Twins: Who wants to discuss and share experiences?

[rypell1985]

Margi...she is so beautiful. I don't think there is such a thing as a photo hog amongst a group of moms keep em comin! Yes, they are interacting a lot now. Mostly shrieking back and forth, but Dylan loves to touch her. She doesn't like it too much, but he's not taking the hint

I wanted to tell you this as well-I know yours are peanuts. I had trouble using the exersaucer and jumper because the twins are pretty small. My mom found me something called a hugga bebe. Google it-it was a great thing to have!

[bodie1011]

Maria - of course I have no experience on this but for what it's worth I am getting dr browns bottles because they are glass and that appeals to me and I read good reviews. And also some bottles that come with the medela breast pump.

[blairwh58]

Hey everyone. I know I talked with a lot of you on the pregnancy board so its good to see you all in one place. I was trying to read back through and catch up on some things but had a quick question for everyone. Are you twins pretty close in size or are they starting to vary in size? For the first few months my girls were almost identical in size, but as they get bigger they seem to vary more and more. Emory has started chunking up despite the fact that shes a whole minute younger. Should I worry that they seem such different sizes?

On another note a few weeks ago we started noticing that Harper had some blood in her dirty diapers. After watching to see how it went we made an appt with the pediatrician to see if it was serious. The pediatrician said we shouldn't be too concerned, but thought she may have an allergy (since she was breastfed w/formula supplementation). Since then I have eliminated all Dairy, Peanut Butter, Soy, and Eggs from my diet and am now Harper only gets breastmilk. You would think it wouldn't be too hard but everything seems to have those ingredients. They gave me a new formula to use (Alimentum) as supplementation for her but she refuses to eat it, so shes just been getting breastmilk (was getting some Neosure). Anyone else have similar issues w/ baby or diet?

One more positive is that the girls have started to sleep through the night! They usually go to bed around 10p and dont wake up until 5a to eat!! Baby steps in the right direction.

[rypell1985]

Hi Blair! Dylan was 8oz larger than Bella at birth and is now 3lbs larger. Idk how far apart your girls are, but I would say some difference would be fine unless the pedi shows concern! Dylan had the milk protein allergy and was on Alimentum unil 6mos, at which point we were able to ween him off (thank goodness because that stuff was expensive and smelled vile!) He didn't like it at first, but if your supply is t enough for her, maybe try mixing with breast milk to get her to take it? It really was a godsend for us! Congrats on sleeping through the night! We just started getting 7pm-6am 2 weeks ago and it is amazing!

[DALLASTWINS]

Hello ladies! I have been MIA from here for a while now. On top of being too busy to post lately, I got logged off somehow and couldnt log back in. I had to create a whole new account. So I have added "Twins" to my previous "Dallas" username.

The twins are now 8wks old and are keeping me very busy. I am having a hard time with Ethan's sleeping habits! He fights sleep soooooo bad. It is making him very irritable and fussy almost all of the time that he is awake. He will almost fall asleep eating, burping, etc. But it is hard for him to let himself go ahead and fall asleep so he gets very cranky. The problem is that I now need to make sure I get a tighter routine for when I return to work in April. They had a pretty good routine, but with him fighting sleep all of that has gone out the window in the last 2 wks. I would like to do the bath, bottle, bed routine, but I am wondering how hard will it be to bathe both babies every night. My main problem will be when I go back to work... I will work MON, TUES, WEd 7am to 7pm, so I wont get home until 730pm. I am very interested in hearing everyone's night time routine and bath schedules!!!! I can use all of the guidance I can get from you pros!

Blair- I also have babies with the milk protein allergy. We are supplementing with Enfamil Nutramagen Lipil, and yes it is expensive!!! I wont be able to pump when I return to work, so I am really dreading spending even more $ on this formula. I think I am going to try to get Avery back on Enfamil Gentlease. Her tummy wasnt as bad as Ethans, but it was easier for them both to be on the same formula.

I am going to try to read and catch up a little more on everyone. I am glad to see everyone's little ones are doing well! I am glad to finally be back on!

[rypell1985]

Dallas...welcome back! We started Dylan on Nutramigen and noticed a little difference, but we had the same sleep problem as you described. I used to pray he would just fall asleep for a little bit. We ended up trying Alimentum, mostly because I got some samples, and he was a different baby. If you read up on the 2, a lot of people say Alimentummis even easier to digest than Nutramigen. Might be something to consider or talk to the doc about? Good luck

[DALLASTWINS]

I am also starting to try the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" today. A friend gave it to me and swears by it. Has anyone else had success with it?

[Wishingandhoping]

Just wanted to post a quick update...

Eric and Lila were born at 4:54 and 4:59 am on Feb 28. My water broke at 8:15 Monday night, and I was dilated to 8 cm by midnight. I was able to get an epidural, and they were born vaginally. The only complication was that I developed preeclampsia, so I had to have magnesium right before delivery and then for 24 hours after. I think I get to go home today. The babies are doing great in the NICU. Eric was 4lbs 13oz. Lila was 3lbs 12oz. They were 34 wks 3 days, so I think Lila had stopped growing. Neither baby has needed oxygen, but both are learning to eat! I am so in love with both of them!!!

[WeHaveHope]

Wishingandhoping-congratulations on your two little miracles. I am so happy for you. I can't wait to see pictures.

[DillysGirl]

Wishing- congrats on the arrival of your babies! And an extra yah for making it to 34 weeks!! Can't wait to see pics!

