Anybody else pregnant with twins – or more?

[nh101andhertwinbeans]

My twins are due in May and it would be nice to have other multiple-mums-to-be to chat to!

Merry... you should email me. mammydoula at aol dot com

Thanks, i will mail mars.

accessorize, i got my buggy guide but didn't inlcude MB or icandy pear. some i hadn't heard of. but have gone ahead with MB carrycots anyway.

I had epidural last time, but very late, I was 9cms had v bad midwife. caused a lot of complications. it was bliss though, and actually helped baby get out of distress because i was distressed and not breathing well.

I'm sure mars will reassure you Consultant has recommended I go for epidural this time (I went without last time deliberately because we had so much intervention with ds1), I'd like to ask more questions but I think they'll insist on siting one as they did with ds2 in case of a crash section (there was risk of that with ds2 because he hadn't engaged & cord round neck). I cling, with some justification I hope, to the idea that they will be smaller & my body is more used to birth this time round so will cope better.

You haven't emailed yet Merry.

AQ... what is his reasoning? I think that you should email me too!

Thanks, Mars. I'll ask her about it next week to get a clearer picture - she's very non-interventionist generally speaking though.

Hi everyone. Just back from a weekend of soggy camping, boy was it nice to get back into my own bed last night. Had a nice start to the week with a reassuring scan this morning - we're having a boy and a girl, and both look like they're doing just fine.
AQ - hope your DS is OK now, what a week.
I had the same advice from my consultant about siting an epidural - I hate the thought of anything in my spine so I'm going to do my best to avoid that. The reasoning seems to be to allow them to deliver a block quickly if needed to do a C-section, but the thought of being unable to move because of it puts me off completely. I still have rosy hopes of a natural delivery on G&A. We'll see...

Ooh, b/g twins too gbb, congratulations! I've got to be monitored anyway because of previous section so tethered anyway & have had epidural so the process doesn't scare me (I was v.glad I saw a demo of how they did them at antenatal though so I knew what to expect). Natural G&A birth seems perfectly possible with twins, I don't think any of us should give up hope! I'm not until 34/35 wks, they'll know if twin1 is staying breech or not then.

Kudos on going camping with bump, good lord. Can barely get out of my own bed now much less anything lower down.

I think I missed that a bit, GBB. They 'sited' an epidural for me with ds2 because it was looking like I was heading for a crash section. It just means putting a cannula in your wrist so they can easily give you a spinal later - shouldn't affect your movement at all as no leads attached etc. At least this was my understanding of what they were suggesting for me.

ds2 absolutely fine now, thanks for asking

Oh I see, had visions of a needle sticking out of my back stopping me from moving around . Still don't fancy making it that easy though - when I was in transition with DD, I would have taken anything going and just don't want it made that easy for me.

Getting up from a blow-up bed isn't very easy .

Check with your consultant just in case I'm wrong but that's certainly the terminology they used last time for me. When explained to me, it seemed reasonable, in a crash situation it's pretty important to deliver the babies asap. As I said I had it sited, but never used it, I kind of forgot it was there & dp was very anti any pain relief so supported me all the way through.

hello ladies, hope you are all well, i just had to tell you about this. i bought this DVD from e-bay and its fantastic,
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Your-Babies-Journey-Twins-Triplets-Quads-DVD_W0QQitemZ250277378054QQihZ015QQcategoryZ 53681QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
even my little children (2.5y and almost4y) loved it, most of it is 4d scans and great graphics, it really looks like you are looking inside at them kicking each other and playing. highly recommended. you can select different weeks so you dont have to watch the whole thing to get to the stage you are at. its a bargain at £5.99 inc delivery. it arrived within a day.

Thanks, Mel, that sounds great - it's ordered!

Hello all, had our 12 week scan and everything seems to be fine save very high bloods for downs which they think is just mix of multiples and me and too much hcg as risk was very low with the ultrasound results. So am joining again tentatively...still feel nervous, they look like they're in the same sac to me, but the sonographer thought she could see a thin line from time to time. Still throwing up almost daily, longing for that to end, but gaining in hope too. Hope you are all v well, haven't had time to read all the thread. As time goes by will predictably be one of the many asking for help with double buggy advice particularly with a then to be 2 year old in tow too..
Neenztwinz: twins born May 6 2008, Esther and Theo
GBB: twins due Dec 25
Merrymarigold: non id twins (girl and boy) due Nov 11th/12th/ 13th
MEL2005: twins due 10th jan 2009
accessorizequeen" non id g/b twins due Oct 2nd (induced at 38 wks though)
PazzaPlusTwo: twin girls born April 28th 2008 - Anais and Carmen
Nellstar: id twins due 18 Feb 2009 (well, that's 40 weeks)

hi nellstar, they told me at the hospital that the bloods dont work for twins as it gives an abnormal high reading. i had a nuchal fold without the bloods instead..
there is a great ABC adventure buggy company double with toddler seat on top on e-bay, it finishes today. i have had the single version with toddler seat before and i really like it. it is verymuch like the mountain buggy and i think my single even weighed less than the single MB. it doesnt tip over and you can have some good interaction with your toddler so they dont feel left out. you can buy a raincover for the toddler seat as well.
i think they look for the sacs later on, mine was really easy to see but the books say that they are often hard to see as they are very thin.

