Hellobee Boards

Hi!!!
My B/G twins are 14 weeks old on Friday. Like you, we're finally finding our groove and actually establishing a few routines. I mostly SAH but work in the evenings after DH comes home. It has been tricky figuring out how to 'go' it alone 11 hours a day, but the three of us are finally getting to know each other, and I've chilled out a LOT, lol.
This is sure an adventure, isn't it?

I am a momma to identical twin boys who are three and a half. They have a big brother who is 4 and a little sister who is one. My twins are going to preschool in the fall so I guess its time to start navigating school systems with twins.

@sunshineandsushi: They absolutely attract attention. When I had our triple stroller I couldn't go anywhere without people commenting.

How is everyone handling feedings? Breastfeeding? Formula? Combination of both?

We are mainly BFing. My boy bf's, gets bottles, and formula at night. He is still a little lazy at the breast which is why we do the combination.

Hi! I have 17 week old fraternal twin boys. They were born 6.5 weeks early. I'm on maternity leave until november.

Ethan currently sleeps from 6:30 until 1 or 2, but liam still likes to wake up every 3 hours or so. Naps seem to be ok as long as we're at home & they tend to go down 1-1.5 hours after waking.

Getting everyone ready & out of the house is still a challenge on my own, but I've managed it a few times.

@Mrs. Blue: So exciting! Good luck, Mama!

My b/g twins are 7.5 months (how did that happen?!?). Thankfully they were born full term and avoided the NICU. I stay home with them, and will probably until they are school age.

They have definitely gotten easier as they get older, and we are really feeling like a quasi-rested, happy family lately. We took our first family mini-break to the beach last month and plan on taking the kids camping a lot this summer.

Sleep? My kids still eat overnight. DD wakes once or twice, but gives us a big long stretch (7-9 hours). DS wakes usually three or four times, anywhere from 2-4 hours apart. He slept 7 hours once in his life, and we had a party, lol. Usually about 12 hours from bedtime to morning wakeup.

Naps? We did the 90 min sleep thing for many months, and they've never really been super coordinated. Lately they've consolidated naps and are down to 3 slightly longer naps, about 3-4 hours total, and are a little more coordinated most days.

What is everyone thinking about family planning? Are you done after your twins or do you want more?

We are content with our two, and fit well in our current house. We would be happy if we had a surprise baby, but wouldn't plan it (or pay for it!).

@sunshineandsushi: hi! there are so many twin boys on HB! i have 10mo g/g twins and i work outside the home.
@wallaroo: my girls were exclusively FF since they were 4 months old. i can't wait to ditch all the bottles after we transition to cow's milk next month!!!
@twoofeverything: my girls finally got on a synchronized nap and bedtime schedule at around 8 months, but they've slept through the night (10-11 hours of uninterrupted sleep) since they were 5 mo. with the time change, they now get up a little before 7am, take two naps at 9:30a and 1:30p and go to bed close to 8pm.
@mrs.blue: congratulations!
@junebuglim: i'm with you - i couldn't handle being alone with the twins when they were little! it's STILL hard for me and they're almost 1!
@merryc @tequiero21: i had help too but i'm not sure if i want to do a FET in the future. DH wants one more, but i'm def not ready.

@Trailmix: my boys were born at 33 weeks 4 days by c section because I had pre e/HELLP. Ethan was 4.8 lbs and Liam was 4.1 lbs. Ethan was in the nicu for 4 weeks and Liam was there for 3. For the most part they were healthy & just needed some extra time to grow in the nicu & learn how to eat.
So far they love their swing & vibrating chair.

@sunshineandsushi: I don't think I would be able to function at work at this point with the boys getting up a few times at night plus liam doesn't like to go to bed until 11 pm. 14 weeks is definitely not enough time off!

@Trailmix: And the movement used to totally freak me out, too. As long as you're feeling something, they're alive We would go through phases of 1-2 weeks where the movement would die off, then they would get really active again. I think it just means they're working hard at growing!

@Twoofeverything How did you recognize symptoms of PTL? That is one of my biggest concerns, that I won't recognize it. As a result, I think that every gas pain or baby bulge is a contraction. I actually have yet to make it between my regular 2-week appointments without an unscheduled sonogram or trip to L and D to get checked out. It's a little insane (I'm a chronic worrier and pregnancy hormones are not helping my anxiety.) I will be thrilled if I make it to 36 weeks and it's great to hear another story where no NICU time was needed!

@Trailmix: I carried my boys to 37 weeks. I had a c section because they shared a placenta so I didn't even try to induce. I did have preeclampsia so they took me in a few days early from my scheduled day. My twins were 6 lbs 8 oz and 5 lbs 12oz. They were never in the NICU.

As for registries I think things that give you a place to put the babies are good. Like swings or bouncy chairs. We also had bumbos and excersaucers for when the were a bit older. I did have a nursing pillow that went around my back and hooked so it always stayed in place. The boppy pillow never worked for me.

