Pregnant with Twins (or more!): Spring/Summer 2013

[Quinalla]

Hey all, thought I would start a new thread as some have expressed interest in a new one that can be updated. Anyone is welcome to hang out and if you want your stats posted and fall outside Spring/Summer that's fine too, just let me know! I'll be following the thread closely until my twins are born, then no guarantees I copied over the spring information, but please check and update as needed. Again, we'll used 40w EDD as that is easiest, even though many will go much earlier. Here are the questions from the last thread, feel free to repost your answers:

Name? (if you feel like it)

You and maybe your partners age at the birth?

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both?

What number of kids will is be for you?

Sexes? Will you be finding out?

EDD and or planned birth timing?

State you live in?

Anything else you want to share?

Spring

JessMN (Jessica) - EDD: 5/5/13 - DiDi - 1st & 2nd children - 2 Boys
Coome - EDD: 5/5/13 - DiDi - 2nd & 3rd children - ?
Knitting Tigers - EDD: Mid May - Di/Di - 2nd & 3rd children - ?
2babies2kidsmom (Dem) - EDD: 5/20/13 - DiDi - 3rd & 4th children - 1 Girl & 1 Boy
Quinalla (Katie) - EDD: 5/24/13 - DiDi - 2nd & 3rd children - 1 Girl & 1 Boy
ilovemygirl - EDD: 6/4/13 - DiDi - 2nd & 3rd children - 2 Girls
rynkat - EDD: 6/9/13 - MonoDi - 2nd & 3rd children - 2 Girls
aprilv (April) - EDD: 6/24/13 - ? - 3rd & 4th children - 2 Boys
MarcyWolfPack (Marcy) - EDD: 6/25/13 - DiDi - 6th & 7th children - 1 Girl & 1 Boy



Summer

yallcomeback - EDD: 7/13/13 - DiDi - 3rd & 4th children - 1 Girl & 1 Boy
AngelBee (Angela) - EDD: 7/28/13 - ?/Di - 8th & 9th children - ?
Southernmommie - EDD: 8/9/13 - Di/Di - 6th & 7th children - ? 1 Girl & 1 Boy
mrsandmrs (Angela) - EDD: 9/6/13 - Di/Di - 2nd & 3rd children - 2 Boys




Congratulations - Babies are here!

Sophigirl - 3/17/13 (28w4d) - 2 Girls - Katherine Ruth and Elizabeth Anne
momma-bear - 3/26/13 (38w4d) - 2 Girls - Amarra Sedona and Sierra Lynn

Edited by Quinalla - 4/11/13 at 7:36am

[Quinalla]

Name?
Katie

You and maybe your partners age at the birth?
I'll be 33 or 34 (she'd due near my birthday), DH Mike will be 35

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both?
Di/Di

What number of kids will is be for you?
2 & 3, Our first is Sydney and she will be ~3.5 years old when the twins are born

Sexes? Will you be finding out?
Girl & Boy

EDD and or planned birth timing?
EDD is May 24th, 2013

State you live in?
Ohio

Anything else you want to share
Fraternal twins run in the family. I have 3 different aunts that had them and my Grandma miscarried a pair as well. I am thrilled to be having a girl & boy as now I can reuse all of DDs stuff and still get to buy new boy stuff I had a quick, uncomplicated, no drugs, hospital birth with DD (I did have an IV for about 45 minutes and EFM for maybe 1.5 hours, but that was it for interventions which was nice). I really want a vaginal birth with these twins, so hopefully they will cooperate and come close to their EDD and both be head down, I'm still working on my OB for if A is vertex and B is breech as all the research points for that being totally fine for twins.

