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 :)

[ClaireMarathonFeeder]

Yes bailey I'm chuffed for you, what it must be like with three tiny babies! I cannot imagine! So pleased for you all and v. Impressed with breastfeeding!!

[DreamingOfPeace]

No time for more but hurrah for you baileys super impressed with the bf. Keep it up, and hope rooming in goes well.

And blimey, well done you and dh red

[Kazar99]

Well done baileys with bf and rooming in.

I got my two home today, 36 week scan should have been yesterday and wasn't expecting them until end August so still a bit surreal (and very scary) to have them home :) we're not doing quite as well with bf though. Douglas was established on bottles before my milk came in. Think it took longer than normal as I lost a lot of blood during my EMCS and so took a while for my body to replenish fluids and recover enough to start making milk. Carolyn is now on bottles too as I didn't have enough milk for a while but getting there now. They are both trying bf but still mainly topping up with EBM (and occasionally formula if I don't express enough) from bottles. Hopefully now I am there for every meal, the bf will become easier :)

claire you have my sympathies - one of my knees has started playing up and I am now limping everywhere and struggling to bend it at all.

red well done for surviving the flight. Welcome back to the UK :). Hope you all get settled in okay.

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Hey Kazar
Wow, an even bigger smile at bringing them home! Congratulations, that is fantastic (and what are you doing posting on here crazy lady?! )

Don't panic about the bf - you can so get there if you want to. Have you bf before or are the DTs your first? Don't stress about it right now, just keep feeding feeding, skin to skin, feeding some more and pumping, and your supply will catch up. And you know what, even if it doesn't, you are still giving loads of fab breast milk and your DH can help with feeds too. It's all good! I went on Domperidone as my supply started dipping so that might be something to bear in mind if you feel it might help. But in the meantime just enjoy having your scrummy twins at home because believe me these early days go by in a BLUR!

[DreamingOfPeace]

Huge congratulations bringing them home kazaar. I agree, expect to do nothing but feed and you'll get there. Good tip about the domperidone twelve .

Now, I am at my wits end with DT1. He will not sleep. Last night from 10:30-1am I tried shush pat, bf (of course!), co sleeping, holding the dummy he still won't take in and patting, just everything I could think of. No joy. So Dh took him in the buggy and it took an hours brisk walking 1-2am to get him asleep and he was up by 4am and repeat. I got I'm asleep by bf plus on his side, back patting and holding dummy in . Took 30 min of that, then he woke after 45 min. He starts flailing round in his cot,gets himself totally worked up so neither me nor Dh could sleep. WTAF do I do??? DT2 slept through again!!

[DreamingOfPeace]

That should say got him asleep finally by a bf, then putting him on his side, patting, holding dummy in- but still only slept 45 minutes.
He's the Incredible Non-Sleeping Baby... :( . He often has barely any daytime sleep too...

[BB3]

Welcome home Kazaar

baileys - how amazing that they are all doing so well

Red - welcome back to the UK

I will catch up properly later just wanted to mark my place as lost you all again. Dh hearing appointment today! Did the triathlon on Saturday, work finishes in 2 weeks. It's all go and the girls are one NEXT MONTH! GAH!

promise to catch up later x

[minesapintofwine]

dream what an absolute nightmare! One of my dts rolls onto his side and sometimes stomach all the time now scared me at first but he prefers it maybe your little tinker will? Otherwise I'm at a loss at what to say to you sorry!

Aw welcome home kazaar brings a tear to my eye when I remember bringing teeny babies home for the first time .

Oops better go I'm being summoned I'll try and post the rest later...

[rednellie]

Kazaar - belated congratulations. Hope you're all settling in. You're doing a stirling job and I can honestly say the feeding gets so much easier - I'm only nursing them about 5/6 times a day now and I seem to have a lot more time free. And mine are only 5 months. It whizzes bye.

dream, I reckon you need to get DT1 into a daytime napping routine before he'll start settling at night. Not sure how you'll do that, but maybe a few days/weeks concerted effort? Otherwise it sounds like he's just too tired to go to sleep iyswim. Hard though isn't it? Bloody babies.

mine, don't worry about them turning over - once they start being able to do that they're probably ready to do that iyswim. Mine have always slept on their fronts (I can join you in the bad mothers club!)

I've started solids with the boys, just banana and rice cereal all mushed together. They seem to be loving it, which is great. DT2 is going to be a horribly messy eater if this week is anything to go by, whereas DT1 is very very tidy, eats his little spoonful, very carefully helping me by holding my hand. Ah, they're so cute.

DD is having loads of fun with her granny and is more settled than she has been for weeks - moving house really doesn't seem to suit toddlers. Or my toddler.

