Twins Club 5! All welcome! :-)

[mandasand]

Hello! I was a relative newcomer to the last Twins Club thread. I thought I should start a new thread as the last one I filled up with a bit of chatter towards the end. The last thread was really useful to learn from others also carrying multiples and to get the benefit of recent 'graduates' (when they had a minute between sleeping and feeding newborns!)

I'm 37 and 16+5 with twins. I live in Oxfordshire with DH and these are our first children!

Be lovely to get some chatter going on the thread so please come and introduce yourselves :-)

[gardenpixie32]

Best of luck mandas. It is very exciting that you will meet your babies soon.

Tips for c section...

-Arnica tablets, try take them a few days before the section and for a good few weeks after.
-Pack big dark comfortable pants. I used the massive bump pants as they were so comfy and by stomach was still pretty big for a few weeks afterwards.
-Pack a comfortable nightie that you can BF with. They will give you a quick wash after the section and help you dress into it. I packed a separate small bag for the section.
-Tescos 99p maternity pads are great. I liked them best out of the selection I bought
-Take a camera to theater with you
-Pack warm hats for the babies so they can put them on as soon as they are born. However, the hospital can provide them if you don't bring any.

• I took their nappy bag so I didn't have to dig in the big bad for nappy changes.
  
• I pack babies thing separately to mine so things could be found easily
  
• Slip on slippers to avoid bending over
  
• try get up and moving as soon as you feel well enough to
  
• keep well topped up with painkillers at all times
  

best of luck, let us know as soon as you can!

xx

[DigestivesWithCheese]

Good luck Manda!

I second the big pants advice. Also, I would recommend taking your own secret stash of painkillers with you - the strongest ones you can get hold off. In my hospital, it's common for the painkillers to be very late getting to you (or for patients to be completely forgotten). Hopefully this won't happen to you, but if you have some in your bag it could be helpful as it's important to take them on a regular basis for the first 24 hrs or so.

Also, some nice drinks for your bag and a big glass! I was trying to drink lots to help my milk increase, but the small plastic cups and jug of tepid water weren't very inspiring. DH brought me in a big glass from home and some bottles of squash - I found it easier to keep my fluids up then. I don't normally drink squash, but when trying to knock back pints at a time, it seemed to help :-)

Look forward to hearing your update!

My twins are six weeks now. It's all pretty relentless still but I've managed to get our for a few walks with them lately & find that really helps when i feeling tired.

[Frenchfamille]

It's reassuring to read you write that it's a bit relentless, Digestives, because mine are coming up to 3 weeks and I'm feeling pretty tired! I don't really get to sleep much if at all in the day which sounds ridiculous but school here is only 4 days a week so wednesday and weekends my 3 boys are around all the time and it seems hard to sleep then. I really should make sure I sleep on the days they are at school but to be honest, I'm so happy just to get out the house for a little walk by lunchtime that by the afternoon I find I just start to think about sleeping and then it's time to collect the boys! We are not sleeping that much at night - not sure best way of doing things although last couple of nights not been too bad. We tend to end up with us all in bed as I feed one, but usually fall asleep during this. I'm sure people will tell me not to let them sleep in our bed but we just seem too tired to do anything else and seem to get most sleep like this. Any tips though or advice appreciated. Apart from that we are happily showering our little girls in cuddles, kisses and can't remember life without them! The big boys can't get enough!

[FreeButtonBee]

Hi babies arrived on Wednesday after a v long tiring day waiting - we kept being pushed back due to emergencies so it was 18 hours without food and 8 without water. The op wasn't much fun I must admit but the babies are so beautiful. They a re truly wonderful and we are so enjoying getting to know them. My DH is if anything even more on live than me! Good thing with twins is that partners can really get to know the babies v quickly as there is always something that needs to be done for them.

Am still in hosp as baby Boy has trouble with his latch but hoping to leave today.


Top tips

• ask for pain relief regularly - good tip on bringing your own. Alsoake a mtenofnother mefa you shd be getting eg blood thinners, anti D and make sure you get them
  
• separate baby and mum bags and talk your partner through what is in each before hand
  
• my babies, although over 6lb, are much smaller than I thought ao all the clothes are swimming on them. Do take some v small clothes or have someone pick some up.
  
