Anyone else pregnant with twins - or more? Or anyone who has twins - or more - who wants to hold our hands...

[GettingBiggerBird]

Hoping to drag my fellow pregnant mums and those whose bodies have been recently or not-so-recently liberated over from our ante-natal thread. We're not as experienced as those on the d'y ever ones but a lot slower . And any new ladies please join us, here's the list so far:

PazzaPlusTwo: twin girls born April 28th 2008 - Anais and Carmen
Neenztwinz: twins born May 6 2008, Esther and Theo
Accessorizequeen: twins born Sept 27, Felix and Bridget - East Yorkshire
Merrymarigold: non id twins (girl and boy) born 22 Oct, Jude and Mirissa - Forest Gate, East London
jennyroper: id girl twins due dec 15th - New Zealand (but am proudly British)
Anjlix: id twin girls due 24 dec (37 weeks) - London, booked at St Thomas.
GBB: b/g twins due Dec 25 - Hackney, London
PBH: twin girls due 9 Jan 2009
MEL2005: twins due(40w)10th jan 2009, Norfolk
Pheonixnights:Non ID twins due 17th Jan
Ewemoo: id twins due end Jan 08
Tallulahbelle: twins due Jan 08
Nellstar: id twins due 18 Feb 2009 (well, that's 40 weeks)
Balamorybaby: twins due 11th March - East Sussex
Barbarella: triplets due 9th April 2009
Swerve: twins due 28 May 2009

Thanks GBB- will google it & have good read.

Hi & Welcome jotwins, yours must be the oldest on here I think! If you ask on the d'ya ever thread, there might be a twinmum or two in the Lanarkshire area you couldmeet up with?

Mel, good news on the dt's, you're still hanging in there! Thanks for info re: galaxy, I think we might go for that. Can I ask qu about mountain buggy as I'm thinking about picking up a double carrycot as the dt's have virtually outgrown their single ones but I want them to stay in cots for a bit more of the winter (and away from ds2!). How does it fit onto the buggy as there are 2 big black struts in the middle (which the single carrycots slide onto)? Do I have to get an old-style carrycot with the flat apron? Or should I just ring MB uk and stop bothering you?

Tallulah, fwiw my consultant also said that delivering dt2 breech wasn't a problem. Luckily she turned anyway, but I would have gone ahead with trial of labour anyway as I trusted her judgement.

Frangi, this happened to me, I had loads of stuff going on for a week or more before they arrived - perhaps yours have already and you will be the next to update!

AQ, i LOVE talking buggies!!!!! the big bar in the middle is easily removed by undoing the bolt that fixes it to the footplate and sliding it out of the top holes. the carrycot just clips on both sides. it has clips on the sides like the outsides of the single version for the double. if you have the adjustable handle buggy you can get either of the carrycots that have the clips on the sides. there are a couple on e-bay at the moment. the older style with the clips have a normal raincover but the newer style usually have the zipped raincover so you can open it to get to the twins without taking the whole raincover off.

You're a star, I knew you'd have the answer . What do you think is a good price to pay for one because I don't think I'm going to get a great price for the two singles as they're not in fab condition?

Thanks for the advice AQ but where would I find that thread? I'm preety new to Mumsnet and havn't really got to grips with it yet.
Tallulah we'll be living in Lesmahagow. Is that near you?

d'y ever thread

Just popped by to say hi.

well AQ when i bought mine they went for as much as £100+, i got mine for £60 + postage which was a bargain because she said collection only and obviously lived in a place where there were not any buyers. i asked her if she would box it if i arranged for parcelforce to collect and she had the origional box so the deal was done. i would personally go for the newer style as it will have been used probably for a few months with one set of twins whilst the older style will possibly have been through quite a few sets of twins. they also have more risk of being stored in peoples damp lofts or garages.
i would take the covers off your single carrycots and give them a wash and then put them on e-bay for about £40-£50 BIN or best offer EACH and see what you get offered. i put my covers on the handwash cycle in my washing machine. be honest about any stains though as you have to offer paypal and people will claim their money back if they are not as described.
i had a look at the singles for the double buggy and they are much narrower than the one for the single MB which is what i used with my last baby. the twin carrycot will last for much longer. i have got a couple of wozzit spirals and clipped them onto the hood and a couple of the alvi 0-6m footmuffs to keep them warm and a couple of the buggysnuggle cow 0-6m snuggles for trips out in the car to drop off at nursery as the twins can be transfered from the car seats to buggy without taking the snuggles off.
i was going to use the carrycot in the house but i want to use the movement monitors for big sleeps and they dont work with two close together.

i have been busy checking the hospitals estimated fetal weight as i have been worrying that they might have got it wrong as well. my calculations are slightly below the hospitals but they are still good weights, they have probably adjusted for error. i also found out that a study done on the EFW methods did show that it can be out as much as a lb either way.

Any news from frangipani?

