Double Trouble

[kholtan]

Hey Everyone! Wow! The twin mommies have been busy. Iv'e been so busy I've had no time to type but finally sent the DH off to a bachelor party so it's just me and my wine! Whoohoo!

Kim~ So glad your surgery went well! At least you were able to save your ovary and things are back to normal. I know we all had to do IVF but the thought of the small chance of being able to have one naturally is still sweet to think about. I'm so happy they didn't need to take it out. When I lost my one good tube due to my ectopic I really grieved over it. It seemed like a death to me even though others didn't understand. I'm sure the babies love having you back to your normal self!

Kimi~ How is Dh's timw away going? Your new pics are soooooo cute! I love the onw about Sean calling your mom "idiot". So funny. I hope it's all going peacful for you. I did paint the babies room myself but it's what I do for a living. Decorative paint, murals, faux, and interior design. Just last week I tried to attempt my first job. . .with babies in tow. NOT SO FUN! My hourly rate just got cut in half because it takes so much longer to work. We'll see how things go but we are in building and everyone knows how construction is going so I may have to keep going regardless. We have created a wonderful life for ourselves and sadly enough it is expensive so I feel the need to take some pressure off of DH. The babies are troopers about it thank goodness. Hope your DH had a nice break and will be ready to relieve you when he returns!

Woodcliff! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! You seem to be doing great! Nannies, -45 lbs., nice baby weights, and I hope it all keeps going so well for you! Are you feeling better now? Boy and a girl as well! You will love it! I just saw 4.5 year old b/g twins today and it's hard to believe we will be there in no time. Keep up the great work and keep reporting back to us. We love to hear about the beginning!!!! Hugs to those little ones! Great Dh by the way!

Rebecca~ Any news???

Lindsey~How did it go? I'm glad I didn't have time to report back to you before hand because at 32 weeks I had a NST and ended up on two weeks hospital bedrest and then delivered my babies at 34 weeks. Report back soon! I hope all is well!

Vickers 3~ How is it going? My babies measured further apart while they were in the womb but they were closer in size at birth. Let us know how you are!

Well, Bodie is sleeping better. Not great but better. He goes in at 7:30 and has been making it untill 4:30 or 5 and then I have to put teh passy back in or he wakes his sister. We are making slow but steady progress while Annelise just continues to snooze straight thru. She can practically pull herself up now and is so close to crawling but she just rolled over last week! Can you believe how stubborn she is???? 7.5 months and she finally did it but won't do it again either. I guess this quality will serve her well later in life. Let's hope!

Been pretty busy and I better run but I had to come say hi while I had a minute. Miss everyone and hope you are all doing well!

Take care!
Kimberly

[Michellyn8]

Hi,

I am planning on breastfeeding my twins and I was wondering if anyone had any breast pump recommendations. I am not sure if I should rent or buy. I won't be going back to work. I am driving myself crazy with this decision of what kind of pump to get : )

Thank you,

Michelle

[kholtan]

Hey Michelle! The breastpump situation was not great for me. I am still b-feeding my 7.5 month twins and while b-feeding has gone great for me, pumping did not. My babies were 6 weeks early and I got use to the pump in the NICU for two weeks and then no other pump worked for me at all. I bought a great Medela pump and then rented a few hospital grade ones and tried a couple hand express ones and nothing really worked at all. I could hand express WAY more than the pumps and I could see my children gulping down milk so I never doubted my milk supply but it was a lot of work for a little result for me.

I would suggest renting for sure. It also depends on how long you plan on pumping and nursing for. If you want to do it for a long time I would totally bring your own pump to the hospital so your body doesn't adjust to something else that you won't have at home.

I use to give my babies one bottle at night for about 3.5-4 months but one day they both just quit taking it. So we are back to only b-feeding but I love it so it's alright with me. Good luck to you and I hope it goes really well. It's a lot of trail and error in the beginning but nothing some lansinoh and wine won't help!

