Tell me about your twin delivery!

[JoyNChrist]

Feel free to elaborate as much as you want, but basically what I want to know is:

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

- Babies' weights.

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

We found out Wednesday that we're expecting twins in September and I'm just trying to get as much info as I can about other twin moms' experiences. Thanks!

[ChaoticMum]

First off CONGRATS! Twins are a roller coaster ride, but I'm loving it! (and i don't like roller coasters! LOL)

I had to reevaluate a lot of things when it came to this twin birth. My other births were all with midwives, the 2nd and 3rd homebirths. When I found out it was twins, a midwife was out of the running - not 'allowed' by our government. I have three other children that needed me to be focused on them as our home life was not the best - we were in between homes as ours was not built yet and we had given up our rental with the expectation that ours WOULD be ready. So, I did not have the time, nor the energy to be searching out 'other options' that I ultimately knew in the end would be more stressful on my family and myself. Luckily I "do" pregnancy easy and this was by far an easy twin pregnancy (even with the risk of a shared placenta).


- At how many weeks did you deliver?38w2d

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?scheduled section due to baby position and my distance from a hospital - 1hr

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).A moved from transverse to footling breech regularly and back again and had never been dead down ....ever. B was a complete breech at birth having turned breech at 35wks. A was transverse at delivery

- Babies' weights.6lb 9oz and 6lb 5oz

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?none with babes - they did awesome, latched after birth even with a 3hr delay getting to me. I, on the other hand ended up with emergency general anesthesia when the OB didn't wait to see if my epi worked - which it did not.

[mum21andtwins]

Wellmy twins were born not delivered (sorry it truly bothers me when people call birth a delivery babies aren't pizza's )
born at 39+4 at home unassisted shared placenta 2 bags 2.1 was vertex 2.2 was a complete breech born in the caul (and since I hadn't had a scan and never got that huge or had measurements that where of, 2.2 was a big big surprise and nearly born in a bucket cause I assumed he was the placenta lol!). they where fine I was fine. they where 6lb9oz and 7lb11oz. latched straight way and the cord was cut an hour or so after birth.

I want to add that you should prepare for the first 3 months more than for the birth imo. you need to set up a strong support system that don't doubt your decisions (or if they do keep them to themselves and trust you to know whats good for you) be prepared to grow roots into your sofa as it can (does?) take hours and hours of feeding them changing them. I think that those forst 3 months you have to gointo survivalmode do what you need to survive and not worry about the rest. if the dished don't get done so what, house dirty so what, everyone fed in clean clothers and nappies fantastic! I read stories often of mums with newborn twins who are so exhausted and lonely and frustrated because they try and live like it was before twins and that is just not possible.
Also go to your local LLL find a mutiples group if you have one because the support can be just what you need. start going soon so that you have a network of people who understand.

[eatingfor3]

Congrats on your babies!

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

We thought they were born at 35.6, after they were born the neonatologist determined my dates were quite off and that one twin was at least a few days younger than the other, which is what I had suspected all along-- I knew I ovulated 2x that cycle, about 5 days apart. So we think one was born earlier in the 35th week and the other was born later in the 34th week.

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

Active labor started on it's own after 3 weeks of being 4cm and 90% effaced w/ contractions every 3-20 minutes.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

unmedicated vaginal birth

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

both were head down, although baby B flipped breech after baby A was born.

- Babies' weights.

5lb 13oz and 5lb 8oz

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

complications w/ pregnancy? Sick as a dog until 31 weeks, then preterm labor started. complications w/ delivery? baby B flipped breech, doctor wouldn't do a breech delivery, had to do an external and internal version, baby put her hands above her head after she was turned, cord went below her, her heart rate dropped to the 30s and didn't recover, doc called for an emergency c-section which I would have to be put under general anesthesia for. Literally 30 seconds before they put me under, she moved her hands back down and doc was able to move the cord out of the way and pull her down while I pushed her out.