• a sports bottle ( for cycling ) that you can drink out of hands free an can stay in bed with you has been a life saver
  
• fliP flops are comfy to wear as shoes
  
• after about 36 hours, we got a note book to write down feeds/nappies etc. it's too hard to remember otherwise and you will be asked constantly if they have pooed/weed etc
  
• if you are bf, do be really viligwnt on how much they are feeding. V easy with two to let a feed slip r allow your Dh to rock one back to sleep whichthen means a feed is missed. All this will slow down your release of they don't progress enough
  
• If there are problems, you will need to make sure you know what te plan of action is and ask for info on how the next stage will work. All the MW have been lovely but I am a big teaching hosp so continuity of care has been an issue and there were a few days when I had to repeat our history/ thoughts to a new MW each morning/evening so it felt we were not being listened to
  

- chek out what time partners need to leave. I've found that since we are in a private room (even though NHs) and DH doesn't leave it much they are fine for him to stay til 12pm. It means I call the midwives less in those hours and I can usually get an hour's sleep before he goes home.

[FreeButtonBee]

Oh and not being pregnant with twins is awesome. Even though I am tired and sore and achey in new ways, I still havesooooo much more energy than I did on Tuesday. Physically, I am trying not too do too much so am in bed all day pretty much unless I have to go somewhere but I feel so much stronger and more like myself already. That is a real positive for me.

[mandasand]

Oh FreeButton congratulations on the arrival of your little ones!! I must admit I shed a tear just then reading how much better you feel just not being pregnant, and how much more like yourself. I literally cannot wait for this. It's become really, really hard recently and I do so want my body back to something like its normal functionality (and I hope brain will follow!)

Thanks to all for the really excellent advice, and the good luck! I'm nervous as hell about the op - well, rather, it's more about being awake during the op that I don't like the idea of, but it's got to be done! I will post news as soon as I can :-)

[FreeButtonBee]

Home! An hour's kip in my own bed and a proper meal and i feel like a new woman.

[DreamingOfAFullNightsSleep]

Congratulations to all the new mummies!! I still find it relentless at 10 months :)

Don't forget to come and see us here
once they're here thread!

[gardenpixie32]

Has anyone heard from Mandas? I can't wait to hear her news

[gardenpixie32]

How are you and new twinlets doing, free, french digestives?

[FreeButtonBee]

Hello

We are doing okay i think. Feeding issues massively improved once their tongue ties were dealt with. DTS has now got BF after a bit of a dodgy start - he's still notmkeen on full AM boobs but hopefully that will imorovemwith time. and i have had to get stuck into tnadem feeding this afternoon, improvising with rolled up blamkets and cushions. We were successful in the end and nowmhave 2 quiet babies! It feels so much more relaxed and I am feeling less,torn between them which is nice. Just need to get my supply up so that they can start to feed a bit faster.

My scar is a bit twingey but okay. Am religiously taking my painkillers which is helping. Starting to feel vaguely human today - I even have jeans (albeit maternity ones!) on today!

Must admit that we are getting a decent amount of sleep which helps soooo much. DTD didn't sleep til 3am but then slept til 10 with only a quick feed at 7. DTS went down at midnight-ish and had one formula feed at 5am which DH did, then slept til 9. So enough sleep to feel human.

Will investigate the other thread soon and join you experienced twin-wranglers!

[mandasand]

Hello! May I announce myself as a new mummy of scrummy twins! Matilda (6lbs 10oz) and Dylan (5lbs 7oz) were born by c-section on 13 February and after a prolonged 11 days in hospital we are all now home and very happy! I will upload a pic of these adorable creatures to my profile shortly :-)

The c-section was fine, but by the end of the day I had developed a haematoma so had to go in for a further operation to sort that out. I think this must have slowed my healing a bit, and certainly it made small matters like constipation, trapped wind etc worse afterwards! Also, I developed a UTI and a minor (fingers crossed) wound/womb infection in the last few days in hospital for which I was on IV antibiotics and now tablets. Feeling better already, even though I think I'm overdoing things a bit round the house.

