We are having twins!!!

[TammyinTN]

How exciting for you guys! Congratulations!:D

[AdventureMoms]

Did anyone find that their doctor preferred to do a c-section regardless of the position of the twins? I would like to avoid a routine c-section and didn't know if that was possible any more with twins. My doctor said she would try if Baby A was not breech or transverse. But the other doctors in the practice won't even attempt a vdelivery. Any suggestions, thoughts, or experiences?

 

It's very common. I'd find a doctor who was experienced with vaginal twin deliveries. An experienced doc will usually do any position other than transverse for baby B, and any position other than footling or transverse for baby B. We had to swtich docs since the original one was only willing to consider it for vertex/vertex. Breech baby B is safer than a singleton breech delivery because baby A has already opened the birth canal. However we ended up with vertex baby A (delivered vaginally) and back-down transverse baby B (c-sect)

[Murphy101]

I had 5 kids 5 or 6 and under for a few times! But none of them were due to twins!

 

Congrats!

 

Just make "I will survive!" your new theme song!:D

[Chava_Raizel]

Congratulations!!!

 

I have twin boys and they are so much fun! I found out the same way you did too - I went for my routine 18 week u/s and as soon as she put the wand on my belly I saw 2 heads. My heart skipped a beat and dh had to sit down. :lol:

 

My pregnancy was definitely different with twins - I got huge fast, everything was just, more. I was more tired, more hungry, more achy...but I carried to full term (37 weeks) delivered them both vaginally, and they were both nearly 6lbs, so no NICU stay or anything. Actually, I delivered in the OR because twin B was breech and they thought after twin A's birth they'd have to perform a c/s, but as soon as his brother was born, twin b flipped over and all was well!

 

Rest as much as you can, eat as much as you can (it gets hard at the end, you stomach is so smushed that even when you feel hungry you can barely eat anything before you feel full!), eat lots of protein and healthy fat so you can grow those babies!

[Jane Elliot]

I am beyond surprised, happy, and scared! :svengo: We went in for our 20 week ultrasound today and were stunned to hear the news. The sonographer starting moving the wand around, and as I watched the screen, I thought I saw two spines. She stopped for a moment and said, "Have you had an ultrasound earlier in your pregnancy?" I said we did, at 6 weeks to establish the due date. "It was here at this office?" Yes, I said. "Did a doctor or sonographer do it?" Well, a doctor did, I replied. "Well, congratulations, you are having twins!"

 

I have to say, I am proud of my husband, who did not faint or vomit. :D I just laughed and laughed. No tears yet, but I'm sure they will come. I am measuring 20 weeks, and so is each of the girls. But I think I am about to get a lot bigger! All of my extra aches and pains have now been explained, as well as crazy baby movements. The other morning, I woke up and immediately thought "I hope the babies are ok", but told myself that was just the sleepiness talking, because of course, I only have one baby in there. My husband had wanted to wait and find out the gender of the baby. I was all for it. But last night I made him promise me that if it was twins, we would find out. He stared at me and said "You don't think we are having twins, do you?" "Nooooo....." "You hesitated!!! You aren't big enough to twins!!!" Well, I guess I am!

 

All of you mothers of multiples, I need all the advice I can get! And from everyone else, lots of prayers. The twin pregnancies I have known of in our family and friends have both ended in tragedy. In the midst of all of our joy, there is a great deal of worry and fear. All I want is to come home with both of my healthy babies. Off to update my signature!

 

Oh, this brings back so many happy memories for me. Congratulations!!!

 

We had 5 under 5, too. Our 5th was born 3 months before our oldest's 5th birthday. So their ages were 4, 3, 3 (twin boys), 13 mos., and baby.

 

The twins are now 21, both married and thriving. (The second one married this past Saturday.) One of the greatest joys of my life was raising those boys.

 

Best wishes to you! You're going to have so much fun!

[kb44]

My docs did not push a c-sec, but definitely preferred if I ended up with one...less complicated for them. I only had a c-sec because baby A was breech, no matter all I did to get him turned. They did an ultrasound right before I was wheeled in, to make sure a c-sec was still necessary. I went to 38 weeks before they told me I had to schedule a delivery.

[kemilie]

I may be repeating some advice because I didn't read the WHOLE post... :)

 

Congrats! Twins are tough. The first year will be a blur, get all the help you can. BUT... you'll make it through!

