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!

Just blatantly butting in (no more babies here, never mind twins) to say a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to accessorizequeen on the birth of your twins.

I just accidently stumbled across one of your msgs - great news! You sound like you're coping far better than I ever did at that stage with just a toddler and a newborn. Hats off to you

And well done for tandem feeding. You're amazing

Did you cave in and buy a MB urban double??

Awww, gee, thanks AW! Haven't seen you online for ages! Hope dd & ds alright, not considering any more? The dt's are lovely, I must put some more photos on my profile but time so short. I have 2 double buggies and yes, one is a MB urban ! Its not as nice as the single though, I am selling to a Mumsnetter and shall miss it...

Hijack over.

MM, hope you're alright now, that all sounds v.worrying but great the scan showed no probs. Is is the 22nd you're scheduled for section?? Thinking of you in these last few frustrating days!

Re: feeding and pillows. I use a normal v pillow but suspect a beanbag one (doomoo or has someone found another?) would be much better as I have 4 additional pillows to support it. Sigh. Tuesday had arranged all 4 pillows, put one dt on the couch next to me, sat down with t'other, arranged v-pillow, arranged 2 muslins, put 2 nipple shields on, arranged babies, latched them on. And door went!!!! Arrggghhhhh. I tried out the EZE to nurse pillow again last night (bought one off Neenz) but it's so bouncy, can't get to grips with it really. And at night, I don't feed both lying down, just the one. I usually bring one in in early hours when I've had enough of feeding sat in the other room. Then bring the other in, they lie next to each other and I swap sides as needed. I think a bedside cot far more useful in this scenario as even with king-size bed there's not much room for me to sleep allowing space for babies etc. We're looking at getting a small sofa for the nursery so I can tandem feed at night (and first thing) in there. What I didn't realise was I needed somewhere to put one twin whilst arranging the other for feeding iyswim. An armchair is too narrow, and putting baby in a bouncy chair wouldn't work. Arggghhh.

And leaking nappies are costing me sleep, ds3 is so skinny everything leaks on him although haven't tried cloth on him yet. He wets through everything at least twice a day.

AQ I had a huge problem with my DS and leaking nappies because he had thin legs and the best nappies were the asda own make newborn. they were alot cheaper than pampers and much better at keeping leaks in. i have already bought a stash for the twins.

Thanks, Mel, I'll try those as I'm desperate! I put dd in cloth tonight, dp had already got ds3 dressed for bed or I would have put him in cloth too!

All tips are great, thanks AQ. Someone from TAMBA sent me some free stuff and included an inflatable crescent shaped pillow - bonus! Will try it and if it's not working then I will try the v pillow. I think you can get them on the bumpto3 site with MN discount! Now next qu. How are the other ds's coping with twins? Ds has been really acting up since I got out of hospital and I am not in the best mood to deal with him.

These last days are dragging, I feel a lot heavier and suddenly have to take 1 stair at a time. I went out v briefly y'day. Dad dropped me and picked me up. I went in 3 shops, no browsing at all, and was shattered after! Itching still bad too, can't wait to get more than 2hrs sleep in a row, in about a year's time!!! Week has gone more quickly cos of hosp stay, so only another couple of days. Yippe-dee-doo-dah!

Hello!

Hang in there girls! Yes AT sleeping is much better than BT - it's hard work but at least you can just get ON with it!!!!

Feeding lying down is bliss, I still do it and wake up 2 hours later, routine all out of kilter ;)

C and A are nearly 6 months now and still fantastic, lovely, giggling and jiving to music ... worth every stretch mark, and that's saying something!!!

Someone asked a few pages back ... yes I did exclusively bf them from the start, I was lucky I guess but don't think it's a problem if it doesnt happen for you, my motto is - 'whatever gets you through'.

Oh and 'if momma aint happy, aint nobody happy'.

I went to a 'Divine' chocolate tasting session in a pub yesterday, with DTs and about 15 other mums. There was so much free chocolate we were stuffing our pockets on the way out, it was sunny and warm, the autumn light was beautiful. It DOES get better! You WILL have similar moments! Even daily. It might be 'the calm before/after the storm' but if you remember to hold onto and just live in that brilliant moment, having DTs can feel like Christmas come every day.