My appointment yesterday (24w5d), the twins are looking great! They check my cervix first, it is thick and strong, Baby A (our girl) is estimated at 2lb and Baby B (our boy) is estimated at 2lb1oz so they are growing nicely. They both are sharing space well with about the same amount of fluid. At the appointment, both were transverse boy on top of girl, but I can tell today that they are flipping around again and both were head down at one point based on kicks, so I'm hoping they will get there and stay there before they get too crowded. They do often have their heads together, so that's good! From the U/S pictures, I think our girl is going to look a lot like DD, their faces are very similar! Going to be fun to see

[jessmn]

You're brave to start this thread, good for you! :)

Name? (if you feel like it)

Jessica

You and maybe your partners age at the birth?

Johnny, 28; and me, either 27 or 28! Babies are due right around my birthday on April 29 :) I keep telling them that they need to avoid April 20, April 21, April 26, and April 29. They don't have a lot of days to choose from :)

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both?
Di/Di

What number of kids will is be for you?

1&2

Sexes? Will you be finding out?

2 boys!

EDD and or planned birth timing?
EDD is May 5, Doc says they induce April 21. We'll see...we haven't discussed it much yet.

State you live in?
Washington State

Anything else you want to share?

Twins run in my family. I'm a fraternal twin, and my great aunt on my mom's side had fraternal twins. I wasn't too surprised when we found out :) We are super excited to have two babies and plan on these being our only children. I am hating pregnancy and don't plan on doing it ever again! Plus I don't want to risk twins again :)

I've been very anxious throughout the pregnancy. Every little twinge or feeling makes me nervous. I have a doula, and I am very excited to have her support. I just got hypnobabies and am going to start listening tonight! I also struggle to drink enough water.

I'm 27 weeks 5 days now and have an appointment next Tuesday! I'll update then. They are going to measure my cervix and take a good look at the babies, especially Baby B, who had some cysts on one kidney at our last ultrasound. I'm interested to see where they are located, because they have been beating me up pretty good the last two weeks or so. Hopefully I'll come back with some awesome 3D photos.
 

[AngelBee]

Name? Angela

You and maybe your partners age at the birth? I am 35 and dh is 38.

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both? Unsure, but both babies have their own sac. ???

What number of kids will is be for you? Baby #8 and Baby #9

Sexes? Will you be finding out? Unsure, but we will be finding out.

EDD and or planned birth timing? EDD July 28.

State you live in? Minnesota

Anything else you want to share?

We just found out on Monday during an ER visit for light bleeding. Placenta is low lying and why they believe I am bleeding here and there. During ultrasound to confirm placenta position we saw TWO BABIES!!! Not something I was expecting. We are excited, overwhelmed, and looking forward to meeting them both in late July. Kids are all very excited.

I have sooooo much research to do. We were planning a homebirth and as of now have decided to go to a hospital. Want to make it as much like last 3 homebirths as I can. So much to research!!!

I also have no idea how much I should be eating....I do know I am always hungry! :

[Quinalla]

Hi again Jessica I hope your appointment goes well and the cysts are gone. Interested to hear why your doc wants to induce at 38 weeks, my doc hasn't talked about induction yet at all which I'm happy about! I forgot to mention this is our last pregnancy too, we planned for it to be anyway as we planned to only have 2 kids, but now we will have 3!

Angela, with two sacs you are ?/Di, they will probably send you in for an ultrasound soon to verify placentas as it sounded like they weren't really sure if you had 1 or 2 from your first ultrasound. It is a lot to research if you are switching to a hospital and for twins as well. I gave birth to my first in a hospital and except for a EFM & IV, I had no interventions and even was encouraged to help the OB deliver the baby, I reached down and lifted her with his help onto my chest as she was born, very cool I was on my back for pushing, but I didn't feel like I wanted to be in another position, so I didn't mind. It did help that I took the advice of the Bradley method and did not show up to the hospital until I was well into labor so they didn't have much time to get worried and want to start doing stuff, not sure if I will feel as comfortable doing that with twins though, dunno! I really liked Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" for going over all the typical hospital interventions and the potential risks and benefits based on what is going on, it's a bit old but still relevant.

