PLEASE can i join you???
Hi,
I'm normally in the due in August forum but think i could use some advice from you ladies too...
I had my 12wk scan today & to our amazment we are having twins! I believe they are non identical as they have seperate sacs?? I have a dd who is almost 2 and thought i knew it all about pregnancy but have now realised i know NOTHING about having twins lol.
I don't even know where to start with the questions!!
Am i much more high risk or should i not worry too much as at 12wks all is well? Now i've found out i'm so scared of something going wrong.
Well i won't bombard you all with questions just yet, just wanted to say hi really.
I'm normally in the due in August forum but think i could use some advice from you ladies too...
I had my 12wk scan today & to our amazment we are having twins! I believe they are non identical as they have seperate sacs?? I have a dd who is almost 2 and thought i knew it all about pregnancy but have now realised i know NOTHING about having twins lol.
I don't even know where to start with the questions!!
Am i much more high risk or should i not worry too much as at 12wks all is well? Now i've found out i'm so scared of something going wrong.
Well i won't bombard you all with questions just yet, just wanted to say hi really.
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Replies
Congratulations!!!!
i have 19 month old twins and a four year old daughter. mine are a boy and a girl. its much more scary having twins isn't it! bit very exciting!
xxx
I have 4 month old identical boys.
My boys had separate sacs, but one placenta. Its the shared placenta that suggests id or non id. Did they tell you what type of pg you are? DCDA are non id (DC - Dichorionic - 2 placentas DA - Diamniotic - 2 sacs), MCDA (This was me - MonoChorionic - 1 placenta DiAmnitotic - 2 sacs (well, separated by a membrane) or MCMA which is the most risky kind.
DCDA are fairly straight forward - like aving 2 pregnancies but at the same time. There are risks but they are minimal. You will still be monitored regularly (I think they scan every 4 weeks from 16 weeks??) but they dont worry too much about pregnancy length etc
MCDA - I was scanned every 3 weeks from 16 weeks and every 2 weeks from 26 weeks. It was also recommended that I deliver by 37 weeks, and by section. This is not NECESSARY but it is recommended.
MCMA - You are scanned pretty much weekly by the end due to risks like cords being tangled as babies arent separated. PinkTwinnies is have MCMA twins and will deliver at 34 weeks (in 2 weeks time I believe!)
Other than that, risks depend on the type of twins. The reason the shared placenta is more risky as there is a chance of an illness called TTTS which can be fatal to one or both twins - but this isnt common and can be easily checked for and kept an eye on.
Any questions feel free to ask. Twins are a blessing, but they are bloody hard work! lol!
Gemma, Ryan and Alfie 17 + 2
sarah
Gemmiebaby - thanks for that info. I really wished i had asked loads more questions but i was just so shocked and clueless i didn't know what to ask. From what i remember they were definately in seperate sacs but when i asked about the placenta she pointed it out but i only saw one????? Not sure if there was only one or if she only pointed one out if you know what i mean?
I suppose i'm gonna have to wait till i see mw at 16wks to find out now. Aarrrgh!!!
I'm sure i'm gonna be on here a lot in the next few months lol.
xx
My pregnancy was pretty straight forward although I had threatened early labour at 27 weeks... I was induced at 38 weeks and had two girls who are now 7.5mths old.
Of course twin pregnancies are more risky than single ones but we had benefits cos of that - like extra scans to see our little ones growing and extra attention when you go into hospital with any niggles haha!
Feel free to ask loads of questions! We all did!
xx
Congratulations and welcome!
I am mum to 9 month old ID twin girls (MCDA like Gemmiebaby's boys). I didn't have an entirely straightforward pregnancy but won't bore (or scare) you with the details. Suffice to say that my girls were born a little bit early but completely healthy and are doing great
Ask as much as you like, we're all here to help and we're a friendly (if a little frazzled at times) bunch!
xxx
Donna
xxx
So the silly questions begin...
How early do most people usually end up giving birth?
Is it likely you will get a c-section or will they try to persuade you to have a vaginal birth? I had a vaginal birth with dd which was fine but i can't imagine giving birth to TWO!!!
Did/does anyone here bf their twins? I had planned on doing it but am a little affraid of bf'ing two babies.
Thanks again ladies, great to know you are here.
