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

Wonder how Jenny is coping with just one arm? I can't imagine, I struggle with two good ones and I don't mean that to sound remotely trite.

Mel, when you look back at posts from several weeks ago, you were soooo anxious, 34 weeks is great and they'll be fine if born tomorrow! You sound absolutely right to move ds, I moved mine at 2.6 because I just wasn't happy and he seemed to develop far better at the new place.Bit traumatic at this time though.(And yes, the seatbelt is a PITA, esp with double buggy in the way as we keep our baby jogger in there all the time).

My dt's are head to head in their double carrycot, they keep inching over to each other DS3 has really come on the last couple of weeks, filled out, seems so happy and grins at me all the time. I caught DD grinning at him in the cotbed this morning, she's always noticed him more than he her though. I have had a godawful day though as neither would nap all afternoon and screamed and screamed but refused to latch on.Happened last night too, I don't know what's going on but hope it ends soon!

Induction points? I hope it takes a week to kick in

How are you lovely ladies doing?

Frangi Well done! Go to bed. Rest as much as you can. I know you think it wasn't much but fantastic news that you gave birth on gas n air. Great for you and the babies and such wonderful weights.

Mel hang in there for at least another couple of weeks my lovely. Drink lots of water, rest and take gentle exercise (you know short waddles to the end of the road).

Hi all, getting excited for those of you due in Dec, keep hanging in there, the last couple of weeks are tough.

My little angels are sleeping now, these two combined are currently less hard work than my first little boy. I keep telling myself it's the calm before the storm, this is the sleepy stage where they lull you into a false sense of security that it's not as hard as you thought it might be. I'm loving it though, I'm not saying it's easy, tears have already been shed. When I work out how to do pics I will put some on here.

Thanks Mars, I was really thrilled that they were born naturally, in some ways the birth was almost everything I hoped it would be, I just didn't cope with the contractions as well as I hoped I would. Now it's over the hard work is all just a distant memory.

Mel My you've had a real tough time with your son's school. If you do have the time or energy it would be good to put in a complaint to the headteacher and if you don't feel he's taking you seriously then complain to the LEA. I was a teacher in Norfolk until a couple of years ago, I wouldn't dream of speaking to a parent in this way regarding concerns I had. This teacher/Special Needs Co-ordinator needs to know that her job is to work with parents to support children's developmemt, what she's doing sounds so destructive. Hope your son is able to settle well at new place, for both your sakes.

How's the feeding frangi?

i have had a show this morning, so i spoke to soon about making another two weeks. i have been having alot of branston hicks and backache. i have called the delivery suite and they said it could be a while yet and to call back if my waters break, i start to bleed or get regular contractions.

frangi, she is not a special need co-ordinator she has no special needs qualifications she only has a certificate in education and works in a nursery. i am more qualified than her to assess a child, i am a fully qualified secondary school teacher with special needs training and my child doesnt have any of the major markers for autism, in fact he is so far from autistic the whole situation is laughable. thats why i find this woman sooooooooo frustrating. its an independent school so not controlled by the LEA. i dont think she wants to admit she is actually very wrong and has made a huge mistake diagnosing him herself and treating him differently in class which has made the situation worse. i would have been sacked if i had spoken to a parent they way she did to me and i think the headmaster would be very interested to hear what has been going on. i am however probably going to do it after the twins are born as i am very emotional at the moment and will probably burst out crying, which will weaken my situation. i have decided not to speak about it with her again and just hand our terms notice in.

mel... having a show is simply that. You may still be here next week or even the week after so don't rush off too soon.

Rest where you can, eat, drink and pee. Take care of yourself and don't do too much.

Hi Ladies

Mel keep us updated on how things progress.

