Anyone else expecting twins in Dec? Am slightly freaked!

[gemenaux]

Scan on monday showed viable twin pregnancy (8 weeks). Feeling absolutely awful - which i think is good thing and already look 12 weeks! just wondering if anyone else around?

Hi accessorizequeen, I do feel better after the scan, thanks. I think the single placenta is a big issue for my birth choices (a had a homebirth with my DD), but I'll just have to take each day as it comes. I think I'll be seeing a lot of the hospital staff which is at least reassuring in some ways.

Weirdly, my friend lives near me and is at exactly the same stage as you with non-ID twins. She had a tough first trimester but is now enjoying it, especially the kicking and feeling closer to them. I'm looking forward to that, I think I can already feel some fluttering (or wind?!).

Thanks, hana, merry & I have met on another multiple thread recently, she thought it was triplets for quite a while!

gbb, nice to have a friend nearby having twins too, I really need to join the local twins group! It probably is them moving, I felt mine at 11 weeks which probably should have given it away plus I was pretty big by even 16 weeks. I keep getting asked how long I've got to go as though it's a matter of a fortnight rather than months! What about a doula for you, if you're really keen to have as natural a birth as possible? Quite a few on mumsnet inc marslady, depends where you live I guess. I had section first time, only g&a second time so I guess I find it easier to deal with that I will have intervention. I'm keen to see my consultant monday and get some answers really! I find knowing what's likely/going to happen v. reassuring.

Thanks Hana.
AQ: Another friend is one of the organisers for the local twins group so that should come in handy for me. The only thing about having friends with twins is no one else will want to see us together, we'll overrun them! Good advice about Mars, believe it or not I'd found her independently, then so did my friend, so we're both having her as our doula (I had thought just postnatally but I think I'll save myself the cost of an independent midwife and see if Mars can be there for my birth too) and then I found her on here. Small world. I'm all for informing myself though sometimes it does increase the worry unnecessarily. I can't help myself though.

hi
i have just found out i have twins, i am due 10th jan. i already have two children a boy who will be 4 in september and a girl who will be three in jan. twins dont run in my family or my husbands and we were only joking about it yesterday as i am huge already and have been really not feeling well for the last couple of months when i had been fine for my previous pregnancies.
i am gutted i cant have a homebirth now and in shock but am delighted. i am not sure how i will cope as OH works long hours and often 7 days a week. i have so many questions wizzing around my head.

Mel - congratulations! I've had 7 weeks to get used to the idea (had an early scan) and now love it. Huge is normal if you've had kids before, I think. And I was gutted about the homebirth too - had one with my DD. It's not ruled out, but having done the research I don't think I'm brave enough. I'm just going to fight for as natural a birth as I can on the NHS. There's lots of support and reassurance available on here - and I know I started feeling much better a week or so ago (wk 13). Welcome...

thank you.
i have been trying to find out what i should be doing in addition to the normal things.

any ideas what i should be eating extra of? it keeps saying vitamins etc on the internet but doesnt give enough info. i do take pregnacare and eat alot of vegetables etc.

i have ordered some twins books as i have far to many questions to ask on here.

it looks like most nhs hospitals go for c-sections, which i dont really want but it might be safer from what limited info i can find.

i wanted to breastfeed but i cant see it happening with twins and two young children as well. i do like them to go out alot to the local dino park and playbarn. i cant imagine breastfeeding twins there would be easy, actually it would be impossible. i cant make my other children stay at home for 12 months when they are not at nursery. with DC2 i would discreatly breastfeed anywhere.

Just back from resigning as a school governor - all extra responsibilities are having to go!

I'm taking a good quality antenatal tablet (I think mine are Biocare Antenatal Forte - bit pricey), essential fatty acids, extra iron (can be very useful with twins - Spatone is great as it's in water and doesn't constipate) and tissue salts (homeopathic-type salts which are meant to help growth). I'm doing lots of gentle yoga and resting whenever I can. I've been advised to eat healthily and as balanced a diet as possible, with loads of protein. Try and have protein with every meal and every snack. I was also told late in pregnancy, just eat all the time to get the babies weight up (does that mean we should stop eating at 36 weeks so they don't get too big? ).

The birth of the second baby tends to need more management than with a singleton or with the first of a twin birth, as the position of the baby needs to be right, and there's the issue of whether the staff present can/will deliver breach. It would be so frustrating to have the first one naturally then have to have a c-section for the second - I can see why people go for electives.

Breastfeeding - yes, it's daunting. I really hope I can manage. I'm not expecting to go out much in the first six weeks, but my DD1 will be at school which makes life easier and we're going to get some help from a doula as I mentioned above. I hope that I can do some expressing after that so I can leave the house for a couple of hours without having to go flash the world.

welcome mel must have been a big shock! Let me know which twins book you find useful, I must buy one! I feel similarly about bf, ds1 will be at school by time twins born and ds2 at nursery 2 days (he'll be 21 months) but still I can't imagine how it's going to work as ds2 fed constantly as it was. I still want to, and think it would be easier after first couple of months than formula all those bottles. Plus I really enjoyed it with ds2, helped me lose all pg weight! Depends I think on how much of a routine they're in, seems more important to have a routine with twins so things are possible with other children etc.

I've been told no reason why I can't have natural birth all being well (and I've had a section) and am at nhs hospital. Ask for a consultant who is keener on natural births (the midwive should tell you!) and they'll support you. I was told if one or both babies breech at 36 weeks it's a section, or if I get pre-eclampsia etc. But I'm hoping for natural, the thought of recovering from op on top of everything else!

GBB, advice on diet v.useful, all I knew was the extra protein which I had been eating naturally as craving it! I've been taking two spatone sachets a day for a few months and it definitely helps, not borderline anaemic as with previous pg's.

HI. I AM 16 WEEKS PREGNANT WITH TWINS AND THEY ARE DUE 7TH DEC.
SAW M/W YESTERDAY AND SHE SAID THAT THE SIZE OF MY BELLY IS LIKE THAT OF A 5 MONTH PREGNANT WOMAN WITH 1!!!
CONGRATULATIONS
X

Hi ellac and congratulations. I know what you mean about being huge - and it's happened so quickly, i think people at work are really shocked. They keep doing double takes (and I'm wearing a particularly preggers-looking dress today). I must be really scary though as hardly anyone has asked me straight out!