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What am I getting myself into?

Hello everyone.

I had my 12 week scan yesterday and found out that i'm carrying twins! the shock is wearing off & i am excited but daunted! I also have a daughter who is 21 months now, will be 2years & 3 months when the twins are due (24th Oct)

I was hoping that you may be able to offer me some advice to help prepare for having twins!

I think it was the tamra (?) website I looked at yesterday that said you can put twins side by side in the cot to begin with? This would really help while they are in our room - anyone done this?

Any books I can read?

How early am I likely to be?!! (I went 10 days overdue with my dd before being induced)

Is it worth joining a twin club?

Feeding - I bf my dd for 15 months & was planning to do so with no.2. Now there is a no.2 & 3 i can't see me solely bf'ing them as i have my dd to give attention to. Any advice?

We'll need a new car - contemplating the vw touran as can trade in our golf . . . any suggestions bearing inmind I'll have 3 car seats?

I'm sure I'll have more Q's!!

Thank you

lisa

Replies

  • Hi Lisa, congratulations!!!!! i did have a huge smile on my face as i read your blog as it took me back to my 8 week scan when they gave me the same news - shock would be an understatement. I'm now 22+4 and am just excited now but a little daunted all the same. these are my first (and last) so i have nothing to compare it to - not sure if that is good or bad....

    anyway, its TAMBA that are the twins experts. I did join them but mainly to get the discounts from stores (most offer 10% if you are a member). however, i use this discussion forum more than the TAMBA one.

    they send interesting leaflets and magazines every few months but nothing that you probably wouldn't pick up on here.

    some experts will suggest that you put both babies in the same moses basket and cots until they outgrow them. HOwever, we've decided not to do that as other experts recommend that by doing this, you will have another problem on your hands when you try to separate them. also, you need to consider if one sleeps when the other one is awake etc. I'm therefore borrowing two moses baskets and am hoping they will go into their own cots from a few months old.

    twin books are few and far between. I hunted high and low. I have however read from cover to cover the Gina Ford, contended twins book and am definitely going to do it or a very similar version of. I know some people are against Gina Ford but I'm a very routined person and everyone i know who's had twins has said routine is the key. its worth a read even if you don't stick to it.

    re delivery date, my Obstetrician and Midwife have advised that they will leave them in as long as they can. I wrongly assumed that they'd be delivered early but this isn't the case. i'd therefore plan for 40 weeks but be ready from 34.

    i am going to attempt to breastfeed both of mine as it can be done, however, i've been told not to beat myself up if i don't have enough milk for all feeds and have to give bottles in the evening. also means hubby can do them and get more involved. its worth a go.

    I'm in the process of ordering a new car but only need 2 car seats but the new Renault Scenic has tonnes of space and you can get 3 seats in the back.

    have a look at www.twins-store.co.uk. I've had loads of stuff from here (including pushchair) and if you join TAMBA, you get 10% off. i had twin play mat also from here.

    Hope the above covers some of your questions but if you have any more, please please get in touch. i know how daunting the whole thing can be when there is 2 involved!

    Nic
  • OMG this is like reading my own story! lol
    I am 22 ish weeks preg with twins & we too were totally shocked to find out we were expecting twins at my 12wk scan. We also have a dd who has just turned 2.
    I do want to try & bf but am also very worried that it will be almost imposible if i'm constantly feeding/not sleeping much & trying to entertain my daughter at the same time. I think my plan is just to do my best with bf until hubby goes back to work & take it from there. Who knows maybe it will go well & we will have some sort of routine by then??? (or maybe not!)
    I am also hoping to put the twins in one cot while they are in our room but obviously i can't say if it'll work or not yet.
    I too have the car problem...we have a VW Jetta which is basically a Golf with a big boot at the mo & there is no way on earth that 3 car seats will fit (we have tried!). Hubby is also looking at getting the Touran instead, he is a big VW fan & they have always been very reliable for us so i'm ok with that although i am dreading driving something so big! I will just have to get used to the idea though since we will soon be a family of 5!!! and a normal sized car is just not an option.
    Sorry i'm not much help really as i'm in the same boat as you but the ladies on here have been great at answering all of my questions so i'm sure you will get some useful responses.
    Oh, as for books i have the one by Dr Carol Cooper (twins & multiple births). I have found it quite interesting bearing in mind i know nothing about twins!
    Good luck xx
  • I love posts like this. Brings back so many memories! lol!

    I have identical twin boys who are now 6 months old (OMG!) They are hard work but the most amazing fun and not only are you looking out for their own individual milestones, like you would a single baby, but also things such as recognising and playing with each other. I have found these more exciting!

    I have a Scenic and, while I only have the 2 carseats, there is a very big middle seat that I fit comfortably into and would def fit another car seat. I love it.

    With regards to delivery, this would depend on whether they are identical or not. Identical twins share a placenta, which loses effectiveness at approximately 36 weeks (apparantly), and the risk of TTTS increases (where one twin receives more nutrients than the other). Therefore, many drs, although not all, like to deliver by 36 weeks, and many by section, although again, not all. I had my boys at 36 + 2 by planned section, we were in hospital for 10 days and they have had no problems due to this. However, non-identical twins do not share a placenta and therefore many drs are happy to let the mother go into labour naturally and give birth naturally providing there are no complications.

