Twin's Club 2! All Welcome! :)

[holidays2010]

Continued on from Here
Tried to update best I can with limited info and time, but here's the list on the new Twins Club thread, please update if I've missed anything!

Sassy34264 #2&3 EDD 12/09/10, Lancs, Jacob and Isobel born 13/8/10
strawberrylace #2&3 EDD 1/12/10, Suffolk, surprise Zoey and Lucas born 23/10/10 by c section
jjkm #1&2 ADD 29/1/11, outside the UK, Girls born 25/10/10
Lavitabellissima #1&2 EDD 13/12/10, SW London, Identical girls Born 04/11/10 c section (early 34&3)
smokeybacon #3&4 EDD 25th Nov, Nottingham, Freddie and Tobias born 06/11/10, natural birth after induction.
Jenzopos #1&2 EDD 23/11/10, Charlotte & Anna, Manchester 15/11/10 6lb 7oz and 7lb 5oz
Swazzee #1&2 EDD 02/12/10, South London, Adem 6lb 3oz and Rafi 5lb 13oz 21/11/10
Amberc #2&3, Madeleine (6.3lb) & Isabella (6.11lb) , delivered by C Section on 07/1/11 at 37 weeks, Kent
Thingamajig #2&3 EDD 20/3/11, Cornwall, identical girls Hannah (5lb4oz) and Louise (4lb4oz) born 13/2/11
Magic8ballhastheanswers #3&4 EDD 22/3/11 South London, ID girls born 27/2/11
Cerubina #1&2, SW London, Sebastian (3lb 4oz) and Rosamund (3lb 9oz) born 8 weeks early on 26/2/11 by emergency c-section
Holidays2010, 2 Baby Boys born 06/03/2011
CantDrinkAnyMoreMilk, Scotland, Baby Girl and Baby Boy born 01/03/2011
crazydayz, Thomas and Isobel, born on 28/4/2011 by C-section at 7lb 3 and 6lb 14

Tabbycat76 #1+2 Edd 21/02/11, Suffolk, surprise
VictoriaSecrets #1&2, EDD 17/05/11, Basingstoke, Prob Non-ID twin girls!

Snowfalls108 #2&3 EDD 29/05/2011, SW London, ID surprise
MissyMolly #1&2, EDD 29/05/2011, Midlands, non ID boy and girl
RestingKitty #1&2 EDD 15/06/2011, South London, boy & girl
Propercrimbo #2&3 EDD 16/07/11, North Lancs, not finding out
Brassicababe #1&2, 22/07/2011, Lincs, non-id, surprise
MorningsMadness #2&3 EDD 14/08/2011, Surrey, Non-ID twin girls
MrsStevo, #1 & 2, EDD 23/08/2011, Lincs, MCDA ID
Redshaw, EDD Sept 2011, MCDA ID
Tiggersreturn #2+3 EDD 26/09/11 NW London DCDA - not finding out
DoubleDiffedDachs, #1&2 EDD 5/10/11, Twyford (Berks), DCDA, too early to tell!
Fluter, EDD October 2011, Non-ID
PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling #1+2 EDD ... , DCDA
mybootsaremuddy 6+7 EDD 7/7/2011, surprise
silverangel #1+2 EDD ..., ID

Hi everyone, please can I join your thread? I am 8 weeks pg with ID twins - monochorionic but too early to tell if mono or diamniotic. Due date is 23/1/11 but am told they are likely to appear around Xmas time if we get that far. Got back from scan and googled ID twins and totally freaked myself out with all the scary statistics! Have tried to reach a calm place where I tell myself that whatever happens it will be for the best but am not sure how long I can keep it up. Have had 2 mcs in the past year so am convinced I will lose these two, especially as it's so early still. Time is going soooo slowly and I am counting the days until my next scan at 10 weeks... I have so many questions for you all, but am going to try to force myself to wait until 12 weeks before getting too hopeful. Needless to say, the nausea is really bad and I am completely exhausted but I don't care as long as I get to keep them!!!

welcome ladybird!! Congratulations on your pregnancy!! Very, very anxious times for you right now I'm sure but try and stay positive. I had a mc last year and, like you, immediately assumed I'd lose these babies when I found out I was pregnant again but I am happily now 30 weeks so it can happen. There are threads on here somewhere for people who have experience mcs before and are fretting about their current pregnancy so it might be worth you finding one of those if you want some company in your fretting.

