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!

Sounds like a ring sling, Merry, they're all alike aren't they (well, padded or unpadded)? I haven't managed to feed in a sling, but bought a 2nd hand hug a bub hoping that might do the trick. Ring slings meant to be a good option though as they're v.adjustable so I have one of those too (didn't much like one with ds2 though, I used a pouch sling all the time). Names? Hmmm, dp still likes the boy name so I suppose he wants to persuade me again but I've decided against Ruby because it doesn't seem to go with the other kids' names and I wanted something more girly IYSWIM. DP was v.v.keen on Harriet btw, Mel

I'm feeling a bit scared, well terrified this week, not just about the birth (although god knows having that much monitoring and that many people around is quite unnerving) just life kind of exploding afterwards and being unable to cope. And you'd think I'd be fine, I've gone from 1 to 2 already. Eeek. Just lie awake panicking about having to let one of them cry whilst feeding the other etc. I am not going to like that, fear that bf will last about a week as my other babies didn't latch v.well etc etc. Must go shopping and calm myself. Nursery is nearly nearly done, dp put cotbed together last night and curtains up. I've sorted all the clothes, repacking their bag today so they'll look cuter in hospital

The sling I got was a Karime one, no instructions but I think I can get them off the website so I'll have a play with it soon to see what on earth you're meant to do with all that material.

I realised just how sensitive my sense of smell is this morning when I could smell the person in the car next to mine's cigarette. No wonder I'm struggling with DH's fag breath!

'Friend' having acupuncture today so fingers crossed it will start naturally then.

AQ I can feel a little lurking leprechaun of terror waiting for me to get closer to B-Day, so far I've been fairly calm but I can't believe it's going to carry on. Sending deep breaths your way .

Accessorize, I can sympathise. Mostly I am in denial, but in moments of reality I feel petrified and emotional. A friend of mine with twins said: hang on as long as you can as brain develops last. And don't wish for them out, because however hard it is now, it is a lot worse when they arrive. CHEERS! Still, it's gonna be hard whenever they come so why put it off (well...apart from the brain development thing).

Today I have been wood fillering our 'new' (reclaimed) door which has lots of fairly large cracks in it. Not happy, but unable to put my foot down with the company who provided it (who are in Canterbury), so just decided to filler it rather than get into a big fight. It wasn't cheap mind, but the filler is already making it look better.

GBB, hope friend's acupuncture works. (It didn't for my friend, but don't tell her ). Has she had the sweep yet? What's the next stage.

Accessorize, are they inducing you in 9 days time? Why did they pick that date? I get no info from my consultants, so please provide me with all you have been told?!

Hi everyone!

I have nearly recovered from polishing off the mountain of leftover cakes and biscuits from having GBB, 'friend' and Merry over on Thursday! You all look radiant by the way. And huge, ha ha!

AQ - re letting one cry, it does happen but not often and they do learn to wait. I can highly recommend getting a routine from the start and feeding one straight after the other even if that means waking them up. And dummies. Saved my life. Keeps one happy while feeding the other. And... earplugs!

It is possible to do it, it does take a bit of practice and being prepared. I hope you can surmount any bf problems that crop up. That said, of course if formula works best for you, or mixed feeding, that's also a perfectly valid option IMO.

GBB, I know what you mean about the leprechaun, I was soooo calm for ages and knew it would have to end and now it has. I think now the bed is up, I'm imagining them in it and it's far too real.

Acupuncture, that's a good idea if I was desperate to get them out! Merry, that date just suited us both - I'll be 37+6 so I think she's going to see how 'ripe' my cervix is, may do a sweep at the time or schedule me for one a few days later. Because I've had a section already, there's additional pressure on the scar so she wants to get started early. I can't have the normal induction tablets (can't remember why) so if sweep (poss x2) doesn't work I'm not sure what the next step is but she's very clear she'll intervene as little as possible. I personally don't think they're near coming out, I've had no Bh's, no shows etc.

I think Karime just the same as a hugabug really, GBB, we'll have to compare! Youtube has excellent guides to using those wraps btw.

Whilst I am sick to death of being pg, I'd rather this than they come out although of course they have to. It seems so quiet at the moment with ds1 at school, all that crying yet to start (sigh). I hate the first six weeks anyway, how hideous will it be with two??! Arggggh, really must go shopping now.

