel for thinking I can do it but like you, I know what will keep me sain. When I did infant nanny care, it was a life saver and almost always helped everyone including the baby in the end. Happy mommy happy baby! You can only do so much and when you need a break you just have to take it. No baby ever died from crying a little. I hope the colic disappears soon. Good luck!

We went camping all weekend with some friends that came from Oregon. It was nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors but I sure am glad to be back in the A/C since it's been almost 100 every day!!! Other than that the babies are just growing like weeds and I swear they are kicking me to get out of there cramped home!

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care~
Kimberly

[Macca8]

Hi ladies,

Hope everyone is doing well. My two little men are active again (especially at night) mmmm... I can see they are going to be a handful.
I have to admit I am already getting tired and sluggish and can't wait until I can be half normal again. They rest so heavy on on pubic bone that I sometimes find it difficult to walk very far and these days I get out of breath. I wouldn't mind but I haven't put much weight on. The babies are the right size so I am happy with that.

I just wanted to ask, How many have done or are going to bank the cord blood (stem cells). I've had a quote for the twins and its £2200 (USD4180) which I thought was quite reasonable since a singleton costs £1495 (USD2840). Any thoughts most welcome...

Marika,I think it's a tough one when naming a child that's part of a set of twins. Both of mine are named after their deceased grandfathers. Initially I was only going to name one after my father but I didn't want my other son to feel less favoured. It's a tough one honey and only you and hubby have the right to decide.

Quita, Honey I think your midwife is being unfair. Unless you're on private care, the NHS test for heartbeats after 16 weeks. I even had mine tested at 13 weeks and they found them. Every ante natal appointment I have they test the heartbeats. Have they not assigned you to a Obstetrician Gynecologist also. Apparently all multiple mums must have a OBGYN & I'm not even classed as high risk (for a multiple) and I see my OBGYN every 3 weeks for scan and blood tests and will do until I give birth. If I were you I would stand your ground with her and let her know that you feel very let down.

Welcome to all the new mums and dads of twins...this is a great thread and you will get loads of good advice here.
Lisa XXX

[buckeyegal]

Lisa--I didn't bank my babies' cord blood. Luckily, my family doesn't have a history of cancers or the other diseases that drs KNOW they can use the cord blood for. The options I saw were pretty expensive, so my DH and I decided that since the cord blood issue is still pretty new (and still very unknown how helpful it actually CAN be...), we decided to pass. I hope we never need it. I actually tried to donate my babies' cord blood at their birth, but our hospital didn't have procedures set in place for that. Oh well....good luck to you with whatever you decide.

Kimberly--I had a lactation consultant over to my house on Sunday to see if my twins were latching on okay. They were, and she gave me some great advice....here's my two tidbits for you: Stock up on tylenol...it'll take the sting off. Also, go to the drugstore and by SOOTHIES. THey're little pads you can wear to ease the pain. If you cool them in the fridge or freezer, they feel like HEAVEN!!!! Because of them, I'm now able to try and continue to BF. I don't know how long I"ll continue, but it's definitely more bearable to tandem now!

For you gals in England, I hope you're avoiding that flooding. I just saw it on the news...I pray you're safe!

[kholtan]

Kim~
Thanks for the info! I will write it down and commit it to memory. I'm pretty excited for the class tonight. Hopefully, I will get the info I need to help me get through it. The class says to bring your spouse but I cannot imagine DH sitting there with a bunch of women talking about bb's for 3.5 hours! All I keep hearing from women of mutiples is that bfeeding is very hard the first month or two but after that it is much easier than dealing with all the bottles. (That is from those that make it that far.) I also keep hearing about the pain!!!!!!!AHGHGHG!!!!!!! Continued good luck to you!

Lisa~ Glad to hear you are doing so well. We are just days apart so I feel like I relate to you so well. I haven't gained much weight either, almost 19 lbs., but I feel like my stomach has grown in leaps and bounds lately. I may be forced to buy maternity clothes here pretty soon!
I chose not to bank the cord blood as well. After I talked to my OB and researching it I found that there was almost nothing in our family history it would help. Also, developement is so much slower than the companies that store it would like you to believe. They also neglect to inform you that the older it gets, the less likely it is that it will be any good. I just read this the other day. It's a great idea and if money were no object we may have done it but the bad outweighs the good for us right now.

