Twin pregnancy

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Hello!

I have noticed on quite a few of the threads I've been reading that the odd person will comment they are pregnant with twins, but I can't see a current twins thread.

I'm almost 28 weeks with dcda twins. Have a nearly 2 year old as well. Have so far found the pregnancy pretty straightforward but the aches and pains and tiredness are starting to hit me now. And I feel like I am getting quite large! Although I think relatively given there are 2 in there I'm probably not that big really.

Anyone at a similar stage and want to compare notes over the coming weeks?

I’m getting the MB duet as well. I picked up a twin cocoon thing on ebay cheaply so going to try that at the beginning, it’s not as sturdy as the bassinets. However point to note via my pal with twins is that the bassinets for it are super narrow due to the overall narrow width of the pram. She said her twins had grown out of them from 3ish months. I think the seats lie fully flat though. So I’m thinking at this point to go with my cocoon thing and see how I get on.

@Glitterbug86 Good luck for your test. I am eating rubbish a lot of the time and praying I don't get GD as I don't think I could cope without sugar!

Cars is on our list to sort this weekend!

@Betseyrov we have the same thing with rooms. Although we do have a spare room due to the strange layout of our house it won't work putting the twins clothes in there. We currently have a planning application in for an extension but obviously won't be done before the twins arrive. Our architect actually put about us expecting twins in the application as a bit of a plea to get it approved as we live in the green belt! So I spent ages in IKEA on Tuesday looking at different storage options!

My GD test went fine, thanks. And as I was first there for the test, I had enough time before my scan to nip out and get a breakfast crepe and coffee after fasting 🙂

My scan went ok but she wants to rescan me jn 2 weeks as twin A (girl) abdominal circumference centile has dropped a bit. She said not to to worry and she suspects it's just a twin pregnancy thing (she had mentioned not to be surprised if from about 28 weeks they start dropping centiles as they often see this in twins).

But when I looked over my notes afterwards I see a note about twin A umbilical artery and a result for PI and RI which are both below the expected range so of course this has me a bit worried now. From googling, I think it's to do with low flow from the placenta. I had covid in March. Have heard of placental insufficiency being caused by covid, and negative outcomes, but anything I read was stats related to unvaccinated mothers. I was double vaxxed but not boosted at the time. I don't know if it's happened much with those who are vaccinated, or if I'm on the wrong track altogether with what it all means

@Glitterbug86 - glad to hear you can still eat carbs! A relief Im sure. I'm not too sure about the other stuff but would say generally it's better to listen to the actual doctors/other staff than doctor google. Usually not your friend as I'm sure you're well aware.

Out of interest, are you at chelsea and Westminster?! If so I've also recently discovered the creperie opposite! Until a few weeks ago I used to be all about the post appt bagel!

@Glitterbug86 I have been having fornightly scans since 16 weeks and both of my twins umbilical artery readings are always low. The scan I had yesterday has twin 1 at 5th percentile and twin 2 on 25th. These figures have always been low at every scan. And everytime the consultant tells me all is good and both twins and they both have a good blood supply through their cords. If the doctor wasn't concerned I would think its all fine! The placenta will have also been checked during the scan too. I also had covid 3-4 weeks ago but my readings yesterday was consistent with reading from pre covid scans too.

Hello,

I'm 22 weeks with DCDA Boy/Girl twins. This is my third pregnancy and finding out it was twins was a major shock as I already have a 3.5 year old and a 2 year old (both boys) but the shock has settled now and I'm getting very excited at the impending chaos.

Took a while for the excitement to come because I suffered from HG through my whole first trimester and was eventually admitted to hospital twice for IV fluids/Gallstones/Overactive thyroid however I've been feeling pretty reasonable since the 15 week mark and been back at work but I'm ready to finish up now. I work permanent nightshift so I've found it pretty tough this time compared to my first two pregnancies with single babies.

We decided to find out the sex this time, I didn't previously but felt with twins I had to be prepared and I'm glad I did because I was expecting her to say another two boys! Will be very interesting dynamic to have a girl in the house!

We currently drive a Seat Alhambra which is an absolutely fabulous car with you have two or three children however it's just not going to be big enough for four so we are unfortunately having to sell it and looking to buy a mini van basically!

As for buggies I have purchased a second hand Bugaboo Donkey in really good condition and it was a steal at £400. I bought new hoods and aprons in a neutral colour online which were pricey but I reckon I'll get my money back later when I sell it on. We took it out last week and had the boys sat in it and despite them being large toddlers it handled pretty well, it is massive though so not sure how practical it would be for around town but we live outside a big city so not bad for us. I have went through so many different car seats and also two different prams with my previous two that I couldn't face buying anything else brand new!

Nice to have a twin pregnancy thread on Mumsnet finally 😄

@Donimo @applecrumbler
Thanks both!

Nope I'm nowhere near you but a breakfast bagel sounds like a good shout too!

It doesn't show the centile % for my PI/RI, but for both it's below the actual centile range. However after googling more (Dr google bad I know, but cant help myself!!), apparently it's high readings that are bad and mean a low flow (as pressure = high), and I even read somewhere that it can't be too low 🤷🏻‍♀️ Feel more reassured now

@woody87 I'm hoping you were at least trying to have one baby?! Otherwise can imagine that being quite the surprise! I do slightly thank my lucky stars that it's twins this time and not next, haha, although think it's equally likely we would have stopped at 2! But a bonus is always nice.

@Glitterbug86 - great news! So the opposite problem to what you thought or even better, no problem at all.

I've got my 28 week scan tomorrow, hopefully all still well. Size of my bump now suggests plenty going on in there 🙈

Glad you passed the test @Glitterbug86

Please let me know if you find interesting storage ideas @Donimo and good luck with the car hunting.

