any twins born at home?

[hotmamacita]

Any other mamas who birthed twins at home? I'd love to hear your stories?

Peace,

[Heathermama]

:eek wowo great to hear someone made it all the way...good job ma- my boys 9m twins were an attempted homebirth and even with three midwifes we made it to 7cm and Jonah (first born) was tilted a bit not possitioned right so we went to the hospital because everything had to be just perfect. I think we could have done it at home. My boys were born beautifuly and easy and bliss in the hospital. Who knows why we were ment to be there...I think it was just wonderful regardless...good stuff. Totally natural and even no opesiotamy which I spelled wronge- lots of love RIght on for you ma.

[sleeping queen]

I didn't understand your post. Are you ready to have the babies or have you had them. My twins were my third pg. I had no trouble with the first two. My twin pg was pretty uneventful. I carried to 38 weeks. I would really discourage a home birth. There is just so much that can unexpectedly go wrong. I almost died. I hemorahged and ended up with a hysterectomy and 3 weeks in the hospital. I used to like the idea of home births till my experience. In this day and age where medical prevention can save lifes its not worth it. Plus I have a friend who's friend homebirths and her last child there were problems with the delivery and oxygen to the baby. They aren't sure how much brain damage there is. It is really sad since it could of been prevented.

[hotmamacita]

oh no, sleeping queen, i am sorry about your experience. were you planning a twin homebirth? was this your first homebirth? what state are you in? (I see that you are brand new to MDC and WELCOME!!!!!!!)

i had a succesful twin homebirth with two breech babies and complications during the labour and birth. one midwife was wonderfully skilled in emergency response. she also has great training with experience with twins, breech presentations, and complications. another midwife providing care for me had incredible trianing in nutrition and herbs and taught me much about eating so well to prevent pre-term labour, low birth weight, hemoraghing. i remember right after the second twin was born (a footling) she made me drink this herbal concoction to minimize bleeding. i am so thankful to have been at home with skilled people. imho and knowing the hospital here, things could have been worse for us at the hospital.


sleeping queen, i have had friends who have lost babies in the hospital all due to nurse/doctor malpractice. one close friend lost her baby while pushing as the doctor slept down the hall and the nurses royally messed up. the same friend planned a homebirth after that and had a wonderful homebirth and no complications.

another friend, like you, almost died after bleeding excessively because her doctor not only pulled the baby out but later intentionally yanked on the cord ripping it from the placenta in an attempt to get the placenta out quickly so that she could go on her way. it was a huge mess. we were afraid that she was going to die, even one of the nurses said that to her husband and her daughter was taken to NICU because of the doctors premature decision and developed breathing problems as a result. the hosptial later admitted wrong doing and apologized.

i am sorry about your experience but please know there are many, many, many succesful homebirths all around the world. Hospitals have their place but "are not a guaranteed for a live birth' just because it is a hospital.

no one should be scared into a hosptial or a homebirth. women should not only trust their instincts but be free to choose what is right for them. for some it is definately the hospital. for some it is a homebirth. and in all, birth ultimately is out of our hands anyway.

again, i am sorry to hear of your story and experience, sleeping queen. i am glad that your babies are well and look forward to hearing more about your experiences with twins.

peace,

[Megs Mom]

You had breech twins at home? Both breech? Feet first? Wow, that's so cool!

ETA: are you still nursing one or both of your older children in addition to the babies? How old are the babes now?

[leakyandsnort]

hotmamacita, i'd love to talk to you more, too. i'm almost 20 weeks pregnant with twins, & will be having them in a hospital b/c no midwives around will take us on - the babies are showing signs of TTTS and all that. but my previous birth was amazing, and i really want to bring as much of that with me as i can. i'd love any advice you could give me.

thnaks!
kathy

[hotmamacita]

MegsMOM: Yes, Baby a came out bum first. Then later baby b came out feet first.

No, I am not nursing the older two. Just the twins. they are eleven months. (Wow, I can't believe it's almost been a year.)