We went home after 2 days, assuming they were born close to 36 weeks. Within 2 days baby B was admitted back into the hospital because she had lost a pound and wasn't eating, 2 days after that baby A was admitted too for the same reason. We spent 2 weeks there with them being tube and bottle fed breastmilk before they were both strong enough to eat on their own and had gained enough weight back.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by JoyNChrist

Feel free to elaborate as much as you want, but basically what I want to know is:

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

- Babies' weights.

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

We found out Wednesday that we're expecting twins in September and I'm just trying to get as much info as I can about other twin moms' experiences. Thanks!

I had my twins at 37 weeks. It was a scheduled c-section, done early because of maternal illness (see below). I was a VBAC candidate, when we thought we were having a singleton, and I was unable to find anybody who would attend a twin VBAC, in particular because I have a congenital heart condition.

DD2 was Twin A-- she was positioned head-down and posterior. DS (Twin B) was high and transverse.

DD2 was born at 5 lbs 7 oz, and DS was born 6 lbs 11 oz.

I had a difficult pregnancy. I have my heart condition that bothers me a lot when I'm pregnant and was complicated by the increased blood volume that comes with carrying multiples. Because of the fluid and the swelling I developed Bell's Palsy in the second trimester. Then I developed intrahepatic cholestasis in the third trimester, which was ultimately the reason we went for 37 weeks as opposed to waiting for spontaneous labor, which had been the plan up until then. In the last few days, I developed PUPPS. I also dealt with several episodes of preterm labor contractions, and almost constant non-productive contractions during most of the second and third trimester whenever I did anything at all other than lie down.

It was a rough ride for me.

The babies themselves were basically healthy and thrived. DD2 had a little trouble latching in the first week, because of being a bit preterm-- she lost 18% of her weight and got jaundiced enough for phototherapy. But she was fine within about a week. DS needed help breathing for about three hours-- his positioning meant that it was hard to deliver him, and I think it was traumatic for him. But he did well after the first few hours, and was with me full-time from that time.

[Red Pajama]

My boys were born at 38 weeks and a day or so. I scheduled the section. If I knew then what I know now, I would have waited at least another week, preferrably to go into labor on my own, with a section to follow if needed.
I was strongly encouraged to have the section because baby B was breech, A was vertex.
Both boys weighed 7.4, and had no difficulties. Both nursed well, although B was a very rough nurser.

I agree with the previous poster that you should look into the three months after the birth as a time that you will need support from others. Look into what it will take for your partner to get Family Medical Leave. See if others (mom, MIL, other relatives) can plan to come and stay for awhile to help run the house while you get to know the babies.

If you have short-term disablility insurance, it should pay if you get put on bedrest. I quit working after 28 weeks and spent some time in and out of the hospital while they monitored me. It's not all about preterm labor, as that was never a problem. I had insulin dependant gestational diabetes, and they were testing me for cholestasis.

I liked Barbara Luke's book When You're expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads. It's got good nutritional advice. Not everything in there is gospel, however.

Best purchase for the twins was the twin nursing pillow and slings for the babies. You don't need two of everything, in fact, you need much less than we're led to believe.

Good luck. My boys are 5, and the time goes so quickly.

[MawrtyrB]

38 weeks & 1 day, did an induction only because I was already having contractions and there was a pending holiday. They were concerned about my ability to get to the hospital on time and getting enough staff there. Pitocin and broke my water. Delivered 3 hours later, vaginally, without pain drugs or epi. Both were and remained head down. The smaller twin delivered first. 5 lb 2 oz. Baby B was 7 lb 7 oz. Baby A just shot out of me before they had a chance to move me to the OR for delivery. No one even caught the poor little guy. Baby B followed without pushing either.

[MamaRabbit]

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

They were born at home unassisted at 37 weeks 5 days.

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

Labor started naturally on its own.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

Vaginal birth. I refused to have a Cesarean for twins which is protocol for this country. Of course I would have had one if it was necessary but mine were big, healthy, and in good positions.

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

Both were vertex. Baby B was vertex but posterior and was born in the caul (amniotic sac).