    My boys were in separate cots in SCBU but, after 5 days they came to me on the ward and I found they slept much better together to begin with. They shared a moses basket for approx a week as they were just too big! They then went into separate moses baskets but just werent happy so we put them in the same cot in our room. They stayed this way until they started waking eachother in the night. Then they went into their own cots, although side by side, in their own room. This was at 15 weeks.

    I bf for 7 weeks. It was very hard, and I later found out that this was because im dairy intollerant, so wasnt taking enough nutrients to support bf. I am glad I decided to ff after this time as the boys have had many problems (they are allergic to milk) and it was better for me, and them, to find out earlier rather than later so we could do something about it.

    I joined TAMBA, although I agree with bennettnic that I spend more time on here. But the discounts are good. I only joined a twin group since they have been born as we set up our own one!

    Books - I read the Baby Whisperer but find that its much easier and less stressful to follow the boys own routine, and they had one fairly quickly. I also read a couple of books about twins, but none of them really prepared me until the boys were born! lol!

    Congratulations. Twins really are a fantastic blessing. I was very negative throughout my pregnancy as I really didnt want twins (not my boys, just twins in general) and it hasnt been easy but I wouldnt change them for the world now!

    HTH and feel free to ask anything

    Gemma, Ryan and Alfie 27 + 2
  • Hi,

    Cant really add much to the other posts, I bfed my id twins for 8 months but they were my first. I went on to have 2 other children very quickly and ended up with 4 under 3years old and i promise, the idea of it is worse than the reality, its amazing how it all slot in.

    take care

  • Hi Lisa,
    Double congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    i like yourself had all the same questions and worries when we found out we were expecting twins, my son will only be 17 months when these two arrive and like yourself i'm wondering how i'm gonna cope, everyone on here assures me that you do, hard work but so worth it!!!!

    I breastfed my son for 7 months (and got pregnant the month after lol), i plan on breastfeeding whilst in hospital and will see how it goes when i get home, very aware that my son will be toddling everywhere ( caught him drinking out of the dogs bowl today) so not sure how realistic it will be to be pinned to the sofa feeding, will wait and see!!!!!!!!

    I have joined tamba and found it quite useful especially for the discounts they also have a selection of childrens books for your little one about the arrival of twins, my son will really still be to young for these but may be helpful for your daughter.

    I also plan on putting them in the same cot but do have 2 moses baskets in case this doesn't work.

    We are in the process of buying a citroen c8 its in our price range and seems to have enough room for all of us including my teenage son although im not sure how much were gonna see him when these two arrive!!

    It also might be worth speaking to your health visitor she is going to get hold of a couple of books for me and she is also gonna put me in touch with another Mum in my area who has just had twins. She also thinks i may be able to get some help from a volunteer group that supports families, the volunteers have had to have either had or worked with children previously and they will come and help for between 2-3 hours at a time, they help with household chores, feeding babies etc not sure what is available in your area but it might be worth an ask!!

    Anyway hope this is some help
    Lenniex





  • Thanks everyone for your replies, it helps just to know I'm not on my own going through this. I found this sire so valuable when I had my dd and am already finding it fantastic again.

    Great to know about the side-by-side sleeping. My dd was only in her moses basket for a week (born 8lb 14oz) & I can't imagine fitting 2 babies in there!

    My twins are definitely non-identical and the sonographer (sp?) was confident that they will have their own placentas which she was really positive about.
  • Hi Loopy Loo,
    Can't answer most of your questions as in the same position as you, i'm 15+2 today with twins!! On the car front, we too are looking for a new car, we were looking for one anyway so the timing is perfect. Anyway, one of the things we've had to consider is that we have our 10 yr old son, my MIL lives around the corner and my mother lives abroad, so when she comes to stay she can be here for a few weeks. If we have a day out anywhere it's always likely that one of them will be with us (luckily OH and i get on fab with our MIL's) so we're having to look for a 7 seater car!! There really aren't that many on the market, but you may have to bear this in mind, or it could mean taking additional cars if one extra person wanted to go somewhere with you?? Not a problem to many, but thought it would be worth mentioning.
    Also, on the cot subject, we are going to put the babies into one cot in our bedroom too, however we're going to buy a cot seperator and sleep the babies at either end of the cot (hopefully). This may help with problems when seperating them later on??
    Congratulations on your pregnancy xxx
  • Dotty Jackie - we are thinking about the vw touran as it's a 7 seater. We already have a vw golf on a payment scheme which isn't up for renewal till next Feb (ish) but think we should be able to trade in back in with vw. We'll prob then get more for it too. Good point about getting other people in the car though!

    Hadn't thought about a cot desperate, just relieved that we only have to find space in our room for one cot! We've been offered a 2nd moses basket that we can use if they won't both fit on one though not sure if it's a good idea to separate them & then try to put them back together again? Where are you getting your cot separator from?
  • Just to add, I didnt use a cot separator as they slept side by side till they were 15 weeks and were put in separate cots in their own room.
  • Hey congrats....
    this takes me back lol! I Have ID girls who are 16months (OMG) i slept them side by side but i did have problems separating them and oly managed when they were over 12 month not ideal! But they love each other to bits i couldnt breastfeed them and they have done fine on aptimil and then solids! The next thing to think of is pushchairs i didnt have to do the car thing as i only have 2 but i am TTC no.3 now so looking to get s bigger car lol! I was pregnant with twins again but i lost them at 12 weeks! image But im still trying now! Twins are hard work and the shock is rediculously bad but its an elite club and amazing! xxx
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