[minesapintofwine]

red are you enjoying being back in Wales? I bet it's surreal to be here now!

Weaning is going very well here the boys now have 3 pureed meals a day and 4-5 bottles (about 280z) of formula but am trying to get dt2 to take a little more milk as since he's dropped a day bottle he's started waking at 5am again. Had them weighed this week they are now 20lb4 and 20lb3. H/V was really encouraging and is pushing me to give more lumpier foods but we've not had much success with it so far-I'll keep trying though.

Oh and they are finally starting to settle in their cots during the day got a 2 hour pm nap yesterday with hardly any crying (though dt1 kept crying every half hour sleep cycle he resettled within a minute so hopefully that won't continue!) I do wonder why I bothered if we're out so much but for that one or 2 days we're home I really need to not be rocking two babies to sleep!

How is the non-sleeping baby doing dream?

[Lemele]

twelve - Good to hear weaning has helped reduce your evening crying. Our weaning is going ok but as yet having no apparent affect. I'm not expressing though, I'm just making the rice with formula milk. As I'm giving them the rice after a normal feed they're not having any less of my milk, and expressing still has a tendancy to depress me ever since DS1 so I just figure maybe the formula will help fill them up! Gave the boys some mushed fruit as well as baby rice today and as always happens with a new flavour, the look on their faces was classic!! I'm just trying to hold off jumping to 3 square meals a day with extra at bedtime

Sounds fab baileys! Despite being glad I had twins not triplets, I'm the teeniest bit jealous of you. Yep, I'm definitely not done yet... must be mad...

Well done red, glad the trip was ok. Go get some rest now!!

Kazar hooray for getting yours home! That sounds a great effort with bf, well done you. I hope it goes well and that you have plenty of milk in no time :)

I was foolish to complain in front of my twins that sleep was bad. It's now worse. They're barely going for half an hour in bed before stirring now! Thankfully a bit of rocking and replacing of dummies is usually good enough to get them to settle again, but not always. The other night it was something like 8:55pm, 9:15, 9:35, 9:45, then a dream feed at 10:30 ish, then i think but who knows? I can't remember anything these days it was through til 2am then every hour (or more often) since. And the other night they stirred a few times between bed (8:15pm is usually when they're actually asleep) and 10pm but then after I went to bed they were waking every 20 mins or so from 11:15 onwards! Argh!

I think I'm going to try doing what I did before, i.e. putting off feeds for as long as poss to try and discourage them from waking. No idea if it'll work again but I'm getting to be a bit of a walking zombie, eyes hurting from tiredness all day :( DS1 was sleeping through (more or less) from 5 months dammit!

dream - sympathies for DT1. With this sort of thing I've begun to always think, "at least it's only one of them"! I think my nights would be pretty easy if i only had my DT2 but mustn't think of that! I agree with what red says on naps poss improving things, but appreciate how hard it is to get a baby to sleep if they just don't want to!

Hands up who hates the fact that sleep is a necessity...

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Quick flying visit to pass some coffee to Dreaming - although yay to at least ONE of them sleeping. Cast your mind back a few weeks and I bet even that will seem like a miracle!

And talking of miracles, BB3 did I just read that you did a triathlon. Yowsers. Another one coming up to a year on here and I can barely run 500m without looking like I'm going to conk out!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Ooh and Lemele I think you've got someone else - ours are 11 months now so the only link between food and crying here is if I don't keep topping up the piles on their high chairs quickly enough! Little gannets.

[baileyslover]

Quick update, all put in weight after 36hrs bf exclusively so doctors happy for us to go! Just need Georgina to poo ideally . Roll on this afternoon when the fun really begins

[ClaireMarathonFeeder]

Fantastic news baileys!! well done with the feeding and good luck at home

[DreamingOfPeace]

Oh Baileys, you are marvellous, ebf triplets, have a medal :)

It's me with minimal/ no evening crying with solids at DD tea time for the boys. And really, really tried with naps for DT1 today but he resisted. In total, over 3 naps, he slept 1hr 15 today :( . Resorted to pushchair for all three naps too. Last night he was up two hourly as usual but back asleep in between therefore making it a 'good' night. Bloody non sleeping baby...

[beyoglu]

Congratulations baileys!

Hang on in there dream, you're doing amazing!

We're having a brill week but DT1 has just learned how to scream and she's enjoying using this new talent. Partly my fault as we had a great shrieking session in the kitchen yesterday with me singing "Never Can Say Goodbye" and her joining in with enthusiasm. Oh wee one, are you really the same little person who used to whimper softly against your reflux in the early early days? She could shatter glass now. No I can't complain, they're on really good form this week, turning into proper wee people. Also, it's my OH's night on duty so just need to go up and do the dream feed now and then a good 7 hours of sleepy bliss are aaaall mine...

