Double Trouble

[buckeyegal]

Di--glad to hear you're okay. I hope those fires get quelched soon....so sad....

Kholtan--Lake Erie is about 3 hours from us. Maybe 4...there are smaller, closer lakes, but we always do Erie. When we go, we go for a week at a time, so that makes it a bit easier...


I, too, saw the trainwreck on NBC last night. K--I said the SAME THING to DH last night, "Who the heck gets disability $$ for a kid with ADHD?" Yikes....I have a feeling someone is going to look into her case and realize "whoops!". I feel bad for those kids. I do think she loves them dearly, but I just don't see how she can make it work. Of course, I'm sure LOTS of people will donate to her, so they can survive. I just am at a loss for how a doc could allow her to do such a crazy thing. It gives IVF a bad name, in my opinion. Plus, did I hear it right that the doctor ALWAYS put 6 embryos in her--every time she did IVF?

[TwinMommy]

Ok, since this topic is up and running, I too watched it on NBC last night and was in shock the WHOLE program. The words coming out of her mouth just astounded me! She has major mental issues. She is having kids to fill a void of love that she did not have because she did not have siblings? She is on welfare, food stamps, disability?! I mean I know that some people out there do need help and that is fine...but people working this system like this kills me! I have a degree in social work and had to go back to school to get my teaching certificate because I hated social work because of people who know how to work the system and other various reason. I just am a moral person who is very religious and had issues with a lot of things...anywho, I think you did hear right about the 6 every time. I do not know any doctors personally that would allow 6 placed inside everyday. This doctor needs to be looked at as well. Seriously...he should have known something was off mentally with her already having that many kids and wanting more when she did not work.

She has $50,000 in student loans and wants to go back to school before getting a job? Ummm...these kids must not have anything at home and food stamps only go so far. That makes me mad also. She really is not thinking about them. Sure she loves them and I really think she does but still. UGH the whole thing annoys me. Did you hear she wanted to BF each of the 8? I just laughed. OK I am going to stop. My husband could not get me to shut up last night either.

DI: Glad to hear you and your family are ok. I just look at it on the news and it is so sad. I pray it is over soon and it takes no more lives.

I tried to reduce the amnt. of food at night and it smacked me in the face! lol. Kenzie woke up early SCREAMING she was so hungry. lol. So I had to up it to at least 3 oz. at the 4am feed. Someday they will go the night lol.

[buckeyegal]

omg---I didn't catch the part where she says she wants to BF all 8? Wow! Now, I'm all for bfing....but, I can't imagine the amount of time that would take? I'm figuring it could be doable if each baby would get a feed off her once a day, kwim? When they're little, they get about 8 feeds a day, so that could work....but bfing each baby every feed? I don't see how she could physically do it, not to mention the TIME....oh my....

I'm with ya on the "taking advantage" issue. I see WAY too many families at my school abusing the system. Like, a kid is on free lunch, but his mom is driving a 2009 Honda Accord. Something wrong with that in my mind....I mean, if you need it, fine. But, I have to question some of the stuff I see. I just can't do anything about it--LEGALLY--cause I'm not "supposed" to know who's on free lunch, but as a teacher---it's pretty obvious when a kid buys lunch every day without any money. Hmmmmm....

[TwinMommy]

buckeye: you are on the same page as me. When I worked in my school it was the same way. I do not understand it either. Just does not make sense.

[kholtan]

There is no way in hell that woman can bfeed them all. . . she is spending way too much time being interviewed! I would wake every three hours to pump while I was at home sleeping and my kids were in the NICU. That fed the two of them and there is no way I could have supported 8! It was around the clock and so tiring while they were in the NICU.
This woman seriously ruffles my feathers. Did you hear the news tonight says her IVF Dr. has been in MULTIPLE law suites? Duh????
I think she needs her kids to love her more than she loves them. Just my opinion.
I cannot see this woman's face now w/o being so frustrated! UGH!!!!! Where did all her diablilty money go ($165,000 in 2 years) if she lives almost totally RENT FREE in one of her mother's rentals? She can't even have a way to drive all 14 of her kids to a single destination! She said she wants to get a bigger house. . . HA! I hope all Californian's are ready to pay for her.. . . .I best stop or I will never quit! Dh is SICK over her as well!

[beth]

Hello everyone!

I have been popping in and out of your thread to check on you and your beautiful babies. I am 13 weeks along with fraternal twins. I was hoping some of you would have a positive story for me. Again, I am finding nothing but scary stories on the internet.

Have any of you mommies of twins had an amnio?
I did have one with my first pregnancy (singleton) and everything turned out fine, thank goodness. The doctors pretty much said I should because of my old lady age.
But an amnio with twins means two needles and higher risks.

I am terrified, but I think I will be nervous my entire pregnancy if I don't get it done.
DH and I have "discussed" all the questions and what ifs...and he is perfectly comfortable with having the amnio done. (how nice, right?)

