Twins in 2013

[fastscooter]

Anyone else having twins in 2013? I am 14 weeks now - massive, lardy bump already.

Lists are good manda. I'd made three lists of what I needed: labour; after labour and babies. It made packing and ticking off on the list super quick on Friday when midwife sent me straight into hospital following her home visit. Remember if you do forget anything your DH can always get anything else you need even if you are in hospital.

Unfortunately, I have developed pre-eclampsia and am being monitored very closely. Started steroid injections today and the plan is to deliver between 34 and 35 weeks depending on how my blood pressure, bloods and urine do.. Feeling a bit blue as apart from morning sickness, tiredness and some SPD (which pretty much resolved since I gave up work and didn't have to spend two hours driving every day) I'd had a pretty straightforward pregnancy.

Oh knackered I'm so sorry to hear about the pre-eclampsia but hope the understandable blues pass quickly: your babies are at a really, really good gestation and it sounds like you may have time for the steroids to take effect. Lady in NCT class has just had her twins in emergency labour at 28 weeks - they are 2lbs something each and expected to do just fine. So just think how much further on you and your babies are. You've done really well getting so far. Do please let us know how you get on? How often are they going to be testing your urine etc?

Liking your three-list plan. I've got two lists - first 24 hrs in hospital, and then afterwards. Got some way today but have not finished. Tomorrow - definitely!

Take care all xx

Hi all
Found out a couple of days ago that I'm expecting twins!
They will be dc 3+4
Planning on elected csection as my previous two were emerg csection
I did want a vbac if it was singular but am told risks are high.
I'm 14 weeks
And very nervous!

Congratulations butterfly and welcome to the thread! I can't yet comment on having twins as I'm still pregnant with DCs 1 & 2! How's your pregnancy progressing so far? I'm 33+4 today, would be 40 weeks on 6 March. When's your due date?

Manda it's good to hear your NCT friend's twins are doing so well!

Online shopping is definitely the way to go! I found John Lewis to be really good. Like you, we have a mountain of baby stuff that's growing in the spare room. We've not been given very much though. My youngest nephew is 4 so DSiL had already given most of her stuff away, and most of my friends are still hanging on to theirs as not completed their families yet. What we have been given we've found, like you, has not necessarily covered the basics of what we need.

By the way Manda I agree with you about not buying or hiring a breast pump until seeing what your hospital does. If my twins are born at 34 weeks I'll be staying in here and encouraged to express for the time being so won't need one straight away anyway.

We also plan to sleep our twins in the same cot-bed to start with. We have bought two, which will both eventually end up in the nursery, but to start we plan to put one in our bedroom and use the carry-cots downstairs during the daytime.

Hi All,
Do you mind if I join in?
I am 16 weeks with ID twins - Would be due early July but consultant has said 36 wks, so early June! I already have a ds who will be 4 in April.
Most of you seem to be at the end of the road now, you must be so excited.
I am hoping to find out the sex of my two at my scan on Tuesday at the fetal med unit - can't wait - but sure they are girls in there! Didnt find out with ds but had a feeling all the way through that he was a boy, so think I might be right this time too!
I also plan to BF for as long as I can and hoping to hire a pump - they are so expensive other wise! ans have been advised that with twins you definitely need a double electric! Perhaps when you have all had your lovely pair you could give us some advice on them! :)
May I ask what pram you have gone for? We would like the Icandy Peach 2, but have already been advised to put my name down for it as Icandy have supply issues!
I havent really started buying much yet - but think I will get things earlier than I did with DS as I guess you never know with twins - and also it spreads the cost! We literally didnt keep anything from when he was a baby as we never thought we would have any more! :)

Welcome Rowan and congratulations!

We've gone for the iCandy Peach Blossom Twin 2 as well. We ordered from John Lewis on 15 September when I was 15+3 and it was delivered Friday when I was 33+2. . According to JL customer services they cleared 33 orders with the delivery my order came through on and have another 52 due in by the end of January that will completely clear the rest of JL's orders. So the lead time may well reduce now as sounds like stock is trickling through. JL only supplies Black Magic at the moment, however.

By the way, JL doesn't ask for a penny until they despatch the pushchair to you so there is no risk of handing over cash to a retailer if you place your order early and then change your mind.They called me Wednesday prior to shipping to confirm I still wanted it and take payment. If I'd changed my mind they'd have simply supplied the next outstanding order.

Thanks for the welcome knackered
Feeling very tired, still a bit nauses and very overwhelmed and excited!
Want the pregnancy over with and to be at your stage knackered.
Are you looking forward to your arrivals knackered?