- Babies' weights.

6lb 8oz and 6lb 14oz

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

My healthiest pregnancy. My longest labor but only 5.5 hours.

We found out Wednesday that we're expecting twins in September and I'm just trying to get as much info as I can about other twin moms' experiences. Thanks!

Congratulations! It's a rollercoaster ride. A good read is Elizabeth Noble's "Having Twins", good info and also AP. Everywhere it seemed people were telling me that ALL twins come early and of course you can't breastfeed twins. NOPE. Mine (and I'm not saying they couldn't have come early) came right on time, and at age 2.5, they are still nursing and never had to do bottles or formula. It can be done Oh, and toilet training can be done... that's what terrified me when thinking about raising them LOL

[latinmom]

My boys came at 38 weeks and a day or two as well-We scheduled a c-section, although my OB was not opposed to me laboring-but with the lower one breech, I knew I had such a chance of it it seemed easier to have the section. I will say I had no issues with it, and recovered fairly well. The boys were 6 lbs 3 oz and 7 lbs 12 oz, and one nursed better than the other.

If you can do it, tandem nursing is the way to go with twins. Mine nursed for 2.5 years, with no botles or suppliments, but after the first 11 days, I never did anything but nurse tandemly. Luckily, I had hungry boys, so if one was hungry, the other one was perfectly happy to eat!! One great piece of nursing advice I got was to make sure that one twin nursed really well before trying to tandem nurse-it is easier to latch on one and then work with the other than trying to work with both at once. The EZ2 nurse pillow is a must-with the c-section, it made it easier for me with a tender stomach right fromt he beginning.

Twins are fabulous-mine are 9 now, and they are best friends and hilarious to be with! Good luck!

[Shuli]

Ours were a scheduled emergency c-section at 36.5 weeks. On Wednesday we went for a scan and they referred us to the high-risk clinic at that point (it had been an uneventful pregnancy until this point). They did a more in-depth scan and found that one of the babes was in distress. There was only one placenta and one baby was growing and the other one wasn't. (The doc called it a discordance). He said it wasn't enough for them to send me to the hospital right then and there, but to go home and have one more weekend without kids. I reported to the hospital first thing Sunday morning and they were born 3.95 pounds (DS1) and 5.41 pounds (DS2). DS1 was in the NICU for 8 days due to his low birth weight. I nursed him 10 hours after he was born because my need to see my baby was greater than my need to faint and he nursed great. I nursed DS2 right after I came out of recovery and he was fine. No latch/nursing issues. The first three months after we came home were stressful. I cried almost every day for the first three months, but we all got through it. I agree with PP that you definately have to have your support system set up before you give birth. I went onto bed rest at 32 weeks. You will need somebody to do dishes, clean, cook. We had people from our community very kindly bring us meals, disposable dishes. We aked a neighbor's daughter to come over twice a week and help with laundry (well, she held babies, I did laundry LOL).

At now two and half years and a new little one later, I do have to say that the twin ride is a wild ride, but oh so fun!! Good luck.

[MamaChicken]

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

37.5 weeks

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

Labor started naturally - three times!!! - first I got to 3 cm before labor stalled (33 weeks), second time 6 cm (35.5 weeks), and the last time 9cm (37.5 weeks). The MW broke baby A's water after I stalled out at 9 cm and Andrew was born in 30 minutes and William followed 28 minutes later. I consented to deliver in the OR, but it had no pain meds or anything.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

Both vaginal

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

Both vertex (head down)

- Babies' weights.

6lb 11oz and 6lb 6oz

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

Not really. I stopped working at 33 weeks with the first round of labor but otherwise did fine.

[verycozy]

- At how many weeks did you deliver?
36 exactly

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?
I was getting more and more dilated (6 cm) and I had been having contractions for *months.* Since baby B was much bigger and transverse, the doctor decided I needed to have a c-section immediately, reasoning that since I was so far dilated baby A might be born precipitously, leaving baby b in a dangerous situation. I still don't know whether that's a load of hooey, but that's what happened.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?
c-section

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).
A was head down, B transverse

- Babies' weights.
A: 5 lb 2 oz, B: 5 lb 11 oz (I think...)

