Twins Club 4!! All welcome. :-)

[rednellie]

Right ladies, welcome aboard for mutual hand holding. Here are the stats - they're probably all wrong!

MrsStevo, #1 & 2, EDD 23/08/2011, Lincs, MCDA ID,
Tiggersreturn #2+3 EDD 26/09/11 NW London DCDA - not finding out
silverangel #1+2 Sophie, 3lb3 & Alice3lb1 born at 31+2 on 01/08/11 EMCS
PrincessScrumpy #2 & 3, girls
BB3, #2&3 (#1 DS) DCDA girls born 20.09.11 by EMCS at 37 weeks exactly - Edith-May 5lb 11.5oz and Ayse-Rose 6lb 1oz.

PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling #1+2 EDD, DCDA, Boy and Girl, Born 14 Sept
Twinnerves, DCDA, #2&3, girls Francesca and Isabella, born 18/11/11 EMCS 6lbs 6 oz and 6lbs 9.5oz
xkatyx , ID girls, DC 8,5,9months, ELCS 23/12/11 Rosie and Hollie
Quempin #1&2 EDD 27/1/12, ID boys, T1 5lb5oz, T2 just under 5lb, ELCS 36 weeks
Ravenlocks DCDA, #1&2, 6.01.12 T1 Boy, 4lb 12oz, T2 Girl, 6lb
Tabbycatt, DCDA, 2 boys, DC 2 & 3, 2/1/12 at 36 weeks, VB, T1 5lb 5oz, T2 5lb 11oz
claireinmodena dcda bg born 8/2 Emma (2,870 kg) and Riccardo (2,310 kg)
StinkingBishop 2 &3 DCDA girls EDD 19/3/12
RedNellie DC 2&3, DCDA boys, EDD 28/3/12
DreamingOfPeace, DCDA boys, DC 2 & 3, EDD 19/4/12
Skitoo: DCDA Boys, DC #1&2, EDD 14/05/12
Bigboobsatlast: MCDA Boys, DC #2 & 3. EDD 23.05.12
Buonasera, 1&2, DCDA, EDD 22/05/12 (???)
Lilyni DC 4&5, DCDA, EDD 12/06/12
goimgmadtrying: mcda id girls dc 3&4!!!! edd 05/08/12
Teds DCDA #1&2 EDD 31/07/12
Kazar99 DCDA EDD ???

Hi ladies.

I have been reading the post on here for a few weeks and I think I should say hi now.

I am 23+2 with DCDA girls. They will be our first DC. To say I am extremely scared is an understatement. My mum and family live abroad and I don't have anyone in the area really as we haven't been here long. My mum will come and help out for a couple of months when they arrive. I go from feeling extremely thankful and excited to be having twins to petrified and worried! I am hoping this is normal????

My latest worry is the birth! Silly as I am only 23 weeks but I am scared. I don't know if I should insist on a c-section or if I should have a natural birth. I know a natural birth is best but the thought of pushing out two scares me to death! I also hate the idea of having an epidural, I don't want to not being in control of my body and not to be able to feel what I am doing! But then I worry that the pain will be unbearable without the epidural! It makes me feel quite tearful if I think about it too much so I am burying my head in the sand and pretending it is not going to happen. I am hoping you ladies with experience can give me tips or encouragement?

Congratulations to the ladies who have had their gorgeous twins lately. Going, your daughters are simply lovely and it makes my heart race with excitement to meet my little girls!

Welcome Pixies! and huge congratulations on your twin pregnancy - two girls! It is completely normal to lurch from excitement to dread!! Towards the end excitement and antisipation at meeting your daughters will overtake your feelings of worry - because you will just want to get them out and meet them!

Lots of us don't have family close by, and one twin Mummy on here (Rednellie) is in a similar situation to you in that her family are in another country - I am sure she will have some words of comfort for you - you WILL be able to do it! as for the birth, it is hard not to think and try to plan but to be completely honest it really is not worth giving it too much thought just yet as your options will change as your pregnancy progresses - IMO it is not worth agonising over how you would give birth when later in your preganancy your birth plan may no longer be an option. Having said that, it IS worth getting as much information as possible so when the time comes you are able to make a decision you are happy with. Again, there are twin Mums on here who have gone down the various routes - planned CS, emergency CS and natural birth. I was lucky enough to have mine naturally - and had epidural (which I was also not keen on for the reasons you give) - however, I honestly don't think I could have done it without an epidural as I was already so uncomfortable that when the contractions......!!! Epidural please!! and it was fab, birth really was great and magical.