Good weekends all ... avoiding MN a bit as weather so nice and return-to-work looming...

MM hope you're OK now. Good luck for the birth xxx

GBB - accident sounds too scary - hope a new car is the silver lining! how many weeks now?

AQ - keep powering through! Just try to get through the next feed, the next nappy change, keep going ... it will get better really quickly. Up and down, but mainly up. Be kind to yourself, if you get a chance to! You're doing amazingly well.

oh GBB, how terrible about the car accident. i am glad no-one was hurt. it is terrible looking for a new car. i think you have quite a few big car supermarkets in london so you will be able to try a few out.

if its any help, the ford galaxy is fantastic and doesnt feel like a big car, in fact it feels just like the c-max did to drive and it does 43+ mpg on short school run urban trips which is fantastic. i cant really fault it. the parking sensors are great and all the seats fold into the floor. the children like the panoramic roof as they can watch the birds/planes/clouds etc. the mountain buggy fits in folded fine as well. i have not tried it but DH said he thinks the MB would fit in when its up as well with the back row folded down.

GBB, hope dh and dd feel better now. Guess will take a while to get over shock though.

I am panicking a bit about names. Has been sorted for a good 17 weeks, but now changed my mind so back to square 1 with me and dh trying to agree.

i have the same problem with names MM. we now have a list of about 10 of each which we cant decide on. i still like rosemary and rupert. i went throught the 40001 names book and made several shortlists. i also think isabella and thomas are nice.
i have a Harriet and Edward already so i need old names really.
you havent got long to go now, i am very excited for you.
i have the dreaded GTT test tomorrow and the 28 week scan on tuesday.

i havent slept alot over the weekend as i have a huge problem with a lady at the nursery. she has got it in her head that my little boy had autism. she has been on the internet and made a list of the symptoms and says he has all of them. i am a teacher who has worked with special needs children and Edward doesnt have the symptoms, in fact he is so far from autistic i am rather shocked. he can become temporarily obsessed with things (but so do alot of children)and he can have tantrums. she also said he is in his own little world and will not play with any other children. one thing i have always been proud of him is his ability to play well with children of any age, i made a huge point of making sure my children were socialised from birth. every day when i pick him up he is happily playing with other children. she also said he had a limited vocab, which he actually has a higher than average vocab. How can she have got it soooooo wrong!!!!! i am just really angry that an unqualified (and obviously ignorant) woman can try to refer him for something he doesnt have and put it in his school record. i am going to see the headmaster next week as the school doesnt have a SENCO (who could have sorted out the problem for me). i am afraid i get rather more angry with things like this when i am pregnant so she will have a bit of a rough week with me. this is however something i dont need at the moment. and i am going to have to pay for a private assessment just to show her how wrong she is.
she is also treating him differently in class and he is taking full advantage of being alowed to do or not to do what he likes. i have asked her not to and she said if he is different he should be treated differently. i pay a lot of fees for this school so i am going to sort it out this week.

sorry, i just needed to get it off my chest as DH thinks its funny and keeps calling him rainman, which has upset me even more.

How awful Mel. Who is this woman - I would have thought any assessment would have to be done by child pyschologist and only with parental approval.

What's the GTT test? I have my 28 week scan on Tues too. Do you expect to be told what sort of birth is likely or is it too early to say?

That's extremely odd about your ds, Mel. I doubt you would get away with 'self diagnosis' like that in a state school, it would have to go through a few channels first, especially if she is treating him differently already. Can you move him? He has another whole year with this woman!

Tallulah, GTT is Glucose Tolerance Test. It tests whether you have gestational diabetes (I did). Tbh, it is not too much of a pain really compared to the other stuff people get like SPD or back trouble.

I doubt they will tell you much about the birth at 28 weeks although they may tell you different options if you ask. The care it my hospital has been quite terrible, in terms of explanation. Actually the care has been good, but they don't tell you anything. I am nearly 37weeks and last Friday the babies had moved again . Twin 1 is now head down and twin 2 is transverse. I asked whether natural birth was advisable in that case as I am already booked in for a c-section. The consultant basically ignored me and moved onto something else. I asked the midwife too, and she was a lot more helpful, and said she would go for the c-section as the transverse baby may not move and then may need a section anyway, so at least I eventually got some advice! But it goes to show, things can change right up until the last minute. If I'd really wanted a natural birth (I was swaying between the 2), I think I could have got one based on twin 1 becoming cephalic.

