Twins: Who wants to discuss and share experiences?

[margi26]

Hello,

I have been a member for over a year, and have gotten such wonderful support, first when going through IVF and then while pregnant.

As a mom of twins, I often find that there are specific questions and challenges along the way--NICU, breastfeeding, managing TWO crying babies, etc. As well as questions about supplies, double strollers, double BFing pillows, etc.

Of course, no new moms has a lot of free time, so parents with double the babies have even less, but I thought I would throw this out there to see if anyone is willing to share what worked/didn't, the struggles and to ask questions of those that have gone ahead of us.

My twins are fraternal, boy, girl and are 3 months old. They were born at 33w3d (3lbs6oz and 3lbs9oz) after a fairly difficult pregnancy ( I had a hematoma, was on bedrest, and then ended up with Pre-Eclampsia). They were in the NICU a little over 2 weeks. I pumped and fed them pumped breastmilk exclusively for weeks. Finally Sofia caught on and started nursing. Just last week, at 3 months old, Levi, my boy, decided to nurse as well. I am now BFing both and trying to get the hang of tandem feeding.

I would be happy to answer any questions that might help any new or expecting moms as the first few weeks/months were quite a challenge, but also filled with great joy. I am no "expert" by any means, but I am willing to discuss and share what I know.

Any takers?

-M



WHO'S ON BOARD:


Wishfull27/Carolyn
Twins: boy/boy
Pregnancy complications: None
Born: 2/10
Birth: c-section; 38w1d; 7lbs 9oz and 6lbs 13oz
NICU?: no
Work outside home: SAHM for 1st year, now, yes.

DillysGirl
Twins: Fraternal boy/boy
Pregnancy complications: GD, pre-eclampsia w/hospitalization
Born: 5/18/10
Birth: c-section, 34w2d; 5lbs 8oz, 4lbs 5oz
NICU?: yes, 8 and 13 days
Work outside home: SAHM

Baby_blu73/Stephanie
Twins: Fraternal, boy/boy
Pregnancy complications:
Born: 6/21/11
Birth: induction; 38w; 7lbs6oz and 6lbs7oz
NICU?: no
Work outside home: Yes

Rypell1985/Ryann
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: heart issues in mom, bedrest at 24 weeks
Born: 7/13/11
Birth: 34w2d; 5lbs12oz and 5lbs4oz
NICU?: yes, 11 days
Work outside home: Yes, teacher

rebeccajm/Rebecca
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: Pre-E, bedrest at 34 weeks
Born:9/15/11
Birth: c-section, 37w2d,5lbs6oz, 6lbs11oz
NICU?: 2 days for boy
Work outside home?: Yes, teacher

Margi26/Margi
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: hematoma, bedrest, pre-eclampsia w/hospitalization
Born: 10/8/11
Birth: c-section, 33w, 3lbs6oz and 3lbs9oz
NICU?: yes, 17 and 19 days
Work outside home?: not currently. SAHM

blairwh58
Twins: Fraternal, girl/girl
Pregnancy complications: Pre-term labor lead to hospital bedrest from 24w for 60 days
Born: 11/1/11
Birth: emergency c-section, 32w5d, 4lbs9oz and 4lbs9oz
NICU?: yes, 17 days
Work outside home: ?

Wishingandhoping
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: bedrest, pre-eclampsia
Born: 2/28/12
Birth:vaginal, 34w3d, 3lbs12oz and 4lbs13oz
NICU?: yes,
Work outside home?:



Great Expectations:

Bodie1011 due: 6/24/12 with twins!
Alexis due: 8/22/12 with twins!
Wehavehope: 9/12 twins!

[rypell1985]

Me! In my free time! Great idea Margi!
For anynew joiners, my fraternal twins Dylan and Isabella are 6 months old today. They were born at 34w2d weighing 5lbs12oz and 5lbs4oz. They spent 11 days in the NICU. I went back to work as a teacher when they were 2 months old. It was tough, but I love teaching and SO look forward to their big gummy smiles when I walk in the door! I'm very lucky and my MIL comes to the house to watch them. I'm also open to answering any questions!

[DillysGirl]

Hi ladies! My twinsies are a bit older than both of yours but I would love to be part of some discussions. My group on here pretty much died out and I miss chatting with IVF moms!

My boys are 19 months old. They were born at 34w2d and spent 8 & 13 days in the NICU. Pregnancy landed me in the hospital with pre-e at 30 weeks, the only thing worse than hospital food for a month is hospital food on the gestational diabetes menu! Eww.