Thanks, Pazza, x-post! I was just about to sterilise the dummies I had bought ready to put in the bag for them! reassuring, thank you - I'm not going to give myself a huge hard time if we end up mixed feeding etc, just found bf really rewarding with ds2 after rubbish effort with ds1 & would like to do it again successfully. Esp as the thought of all those bloomin' bottles makes me and dp cringe!

Hi Pazza. Glad to 'see' you here. I was a good girl and I VERY generously gave my Florentines to dh and my mum. You should have seen dh's orgasmic face as he was eating it . At least it made up for giving it away...Pazza did your girls bf straight away as soon they were out?

Accessorize, I understand more now re. the induction. I thought they were going to do the 'proper' induction ie. drips and whatnot at 37+6. So you will have a sweep and then another and then wait and see...so could be a few days later, is it? Is that your next appointment with doc or do you have another first.

I'm really hoping I can manage the bf. For me, I THINK it will be easier to start (unless they are born too premmie to suck) and then a month in is the time I am most tired, fed up and likely to say, I can't manage it. Dh is very keen though, so I think he will do his utmost to encourage me. I am also trying to get a good pump on ebay so that I can do some pumping and have 2 or 3 feeds a day from bottle which dh/ my parents can give (or even me, just to give the old nipples a break ).

I am mostly scared about the whole routine thing. I really didn't manage to have one in any way, shape or form with ds. People say babies get into their own routine, well he never did! From one week to the next it was totally different. And I am not a routine person myself so it is not really a skill I have. I'm gonna have to learn it quickly I suppose.

Well, off to get my dear little one from playschool. He is being very cute to the babies at the moment. He puts my bio oil on the bump and says, "They're getting big now" and is always giving them bits of his food. We need to go and buy presents for the babies from him, will probably do in next couple of weeks and then we can keep talking about them.

AQ thanks for the tip about youtube for the karime, I will have a look. Trying these things on with a big bump isn't ideal though, is it?!

MM your DS does sound like he's being adorable. My DD climbs on my lap, squashes the babies, gazes into my eyes and demands, 'Am I your baby, mummy?' Doesn't bode well, does it .

'Friend' has now had two sweeps, due in to see the consultant tomorrow so that may be it, as I think she really doesn't want to wait any longer and they are look to be a great size already so I think she'll be 'properly' induced. She's done so well to wait this long when her initial intentions were always to go for an elective cs as early as poss. Amazing what these pg hormones trick you into, eh .

Hi Merry!

Just a quickie b4 I dash off to parent-and-baby cinema

Yes both bf-ed straight away - in the recovery room after CS. Midwives helped with positioning - I kept getting it wrong. Brain addled with shock and lack of sleep (from last weeks PG) and painkillers!

I'm definitely NOT a routine person. In fact I find the repetitiveness of feeding & changing the most difficult thing to get used to! The routine - knowing what time I 'intended' to feed them next - was something I really clung to for dear life in the first weeks when I didnt know whether I was coming or going. I could just look at the clock and think 'OK right so I'm feeding them in one hour so I dont have to do anything right now but rock them and maybe try to get dressed and shove some food down my throat'. Feeding them every 3 hours worked for them and me. Now we're on 5 feeds a day and everyone's happy, I know when I can arrange to meet people etc.

That said, it is an extremely rare day when I actually stick to the routine! It's more of a framework to aspire to... and to help me get back on track when I have a wobble (which is about 3 times a day)

God, the thought of a routine makes me sweat just like you, Merry & Pazza. But I know I'm going to have to 'make an effort' this time. Neither of mine 'fell' into a routine esp with the feeding but I don't think I will a) survive or b) bf for longer than a month without one. So trying to glean some info from Gina Ford's book whilst I am still compos mentos.

Re: sweeps, generally a m/w or consultant will give you 2 (leaving at least 48 hours in between to see if they work) and then a 'proper induction' is generally tablets inserted into the cervix until something happens (well that's what happened with me with ds1). If that doesn't kick things off, then you're looking at a syntocin drip to start contractions off. (again, what happened with me). There's no particular reason for this to happen at 38 weeks if you have no prior/current problems that I know of, you could wait until 41 weeks+ for intervention as I think Mars would support? Because as we all know, more intervention = higher chance of more intervention!!