[DreamingOfPeace]

beyoglu, I love how different mine are and seeing their different characters coming through more and more each week. My DD is just so much fun now too. very jealous of your uninterrupted sleep, enjoy it!

I feel like I'm wading through treacle atm. I'm usually busy settling fretful babies til 9:15pm earliest, then dt1 up by 11,12 latest. And constantly from then. I have no time for myself at all- I'm scrambling to get laundry done/ get in bed from when the boys go down. The ongoing lack of more than 1-2 hours sleep in a row is really getting to me. We were out this morning so short (30 min ish) two naps in the car for DT1, then I took the three out in them buggy so Dh could nap (he isn't lying when he says he needs his sleep- bear and sore head come to mind). DT2 slept for the whole 2 hours, DT1? 20 minutes of course...on top of his rubbish nights. Can he just genuinely not need much sleep?? My dad says he'll be like Margaret thatcher, happily doing well on 4 hours a night when he's grown up. Argh!!!@ poor DD running a temperature and not eaten much at all all day too, so i expect all three will be up tonight. Into the night shift I go!! thinking of you too lemele . Maybe we should pair our DT2's up & have a few good nights each before going back to our own children?! Mine's been up 2-3 x last couple of nights but slept through for 4 in a row before that!! Two of those for me please! My DD started sleeping through from 11 weeks, ebf too. Makes my inability to get DT1 to sleep worse.

Anyway, I'm drivelling on in my sleep deprived/obsessed way again....

Hope your DD still having a lovely time with her granny red and you're revelling in bags of help.

[minesapintofwine]

dream I don't konw how you are surviving on such little sleep! You are blimmin superwoman you deserve a torch if it were still available. (bows down and salutes you).

beyou one of mine was really screechy about your dts age and my mother used to encourage him in public arrggghhh! He's stopped since he started teething though and is such a grump these days I miss the shouting!

baileys congrats!!

[goingtoexplodesoon]

My twins are starting walking. I'm following them around with a big pile of cushions throwing them wherever I think one's going to fall while holding onto another and then realising it's managed to run away while I was distracted by trying to save DD2 from knocking her head on the book case. One twin is now suddenly appearing at the stairs and is somehow knocking down the baby gate. How is that even possible? Just need some advice about the walking. Am I just being a bit over protective with the cushions, and though I'm starting to use those baby-leash-thingies because they are starting (often failing, but they never cry or seem to get hurt when they fall) to walk outside, is it going to get even more muddled if I use them inside just to keep track of them? I'm coping with a six yr old and a partner out of the country for two weeks- and it's just my luck they're really taking off now.

[Lemele]

dream i was thinking it was you I was replying to but somehow read/wrote twelve's name instead. I'm not sure what to think with your DT1. I'm sure the minimum babies are supposed to need a day is still quite a bit amount.. but I guess there are always exceptions... not that that makes you feel better!!

at goingtoexplode - you new around here? I personally wouldn't bother with the cushions myself, but I guess it depends on how wobbly they are. I've always kept indoors and outdoors separate (my DS was a late walker and would try to fall out of the back door so got into the habit of only having it openable if I was there) although some would say that this is terrible and old-fashioned and so on and so forth

Oh and hooray baileys!

[twin2makes4]

Just dropping into say hi :)

dream sorry to hear your baby is keeping you up, Ive got one of those too which is why i'm struggling to find time to come on here :(

I am sorry that I have not been on for a while, i'm having quite a tough time with my two, hope everyone is doing ok, I will try and catch up with everyone soon.

does anyone else suffer with the "witching hour"? mine are really bad between 7/8pm and was just hoping someone had positive stories of when it may end :(

[DreamingOfPeace]

Don't look at me twin2, its ended for one of mine but not the other... Think solids helped one.

Yawn.

[minesapintofwine]

win* yes yes yes to the witching hour. One of mine is still like it at nearly 7 months. Have you tried for an earlier bedtime? A lot of it can be tiredness (definately with mine)

[beyoglu]

I had mad witching hour and you're all going to hate me because it went away this week when I started putting the girls in their cots for naps, which went like a dream. I now have about 4 hours a day to piss about and watch TV. And they are happy up to about 6.45 - they go to bed at 7. The only downside is that they now wake at 6am instead of 8...

Don't know if anything I did made a difference but I put them upstairs using the same little routine as for nighttime (except no bottle during the day) - completely dark room, swaddle, dummy and white noise.