Pregnant with Twins? Join the club :) - Page 5

[lilysamsma]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

lilysmama- Welcome! You're in the feb ddc with me, too- right? My OB didnt see a membrane until 12 weeks, so  I wouldnt rule it out yet.

Yes...i am in the feb ddc too. I don't post a lot (it is such a pia posting with phone)(also, i am still nervous and posting makes things more real) yet though. Momo twins are soooo rare, that it doesn't make sense to worry about it until i have a real reason to. I have seen a ton of stories where they find the membrane later on. I plan on hitting up my dr with all kinds of questions about how he plans to deal with everything going forward. The internet is a double edged sword, because i am not blissfully unaware of risks/possible.complications etc, but i also.know.that they can be dealt with..so there is that. I just want to make sure he knows what he is doing (the backstory is that i have never seen an ob for anything....the dr i saw for the other kiddos is a family.practicioner and really good about respecting my choices about interventions/testing/drugs/etc. She has stopped delivering babies/providing prenatal care so i had to scramble arou.d to find someone else. This guy was the one on my insurance, and i had already made up my mknd that if i did not like him, i was going to call the hb midwife and finally have a hb. I did like him well enough (he was cool with me not testing..we did not talk about birth things yet)...but i really don't know if he is competent with twins. Sorry so long winded....

I alao feel like i get out of breath easier than i used to...but it has been about a zillion degrees lately, so there is that.

[gozal]

Me too - I have had that shortness of breath feeling throughout, but it was most noticeable in the 1st tri and now over the past few weeks (early 3rd tri). It can be related to exertion if I am really running around, but mostly it's not, it's random. And now, nearly constant. It is really unpleasant - sometimes I'm almost gagging trying to get enough air in. Adorkable, my doctor told me the same thing - it's because of rapidly expanding blood volume, which happens even more with twins. He says it's not the case that I'm actually not getting enough oxygen, it just feels that way and not to worry. Even at this stage he said my lungs/diaphragm aren't all that compressed - I was surprised to hear that. I am slightly anemic so maybe that also contributes. At around 30-32w blood volume is supposed to stablize a bit and it should get better, I hope that is the case! In the meantime, lying down on my side with pillow support seems to be the best way to deal with it.

lilysmama, welcome! ~12 weeks is supposed to be a lot more accurate for determining chorionicity, so hopefully you get an answer at the next appointment. I think you have a great outlook on it already.

[rblakley]

My official first appointment with my doctor is coming up here on the 21st. I will be over 12 weeks along and am just wondering if they will give me an ultrasound? I'm anxious to see my babes! I got spoiled in the beginning seeing them at 7 weeks for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy and then got to see them again at 8 weeks when my pregnancy symptoms pretty much disappeared. My doctor said "you don't have to be super sick to be healthy pregnant" so i'm trying not to worry. When everything is going healthy in a twin pregnancy, how many ultrasounds can I expect to get?

[lilysamsma]

I had my appointment today. There are still two in there and they were moving all around and kicking and waving. He said they were measuring right on target. He was really weird though when i asked him about the membrane. So chorionicity is still not determined (it was weird. Either he was clueless about what i was talking about which i find hard to believe since he mentioned not seeing one last u/s, pr he was evading my questions. Either way i was not a.fan. He is planning to refer me to mfm at 20w for the a/s, and also said that is when they would look for the cord insertion/membrane, etc...and i am not comfortable waiting until then....especially since from all the ultrasounds i have been looking at over the last month, mine most closely matches a monochorionic one....and i while i am no expert, i did not see a membrane at all today. I feel like my twins are either mono-mono or more likely mono-di, but either way i would like to know one way or the other definitively (even though i know they can find the membrane later on and change the classification). He does do the every other week monitoring from 20 w on to check for size discordance so that is something. But i went ahead and scheduled an nt scan, just to get a different scan from someone else to have documentation of what things look like right now. He also said it looked like one big placenta....everything he has actually said pojnts to monochorion...except he won't commit or even acknowledge that it is info that should be out there. He is too nonchalant for me. On monday i am going to find out who the mfm he plans.to.refer me to, and i will call them directly and explain.my concerns and see if they can see me asap. If not i will call around until i find someone else. It is really frustrating...not only do i have to worry about the fact that i am.pregnant...and there are two babies...i have to worry that i am gettkng suboptimal care (but i have the power to change that...so i shall).

I would not have gotten an nt scan if all this weren't going on. Also, the obs dates match the measurements.of the babies so i will be. 13w3d or by my ovulation day 14 w, so kind of pushing it. I have a feeling already my risk will come back all.elevated (i am 39, plus multiples, plus the date thing..). Meh...

