Hellobee Boards Topic: Twin Mamas Questions

Hellobee Boards Topic: Twin Mamas Questions https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:06:07 +0000 birdieputt on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-276233 Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:27:13 +0000 birdieputt 276233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ -i wore a bella band in the beginning of my twin pregnancy, then i went on a my first shopping trip for maternity clothes when i was about 3 months along. i bought several pairs of designer maternity skinny jeans which i regretted at first (because i only wore them for a short time before they got too uncomfortable)... but now i'm happy i have them post-partum. i felt like i had to constantly buy new maternity clothes. luckily i found a lot of stuff on sale at H&M (mama), Pea, and Gap. towards the end of your pregnancy, though, you will be so big that the only thing you'll want to wear are maternity leggings and stretchy tops/dresses. i wouldn't worry too much about outgrowing your maternity clothes because you can wear them after delivery. you'll feel about 6 months pregnant when you come home from the hospital. -i thought dr. luke's book was good, but also a bit alarmist. check with your OB on what he or she recommends in terms of diet/exercise. but i will say that it's extremely important to drink lots of water throughout your pregnancy. always have a water bottle with you and drink drink drink! i think all my water guzzling helped me to go full-term. -before delivery i attended parents of multiples classes at my local hospital which were helpful too. Tidybee on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-273066 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:22:09 +0000 Tidybee 273066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Not a twin mom, but am just seeing this now!!! Congrats and so excited for you!! My coworker is pregnant with twins, due 6 weeks after me, and she is having a very easy comfortable pregnancy. She's also smaller than I was at every point of the pregnancy so far, but I won't hold that against her ;) purrpletulips on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-273062 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:19:06 +0000 purrpletulips 273062@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I've only had singleton pregnancies but will suggest checking out goodwill and consignment stores for maternity clothes (if you can). I have very few pieces that I was able to wear throughout my entire pregnancy. I would suggest getting a mix of underbelly and full panel pants. My first pregnancy I loved the underbelly pants so I bought those with my second (opposite seasons so had to buy some pieces the second time) but found that they weren't as comfortable but ended up loving the full panel. I also found underbelly more comfortable in the beginning since my "bump" wasn't as defined. twinmama on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272954 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 02:01:08 +0000 twinmama 272954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I started wearing matclothes around 12 weeks, though probably didnt really needthe shirts yet. I started our in size M and by the end was barely fitting size XXL tops. My M and L bortoms still fit. I just grew faster rather than really huge though ( despite what I just wrote), so my advice is to buy what you need as early or late as you need it, but dont buy a bunch of tops in one size. Keep to maybe like three? Since you'll have to buy more sizes overall than the avg pg lady. junebuglim on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272930 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 23:46:43 +0000 junebuglim 272930@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Blue: congrats again! :) 1. I was in maternity pants at week 9 or 10. I tried buying normal jeans a few sizes up but they looked ridiculous on me and didnt fit! I was surprised at how comfy the maternity pants were. My regular tops lasted a while, but I was definitely in them by week 14 or 15. 2. I bought a few full paneled jeans from motherhood maternity and both short/long paneled tights from old navy that I wore throughout my pregnancy. My mom picked up some regular tops that were long and roomy that I was able to wear to the end also. I went from size xs-xl in maternity tops and among all my tops found myself in gap maternity tank tops with their basic vneck tshirt often. 3. My OB limited me to walking for exercise while she had recommended yoga for my friend with a singleton pregnancy. She also was concerned about any air travel after 2nd trimester. She was on the conservative side though which worked fine for me 4. When I finally started reading about twins I liked this book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Twins-Shelly-Vaziri-Flais/dp/1581103441/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346128645&sr=1-3&keywords=twin+multiples" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Twins-Shelly-Vaziri-Flais/dp/1581103441/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346128645&sr=1-3&keywords=twin+multiples</a> I also took a class on expectant parents of multiples at our hospital hoping it would be helpful, but the instructor was overly focused on twin individuation issues which I wasn't too concerned about since mine are boy/girl. I was expecting more info on twin care so was rather disappointed! Nevertheless, I'd still recommend such a class if offered in your area because of the potential resources/information it could provide. I also have Weissbluth's twin sleep book regarding sleep for them. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Twins/dp/0345497791/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346128645&sr=1-4&keywords=twin+multiples" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Twins/dp/0345497791/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346128645&sr=1-4&keywords=twin+multiples</a> Mrs. Train on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272924 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 23:12:57 +0000 Mrs. Train 272924@https://boards.hellobee.com/ 1. I was in maternity at 10 weeks 2. I would make sure that the shirts you buy are on the longer side. The ones that I had that were shorter styles did not last because they would not cover the belly, then everyone could see my stretchy maternity pants. I also used the full panel maternity pants. Some of those got too tight the last few weeks but other than that they were good. I also bought regular maxi dresses. They weren't maternity but I got the ones that weren't banded anywhere but the empire waist line and they all fit fine through my pregnancy and after. 3. I have had both twins and a single. Basically everything that most woman talk about in pregnancy is intensified with twins. The nausea, fatigue, discomfort, water retention were all worse. I don't say it to scare you I am just being honest. It is more stress on your body to build an carry two babies so twin pregnancies are also more likely to have GD or preclampsia things like that. I did develop high blood pressure and that was why they delivered my twins. With my single I never had any of those problems. 4. This was the book I read parts of but to be honest since I had an infant already I wasn't reading much. It did have a section on shared placentas and TTTS so i remember reading that. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Twins-Triplets-More-Book/dp/1440532907/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346127100&sr=1-16&keywords=twin+multiples" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Twins-Triplets-More-Book/dp/1440532907/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346127100&sr=1-16&keywords=twin+multiples</a> Mrs Green Grass on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272771 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 19:09:14 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 272771@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was carrying multiples (quads, then trips, now single) so I have a very mixed pregnancy! 1. I was in maternity pants by 9 weeks. When I went shopping at A Pea in the Pod, the ladies said you should buy your normal size since all the jeans I tried were stretchy. They also said to stick your fist all the way down your pant leg. If it fits...you should be fine. I'm 20 weeks now and I think all of my full panel pants will fit all the way...we'll see. 3. So many of my friends with singles work out a lot. I wasn't able to do much at all, it just didn't feel right. So I think the biggest thing is to listen to your body. If you're hungry, eat, etc. Good luck! sunshineandsushi on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272691 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:56:44 +0000 sunshineandsushi 272691@https://boards.hellobee.com/ 1. By week 9 I was using a bella band on my regular pants and wearing maternity tops. But, I was already tighter in my reg clothes when I got pregnant. 2. I'm only 18 weeks now, so I'm not sure if they'll last the whole way through, but I've been trying to shop in little sprees instead of a ton at once. And now that I have a considerable bump, I'm trying on clothes with the strap on belly over my existing belly to see how it'll fit as I get bigger. 3. Drink more water and eat more! And rest whenever you get a chance. Definitely don't try to push yourself. After I got into my second trimester, I finally got my energy back, which I seriously thought was gone forever. My doctor told me that exhaustion and fatigue are worse with twins, and although I don't have a singleton pregnancy to compare it to, I totally believe him! 4. Just relying on my doctor and also the Babycenter Got twins board and multiples due date group on there. Mrs. Pen on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272674 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:41:11 +0000 Mrs. Pen 272674@https://boards.hellobee.com/ okay okay now I'm the stalker lol I'm so excited for you... I know I'm not a multiples mama but I wanted to give some feedback. littlehunny suggested a sleeping pillow and I agree 100%!!! I ended up commandeering all of my husband's pillows and he was left with nothing lol and that was only one baby. Sleep was SO SO SO hard with a big belly but by the time I was toward the end and not sleeping at all, spending $50+ on a pregnancy pillow seemed silly. I would say for you it's an investment. You need to value your sleep during this precious time!! About clothes: Motherhood's pregnancy clothes fit me to the end, as did a few Gap maternity stuff. I actually sized up in gap maternity and I'm glad I did. They fit to the end, and were nice as looser shirts post-partum. Also, I know wallaroo suggested full panel pants... but I would actually say no. I liked full panel for the first half of my pregnancy, but once I was so big, I hated the feeling of the panel on my stomach and wished I had gotten the underbelly! I highly suggest the underbelly for the latter half. Also - one regret I have is not investing in a nice pair of maternity jeans. I thought the price was crazy, but I was wearing maternity jeans for 6 weeks afterwards too because nothing fit. I would have liked some perfect-fitting paige, or citizens! that's all I think!! :) WALLAROO on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272639 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:04:37 +0000 WALLAROO 272639@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Blue: Congrats again! 1. I tried to stick to my pre-pregnancy clothes for as long as possible with a bella band but I just started to get too uncomfortable. I switched to all maternity pants probably in week 14 and it was amazing. 2. I like Motherhood Maternity. They were extremely helpful. They suggested getting full panel pants so as you grow it will stretch with you. They also recommended buying the shirts that have rouching on the sides as that will grow with you as well. I'm only 16 weeks along so that is my only experience so far. 3. This is my first pregnancy so I'm not sure how different it is. I just know that we have to gain more weight than those pregnant with singletons, we stop air travel sooner, and we see our doctor's more frequently. 4. I recommend Got Twins? on Babycenter's website and also they have a group similar to HB's due date twins but for multiples. littlehunny on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272593 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:37:23 +0000 littlehunny 272593@https://boards.hellobee.com/ 1. I ended up in maternity clothes by 11 weeks. It was just so much more comfortable than using the bellyband. I figured if I was going to spend the money on clothes I may as well get a lot of use out of them! :) 2. I'm only 23 weeks so I can't help too much on this one. Although a lot of the clothes I bought seem to have extra stretchy waistbands and seem to be fine so far! 3. I loved to sleep on my front and it was super difficult to switch to my side. My belly got in the way pretty quick and after I bought a body pillow sleeping was much easier! I got this one: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sealy-Maternity-Nursing-Pillow-Cappuccino/dp/B00499DRZI" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Sealy-Maternity-Nursing-Pillow-Cappuccino/dp/B00499DRZI</a> I was told to take extra folic acid in the first trimester (my midwife recommended 5000mcg/5mg, but check with your doctor) 4. Sorry I don't have any info for you on this one! I mostly get info from my midwife and OB. I haven't found a site or a book that I'm always going to for info. Mrs. Blue on "Twin Mamas Questions" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-mamas-questions#post-272542 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:18:27 +0000 Mrs. Blue 272542@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Okay, ladies, now that the cat's out of the bag, I have soNy questions! First, I want to thank you all for the advice you've already given in the anon post and the blog. It is really comforting to me that there are women who have been where I am and can help me through the multiples maze! Here are my garage of questions: 1. How early did you have to switch to maternity clothes? My clothes have been getting snug, but I thought it was way too early to even think about switching. 2. Along the lines of No. 1, any tips to make your maternity clothes last the whole pregnancy? I'm afraid if I start buying then soon to fit me in the next few months that I'll outgrow then by the later months. 3. How is a twin pregnancy different than a singleton? What should I be doing differently or doing more or less of? 4. What books or online forums have you found to be the best for information on both twin pregnancies and raising twins? I bought the couple books our local B&N had, which was the one by Dr. Luke and one that was put out by Le Leche League, I think. I've located a MOM group that I'm also going to get in contact with. Thank you so much!