They are big healthy little toddlers now and I wouldn't take back a second of the crazy journey it took to get them!

Your babies are beautiful! If I can be of any help as a mom who's been there and lived to tell about it lemme know!

[baby_blu73]

Oooo ooo me, me! LOL I have another twin group, but they kind of hurt my feelings when everyone makes a big deal about having "natural" twins. Mine aren't robots for Pete's sake!

I'll get off my soapbox... LOL

I'm Stephanie and I have fraternal boys. Brady and Jaxon are 6 1/2 months old now and were born at 38 weeks via induction weighing 7lb 6oz and 6lb 7oz. My world (like all mother's of multiples, I'm sure) revolves around my beautiful bouncing baby boys. I work full time and have a daughter, 13 next month, and a son, 11 three days before his sister, from a previous relationship.

Looking forward to sharing experiences and learning from both new friends as well as ladies that already have a place in my heart!

[LYD10]

Ladies, I am so thrilled about this group! Thanks for starting it, Margie!

I have a 22 month old and just found out we are expecting twins in august! All advice is appreciated!

My DS is going to homebased daycare now, but I think a nanny would make more sense with 3 kids. Maybe a livein one even - to help in the evenings? Anyway, I am jumping ahead of myself - first I need advice on how to carry my bundles to term! Babyblu, how did you manage to get them to such nice weights? I hope hope hope to achieve the same. But with my first pregnancy I was told that I had bloodwork markers for pre-eclampsia and my ob kept expecting it - but luckily I never developed it. Maybe I'll get lucky and avoid it this time as well. I am also worried abut my cervix holding! I've read so many scary stories on this board.

Are you guys using separate cribs or one? I was hoping not to buy another crib. But I ll probably get it on Craig's list. Or maybe a bassinet. We already have one bassinet, maybe we ll just get another one.

Dilly, what percentile are your boys now? I am curious to see how long does it take for the twins to catch up to singleton size.

[wishfull27]

Can I join too please !!! Been a while since I posted but do read regularly to keep up with everyones stories !! I am mum to 23 month old twin boys - I had a totally uneventful (thankfully) pregnancy - not even morning sickness !! I did not find out it was twins till my 12 week scan - we only get one beta in uk and then limited scans ! At 7w scan saw one heartbeat and another sack but no heRtbeat so was just grateful for my one miracle - I nearly fell off the bed at the 12 week when two hearbeats popped up straightaway !!! I was induced at 38 w 1d and was prepared for vaginal delivery - fully dilated and pushing and my mister chill decided it was too much effort tipped his head back so thenit was c section - a fab experience as was not emergency and was already in theatre - it's normal practice in uk to deliver twins in theatre - more a space issue !! So my chunks were 7lb 9oz and 6lb 13 oz with no nic time !! Breastfed from day 1 exclusively to 8 weeks then started supplementing as just so knackered from being a milking machine !!! I went back to work full time when boys were 13 months old - they go to nursery and have loved it since day 1 - they are very sociable and boisterous !! I go to work for a rest !!!! On the downside they still don't sleep well

Can't wait to get to know everyone - although I have followed everyones stories !!

Technically challenged so no chance of posting pics but am on Facebook if anyone wants to connect that way - though no fertility talk on there !!!!

Take care ladies ... Cuddles to all our double joys !!!


Love Carolyn xxxx

[margi26]

Oh, awesome!! I am so excited to have gotten replies on this!

Ryann and Stephanie: Cycling-buddies!! So happy to have you join.

Dillysgirl and Carolyn: So nice to meet you both! And to learn from your experiences.

Lyd: Happy to help! And congratulations to you....regarding cribs, I got two from Craigslist myself. From another twin momma who happened to have B/G twins and cute B/G Winnie the Pooh bedding as well. She ended up not even having them sleep in the cribs so her cribs were like new! I got two that perfectly match our bedroom furniture. However, thus far, at 3 months, we have only used one. By choice. My plan is to keep using just the one until they start to bother each other. Right now, my boy has reflux quite badly so he usually falls asleep in the swing so he gets at the right angle.

How about if I edit my first entry to include brief information about everyone and their twins? That way it will be easy to reference who is who? How about something like this? listed with oldest twins first:


Wishfull27/Carolyn
Twins: boy/boy
Pregnancy complications:?
Born: 2/10
Birth: c-section; 38w1d; 7lbs9oz and 6lbs13oz
NICU?: no
Work outside home: SAHM for 1st year, now, yes.