Rblakely---it seems like everything i have read about twin pregnancy involves more ultrasounds than a low risk singleton pregnancy, although i honestly don't know what that number entails or if it varies depending on the type of twins? I am sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in. I have had two so far for this pregnancy, and from what he has told me so far he does them at every visit which would be monthly until. 20 weeks and then twice a month. I think mfms do them as well, bit i don't know how often one normally sees them...? I don't believe that not being sick=not healthy. My dr seems to subscribe tk that school of thought as well(he really harped on it today). I have had been nauseas from 8-9 weeks until the last few days, but
really think pretty minor in the general scheme of the morning sickness spectrum, even for singletons. I think my los are doing okay so far (i may not be comfortable with his care for twins, but i will allow myself to believe that he can gauge doing well.or not...). Sorry for my novel....i am obsessed with all thing twins lately and.then this whole visit..ugh.

[baileyandmikey]

We normally skip all the unneccessary scans and tests, but I went in for the NT scan this week.  Got to see both babies !  One was measuring 12 wks 1 day and the other 12 wks 2 days, I was only 12 weeks on the dot that day, so they are perfect!  The doctor was a specialist and is going to follow my pregnancy along with my regular OB as we live in a small town that is not equiped to deal with premies, so if I deliver early, I will go to the bigger hospital about 20 mins away and be delvierd by this specialist.  We found out that both babies each have their own placenta and sac, so they were doing great.  Dr said we still have a 17% chance that they could be identical though.  Can't wait for the gender scan!

[~Adorkable~]

can i ask why your doctor gas you a 17% chance that they are identical?  i didn't think the odds were anywhere near that high? and just doing a tiny bit of math based on overall odds makes me think they are way way lower than that.

[gozal]

rblakley, I think each practice handles ultrasounds for twins a little differently, but I can tell you what mine does - my twins are di-di and after the first tri, I had one screening (NT) scan at right around 12 weeks at a hospital, then a growth scan once a month starting at 16w. (So really once a month from the 2nd tri.) I also had a cervical length scan once every 2 weeks from 16w-28w. On the cervical length ultrasounds that didn't coincide with a growth scan, I usually got to see my babies for a minute and hear their heartbeats as well. And at 20w I had a level II (standard for all pg at my practice). Personally DH and I are fine with multiple u/s, so we were happy with this schedule, so not sure what my doctors would have said if I had preferred less. My next one is at 32w and I need to ask them about the 3rd tri - not sure if they increase in frequency or if they just add NSTs at some point. Hope that is helpful!

lilysmama, ugh, sorry to hear about your negative experience with your doctor. That would make me crazy too. My doctors told me that the optimal time for determining chorionicity is ~12w, and after that it diminishes significantly (though I know doctors don't always agree on these things). Mine were pretty clearly di-di but the doctors were still really into having an official determination at the NT scan. I would hope that if there was a chance that your twins are mo-mo that they would NOT wait until 20w to figure that out! Sheesh.

adorkable, now you have me trying to compute. ;) AFAIK, ~30% of twins are MZ and ~30% of MZ twins are di-di. So maybe I'm a little off and that percentage is based on di-di sets known to be the same sex? In a di-di set of unknown sexes, it would have to be lower mathematically. (Right? I'm in the humanities...) I will be seriously shocked if mine are MZ!

[~Adorkable~]

i have to go do math now, in totally curious. but i am thinking the ~30% is MZ is off by a lot.

 off to go be a math nerd

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by baileyandmikey 

We normally skip all the unneccessary scans and tests, but I went in for the NT scan this week.  Got to see both babies !  One was measuring 12 wks 1 day and the other 12 wks 2 days, I was only 12 weeks on the dot that day, so they are perfect!  The doctor was a specialist and is going to follow my pregnancy along with my regular OB as we live in a small town that is not equiped to deal with premies, so if I deliver early, I will go to the bigger hospital about 20 mins away and be delvierd by this specialist.  We found out that both babies each have their own placenta and sac, so they were doing great.  Dr said we still have a 17% chance that they could be identical though.  Can't wait for the gender scan!

Me too :) Glad to have someone else in the same boat- having two plans :)

[~Adorkable~]

ok here is some math nerd for y'all.

I'm using the numbers roughly from the mid 80's since that is the only way to take fertility treatments out of the numbers.

 if no fertility treatment was used and all other things are equal...

• chances of giving birth to twins about ~20 per 1000 back then or 2%
• chances of giving birth to MZ twins ~3 per 1000 or .3%
• number of MZ that are Di/Di  ~25% of the .3% mentioned above or .075%

So...