Your little one sounds v.sweet, Merry, ds1 was like that when I was pg with ds2 and is very lovely with him still actually 21 months later! I feel quite heartbroken (though I should know better) about spending less time with both my ds's when the dt's come as they've been utterly gorgeous of late now ds1 has got over anxiety of starting school. (Thanks for your comments btw, Merry re: FB, I tried to put the 36 week bump photo on but wouldn't work, I'll have another go tonight).

Haven't heard back re: MB yet, we have no room in our garage anymore so it's stuck in centre of living room presumably stinking us out! And baby jogger due any day....

Mel, have you got the car sorted now? BTW, which car seats are you using in yours as I thought you had the maxi-cosi cabrios like me (I'm using them with cabriofix bases?). I have ds2 in a MaxiCosi Priori XP which I hoped would fit between the dt's or are you putting your ds & dd in the back row?

Merry, wouldnt worry about the weight thing ... mine were supposedly over 4lbs at 32wks, I dont think they were much less than that at 28wks, and they came out just over 5lb a piece at 37wks. I dont think they put much on in the last weeks. Plus you've already had one!

just stay off the florentines!!!

AQ, I agree about the bottles! Breast is easiest best

DH is rocking DTs on sofa next to me, both whimpering/relay crying (been a long day, they are tired) (dts, not DH ... he would probably whimper and cry too, but he's not allowed), I have trusty earplugs in ha ha. Waiting for a bit of quiet to nuke my dinner. I will NOT eat another cold dinner!

I have cleaned the filter for the fish, so they can live a bit longer, it was long overdue. TICK in the box, gold star for me!

Pazza, you look after those babies fish, they are fine specimens! Never thought of earplugs, are you serious?!

Ds was really whiney this evening, I don't know why really, he isn't normally, crying for no reason etc. it was driving me UP THE WALL. He's not always so sweet about the babies. The other day I was telling him off about something and he whispered, very sneakily so I could JUST hear: "I'm gonna hit the babies!". GBB, we have the 'I'm your baby' all the time, I just say, yes you are! And then I 'rock' him a bit. He's stopped recently, but I'm sure it'll all start up again when they come. AQ, I am also worried so much about not spending time with him, and neglecting him. I'm sure I still have emotional scars from the birth of my sister!!! I've always been convinced my parents loved her more and I've always been 'the naughty one' (attention thing). Was planning the transition for him to be so smooth - until it was twins.

Cool pazza, I will not worry about the weight thing, I will not, I will not...was looking at baby stuff in Matalan today. It was all pink or blue. Sainsbury's are good, more colours, may have to pop over there, but not sure they do 'tiny' stuff.

AQ, harriet is a great name as there are not many around and it is really lovely. my little boy used to call her 'rarry' as he couldnt say 'harry' or 'harriet'. i like old fashioned names.
also i have the maxi-cosi cabriofix seats and the easybases. we also have a maxi-cosi priory XP and the tobi for my little girl (she was in the tobi but as we have just potty trained her we are using the priory xp as its easier to clean up accidents). and the stage 2 mamas and papas seat for my eldest.
i pick up the car tomorrow so i can tell you how they fit in. i had planned in taking out a seat/putting it down on one side in the middle row but i cant do that in the new version and have a child in the back so i will just fold one of the back seats down. i am also getting an airbag key fitted by ford for the front so i can put my little boy in the front and fold both back seats down if i wanted to.
also the gina ford twins book has some great routines. i am a big fan as i had DS sleeping through from 6 weeks with the contented little baby book. i do like a routine and have adapted her routines to fit in with nursery drop off and pick ups and bath and bedtime for my two.

mel. Gina Ford routines are one step too far for me! Bringing me out in hives...HELP...

