Double trouble. What can i expect

[starshaker]

Im 6 weeks pregnant so still very early. What can i expect during the pregnacy and where can i find stuff for twins, i mean maternity clothes, prams, cots etc

Congratulations. If I remember correctly you are probably very shocked but very happy.

I've got 7 week old twin boys and I found being pregnant with twins pretty tough towards the end. You will probably get scanned every month or even every fortnight depending on the type of twins you are having. It's reassuring to see the scans but towards the end of the pregnancy it's very tiring going back and forth to the hospital. There are a few risks associated with twins that aren't associate with single babies, the main one being Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome but your doctor will tell you about that and what to look out for.

Other than that this, there isn't much difference between a single baby pregnancy and twins (apart from the weight gain)

If you work I would plan on stopping or stopping travelling to work if you can work from home by 30-31 weeks.

Wait as long as possible to buy maternity clothes. You might end up bigger than the average maternity ranges. Buy a few key maternity pieces like a long cardigan and stretchy pants. I got so big that maternity stuff was tight especially maternity jeans and I ended up wearing flary non maternity sun dresses from places like Primark and Peacocks with a long maternity cardigan over the top most of the time. Buy some good flip flops as your feet might balloon. I lived in Birkenstocks for 6 month. They were great.

Buy the cheapest no frills baby grows and buy loads of them if you don't want to be doing laundry every other day. Other people will buy you fancy cute stuff ;) Buy a hand full of premature baby grows as your twins will be small but not too many as they grow out of them very quickly.

I great tip is to start buying nappies every month or week from about 25 weeks and stockpile them. This will spread the cost as you will go through hundreds a month ? it?s crazy.

Mine are currently in moses baskets and will probably be until 3 mth I would guess and then they will probably share a crib. We bought 2 large cribs but it was obvious once we assembled one that they could share 1 so we haven't even bother assembling the other one yet. I got pretty much all my stuff from Amazon. They are really reasonable and deliver everything within a few days but Primark is also very good for cheap baby grows, booties, hats and blankets. Also second hand stuff is great as babies grow out of everything so quickly most second hand stuff from classifieds and ebay is not used much and buying two of everything brand new can get pricey.

Also line up as much help as you can for after the birth. It's a lot of hard work and it's exhausting. Nab everyone who offers help and consider hiring some help if you can afford it. If you can't afford it then try to put aside as much money as you can now to hire a night nurse once or twice a month just to give you a night's sleep when you are totally exhausted.

Finally, clear out as much junk from your house as you can. Having two of everything takes up a huge amount of space so clear some space if you don't want your house to turn in to an assault course of baby gear.

Try and get as much done sooner rather than later when you can do a little every day. From about 25 weeks you could be the size of a whale and very tired, it will then become stressful if you've left a lot until later and can barely walk.

Gosh I'm sure there's loads more but I'm guessing others will post some more handy stuff.

T x

PS: Have an epidural LOL

Thank you so much that is all very helpfull. Did you have a c-section or deliver naturaly?

I delivered vaginally with an epidural. It really wasn't so bad. I was dreading the thought of needing a c section but there was no need as both babies were head down at 38 weeks. It really depends on the position of your babies. (unless you have some other medical reason for having a c section)

So anybosy else got any words of wisdom?

Hi starshaker, I'm on your AN thread as well

I agree normal mat clothes will probably end up too small - so go for ones that are very big.

There is quite a lot of choice now when it comes to prams, side by sides, tandems, facing you/facing away, travel systems. It depends what type of life you lead. If you are going to be out walking a lot then a three wheeler side by side might be good. If you drive a lot then a travel system (eg Jane powertwin) might be better. If you are strapped for cash I have just bought a double buggy which is suitable from birth which was just £99 delivered (from kiddicare) . It is a Redkite Push Me Spirit. It is unbrella fold too so great for getting in and out of the car.

I had a vaginal delivery as both were head down - are yours identical or not? If the are identical then you usually have to have a c-section as the risk of twin to twin transfusion is a factor. If non-id and both head down then go for a vaginal delivery. I didn't have an epidural cos I was scared it would increase my chances of a section but they certainly tried to push me into having one (and it was a very painful labour, apparently it is more painful with twins which no one told me beforehand!) but i got through on just g&a.