 

My best advice would be to prepare everything you can early. I had my twins at 34 weeks (I was measuring 44!), I think my body just couldn't handle getting any bigger so it went into labor. :) Luckily after a short NICU stay I was able to bring them home. But whatever you can do ahead of time to ease the transition and lessen the workload for the newborn stage is definitely a good thing!

 

And take lots of pictures. They are always so cute in pictures... and due to sleep deprivation you might need the pictures to prompt recall of the year. Ha!

 

All kidding aside, I love my twins - they just turned 5 this summer - but I do think it is a lot more work than having 1 baby at a time. A blessing, yes. But one that requires some hard work. :)

 

Kara

 

(who will have 5 6 and under in the next two months!)

[craftyerin]

Congratulations! :D

 

I second all the "it's hard but worth it" and "the first year is insane but it gets better" and "read the Dr. Luke book" comments.

 

I carried mine 36 weeks, brought my 6lb 7oz baby boy home with me, but my 4lb 4oz baby girl got to do a 10 day stint in NICU. I had an OB who was supportive of vaginal twin birth, as long as baby A was vertex. I delivered a vertex baby A and a breech baby B. Baby girl was breech my whole pregnancy. She spent 8mos hearing me tell her to "Get your head out of my rib cage, kid!" She never complied. :glare: Foreshadowing of her current temperament. :tongue_smilie:

 

It's a fun journey! Not one I'd want to repeat, but also one I wouldn't trade for the world. Best of luck to you!

[MusicMama]

Congratulations!!!

 

Rest as much as you can, eat as much as you can (it gets hard at the end, you stomach is so smushed that even when you feel hungry you can barely eat anything before you feel full!), eat lots of protein and healthy fat so you can grow those babies!

 

I feel that way already! Before I found out about the twins, I told my sister that I feel like I can either eat or drink, I don't have room for both! And in this summer heat, I am thirsty a lot! I have heard several times now how important diet is. I have started keeping a food journal and noticed how I need to be better about eating MORE. It sounds like I'm trying to "diet" which isn't the case at all! I'm trying to eat as much as I can, and trying to eat small frequent meals. There just isn't any room. I may need to switch to higher calorie foods just to meet the minimum.

 

Here's what I ate today:

"8:00 Bfast: 3 eggs, homemade whole potato hashbrowns with olive oil and cheese. 6oz milk.

Snack 9:30 8oz OJ

12:30 Pb&J on whole wheat

4:15 Bowl of cherries and 2oz cheese

5:30 2 bowls of homemade rice, bean and tomato stew with bits of ham.

9:45 1 ear of corn with butter and salt and 8oz chocolate milk.

And my ever present water bottle."

 

Is that enough???? I want the babies to gain enough weight!

 

I may be repeating some advice because I didn't read the WHOLE post... :)

 

Congrats! Twins are tough. The first year will be a blur, get all the help you can. BUT... you'll make it through!

And take lots of pictures. They are always so cute in pictures... and due to sleep deprivation you might need the pictures to prompt recall of the year. Ha!

 

All kidding aside, I love my twins - they just turned 5 this summer - but I do think it is a lot more work than having 1 baby at a time. A blessing, yes. But one that requires some hard work. :)

 

Kara

 

(who will have 5 6 and under in the next two months!)

 

This is the second time I've heard about the first year blur. I will have to tell my husband he is on camera duty!

 

Congratulations! :D

 

I second all the "it's hard but worth it" and "the first year is insane but it gets better" and "read the Dr. Luke book" comments.

 

I carried mine 36 weeks, brought my 6lb 7oz baby boy home with me, but my 4lb 4oz baby girl got to do a 10 day stint in NICU. I had an OB who was supportive of vaginal twin birth, as long as baby A was vertex. I delivered a vertex baby A and a breech baby B. Baby girl was breech my whole pregnancy. She spent 8mos hearing me tell her to "Get your head out of my rib cage, kid!" She never complied. :glare: Foreshadowing of her current temperament. :tongue_smilie:

 

It's a fun journey! Not one I'd want to repeat, but also one I wouldn't trade for the world. Best of luck to you!