But the main reason we were in so long was that the twins fed poorly in the early days and were jaundiced, necessitating a four-day stay in the low dependency unit for fattening up. By day five M. had lost 12% of birth weight and D. 7%. After four days in the LDU we were pretty much back up to birth weights, thanks to every third feed being intubated (DH and I did the others by bottle). This time last week was a very dark time, feeling like an utter failure as a mum and distraught at having the babies living in a different ward to me and DH (we were blessed with a family room), but a week later and we're home, they are taking huge feeds, and already after just a couple of days we've got into a nice routine. the lack of sleep is punishing, as I'm sure many can relate to, but we're slowly moving form 3 to 4-hourly feeds which feels very exciting!

I am trying to express. The night before last I leaked for the first time overnight, which was so cool! The MW brought over a Medela double pump yesterday and I managed 50mls - a PB! Very little this morning, but I'm still trying to encourage my meagre supply rather than feed them entirely off it! Getting them fed is the priority though, and if I can add some breast milk into the formula mix I'll be a happy lady.

I'll post this across a couple of threads as my poor brain probably can't cope with re-writing!

[gardenpixie32]

Ah, lovely news, congratulations mandas :) I have been looking out for your post!

Welcome Dylan & Matilda, lovely weights and gorgeous names. Glad they are feeding well, they will soon be lovely plump babies. Wow, already into a routine, you are doing well mama.

I hope you have healed up nicely and are feeling stronger each day. Feel free to ask any questions if you have any. Don't worry too much about expressing, just do what you can manage.

All the best to you and your new little family x

[gardenpixie32]

And they are lovely lovely lovely! Congratulations again :) :)

[DigestivesWithCheese]

Congratulations! I was wondering how you were getting on. Well done on getting through the early days, it's so hard being separated from your baby/babies, I'm glad you're safely home now. :-)

[mandasand]

Thank you, garden and digestives! We're amazed with our gorgeous little bundles!

Health Visitor came yesterday and weighed them, and their weights are fab now - clearly we're doing something right! Attached to the pump right now, with breakfast and tinternet. I find I don't get anything coming through till 15 mins in, and then it takes another 15 mins or so till I can (and not always) reach 10mls across both boobs. Hopefully the Domeridone will help but I've got a couple of days of antibiotics to finish first, then I can start!

[andadietcoke]

Hello! Been lurking for a little while, but thought I'd say hi. I'm expecting DCDA twins in September and have had a second go at my scan today after they couldn't get EDD or NT measurements on Friday.

Round 2 went slightly better, but one twin is measuring about 10 days behind the other. BigTwin was stretched out though, and LittleTwin a bit curled up, so I don't know how much I should be worrying (I worry about everything). Has anyone experienced the same or similar? BigTwin was measured at 14+0 when I'm fairly sure I'm only 13+4, and LittleTwin at (I think) about 12+3.

[Dildals]

Hi, Gardenpixie helpfully pointed me towards this thread. I am 9 weeks + a couple of days with (IVF) twins. Absolutely gobsmacked in the beginning but really excited now. Still nervous of things going wrong so am keeping fingers crossed till the 12 wk scan. In the mean time I will be lurking here and gleaning tips!

I was really surprised to find out it was twins, because I don't feel that pregnant at all. Had a bit of low level nausea & sore boobs in the beginning, but now I feel fine, maybe a bit more tired than usual, but nothing that I would notice if I didn't know I was preggers. Am I just one of the 'lucky ones'? Or perhaps it is still around the corner? Did any of you have v little symptoms?