LEAKYANDSNORT: I'll PM you with my e-mail. It is CRUCIAL TO EAT PRISTINELY and drink over a gallon of water a day. I found out at 22 weeks and stopped eating anything but protein (150 grams a day), iron rich food/herbs, green leafies, and water. Seriously, I ate NO SUGAR, CARBS, nothing. Trust me it is SOOO worth it. Your diet in a twin pregnancy is so essential. Congrats and I would love to dialogue with you along the way.

[Megs Mom]

Could you pretty please send me the same PM? I'm 29w2d, on bedrest for a softening cervix since 25 weeks. I'm having so much trouble eating ANYTHING, much less healthy things but I'm willing to commit to doing better with some direction. I want big, healthy babies!

ETA: also using a hospital, with a (fortunately very progressive) OB.

[leakyandsnort]

hey megs mom -
the book having twins by eliz. noble is a great resource for some food. also, she talks about the Brewer diet, which I haven't checked out yet, but have heard is great.

Something that I've been doing for about 2.5 weeks now is drinking 2 cans of Boost or Ensure per day. It's nasty stuff, and has WAY more sugar than i want to be taking in. It's kind of specific to the twin to twin transfusion problem we're having, but I have found that it has made an incredible difference in my energy level and overall feeling of well-being (as an otherwise pretty strict veg., i feel so hypocrytical saying this, but it's true!) as well as helping to keep my amniotic fluid levels in check.

i'd love to talk to you, too! you're a little ahead of me, it looks like, but that's ok! feel free to Pm or email me - hausfrau at mac dot com!

[hotmamacita]

I am fighting a bad cough but wanted to add something...

sugar is a detriment to a twin pregnancy. whole foods grocery store makes a soy powder without sugar. just mix it with milk or water. please, please, please know that the high sugar content in those drinks can be problematic later on.

yes, having twins by e. noble is fantastic. also anne frye's section on twins in holistic midwifery.

pm or e-mail me and I will give y'all both some people to dialogue with via e-mail as well as myself.

my e-mail is myhotmamacita@yahoo.com.

[Tigerchild]

Leakyandsnort,

My twins had moderate-to-severe (though just under the cut for the laser surgery) TTTS starting from 16 weeks.

You might want to consider Atkins shakes if you are concerned about sugar intake (though it does have sweeteners). I actually felt much better after switching over to the Atkins stuff, since it has more protein than the Boost (which is why you're drinking them in the first place), and less dairy product (which made me really ill when I was pregnant).

Are you doing amnioreductions? Please know that in the case of TTTS where the babies remain in good enough shape to avoid any kind of treatment, your birthing optinos (other than a hospital) are pretty much wide open. Do you have access to a good local doctor? That can make a world of difference. I hope your little fighters are doing well.

Feel free to PM and vent about the TTTS anytime, if you need to. It's a very stressful thing to have happen to your pregnancy. I was shocked at the size difference and appearance of my guys (they were born at 36 weeks!) but now at 5 months they really are starting to look identical and now they're on the upper end of the growth scale (unadjusted).

[breathingmom]

I have been waiting for the right time to post on here because I wanted to write my story thoughtfully and with interesting detail. Since I am a busy homeschooling mom of three kids I decided that it would be best to just give some highlights or I may never end up adding my story!

My first child was born at a hospital with a CNM who I had transferred to at 35 weeks. I was not very educated about natural childbirth up until that point and luckily our midwife was willing to take us late in the pregnancy and did much to alleviate our fears and help us find wonderful resources like prenatal yoga.

When we found out we were having another baby we went back to our midwife. At our second visit she said we were either off on our dates or having twins. By the fourth month of the pregnancy we decided to find an ultrasound tech who would do a quick "peek" since we were considering a move that would take us far from family. We were stunned to find out that we were having twins! I literally laughed (2 babies!!!!!) and cried (my relationship with my ds would be so dramatically changed forever) at the same time.

Now armed with the information that we could expect two babies we started reading as much information as we could find. Making our way through the endless information of risks and "less than perfect" outcomes we decided to surround ourselves with positive people and plan for the births of our choice. We moved forward with the belief that my pregnancy was "special needs" and not automatically "high risk". Our midwife bravely made the choice to follow her heart and attend our joyous day.