I had another bad night last night and ended up getting up and watching I'm a celeb at 3 o clock in the morning. I thought it would send me back to sleep. My back is really starting to suffer and I am not sure what to do to ease it. I have been swimming today and just lolled about in the learner pool with my youngest which was lovely. We then went to the school bizare this afternoon but we missed the childrens raffle and FC ran out of presents so the boys were really disappointed! I burst into tears when I got home much to DHs surprise. He asked what was wrong and I had to tell him it was because we missed FC. Good old hormones!!!

Got my bag packed and am now pretty much ready for the babies to arrive. I swing from being excited to meeting them and finding out what they are and also terrified about the delivery and coping with 4 children!

I do feel reasurred by AG, Merry and Fran who all seem to be coping fantastically but it makes me think I will be the one who can't!! Shall I book into the priory now??

Fret not Pheonix. We'll pick you up and I'm sure you'll be more than fine!

Hi Everyone,
Just been catching up with all the posts and everyone's news...

Mel2005 - I am a trained secondary school teacher as well, and the way that teacher spoke to you is unacceptable. I hope you do make a complaint once you feel more up to it. You wouldn't want her doing that to anyone else...

Frangipani you sound like you're doing well with the twins

I have my 21 week scan this afternoon and (as usual) am very nervous as I STILL haven't had any kicks! I am getting the odd flutter and sometimes a 'shifting' sensation, but nothing really definite. I would have thought that with three in there I should be? When did you all feel definite kicks? Please tell me somebody out there was as late as me.....

Love, Barbarella XX

Mel Sounds like a sensible approach. Good job you are more qualified than her so you haven't swallowed all the crap she's been telling you as some parents might. Exciting that you're getting signs that things are moving on nicely with pregnancy, but you should like Mars says be prepared for another weeks wait otherwise you'll feel more and more frustrated when they haven't arrived.

Mars Feeding mostly going well thanks, blisters and sore bits healing, so not too painful now. Am mostly tandem feeding with inflatable cushion, not that easy getting in right position, also getting to wake up and stay awake at the same time is also bit tricky. As they get used to the routine I'm hoping it will come more naturally.

Barbarella Cheers. I know how you feel, I always found that the few days before the scan I would get quite anxious about whether they'd moved much or not, but that's normal. Then you see the little treasures and you feel alright for another few weeks. Hope all went well with scan.

Pheonix You will cope, there will of course be more tears in those first few weeks, hormones and tiredness again. After having huge difficulties with my first little boy I've gone for the routine approach which helps me to know what to do when. Baby Secrets by Tantum and Want is good, it's routines are not too rigid. I'm not following all advice to the letter but finding it a helpful guideline.
I'm worried about what happens when my now sleepy 10 day old babies start to wake up and be more lively and my husband goes back to work and my Mum's visits are less frequent!! But for now all is lovely.

barbarella I felt fine at 24-25 ish. This is my first pregnancy. Also I have read that with triplets the placenta and all can hide the kicks for a while. A mom of quads said she felt hers in late 20s....

Well done Frangi!

Barb don't fret my love. I've had clients not feel much kicking before 24 weeks and then felt them with a bit of a vengance bless them.

we have finally decied on names, Alice and Oscar.
got a great bargain today from the blooming marvellous store. they had maternity PJs for £3.99. i bought a couple of pairs for the hospital as my others are getting rather small now. i have bought a few pairs of PJs over the last few months and most dont fit over my bump anymore but the ones i got today fit really well over the whole bump so i think they might be good to wear if i do have a c-section.
anybody going to take bottles and formula into the hospital? i did intend to breastfeed for at least the first few days but i am worrying that it might not happen so i want to be prepared. also how many nappies will i have to take in?

mel... don't take bottles in. That's not the way to start my lovely. You can email me, take my number and call me. It's exhausting but it's not as bad as you think.

Great names by the way

Fran, just enjoy the sleepy days, no way of predicting what's it going to be like soon. FWIW, my dt's were still sleepy at 6 weeks!