@applecrumbler good luck for tomorrow, hope everything goes well with the scan. I have my 20 week scan and really cant wait, I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Where will you be buying your MB? Online?

Congratulations @woody87 , it will be lovely to add a little girl to the mix 🥰
I've got 2 girls and 1 boy, and finding out what the twins are next week. I'm hoping for a girl and boy, but of course as long as they're healthy that's what matters. If it's two girls though, my little boy might feel completely outnumbered.
Must be tough working night shifts with young children. Do you get enough time to sleep and rest?

Thank you @Betseyrov all looking fine in there still :-)

@Glitterbug86 following your post I was asking some questions about the blood flow measurements as also had a few that were super low and she confirmed what you read online that low is actually better, ie low pressure equals good blood flow. She said it only started to be an issue above 95th percentile as well.

I've been quite uncomfortable all week on one side and confirmed today that the twin on that side has turned and is now head down. Which is what I thought might have happened. Does not make a vaginal birth appeal any more to me though! Haha

My daughter is having twins (20 wks) and has looked at a few prams/travel systems. She said the Donkey was massive and she wouldn't be comfortable pushing it into shops/cafes. She said even manoeuvring it around a large showroom made her feel like she was in everyone's way. It would just fit through her doors which are wheelchair friendly but it wouldn't go through either of my doors - it would have to be folded.

She's going to order a Cybex Gazelle - with two bassinets and two pushchair attachments. They can be any combination of rear/front facing. She's hoping that her daughter, who will be two and a half, will be ok on the buggy board. There are adaptors for car seat option - but she didn't push her daughter in the car seat option with her first travel system which was an Oyster 3.

If her daughter doesn't take to the buggy board, she's going to try a sling for one twin and the pushchair/bassinet option. Hopefully, by the time her older daughter is three - she will be able to use the buggy board comfortably.

They are in the process of finding a larger vehicle to accommodate three seats.

Lots of expense!

@applecrumbler glad your scan went well and hope you enjoyed getting to see them again ☺️

Thanks so much for asking about the low readings - brilliant to have it confirmed that low is actually good!! That's a great relief

@applecrumbler my right pelvis has been really sore for a week. My twins have been head down for awhile. Bit during my scan this week it showed twin 1 (on my right) head is sat on my pelvic bone. Been thinking of getting a pregnancy support, but don't want to try this too early and struggle more later on. Has anyone used a pregnancy support belt, if so any advice of when to start using and does it help?

In terms of expense mentioned earlier just wanted to make everyone aware (if not already) about a surestart grant. If you already have at least 1 child and then have twins you can claim a grant (do not need to pay it back). www.gov.uk/sure-start-maternity-grant/what-youll-get

Didn't know about the grant. Thank you for sharing.

@Donimo I also want to get a belt type thing but haven't got round to it. I really struggle with indecision on these matters so if anyone has any recommendations let us all know! I find I'm much more comfortable in high waisted leggings, ie some support, than eg a dress at the moment.

Congratulations all! I've just popped in to interfere with your pram chat 🙊 My twins are 16months and we have a bugaboo donkey. It does feel massive but it really isn't. I live in a city and have no problems with it anywhere. I think having a slightly larger pram is worth the pay off to have them side by side and parent facing, I would hate them facing away from me, you miss out on so much interaction when you are out walking or shopping. Just wanted to reassure anyone who wants it but thinks it's too big!

I should also confess that I love prams and have an uppababy vista that I picked up for £60 on eBay which I used quite a bit in the early days if I was going out in the car as the frame is so easy to flip open and pop the car seats on. I've got a city mini in the garage too ready for when I want to forward face them.

Oh another thing that I have enjoyed about the donkey is being able to feed them in it, the upright position of the seats is great as a highchair and it was easy to give them bottles in the seats too which is something my tandem pram friends struggled with

Thanks @JessicaPeach Does the mountain buggy duet parent face? Assume not given your comments on donkey?

@applecrumbler it does, with the carrycots plus www.pushchairexpert.com/en/pushchair-reviews/mountain-buggy-duet-v3-review/

Thank you @JessicaPeach @MyOtherCarIsAPorsche

@applecrumbler forgot to say, glad your scan went well 🤗

@Donimo thank you for the link about the grant. Do you know if anyone can apply or do you have to be on a low income?

Only until they are about 8 months or something like that, it's not a long term option

Well, it's been an eventual week.
On 04/05/2022, Violet and Daisy made their way into this world via EMCS at 30+3 due to a poor heart trace for Daisy also contracting for 24 hours with no signs of labour.

Both girls are doing well despite a rocky start where they needed to be intubated. Violet is actually in special care and the only assistance she is receiving now is a feeding tube and an incubator.

Daisy is still in the NICU on CPAP but is doing incredibly well and is stable. Both girls are surprising even the doctors as it was life or death for Daisy for a little while.

Very tired but loving on our girls.

Whoops meant eventful! I'm a bit tired 😁

@JessicaPeach thank you for the advice re the width of the donkey. We are going to get that as I agree with you re parent facing and side by side preferences. I also like it can be used in single mode and thought if we are going somewhere tight can use in single mode and put 1 twin in a sling. We had a bugaboo buffalo for my daughter and loved it (I actually still have it as a kept it for our second... obviously not needed now!)

@Betseyrov it's not income assessed or anything only criteria is having at least 1 child already whom is under 16 and then having a multiple birth (twins = £500 grant). You can apply from 11 weeks prior to due date till babies are 6 months just need a health professional (i.e. midwife) to sign to say you are having/had twins

@Trinxsy congratulations on your beautiful girls. That must if been an extremely stressful and emotional week for you. Glad both girls seem to be doing ok. How are you feeling? You must be exhausted