I went in to labor at 37 1/2 weeks. The highlights of our daughters births were: slow dancing in the living room during the beginning stages of labor, having our son (almost three at the time) weaving his way in and out of the room, being surrounded by the most incredible group of women and one awesome A/P doc, suddenly noticing it was sunrise and in that same instant knowing it was time to push.

My first dd was born at 7:30 am. I nursed her for awhile until the contractions became too strong to ignore, then I handed her off to her Dad. My next sweet baby waited another hour and a half to make her way out. (Her bag of waters was not breaking and I was given the option of breaking it or waiting. I had an instinct that we should wait. Later we discussed with the midwife how we all felt that this extra time gave my uterus time to contract down which helped there to be no hemorrhaging). My dd's weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz. and 7 lbs. 10 oz.

The last three weeks of pregnancy were a challange but having healthy, 7 pound babies made it all worth it! My dd's are now 6 years old and while homebirth of twins might not be for every family, it was a incredible experience for us and one we will always treasure.

hotmamacita, I can't believe that your babies are almost a year old! It's great to hear how wonderful you all are doing and that you are sharing your inspiring story with others!

Blessings to all you moms who are expecting two! I assure it's not "double trouble" it's "twice the love"!!!

~Jill

[sleeping queen]

You women are amazing!!! How did you handle all the labor pains. My first dd I didn't dialate very well and ended up on a pit drip and begging for pain medicine. With my first dd I did a lot of walking to help progress things and it didn't seem to help.

[Megs Mom]

Laura, check out http://www.hypnobabies.com

[hotmamacita]

breathingmom---great story!!! THANK you. Yes 7 pound twins are worth it. I am encouraged by your and your midwife's desire to honour your hearts.

sleeping queen--labour pains stink. my husband held me during each contraction OR i got into the tub. (WATER IS SOOOOOO Amazing--i barely felt my contractions)

I hear pit. is horrid. and that is makes you feel like dying. so i don't know if labour with pit is a good comparison to labour w/o drugs.

POR-My twins were 8 pounds 3 ounces and 8 pounds 10 ounces. Breathingmom, if yours had not decided to hurry up and meet you they would have been what, TEN pound each? :) I can't believe they were that big at 37 weeks. Way to go!!!

[1Plus2]

Originally posted by breathingmom
We were stunned to find out that we were having twins! I literally laughed (2 babies!!!!!) and cried (my relationship with my ds would be so dramatically changed forever) at the same time.

Blessings to all you moms who are expecting two! I assure it's not "double trouble" it's "twice the love"!!!

Jill - That is EXACTLY how I felt when we found out we were having twins. I was getting an ultrasound at 8-weeks (to confirm my due date since I was nursing when we conceived) and my dh and dd were there also. I just remember looking at the screen and laughing and crying with joy and then turning to my then 18-month-old dd and crying with sadness knowing how her life would NEVER be the same. Would I ever change it? NO WAY!! My dd LOVES her sisters with a passion and she now thinks anyone who has only one baby got the short end of the stick. :D I also agree with you about the "double trouble" thing...I see myself as doubly blessed!!!

[Megs Mom]

It's really nice to hear the positive comments about twins, esp. in the context of the older sibling. Thank you!

[leakyandsnort]

Ok, so I think I'm hitting 24? 25? weeks with the twins. We've still been seeing the high risk specialists, but it looks like the TTTS is taking a rest & we've been promoted to every other week appointments instead of weekly.

So here's where I am - when we were diagnosed as monoamniotic, I accepted completely the inevitability of a c-section. When they found the membrane, I got a little excited.

The folks we are seing are great, and have said that if everything lines up for a good vaginal birth, they won't get in the way. However, I know not everyone on the staff is prepared for breech presentation.

So my worries are focused on the possibility (probability, if I can help it!) of carrying these girls to term, having them be healthy....and end up in a hospital birth hell scenario.

I saw that someone had experience transferring care sas late as 35 weeks. I guess I'm looking for advice - of any sort, be it direct references/names/starting places, etc. - on how to go about changing care if/when we get to that point. Where can I find midwives who will be willing to even talk to us post-high-risk pregnancy? I'm comfortable with home birth, if that wasn't clear.