 

Thanks for all the advice! This is helping to ease the overwhelmed feeling. Now if we could only win the lottery... :tongue_smilie:

[AdventureMoms]

I feel that way already! Before I found out about the twins, I told my sister that I feel like I can either eat or drink, I don't have room for both! And in this summer heat, I am thirsty a lot! I have heard several times now how important diet is. I have started keeping a food journal and noticed how I need to be better about eating MORE. It sounds like I'm trying to "diet" which isn't the case at all! I'm trying to eat as much as I can, and trying to eat small frequent meals. There just isn't any room. I may need to switch to higher calorie foods just to meet the minimum.

 

Here's what I ate today:

"8:00 Bfast: 3 eggs, homemade whole potato hashbrowns with olive oil and cheese. 6oz milk.

Snack 9:30 8oz OJ

12:30 Pb&J on whole wheat

4:15 Bowl of cherries and 2oz cheese

5:30 2 bowls of homemade rice, bean and tomato stew with bits of ham.

9:45 1 ear of corn with butter and salt and 8oz chocolate milk.

And my ever present water bottle."

 

Is that enough???? I want the babies to gain enough weight!

 

 

 

This is the second time I've heard about the first year blur. I will have to tell my husband he is on camera duty!

 

 

 

Thanks for all the advice! This is helping to ease the overwhelmed feeling. Now if we could only win the lottery... :tongue_smilie:

 

That looks like a healthy regular diet, but you need more protein than that. Breakfast looks pretty good, but the rest of the day is fairly light on the protein.

 

Suggestions: I'd have put meat with that stew (as a side, not just bits in it), maybe cottage cheese for a morning snack, along with some meat at lunch and a PB sandwich with the corn at bedtime. Add chocolate protein powder to make your chocolate milk. She had the full belly issue too - she had to eat 6-8x a day in small portions. We tried to make sure each portion had protein (meat, cheese, or peanut butter) and she never went more than 2-3 waking hours without food. If she did, she'd feel so hungry that she was nauseous, and then she didn't want to eat! She also woke ravenous in the middle of the night so we packed her a snack in a cooler by the bed.

 

We found the brewer diet plan helpful:

http://drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id9.html

[Sahamamama]

:grouphug: That is not a hug of sympathy, but a hug of welcome. :D

 

Every child is a precious gift, and I feel so blessed to have been given two at time!

[Farrar]

Did anyone find that their doctor preferred to do a c-section regardless of the position of the twins? I would like to avoid a routine c-section and didn't know if that was possible any more with twins. My doctor said she would try if Baby A was not breech or transverse. But the other doctors in the practice won't even attempt a vdelivery. Any suggestions, thoughts, or experiences?

 

This is why we went with a planned home birth with a lay midwife. Unfortunately I did end up transporting to the hospital mid-labor, but I had a backup doctor infamous for letting anyone do a vaginal delivery. I delivered breech. If its important to you, find another doctor now or, depending on the other factors, considering going home birth.

[Sahamamama]

Because of my protein intake, I was able to take them HOME with me, that weekend when we were released. They were 4.2 and 5.2 at 36 weeks, and I swear it was the whey isolate. They never had RSV, or any of the other multiples problems.

 

:iagree:I went to 39.5 weeks and our girls were over 7 lbs. each. Yup, I was as big as a barge. In fact, I took up the whole king-sized bed, if you factor in my turning radius. But by about 6 months in, I was sleeping upright on the recliner. Do you have a recliner?

 

Eat protein, drink water, and don't let them tell you you're gaining too much weight. :tongue_smilie:

 

We knew that Ha was vertex (head-down) on the left side, while Ma was breech on the right side. We knew this because we named them, in utero. ;) It was nice to talk to them and tell them, "Hey, knock it off in there, you two! Stop pushing each other!" Ha would not tolerate Ma on top, she would kick and fuss and roll. But Ma was so laid back, she didn't seem to mind Ha on top of her all night. They are wired this way to this day, with Ha being intense (like "Tigger") and Ma being mellow (like "Eeyore," sort of). They have a connection that is... mysterious and wonderful.

 

My twin pregnancy was easier in many ways than my first. For one thing, I had much less joint pain, and I just felt better and stronger. They did get simultaneous hiccups, though. That was interesting....

 

We were happy when we first heard the news, but scared when it settled in a bit. I remember looking at my husband and saying, "Don't worry, Honey, in a few weeks we will not be able to say which one we wouldn't want to keep." That seemed to calm him, LOL.

 

I will say, they are 5.5 years old now, and it still amazes me...