DillysGirl
Twins: boy/boy
Pregnancy complications: GD, pre-eclampsia w/hospitalization
Born: 5/18/10
Birth: 34w2d;
NICU?: yes, 8 and 13 days
Work outside home: ?

Baby_blu73/Stephanie
Twins: Fraternal, boy/boy
Pregnancy complications:
Born: 6/21/11
Birth: induction; 38w; 7lbs6oz and 6lbs7oz
NICU?: no
Work outside home: Yes

Rypell1985/Ryann
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: heart issues in mom
Born: 7/13/11
Birth: 34w2d; 5lbs12oz and 5lbs4oz
NICU?: yes, 11 days
Work outside home: Yes, teacher


Margi26/Margi
Twins: Fraternal, boy/girl
Pregnancy complications: hematoma, bedrest, pre-eclampsia w/hospitalization
Born: 10/8/11
Birth: c-section, 33w, 3lbs6oz and 3lbs9oz
NICU?: yes, 17 and 19 days
Work outside home?: not currently. SAHM

Lyd10
Due: 8/12 with twins!



What do ya'all think? Too much? Needs more info? Work just fine?

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!

[DillysGirl]

Lyd- growth wise, my boys are both in the 90's for height and for weight one is in the 90's and one in the 70's. So at this point they are both bigger than the average at their age. It was right around 9 months that our pediatrician said that they were pretty much caught up, though initially he said by one year they should be all caught up.

As for cribs, we got two "mini cribs". Our house is small so it worked for us. My boys basically slept with us up until a month ago. We just used their cribs for naps. They now use them full time and although i miss my cuddle sessions, our whole family is sleeping better!

Margi- thanks for the list, looks great! To finish my part: I am a SAHM and My boys weights at birth were 5lbs8oz and 4lbs5oz. Born by C-section. Oh and they are definitely fraternal, hardly look related. Haha.

EOE- nice to meet you, look forward to hearing about your babies!

How do I add a picture to my signature?

[alexis]

Hi Ladies! I would love to join this thread as well as a newly expectant twin mom! LYD and I just cycled together and I have a DS that will be two in a couple of weeks. He's a wonderful product of IVF too!

Did any of you have a toddler at home when you had your twins? If so, any particular pointers?

I am starving for information to try to prepare and get as organized as possible prior to possibly going on bedrest.

Did all of you go on bedrest and if so, how far along did you go before being put on bedrest?

Do you have any favorite twin pregnancy books or twin parenting books that you've read? I've order a bunch from Amazon, but wonder what your favorite/most helpful book/s have been.

Did you all breastfeed your twins? If so, how hard was it to learn to tandem nurse?

Thanks for the info on cribs. I, too, was wondering if we could get away with one crib for a while. Luckily, I think my husband's boss will loan us theirs, so we'll have two.

Did you all see perinatologists or did you receive your care through a regular OB? How close did you live to the nearest NICU? I live at least an hour from the closest Level III nursery, so I'm trying to figure out where it might be best to get my OB care...

Thanks so much for your wisdom and guidance!

[alexis]

Oh, Margi, I believe my due date (if it were a singleton) is 8/22/12. Thanks for keeping track of everybody for us!

[rypell1985]

Dillysgirl and Carolyn...welcome! I can't wait to pick your brains! Here's my first question! My twins are now 6 months, came 6 weeks early, but neither will bear weight on their legs. Can you remember when your twins started doing that?

Dillysgirl....I upload photos to photobucket and copy and paste the IMG code into my signature

Hey Stephanie! Ugh, the natural twin thing. I hate that! Every time someone says "are the natural!" I wanna say " yea, thy were conceived with a sperm and an egg just like yours!" but I don't maybe you can help answer my above question too!

Lyd...congrats! I've been following you on the ivf board and stalked on Friday to hear your news! I know you were really nervous! As far as cribs, we got 2. We got the ones that turn into full size beds though and I like everything to match They actually never shared a crib since they hadseperate isolettes inthe nicu. They napped together in the pack n playwhen they were younger. We are actually thinking about their own rooms already because my Bella is quite the jabber jaw!!!!