Argh - things here are crazy. That's not the clearest post I've ever written, but I hope you get the idea of what I'm asking!

[drmoms]

I just posted on another twin thread in here... but found this place so Im posting again! ;)

I just found out Im expecting twins (boy/girl) I have 3 other children ages 7, 4 1/2, & almost 3. The first two were c-sections (cringe) and my third was a painless,easy, & successful homebirth. The best experience of my life. I want to have these twins at home so I have been searching online and purchased a book/video on the subject and want to educate myself. I will be coming back here time and again during this pregnancy, because I need support!

Im 20+ weeks (due 4/29/04). Thanks to everyone who has shared their story and success with us moms who are batteling the "your not gunna do twins at home are ya's"!

Randee
:hippie

[Megs Mom]

Welcome, Randee, and good luck!

[pamamidwife]

Originally posted by leakyandsnort
Where can I find midwives who will be willing to even talk to us post-high-risk pregnancy? I'm comfortable with home birth, if that wasn't clear.

Come to Oregon, mama! :) I'd love to see you and meet you in person! :) xxoo

[leakyandsnort]

oh, believe me, it has so crossed my mind! i spent a LOT of time online last night looking for resources - your site included!!

i just posted in my lj - the midwifery today conference is in philly in march - right when i reach term! auuuugh! i'm going to sign up for the 'twin birth' class and just hope i go into labor in the middle of it!!

[Piglet68]

Originally posted by leakyandsnort
i'm going to sign up for the 'twin birth' class and just hope i go into labor in the middle of it!!


:rotflmao

[hotmamacita]

i just posted in my lj - the midwifery today conference is in philly in march - right when i reach term! auuuugh! i'm going to sign up for the 'twin birth' class and just hope i go into labor in the middle of it!! [/B][/QUOTE]

Hmmmm....I know what to pray for. :) You know there are some midwives in PA that service the amish. They may be open to a twin homebirth.

If not, I'll come to the conference in March. :) I'll bring Pamamidwife and my midwife who caught my twins at home, too.

:)

Peace,

[Twins4Me]

I'm chiming in here. I have twins but they were not born at home. I was amazed at the weight of your babies!
My girls were 6.5 weeks early and weighed 6#11ozs and 7#2ozs! Can you imagine if I could have held out 6 more weeks?

Anyway- you ladies are amazing! I have had 4 C-sections and hated them all! After 4 though, I don't think there is much hope for anything else! I know no Doc or midwife will even touch me! ;)

[hotmamacita]

he he...you are thinking of having more? You are amazing.

Yes, you had GREAT birth weights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You would have set a RECORD if you went term.

Welcome to the subforum, btw and to the Boards. I look forward to getting to know you. The twin moms here are GREAT.

[mum2lillie]

I'd like to join this board. Just found out we are having twins less than a week ago. I'm 24 weeks now. I was originally planning a UC for this pregnancy, but I 'm now planning on having a midwife attend. In fact it will be the same midwife that attended my best friend's twin birth a month ago at home. She had 2 healthy boys.

hotmamacita-I'm going to e-mail you about nutrition stuff.

This is all still a shock, but I'm very excited! I had a very good homebirth with my daughter who was 10 pounds and I went 5 days past my date so I"m confident that I'll make it to term and that I'll have healthy babies!

[hotmamacita]

:banana CONGRATS!!!!!!

I found out at 22 weeks. I found a local midwfie at about 29 weeks (and I had one who came in from out of state who consulted me nutritionally from 22 weeks and on then came in for the birth) and I went past term and had biggie babies as you have surely read.

I'd love to help you with what I learned. I'd also love to support you emotionally as well if you need it.

Peace mama and :w to the Boards.

[1Plus2]

Love your dd's name! :love

[Mommy of twins]

Sorry I haven't posted sooner but I had my twins at home. They were my first and it was amazing! I had them at 37wks. and they were born 3 1/2 hours apart! I agree with all the diet stuff (no sugar, lots of protein). Towards the end I drank at least 3 protein shaked a day because I couldn't get much food I was running out of room! The girl's were 5lb. 14 oz. and 6lb. 11oz.

Good luck to everyone!

