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How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 36.5
Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) C-section. Baby A was breech the entire pregnancy so vaginal birth was never really discussed.
Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? Developed pre-eclempsia and the on-call MFM decided it was time for them to come out! C-section 4 hours later.
Sizes of your babies? 7lbs2oz and 6lbs11oz
Any NICU time? No
Was your partner able to cut the cords? No
Did you get to do skin to skin right away? No, I had complications from my C-section (had a hemorrhage and passed out on the table) so it was several hours before I got to meet the babies.
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? No, was on magnesium sulfate for the pre-e, plus meds from the C-section so had to wait 48 hours before could BF. Was still able to have successful BFing relationship, still going strong at 10 months.
Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? They went to the nursery. Was the last night of uninterrupted sleep I've had since they were born, lol

How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 37 weeks exactly
Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) c section. We could have tried for vaginal since baby a was vertex, but Baby B was breech and I was terrified of a double whammy. Plus, my ob supported our decision of C section. I had an awesome recovery, no regrets on my decision
Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? I went into labor one week ahead of my scheduled c section. 38 weeks is the longest i would have been allowed to go
Sizes of your babies? 7 lbs 1 oz and 6 lbs 9 oz
Any NICU time? No
Was your partner able to cut the cords? No, my hospital didn't offer that for c sections. DH was fine with that
Did you get to do skin to skin right away? No, i went to recovery and the babies and Dh went to the nursery. I think that I had some more than normal hemorrhaging so I spent more than 1 hr in recovery
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? No, bc of extended time in recovery. I got to try bf'ing probably 4 hrs after they were born
Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? They were brought up to my room probably 4 hrs after the surgery, which actually worked out okay bc we were both exhausted. I went into labor a Monday evening after we both worked a full day. Boys were born at 2 am tues, so it was kind of like being up for 48 hrs bc we didn't go to sleep sleep til tues night

Any other anecdotes, advice, etc? Thanks! Having twins is such an amazing journey and experience! My boys are 15 months and I still feel amazed at the fact that I am a twin mom. I am so incredibly proud of what my body accomplished growing two healthy babies, even though I was utterly miserable throughout pregnancy (and I had a relatively easy pregnancy w/o complications).

OMG! So excited for you! You're almost there!

How many weeks were you when you gave birth?
36 weeks exactly

Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!)
We were a planned C-section.

Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section?
I had PTL at 28 weeks and had been on indomethacin/bed rest. The contractions were REALLY bad the night before my delivery...I suspect I was in early labor at that point! Either way, I had opted for a C-section. Both babies were head-down, and I was given the choice/encouraged to birth them vaginally. But...I just had a FEELING. It ended up being a good thing! Baby A came out just fine, but Baby B curled into a tight little ball once her brother came out...the doctor said I would have ended up with a C-section, anyway. Gut Mama Instinct

Sizes of your babies?
Baby A was 5lb, 10 oz (was estimated at 5lb), Baby B was 5lb, 5 oz (was estimated at 6.5lb)

Any NICU time?
Nope! Our hospital had an automatic NICU policy for any babies born prior to 36 weeks. I essentially crossed my legs for the majority of that last week...I had early pre-eclampsia and my thyroid had gone to hell, but with daily monitoring and bed rest, my doctor let me go to the 36 week mark so we could (hopefully) avoid the NICU. Norah (Baby B) had some minor troubles transitioning with her breathing and they were threatening to take her to the NICU, but we dodged the bullet.

Was your partner able to cut the cords?
Nope. They didn't even offer it with the C-section.

Did you get to do skin to skin right away?
DH held them up to my face right away, but I didn't get to do skin to skin until we got to our room...about 30-40 minutes. I thought that would bother me, but I was so happy to know they were okay and in DH's arms. As long as I could see them and hold my cheeks against them, it was okay.

Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately?
Yep! I hemorrhaged once I got back into the hospital room. They were literally giving me shots in the thigh and massaging my uterus while I tried to BF. Not the most treasured memory, unfortunately, but I'm glad I got to do it. (We ended up only BF'ing for 3 weeks, so that time was really special.)

Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery?
They roomed with us! It was amazing!

You got this! GL Mama, and let us know how it goes! Can't wait to hear! (PS here's a shot of them in the delivery room...I love the memory of DH holding our babies).
Let us know if you have any questions, now or ever!

I second what @twoofeverything: said about trusting your mama instinct both during labor and deliver, in the NICU if necessary, and after you get home. Mama instincts are totally real.

How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 37 weeks

Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) c section

Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? I was being closely monitored for per-eclampsia. I was in and out of the hospital for extra monotoring four times before finally they said they needed to do the c-section. So I was technically and "emergency c-section" buit I wasn't in labor or anything, I just had high blood pressure and protein was starting to show in my urine. I was was scheduled to have my c--section four days later. Since my kids were sharing a placenta my OB recommended a c-section and I was fine with it.

Sizes of your babies? 5lbs 12 oz, and 6 lbs 8 oz

Any NICU time? nope we went home three days later

Was your partner able to cut the cords? He was able to cut baby B's cord. The first was taken out quickly and taken to a nurses station at the rear of the operating room and DH did not want to walk over there and see the other side of the curtain, but with Baby B they had a little more time to bring him out so they brought him to the side so DH could cut his chord.

Did you get to do skin to skin right away?
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? I am going to answer these two together. No I had some complications. My blood pressure plummeted during the surgery and they had to give me lots of medicine that made me very loopy and I fell asleep. I was able to stay awake until they showed the babies to me but then I was out. I slept in recovery for about 4 hours before I was brought in to my room to see the babies. My husband stayed with them the whole time and they kept him updated about me.

When they brought them to me they were not really hungry, they had some low blood sugar and were given formula but I think it was maybe 2 hours after that (so 6 hours after birth) that we were able to try. They were not very good at it but we gave it a good try. Eventually after about 3 weeks we got the hang of it and then we breastfeed until 1 year but from about 0-6 months they each had a bottle of formula a day. I just didn't have enough to feed both. Once they started eating baby food I was able to cut out the formula.

Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? During the day they were with me all the time. At night I did send them to the nursery so I could fall asleep. They would bring them to me when they wanted to nurse (which was about every 1.5 or 2 hours) and then take them back out when they were done.

Any other anecdotes, advice, etc? You can do this!!! Being a twin mama is awesome! It is so hard and so tiring but soooo worth it. I have just loved watching my little babies grow into little people. They are almost 5 now and it is just amazing. I think my biggest tips would be
1) don't be afraid to ask for help

2) get up and walk around as soon as you can if you have a c-section

3)Don't be too hard on yourself or bummed if you don't get immediate skin to skin or breast feeding. You will bond, they will eat and it will be beautiful no matter when you get to do it. The important thing is healthy mom and healthy babies.

4) take lots of pictures or have someone take lots of pictures. Those early days are such a blur to me and I love having pictures of those first few months to remind me.

How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 38w 4d (barely- it was 1:30am)
Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) Vaginal- Baby A was head down, Baby B was breech. After I pushed out DS, DD was extracted by her feet.
Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? Induced. I actually won a bet with my doctor, who said she had NEVER induced twins. She still owes me $20.
Sizes of your babies? 7lbs 11ozs, 5lbs 3 ozs.
Any NICU time? Nope!
Was your partner able to cut the cords? He would have been able to had he had the desire, but he didn't.
Did you get to do skin to skin right away? Not really. I still had to birth DD after DS was born, and I was laid out on the table in the OR (flat on my back). I didn't feel comfortable holding them on my own- my arms were too weak from grabbing onto my legs and pushing for an hour and a half.
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? Yup. DS latched like a CHAMP, DD had problems. I was able to tandem feed while the nurse helped squeeze colostrum into DD's mouth.
Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? Yup! My hospital has an automatic room in policy. They have a nursery, but it's only available if you request it, and it's on a first come/first serve basis, and they will feed your baby formula. We didn't want them to have formula for as long as I was able to breastfeed, so we didn't take that option.

Have people take pictures when you're in the hospital (and when you get home in the early days) of YOU and the babies. I only have one picture I like of the three of us and it makes me sad.