Best of luck knackered, do let us know how you get on. My DTs were born at 34+5 and spent 13 days in the SCBU.

mandas I hope you get that bad packed soon!\

Congratulations butterfly

Knackered, hope you're doing well and the steroids and monitoring are going okay. Do you have any troublesome symptoms with the pre-eclampsia? I've heard you don't need to have developed the obvious ones to have it - worrying. Yay for the arrival of the pram!

We have gone for the side-by-side Out n About Nipper. I love the lightness and its manoeuvrability - it turns so well, which I think is going to come in handy when out shopping and the like and also every twin mum I've spoken to seems to have ended up with one at some point. We don't have a car at the moment, being keen cyclists and part of a local car club, so for the time being it will be our only form of transport. We live two miles from the centre of town, close to a bus route so we could bus it in but to be honest I doubt how often I'll brave the double pram on an already busy bus route so so I plan to get lots of walking in up and down the Thames! One day, when the babies are robust, I may even try jogging with it along the river. We shall see!

Welcome, Butterfly and Rowan! I remember the 14-20 weeks stage very well - all so exciting and just a bit terrifying! Though having had one or two babies already I guess you both have a much clearer idea than I have about how things are going to pan out afterwards. Nice to have you on the thread!

Lovely to see you gardenpixies! How are you and the twins?

Very pleased with myself for knuckling down and packing the hospital bags this weekend. There's still a bunch of stuff to go in, and I'm being a bit OCD about wanting to wash through my hospital clothes rather than just pack them from the wardrobe (the babies' stuff is v. recently washed), but the basics are there and I admit I feel better now.

Every day is getting just that little bit harder tho. DH looked at me staring into space yesterday and commented on how desperately miserable I looked, which is v. unlike me! It's been so incremental, but all of a sudden the bump feels too heavy all the time, no sitting or lying position is particularly comfortable, I'm bored of my gums bleeding mid-conversation (don't know if I've moaned about this on this thread, but dentist tells me teeth are fine and it's just a pregnancy hormones thing!), have not been out of the house for about a week due to lack of mobility (+snow/ice) and I'm feeling most unlike my usual sprightly self. DH is good, whispering 'Babies!' whenever I get a bit glum and that helps put it into perspective. 34 weeks on Tues and so nearly there now. (Sorry to moan!)

Pixies you've made me feel much more positive about the twins arriving early! Thank you. Today I was given a tour of the NICU, NHDU and SCBU by the senior sister, who was lovely. They've also got parent suites which you stay in to build up your confidence before discharge from SCBU. And there's also a transitional care unit which is a post-natal ward where mum can stay with babies who need a bit of support but not to the same level as in SCBU. They have neonatal nurses and midwives on that ward. I am so very lucky that our local hospital is a tertiary care centre that takes babies from 23 weeks gestation. Feel relieved that I'm in good hands.

How did you find it when your DTs were in SCBU? I found the sheer amount of equipment quite frightening and overwhelming.

Butterfly I remember the nausea and exhaustion well. It did get a bit better for me between 16 and 26 weeks! Twin pregnancies are tough, but I'm sure worthwhile!

Manda those walks down the Thames sound lovely. Don't worry about feeling a bit down. This stage of pregnancy is really tough. Put your feet up and rest as much as you can. I'm sure it's your body's way of telling you that you need it. Glad to hear you've packed your hospital bag. I made my midwife laugh yesterday as she found me straightening my hair - yes I packed my GHDs!

In answer to you question, I do feel really well. Like you said pre-eclampsia can be asymptomatic. My blood pressure is being controlled with beta blockers but I do have significant protein in my urine. I think they are going to repeat the 24 hour collection test tomorrow to see if the level is increasing. I feel a bit of a fraud here in hospital, but I guess they're worried as they've currently got a bed shortage so I'm sure if I didn't need to be here I'd be managed as an outpatient. The PE was picked up through routine urine dip and blood pressure check by my community midwife and then confirmed in hospital.

Glad the bag is almost packed *mandas. Mine was 80% packed from 32 weeks but I went into hospital unexpectedly at 34 weeks and DP had to come home and finish packing it. He didn't do too bad a job he got his mother to help him

knackered it is good you had a tour of Special Care before hand. I had the 2 steroid injections in time which I think makes a big difference. My girls were in the NICU for 4 days, SCBU for 5 days and Transitional Care 4 days. I tried to establish breastfeeding with them and they still had a feeding tube in TC. My advice would be to remember that they are YOUR children, don't let the neo natal nurses do what they please. Be strong and make decisions. I didn't want them to have feeding tubes in Transitional care because I wanted them to get confident and good at BF, the nurses did what they wanted and I was basically ignored. I ended up really hating TC and was desperate to get home so I caved in a FF just to get out of there. The girls were obviously prem and it was so difficult to get them to both feed successfully at the same time. I also received very little support on how to BF twins, a single baby, no problem but the breastfeeding councillor decided to pay me a visit 11 days after they were born - far TOO late. I asked countless times to see her. I had a lot of gripes with my neo natal unit. I now, with hindsight, would do things very differently. Mostly, I would be more confident in my ability to be a mother and would not be walked all over. Be strong, it is an emotional time.

