1st time Mum & expecting identical twins!

[Dawn84]

Hi all,
I'm a first time Mum, 16 weeks pregnant with twins and have no idea where to start with anything!
My husband and I are really struggling to find a twin pushchair / travel system, looking for any advice on anything from other people who have twins too.
Thank you x

Hi dawn

I'm also 16 weeks pregnant with identical twins! :) I'm also a first time mum to be so Not exactly an expert on twins.

We're most likely going to be purchasing the bugaboo donkey. The second option was the icandy but I'm not keen on them not being side by side.

Clothes wise- John Lewis had a really good offer on vests and baby grows so we got a few multipacks in newborn and 0-3months. My DM has also bought a few cute baby grows. Also our local mamas and papas was closing down so we got a few things from there. Might be worth seeing if your local store is closing down? I do love a bargain! :)

I'm sure someone who has already had twins would be better to advise but you're definitely not alone in being unsure about things!

Have you purchased anything yet? We're holding out until 20 week scan before big purchases like the pushchair and nursery furniture :)

Hi congrats on your twins! I have 8 1/2 month old id girls. Pushchair wise we have a baby jogger city select, there are so many to choose from, the only advice I can give you is to go and play with them a few times before you decide.
Because you are having id twins there is a high chance that you will have them before or around 35 wks, ideally no later than 36 wks. We had tiny baby clothes to start with. My girls were 4lb11 & 5lb10 and fitted those for about 4 wks, same with nappies, we used pampers to start with and I think they were called micro. They used these for 2 & 3 wks before moving upto newborn. We just about got away with 12 sleepsuits and vests, but my washing machine is on constantly anyway so they just got added into the masses. You can quite easily go through 4 changes of clothes a day in the beginning.
very reclined bouncy chairs were my life saver, still are to some extent.
The most important thing you need to do during your pregnancy is listen to your body. Twin pregnancies are tough at the best of times but id ones can be harder. You will reach the size of a fullterm singleton a lot earlier and if you work will need to figure this in when planning maternity leave, I think I was about 30 wks when I hit a brick wall.
You need to make sure from now on you are having fortnightly scans and that they are checking for twin to twin, not all hospitals are good at this.

Theres loads I could tell you so just ask if there is anything in particular you want to know.

good luck and I hope you both have easy pregnancies.

I have a Baby Jogger City Mini, planning to get a double one for when I have two little ones to move around. The people I've talked to who have the Baby Jogger City Mini double stroller seem to like it. I certainly like our single City Mini. And (at least here in the US) it's a LOT cheaper than the Bugaboo.

Hi! Congrats on your twin pregnancy! I hope you have a thick skin, as the stupid insensitive comments you'll get all through your pregnancy are great... Not. Charge anyone who says "double trouble" to you. Our twins (non-id) are 10 days old now and were born at 37+6, I was huge. There is no getting around it. Absolutely massive.
I was really lucky in that I had a really good pregnancy, just watch out for the heartburn and leg cramps, and towards the end, massively puffy legs and ankles.
Think about how you want to deliver also, as I found out (and continue to find out more from other twin mums) epidurals don't work (I had THREE) for twins as there tends to be more fluid round your spine. I ended up with an emergency section, if I had my way again not happening I would push for a section from day one. Good luck and keep coming on here, there are lots of us twin mums about. (Oh and we have the Mountain Buggy duet with the carrycot+ attachments. There is no such thing as a lightweight double!)

I completely agree with ninja (probably get shot down for this) but section all the way. Ninja you were unlucky that your epi didn't work, I had to have it redone but it did work, sort of, still felt the need to push and the pain as they exited but very much toned down from not having one. Saying all this I would never recommend a natural delivery for id twins, we got lucky and both our girls were ok. If I had to do it again (never gonna happen) I would have a section and make it happen at 36 wks no later.