[applejuice]

My Maternal Grandmother was a fraternal twin born at home in 1905. My Maternal Aunt had twins in a hospital, and one of them died. Being in a hospital does not guarantee you a healthy baby, no matter how much tech they can put on you.

The Dionne Quintuplets were born at home 1in 1934.

I do know of a midwife who went out on a delivery believing that she was going to deliver twins at home and it turned out to be triplets!

The doctor who delivered my first two children at home delivered the healthy girl twins of the wife of my chiropractor successfully. Then the homebirth doctor died. The same woman became pregnant with twins three years later and had a Caesarean Section to "save" her twin boys. One died and the surviving twin boy has cerebral palsy. She homeschooled him and he is now 20 years old.

[hotmamacita]

Originally posted by applejuice

I do know of a midwife who went out on a delivery believing that she was going to deliver twins at home and it turned out to be triplets!

.

I LOVE THOSE STORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and to mommy of twins.....

WOW, that is GREAT! well done mama. :banana

[YoursMine&Ours]

So I couldn't do a home birth. I was extremely disappointed as this would have been my first home birth.

I carried them to 37 weeks exactly, and they were born 02-02-02 via emergency C-section.

Twins are high risk and I would strong discourage home birth, even with an uneventful pregnancy. There are just too many things that can go wrong at the last minute.

Sorry, that's just the nurse side of me speaking from experience.

Good luck!

Angela

[hotmamacita]

I had my twins at home and they were breech and had complications (cords, not breathing, etc).

I had a GREAT midwife who handled things incredibly well. And honestly, I am THANKFUL I had my twins at home. Too many things could have gone awry at the hospital, imho. We made the decision that was best for our family. We did research, we handpicked our birthteam...we even had a perinatologist backing us up....

I am not so sure that my son would be alive if we had gone to a hospital. This is not the place for my reasons why but I'd love to dialogue further with you if you like about my reasons why....




:grouphug

[1Plus2]

Originally posted by YoursMine&Ours
I carried them to 37 weeks exactly, and they were born 02-02-02 via emergency C-section.

Two babies born on the second day of the second month in the year 02. Cool!

[hotmamacita]

I didn't see that your twins were transverse. It was in small print above your post.

How was THAT? Where you extremely uncomfortable the last trimester? I am amazed that you went to 37 weeks with two sideways babies... :) I can't imagine your belly shape. :)

Did you do a belly casting, by any chance?

I understand your decision for a hosptial birth. Transverse was one of the positions that we all agreed would require a C-birth.

1 plus 2 is right....2 babies on the second day of the second month in the year 2002. THAT IS COOL!

So what time were they born? :)

[Elyssia]

yay!! more homebirth twin mommies!
i don't know any IRL
my name is e
i have 4 kids, samantha is 8, sophia is 2
my babies will be one already next month (the 21st)
they were all born at home

the twin story:

i knew it was twins from conception and told my midwife at 5 weeks pregnant that i would be needing her and it was twins (and why i thought so) - she had a little chuckle and said well, that's an interesting theory but it will be a while before we can tell for sure
about midway through the pregnancy, my fundus had grown 2X what was expected at a prenatal
i scheduled an ultrasound b/c it was december and i wanted to find out for sure before the holidays
twins confirmed by US at 20 weeks
i started -groan- trying to look for a doc to do backup, hadn't seen anybody yet at that point
ended up w/ a peri who was great and cool about letting me refuse all tests and stuff, even said to my dh "you have a very smart wife"
i thought we were having a kind of "don't ask, don't tell" thing going on w/ the homebirth issue