Take care~
Kimberly

[woodcliff]

Hiccups...galore! My poor babies wake up with them and it seems they go to sleep with them in the evenings...my little girl doesn't like them but my son just suffers through...sigh. poor little things...any remedies?

Oh, and gas poor little creatures toot toot all day long!

All is well...loving these 2 babies, they are very healthy...he is an EATER, she is so sweet and eats only if her formula is warmed up...so adorable...

I do give 'the breast' but we rely on formula as I have almost no milk supply...the babies are fine while sucking (him especially) but I only pump 1 oz twice a day...sad, but true..but I will do it until it is no longer there...I am not devoted (no way could I ever get up every 3 hrs to pump or feed! I need my sleep and am wiped out still from the c-section and 9 mos of pregnancy)...to pumping or BFing...got a late start at the hospital due to d*mn Magnesium sulfate...sigh

OK, we are going broke paying for help but the alternative is not do-able as there's no family near us (my sis was just here and it amazed me how it really takes THREE sets of hands, not just the 2--the nanny and me)...I hate to see how big my babies are getting...
sigh

Love to all of you...and your babies!
xxoo
xxoo

[sugabeanzs]

Hello ladies of twins! (and future ones as well). Okay, my morning sickness just kicked in and I am 4 months in 2 days...not every day just sporadic. UGH! Maybe the hormone levels are going up? Who knows! I have a doctors appt tomorrow and hopefully get to at least hear their heart beat.

When did you ladies find out the sex of your twins? I have an appt May 8 and will be 18 weeks so I hope we can see them then.

My mom tried to breast feed but dried up really fast. Does that run in the family or is it different for everyone? I really want to bf.

[buckeyegal]

Michelle--I had the Medella pump, but looking back, I wish I would have rented a hospital grade one. With twins, you really need a good supply, and the hospital pumps are supposed to be much better. My medella worked fine, but not great....

sugabeanz....sorry to hear about the m/s. That's funny, mine ended about the time yours started. Weird, huh? As for your question, I don't know. I wouldn't let it keep you from trying though...

Oh, one thing you MUST try....SOOTHIES!!! I got extremely sore around week 7 of bfing (and sorry, Kholtan, but lansinoh did NOTHING for me! I didn't try the wine though...hmmm...), and they helped SO much! You can find them at most drugstores. You put them in the fridge, and after bfing, when you're sore (if that even happens to you), you put them on your Tatas, and you feel SOOOO much better!

Woodcliff...sorry to hear about the hiccups. That happened a lot to my babies as well. My rec? Sorry to say (cause I know you don't like them).....pacifiers...the sucking helps relieve the hiccups. OR sucking on a bottle or breast.

[a mothers love]

Hello,
This is my first time on this thread.
My story......
Yesterday night I found myself starting to spot. I figured no big deal, it happens. Well in the morning, today I found (Very gross) clots of blood every were. we figured we MC. Upset and depressed we went to Dr office. As I sat there I was so worried. in the Dr. room clots of blood still kept comeing (sorry). The nurse even felt sorry for me
The Dr. comes in and says to my husband, congrats your having twins I was shocked. The Doc says the bleeding didn't come from the uterus. Everything looks great. the blood could have been from a burst artarie or somthing. My question really is, is this natural has any one had this issue and came out with health babies?
I thought having Ivf was hard, trying to concieve. that was almost the easy part. The really hard part and the test is saying positve and stress free

[tolbee]

Hi Guys,

Sorry have not posted for a while. My DH finally came home on Sat and things are a little more calmer now. But then my Mom has a cold and she's miserable. I think taking care of twins finally took a toll on her. She's going back home on Sunday and finally she can rest.

Oh boy, where do I begin...

Kim, glad your surgery went well. How are you feeling? It is tough to take care of babies while you are in pain, but please hang in there! About BFdng, it isn't going so well. I returned my hospital pump and things went downhill from there. Nor did I try hard enough... My milk supply is very low and I haven't felt the full sensation for about a week now. But that's ok. I should not be hard on myself. However, Alyson still is a bit colic and I have to find a good solution for her. I changed her formula to Gentlese but I might have to find a gentler one.