.075% is 3.75% of 2%  (happy for someone to check that math, please)

so that doc was not that far off if he didn't take into account that the twins were Di/di, since those numbers would have been ~15%, if no fertility treatment was used and all other things are equal

but since he saw them as di/di, the number get way way smaller. With there only being a 3.75% chance of them being MZ

am i thinking this out correctly?

[Adaline'sMama]

Adorkable- All of your math makes sense to me :) But, I kind of prefer the statistic of 65% of identical twins are Di-Di, because I think it would be cool to have identical twins, but we've been confirmed Di-Di. Now, on to other things: What diaper bag do you use and is there enough room in it for an extra change of clothes for a three year old too?

Rblakely- I agree that every practice does things differently. I've heard of some OB's that do every other week after 20 weeks! My OB does 2 in the first trimester, 3 in the second trimester, and 4 in the third trimester- the fourth one is while we are in labor, as she likes to see the exact position that the babies are in and make sure that everything is going well when you come in to the hospital. (we can decline any of these, but we probably wont) We also opted for the nuchal scan at 12 weeks, which was totally optional, so all in all if everything goes well, we can expect to have had 10 total ultrasounds, pending that I go to term.

I am getting SO anxious about the ultrasound next Monday to find out the sexes. I dont know why Im so anxious about it- it's not really like I care either way, it's just so exciting! Has anyone found out recently that I haven't updated about on the main page? If so , let me know :)

[~Adorkable~]

i use a back pack style one Dadgear Backpack Diaper Bag  we have used it since they were a month old and to this day at 19 months, it was just our carryon again for our 3rd cross country plane flight.

i love the shallow top pouch for diapers, really keeps thing nice and handy. and i like the large center compartment. we have some smaller bags that we put in it to organize things, like one budge that was always a change of clothing, and in the young months a bag of refolds for various dribble uses.  it can be almost too cavernous without some sort of sectioning, but that is kinda a good problem to have, too many pockets jaunt makes for too long to find things.

i like that it opens all the way open like a book for packing or working out of.  the front two areas, we used the medium one for changing pad and various changing things besides the diapers themselves. and the very front one is a first aid kit and eating out stuff like bibs and table covers.

it has loops to attach to strollers and has held up to us tossing it around for 1 1/2 years and still looks new

[Adaline'sMama]

Do you use cloth?

[~Adorkable~]

nope though i could se the bag working just as well for many cloth systems.

frankly i beat myself up over cloth when i was preggo, but just decided it was one of the things i did not have time to do with twins. since then i have used a few pocket diapers and a some diapers like g diapers both with cloth and their flushable system.  and i can't to a conclusion i would not have guessed prior to having my kids...

i would not personally use cloth if i had all the time in the world, my kids are drier and happier longer in good disposables and a dry twin sleeping soundly is worth nearly anything in the world to me.  i know cloth is probably better for the world and I'm bummed on that front, but what is best for my babies skin needs to be my top priority and i just can't see how wet cloth against their skin is ever a good thing (that is until potty learning, i probably will do some cloth stuff then to help them feel it)  i'm bummed cause cloth is so cute, and actually use a few of the covers over my 'sposies in the summer or under dresses.

but I'm not bummed that i have more time to love, cuddle and sleep with my twins cause diapering is a quick non thinking action around here. they never get diaper rash since the very beginning and that was user error on my part as i learned to diaper for the first time in my adult life. (my little sister was 10 year younger than my, i clothes diapers her for years as the main babysitter, disposables was actually the strange thing for me to get used to!)

 i know this is way more info than you were asking about, just felt like giving voice to the hidden mothering.com minority

[Adaline'sMama]

No, no, I agree. If I didnt already have cloth diapers for two kids (When DS was born, DD was still in diapers, so I have a stash for two) I would be SO overwhelmed at the idea of doing it with twins. But, I have them, and I've got a good system, so for me cloth is probably going to be cheaper than sposies. Im sure we will use our fair share of disposables too, but mainly cloth for us.

[QMtwins]

Lilysamsma:

From the sounds of it you are right to think you may be getting suboptimal care.  Odd that your doc wouldn't commit or offer you a scan to confirm chorionicity.  Around 12 -14 weeks is generally a great time to determine that and placentation and cord insertions.  Also, it would make sense that the OB would want to know...if you really do have mo-mo twins, they should refer you to MFM/perinatology sooner rather than later (way before 20 weeks!).  Also, if they are even mono-di, then some folks would recommend every 2 week scans begin as early as 16 or so weeks to look for emerging twin to twin transfusion syndrome.  Hope you get some good info/an appt when you call the MFM you are being referred to.  Even if they are di-di. if your OB doesn't do a lot of twins, sometimes its good just to see MFM early on for advice on nutrition, what to expect during the twin pregnancy, etc.  Good luck and hope you find out what kind of twins you've got in there! :)

On the cloth front: we use pockets during the day and disposables at night.  My DH insists that the girls sleep better in disposables and he never insists on anything!  So, we do both.  I'm with Adorkable...having 2 sleeping babies at the same time is so worth it!  Building my stash of newborn & small diapers as ours last time around were graciously loaned to us and are not available this time. 