pregnancy was uneventful, i got huge, got very VERY swollen in the last couple weeks, it's hard to remember now but i know it was hard
i measured 54 cm at my last prenatal
my babies were both transverse throughout MOST of the pregnancy
sometimes baby A would swing around and be a little more breech-ish
went into labor on easter sunday, 37wks + 6d
my uterus was so extended, i only felt the peaks of contrax so it took a while for me to really pay attention and realize it ws for real, no pain
my midwife came up about 10pm (she lives 1.5 hours away) after i called her and reported bloody show after several hours of regular but hardly noticeable (to me) contrax.
she checked me and i was at 4 cm w/ both babies still transverse
a couple hours later the rest of the team assembled and i was at 8 and still w/ no baby presenting
my midwife REACHED and thought she felt something way up, she thought maybe a leg
it was basically just all the pressure and my water bag that was making me dilate at all
then labor stopped for a couple hours, that was as far as i could get i guess w/o more pressure on my cervix
everybody went off to sleep or do something else (i slept)
there were 4 midwives, my dh, my mom, my friend to take care of the other kids if need be, and another friend to video
after a while, baby A finally decided to get her butt into the birth canal
labor resumed and woke me up
i walked into the kitchen and my water broke SPLATT all over the floor and my mom's feet
(i loved that, w/ my first birth it just leaked and the 2nd one broke over the toilet)
it was the splat heard round the house, everybody came back to attention and i started pushing soon after that - still painless until my vagina actually started stretching
baby A was frank breech (which was NO BIG DEAL and only took 6 minutes to push her out)
and had a really short cord (like my other kids actually) and her placenta was on top w/ a big baby between so they had to cut her cord immediately to even get her far enough away from my body to be able to give her to me
they cut the cord and it -zipped- back inside my vagina, i wish i could have felt that
i held her and said "this is iris" - a name which had not even occurred to me ever before that but suits her
she was so long and thin and beautiful
i stayed on the birthing stool and nursed iris for about an hour before baby B, who was still high and transverse CLUNKED down into position
i cannot describe that feeling, it felt like he literally crashed down onto my pelvic bone, i had an image of dropping a monkey wrench
(on the ultrasound we called them baby A and baby Lunkhead b/c his head was so much bigger)
so he was head first and everybody sighed relief, my 4th baby, after just having one, headfirst, this should be easy, right??
but i was having a really hard time moving him down
i was pushing really hard and he was not going anywhere (heart tones remained good)
i was starting to examine myself, am i REALLY pushing as hard as i can??? i think so but this really SUCKS to be doing this again right now
one of the midwives there took the lead and begin coaching me to push and hold it for a (agonizingly slow) count of ten
and try to do 3 of those on each contrax
i've never been coached to push but that helped and he started moving down
when he started to crown my midwives saw how my vagina was bulging HUGELY (i've seen the video and it is not for the lighthearted) and understood that this was a brow presentation
so he appeared finally, posterior and brow first
my midwife brought me reading material later on brow presentations, guess it is the rarest and hardly ever born vaginally, quite scary actually but we are all fine
we decided later that night to name him thomas, for my dh's grandfather
iris was 6lb and 21" long, thomas was 8lb, 11oz and 21.5" long
they both nursed immediately and had great apgars

i was SOOOOOOOOOOO glad to be home
even w/ a cool doc, i think i would have had a c/sec 5x over
and would have had a lot less confidence in myself w/o the group of women i had there believing in me

now they are big
crawling around and pulling up on everything
and i'm going to go and read more posts on this multiples board
i am so happy to find this board

elyssia

[boycrazy]

Awesome story Elyssia! So empowering.Congratulation on a wonderful birth!

[1Plus2]

I love reading birth stories and your's was incredible, Elyssia! I gave birth to my girls in a hospital and can very clearly remember that feeling between having Lillie (Baby A) and then having to push again for Faith (Baby B). I remember thinking "But I just did this!" LOL!!

[hotmamacita]

:banana :banana
:clap:clap
:twins:

WOO HOO. Party! :champagne. What a GREAT birth story!!!!!

:thumb

[Elyssia]

thanks for your responses
i do love talking about it :)

[YoursMine&Ours]

Originally posted by hotmamacita
I didn't see that your twins were transverse. It was in small print above your post.

How was THAT? Where you extremely uncomfortable the last trimester? I am amazed that you went to 37 weeks with two sideways babies... :) I can't imagine your belly shape. :)

Did you do a belly casting, by any chance?

I understand your decision for a hosptial birth. Transverse was one of the positions that we all agreed would require a C-birth.

1 plus 2 is right....2 babies on the second day of the second month in the year 2002. THAT IS COOL!