I bought both my cots on ebay, in fact I bought lots of stuff on ebay to save money. The twins were in the same cot to start with but after about 7wks we separated them cos they were waking each other, so we put them in separate rooms - that worked great for us and then when they were about 14mo we put them back in the same room. Now they chat to each other and keep each other company at bedtime so we don't get much crying at all.

They really play with each other and keep each other entertained so they are a delight to look after (they are 20m now). It was bloody hard work at first though, I BF so it was pretty intense and they didn't sleep much at night at first (and it was difficult cos co-sleeping is hard with two so it's not as easy to just bring the baby into bed with you). At least you are due in aug so it will be nice and warm! By seven weeks they got the hang of sleeping at night and were going 11pm -7am with just one feed in the night. By 11 and 13 weeks they were sleeping 11pm-7am without waking . I used GF's twins book quite a lot and found it really helped. I didn't use moses baskets cos felt it was too much expense for so little time, but it is handy to have somewhere for the twins to sleep downstairs. We used the pram carrycot and then a travel cot.

Good luck!

It is possible for ID twins to have separate placentas and be treated during pregnancy as though they are non ID. This does not guarantee that they are not ID though, unless they are different sexes. Even then it is possible, some new research believes, that twins can be half identical if the egg splits and is fertilised by two different sperm.

If your twins are the result of one egg that split then how much they share in the womb is down to how early the egg split. They think half identical twins may be caused by the egg splitting before fertilisation and then being fertilised by two different sperm which results in a DCDA pregnancy of half IDs. If the egg is fertilised and then splits on days 1-3 you get DCDA (separate placenta and separate sacs) ID twins, days 4-8 MCDA (same placenta but different sacs), days 8-13 MCMA (same placenta and same sacs) and days 13-15 you get conjoined twins. If you release two eggs which are fertilised by two sperm then you have fraternal twins.

It is often difficult to clearly see a join in fused placentas on scans so if your babies are the same sex they may be treated as ID just to be safe just as if the placenta divide is clear your twins may be treated as fraternal when they are ID.

Agree about biug maternity clothes - buy bigger than you think you will need or buy in two shops - one at the beginning (you'll probably find you need them earlier than usual) and one as you grow out of your others if you want them to fit at each stage.

Mamaway is great for nursing clothes which I have found I needed in order to preserve some semblance of modesty when tandem feeding. I think their special nursing bras are fantastic - the ones that help with expressing by keeping you warm. They re so comfy and warm/cool!

I found the pregnancy really really hard. Here is my birth story - as you can read it was all how I wanted. I got everything secondhand from ebay including jane twin two and matrix car seats for £75. Agree with buying all unisex for the first bit.

Congrats and good luck!

I had identical MCDA twins vaginally but had to be scanned every two weeks from 20 weeks. After 32 weeks I got scanned twice a week and I also had to have non stress tests to monitor movement twice a week. I lived at the hospital and the ultrasound technicians were my best mates by the end of the pregnancy ;) There was a tiny bit of TTTS at 38 weeks but I was full term and induced so it was OK. One twin was starting to get more red blood cells than the other and therefore came out beetroot red and stayed that way for about a fortnight. Luckily the TTTS didnt start earlier.

I agree that Moses baskets are a waste of money. We are starting to use pram carry cots. My twins prefer them and it will save you money.

I'm glad someone mention breast feeding. I'm really struggling. It's quite a mission especially if you have other kids and can't spend all day strapped to a breast pump. If you do plan to breast feed make sure you get a good breast pump and dont feel bad if you need to give them formula too. You will be really tired and sometimes you will have to sleep rather than pump.

Yes, mine were DCDA. I had bi-weekly monitoring and weekly ultrasounds/cord dopplers till they were born at 40+3 just to keep an eye on the placenta. I hated the monitoring at the time but it helped build a good profile which was useful in supporting my natural delivery.

I have a chimney breast that's in the way in our room so am using moses baskets by our bed but already had one because I have two older childrem and bought the other from ebay. Already have two cotbeds which we kept from the older two and a set of bunk beds that someone was getting rid of for free. People will give you loads of things - we've had car seats, a crib, loads and loads of clothes and blankets. All our parent's neighbours popped in with something, people are really kind.