Hi everyone. Thanks for the welcomes & adding me to your list. The due date is 40 weeks though was told Dec more likely . Had a scan at 18 weeks & getting another in couple of weeks @ 24 weeks. Is that a long time to wait between hosp appts - my GP seemed to think so. No further forward on buggy dilemma. Think will try & sell the Loola I have for DD - well it'll be pretty much useless anyway & then see if can use the money towards something double 2nd hand. Can't really afford to go mad, this is going to be an expensive business. Right off to have quick skim of thread try to figure out who's who & what's what.

all you need to do is to work out the volume of milk needed in 24 hrs and try to set a routine so the babies get most of that in the hours you are awake (like 7am to 10pm) then also make sure that the numbers of hours sleep they should have in 24 hrs are mainly in the time that you want to be asleep (10pm-7am) and make sure they dont get too much in the day so they dont want to sleep at night. obviously in the start they need alot of small feeds (about 8) and alot of sleep. but as they get older they need less sleep and can manage longer beween feeds and can take larger amounts so the aim for my twins is to get them waking for a feed only once in the night at 6 weeks and sleeping through at 12 weeks.
i am a teacher so i love planning and live for routines. i also want to see a light at the end of the tunnel because i am sure it will be a nightmare with two babies waking in the night possibly waking my other two children and DH being really tired because he works long hours and being kept awake at night.

I have the GF book too. i'm a big fan, but it is complicated! However as Mel says the main messages are very simple, they are just not clearly summarised on page 1 or anything, since you wouldnt have to buy the book then!!!

The thing it helped me most with was being confident that I was feeding them enough, since I always had midwives/HVs saying 'you have to feed them every 1-2 hours...' (the 'or they will DIE!!!' is implied by the dot dot dot) which I knew was bolx but being a first-timer it used to shake me up. Complete tripe. I would've been getting up before I went to bed! More importantly, I wouldnt have had a chance in hell of keeping myself fed. Or sane. It gave me the confidence I needed to make the dts wait for feeding (which was definitely better for them, as they fed longer and got to the hind milk) and also to not assume that every cry is for food. I know parents of singletons who are still feeding 15 times a day and thru the night because every time their baby makes a noise they shove a boob in. (sorry, I have NO right/reason to make that judgement, every baby is different etc, but you know what i mean!)

Also things like dummies, she seems to have a very practical attitude to things that will 'get you through' which I wasnt expecting at all.

I am completely unable to stick to the daytime sleeping/waking times though. I just cannot keep the girls awake during the day! They have way more sleep than G recommends. But I think they just need it - they still sleep through the night.

I wouldnt be fazed by the long lists of 'what to do every 3.5 minutes over a 24-hour period', obviously her experience by definition is in families who have a nanny! So, someone whose job it is to look after the dts all day, but isnt recovering from pregnancy and birth herself, doesnt have other urgent things to do, and who probably likes some 'order' in her working day. i think its unrealistic for the actual Mum to follow, especially if like me you dont like taking orders but it does give you something to aim towards, and ideas as to what might go wrong and how to fix it.

Tallulah, if you're looking for a 2nd hand buggy they often come up on Mumsnet and TAMBA have sale boards as well so worth a look. Price-wise the Nipper 360 double is really good for the money as new it's under £300.

Mel, yes would be v.interested in how the seats go, I don't know whether we have a key to turn the airbag off now in the front seat, ds1's seat is fairly lightweight & easy to remove though so whilst he's at school I could shove it in the boot & fold the extra back seat down.

Merry, I do really remember being so anxious about spending time with ds1 when pg with ds2 & I found it v.stressful in the early months tbh. Partly it was because he regressed with the potty training so spent much of my time with him cleaning up accidents and getting cross!! I hadn't realised that it didn't matter whether I spent five minutes or five hours with him as long as I kept my promises when I would do it (thus I think a routine is kinda useful dubious as I am about them) and that I completely focussed on him during that time. Getting out of the house with him seemed pretty important too, I would try and take him for a short walk/bike ride when dp came home even if only 15 minutes. If you can manage to carry on reading bedtime stories to him, I think that makes a big difference too. I kept putting ds2's feeds first & didn't put ds1 to bed for weeks, I think it was a bad move on my part as he needed that reassurance at the end of the day that he was still my baby. I reckon if they want to be treated like a baby, why not, ds1 still likes it now and again, makes them feel wonderful, no skin off my nose!

Hmmm, just like Pazza, found the detail in the GF book really hard to follow although some of the ideas make sense when I look back at how I fed ds2 (um, 15 times a day whenever he cried, I think!!!). It's the exactness of it really, but I'm going to try and look at the overall picture rather than the timetables.

YIPPPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
I have picked up my lovely new car (well its new to me) and its soooooo lovely. both the kids want to sit in the back seats which is a pain as i had planned on them sitting in the middle row untill the twins came and then one of them siting in the back or front (with the airbag off). i might have to put the dvd players in the middle row and they will probably change their minds.

tallulahbelle, i had a scan at 12 weeks, 13 weeks (nuchal fold scan) and one at 20 weeks and will have one every 4 weeks after that (week 24, 28 etc) unless there is a problem.
it is really expensive having twins, i have spent a small fortune and i have only bought items in the sale or secondhand. i think the car was the biggest change we had to make as we would have kept the c-max if we had just been expecting a single baby now we have had to upgrade to a galaxy and spent almost three times as much as we got for our c-max.
at least we live in a five bedroomed house so we didnt have to move (especially not in this financial climate).

by the way there are still a few bits left in the boots online 1/2 price baby sale, i bought a few bits today.

All my friends will kill themselves laughing if they see a Gina Ford book in my house! Is there another book which does a more 'relaxed' routine and 'principles' rather than a timetable ie. what you guys seem to be talking about. There must be someone who does a toned down version which I won't take offence too. (I'm not very good at seeing the middle ground...I'll get caught up in the 'what nonsense, a slice of toast at 7-7.10am' and ignore the good stuff).

Congrats on car, mel. I got a fair bit in the Boots sale inc. 2 feeding bras and some vaseline! Also 2 grobags, half price, was excellent.

Tallulah, 4 weeks between scans is normal, but you should be seeing a doctor every 2 weeks I think. At least I have been despite being in an extremely busy hospital. Not much more than checking scans after I have them, and urine check, blood pressure etc. I'm in and out in 5 mins but is reassuring to know things are being checked.

i only get to see the consultant at 12, 24, 28, 32 and 36 weeks for a few minutes after my scans. i dont get any midwives visits but the hospital said they will check BP and urine and i have to arrange my own bloods.
i bought my own doppler and bp monitor so i can check if i am concerned as i have had pre-eclamsia before.

i bought some growbags as well, they are a bargain and a must have. i got some small nuk bottles and nasal aspirators, a couple of those summer bed things so i can use them in the twin carrycot/moses baskets/cots and two of those fisher price thermos flasks which i found very useful before and i can use for coffee/tea/soup afterwards. i love sales and the boots ones can be great, especially the 75% off toys that they have every now and again.

Oh jealous of your house Mel. I just moved in to my new place a couple of weeks ago. It has 2 bedrooms which was going to be luxury as moving from one bedroom flat. Of course I bought it before I knew I was pg let alone having twins. Too late now, can't afford another move, can't afford this one now really with a maternity leave looming. So defo looking for 2nd hand stuff which is a bit sad as DD got nice new everything. Off to check the Boots sale

oh its not as nice as it sounds, we have been living in a building site for almost three years. the week after my DD was born they took the floors and ceilings out and i had to walk with a newborn baby and a toddler across scaffold boards to get to bed. we only had a shower and a toilet in a small (very cold) shower room in the anexe for a year as OH removed the bathroom. we spent over a year with one working light upstairs and one downstairs and only got the central heating working this spring (we do have a logburner so we didnt freeze in the winter). we spent my DDs first winter without windows on the back of the house on the second floor (they were covered in black sacks). its not nice some days when the workmen are in the house banging and making a huge mess from 7.30am and the dust does get everywhere. i am still waiting for the kitchen (and we just spent the kitchen money we saved on the new car).
i am not moaning as we will make money on the house and we couldnt have afforded one this size already done up. it hasnt been fun some days but at least we are almost there but had we not had the unexpected supprise of the twins we would have been selling the house and moving into the windmill (in our garden) in the spring so they would have been trying to make it habitable during the winter. now they are going to be doing it over the next year so it will (hopefully) be almost finished when we move in.

its not so bad getting second hand stuff, my rule is that if it can be disinfected or go in the washing machine its ok to get secondhand. car boots are a great place for baby stuff. its a way of recycling as well and some things are only used for a short time they are as new anyway (but alot cheaper!!!)
there are only two things that i certainly wouldnt use secondhand, car seats and matresses.