Kimberley - no wonder! Your mural looks gorgeous. If I lived close, I would totally ask you to paint the kids' rooms! I am actually looking for someone to do that. My father-in-law was an artist, so he may agree to paint it for us. Your job sounds very flexible and must be nice to get back on the game again. I am on Mat leave currently and may go back from Oct. I am still debating. Luckily, I work from home so it is very tempting to keep my job... I know what you mean. I would like to keep the same standard of living we had pre-babies, but that is just impossible unless I work. Glad Bodie is sleeping better. I cannot wait until my twins sleep that long. They are still 3-4 hr.

Woodcliff, I don't have advice for hiccups but enjoyed reading your note. I could see that you are enjoying your babies. My bfdng didn't go well this time around, either, and I wished it had. But then if it doesn't work out, your babies will thrive anyhow. I did notice though that pump does a poor job of extracting milk and babies do a better job. So you might be producing more than you think.

Mother's Love - I bled off and on until 22nd week. I had some kind of hemorrage in the uterus. I know it is scary and it freaked me out, but the multiples Dr. was not concerned at all. My babies were pretty big for their age and very healthy. So, if the doc says not to worry, I wouldn't! Good luck!

Sugarbeans, I found out the gender at 16 weeks. Hope your m/s goes away soon. I did not have one and I feel for you. My Mom had problems with bfdng as well and my milk came in real late initially. However, I think it is supply and demand for the most part so I think you have a pretty good chance of bfdng successfully.


Michellyn8, I rented one from the hospital, so I cannot give you an advice, but Medala makes good ones I hear. The one I rented from the HSPTL was Symphony.

Anyway, I better get some rest while the babies are quiet.

Take care!

Kimi

[Lindsey_08]

Hi ladies,

Thank you so much for your well wishes with my NST. I know it has been a couple of weeks since my post...I am so horrible at posting. My first and second NST went great. I actually kind of enjoy these appointments because they are so reassuring. I had my 34 week dr. appt today. I feel so guilty but I just feel so frustrated today. My dr. says everything looks perfect and of course I don't want anything to be wrong but I am so uncomfortable. They scheduled a c-section (both boys are breech still) for 38 weeks. She also said that if I make it to 36 weeks then I can stop bed rest. Did any of you get to 38 weeks? Is it horrible of me to want to have these boys before 38 weeks? I just don't think that I can be this uncomfortable for another month!

[woodcliff]

So much going on! Congratulations to the new twin mommies...
Tolbee...you really hung in there with the BFing, good for you...I didn't even pump today or yesterday. Bad mommie!
But the babies still go to my breast at least twice a day (meaning one does or the other at one time)...but they live on the formula...

Oh, Buckeye, I have nothing against pacifiers...it's just that my babies can't hold them in their mouths and when they spit them out they cry bloody murder and that is the only reason I am not using them...and also, Mean Mary Poppins FORCES Pacis on me...we got into another fight about pacis last night.
ack

Nanny From H*ll ??? Has criticized ALL of us...every darn caretaker in my home, me, my husband...she hates babies, I think...she said my son got 'angry' when she changed his diaper.
HE IS 2.5 weeks old! Angry? He just doesn't like diaper changes...no big deal.

She has basically told me everyone is doing everything wrong, we are 'holding the babies too much' ????
We are not feeding the babies on a schedule (we try, but my son well he likes to eat a LOT and my daughter, not so much...so we work around them)
How can you hold a newborn too much?
I have around 4 more weeks of her...I want to strangle her but have the contract ... my babies are well cared for by her, but she is very, very cold.
ACK
Stupid, stupid me...
Anyone's hormones make them bluesy after birth?
I'm surprised it's kicking in this week...3 weeks Post partum as of this Thursday...I am just kind of sad...a low-level depressive feeling.
oh well.
my babies make me happy.
MORE LATER SORRY FOR RAMBLING

[buckeyegal]

A mothers love--Oh, I'm so sorry you had to go through that ordeal! Oh, you must have just been sick with worry. I did have some spotting (kindof brown stuff) around week 13. Scare the sh#$ out of me, for sure, but I guess in my case, it was some old blood from some slight placenta separation? Everything ended up just fine, but it did cause me some worry. Congratulation on the news of twins! You're in for a FUN ride!