Mel, if they need formula in hospital they can/prefer to give it to them in a cup which worked fine for my dt's because I had no colustrum on one side and couldn't produce enough for both.So no need to take bottles.Mars is right though, it's a lot easier bfing them than I thought it would be although of course I'm still using those dratted nipple shields, they're driving me mad with 2 babies!!

Now my lovely ladies. I'm with a client who has DTs and a 2.5yo. She has a mountain buggy but needs a buggy board. Which works best?

AQ... do you want to email me about your sore nips and we'll see if we can't get it sorted and you can lose the nipple shields?

Hullo lovely Mars
I had a lascal kiddieboard on my single MB as I think they were the only ones that fitted, I was going to get another for the double MB but Mel is the real expert of course
I am using shields for flat nipples rather than sore ones, have tried to get both of them latched from time to time but not getting v.far with no time between the 9 feeds a day!I used them with ds2 until about 4-5 months but much harder with two at once. Which email though, as I'm sure you'll have good advice for me?!

Yes the lascal kiddyboard is the best, i have two for my double MB. they are so easy to get on and off and you can hook them up when not in use or remove and pop in the basket.
like this one
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lascal-Kiddy-Board_W0QQitemZ230310505359QQihZ013QQcategoryZ112378QQssPageNameZWDVWQQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem
they are cheap on e-bay, i think i paid about £12 for mine.

mars, i have already decided i am not breastfeeding as its just not going to be practical with the children and the business and the amount of people we have round. they will get a couple of weeks possibly though if i can.

Just back from a check-up at the hospital. I was seen by a MW, instead of consultant as usual. Firstly, she wanted to know why I was having a sweep so early (I'm having one on Thursday when I'm 37 weeks) . Then she palpated to see what position the DTs were in - and couldn't feel anything. Then she took my BP and it was through the roof. Then she tried scanning me and couldn't work out where the boy was at all. I'd forgotten what a luxury it can be to have a competent consultant dealing with you, this MW really worried me. Anyway, consultant came to the rescue and both DTs still head down, he offered to do sweep then and there but I'll wait, and then when my BP was re-done it was fine. The consultant was relieved - he said he had a delivery suite 'full' of twin mums with high BP - and one of them even has the same (unusual) surname as me. How weird?

mel... still don't take bottles in with you. Try to do a few weeks exclusive breastfeeding. Some breastmilk is better than none. The colostrum is full of Vit K and D and all the antibodies that your new babies will need in those early days. (Plus you never know, it might work fabulously for you and you decide to go for it full time... )

Glad everything was ok at the hosp GBB. I am booked for induction at 37 weeks and 6 days. I am going to ask the midwife though if I can have a sweep at 37. Would love to avoid an induction if possible. I know I can refuse to be induced but it feels such a struggle to get another 4 weeks and 3 days to my induction date!!! I don't think I could get to nearly 40 like AQ did!!

Had 34 week hosp appt today. DT2 still breech, doesn't look like that will change now. Consultant has agreed to abandon idea of elective C sect & I can go for nat. delivery see what happens. However wants to book me in for induction @ 38 weeks. So now have to decide if accept that as price to pay for avoiding section or go into battle for a spontaneous labour. I really am very tired just thinking about it all.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your reassurances re: lack of kicking. I'm sure that when I do finally feel them I'll wish I couldn't!

Had scan on Monday afternoon and all fine so far - the twins were lying side by side across my stomach and the other one was wedged underneath with its head right against one of the twin's bum! It's starting to look crowded in there.... The specialist says there's no sign of TTTS still and that they're all almost exactly the same size and all the right size for their age. I'm very relieved. There was lots of wriggling and kicking on the screen so I'll try not to worry that I can't feel it yet.

Love, BarbarellaXX

Great news, Barbarella. I can't imagine what it's like with three in there! So exciting.

Sweep tomorrow - nothing much happening but I feel very weighed down so knowing that I'm getting things started is a real help. I really want to avoid chemical induction if I can - though haven't been arguing about it with anyone as yet, I'm sure that will come if I get further along!