One piece of advice I HAVE to tell you is STOP GOOGLING!!! It is just the WORST thing to do no matter how much you want to. Half the info on it is nonsense anyway - you're much better on places like this talking to real people who are experiencing it all too.

Question away when you're ready though! We're all here to support each other. Keep counting off those days x x

Welcome ladybird and keep thinking positive - sickness and exhaustion are good signs so ignore Google as MrsS rightly says!

Thanks to both of you! Your messages made me laugh and feel much better. I will stay away from Google! Do you remember if you had quite bad stomach pains around this time? I have been told that they are really common as everything gets bigger to make room, but it is hard to convince yourself that pain can be good! They get really bad if I spend a lot of time walking around, but seem to ease off when I sit (or better still lie) down. Also, did you have tiny bits of spotting on and off?....

Hi Ladybird. I had a mc just over 2 years ago and then took a very long time to conceive again before the amazing happened. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1230086-Freak-Out-Room-For-Those-Newly-Updiffed-After-M-C-Part-VII this place is wonderful for pg after mc wibbles.

I didn't have any stomach pains this time but with ds I had awful cramps quite early on and they gave me a scan to check all was ok.

To calm myself down I tried believing that it was so amazing to have conceived twins that it must be meant to happen. This seemed to work most of the time except for the night before scans (oh and about 2 weeks from 14-16 weeks )

Good luck and welcome!

Congratualtions Ladybird!!

I had a mmc before this pregnancy so freaked myself out about every little niggle and twinge in the first 12 weeks. Convinced myself I was going to miscarry again. For me the stretching pains were quite bad, like period cramps and I think, totally normal. I also had sore teeth and gums, a really bad back - all sorts - and I think it was all in some way linked to the pregnancy, or to the fact that I was stressing out so much about everything and really tense.

I also had a bleed at 11 weeks that terrified the life out of me. Turned out it was caused by a low lying placenta which is quite common with twins because the embryos are higher up. Placenta moved up after that and all was fine.

Mrs S is right, google is evil!! x

Thanks tiggersreturn and silverangel there's nothing like hearing about other people's aches and pains to make you calm down a bit! When the books talk about round ligament pain (or whatever it's called) they always say things like "mild stretching feeling" which is a big understatement in my case! It is great to be able to tell people I'm pregnant as we have decided to keep quiet about it for as long as possible, so this is just what I need! Thanks for your support!

I have also joined the pregnant after miscarriage thread you recommended tiggersreturn - so I won't bore you all senseless with my miscarriage stressing!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

So were down to 3 dc for the next 24hrs!!! Xavier has gone to his godfathers for the weekend to some army thing. Nicholas and Jonathan have gone to grandparents and will be back tomorow afternoon!!

Twins are asleep (for now anyway) and Elizabeth is sat between me and dh having cuddles but it though i would do a very quick update on here whilst i have the chance (E is giggling over my shoulder at this!)

Twins now have names Christina Kiri Alice and Quentin Hemi Alden.

Im absolutely shattered. Twins were on 3hr feeds but last few days Christina seems to be wanting 2hrly!!!(Quentin still on 3) As u may know/will know yourselves this can be disaterous with twins!! sleep is almost non exsistant for me at the moment. Im trying to hold her off as long as poss so they both have same feed times and hoping she gets the idea soon as otherwise things are only going to get worse!!!!

Im feeling realy guilty and a faliure at moment as ive had to stop bf Jonathan(14mth) as im just too tired after doing the twins. He dosent seem to mind he was used to taking bm from a beaker anyway but i realy enjoyed our morning and bedtime 'mumma milk and story' time, It makes my cry thinking of it. DH sugested introducing bm in a bottle to the twins so he can help with night feeds and older dc/nanny during the day. Im not sure though as idont want to confuse them. Ive bf all my dc and never introduced a bottle as they went strait to a beaker at around 6/7mths for nanyy/nursery and had from breast breakfast and bedtime.
Will using a bottle confuse them? I have stacks of bm in the freezer as have been expressing for Jontahan so the nanny always has a supply during the day (hes very small and needs extra feeds/calories compared to the 'average' 14mth).

Im guessing that with twins a good solid routine as soon as poss is prob the way to go???? My other dc just fell into one themselves naturally but i guess it would help if twins could both have the same one as each other!!!