I haven't really used my breast pump very much. Only really in the first couple of weeks when I was trying to up my supply. Mine are 9 weeks now and fully breastfed still, the feeding was very difficult and sore in the beginning but is much better now they are feeding further apart. I haven't really found time to pump! I agree that it is a good idea to have a pump on hand though, if you intend to breastfeed, because it is useful to pump if you feel you haven't got enough milk to try and increase the supply like I did. I found the opposite to Trudi though that once I cracked the knack of tandem feeding it is much much easier to feed them together and not bother with all the faff of sterilising pumps and bottles and then expressing. When I was doing it to up the supply that + the feeding meant I had absolutely no time for my older two. In the last couple of weeks I have cracked tandem feeding lying down which is nice at night because it is quicker than feeding separately and I can rest while feeding. They are now sleeping 10pm till 6am (small twin) and 7am (bigger twin). We were having a few minor weight gain issues and so I tried feeding them more often but this didn't seem to help. Their weight seems to be getting on nicely now and it is only since I left them to decide when they ate. This turns out to be every four hours in the day with an extra feed in the evening and 9 hours at night!

I had an EZ 2 nurse inflatable pillow which I used for every feed in the beginning so that I could feed them together but by the beginning of the second week I was beginning to grasp feeding together without the pillow. I normally put the bigger twin accross my body then get the smaller one in a rugby hold with her head resting on her brother's feet - this is easier on my back and arms. I offer them both sides each feed too so they each start on the side they finished on last feed and then I swap them so Dylan is still accross my body but on the other side and Lily is still in a rugby hold but on the other side. This way both breasts get stimulation from different feeding positions too.

I have got thick pillows like a headboard on my bed. To tandem feed lying down I latch one on their breast accross my body and the other in a rugby hold then lie down on my side and rest my head on those pillows, adjust the twin on the side I am lying so that they are lying down my body resting on the pillow then shift the other twin so I am either holding their head with their legs tucked over my body or they are resting their head on the other twin's shoulder. To swap sides I move the bottom twin out of the way latch the top twin on the bottom breast then pick up the other twin and latch them on the top breast in the same position.

Hope all that makes sense... Are you planning to try breastfeeding or am I explaining that unnecessarily?! LOL!

sorry, the monitoring was from 36 weeks.

Congratulations Come join us here. We don't often bite and we all have different birthing and feeding experiences.

lol, lame! have spelled across wrong each time! stupid!

deff want to try breast feeding although if i end up doing mixed feeding ill be happy with that aswell.

Hi starshaker & congrats it's quite a journey. My two are 15 months (b/g).
I had a perfectly normal pg & delivered naturally at 39 weeks. But you said you were looking for where to buy stuff & I think TAMBA for sale boards are extremely good to buy all this stuff and usually quite cheap! Course you have to pay for membership but I thought it was worth it for access to information/forums/discounts. NCT secondhand sales also great for picking up stuff that you need, often lots of double buggies there. We only bought cots and they shared from being brought home until about 6 months. I do think carrycots for the buggy are a fab idea as they can nap well in them and also really easy to put them in as no straps, one more hassle when trying to get out of house!

Curiousity - 100% breast fed, tandem feeding lying down and sleeping 10-6am at 9 weeks. That's amazing, well done!

At 7 weeks I'm 60% breast 40% formula, my twins act like I'm trying to kill them if I attempt tandem feeding them and a 3 hour block of sleep once a night and waking every hour after that is pretty much all I have achieved sleep wise.
I'm flippin' demented with lack of sleep.

Starshaker - The EZ pillow is definitly a must if you're beast feeding although cushions either side with rolled up towels under their heads also works as a cheaper alternative.