I didn't like being in the hospital, but some people do! Don't be afraid to DEMAND what works for you- I really wanted my IV port taken out, but no one would do it until I demanded that it happened- in a nice way, of course, but it was along the lines of "I need this to happen now, thank you." The same thing goes for your actual birth- if you are able to get up and walk around, do it- closer to the end, DS's heart rate keep dropping whenever I walked around, so I had to stay put, but they kept trying to keep me in bed even when it wasn't dropping. I think it would have made labor go a heck of a lot faster if I had been able to stand up and walk when I wanted to.

You'll be amazing! It's scary, yeah, but it makes you feel like a super hero:)

Okay, I have to share my c-section photo. I didn't hold them because my body was shaking really hard from the contractions and medicine. I didn't want to drop them!

I absolutely love these photos and stories!!

@twodoghouse: I would love to see your update on this thread!

How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 38 and change
Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) csec
Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? All of the above! On my scheduled csec date, I went into labor! Tried to go on my own, got some pitocin, but my sons heart rate dropped and we think it was the pitocin, so almost had emergency csec, but heart rate went back up again. Doc wanted to just have csec just in case.
Sizes of your babies? Both 6lb5oz
Any NICU time? One day for son, he had a lil pneumothorax.
Was your partner able to cut the cords? No, not sure if he was given the option but he had no desire to do it. He was given the option to w my second son, but he declined.
Did you get to do skin to skin right away? Nope, didn't get to hold my daughter until after I left recovery room.
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? Yes, once I got her.
Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? Both. We thought it best to put them back in nursery at night.

How many weeks were you when you gave birth? 38w3d
Vaginal or c-section? (Or both?!) C-section
Did you go into labor on your own, get induced, scheduled a c-section? It was a scheduled c-sectino, but coincidentally I also started contractions that morning and I'm convinced the babies would have been born that day even it weren't for the scheduled c-section.
Sizes of your babies? 5lb. 10 oz. and 5 lb. 15 oz., both roughly 17"
Any NICU time? nope
Was your partner able to cut the cords? DH cut the cords
Did you get to do skin to skin right away? We did skin to skin in the recovery room, so maybe 30 minutes after birth
Did you get to try breastfeeding immediately? First attempt in the recovery room, so maybe 30 minutes after birth
Were your babies able to room in with you or did they go to the nursery? Stayed in the room with us.

@bluestriped bee:
1. We didn't do maternity pics - I was gigantic the last month, so I definitely wouldn't have wanted to do it then.
2. We just got a pediatrician assigned to us through Kaiser
3. I felt fine at 33 weeks. I worked all the way to 37 weeks.
4. Lots of help! My mom stayed with us for 2 weeks, my husband was home for 6 weeks, my MIL came after my mom left for another week. First visitor was before they were a week old, but I was exhausted and so worried about the babies because they lost a lot of weight at first. They were very delicate. Plus, if you like a lot of twin moms, you're on a very tight breastfeeding/pumping schedule so you don't have too much time before you have to start the breastfeeding/pumping cycle again. I think a visitor at the beginning should stay for no longer than 1 hour.

@twodoghouse: @hilary: Just had a growth ultrasound and baby A (girl) is measuring 3lbs 6 oz and baby boy is measuring 4 lbs 5 oz. I know for a vaginal birth they want both babies to be within 20%. Now, I'm a little worried a vaginal birth is not recommended. I haven't seen the dr yet, but both of you seem to have babies that were 1 lb difference. I know a c-section for both babies was always a possibility so I'll be fine.

@twodoghouse: Ah, that's right. They couldn't find his heart beat. I am hoping that since the dr was expecting both babies to be in the 4lb range that baby girl being slightly smaller will still allow me to proceed with the vaginal birth. My dr usually comes around lunch time so I have to wait another hour to see her.

@hilary: oh, ok. I took a expecting multiples class and they (a nurse) said for vaginal births that like to see both babies head down and with the larger baby come out first. Or if the smaller baby comes out first that they would like the second baby to be within 20% in size.