The under/over/around 1 Twins thread for support, tips on how to survive and enjoy twin parenthood!

[DreamingOfPeace]

BB3: dcda non id girls Sept 2011 (plus ds)
TwelveLeggedWalk: DCDA DD and DS 14.09.11 (PFBs)
Tiggersreturn twin boys (?!) (plus ds age 5)
Wherearemyearplugs twins (plus ds)
Ceeveebee b/g twins 21.11.11, PFBs
minesapintofwine: non-id boys 02/02/2012. dcs 1&2/pfb on good days.
ClaireMarathonFeeder: Boy/girl twins born 08/02/2012, no3&4, dd1 (2001) and dd2 (2004)
rednellie nonID boys 13.03.2012 + DD 03.02.10
Lemele: id boys (plus ds)
Skitoo : DCDA Non ID Boys, 01.04.12 DC 1&2
DreamingofPeace: dcda non id boys, 4.4.12 DC 2&3 (DD Sept 2010)
beyoglu: dcda non id girls 21.4.12
Bigboobsatlast ID twin boys 30.04.12 DC #2&3 (DD Feb 2010)
Scollister mcda girls 3.5.12 plus DD age 4
Twin2makes4 mcda girls plus 2 ds,age 8 & 4

Again, sorry for mistakes, doing this from my phone!

Settle in ladies :)

Hello butterfly,

re school run, yes to being uberorganised, bags packed the night before, packed lunch ready in fridge too. I am lucky that dh does most of drop offs, but if he can't, I tend to put the dts in the car seats with theier pjs (and a coat/cardigan depends on time of the year), then I just chuck the girls out at the school gate.

I have also heavily relied on friends, (until we moved when the dts were 7 months old what were we thinking), luckily I had a good support network before the move and lived near the school which helped.

I found having a pushchair that took car seats invaluable to start with as I could just pop them in the car, onto the pushchair, back in the car, and home, and they'd be none the wiser bless them!

I also tried to feed them as close as possible to pick up time so that i wouldn't have a double meltdown on the school pickup!

Hope this makes sense, didn't have the best of nights and I can't connect my brain today!

oh and congratulations !!

Thanks red and Claire's

I'm at bit rubbish in the evenings as am usually exhausted and end collapsing quite early.

I bf my other 2 and I'm just worried that I may not have fe enough and on the run we may have dt melt downs!
School run at the min can be hard as my youngest (3) can tantrum on the run making like ever so difficult!

Also concerned how I shall cope with normal life with sleep deprivation...

You'll be fine. Don't worry about your supply. You've fed 2, your body produces as much as it's asked to, there is absolutely no reason why you can't successfully feed the twins!

And you're at 19 weeks. I know its hard but just try and be in the moment and not jump ahead too much (easier said than done, I know). But honestly you will cope, mainly because you have no choice , and all you do worrying about it now is to exhaust yourself.

And congratulations. Forgot to say that before. Have had a week of full nights after a year and I feel a bit peculiar.

Oh dear have you been working full nights red?

Hey butterfly
Congratulations! Honestly, don't worry about the details right now - get the stuff you need, get some help lined up if you can, then Relax!
Re expressing, lots of us did because we had to for other reasons. The one thing ?ou don't have much of when bf'ing twins is time so if you can avoid it I really would. Best thing for boosting supply for twins is bf'ing twins, and I wish I'd realised that sooner, but if you do decide to pump get a double electric, you won't have time for anything else!
Hope your pregnancy is going well.
Did everyone see the link in the mail about the heaviest twins ever - mum had a 57ins waist

Thanks twelve
Guess its hard not to worry hey!

Makes sense what your saying about feeds the more demand the more supply!
Must have confidence in my body that I can do this

Hi butterfly, I Ebf my twins, and there's 18, nearly 19 months between them and my DD. I had lots of help in the day though- my babies were also very unsettled/ discontent babies. Colic for one, cows milk protein intolerance for the other it turned out five and half months of screaming later . I never had any issues with supply though, I do have a pump which is fab, I used to get 10oz in about 15 min (double pumping of course!). I also tandem fed at first, but stopped at about 6 months and now almost always feed individually. With a mybrest friend pillow too.

Best go, my terrible sleeper is stirring and starting to shout- already!

Good to hear that supply is not an issue
Tandem feeding sounds most time efficient but think ill feel odd about having both my boobs out! Very vulnerable.
Also what about winding them? Can't do that at same time. Do I have to stop feeding both then wind?
Hate winding takes forever with my other 2...