Hi Nell, welcome back - maybe your confidence will grow when your sickness subsides, I remember feeling very anxious around your stage. As with Mel, they didn't bother with bloods for me as the readings don't work for multiples - but my MW didn't know that and tried to send me (I knew to tell her not to bother from a friend, and the MW checked and confirmed that). At my 20 week scan this week they had a really good look at all the indicators for chromosomal abnormalities and were very reassuring. When is your next scan? If they're not sure if they're sharing a placenta/sac, might be best to push for a scan at 16 weeks so they can check them, plus give you some reassurance about the downs risk (I think they look at things like how the nasal bone is growing).

Everything crossed for you .

Thanks mel, the nuchal fold results were all good. And thanks for the ebay tip. We're a bit short of space and cash right now, so might leave it for a bit. Trying to clear out the flat to see if we can sell it despite economic meltdown. Fingers crossed.

Thanks gettingbigger, they said they had a formula worked out for twins at King's where they did the scan. Anyway, I'm not going to worry as nasal bone present et al. The scan risk was 1:2010, the bloods risk 1:13. They're definitely sharing a placenta, but they think not a sac, they'll scan again at 16 weeks because of the risk of TTTS with id twins. Am going to have to get used to a very different pregnancy this time (had uncomplicated if very long home birth last time). When did your morning sickness end? Tell me it's soon!..

Ah, you're very clued-up. You'll be please to know it ended right about your stage, though I wasn't actually sick - just felt nauseous and uncomfortable and billious.

yes it should end soon but even now i do get the odd bad day. its scary having twins isnt it? there are so many things that i did when pregnant with my other two that i just will not do now. i think i am more cautious because of having a miscarrage earlier on in the year and i thought i was miscarrying when i found out i had twins. i feel really lucky still and cant quite believe it but i constantly worry about losing one or both of them and i have been trying not to get too attached to them, that dvd really helped me because it has given me more of a bond with them. it will make it harder if i do lose one or both. i have banned myself from reading the discussions on the TAMBA website as i often end up quite upset when people have lost one. the statistics are good but i just cant stop worrying.
i have two really great books as well on premmies so i am prepared if they are really early and its not as bad as i imagined. there are some premmies on the dvd as well. i have my 20 week scan in a couple of weeks and i cant wait to see them again.

Hi again nellstar, glad you've made it to the 12 week scan & hope you will stop throwing up soon! I felt v.tired & hormonal (didn't feel that ill) until 14 weeks btw - the hormones hit everybody differently I guess.

Mel do you think once you have the 20 wk scan you'll feel less anxious? I didn't know I was having twins until 17 wks so worried until 24 instead! That's when I finally bought a few twin things (though I really need to hurry up and buy the important things like buggy, car seat & car!).

I was actually looking at the everest buggy on ebay but couldn't collect it. They do seem really good and would save me having to carry a twin everywhere, not sure how I feel about that really despite lots of slings. Is there a buggy you haven't owned??

are any of you guys having a home birth for your twins? Am planning one for my identical twins due December 15th having had one for my son who's nearly 2 now. Would love to hear any positive stories. Sorry to hijack your conversation.

Hey Jenny. A postnatal client of mine had a homebirth with her DTs a few weeks ago. She had an IM. Second twin went breech iirc but the IM was experienced in breech birth. Gorgeous boys!

Good to hear your news and see you back nellstar!

hi. i know how you feel mel. i had a brilliant, relaxed pregnancy with ds, but this time have felt a lot more anxious. mostly i have been anxious about coping afterwards though, and i'm very large, so just haven't enjoyed the pregnancy as i did with my first. it is just as well, so i won't be craving pregnancy again. this is it. our family is complete!

i am now 26+4! wooo hooo. they confirmed my boy/ girl twins and they seem to be growing fine. they are on the 50th to 75th centile on all their measurements, not sure what that means. i am huge. got a GTT for diabetes tomorrow. can't eat anything from now till well past 10.00am tomorrow. eeeeek.

they are kicking me a LOT.

Merry remember to be careful about your fruit juice intake as well. It's good that the babies are a healthy size.

Mel sounds like a fairly similar situation, I had a miscarriage earlier this year and found out I was having twins at 7 weeks as I had bleeding and thought it was another miscarriage. I'm trying to take it day by day, but I know what you mean about being afraid to bond with them in case it goes wrong. Also agree that the internet can be a dangerous and upsetting place. Hopefully all will be well for all of us.

Hi Jenny, I had a homebirth with my DS who is now 18 months, I would have loved another but they won't allow it at my local hospital with id twins. They will allow it with fraternal twins, but mine are id. Have booked in with my wonderful midwives from last time though and they'll come to the hospital with me.