Has anyone here or anyone you know, for that matter, had an amnio with fraternal twins?
Thanks,

beth

[buckeyegal]

Hi beth! Welcome! I have fraternal b/g twins. I did NOT have an amnio. First of all, my doc was strongly against it....said the risks were just too high. Secondly, even if the amnio did find something was wrong with one of or both of the babies, I wasn't going to do anything about it anyway, and it would have just caused extra worry. I planned on keeping these two babies no matter what.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide! I hope all goes well.

[kholtan]

Beth~ I also have b/g twins and chose NOT to do the amnio. Really, my OB also suggested against it and after reading about it I agreed that the risks were too high. To be honest 37 isn't old. . .I am 35.5 now and pg but my understanding is that you only need to think about them if you are over 40 and/or you have family markers that lead you to believe you may find something.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Already having to make those tough decisions as a mom! B/g twins are sooooo much fun BTW! How blessed you and dh are!

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Well, I spoke too soon about my wife's sickness. It's come back over the past few days and she's miserable. I wish I could do something for her, but all I can do is tell her that she's almost out of the 1st trimester and hopefully it'll end soon. We gotta wait two more weeks for our 3rd u/s and it's driving me nuts!

[woodcliff]

Hi all...
I agree with EVERYTHING you have all said about the Octuplet mom

BUT, I hope the discussion, and the media, moves beyond her craziness..
There are newborns' lives at stake here...
and other children's lives.
I saw photos of the babies and my heart BROKE...they are newborns...who will care for them?
There was a photo of the woman's father carrying a 3 or 4 yr old out to a car, the father looked so stressed...
so many people involved...
I hope society moves beyond this talk of how awfully nuts this girl is, and to 'what to do with the babies'...
It is so so sad...these poor children!

[tolbee]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the BD wishes for the twins!
We did not have a party for the twins, but had a nice family time with them. We'll have a combined gathering with friends at the end of the month since Sean's BD is on the 27th. The twins liked the cupcakes and the brother, Sean, helped with opening presents and blowing candles. The first year went by really fast, especially the last half of it. Now, we'll get to do it all over again with the new baby so I am not too sad about it!

About the Octuplet Mom, I didn't watch the interview but she does sound like she has some issues... and her fertility doctor, I am not sure what he was thinking. But the babies are born and I am hoping they don't pay for the mistakes those non-rational-thinking adults made. 14 kids, single and no jobs... hmm... really.

Bigred -- big hugs to your wife... I did not have any morning sickness but I do hear that the symptoms doubles in multiple pregnancy for some women. I hope she feels better soon.

Kimberly -- I am glad you are feeling well. Since you are used to being active with your kids, you are going to probably sail through third trimester as well. I am planning to work as long as I can but then I started to doubt that. We'll see how it goes.

Kim -- as a teacher I am sure you see a lot of family getting much benefit as possible from the government. I guess it's a moral issue and there is always a way to get around the system. I just hope that someday they will give something back to the society. I work in the IT industry and I really don't see personal lives of my clients etc.. but your job as a teacher sounds all around much deeper and interesting.

Beth -- welcome and congratulations! I was advised against Amnio as well because of the risks. I am also 37 and 28 weeks pregnant. I did not do Amnio this time, either. If the doctor is saying because of your age and not because of other genetic factors, maybe you could get a second opinion. And since this is your second pregnancy, I think the risk of having babies with down etc.. is lower. Good luck!

Woodcliff -- I agree with you! The babies are now born and that's done so it's time to think of the solution part. I am just glad I am not the caretaker of them and the siblings! Can you imagine how stressful that would be?

DianeC -- I am thinking of the Aussies. I hope the fire gets contained soon. It really breaks my heart to think of all people affected. I saw a photo of little koala getting help from firefighters. The spirits are broken, I am sure, but hang in there.

I set the alarm wrong and worke up at 4 am this morning. I couldn't fall back asleep so I've decided to hop on to my work computer at 4:30 am! Crazy, me. No wonder I am tired!

[TwinMommy]

tolbee: Congrats again on one year!! Gosh time flies!

This is the same as my blog so if you read my blog it is word for word

Well we went to Shands to see a specialist about their reflux. He asked a TON of questions about family history and such and did a short exam on them (felt their tummy, looked for blood in the stool, eyes, ears, etc). Of course, did not find anything out of the ordinary. So he states, well they have reflux. I felt like saying "DUH, I KNEW THAT" but I restrained myself. So he stated we could change their formula from the Nutramigen to something more broken down that you need to buy at a pharmacy (do not remember the names at the moment). I mean they spit up on the Nutramigen but they are ok. No more stomach aches or anything like that. Plus we started solids so soon they will be eating more solids and less milk. So I do not think we will try a new formula. It would make it even harder to switch to cows milk come a year old.