Kimi--glad DH is home! Yeah! Sorry to hear about your mom. Are you nervous about her leaving? I know I was when my help ran out....you'll do fine though. I'm sure you'll figure out what works best for you. (I actually think, in my case, having all that help delayed me working out a good system...go figure!). Thanks for asking how I'm feeling...I'm totally recovered from my surgery, but my dang ovary is still hurting. I have a post op appt. on Thursday. I hope she has some answers, cause this lingering pain sucks! I'm wondering if it could be scar tissue from my c-sec?

Lindsey--You've made it to 34 weeks. Great job! I remember the misery at the end....I made it to 37 weeks, and I remember nearly jumping into my docs arms when he said, "today's the day"! I know it's just so hard to sleep, get comfy, etc. Hang in there! You can do it....just think about those beautiful babies in there.

Woodcliff--thank god you only have 4 more weeks with Mary Bi#$#in Poppins, huh? She sounds horrible. Hold those babies as much as you want! I wish my kiddos would let me hold them now....too mobile and active to be held. You can't spoil newborns. I have read that in so many places. Maybe kimberly can have advice for how to handle this witch? I think you need to remind her that YOU are their mother, and YOUR decisions are the ones that need to be followed. Ugh.....oh, about the pacifiers (if you decide to try again). Here's a little trick: Try playing "keep away" with it. When it's in their mouth, start pulling it out. THey'll naturally start sucking harder and stronger. It might take some practice, but they'll get it. I remember those days of pacifiers falling out---yes, a nightmare! I did get some "blues" the first few weeks after delivery. I think I cried every day (just for a few minutes) when I was in the shower. I think I was just hormonal, overwhelmed, tired, etc. I don't think I had postpartum depression, by any means, just some blues. It did go away fairly soon. Good luck to you and just keep an eye on it. If you have concerns, can you talk to your DH about it? He might be able to "keep an eye out" for you to make sure you're not getting PPD.

[kholtan]

Woodcliff~ SO sorry you are dealing with such a wretched woman. In all honesty, I have had to work with women like this and my heart felt suggestion is. . . let the agency know how you feel about her, and then either let her go or try to replace her. NO money is worth having the first six weeks of memories tainted by the wicked witch. I know it's a lot of money and it is easier said than done but I know you can handle it. I did it all w/o even an hour of help and it sounds like you still have some additional help. It just doesn't seem worth it to me.
Any decent agency is going to want you to be happy and should understand that she is not working out. Also, her being so critical of you and everyone else is probably adding to your sad times. No new mother wants to hear she is doing it wrong even if you don't respect where it comes from. A nanny is there to learn how YOU want to do it, suggest things where she is asked to do so, be YOUR right hand and treat your children like you would in your absence. Sounds like she doesn't understand her position at all.
I wish you the nest of luck. I was super lucky and didn't get any baby blues at all but I have heard to just make sure you do a little for yourself each day. Even if it's 15 minutes of reading something, a bath, sitting on the patio w/ some wine or coffee, a quick walk. . whatever, just take care of you. You first and the babies will be better taken care of when they are in the arms of a happy mommy. We all understand the craziness of the first few weeks and will be thinking of you!
Good luck!

Lindsey~ Good luck making 38 weeks! I only hit 34 so your in new territory for me but we are all waiting for new baby pics! good luck to you and great job on this far! It's so exciting these last few weeks!