Margi...love the list! You could add bedrest at 24 weeks to mine

Alexis...congrats to you!!!!! I went on bedrest at 23w5d due to a dangerously high heart rate on me. I started dilating at my 31 week appointment but didn't change at all. My water broke randomly at 34w2d! I pumped for my twins for 4 weeks, but never breastfed. I wasn't producing even 4oz a day, so I gave up. I saw an ob and peri and live exactly 7 minutes from a level 3 nicu. I don't have any books to recommend. I got a bunch but then felt overwhelmed by the info!!!! My due date was 8/22 too!

Dylan and Isabella have their 6 month check up on Monday and I'm anxious to see what they weigh. At 2 months they were in the 90th percentile but at 4 months dropped to the 60th and 40th. I feel like their still peanuts. Dylan wears 9 month clothes, but that's because he's long. They are quite baggy on him Bell wears 6 months mostly, but still fits in a lot of 3 month clothes. She's dainty

Soooo looking forward to being a part of this board!

[LYD10]

Maegie, my singleton due date is Sep 4 th

[LYD10]

I think someone commented on here about people asking you if your twins are natural or IVF. Just happened to me and I said natural. First of all, ivf is natural, second of all its my private business and I don't want to be forced into talking to strangers about it. So I think answer questions from strangers I will answer with "natural".

[DillysGirl]

Congrats to the Newly expectant twin moms, Lyd and Alexis! You both have toddlers as well?! Busy mommies you will be! I can picture fun counting games in your future... "Can you bring Mommy TWO diapers please?"

Alexis- I did get some books but didn't really read much of them, it was too much info overload for me. The one book I did find helpful is the one I cant find. I think its called Mothering Multiples and is reccomended by La Leche League. I went on partial bedrest at 26 weeks and then full bedrest at 28 weeks and then hospital bedrest at 30 weeks. Basically all due to my blood pressure only staying normal when lying on my left side. The hospitalization happened when my protein levels started to get really high. I saw a high risk OB basically for the same reason. Our nearest NICU is 2.5 hours away which is where my OB transferred me in case of early delivery. The NICU question is probably an excellent one to ask whatever OB you choose. I breastfed my boys until about 9 months but also supplemented some. Once they both learned to latch tandem nursing was a breeze. I used a double breastfeeding pillow and it really helped. The book I previously mentioned has TONS of breastfeeding info.

Ryann- I dont remember exactly when the boys started bearing weight on their legs but I do clearly remember one loving to stand on his legs pretty early and the other we nicknamed "noodle" because he had noodle legs for the longest time! He was definitley over 6 months before he figured that one out. thanks for the info on uploading a picture... it is SUPER huge though. I even resized it on photobucket to the smallest one yet still huge. Am i missing something here?

Stephanie- I have a girlfriend with two year old twin boys named Brady and Jackson! Cute!

And yes, Super annoying with "natural twins" versus IVF. I have had people comment that it wasn't a surprise for me like natural twin moms because I planned it this way. I was never too open sharing with people about how my babies were made but my DH,on the other hand, is an open book! I've learned to just smile and nod through it all!

AFM- My silly boys have been in their room "Chatting" for 45 min when they should be napping! As cute as it is, it's time for a little mommy intervention...

[alexis]

Dillysgirl, thanks so much for answering so many of my questions! It seems like everybody has a different story on when they went on bedrest (depending on what the complications were). I wonder if all twin pregnancies end up on bedrest? I travel for work, so I'm trying to plan ahead as much as possible about when I likely will be on bedrest and unable to travel.

I sure appreciate you and every twin mom's expertise and experience! We sure will have our hands full with a toddler and twins. I'm trying to enjoy the quiet and "easier" time to focus on our son right now!

Rypell, thanks for sharing your bedrest story also! With my son, my water broke a little early. I wonder if that will be any indication of it happening again and possibly earlier with twins? Who knows?

For those of you who were on bedrest, how restricted was the bedrest? Could you go up and down stairs a few times a day? Did you literally have to be lying down all day? What did you do to occupy your time? How early did you get the nursery prepared and all the pre-delivery tasks completed? I'm already thinking of setting a calendar for things to get done each weekend as our pregnancy continues...I think being a mom of twins will make me more organized in the long run!

Dillysgirl, what are mini-cribs? I don't think I've heard of those before...I'm totally curious what they are like!

I have to say I'm super impressed you twin moms are finding time to log in and check the thread/forum! Thank you so much for your help and insight! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. My fertility clinic seems to think twins is no big deal, but to me, it's a HUGE deal.

Have a great week ladies!