Mel, I quite enjoyed my GTT. I had 2 hours just reading quietly in hospital and then got to eat my pre-packed picnic, which tasted GREAT as I was hungry. The Lucocozade tasted good too! I don't usually have a lot of fizzy drinks so it was a nice treat .

Names are hard. We had James and Tamsin as our definites. I really liked Tamsin for ages and then James sounded nice with it (did consider Thomas and Tamsin too, but a bit twee!), so went for James (on ds's suggestion - he is 2!). In the past couple of weeks I have totally gone off Tamsin so now it is back to the drawing board, though we do still like James. Ds1 is Oliver, though he is Oli for short. Dh and I have to compromise as he likes 'traditional' and I like 'cooler'. If ds2 is James then he will definitely be Jay for me! I really like Rosemary, Mel, and Rose is nice for a little girl, not keen on Rupert though. Isabella and Thomas are both very nice too, though I think Isabella is a teensy bit trendy right now whereas Thomas is always a classic. How about Rosemary and Thomas?

i think independent schools are a law unto themselves (i used to teach in one so i know what its like) she wants him refered and has requested they see her observations and go to see her. i would welcome someone trying to help if he actually had the symptoms on her list but because he doesnt i really dont want it on his record. its lucky i am a teacher and i am alot more qualified than she is so i can fight my corner. if i was in any other profession i might not fully understand what is going on.

oh and i loved the name Tamsin but the main contact at the council where DH has a big contract was called Tamsin so i had to rule it out. my brother is called james, its a nice name and not used so much now.
thomas means twin which made me like it even more. finlay was also a favourite.
DH is not quite so keen on Roasemary or Rose. we did try jaqueline and arthur out but it didnt quite feel right. theodore is also on our list but DH is not sure. i also like Alice. this is why we have such a huge problem with names at the moment.

i am dreading tomorow as i am not keen on lucozade and i hate sitting around the hospital. all i will be thinking about is sorting out this mess with the nursery. luckily i have enrolled him at a different school next year but they can refuse him if he has been refered for autism. it is our local state school as i am not prepared to pay £4k a term for the unqualified teachers at the school he is it at now, where he origionally was going to be attending. it would have been £16k a term when all the children are at school, thats £48k a year!!!!!!.

I'm liking Alice and Theodore (but our surname was too longto hack it). Alice and ?Theo is great. Yeah, Tamsin means twin too as it is contracted form of Thomasina.

Hope GTT goes well, and take him out of school after xmas, save yourself 8K and

hope gtt goes ok. i would never buy lucozade, but it did taste good. try to relax and enjoy your time off, there is nothing you can do to change it except choose to enjoy the break. also stress can push blood sugar up!

Morning all
Thanks for the kind thoughts about the car accident. It's been a stressful week or so but we have a nice courtesy car so I have been able to come into work for my last couple of days, finishing Thursday yippee .

We have had lots of discussions about names and have a few of each which are kind-of agreed, I hope one of each fits when the time comes.

Mel - sorry about the school stresses, but sounds like you're well placed to fight your son's corner. And thanks for the feedback about the Galaxy - unfortunately DH thinks they're too pricey so he's trawling the net for Japanese grey imports.

Pazza, how long till you start back to work? Did you sort out a nanny? Maybe we could squeeze in a Rio baby cinema visit and I can be the extr pair of hands for you and 'friend'?

And last but definitely not least, MM is your c-section tomorrow? Hope it's not too late to wish you luck and can't wait to see photos.

GBB - glad everyone OK after the accident.
MM - good luck.
Mel - how did your GTT & hosp visit go?

I had my hosp appt this afternoon. Was so much better than last time - well it had to be, at least they saw me this time. Babies are growing well, each about average size for 28 weeks. Also got a number to call to arrange couple of ante natal classes specially for multiples so that should help allay a few of my worries.Had traces of sugar in urine but they don't seem too bothered by that. Blood taken to rule out cholestasis cos of all the itching.Still got to see my GP though to get prescription for Piriton, plus painkillers for backache, plus ranitidine & Gaviscon for h/burn. Why can't a hosp doc write a prescription, doesn't make sense to me.