Not all twins come early and not all twins are small so be careful wasting money on prem stuff- you never know

And not everyone gets huge either - I only started wearing maternity stuff at about 6 months and was no bigger at the birth of the twins (35 weeks, ID girls) than I was at my son's birth (40+17). Mine were 4lb 2 and 4lb 10 but only wore prem clothes for a short time. I bought mine the day before I had the babies - I was induced as one had stopped growing. Delivered both vaginally, no gas or air or epidural, one was breech but turned round to head south after twin1 had come out. Birth was miles easier than my son who was also vaginal birth (at home). Youy will love having twins it's awesome. First year is tough but now they play together and amuse each other endlessly. What a gift

Agree with everything here but just wanted to add that we were on a budget and bought the bare minimum of everything and haven't found 14 weeks on that we have needed much more. We didn't bother with anywhere else to sleep other than cots for upstairs (ikea) and bouncy chairs for downstairs (gift from my mum). We have a three wheeler buggy which should last until they no longer need it and other than that they have 10 babygrows/vest between them and a stack of cloth nappies (mostly ds2's old ones), plenty of bibs/muslins and the usual bottle feeding paraphenalia (bought for half price in the sales). The only things I have splashed out on are two good car seats and some sound and movement monitors mainly bought because they were 7 weeks early and more for my own peace of mind. Other people have bought a lot of stuff for us like clothes, toys and a baby gym but that's really it! I didn't need bigger maternity wear but got to full term size wise by 33 weeks when they were born. If they are early then hospital neonatal units will generally have small clothes for you to use if you don't want to buy any while they are in hospital.

Just to add, the other thing I have is this which I used during pregnancy and for both bf and bottle feeding my two. Not sure what I'd have done without it!

Trudi - Lol, thanx. I'm making myself sound a bit awful aren't I? Sorry I know I'm very lucky re the feeding/sleeping/birth. I guess I'm trying to point out what MarsLady said much better than me - 'we all have different birthing and feeding experiences'.

I think I felt being told I was having twins was a bit of a death nell for all the things I love about having children and all the things I wanted for the birth and the first year. It has been very hard at every stage, even with experience of two older children relatively close in age, but I have actually managed to do/have everything almost exactly how I wanted at every stage through a combination of luck, planning and bloody mindedness. I have persevered with the 100% breastfeeding because it is really, really important to me. More important than sleep (although this has turned out, fortunately, not to be an issue) or not having pain, more important even than having a proper relationship with my older two - my mum (ardent breastfeeder/advocate) points out that this is rather insane, especially when we are getting pestered about weight gain and it would be more sensible to mix feed (weight gain is adequate but not 'what it could be' ) but I still, rather irrationally, feel it is more important to me than all those things.

Starshaker I found that a lot of people told me I couldn't have/wouldn't be able to do the things I wanted. That has proven to be categorically untrue and although I have found it incredibly tough I have done most of the things I was told would be impossible. I think I have made it harder than it has to be in some ways because of that but I'm not sorry I did. If I had been loading my smaller one with formula it is likely her reflux would have been worse. As it was she had a blue episode on New Years Eve and went in an ambulance, I was really glad I hadn't given in to pressure to mix feed because it is likely we would be struggling to keep the reflux under control now.

I think the only thing you can expect is that you'll (hopefully) have two babies at the end. Keep an open mind as to the other experiences as your experience is likely to be very different from any of ours and if you have strong feelings about anything (natural birth, C sect - either way, induction, monitoring, feeding) make sure you do your own research and have input into the care you recieve from the various HCPs as twin birth is largely unresearched and care is very policy led.

I love having my twins, I love having people stop me and talk about them and tell me I have my hands full only to go green when I say I have two older ones as well (not sure what colour they'd go at the sizes of some of the other multiples families!). It's never boring having two babies and I love adapting to providing different things for different babies at the same time, I feel I learn something new everyday.

this is all really helping. The other thing i was wondering is the whole bed rest thing. How likely is it?

I had bed rest from 36 weeks because of high BP. If you are OK you shouldn't need bed rest. I was bed ridden through sickness some of the time but some people don't get very bad sickness. I think it's a 'how long is a piece of string' question! lol

good to know. Im the kind of person that wants to know everything lol. Like being prepared.

yes, me too. Nowt wrong with that! lol

just trying to think if i have anything else i wanna know.
what could be the reason im fainting. Ive fainted 4 times now in the past couple of days (going to docs tomorrow). Didnt have this problem with dd.

I fainted loads when pregnant with ds1 & dts, I couldn't take ds1 out when pregnant with dts as it was unsafe - mine was low blood pressure - which they won't treat

Hope you are ok