So what time were they born? :)

Sorry it took so long to respond. I haven't had much computer time lately.

To answer your questions, they were transverse and wouldn't turn for anything. I'm only 5' 2", so it was extremely uncomfortable the last few months. Kaleb's head was under the right side of my ribs, Alex's head was on the opposite side just above my left hip. They were facing each other at every ultrasound and formed a head-toe, head-toe circle in my abdomen.

I was on bedrest for the last three months (Well, as much bedrest as you can get with 5 other children!..lol)

At birth, Kaleb weighed 7lbs 2 oz and Alex weighed 5lbs 6 ounces.
And, yes, we hit the "Twos" on the time of birth, too. Alex was born at 2:05 pm and Kaleb was born at 2:07pm. LOL EVERYTHING came in "twos" that day!

I didn't do a belly casting, though, and I was very upset about it, too (and still am! :splat ) I did take TONS of pictures, though, and will never forget the experience. Like I said before, I'm 62 inches tall and my belly measured 58 inches around at the biggest point. When the babies were moving and stretching inside, I measured 63".

I went into early labor at 34 weeks and was hospitalized for the weekend given breathine, surfactant, etc. Then sent home on the breathine. I started laboring again on my other son's birthday 1/31, the contractions became regular by 01-01 then the C-section was done 02-02-02.

It was an amazing experience, even though it was a C-section. I would have preferred to have them at home with a good midwife, but with them being transverse, it was just not an option.

I hope I answered everything..lol

What amazing stories you all have! You Mamas are such an inspiration!

Blessings,

Angela

[Mindyleigh]

I'm so EXCITED to find this thread! It hasn't happened yet that I've met any twin moms who birthed at home.

After 40 weeks of gestating (equating to an 80-ish pound pregnancy weight gain!), the twins began their journey out of the womb at 7:30 Sunday morning. The labor progressed quickly, with strong contractions right from the beginning. I walked through our home during this time, groaning and leaning over our birth ball during the contractions. My hubby Alex filled up our birth tub and also tended to Wolfgang, feeding him breakfast and taking care of all the things that happen in a household in the morning. I also called Brenda, our midwife, and Kari, our close friend who we had asked to be at our birth to help out with an extra pair of loving arms.

After an hour and a half of contractions, I headed to the bathroom and knew that one of our babies was descending into the birth canal. Our midwife hadn't arrived yet, which came as no surprise---she was driving in from 3 hours away and the labor was progressing faster than a drive that far possibly can. We felt very calm about that, however, since we had faith in the process of birth to occur normally if left untouched and had planned a UC until meeting her very late in the pregnancy. By 8:55 in the morning, Psalm was born into my arms with his daddy and big brother Wolfie close by. He came out head first and cried just enough to let us know he was okay, but otherwise was very quiet and peaceful as he breathed and adjusted to his new environment.

I clamped Psalm's cord after 15 minutes or so with our only two cord clamps and cut it so that Alex could wrap him up in blankets and take him from me, as I felt our second baby preparing to be born. Kari thankfully arrived between the two births to help with Psalm and to take the pressure off Alex, who was tending to Psalm and Wolfgang and filming the birth all at the same time! I reached in to feel a foot descending, and Zoya was born at 9:22, a footling breech with her feet and legs born first, followed by the rest of her body in less than a minute. Unlike Psalm, she made her presence known with a big show of blood and a lot of robust yelling as I held her and we met her for the first time. We clamped her cord with shoelaces and shortly thereafter birthed the placentas, which had fused into one with two cords emerging from it.

The whole labor lasted 2 1/2 hours. Psalm weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces; Zoya weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

:heartbeat :heartbeat :heartbeat


I know this is getting long...thanks for reading with me this far. :) GREAT FOOD IS VITAL!!! We are a vegan family and believe it is so essential to eliminate refined sugars, toxins, and partially hydrogenated oils from the diet, and to focus on high quality proteins and fats during a twin pregnancy. I ate tons of rice, beans, and good fats like avocados and flax oil. I ate a lot of veggies and greens and paid a small fortune for a wonderful food/protein powder whose name I'm trying to remember...grr. What was it??? I will try to get back with that.