Sorry for the long post. I think im going to go jump in the shower then go to bed....... hoping desperatley that Christina and Quentin wake at the same times as each other tonight!!

Oh and congratulations and welcome to Ladybird.

You have 6 children including newborn twins, and you're asking US for advice?!

Seriously, you deserve some kind of medal. I know they say they don't hand them out for childbirth/rearing, but I think maybe they should in exceptional cases .

And, er, re the feeding, I would just say trust your instincts - they are clearly right!

I completely agree about the medal! :) Wow. I'm not surprised you are so tired mybootsaremuddy - I hope that the twins regulate their feeing very soon so that you can get some better sleep!

I am slightly concerned as none of my trousers fit any more and I am only 9 weeks. Did this happen to anyone else?! I'm probably eating more than I should, but the nausea is so hard to deal with otherwise. It would be good to know that it's not just extra flab though!

1 more quick question - does anyone have a fetal heartrate monitor? Do they work properly with twins? Is it madness to get one - the waiting between scans is sooooo hard! Would appreciate any thoughts...

ladybird - I was in maternity clothes by 11 weeks!! Possibly partially due to flab as all I wanted to eat was carbs at that time!! Don't worry about your increasing size, it is more important that you get a decent diet intake at the moment if you're feeling so nauseous.

I do have a fetal heartrate monitor and it has kept me sane during some very dark times!! I got the Angel Sounds one (think they're about £30 on amazon). I can usually pick up both twins' heartbeats but sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the two. Word of warning though - you prob won't be able to hear heartbeats until about 16 weeks so if you get it now, please don't panic that you can't hear anything as that is normal.

Hi MrsS thanks so much for that. I have ordered the Angel Sounds one from Amazon (half price at the mo!) Will bear what you said in mind (although am obviously desperately and irrationally hoping that I will be able to pick them up straight away)!

One other question - it's about the combined testing for Downs Syndrome. I read that for ID twins the nuchal fold test is the only one which is accurate as the blood tests look for the level of something in the blood that gets messed up if twins share a placenta. But then they are saying that I should have the blood tests anyway. I am seeing the midwife tomorrow and was wondering if I should be asking about alternative tests. I am going to be referred to a specialist team of midwives who deal with twins at some point I think, but the one I'm seeing tomorrow won't necessarily know this stuff. I just wondered what you guys had been told about that at your 12 week scan (if you can remember...?!)

My recollection of the nuchal test was that they CAN do the blood tests if they are sharing a placenta. It is if they are monochoronic monoamniotic (i.e. swimming around in the same amniotic fluid, touching each other) that they CAN'T. Mine were monochoronic diamniotic (MCDA) but sharing a placenta and they did the bloods and NT scan for me. I believe they then take the results of both of those, and your age, and then put it into some kind of formula to come up with the risk.

That's my understanding anyway!! The pros may tell you differently!

Same for me but mine are not sharing placenta, etc so they did bloods too but generally the fold measurement was the main pointer - the combined result was taken into account though.

I was also enormous really quickly and haven't stopped ha ha!

Thanks to both of you, that's good to know about the tests. Am wondering how long I can keep this a secret if I carry on enlarging at this rate! Anyway, am looking forward to seeing midwife tomorrow and am going to take myself off for a scan on Monday so keep your fingers crossed for me please!! Hope everyone else ok

Hello,

I didnt have the bloods and to be honest hadn't really thought about it until I bumped into a friend in the antenatal clinic who was there for her 12 week scan and she was was waiting for her blood results (same age as me). Mine are MCDA and the blood test was never even mentioned.

I find it interesting how different hospitals / regions have different approaches to twin (esp ID) pregnancies and childbirth. And confusing!

Can you have id twins on two placentas? Also keep getting told / reading that you can very rarely get opposite sex id twins. Really?! Can't figure that one out at all, and I'm from a biology background!

Myboots, I'm impressed you even managed to log on and type a coherent message:)

Hi silverangel I agree it is strange how much hospital policies vary and I am interested to find out what my hospital's policy is on ID twins. I am hoping it is to scan every 2 weeks from 16 weeks (which is the official advice from the Royal College of Obstetricians), I just don't want to have to fight for scans or to see a consultant come to that! My friend who has just had non-ID twins said they kept sending her junior doctors and in the end after months and months she said I just want to see someone who is over 40!!! (i.e. highly qualified and experienced!!)