Hi all, I'm still here - at home that is not in hospital, babies still don't feel their ready. I'm 38+4 today and the stretch marks are increasing at an alarming rate. (sorry I'm too vain)

Had a scan Mon - twin 1 is head engaged, but back to back (which I'm gutted about - my son was born like this, it was a very long and difficult labour that ended in drip, drugs and ventouse). Am doing all I can to get baby to turn. Twin 2 who was head down at 36wks is now breech - I'm less concerned about this as like you've all been saying baby can still be delivered vaginally - or it could still turn again.

AQ How long was it for you when you started your first contractions to actually going into established labour? And how many wks were you at that point? It's really hard waiting when you had thought it was all about to happen. So far I've refused induction, but not sure how long I can last.

Frangipani hang on in there, you're doing so well to have lasted this long. I am hoping I will have the strength to resist induction too, the thought of anything intensifying the contractions is very unappealing. Have you been for acupuncunture or reflexology to get things moving? It can be very effective for some people. Or if you are open to homeopathy, there might be something you could take - this article suggests kali carb, though I guess you'd need to talk to a qualified homeopath. They must be too comfy in there!

Frangipani, I really feel for you so close! I was 39+4 when waters broke 7pm, contractions at 8pm, labour ward at 8.30 I think and had first twin at 10pm! I held off on the induction offered 3 times, I was due to be induced at 40 weeks. HOld off if you can, I know it's really hard to say no when you're tired, and huge and just waiting for them to arrive but I felt I had a much better birth as a result.

Mel, I'm sure you're right about the newer carrycot, it certainly looks nicer & hopefully would get much of my money back. I just sold my single MB & carrycot to another mumsnetter and the carrycot was much much nicer than mine are (sigh).

Teasleepfood: Boy / girl twins born 5th Dec 07
Jotwins: twin girls born Jan 13th 2007 non identical
PazzaPlusTwo: twin girls born April 28th 2008 - Anais and Carmen
Neenztwinz: twins born May 6 2008, Esther and Theo
SuzyFelts : Alice and Joseph born 29th June 08. North East London
Accessorizequeen: twins born Sept 27, Felix and Bridget - East Yorkshire
Merrymarigold: non id twins (girl and boy) born 22 Oct, Jude and Mirissa - Forest Gate, East London
Frangipani74: Due 29th Nov 2008
jennyroper: id girl twins due dec 15th - New Zealand (but am proudly British)
Anjlix: id twin girls due 24 dec (37 weeks) - London, booked at St Thomas.
GBB: b/g twins due Dec 25 - Hackney, London
PBH: twin girls due 9 Jan 2009
MEL2005: twins due(40w)10th jan 2009, Norfolk
Pheonixnights:Non ID twins due 17th Jan
Ewemoo: id twins due end Jan 08
Tallulahbelle: twins due Jan 08
Nellstar: id twins due 18 Feb 2009 (well, that's 40 weeks)
Balamorybaby: twins due 11th March - East Sussex
Jerin:non id twins due March 26th - Surrey
BinkyB: non ID twins due 7th April - SW London
Barbarella: triplets due 9th April 2009
1stMrsF: non ID twins due 14th May - Surrey
Swerve: twins due 28 May 2009

Hi All... hope you dont mind have added myself - get on here a bit erractically as have a 4 yr old at pre-school as well as the twins. Although i had elected to have my two by section at 38.5wks following a difficult 22 hr birth with my eldest daughter - was drugged up to the eyeballs and ended up with no contractions and forceps delivery - this time in the event had a very quick natural birth a week earlier. Waters broke at 9pm on a saturday, contractions 5 mins apart by 9.15, Joseph born 00.05 and Alice at 00.43 so all done in 4 hours no pain relief. This was also despite Alice being back to back and having ventouse to turn her. It doesnt always follow that what was awful first time is the same the second - if somebody would have told me having twins would be easier than one i would have died laughing!

Jotwins - think you will be quite a way from me though I'm not entirely sure where Lesmahagow is tbh. We also have a North of the Border thread though has been pretty quiet of late.

Hello SuzyF!
I think this thread is going to interesting very soon. Raspberry leaf tea anyone?

Hi everyone. Had a 32 week scan today and my kids are huge, I think! They measured at 4 lb 2 oz and 4 lb. I am not that big a person, I hope I am able to carry them some more. I am happy that they are growing fine. No sign of TTTS today although FMS strongly recommends an elective c-section before 36 weeks. I will need to have a chat with my consultant who thinks he can hold of till 37 weeks. I do not want to deal with the last minute chance of TTTS which is 2-3% vs lets say survival at 32 weeks in UK = 100%, Down's syndrome at my age = 1 in 2000. Hmmm. A bit frustrated about this. I need some help and support to get by the remaining days.

Is 34 that much different from 32weeks. I am scared...

anjlix - my DT's weighing in at the same as yours at my 32 week scan yesterday. Don't really know about the TTTS risks but I guess it means that they will be a good enough size at 36 weeks if you had to have section then.Of course it seems the longer you can hold on the better too. I have no such risks as you but still feel my consultant was strongly encouraging elective c. She did state, " We deliver at 38 weeks". It is a total minefield - I hope you get some good advice.