Now, re: homebirth v. hospital birth...you need to give birth where you feel safest. I know I probably wouldn't have been able to make any progress in my labor had I been in a hospital. I was so scared of interventions and surgery, and with her being a footling breech, it would have been a big issue.

Birth so much relies upon an environment of safety. We found one midwife who would help us but she seemed fearful of the process and insisted on other midwives to be with her, as well as a student assistant...that just wasn't what we felt comfortable with. Too many hands in the pot, so to speak. The midwife we asked to be there was extremely trusting in the process and did not even believe in turning breeches, which I felt aligned with. She was right for us. It is such a personal process of finding the right people to support you.

By far, the most empowering part of the process was doing it myself (with God :thumb ) I loved reaching into my vagina and feeling Zoya's foot descending. It took a moment to figure out what it was. And then to catch each of my babies...wow. I'm so thankful we did it the way we did.

[mum2lillie]

I love your story and it's very inspiring. I'm 35 1/2 weeks now so it won't be long for me. I was also planning to UC, but felt more comfortable with extra hands once we figured out we were having twins! I have a wonderful midwife who very much respects my wishes to be hands off and also has no problem with breech. Right now, I'm having a hard time getting through the day and night with all of the discomfort so it's great to hear these inspiring birth stories to help me make it through this tough transition before birth. Thank you for sharing and I can't wait to post my birth story here in a few weeks!

[Elyssia]

thanks for the story mindyleigh!!! so awesome
i remember seeing you before on storknet
(unless there is somebody else with a wolfie)
great job w/ your diet!
i'm a wannabe vegan
and during my pregnancy i was really worried about
getting enough protein w/o eating a bunch of meat
and feeling icky about it
--i ended up doing fine w/ the pregnancy
but did eat more meat and eggs and stuff
than i really wanted to

mum2lillie
hang in there momma
it will be done before you know it
at 35 weeks your babies are doing great
and even if they are born tomorrow
they will be healthy and big enough
just keep them in another week
and they'll officially be full term
soon after they're born
all the water will start leaving your body
you'll be able to breathe again
and be totally occupied w/ figuring out how to nurse them both
it is unbelievable to me
that my babes are going to be 1 shortly

[mum2lillie]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[hotmamacita]

mindyleigh--:hug OH, boy do I LOVE your story.

I have great memories of my son's foot popping out. :)

His sister, older by an hour and a half, 'crowned' and it was THEN that we realized that that was NO head but a bottom. As soon as we realized it...out came a golden stream in between contractions. She was peeing while waiting for the next contraction. :)


I hope our paths cross one day!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mum2lillie---oh, i feel for you. I remember being miserable form that point on. Is there anything you need or want? Will you PM me and I would love to send you a care package.

Peace,
April

[Mindyleigh]

Thank you, sisters. :wave

It's very empowering to spend time with women like you on the web. I hope our paths cross as well.

To pregnant mamas, yes, it is so vital to fill your mind with positive and empowering birth stories, rather than the scare-stories so easy to find. That was my biggest difficulty but greatest reward of the pregnancy. In fact, there was so little information in the mainstream on vaginal twin births that I was only able to find what I needed at the unassisted childbirth websites and this other great site called www.birthlove.com. A simple search for "unassisted childbirth" will prove a great resource.

Best wishes!

[hotmamacita]

:thumb

[gemelos]

:bump:

[4daughters]

another friend, like you, almost died after bleeding excessively because her doctor not only pulled the baby out but later intentionally yanked on the cord ripping it from the placenta in an attempt to get the placenta out quickly so that she could go on her way. it was a huge mess. we were afraid that she was going to die, even one of the nurses said that to her husband and her daughter was taken to NICU because of the doctors premature decision and developed breathing problems as a result. the hosptial later admitted wrong doing and apologized.


I had bled excessively during my first birth, because of the doctor in the hospital, he did the same to me as your friend and after pulling the baby then he pulled and had me push my placenta, ahhh. I kept passing out after that and was a very scary experience. It took me a whole year to recover! I wish I knew about MDC back then --I would have been more informed. YOu guys are the best:thumb

[earcher]

Thanks Gamelos!