I'm getting so excited for the baby shower on Saturday! I cannot believe I am at the point where we need "things"!!!! So far as long as I eat and sleep life for the twins goes on but soon they will actually need all this stuff! It is going by so fast and yet some days not fast enough.
I'm sure everyone can relate to this. . . but was it hard to sleep at the end? I am finding it quite challenging to sleep. All my weight has gone straight to the front of me and my hips are still so boney and after an hour on one side I have to flip because the pressure just aches! Resulting in my being awake every hour all night long!!!!!AGH! What to do?? If I add another pillow, DH will be sleeping in the nursery!

Hope eveyone has a great afternoon!
Take care!
Kimberly

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly--Oh, they hurt again! ugh....I was told by the nurse who visited on Sunday that they were latched on great, but then why would it hurt? I tandem fed most of the day today....which it is "easier" than bottles in my mind. However, it's so hard to know if they are both getting enough to eat. Braeden was very fussy today, and I have a feeling he just wasn't satisfied. So, DH and I just gave them a feeding and we fed both babies bottles. Then I pumped. I don't know girl....I'm trying to hold on, but it's hard. I hope you can give me some good advice from your class! Tomorrow, my babies are 6 weeks old, so I feel good about the fact that I've made it 6 weeks. And I've heard that around this time it starts to get better, so that's why I haven't given up yet....but oh, it's sooo tempting! A LaLeche rep is coming to my house on Friday to help. She's my last resort. If she can't make the pain go away, then I'm done.

Oh, as for your sleep question. I seriously didn't sleep towards the end of my pregnancy. Maybe an hour or so tops at a time. Either heartburn or potty breaks kept me up all night. I think it's the best training for those night time feeds. So, just take it in stride! Your body is trying to help you prepare!

[kholtan]

Kim~
OK! The class was pretty informative. The gal was AWESOME and has been doing this for over 25 years. She clearly stated that there is a big difference from "Ouch hurting" and "Oh, this is new I'm tender" pain. She said Ouch hurting means they are not latched on properly. You have probably already done this but I will try to explain what she told us just in case your gal explained it differently.

Line the babies nose up with your nipple, then insert the bottom of your areola first and flip the nipple in last. Act like you are taking a bite out of a huge hamburger and make the baby move the same way. A nursing mother demonstrated it perfectly and I would have never done it the way she showed. Also, when we practiced, it felt to me like the baby was practically beside me in the football hold. Not what I expected. If the baby is too far forward he/she will rub your nipple and make it hurt.

She also said that we need to adjust as much as we need to until it doesn't hurt because if we keep squirming them around we will eventually find the right position w/o pain. She did say 6-8 weeks is the norm for getting the hang of it but don't give up. Also, crisco shortening works great for keeping your nipples moisturized and you don' have to wipe it off before feeding. Moisture is important she said as well as using soft nursing pads.

I never knew how many benefits really came from bfeeding. The obvious ones, yes but there were so many more. She cheered the room on and told us that determination is a key ingredient in our success as well. I totally believe her on that.

I know it won't be for eveyone and I would NEVER tell anyone what they should do. It is personal and a happy mother is vital so whatever it takes.
We are really here to empower each other no matter what road we take to get to the same place. Good luck and I hope there was something here that helps at all. Let me know how it goes!

Take care and Best of luck!!!
Kimberly

PS~ Please remember I have no literal experience and really know nothing!

[buckeyegal]

Kimberly--I'm glad the class went well last night! I wish I would have had one of those. I did take a nursing class, but not one for multiples. Your tips sound promising...not so sure about the Crisco thing...sounds messy! Your hamburger technique sounds like what I've been doing, but I'll keep trying. Today, I'm actually bottle feeding half the day to rest my nips (while still pumping) and then the second half of the day I'll nurse again. It doesn't help that both my kiddos have colds...which means they jump ship every once in a while because their noses are stuffed. Then they have to latch on again--that Latch on pian is the WORST! tomorrow the laleche lady is coming by to offer her 2 cents. She's my last resort. Honestly, if I have to bottle feed, it'll be fine. I will miss the tender moments of nursing, though.

To all you experienced mamas out there, today's my first day ALONE with both babies all day. I know you're probably laughing right now (seeing as how they're 6 weeks old!), but I've literally had a grandparent or aunt here every day helping. But today I told them to all stay home. I can't figure out a system that works for me if I'm never forced to, you know? Any tips from you gals would be appreciated! Laura, Em....if you have time?

For you gals still expecting, enjoy these last days. Your babies will be here before you know it!