Dallas- Welcome! We do baths every other night for our boys. They both have dry skin and unless they have a specific need for a bath every day its not really necessary. I know it's soothing and helps them get sleepy so I just substituted massage instead. I rub their little feet and legs and it seems to really relax them at night. Now that they are bigger when it gets close to nighttime they start sticking their feet on me saying "lotion, tootsies".

Blair- my boys started off about a pound difference and now the one who was smaller is two pounds heavier than the other. My ped has never said anything bad about it, he actually laughs about how he used to be soo tiny!

Ryann- congrats on the sleep Mama! Feels good doesnt it?!

Hope everyone else is doing well!

[margi26]

Sorry I have been MIA, ladies!

Ryann: Thanks for that advice! We tried the exersaucer and the peanuts cannot reach the ground. I will definitely look into getting that hugga thing!! And congrats to you on sleeping!!

Blair: Glad to have you join us here! My LO’s are about one pound apart. Sofia is an inch shorter and a chunk!! Levi has an inch on her and is a pound lighter. My ped says all is fine and as long as they are both healthy I am not concerned. Poor little Harper, though. Are things improved in that regard? And “WOOHOO!” on sleeping time. I hope we get there soon...Levi is on his way. He sometimes goes 10-5 as well, but Sofia still likes to get up every 3 hours.

Dallas: Glad to have you back! Photos of your sweeties? Have you gotten to venture out? What are you finding is best way to manage? I have tried the single stroller + wearing baby and that works pretty well if I am only getting a few things. Otherwise I do the double stroller and drag a cart. Regarding routine? Mine seem to get invigorated with bathtime, Levi especially. He loves to kick and splash so I find it easier to do my baths in the morning. I do rocking, singing, nursing, lotion, etc in dimmed light room to try to get them in mood/mode for sleep. Some evenings it works better than others, LOL. Sometimes I am able to get them down to sleep by 8, other nights not until 11.

Dillysgirl: Aw...”lotion tootsie” How cute!! Mine love the lotion time as well.

Blair, Dallas and Wishing: Can you send me your “info” on your LO’s entrance into the world and I will add it to the first page?

Stephanie: How are things with you?



Wishing: You did great holding on to them so long. Sorry about the pre-E, though. I know how miserable that can be. How is your BP? Swelling? Post photos when you can.

[blairwh58]

Sorry it took so long for me to respond.

Margi- Im glad that my twins arent the only ones that vary in weight/height. Hopefully Sofia starts getting into the swing of things and will go more than 3 hours for you. Im sure youre beyond ready for that day!

Wishing- Congrats on Eric and Lila!!!! Im glad that labor and delivery went well and you were able to go vaginally. How are those babies doing now?? I am hoping they have a minimal NICU stay, but let me know if you need to talk. I know how hard the time in the NICU was (harder than the 60 days of hospital bedrest).

Ryann- I cant believe that Dylan is 3 whole lbs bigger than Bella!! I actually tried mixing the formula with breastmilk the first time I offered it to Harper but still no luck. Luckily I have enough that she can get straight breastmilk for now. I would love for them to sleep 7p-6a but I honestly don't know that my body could handle that long. When they go 7+ hours I wake up and am absolutely miserable and in pain. It really feels like I have cement implants or something.

Update- Went to MD on Monday for 4 Mth Check-up. Harper is 11lb 3oz (50% for preterm babies) and 25.5in (>97% for preterm babies!!!!) while Emory is 12lb 8oz (60% for preterm) and 24.5in (95% for preterm). I was soooo relieved to hear that Harper really wasn't too far off weight wise and was actually an inch longer than Emory. The doctor said their weights look great and I shouldnt worry about the fact that they eat such different amounts. Poor Harper gets more follow-up appointments for various reasons. Ped Gastroenterology for her bloody diarrhea (despite changing my diet a month ago), Ped Dermatology for a hemangioma on her back that has a spot, and a plastic surgeon for a flat spot on her head. Hopefully we have nothing to worry about but still stressful going to all the specialists. Will post pics in another reply.

[blairwh58]

Here are some recent pics

[nwquiz]

oh my blair they are so adorable. and you and hubby look so cute holding them.

[rebeccajm]

Blair....It sounds like your two are pretty close in weight now. Mine have always been different. When they were born they were 1.5 pounds different and now at almost 5 1/2 months my boy is 18 lbs and my girl is 13 lbs. She has always been around the 25 %tile while he is almost always at 90 %tile. My pediatrician does not seem concerned because they continue to gain with each appointment.

Wishing...Congratulations on Eric and Lila! I am still amazed at how much I love my little ones and often look at them in awe.

Everyone else...I will catch up soon.

My life has been crazy lately. Mateo has always sounded congested so we finally got into an ENT who did not see anything, but referred us to a pediatric ENT. The pediatric ENT scoped him then upon listening to his breathing immediately admitted him to Lutheran General. We were there for 3 days having tests done and when they did a bronchoscopy, they could see that his trachea was pinched. They let us go home for the weekend and returned on Monday for more tests. At this time they found an artery was wrapped around the trachea causing the opening to be smaller. He was released from the hospital last night, but we will go back when I am on spring break so he can have this artery surgically removed. It has been a stressful week trying to find someone to help with Isabel while my husband and I have been at the hospital. I came home every night to be with Isabel and to write sub plans for school only to return to the hospital the next day. On top of all the stress of figuring out what was going on with Mateo I was actually called a bad mom by someone very close to me because I was leaving the hospital to prepare for work each night and to be with Isabel. I only wish they knew how hard this all was for me, but I guess I can't let that get to me. I guess I am wondering how everyone else juggles things??...it isn't like I left my son alone...my husband was with him whenever I went home.