You can have ID twins on 2 placentas - it all depends on when the egg splits after fertilisation - if it is in the first few days they will have separate placentas, if it is the few days after that they will be MCDA and if it is later than that they will be MCMA apparently.

Everything I have read says that it is completely impossible to have opposite sex ID twins as they are genetically identical therefore by definition have to be the same sex...

I knew my initial googling would pay off in some way (apart from scaring me senseless) - I promise I have stopped now!

Hi everyone - sorry for being a bit of a stranger, I've had my hands quite full! The twins finally arrived 2 weeks ago at 39+2 weighing 6lb4 and 6lb2. I can't believe I spent so much time worrying about premature arrivals! We are all well...I am exhausted, but happy and coping with everything.

Welcome and good luck to all the new members!
Kitty

Hurray!! Congratulations resting kitty!! Fabulous news! (except for the exhausted bit!). Do we get to know their names? Hopeyou and the little ones continue to do really well x

Sassy34264 #2&3 EDD 12/09/10, Lancs, Jacob and Isobel born 13/8/10
strawberrylace #2&3 EDD 1/12/10, Suffolk, surprise Zoey and Lucas born 23/10/10 by c section
jjkm #1&2 ADD 29/1/11, outside the UK, Girls born 25/10/10
Lavitabellissima #1&2 EDD 13/12/10, SW London, Identical girls Vivienne & Florence Born 04/11/10 c section (early 34&3)
smokeybacon #3&4 EDD 25th Nov, Nottingham, Freddie and Tobias born 06/11/10, natural birth after induction.
Jenzopos #1&2 EDD 23/11/10, Charlotte & Anna, Manchester 15/11/10 6lb 7oz and 7lb 5oz
Swazzee #1&2 EDD 02/12/10, South London, Adem 6lb 3oz and Rafi 5lb 13oz 21/11/10
Amberc #2&3, Madeleine (6.3lb) & Isabella (6.11lb) , delivered by C Section on 07/1/11 at 37 weeks, Kent
Thingamajig #2&3 EDD 20/3/11, Cornwall, identical girls Hannah (5lb4oz) and Louise (4lb4oz) born 13/2/11
Magic8ballhastheanswers #3&4 EDD 22/3/11 South London, ID girls born 27/2/11
Cerubina #1&2, SW London, Sebastian (3lb 4oz) and Rosamund (3lb 9oz) born 8 weeks early on 26/2/11 by emergency c-section
Holidays2010, 2 Baby Boys born 06/03/2011
CantDrinkAnyMoreMilk, Scotland, Baby Girl and Baby Boy born 01/03/2011
crazydayz, Thomas and Isobel, born on 28/4/2011 by C-section at 7lb 3 and 6lb 14
mybootsaremuddy, Baby Girl (3lb 10) and Baby Boy (4lb 4) born 02/06/2011
RestingKitty #1&2, Born 10/06/2011, Baby boy and Baby girl (6lb 4 and 6lb 2)

Tabbycat76 #1+2 Edd 21/02/11, Suffolk, surprise
VictoriaSecrets #1&2, EDD 17/05/11, Basingstoke, Prob Non-ID twin girls!
Snowfalls108 #2&3 EDD 29/05/2011, SW London, ID surprise
MissyMolly #1&2, EDD 29/05/2011, Midlands, non ID boy and girl

Propercrimbo #2&3 EDD 16/07/11, North Lancs, not finding out
Brassicababe #1&2, 22/07/2011, Lincs, non-id, surprise
MorningsMadness #2&3 EDD 14/08/2011, Surrey, Non-ID twin girls
MrsStevo, #1 & 2, EDD 23/08/2011, Lincs, MCDA ID
Redshaw, EDD Sept 2011, MCDA ID
Tiggersreturn #2+3 EDD 26/09/11 NW London DCDA - not finding out
silverangel #1+2 EDD 2/10/11 MCDA, ID- not finding out
Fluter, EDD October 2011, Non-ID
PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling #1+2 EDD ... , DCDA

In our thoughts and prayers:
Dachs, #1&2 EDD 5/10/11, Twyford (Berks), DCDA, Alexander Edmund born asleep on 21/5/11 at 20+3 followed shortly by his sister Felicia Sophia

Congratulations restingkitty, brilliant news!

Congratulations restingkitty that is really lovely news!

Welcome quempin!! Congratulations on your fantastic news! Hope you've recovered from the shock of hearing that you're having TWO babies! x