Thank you all SO much for your advice!
Pushchair wise I think we're set on the Baby Jogger City Select. It's a lot cheaper than the Bugaboo Donkey that we were steering towards!
With the possibility of the babies coming early with they have to endure a hospital stay? If so roughly how long or does it depend baby to baby?
My hospital are being really good about the twin to twin syndrome checks as of last week (when I became 16 weeks) I will no go fortnightly scans to make sure that they are ok.
I've been told by my consultant that when the time comes to deliver that if twin 1 is head down ready I can give birth naturally, but they do recommend a epidural so they can move twin 2 into the right position if needed. I had a major op last year (I had an ovarian mass and actually lost one ovary and Fallopian tube, so was you can imagine this pregnancy is something of a miracle) and had an epidural then so know why to expect when it comes to it.
We've (I) have opted to bottle feed as I think it would be easier? Thoughts? Oh, do your twins generally do things at the same time, by this I mean, wake, sleep etc.

I do like my select lots. It's hard to say about the hospital stay, pre 35 wks ish babies don't tend to have the suck reflex and struggle to keep temps so have to stay. Mine were born at 36+2 and we ended up with a weeks stay. Mine were born with undiagnosed TAPS form ttts and we are amazingly blessed they survived the labour as many often can't survive the extra strain on their hearts.
Because they were ill I had to combination feed from the start, by 4 months they were just bf because it was easier. They tend to feed at same time but often naps can be at different times depending on the night they had.

Going to follow this thread with interest. I'm 25 weeks with non-ID twins and am just starting to think about what to get (see my thread on the multiples board about what clothes people have said to get). We booked into a free John Lewis nursery advice session on Friday and it was great. Recommended to us by another twin mum. They seem to have the best selection of pushchairs to try out and it was basically two hours with an advisor going through the various options but without any hard sell. We have put a deposit down on the city mini select double after trying that and the iCandy in the boot of our car (which they were happy for us to try and really worth doing if your store has a car park). I personally. didn't like the handle of the Bugaboo and the Mountain duet and Nipper 360 were way too big for the car. I was also fussy and didn't want carrycots which limited things a little and also really wanted them to be side by side. Tried the city select too which is a tandem but it appears I have no spatial awareness in front of me so I kept hitting things it was so long!

Also reassured (!) about the being massive bit! I'm already feeling big and a bit concerned I could have up to another 12 weeks so cutting right back at work as being on my feet all day has destroyed me.

Good luck with your ID twins

Hi all!

And congrats to all those expecting two bundles of joy... Including dawn I totally forgot to say that of all things!

Yes this thread has been really useful. I was wondering if any of you had identical twins with a shared placenta? That's what I'm having. I'm definitely going to opt for section.... I'm assuming it will be an option.

Really interesting to hear of all the different buggy choices too. :)

Congratulations to all the twin mums/mums to be. Twins are great (mine are 12 years old now) so I am through the hardest bit. I had a mountain buggy chair which was fab.
I also had to stop work at 30 weeks as I just couldn't cope.

Lewaney3 that's we've been blessed with. Identical twins sharing the same placenta, although they are in their own amniotic fluid sacks!
How far along are you?

I'm 16 weeks... Have fortnightly scans scheduled at UCL hospital. One being this Thursday :)

And ours are the same shared placenta but own sacs. Do you know the sex? We were told at 14 week scans they're identical boys by two different people. So just waiting for confirmation at 20 weeks :)

It is all very exciting!...makes up for the countless times I feel terrible due to HG.

Lewaney3 I was told at 18wks we were having boys, I now have 8 month old girls. Took me 4 scans to believe them when they told me girls at 20wks.

slightly that's exactly why I'm waiting before getting my mind set on two boys. Hopeful with all the scans following 20 weeks will be more sure although never a hundred percent!

We were told at our 16 week scan that the sonographer was 99.9% sure they were boys but not to rush out and buy anything blue! wait for our 18 week scan (which is next Wednesday).
What are everyone's thoughts on dressing them the same?!