Teds, of course you are going to be emotional!!! How exciting, getting the cots ready. You long journey is nearly over and you get to meet TWO babies!!! I hope you are managing to relax and get some sleep in the run up to the birth.

Baileys, you are doing so well - can't believe you are 30 weeks! Scans can definitely be rather in accurate - I know a scan a few weeks before mine came along was quite wrong, but the one just before the birth was pretty much spot on - it all depends on how could a view they can get of the babies and how squished they are! I am sure yours are getting pretty squished all the time. How are you feeling? You are doing brilliantly if you can just get out of bed in the morning with three babies cooking away

Kazar, hope the house is coming together and you are getting some rest!

Hello to everyone else, and thinking of you Going - hope those girls of yours are letting you get some sleep x

Just added a couple more piccies of my boys - 10 weeks now and they are getting right chubby little things!!

Thank you everyone for your kind comments about my little ladies :)

Things are starting to settle down here but still working hard to get breast feeding established, any words of hope from those already gone through it gratefully received :) if you are formula feeding how do you prepare the night feed currently buying ready made bottles like hospital for night time but can't do this long term!!

I to was lucky enough for a natural birth was recommended to have epidural, although it hadn't started to work for the first twin i didn't find it much different to a singleton labour, although my second twin was born in 29 minutes, she was the hardest as she had further to come!

Also echo the difference in scan weights to real life, my twins were nearly a lb difference however on scans were showing the same??

Hope your all doing ok :)

Oh and sleep bigboobs what's that??? Definitely an over rated commodity lol :)

Hi everyone

Baileys - well done on having good scans - am still in awe of where you are. Am 7 weeks behind and it feels like a lifetime!

Going - glad things are settling down. I'm such a technophobe - please could someone tell me where the pics are posted because I can't seem to find them!

Teds - I'm sure the worrying never completely goes away but so good to be close to the time when you'll meet your babies. We also thought having a family may be difficult which is why all of this still feels like it can't really be happening.

Pixies - Congratulations! I'm 23 weeks exactly with triplets and also have no family support here as both my husband and I are from abroad and live in London with friends spread all over. My mum's also going to come over for the first few months but then we'll hopefully go home if the babies are well enough. As this is my first pregnancy and there'll be 3 I'm looking into perhaps getting a maternity nurse fo the 2 weeks. PM me if you'd like any info on this.

Re: natural birth, I don't know as much about this as have been told I'll definitely be having a C-section. But I went to a Tamba talk a few weeks ago and one of the twin mums said that the advantage of having an epidural is that there's a risk that even if both babies are head down, one may move after the first one has been born. And at that stage it's too late to give you an epidural so if an emergency C-section was required, they'd have to put you under general. Not sure how true that is etc but thought it was interesting.

Hope everyone's doing well.

Hello pixies welcome!

Oh rubbish, I've three ill children and ones woken again, sorry, back later!!

Angel - I am sure you have already looked in to this, but apparently Norland Nannies offer a free student placement for truplet mummies - worth contacting them as they may provide a nearly-qualifies nanny for free (they want them to have the experience of triplets) - an extra pair of hands would be helpful I am sure! A triplet family I know took advantage of this.

Going - I ff and make up all feeds in advance and store them in the fridge. So a quick blast in the microwave and they are ready. I don't know any one who makes feeds up from scratch, as the manufactureres say!! But, if you are worried then you could get the ready made formula cartains - you can get litre cartons or 200/250ml cartons. I used the small cartons in the early weeks as I couold get 4 feeds from one carton!! Most brands do this - I know SMA and aptamil do, and I expect others. Mine are on Aptamil Comfort now because of mild reflux and constipation - so no cartons for this so still make up all feeds for the day first thing and then for the night at tea time. Hope that helps.

Dream - lots of hugs and mugs of hot chocolate for you x

pixies - sorry I've not been keeping up with this thread so much recently so missed your post.

Yeah, we're about a million miles away from our family/friends, but we've managed. I had my Mum here for a few weeks prior to and post the birth which really helped, especially as I have an older DD. Re: natural birth. Well, I'm a BIG advocate of it if that's what you want. With all births you have to be positive going into it and that's sometimes hard with twins. I refused an epidural for all the reasons I didn't have one first time round (delaying labour, affecting your ability to push etc), and in the end my OB did have to reach in a spin twin2 around to make sure he came out alright. To be honest, it really didn't hurt that much, and it was over in seconds and then he popped out and we were all done! BUT you have to do what's going to work for you - do lots of research and talk to your docs and just see how your pregnancy goes. If you want any pointers of good places to look on the web send me a message. Oh, and congratulations!!!