As for eating, yeah you really need quite a bit more than a singleton pregnancy, especially more protein. I would check out Dr. Barbara Luke's "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads" for nutrition and other good evidence based muliples info. I think she is a bit too keen on bedrest, but overall it is a really good resource and every other twin book I read that was worthwhile pointed back to her book for nutrition info. My OB and MFM were useless for nutrition info, but I've been following Dr. Luke's advice and so far the babies are growing well! I also really enjoyed "Having Twins And More: A Parent's Guide to Multiple Pregnancy, Birth, and Early Childhood " by Elizabeth Noble & Lee Sorger, I didn't agree with everything, but I thought it was a very comprehensive book and definitely more naturally leaning.

[jessmn]

Originally Posted by Quinalla 

Hi again Jessica I hope your appointment goes well and the cysts are gone. Interested to hear why your doc wants to induce at 38 weeks, my doc hasn't talked about induction yet at all which I'm happy about! I forgot to mention this is our last pregnancy too, we planned for it to be anyway as we planned to only have 2 kids, but now we will have 3!
 

I dunno, the perinatal doc mentioned it in passing at our last appt 4 weeks ago, that they normally induce twins at 38 weeks. We had just been told about the cysts so it wasn't something either of us thought to inquire about further. It'll be interesting to hear what they say about it on Tuesday! My mom was induced (with twins) at 38 weeks, although I'm also not sure why in her case and that was nearly 28 years ago!

[Adaline'sMama]

thanks Katie :) 

[aprilv]

This is my first time ever coming to this forum because we just found out we are having twin boys at our 20 week ultrasound!  I just keep laughing!  We already have 2 boys and I was sort of hoping for a girl, so naturally, twin boys, haha!

Name? (if you feel like it)April

You and maybe your partners age at the birth? 34

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both?

What number of kids will is be for you? 3,4 

Sexes? Will you be finding out? boys!

EDD and or planned birth timing? june 24

State you live in? NJ

Anything else you want to share? My sister just had twins in December, but other than that I wasn't aware of this running in our family. I feel like I have a whole new world I need to learn about now!

[Logan]

*

Edited by Logan - 2/10/13 at 2:02pm

[Brambleberry]

Originally Posted by rblakley 

My last dr appt I was "easily" 3 cm and 80% effaced and he stripped my membranes. That was on Thursday. I'm wondering if that means I have already lost my mucous plug? I didn't think to ask my doctor when I was there. However today I am having an increase in discharge (sorry if tmi). I am so looking forward to meeting my baby girls and at the same time wanting them to be fully healthy and developed. Also so not looking forward to having to push out 2 babies! So many mixed emotions and on top of that I have been crying so much lately. I know my hormones are out of whack because I am usually not a crier. For those of you who have already given birth to your babes, do you mind sharing your symptoms leading up to labor actually starting? I will be 38 weeks on Thursday. 

I'm feeling like I'm in a remarkably similar situation.  I'm 38w1d.  My doctor is encouraging me to induce, but is fine with waiting until 39w to do any chemical induction.  Meanwhile we're trying all the natural stuff with mixed feelings about wanting the babies to be as mature as possible, and me just being in so much discomfort/pain.  I have SPD pretty bad, and anytime I get up, bend over, or walk farther than a few steps I get 5+ minute BH that are painless themselves, but irritate the SPD if I try to walk while having one.  Plus I've gained 65 lbs now and the extra weight on my hips is also really painful.  I'm worried that if I go any longer I won't have the stamina I need to get through labor.  But OTOH, I've been feeling like that for a few weeks now: that I just can't make it another week, and then another week passes and I'm still functioning, the babies are still doing great, and I feel so guilty for trying to get them out before they may be ready.  Not to mention that more mature babies are supposedly "easier" and I know I'm about to go from the frying pan into the fire.  