Hope you are all well. xx
i have decided on expressing for my two baby girls when they arrive also because they wil be in hospital for a while due to them being early... also as the hospital knew i woud be delivering early i had o have steriod injections to ature their lungs ready for birth... does it say on your scan report what sort of twins you are having?? i find it so exciting speaking to twin mummes/ twin mummies to be
xxx
gatecrashing as the auntie of pinktwinnies girls ...good luck to you lmt xxxxxx
xxx
Full term for non-ID twins is 38 weeks and for ID twins it's 37 weeks. No matter how your pregnancy progresses, it's unlikely your consultant will allow you go past these dates without inducing/giving you a c-section but I know that if all is well and the twins are still growing, it can happen. I had my girls at 32+3 as Lily wasn't growing as well as she should. They were born small but healthy and spent 5 weeks in SCBU growing and learning to feed before they came home.
Delivery method depends again on the type of twins, their position and how your pregnancy progresses. Mostly you'll be offered a c-section if you are having ID twins as the risk of the shared placenta rupturing during the delivery of twin 1 could risk twin 2 - therefore a c-section is safer. A c-section is also usually offered if one or both twins are breach. If all is well and you are having non-ID twins then you could have a natural birth (snowangel can tell you more)
I expressed for the girls while they were in SCBU and breastfed them for their last week in hospital and first few weeks at home. I struggled as they were small/lazy feeders and had reflux so I expressed until they were 3 months old and then switched to formula. it is definitely possible to bf twins but it really depends on how strong they are when they are born, how well they can latch and whether you can master tandem feeding.
Definitely not silly questions!
I have 10 week old non identical boy/girl twins. One twin was breech but I was told I could deliver naturally and would be induced at 38 weeks. They had different ideas though and I went into labour at 36+5. Ended in an em c-section with all going well.
they were quite small but spent no time in SCBU and were home within the week. It is a busy and crazy time with newborn twins but none of us would be without them x
They were in SCBU for 9 days and came home with me on day 10. They had to learn to feed but that was it. They were 5lb 5.5oz and 5lb 5oz. I breastfed them with a weekly bottle of EBM until they were 7 weeks but I couldnt get them latched on together as they kept falling off so I was forever feeding and was exhauted so, by 8 weeks they were ff.
Dont worry about asking questions. Its the best way to learn. Are you on fb? Many of us are friends and have a group you could join?
My non id girls are just gone 1 and I had a 2 year age gap between them and my eldest daughter.
Twin 2 was breech right till 34 week scan but depending on which consultant I seen (dontsee the same one here in Ireland) I still had the option of a natural or c section birth and I did dilemma!!! Decision was made more difficult when Twin 2 went head down at 34 weeks and still head down at 36 weeks. However, I opted for a elective section due to the experience and worry of an emergency section with my eldest daughter - they were born at 38+5 weeks and a healthy 6lb 2 and 6lb 8 (and somehow twin 2 had manged to turn breech again in last week god only knows how!!) but were in a incubator for 24 hours as body temp was low.
Keep firing the questions and please join our FB group and add us as friends fi you are on facebook
Congrats again xx
My non id girls are just gone 1 and I had a 2 year age gap between them and my eldest daughter.
Twin 2 was breech right till 34 week scan but depending on which consultant I seen (dontsee the same one here in Ireland) I still had the option of a natural or c section birth and I did dilemma!!! Decision was made more difficult when Twin 2 went head down at 34 weeks and still head down at 36 weeks. However, I opted for a elective section due to the experience and worry of an emergency section with my eldest daughter - they were born at 38+5 weeks and a healthy 6lb 2 and 6lb 8 (and somehow twin 2 had manged to turn breech again in last week god only knows how!!) but were in a incubator for 24 hours as body temp was low.
Keep firing the questions and please join our FB group and add us as friends fi you are on facebook
Congrats again xx
I have ID twin boys and tried for a vbirth but ended up with em sec due to pre eclampsia i went into natural labour at 34+4 weeks and delieved at 35 weeks exactly, we were in hospital for 2 weeks.
Its def possible to bfeed twin, i fed mine for 8 months but they were my first.
will try and help with any questions
sarah
We have 7 week old non-identical twins boy/girl.
I guess until u know what type of twin PG u are having wont know what type of birth u will have the option for.
Twin PGs are obviously more risky than a singletone and you are monitored more closely and unfortunalty are bound to have more PG ailments and the risk of prem labour is higher- i went into labour at 24 weeks but they managed to stop it.
In regards to delivering vaginally i did and if you have done it previously and it was a "good" labour they will encourage it but it will depend on the position of twin1 and if they are head down,not so much twin 2 as they can shift them round once twin 1 is out. If you look under my other topics my birth story is there i delivered both twins vaginally at 37+6 and twin 2 was breach.
Good luck with ur PG i hope its trouble free.
Lilac* jack & Poppy 7 weeks
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