Kimi~ Glad Dh is home! I bet you are so happy! Don't worry about your mom going home. Like Kim said, you will find your own rythym and things will be great. Thanks for the compliments about the room. If you need ideas I have tons for when your FIL does the room, or anyone else. Wish I was closer and I would do it for you! I'm still debating on taking mroe work right now but as long as I can bring the babies I'm fine. Just can't leave them yet! Am I bad???? I went out for the first time last weekend with my girlfriends. Granted, I had put the babies to bed already but I still felt like I could be missong something! I'm a sap!!!

A Mohters love~ How is everything? I'm sorry I have no advice but you are in my prayers! I hope you are doing better and less stressed. Babies are tougher than we give them credit for! Hang in there!!!!

Sugabeans~ We found out at 16 weeks. . .I think. It's been so long now I can hardley recall. We were going to find out on the 18th weeks but I was worried that they hadn't moved yet or something like that and they looked a little early! It was clear as day for us. Good luck! As far as bfeeding, I tooka class and highly suggest taking one. It was very useful and I learned that it really is more determination than anything. 95% of the women who REALLY want to bf, can. It's so hard not to throw in the towel some days but I can say (still solely bfeeding twins at 7.5 months) it is soooooo worth it! It is our quiet time, our sit still and hug time, their time to nuzzle up and just be loved!!! I'm very happy I am still nursing but it's not for everyone and as moms we all instinctively know what will work best for us and our babies. Best of luck to you!

Heading off to bed to read a bit. I've started reading real books that aren't about babies again and I'm like a junky now! Who would have thought I could miss something so mucha nd not know it until recently?
Good night everyone!
Hugs~
Kimberly

[woodcliff]

Kim--I hope you are feeling much, much better after your surgery...I can not imagine being 'out' physically and caring for the babies! hats off to you...and good physical being as well.

Thank you for your words re: pacis, and 'the blues' ... and Nutty mary Poppins...I seem to get the blues when I'm alone, so try to spend as much time as possible with the babies ... last night my hubby knew I was feeling blue, and I was trying to nap a bit, but I got out of bed when I heard my boy cry...and who was walking with him down the hall to the bedroom? Hubby...he always always is 'right there' for me. I am so fortunate (but of course THAT also tears me up!!! wahhhh)...I think it'll pass...if not I see my OB next Th...

And no way can we spoil newborns! It's INSANE to think holding a newborn is bad for it...

Kholtan...oh gosh, this woman IS her own agency...I can't believe 2 intelligent people (although I'm guessing my smartness right now ) signed her contract.
I am just appalled with her in your face 'tude, she does not have a degree, just graduated high school...and she is going against what my pediatrician told ME to do...I do think she does not like babies, her approach is that they are a nuisance to be silenced. grrrr
sorry to b*tch so much, but yes, it is adding to my unhappiness...this is MY home, my babies, and sure I'm new at this but I'm the mom. Period.

I don't want to miss anything either, but as time flies by, 3 weeks tomorrow!!!!...I fret about where it goes. I actually got 8 hours of sleep last night...without getting up to check on the babies (nanny was here)...oh joy.

BEST and gratitude to all of you loving ladies.

[woodcliff]

What are your fav. baby books for 'development'?

My babies, almost 3 weeks old, now need more interaction...
Any suggestions?
I'm going to get a 'mat' or 'activity thingie' (hee hee, bad mommie doesn't even know what toys to buy!)...
OK, Mary Poppins just called and she wants to come over to talk.
geesh.
I'd better not cry
BABY
thanks for letting me drone on

[buckeyegal]

How'd the talk with Poppins go? I didn't realize she was a recent high school graduate...yikes....that's not what I'd consider a "nanny". Does she want to quit? I hope so! Good luck! (for some reason I just assumed she was an old lady? )

As for toys. At three weeks, I don't remember mine really doing much, but they did like to look at things. So, we'd lay them on an activity mat, so they could look up at all the colors and toys hanging there. Mostly, I held them, sang to them, cuddled, etc. Don't worry--you'll have plenty of playtime and interaction later. I PROMISE! My kids play constantly now...

keep us posted.