29 weeks tomorrow with twins. Hospitalised today because I'm starting to dilate and contract. Steroids and anti-contraction meds started. Anyone been through similar?

[thereistheball]

I've started a thread in premature births - on phone so will try to link. Please bear with me!

Here

Thanks for your replies!

Hey There !

Here for some hand-holding if required, but first up loads of positive stuff. First great thing - you've made it to 29 weeks, I have twins and was losing waters at various points during the pregnancy. The medics were very 'get to 24 weeks...' then 'get to 28 weeks..'. So you've ticked those major boxes.

Second great thing - you're in hospital and they're treating it. I went into labour following waters breaking at 30+3. So labour had already started and progressed very quickly. There was some chat about trying to stop it/slow it but it was pretty much past that point, so great that they are working to slow things down for you. And doubly great that you're getting steroids.

So that's all good! I won't lie to you and say prem twins are easy, but you can still have the most amazing outcome. Mine are 11 months now and doing brilliantly so keep the faith!

Lots of brilliant advice on the premmies pages but I think multiples gets more traffic so posting here for you. Thinking of you.

Hi There

Also here to hold your hand. I agree with everything Twelve said. The fact your going home is a very positive sign.

My two were also born at 30 weeks in a very similar situation to Twelves. They spent 5 weeks in hospital and were very small and sleepy for a while. They are two years old now and caught up with growth and development no after effects from being prem.

Good Luck

Just seen your posts on another thread and wondered if you had similar experience to me!

No experience of delayed labour directly to recount, but one of my SCBU 'roomies' was kept on bed rest for a good few weeks until she delivered at 33 weeks, and her DD did really well.

ANother resource you may find useful is BLISS www.bliss.org.uk/. I had a stack of info leaflets from them in hospital - am sure if someone rings them and explains you're in France they may be able to send some useful info.

Hi, handholding here.

Didn't have twins, but had loads of complications, pre eclampsia, iugr including a premature labour at 32 weeks.

Had tractocyle drip and steroids. And another nice stay in hospital!

They managed to delay Labour for 2 weeks, had dd (3lb) by emcs at 34 weeks.

2 weeks in nicu, she is now a normal (if small) 2 yr old.

Hang in there!

In mumsnetty hugs x

Oh, and bliss are fab.

I still do a bit of fundraising for them when I can.

Thanks everyone. My contractions were getting stronger overnight so I'm now on a drip, which seems to be helping. My consultant isn't in today but I'll see her and find out more about whether I'll be going home then, I hope. Meanwhile I've had two steroid injections for the babies' lungs and will be seeing an endocrinologist soon about the diabetes, which is out of control because of the steroids. Now to catch up on some sleep! Thanks again for all the reassurance.

I've had the babies! I have posted what happened (3 hour labour, which the doctors only started believing when I went from 1-10 cms in 15 minutes) on the thread above in premature births. They have been transferred to another hospital and were stable when I checked at midnight. Hoping that seeing them today will make it all feel a bit more real. They will be in hospital for about 6 weeks, they think - I may be discharged tonight.

Congratulations thereis. More August multiples and good weights for 29 weeks too:)

To be realistic, they always say to aim for taking them home about their original due date so best aim for that and any earlier is a bonus. I've just got my two home from SCBU after only 12 days (born at 34+4) and saw a baby in SCBU born at 29 weeks who is looking like he'll be home within 5-6 weeks as he has no complications partly due to mum having had steroids too, he just needs fattening up:) so home earlier than due date is definitely possible. On the other hand, there was a baby in SCBU beside mine, born at 30 weeks and still there 9weeks later, so don't set yourself any strict deadlines!

Hopefully you will be discharged soon and can visit them without too any problems. Take care of yourself too as the travelling backwards and forwards to visit can be tiring :) Sounds like labour wasn't too bad so hopefully won't be too hard a recovery which will help you a lot. Looking forward to hearing names once it has sunk in!

Congratulations Seeing them will make it a lot more real - hope you get to have a cuddle.

Oh congratulations There !

I'm so pleased you got to see them and give a little kiss before they were transferred, I'm sure that was a big comfort to all of you.
Also really pleased that you are recovering quickly if they're happy to discharge you. Don't rush though - twin deliveries are not easy on mums so if you feel you need some more looking after do take it.

Sorry that they're transferred, I presume to a slightly further away hospital - one of mine was too - but hopefully you'll be able to get up there and spend plenty of time with them. Make sure you rest plenty and eat well too though!

Prepare yourself for your emotions to be all over teh shop for a while, NICU is a real rollercoaster and it takes a while to process a premmie labour, particular a rapid one! Top tip is to have a diary to write down questions you might want to ask the doctors, info you need to remember, and when things start to settle down a bit, little memories and observations of your DTs each day. I treasure mine!

Feel free to vent or ask any questions on here too, lots of us have been through something similar.

And congratulations again, that bit's very important!

Oh my goodness, came on here to hand hold, as I was also hospitalised at 30 weeks, for 2 weeks, for the same reason and then sent home for bed rest until delivery at 34 weeks.....I am too late!!!

MASSIVE congratulations on your beautiful babies :))))))

I agree with SCBU being a roller coaster and mine were only in for about 15 days. But the time will fly and they'll soon be coming home. That's when things get even more tiring so look after yourself and try to get some rest.

Ah...congrats again - I still go all misty eyed for new twin mummies :)

Congratulations! Mine were born at 32+5 after my first lot of waters broke 4 days earlier and I was hospitalised like you. We spent 18 days in SCBU in the end and the dts have suffered no ill effects from their early arrival. Good luck and best wishes .

Congratulations!! Don't have experience of twins but DD was born at 26+5 (for very different reasons) agree with all of the above regarding the SCBU being an absolute roller coaster but DD is now 6 and a half months actual (3 and a half corrected) and is absolutely lovely. She came home 3 days after her due date. There are pics on my profile I think :)

Thanks everyone. Lamb - I'm going to check out your pics in a second.

Is SCBU Special Care Baby Unit? And which level of care is that? My boys are in 'reanimation' which is the most intensive level of care, after which (confusingly) they will graduate to 'intensive care' then 'neonatal' from where they eventually come home. They seem to be doing very well - we are waiting for some test results to come back but all other signs are positive in that they are putting on weight, taking more milk, and the bigger one is now breathing with only an oxygen tube (so no mask or hat, which means we can now see his face )

Special care is just feeding and growing mainly, high dependency is where mine started, in incubators, one of them on CPAP until they graduated to open cots which were heated initially. The transition was fairly quick too, my dts were back at or local hospital on day six but were delivered at a bigger unit 50 miles away due to their prematurity and the fact our local hospital couldn't offer the support we initially needed.

That is some good progress they have already made, you must be proud! Enjoy .

Aw, great to hear some good progress, well done to all of you.

And Lamb your DD is absolutely gorgeous, got all misty eyed looking at your pics!