I won't have much help dh at work no family close by

Lots to think about in tea of logistics..,
How'd did everyone get with bf out and about?

Just sort of did it. Got random people to cuddle one if they were grumpy while I fed the other.

Winding - once one had finished I got quite good at hoisting him up over my shoulder while the other carried on feeding. Seemed to work.

Both boobs out did seem a bit weird, but I only ever tandem fed at home so not really that big a deal.

In the words of Douglas Adams: Don't Panic.

twelve oh my god where are you going on 'holiday'. I feel sick at the mere thought of taking toddler twins on a plane. You brave brave lady. .
Btw twelve I am broken too. had a day at home like prison today. The dts were lovelyish (minus a few strops) all day and then epic epic epic epic meltdown from the two of them just before bed which lasted 20 minutes. I had the two of them hugging me into oblivion and screaming until dh came in from walking dog and I burst into tears. Quick bath and itng (them not me) all happy and smily again. Why why why why why why....

Oh god mines, I know the stranded feeling. Sometimes I can hear dh come in from work and start doing 'helpful' things with washing or feeding the dog, and I' howling 'come HERE!'
Holiday will be Greece. 4 hours on plane with babies on lap, Easyjet. Can I get a Valium prescription do we think?

We took DD to Greece when she was 5 months old, it was grand. And we've done many many flights now (although only one with all 3 of them). They were all amazing and good so fingers crossed you'll be fine twelve. If not, it's only 3 hrs.

Hi cheeka, I have a double electric medela. The pump in style advanced.

On my own from 7:30am to 6:30 pm today with DD and the dts. I practically threw a baby at dh when he walked through the door at 6:30....

Plane. Never attempted with DD, let alone all three!! Here's hoping it goes beautifully twelve and you come back rested and relaxed...!

mines yes, and why why why together?! And of course when I put one down to comfort the other he screams louder than he was originally almost. Hard times then!

Ha ha, holiday not for a couple of months, they will have transformed themselves into sleeping, tidy eating, non screaming less snotty versions of themselves by then, right?

And yes to the double medela pump - whichever one it is that is rechargeable so you just have a really small unit on your lap/bed/ etc, makes a massive difference not having to b next to a plug socket.
I have one I have NO idea what to do with now!

Very organised if that's the only thing left to buy!

Can I ask the likelyhood of twins arriving early?

I've been advised elcs at 38 weeks due to previous emcs.

What happens if labour starts at 32 weeks or something?

I 'think' that 80% arrive between 34 and 38 weeks with the remaining 20% spread before and after.

I'm not sure what would happen if you went into labour early but were booked for a c-section....anyone know?

Twelve, I admire your optimism!

Ps I am surd they will be best behaved! I used to fly a lot on my with my two eldest and it was fine, you just need to be v organised (lots of food and distractions and wine for you)

I was told if I went inyo labour early they'd do an emergency section.

Don't know if I should be dowling out dangerous and dubious advice on mn but a nurse I work with (a sort of nurse not a one) told me to give children Piriton before taking them on a plane as it calms them down knocks them out. She gave it to her own before that very very long Australia journey (he was teeny tiny then). I think it was Piriton anyway-perhaps I should check!

Like claire I was also told they would do an emcs anyway so as long as you ring up asap when going into labour there's no worry.

cheeka I packed and repacked my bag so many times out of sheer boredom it seemed pretty pointless to have packed too soon then. However I would definately have some essentials aside now as you don't want to worry about the main things. Note to self now would be don't bother ironing babygrows before packing bag (what the HELLS TEETH WAS I BLOODY THINKING!!!! Don't think I've ironed a single babygrow since!!! I must have been bored!)

Ok thanks for advice on twin delivery time scale

Would love a vbac but the twins are more important than my natural urges...

Your natural urges might be right...but you've got to take on board all the advice you get from all professionals. I had a vaginal birth with no medication for the twins, but then I had that with DD so there was a precedent. But also, I learnt along the way that you can't control things too much - my twins were breech for almost my entire pregnancy, only turning in the 35 or 36th week. I think. All seems so long ago now.

mines you are hilarious - you ironed a babygrow because you didn't have a toddler yelling at you. Although, to be fair, even before DD I never ironed anything! Cheeka, I would say just make sure you've got your pregnancy notes with you. That's the most important thing after all.