Hi Suzy, sounds like your situation is similar to mine, and I probably don't live too far from you - Clapton? My DD is at school nursery 2.5 days a week, and fortunately full time from Jan which will be best for everyone, she is already getting very stressed about the logisitics of her getting mummy time. Easier than a toddler though, don't you think?

Anjlix hope you get some helpful advice about early delivery, a really tough decision which ultimately only you can make though, isn't it? So hard to get a clear picture when it's about risks and statistics. At least your babies are a good size already.

AQ I am increasingly in awe of how you lasted till 39+ weeks, amazing. I slept for 3 hours this afternoon after the exertion of walking to my DD's school to collect her (it's just at the other end of our street).

at the 3 hour nap, GBB! I was completely exhausted, fed up and in pain by about 36 or 37 weeks I think. I couldn't do a thing, couldn't walk anywhere, couldn't drive by 37 weeks and really really grumpy! Believe me, dealing with the dt's despite the lack of sleep is way way better than being pg with them! And now that I am getting more sleep, I'm back to being besotted with them anyway. Last night I came in to feed them and ds3 had wriggled his way over to be closer to his sister, awwww.

AQ 39+4, well done you. Sounds like it went fairly quickly once your waters broke - was it all fairly straight forward once it started properly?

Welcome Suzy - your birth story encourages me, I had really hard time with my first, it was almost 3 days from when the contractions first became quite strong to when he was finally delivered. With my twins its twin 1 who has head engaged who's back to back, so very keen to get him/her to turn soon as this will obviously be the one that opens the cervex, being in awkward position can make it take longer, be more painful and as with my first, stall completely. Anyway trying to relax about it, be positive and assume baby will find a good position, and of course follow midwives advice about positions to sit in etc.

I'm feeling for all you mum's that have so many difficult decisions to make regarding the arrival of your little ones. Mine are non ID so it hasn't been quite as tough, a few less things to worry about. I've found that it's helpful to talk to other professionals - ie midwife on hospital ward, not just the consultants. I've found consultants to be so driven by their fear of possible risks that they can be a bit bullying, whereas midwives are much more supportive and prepared to discuss your concerns more fully.

Hi All

GBB - i'm north chingford so relatively close - my DD1 goes to pre-school mornings... the hardest things is getting 3 kids up, dressed, fed and into and out of the car. I think it much be much easier when they are a little older, at least you can explain ... or bribe where necessary. Actually my very spoilt 4 yr old is brillant with her brother and sister which never ceases to amaze me!

Frangi... I had quite a different experience with the consultants/midwives. As soon as my community midwife knew it was twins she washed her hands of me and past me quickly onto the consultant. He was absolutely adament that i could have a natural delivery despite that for most of the pregnancy twin 2 was transerve. I think he deliberately left me til 38.5wks for the c-section regardless the fact that i had my first child at 36 wks so that i had to have a go at natural... in fairness he was right! Think if its available the more experienced people you can talk to the better! I also agreed that having non-ID twins makes a more relaxed pregnancy... difficult enough to carry 2 without the massive additional stress of TTS etc.

Suzy, sounds very different to my consultant, although the one on duty when I go in tomorrow is supposed to very nice and flexible - so hope I'll get on with him better, and all the midwives I've spoken to have been extremely supportive.

Anyway latest news, was in hospital again yesterday, and my waters have gone, or rather I should say are going gradually. They let me come home in the hope that things would start off naturally, but so far nothing happening. So I'm back off to hospital this morning to be induced, so babies will be here soon. Trying to pass the time on line as sleep has eludes me.

Ohhh good luck Fran - Hope it all goes well for you. Can't wait to hear about your new arrivals!!!!

good luck frangipani74!!!!!
will be thinking of you.
cant wait to see the photos.

Morning all!

Just wanted to catch up and sign off really! My last day in work today and currently don't have broadband or pooter at home (although I am desperately trying to rectify this over the weekend - time to let hubby out for rugby I think!!)

Spent a good proportion of this week in hospital unfortunately - after never having high blood pressure in my entire life or previous pregnancy last Friday it all went tits up!
145/90 so was admitted. Let me out on Saturday, all ok...back in on Tuesday with horrendous back pain (felt exactly like labour pains with dd) and blood pressure of 160/100!!!!! Lots of fun as you can imagine! So had my steriods now, but we are still trying to hang on for another 3 weeks before the section...problem is that I can't go out on my own, shouldn't be driving, have to have pressure and wee check every day, bloods 3 times a week!

All I'mn doing at the moment is checking my ankles and fingers for swelling!

I'm glad we are all still here though...

Anyway, hopefully I will be able to read/post in the next few weeks -

take care all
xx

take care PBH hope you get the internet at home so you can let us know how you get on. did the steriods make you feel weird?
i think you can get on the internet with those bedside tv/internet/phone stations at the hospital, if you have them in your hospital.
good luck and dont forget to take loads of photos of your lovely girls so we can have a look when you get back on the internet.