He said that 85% of kids outgrow it by the time they are one and the other by the time they are two. It is rare if they have it for longer. I will admit it has slowly gotten better so I do not think it will take them longer than two years. But once they are sitting up more and not lying down as much it should get a lot better. So hopefully it is over soon. He did want a check up in 4 months. Mind you we had to drive 2 hours to Gainesville...he states "lets meet in the Tallahassee office." Um excuse me!? I did not have to drive two hours?! He said they do not like meeting new patients in Tally and that they are only there once a month but still. Can they not give an exception for twins?!

In other news...the weights and heights according to Shands scale:
Mackenzie weighed in at a whopping 15lbs 4 oz and 27 1/4 inches tall!
Brooke weighed in at 15 lbs 6 oz and 25 3/4 inches tall!

Mackenzie has really caught up! She is eating more than Brooke now and not spitting up as much as her sister either. It was a nice weeked over all though since I got to see my mom again. She is a big help with washing bottles, laundry, dusting, etc. It reminds me of how much I wish we could afford a maid!

[kholtan]

Twinmommy~ I know it's a bummer that you didn't get any new fabulous results that instantly make the girls reflux go away but at least there is no bad news. As a parent I think we often get so focused on a diagnosis that it's hard to just sit and wait for it to go away. I hope for you all it goes away very, very soon! The new pictures are ADORABLE on your blog. ADORABLE!!!! I just cannot believe how different they look. Great weights as well. For little ones that have such bad reflux you are doing a great job of keeping food in them. Congrats on that!

Tolbee~ We'll see about sailing through the third trimester! The babies are starting to show signs of only needing one nap a day now and we are trying to navigate a new schedule for them. My days of them only being awake for 8-10 a day are coming to a hault! YIKES! My biggest problem is that I get ready during their morning nap so now there are days I am not ready until 10 or 11! I use to be ready every day no later than 8 and now I feel so unkept for half the day. Also, this baby is starting to really POP out there! I can't wait to find out what it is on Tuesday!!!! Any guesses?

Woodcliff~ I agree with you as well about the octuplet mother but to be honest if I lived closer and was in a postition to know here or help her I don't know if I could. I just don't know if I would be willing to make my days or nights any crazier to help a woman who obviously takes advantage of every system she can. Hopefully she has family or church members who will step in but even her own mother has said that she is sick of helping her out already. Seriously just sad at this point. They are beautiful babies too that look great for being so early.

Bigred~ Tell her to hang in there!!! The u/s are so much fun! I totally understand being excited for every single one of them! Good luck!

Dh is snowmobiling today and the kids and I must find some fabulous way to entertain ourselves. Hmmmm???? We decorated Valentines cookies the other day and can you say BAD IDEA for a one year old??? They ate EVERYTHING! Sugar high would be putting it mildly! Better run and figure out our day. Have a good one everyone!

[TwinMommy]

kholtan: Yeah, I know that I wish it would just go away but it has gotten A TON better. I just still hate it. I do have some porker of children on my hands They have gotten better at eating without spitting up so I know it is getting better. I just want it to totally be gone! Thank you about the pictures. I know, they look totally different. I am tired of when I am out with just the two of them and DH is still at home and people do not believe they are twins or that Brooke is not mine...but their faces look a lot alike in person. I am thinking boy!

I agree that this octo mom will need help and I agree with what kholtan said completely. The babies are beautiful! They look great for their age.

The girls are starting to drop two naps! Now they only sleep for like 30 minutes in their early am nap and the same in the evening. BUT they take like 2 three hour naps at 10AM and 2PM. Soooo maybe they do need to drop those others so they will sleep longer at night! But it is messing up my feeding schedule lol so I have to adapt or figure something out.

When did you go to a four hour schedule during the day? Mine are almost wanting to go 3 1/2 hours between feeds during the day. There still are some days when they want to eat at 2 1/2 tho.

[buckeyegal]

Suga--glad the appointment went okay....I'm hoping their reflux problems subside really soon...at least you don't have to drive so far next time, huh?

Kholtan--My kids LOVE helping me make cookies these days, so give it a few more months. Whenever we make cookies, I measure the ingredients, and they love dumping it all in the bowl. They try to help me stir, but then I turn the mixer on and they get mezmerized by the sound and motion...of course, I let them eat some chocolate chips while they're waiting...not too healthy, but oh so fun! Around 18 months, mine got so much better at "helping" and they love playdough now too....Good luck at your appointment on Tuesday! My guess...hmmmm.....I'm guessing a girl! I don't know why, but that's my guess!

BigRed--Mints helped me with my m/s. You know those starlight peppermints? Has your wife tried those? Also, gingerale and gingersnap cookies. good luck to her! It went away for me around week 16.

We've had a busy weekend so far...the children's museum on Friday, house hunting yesterday, and off to GRandpa's this afternoon. Ellie was so cute house hunting yesterday---she'd walk into a house, and drag me from room to room, pointing and gesturing at all the stuff she liked! My DH thinks she might have a future in real estate!