I've been at 3 cm since my appt at 36w5d, and was "stretching to a 4" at my 37w6d appt on Friday.  I had my membranes stripped on Friday, with a slight increase in ctx, but not much.  I've been doing a lot of nipple stimulation and dtd as much as DH is up for, and I'm finally having more frequent ctx this afternoon, but not a lot of strong ones.  It's so frustrating to be in pre-labor limbo land.  I had been planning on doing acupuncture for induction tomorrow, but the doctor in town who does that is out until Thursday.  Way too long to wait!  Grrr.

[Quinalla]

Jessica, oh I understand why you didn't follow up on it then, I remember after the first OB appointment when we found out we were having twins everything I was going to ask went right out of my head and I am sure I would be the same with them finding something like cysts! Let us know what they say, I know sometimes they want to induce twins a bit early as some studies show they do better at either 38 or 39 weeks vs. 40 weeks, so I was curious if that was the reason or if it was something else. It seems kind of funny after all that time spent trying to make sure twins stay in then the doctors get all anxious to get them out at the end

No problem Holly!

Welcome April, how exciting and overwhelming when you first find out, eh? Did you suspect at all? Congrats on your boys

Brambleberry, sorry about your SPD is that why your doctor is encouraging induction?

[Adaline'sMama]

Hey ladies, I just wanted to share some of my photos with you all. I know when I was pregnant, I couldnt get enough of looking at pictures of twin newbies.

Here are my girls birth- 4 weeks. They are 5 weeks old now, and have gained a lot of weight, but we are still having nursing issues.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109016605770974567951/albums/5843000982591436481?gpinv=AMIXal8BYtI7SFEqVGEq33YvjCPwYvQfckIuwYPIPHy0JaScrbonUJ_SkCmb2vk_ira1O21RQqr0EqpAUVTY3V84oxbTRamtkOQmcSqIXpJiVI0wauD0BYc&cfem=1

[jessmn]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

Hey ladies, I just wanted to share some of my photos with you all. I know when I was pregnant, I couldnt get enough of looking at pictures of twin newbies.

Here are my girls birth- 4 weeks. They are 5 weeks old now, and have gained a lot of weight, but we are still having nursing issues.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109016605770974567951/albums/5843000982591436481?gpinv=AMIXal8BYtI7SFEqVGEq33YvjCPwYvQfckIuwYPIPHy0JaScrbonUJ_SkCmb2vk_ira1O21RQqr0EqpAUVTY3V84oxbTRamtkOQmcSqIXpJiVI0wauD0BYc&cfem=1

Oh my goodness I love seeing these pictures! They are so tiny. I adore their little hats and floppiness (the babies, not the hats!) Thanks for sharing!

Also, is that photo taken in your house? The ceilings are insanely high! (I have an old house myself, although we just have 9 ft ceilings :P )

[Quinalla]

Holly, those pictures are wonderful I am inspired to use my camera a lot with the twins, I was pretty good about it with DD, but so many cute photo ops with twins and twins & big sis, going to be fun!

[sophigirl]

Katie, 

Thank you so much for starting the new thread! And sorry to not have been posting - I'm trying to finish the last semester of coursework, and it turned out one of the crazier semesters of my program. 

Since my last appearance here, we have found out that we are having two girls, and I finally felt the babies move. I was getting very anxious about not feeling them, since it wasn't happening as early as my OB suggested it would - I even started to think that I might have an anterior placenta. At week 20 I finally felt them kick, and the kicks from the very beginning were strong enough to be felt outside. I guess I felt them earlier and just assumed it was gas :) Now I am 23w6d, and the girls are doing all kinds of flips and dances on the inside. I still can't get over the wonder of it! 

Brambleberry, I really hope your babies decide to make their appearance soon! Just reading your post made me ache in sympathy.

Adaline'sMama - how adorable your girls are! Thank you for posting these! The hats made me smile from ear to ear. 