Bigboobs - thanks for the tip. I'd contacted Norland and enquired as their website says they offer placements in the Bath/Bristol area. So I said I was expecting triplets in London and if they knew of any colleges nearby. They said they didn't and didn't mention the possibility of a placement. Where was the triplet family you knew based? Someone else said I should contact Newborn Education Services & Training (NEST) and they're going to speak to me next week re: putting me in touch with some of their students which could work out quite well.

angel, I know of 2 families in Hampshire x

Back. I'll get straight to the birth bit pixies as its still manic here...

My first birth was a natural delivery, induced as my waters broke at 40+2 but I didn't go into labour. I hated the induction, full drip up job as the pessary etc didn't work. I couldn't cope with the pain, was constantly told it was an unfavourable induction, starved for CS throughout and ended up with a third degree tear, op for that and long recovery. So for the twins I decided early on I was never being induced again, and as i got to term I had an elective section despite t1 being head down. I had the choice all along regardless of baby position due to my tear history. It was lovely, calm delivery and I'm very pleased with my choice. I had a good quick recovery, was driving after 15 days, doing all normal things after three weeks, no pain killers. Tender yes, and at 14 weeks my scar is still a bit tender but not painful iykwim. However, I'm sure a straightforward natural delivery is better, but I was too scared it wouldn't go well and desperately didn't want to re-tear after a third degree tear as it carries much higher risk of future continence problems etc. So my view is based on my first bad experience. But just to say an elcs can be a lovely birth too :)

Thanks for the replies ladies.

Since my first post I have had a consultant anesthetist appointment at the hospital. She wanted to talk to me about the possibility of a c-section and pain relief for a natural birth. She was such a lovely women and I came away feeling really positive and much happier than before. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I will probably (and hopefully) have a double natural birth. The thought doesn't scare me to tears anymore.

Next step is to start thinking about writing my birth plan.

I appreciate you taking the time to reassure me.

PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling #1+2 DCDA boy and girl born 14.09.11
BB3 #2&3 DCDA girls born 20.09.11 Edith-May 5lb11.5oz Ayse-Rose 6lb1oz
Twinnerves #2&3 DCDA girls born 18.11.11 Francesca 6lb6oz Isabella 6lbs9.5oz
Xkatyx #4&5 MCDA girls born 23.12.11 Rosie 5lb9oz Hollie 5lb6oz
Tabbycatt #2&3 DCDA boys born 02.01.12 T1 5lb5oz T2 5lb11oz
Quempin #1&2 MCDA boys born 04.01.12 T1 5lb5oz, T2 just under 5lb
Ravenlocks #1&2 DCDA boy and girl born 06.01.12 T1 Boy 4lb12oz T2 Girl 6lb
Claireinmodena #3&4 DCDA boy and girl born 08.02.12 Emma 2,870 kg Riccardo 2,310 kg
Rednellie #2&3 DCDA boys born 13.03.12 Madoc 6lb5oz Idris 6lb7oz
Stinkingbishop #2&3 DCDA girls born 20.03.12 Charlotte 6lb3oz Romilly 5lb 8oz
Skitoo #1&2 DCDA boys born 01.04.12 Oscar 4lb1oz Henry 4lb11oz
DreamingOfPeace #2&3 DCDA boys born 04.04.12 Sebastian 6lb9oz Benjamin 5lb10oz
Desiren #3&4 MCDA boys born 19.04.12 Drew 5lb12oz Adrian (AJ) 5lb7oz
Bigboobsatlast #2&3 MCDA boys born 30.04.12 Michael 6lb6oz Edward 5lb14oz
Scollister #2&3 MCDA girls born 03.05.12 Willow 6lb3oz Daisy 6lb4oz
NoMoreWineForMeThen #2&3 boys born 10.05.12 T1 6lb11oz T2 6lb7oz
Lilyni #4&5 DCDA girls born 18.05.12 Scarlett 5lb10oz Connie 6lb3oz
Goingmadtrying #3&4 MCDA girls born 29.06.12 Freya 4lb15oz Grace 5lb12oz

Buonasera #1&2 DCDA EDD 22.05.12
NotsoYoung #2&3 MCDA girls EDD 06.06.12
Chargos #3&4 boys EDD? July 12
Gardenpixies 32 #1&2 DCDA 5.11.12 - 2 Girls