GOOD LUCK MM

i am relieved that the twins are now on the 36 and 37th centile (they were on the 12th last time) the boy is now the slightly larger one, he had always been the smaller one in the past. the GTT wasnt that bad, i found somewhere quiet to sit and got chatting to another expectant mum. i didnt like the lucozade much and it is so much to drink at once.
i had a word with the health visitor about my little boy and she didnt think there was a problem with him. then DH nad I went to pick up the children from nursery and the teacher convinced DH that there was somthing wrong with him. i became really angry/p off with it all. just when i thought it was sorted now its not. i have now spent the last day trying to convince DH that our son doesnt have autism and he does play well with other children and doesnt have a language problem. In fact DH doesnt spend much time with the children at all because he is always working, so actually doesnt have a clue. she also is now saying he is obsessed with black and is really angry all the time. i dread to think what is happening when i am not there to make him like that as his favourite colour at home is white.
in the last few days DH has spent abit more time with the children everything between them had been more relaxed and he can see more what edward is like.
i am not so relaxed though as DH is ripping out the kitchen to make way for the new one. i am currently waiting for the new tumble dryer to turn up. i have never had one before as i refused to waste money drying clothes when i can put them infront of the log burner or out on the washing line. i will not be able to cope with the extra washing when the twins are here so i have agreed to having one. It will be lovely having a real kitchen rather than the makeshift thing i have had for the last three years.

OOOH - just heard that MM had her twins- girl 5lbs 13oz and a boy 6lbs 5oz -sorry if jumping the gun, did she have a birth buddy that was to post here? Someone on her ante-natal thread told me.

That's crap Mel. What a lot you have on your plate right now. At least you have good news about the twins.

wow!!! congratulations MM they were good weights. cant wait to see the photos.

thanks for letting us know tallulahbelle, i have been thinking about how she got on all day.

Hello everyone

Just thought i'd introduce myself onto the multiples antenatal group. We have a DS, 14 months and just found out I'm expecting twins 40 week EDD 8th May (but I'm rapidly figuring out that it prob wont go that long)

DH and I are still very much in shock and feel I have a huge amount to learn about, kit and logistics and double trouble!!!

Awww congratulations Merry!!!

Hope you're all well, big hugs xxx

Merry, congrats, wow!! CAn't wait to hear the birth story and of course their names!!!

Mel, sorry you're having so much grief with ds. Can you get a proper assessment from a paediatrician to be clear once and for all? Request via your HV? Glad the dt's are looking bigger, not many weeks now!

Pazza, do you still tandem feed the dt's at this age? I was just wondering how I'd manage it once they got bigger. At the moment they're small enough that I can lift one-handed onto the v-pillow. But won't be able to do that for long and both will get heavy on my lap at once...I sometimes love it and sometimes feel quite hemmed in by doing them at the same time.

Mum2William, you are very very welcome, congrats on your news! We've all been through/are going through the same thing re kit, logistics etc and quite a few of us have younger children. My ds (22 months) is actually being completely adorable with his new brother and sister (3 weeks), he's besotted with them

I'm just updating my tesco order whilst waiting to see if dt's will settle after their 3am feed. Just had nearly 4 hours sleep, yay!!!!

welcome mum2william, this is a good book to get you started
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0007153988/ref=s9sdps_c6_14_img2-rfc_g1-frt_p-3102_p_si6?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROK L5A1OLE&pfrds=center-1&pfrdr=1PNSPZWBJ5NMC14X29Z8&pfrdt=101&pfrdp=222506291&pfrdi=468294
also the gina ford and alice beer one is good
www.amazon.co.uk/Contented-House-Twins-Gina-Ford/dp/0091906989/ref=pd_cp_b_1_img?pf_rd_p=212521391&p frds=center-41&pfrdt=201&pfrdi=0007153988&pfrdm=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pfrdr=1ENF2NPPZR8J86A1EK2S
this one is useful as well
www.amazon.co.uk/Twins-Multiple-Births-Essential-Parenting/dp/0091894859/ref=pd_sim_b_4

also the blood tests for downs etc dont work for twins so if you wanted to have a test done you will need to have the nuchal translucancy scan and there is a time limit on it. if the hospital havent told you yet i would give them a call and ask them about it.