[Brambleberry]

Originally Posted by Quinalla 

Jessica, oh I understand why you didn't follow up on it then, I remember after the first OB appointment when we found out we were having twins everything I was going to ask went right out of my head and I am sure I would be the same with them finding something like cysts! Let us know what they say, I know sometimes they want to induce twins a bit early as some studies show they do better at either 38 or 39 weeks vs. 40 weeks, so I was curious if that was the reason or if it was something else. It seems kind of funny after all that time spent trying to make sure twins stay in then the doctors get all anxious to get them out at the end

No problem Holly!

Welcome April, how exciting and overwhelming when you first find out, eh? Did you suspect at all? Congrats on your boys

Brambleberry, sorry about your SPD is that why your doctor is encouraging induction?

She's worried about placentas aging after 38 weeks with twins.  I'm not convinced it's really a valid concern, especially since they're di/di, I'm healthy and gained plenty of weight in first tri, and the babies have been on-par with singleton growth expectations and pass their non-stress tests with flying colors.  BUT.  it does worry me slightly, and that coupled with the SPD is enough to make me agree to having my water broken this Friday or Saturday.  I'll have acupuncture for induction on Thursday to hopefully get labor going on its own first.  I had my membranes stripped again this morning, and am still not seeing much action :(

Adaline'sMama - So many awesome pictures!  The girls are really starting to chub up - so cute!

[Adaline'sMama]

Thanks guys :)

jess- those are my ceilings. Thank goodness we have wood heat, otherwise we'd never stay warm. Our house is an old general store built in 1889, and all the ceilings are like that. The windows are all 6-8 ft tall too, so that's the plus side.

Brambleberry- This weekend! Wow. Well, maybe you'll go before then. 

[jessmn]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

Thanks guys :)

jess- those are my ceilings. Thank goodness we have wood heat, otherwise we'd never stay warm. Our house is an old general store built in 1889, and all the ceilings are like that. The windows are all 6-8 ft tall too, so that's the plus side.

Brambleberry- This weekend! Wow. Well, maybe you'll go before then. 

I love old houses, that sounds lovely. Mine was built in 1890 but is just a regular house, although the dry goods store owner owned our house, so there's that :) Our windows are pretty significant in height (floor to almost ceiling), which is awesome for letting in sunshine!

[mrsandmrs]

maybe i'm jumping the gun a little since we're only almost11 weeks. our first OB appointment is this week, but we've been working with a fertility clinic so i have weekly appointments and ultrasounds. 

You and maybe your partners age at the birth? I'll be 31. My wife will be 36. 

Are the babies Mono or Di or what combo of both? i believe we di/di twins although it's not "officially diagnosed" yet. at our last US, i asked the doc and he said yes, two placentas. 

What number of kids will is be for you? #2 & #3

Sexes? Will you be finding out? we will find out, but we haven't yet 

EDD and or planned birth timing? our EDD is 9/6/13 but we havent discussed any earlier dates. 

State you live in? Washington. Anyone have advice on birthing twins in Washington? 

Anything else you want to share? Our older kid is 16, soon to be 17, so this twin baby thing is going to be a whole new ballgame in a lot of ways. We're excited, though. We've known for about 6 weeks, although my brain is still like "twins, what, huh?" 

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

Hey ladies, I just wanted to share some of my photos with you all. I know when I was pregnant, I couldnt get enough of looking at pictures of twin newbies.

Here are my girls birth- 4 weeks. They are 5 weeks old now, and have gained a lot of weight, but we are still having nursing issues.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109016605770974567951/albums/5843000982591436481?gpinv=AMIXal8BYtI7SFEqVGEq33YvjCPwYvQfckIuwYPIPHy0JaScrbonUJ_SkCmb2vk_ira1O21RQqr0EqpAUVTY3V84oxbTRamtkOQmcSqIXpJiVI0wauD0BYc&cfem=1

So beautiful!!!