For me:  Ahhh...we just got back from a wedding...hot and chasing around two year old twins is exhausting now at 27 weeks.  My sister had the audacity to tell me how hard it was to pick up my girls due to her really full belly from such yummy food.  Really?!?  What about my really full belly from two babies and a lot of food?!!!  Yes, I told her I had no sympathy!  Now I am contracting some and so will go drink lots of water and put my feet up!  :)

[ifnotnowwhen]

Adaline'sMama: You can update the genders of my twins on the main page. We found out a few weeks ago that we are having two boys. :)

[gozal]

Now I love you all a little more for nerding out with me. :) I truly don't care whether my little guys are identical or not, but I'm still so curious!

ifnotnowwhen, congratulations on your boys! Welcome to the club. (Psst, Adaline's Mama, somehow I missed your awesome intro post. It is, for the record, awesome.)

adorkable, count me as another CDer who agrees with you. I know, that sounds weird. The deal is, with DS I decided I wnated to give CDs a try for health/cost/enviro reasons, but I promised myself that if it made me crazy, I would stop. Well, it went great, once I figured out which dipes worked for us. My washer/dryer are literally a meter away from his changing area, so it was super easy to just toss 'em in there and wash. We did use disposables here and there, for travel, for caregivers who just preferred them, etc. Of course, DS could not care less about being wet, so he wasn't bothered by that aspect...ALAS, nor did it help us out in the toilet learning department. We didn't have any leak issues, even at night, and he never got rashy. This time around, since I have a stash (I'll need to add some though) and we are on a tighter budget AND I am experienced with CDing, I feel that I really need to do it. I feel less of that "it's okay to do whatever works" approach. I priced disposables for two (Costco case) and yeesh. But if money was no object, this is something I would be really open to letting go of with twins. I think some of the "dirty secrets" of CDing are ones that you mentioned - CDs are not ever going to be as absorbent, so you have to change more often; they often don't fit under baby clothes, especially onesies; and if you're not mindful of it, you could end up spending about the same as disposables. The closures on my main dipes are worn out and I need to replace them, which is annoying. I mean, the whole point is to be able to reuse them with more than one child. QMTwins, thank you for that reminder that we could use disposables at night if we need to - that's a good point. I really do think it'll be okay and if it's not I'm sure we'll figure out something. Bascially I think CDing is a great thing but certainly not worth losing sleep over. EBFing I am okay with losing sleep over...CDing not. 

So I still can't figure out when I am having BH/contrax - never could with DS either. Is it that I'm mistaking them for the babies' movements?

[lilysamsma]

Ifnotnowwhen--congratulations on your boys!

About cds---i am.planning on cding the twins, just for cost factor. I part time cded my dd but used disposables for ds until recently. When i found out about the twins i decided i needed to be DONE buying sposies since i would be buying many of them with three in diapers, plus the fact that i have all.of dds old ones. He has a wicked diaper rash right now (grrrrr) so i am temporarily back in disposablea until.it clears up.

Well....it is a long story, but i.am done with my ob as of today. I spent all morning on the phone fighting for a referral to the mfm to no avail. Through a stroke of luck i discovered that my pcp's secretary is a mother of twins( she totally understood why i was so worked up) and she gave me the name of the drs/practice she used and was very happy with. I had to physically go to the origjnal obs office to sign a paper to release me medical records and i also picked up a copy for myself just in case they don't get faxed (the new practice will not even schedule me for an appointment until they have the records). The records are so amazingly non-descript. It does say "twins" in a couple places, but that is the full extent of any mention of it (there is way more detail about my vagina and clitoris...seriously!) (No mention of chorionicity or anything technical. Literally "twins moving as expected for ga during u/s". I am really hoping thag the new practice will see this and understand my concern and have me in asap. If not i don't know what i will do, because there are not a whole lot of other options (i live in a small rural town. The mfm that the originalnob was planning to refer me to is 2 hours away. The new practice allegedly deal.with lots of.twins +there is a mfm practice they work with. New practice=30 minutes away...so assuming it goes well, i am good. I feel a billion times better now that i am doing as much as i possibly can and if WILL all work.out.

[QMtwins]

Lilys:  I'm glad you are transferring.  Hopefull all will go smoothly now.  I'm just waiting to find out their chorionicity!  I just can't understand why they would not refer you to MFM.  Some folks go to only an MFM/perinatologist for twins.  There should be no reason not to.  Good luck!