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?
preterm labor scare (lots of contractions & cervical shortening) at 28 weeks, leading to bed rest. this turned out to be nothing.

From the moment we found out it was twins, I felt like the OBs treated me like a ticking time bomb: weekly ultrasounds, scare tactics, etc. It was all so negative, even though the babies were always super-healthy. Good luck, and be strong!

[AmyC]

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

My babies were born at 39 weeks, 2 days

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

I went into labor -- I started contracting (finally, lol -- I'm one of those who never really had contractions or any cervical changes, some Braxton Hicks, but nothing else, certainly not regularly) and it progressed right into active labor. About 7 hours from first contraction until birth.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

Two vaginal births

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

Twin A was vertex, Twin B was breech. The loose plan was to attempt a breech extraction for the second twin, but I had a strong feeling he would turn when it was time to be born, and he did. I gave him lots of time (I had to get into position because I had birthed the first twin from an upright position) and by the time the doctor got to take a look, we had a cephalic presentation so I got back up since there was no more breech issue.

- Babies' weights.

Twin A - 7 lbs
Twin B - 7 lbs, 11.5 oz


- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

No complications with the pregnancy. We had close monitoring because of the potential for chronic TTTS (monochorionic/diamniotic identical twins), but nothing developed. There was some scrutiny because they were "growing big," and there always was a size discrepancy between them (the gap narrowed some at the end when twin B seemed to slow down a bit -- and at the birth, the u/s estimates were revealed to have been very accurate), but it never indicated TTTS because one was not growing at the other's expense and they BOTH were measuring ahead and tracking in the upper percentiles.

No real complications with the birth, except there was a time during the pushing stage for twin B when there were problems with his heart rate. I am not clear in my memory (and wasn't entirely clear at the time) whether they lost it on the doppler (they were only checking intermittently because it all happened so fast--I asked someone to check my cervix and I had progressed very quickly and they rushed me off to the maternity ward's O.R. to start pushing, even though I'd been told previously I'd be on constant fetal monitoring during the birth no matter what) or whether they had it but it had dropped too much. I know at one point, someone said they had it and the doctor observed the rate and said that they were picking up MY heartbeat, not the fetal tone. (So if that was his after all, it was too low.) Regardless, it was suddenly urgent that he be born right away, and he was born immediately after with vacuum assistance.

Extra info: Neither baby needed anything like oxygen or breathing assistance, and they nursed well. They were born 30 minutes apart. I used the HypnoBabies home course, and I bought the extra "Twins" CD package so the daily affirmations CD was customized with language to include two babies. And we had a full moon that weekend!

Best wishes to you.

[Gena 22]

Congrats!

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

39 weeks to the day by my count. I had been charting, so I'm 100% sure. The OBs would have called me 39w 4d, but that's counting from the LMP.

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

Home induction with castor oil, midwife was going on vacation. Kinda wished I had waited, but I did get the birth I wanted.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

Vaginal (at home)

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

Vertex-vertex

- Babies' weights.

6.11 and 5.12

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

None! Lots of MS in the first tri, and lots of swelling in the third. Generally it was a great, healthy pregnancy.

[nummies]

- At how many weeks did you deliver? 40 exactly!

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)? My water broke and I started contractions right away

- Vaginal birth or cesarean? homebirth!

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew). both vertex

- Babies' weights.8lbs 4 oz and 7lbs

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery? Nope, baby A had breathing trouble about 6 hours post birth. He was diagnosed with transient newborn tachypnea and it would have happened regardless of location of birth. He is perfectly fine now.

[OGirlieMama]

- At how many weeks did you deliver? 29

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)? Preterm labor started at 27, controlled in-hospital for 2 weeks, then couldn't be controlled.