mandas, me and the girls are well. They are 16+2 weeks old today and are getting lovelier by the day (if I do say so myself). They noticed each other for the first time last week, which was so lovely to watch. They stared at each other for ages and then started smiling at each other! Have pic on profile mad camera happy first time mother

Oh and mandas I know the pain of which you speak. The last few weeks are just awful. I hated weeks 30-34. Everything ached! Nearly there now.

pixies that's really helpful advice - thank you. I made it clear that I want to bf when I had my tour, and they were supportive. My hospital is very pro-active wrt bf and neonatal paediatrician discussed it with me. They really encourage expressing any excess and not ff unless absolutely necessary. We shall see if what they've said translates in reality! I shall be definitely taking your advice on board!

Fortunately my last steroid injection was at 2.30am this morning so I'm feeling relieved I've finished the course at least!

I had a lot of milk, supply wasn't an issue. However, they kept tube feeding them my breast milk. The nurses always seemed in a rush and it was quicker for them to force milk down their tubes than to wait for me to BF. They had their paperwork to fill out every 3/4 hours and it didn't suit them to wait for the girls to feed when and how they wanted.

Oh that's awful. . I really hope they're a bit more patient here.

Fab that you've been able to get the steroids in and have a good tour of the hospital, Knackered, and it sounds like a great hospital to be in. Our hospital is a specialist centre for multiples, too, I believe, and it's so reassuring just to know that.

You've got me thinking about looking out for pre-eclampsia symptoms now, and both last night and tonight DH has commented on some slight swelling in my calves, ankles and feet. It's really slight and only noticeable to me in that my socks are leaving indentations, but I've read that swelling in itself is a pretty normal part of pregnancy. I've checked my BP on the little machine I have at home and it is about 20 points higher on both readings, on both arms, but I do often get bonkers results on it. I'll check it again in the morning. I'm supposed to see community MW in two weeks, but am also seeing hospital MW and my consultants at the hospital the same week, so I will phone the community one tomorrow and see if I can see her sooner and get a urine check. I'm prone to a touch of worry so I do like getting checked out!

Garden I'm sorry to read that your girls' hospital stay didn't go perfectly smoothly but it's salutary to have your advice too on how, if in the same situation, we may have to stick to our guns. I've checked out your pics and they are beautiful babies! And how completely brilliant that they have started interacting!

I'm 34 weeks tomorrow, woop.

Newcomer alert! DH comes in peace. My OH is not really a forum kinda gal.

She's 39, and we've been TTC for 5 years. We had two unsuccessful IVF cycles and one horrendous chemical pregnancy last year (during which time the lovely people on this site were immensely supportive). Our last IVF cycle, however, was successful. Doubly so.

We've only just moved to Sweden and have been very impressed with the treatment here so far and Donna is 14w5d. Nuchal done - 1:1776. Both of the wee bairns were ahead of schedule when last we checked. Count us in, please.

And what is it with buggies? I'm a bit of a research guru when it comes to major purchases but the whole buggy thing is making my head hurt. It took me more than two months to identify the right car to take with us to Sweden but I reckon I'll be lucky to have settled upon the right buggy before the EDD. Any recommendations? We need something that can tackle tough terrain as we live at the end of an unmade road.

hi paolocce

glad you found the thread okay.

We have gone for the Out n About Nipper, what promises to be a robust three-wheeler which I hope to go jogging with along the towpath. Obviously I dno't yet know how it will actually cope offroad but in my research I asked for help on a couple of other threads here, and you may find reading others' responses useful:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pushchair_chat/1641566-Expecting-twins-Out-n-About-Nipper-Mountain-Buggy-or-Baby-Jogger

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/multiple_births/1641494-Out-n-About-Nipper-Mountain-Buggy-or-Baby-Jogger-best-for-twins

Certainly, it's one of the lightest, narrowest and it has a great turning-circle.

Knackered, how are you doing? You'll never guess what, and sorry to be a copycat, but I'm in hospital with pre-eclampsia! I think I mentioned my slightly swollen feet and the high BP readings at home. Went to see community MW yesterday and she told me to get straight up to the maternity assessment unit at the hospital. Lots of tests later and they found me a bed. I had hoped to go home today but was told this morning they would need to monitor me over the weekend. To be honest, I don't think I am going to make it home before the babies come, unless things magically improve! If things don't improve she mentioned having CS at 36 weeks (so, from about 10 days from now). I've been so down about it today, but feel better now DH has brought in laptop and I have some work to do through the weekend.