@sunshineandsushi: Woohoo! I was curious if any other twin mamas cloth diapered. Our stash is Flips for daytime and BG 4.0s at night....now with hemp inserts. I think we have 24 flip inserts and 8 covers, and 11 BGs right now. It even worked out great for a weekend traveling, but we'd need some more if we want to stay in cloth more than 48 hours without laundry. I usually do laundry every day at home, just because I want to, and it's less to buy for now.

FWIW, Our cloth diaper store said a stash and a half are usually what they recommend for twins (so 36ish) rather than a full double stash, if you want to wash every other day.

@Trailmix: It felt like the start of period cramps. It wasn't anything bad, really...it was similar to those first twinges you get a day or so before your period starts. I combined those twinges with the fact that I *knew* I had overdone it that day (hanging curtains, long walk, lunch out with DH, and a baby shower), and I just had a feeling something was up.
I ended up going to L&D three or four times between 28-36 weeks. They usually gave me a shot of terbutaline, and then I went on nefedepine every six hours. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I did end up getting admitted when I was 32 weeks...I was on hospital bed rest for 4 days while they put me on a magnesium drip to slow the contractions. After that, I was on pretty strict bed rest for the following month at home, (although I did break the rules BIG TIME by cooking Thanksgiving dinner at 35 weeks...don't do that).
Once I got to L&D, they hooked me up to the monitor so I could see each contraction as it happened and match it to the symptoms. From then on, I knew immediately when I needed to go get checked out!
You'll also start getting NSTs at about 32 weeks -- for me, they were scheduled twice a week, so that always put my mind at ease that everything was okay.

@sunshineandsushi: i think it was for any kind! She mentioned it for both bgs and flips. But obv depends on how often you change. Sounds like it would work for you though if you're already getting more than one day out of 24!

Hi all! Happy to see so many MOMs here. I have 10 month old b/g twins, and I delivered them vaginally at 37 weeks. I was terrified of having a C-section, and at 23 weeks, I ended up switching from my OB to a perinatologist that was recommended to me by 3 of my colleagues who delivered twins with him. He had tons of experience delivering twins and higher order multiples, and at our first appointment, he actually said, "I don't see any reason why you'd need a section-" at that point Baby A was head down, but B was breech, and he would perform a breech extraction, if needed. Luckily, Baby A (ds) stayed head down, and B (dd) flipped to head down right before we went into the OR to deliver! We were blessed to have no time in the NICU, and other than being completely uncomfortable, huge, and bloated, I had a good pregnancy. My Dr. put me on leave from work at 26 weeks because I was fatigued, but no bed rest was ordered; however, I decided to take it super easy and I rested most of the day anyhow--I wanted to keep those babies in for as long as possible!

I EBF'd them, which was super challenging at first because it took forever for them to latch, but I was determined to make it work; I finally mastered tandem feeding, and I still bf them in addition to solids 2-3 x/ day. I used the Boppy at first, then switched to the My Brest Friend for twins when they got older and needed more room.

They still wake up at night--ds will wake 1-2/night, while I stopped counting dd's count--we do partial co-sleeping with her: I sleep with her until ds wakes up, then my husband puts her in her crib in our room, while I nurse ds in the guest bedroom. When dd wakes up, my husband goes to the guest bedroom, gets sleeping ds, and puts him in his crib in the nursery while i go back to dd and nurse her in my bed...she wakes every 1.5-2 hrs, while ds will go 5-7 hrs. Yes,it is crazy, but this is the way that everyone can get the most sleep; we are really trying to avoid CIO--I know plenty of parents have success with it, but it is just not something that we're comfortable with right now. They take 2-3 naps that average 45 min-1.5 hours.

Wow! My hat is off to you who cloth diaper! Good for you! We had every intention of cloth diapering, and even bought inserts and covers; when the babies came, we were so overwhelmed that the cloth diapering was the last thing on our minds!

@Trailmix--congrats to you during this exciting time! It is a roller coaster of emotions, but think positively and take care of yourself. Rest, eat well, and drink your water! Its true that you tend to hear more negative birth stories with twins, but as seen by the replies, NICU time is not a given. With respect to registry items, I echo what Mrs. Train wrote about places to put the babies--bouncers, swing; our LO's loved their rock n play rockers and slept really well there too!

@Sunshineandsushi--thanks for starting this post! It's good to have support and validation!

I'm having one of those days where I feel like I am nursing every hour. The babies are not napping well today. It is 10:33am here and they have nursed 3 times each since getting up at 7:30 and napped maybe 30 min in their swing. They also want to be held after nursing and don't want to be put down. We haven't had a day like this in awhile. *sigh* hope the afternoon gets better and I get some longer naps.

How are the rest of you mamas doing?

@WALLAROO: Aww, I hope your day improved!

FWIW, our LO's are going through their 4 month sleep regression. After going through nap training HELL three weeks ago, I gave in today and let them sleep on me/in their swing for their morning nap. It probably wasn't the greatest, but they slept for 2 hours straight, and I got a nap! On days like today, I say anything goes! :=)