[twintrimum]

Hi All, I've just signed up today and found this thread. I'm at 15+3 with (IVF)twins. Due in September but they will be here one way or another by august. Reading the stories of your new arrivals is getting me excited about it all. I have felt terrible all the way through - Dildals I am so jealous of you. I've had sore boobs since the first week, I've been sick most days for the last 10 weeks. I have had more energy and less nausea since I got into the second trimester but I still feel pretty terrible. I am really looking forward to my 20 week scan in about a month's time. I love it when my DH can come along and see them for himself, he seems so excited too and I love that - it makes all the sickness worthwhile :-)

[mandasand]

Welcome to those expecting twins! Exciting!

I'm re-posting this update-with-questions from another twins thread:

Seems ages since I've posted. Twins are 5 weeks today and chunky little monkeys. Both over 8lbs now. Compared with others I don't think they are bad at the whole sleeping thing, probably because they got into a reasonable feed/sleep routine before we left hospital. Trying to maintain that, but it's often thrown out when we have house guests wanting to prod and dandle them when they should be sleeping. That said, they have been more grizzly over the past week. Both v. snuffly and DTD (does this mean darling twin daughter?) producing pea-green snots. MW signed them off today and thinks DTS (darling twin son?!) has oral thrush, which could explain his grizzliness.

Anyway, I was back in hospital last week for a D&C for retained placenta - boo! Still bleeding, still crampy, and nervous about coming off antibiotics as when I did last time that's when I started to bleed and clot really heavily, resulting in being whisked off to hospital in rather dramatic fashion early one morning. FX for me!

Any advice on tandem feeding with formula? (Gave up expressing / stimulating paltry milk supply.) I have tried propping them up in a big sausage cushion turned into a circle, but I suspect there ends up being more milk in the muslins that in the babies! I wonder if 5 weeks is too early to try this trick? Maybe it's too early anyhow - when I break to wind one, the other either cries or falls asleep, etc and we all get out of sync.

Also would love advice / others' experience with having lost stomach muscles. They were about 6-8 inches apart post-birth and the inner workings of my intestines were magnificently on display! Thankfully, I'm now at about 4-5 inches and my intestines are more hidden away. Got a tubigrip and am trying to 'hold in' belly a lot, on advice of hospital physio. And got a physio who is also pilates teacher coming over for 1:1 session tomorrow (terrified both babies will be screaming at once - yikes!) Sorry for big, me-me-me post!

[Blending]

Thanks for comming back and updating!

Fed up doesn't cover it, I'm loosing my mobility, but the bump support band has been a bit of a god send, and really makes all the difference.

I'm now 30 weeks, and its all becoming a reality! I need to pull my socks up as I am not organised enough, I've got most bits for the hospital bags (ELCS bag for me, and baby bag for hospital stay)they just need throwing together, and DH is so laid back he is horizontal. His attitude is that if they arrived tomorrow, nothing would fit them anyway so he'd have to go and get other stuff anyway! I guess thats because with DD I ended up in hospital for weeks due to a Pullmonary Embolism, Pneumonia and Cardio Myopathy, so he just used to pop out for supplies as we needed them.

The amount of people who have been horrified when I said I was going to BF has surprised me, I successfully BF DD until 9 months, and the idea of double bottles, sterilising, and all the faffing that goes with it fills me with dread. I'm no super women, more of a slob, so its great to hear that it can work out, as I do understand that I will feel like Daisy the cow for the first few months, but hopefully I will reap the benefits later (Sod all the good it does 'em I want and instant supply on tap, at the right tempreture 24 hours a day, without all the messing about!)

I am prepared though, if it doesnt work out though to not beat myself up too much!

I have been signed off work, but officially start my holidays on Wednesday as I need to take them this holiday year, with ML starting on the 20th May, which is 9 days before I'm booked in for the section.


Sorry for such a long post!

[butterflyexperience]

Hi all

I'm now 26 weeks and feeling big! My back hurts with all the weight and my bump has dropped really low.
I'm now getting excited as we get closer and I'm being told the babies are doing well

Blending - how exciting 30 weeks!! How are you feeling about the impending arrivals?

Cheeka - lovely birth story thank you for sharing :) any reason why you had elcs at 37 weeks? I only ask as I've been told I'm too have mine at 38 weeks.
Think your amazing for bf I really want to but am nervous about the constant feeding and the sleep deprevation