Still waiting?
Teds77 #1&2 DCDA boy & girl EDD 31.07.12
Kazar99 #1&2 DCDA EDD 17.09.12
Baileyslover #2,3&4 triplets 1 boy and 2 girls EDD? Sept 12 (provisional ELCS 09.08.12)
Celestia #2&3 DCDA EDD 16.10.12
Angelpie #? Triplets EDD? Nov 12
Thereisball #2&3 DCDA EDD? Nov 12
Nebbo #1&2 MCDA EDD? Nov 12
Lulabel #2&3 MCDA EDD? Jan 13

Then pixies, when i was scared before DD was born I did one of the preparation for birth cds. Really good, I went from being tearfully terrified (& hoping the baby would be breech so i could have a section!) to very very positive about giving birth and refused a CS twice in my very long labour, I insisted I had the energy to carry on. it wasn't the hypnobirthing cd but v similar...

teds am I right in thinking this is your week? Hope all the preparations are done and you are enjoying the last few days before the excitement really begins! Xx

Good luck Teds!!!! Can you believe it is your turn to have your babies?! Will be checking in for news x x

Hello to everyone else, hope you are all doing well with bumps and those of you with babies are getting as much sleep as you can (says me who is KNACKERED!!!)

Eek! Yes me next... unless someone tries to upstage me in the next 24 hours...

Not sure I'm very ready but I'm 38 weeks today, completely massive, unable to sleep (again) etc. etc. and so it's definitely time to meet my babies.

I'm being induced on Thursday so watch this space...

Welcome pixies glad you had a good appointment. One of the things I found difficult to get my head around when thinking about the birth was the lack of control - which I do think you feel more with a multiple pregnancy. Early on, part of me thought, I just want to decide now that I'm going to have a c-section so I can stop worrying about the birth. However, even though burying your head in the sand is not always a good solution I do think it's worth trying not to worry about the birth until you're a bit further on. Of course the babies might move, but the babies positions at 28 weeks or 32 weeks will probably influence your decision. Your own views might change as well - I was totally relaxed about the possibility of a c-section previously yet now the thought makes me quite nervous! I also have not made any firm decision about an epidural. I have no idea what pain my body will tolerate until I actually feel it so I'll written the pros and cons down in my birth plan and will make a decision on Thursday. Dream and rednellie had completely different births but reading their posts makes me realise that every birth is amazing and special and your's will be too whatever happens.

Best of luck for Thursday Teds it must be such a mix of feelings! I bet you can't wait to finally cuddle your babies. You have done so well to get to 38 weeks!

Thanks for your advice. I will take it on board.

Rest up and enjoy your last few days :)

Congratulations on making it to 38 weeks Teds and best of luck for Thursday!

Eek, soooo close teds, I hope its a great birth for you. Even if you can't sleep just try and rest (says another knackered one)!! Will also be checking for news and thinking of you. xxx

Good luck teds, can't wait to hear your news.

(And you are so right about every birth being different. I had totally prepared myself for a c-section as the boys were breach right till the end, then I found an OB who was open to a breach delivery and suddenly everything changed. But I'm sure we would have made a c-section beautiful too - I had plans for what music to have playing and everything! )

going here have finally name changed as definitely no more trying for me lol!!!

Just jumping on to wish teds all the best hope everything goes smoothly and look forward to baby news xx

Hello all.

I have been lurking on this thread for a while since getting a BFP after our third IVF cycle. We had two embryos transferred this time and had it confirmed today we're expecting DCDA twins! I'm 7+1 and both babies were measuring as they should and we saw two heart beats. We're over the moon. My EDD is 6 March.

Anyway, you lovely ladies seem very supportive and I was wondering if you'd mind me joining you here for the next 7 months or so?

Absolutely knackered settle in and make yourself comfy briefly, before The Vastness hits you . 7 months you say? Ah. Well I joined at 13 weeks with my dcda boys, they're 15 weeks old yesterday :) . And i still seem to be here... And on the equally lovely post natal twins club thread. Today my boys noticed each other properly and simultaneously and it was just heart melting. Congratulations, its a very special blessing being a twin mummy.

Just popping in to say hope everything went ok today to teds and you are getting lots of newborn snuggles!

Well done baileys for getting this far!

And welcome to the new expenting mums, it is a lovely and very supportive thread here and very addictive. My twins are 5 months and a bit and loving every minute!