Doc I saw this morning sad she's not too concerned about the swelling, which is quite minor, or the BP (highest is 150ish over 100ish but it got much lower overnight), but the protein is "significant", even though it's only 34 and the lower threshold is apparently 30? Humph indeed. This wasn't in the plan!

Lady opposite in similar position, but she's got one baby and is much younger (I'm 38). She's been offered a 24-hr urine test and I must admit I'm a bit jealous - why haven't I been offered this!

I have had a really down day. Got only two hours sleep amidst the snoring, sleep-talking, etc (DH got me some earplugs today tho!) and hanging out in hospital is interminably boring. Also, and sorry to be rude, but altho my roomies are nice enough I'm driven to distraction by their visitors, domestic rows and daytime TV!

I'm home! I made it to out-patient status and am so, so happy! My readings hadn't got worse, and my BP had come down, so they asked me whether I wanted to stay in or come home and of course I said home! (Even if it is a bit chaotic as we're in the middle of double-glazing being fitted in most rooms!) Back to the high risk clinic on Tues to have all the tests again and see what's what. They will take me back in straight away if anything is awry so thinking positive, happy thoughts!

Hi manda

Sorry - been a while since I was last on. Glad to hear you're doing OK. PCR of 34 isn't bad at all, just over cut-off so that's really good. And promising that your bp is under control.

I was admitted the Friday before last and discharged Tuesday. My PCR on admission was 124. They did ask me to do a 24 hour collection - think that was to confirm results. Since that came back elevated and significant they've just been monitoring PCR levels.

My bp didn't really drop below 150/90 in the absence of meds, but it was stabilised at 140-150/80-90 on labetalol so I'm now being managed as an out-patient with thrice-weekly monitoring and meds for bp. Like you, delivery most likely to be timed within the next week or so - should find out on Wednesday when I'm seen in antenatal clinic depending on result of umbilical dopplers. My PCR had crept up to 143 by Friday. Increase is slow and small (good) but is going up (bad)

I was fortunate and got moved to my own room in hospital. They were inducing women on the ward so I was getting no sleep and very stressed - not good for accurate bp readings. DH (who's a GP) asked the Consultant to discharge me. He didn't want to so miraculously they suddenly offered me a side-room!

Hope you're coping OK? I know what you mean about feeling a bit down about the possibility of early delivery. Did you have a course of steroids in hospital?

On the up-side - at least your hospital bag was packed

Kanckered great to hear from you and to compare readings! 124 sounds a lot more significant than 34. Glad you are being seen as an out-patient now. Brill you have a GP for a husband! That must be reassuring when things like this happen. Hopefully the increase in PCR will continue to be very gradual and will right itself after the delivery. FX for you. I envy you your own hospital room!

So, yes, I think comparatively my 'pre-eclampsia' wasn't bad after all. I have just been looking through my medical notes and I was discharged as 'asymptomatic' which is good news. There was no talk of steroids which doesn't surprise me as we were a way off bringing the births forward - and I still would like to get to 37 weeks and I think this will be possible if my readings continue to behave, but we will see.

Going back to high risk clinic tomorrow and continuing with regular BP checks here and drinking tons of water (which I hear helps with clearing protein?) BP this morning is 138/93 which isn't dreadful, but tons higher than what it was for most of the pregnancy.

Not surprising it didn't drop when I came home given the state of the place - the double-glazing work started whilst I was away and I had seriously underestimated the amount of upheaval and mess. We had, within the last few months, newly decorated all downstairs and a bit of upstairs (mainly the nursery) and, well, now there's a lot of unanticipated work to do in fixing scuffs, cleaning carpets,, reattaching picture rails, plastering in places ? and the worst thing was that DH and the men doing the work thought it would be a v.g. idea to keep dusty tools, manky bits of wood, dust sheets etc in the nursery once they had finished the work in there. I had asked DH to cover everything in dust sheets, which he did while they were doing that window, but then took them off when they moved to another room. I'm not totally OCD, but I do have a massive urge for everything to be clean and fresh for the babies (even if they are not going to sleep in there for a while). At the least everything will need to have a wipe down and the blankets etc that were left out another wash. DH thinks I'm being nutty about it but it feels so important. Sorry, rant over!

How did it go at clinic manda? I'm off to clinic today again for bp, bloods, PCR and a CTG. Hoping everything is staying nice and steady for now as still only 34+6. Hoping to get to 36 weeks, but we shall see.

I'm seeing Consultant tomorrow and have umbilical doppler scan booked to see how well the cords are functioning. Should get an idea of timing of delivery soon...