- Vaginal birth or cesarean? Yes. (Both)

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew). Vertex-Vertex. But Twin B assumed a jackknife position after Twin A came out, was having decels, and there wasn't time to fart around waiting for her to move.

- Babies' weights. A - 3 pounds, B - 2 pounds 13 ounces.

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery? In addition to what you've already learned above, gestational diabetes.



I know my experience sounds like a downer, but it is what it is and we all survived it. I wish you a healthy and much longer pregnancy!

[Missie]

Originally Posted by JoyNChrist

Feel free to elaborate as much as you want, but basically what I want to know is:

- At how many weeks did you deliver?

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).

- Babies' weights.

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?

We found out Wednesday that we're expecting twins in September and I'm just trying to get as much info as I can about other twin moms' experiences. Thanks!

Hi, congrats on your pregnancy and your twins. Amazing news.

Here is link to my twins birth story. To summarize though they were born at 35 weeks at home into their dad and my loving hands. Both were double footling breech.

[Kat's Mommy]

Congratulations!

- At how many weeks did you deliver?
37 weeks

- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc)?
We went into have some gel inserted to soften the cervix, only to be told I was already 4-5 cm dilated, and I wasn't going home that evening!

- Vaginal birth or cesarean?
Vaginal

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew).
One head down (twin A), one breech (twin B)

- Babies' weights.
Both were 6lbs, 1oz

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery?
Pregnancy - had gestational diabetes
Delivery - severe post partum hemorraging

[mama2toomany]

HI!!! Congrats!!


I delivered twin girls in 06' they are not my daughters, I am a surrogate, but I suppose I can answer the same questions

I delivered at 39 weeks, both babies where butt first, I wanted a natural delivery, but I was spilling protein and positioning of the babies was very high,they were both butt first so I had a c/section, It went very smoothly, I healed much faster from the c/section then I did from my vaginal deliveries and that was a shock.

Baby A was 6lbs 11 oz
Baby B was 6 pounds 12oz

I am currently pregnant with another set of twins (boys this time). I will most likely have another c/section, I think if it were MY babies I might do it differently, but with surrogacy, it really isn't my pregnancy, it belongs to someone else and if it helps them, then it is helping me.


Congrats again!

[Intertwined]

- At how many weeks did you deliver? 38 weeks 5 days or 39 weeks even, depending on the calculator used

[B]- Why did you deliver when you did (water broke, induction, scheduled c/s, contractions started naturally, etc[B] Contractions began naturally

- Vaginal birth or cesarean? Vaginal, at home

- Position of the babies when you delivered (if you knew). We began labor as breech/breech with both being complete breech rather than the more desireable frank. As I've had four good sized babies previous to this we are unconcerned about my ability to safely birth breech babies, especially since my twins were smaller than my singeltons. During labor, Baby A converted to a footling presentation, but not a true footling, leg-in-the-vagina. She had an ankle down in my birth canal but was still complete breech behind it. Bag stayed intact so we went with it. She was born safely, though a bit quickly. Baby B flipped head down as his sister was coming out. Unfortunately for me, he was already anterior so as he dove down head first he wound up presenting posterior. Bummer! He came head first but sunny side up (a whole pound bigger-booooooooo! )

- Babies' weights. Baby A was 6 pounds 6 ounces and Baby B was 7 pounds 6 ounces

- Any complications with the pregnancy or delivery? Not really. I had some pretty intense runs of contractions around 33 weeks and my midwife asked me to go on "house arrest" until I got to 36 weeks. Obviously, presentations were......interesting. I don't really consider them complications but rather variations of normal. Obviously, most in the obsterical world would disagree. It worked for my particular situation. Both babies were born just fine. Claire needed a tiny bit of blow by and some deep suctioning. Being born breech and so quickly, she didn't get a very good squeeze and was pretty wet. Her color and breathing were fine, she was just retracting and mucousy. I don't know if you'd consider that a "complication" or not. It was handled on the bed near my head as I was pushing Ben out. Both babies latched and nursed well right away.


Congratulations on your pregnancy! Good luck!