Twin pregnancy MUST reads!

Right after I found out that I was expecting twins, I bought and read the following two books and I would recommend both of them to anybody expecting twins!

Twins and multiple births – The essential parenting guide from pregnancy to adulthood by Dr. Carol Cooper

The bible! I have lost count of the number of times I have actually picked up this book so far and I am sure I will use it many more times during the years to come! Written by Dr. Carol Cooper, a mother of twins herself, in association with TAMBA this is the must read guide from pregnancy onwards.

Double Trouble – Emma Mahony

A quick, easy and fun to read book covering all the basics about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and the first few month. Really good one to accidently leave on the loo as its thin enough to catch daddys attention

Week 34 twin pregnancy

What a week its been, I have the biggest feet I have actually ever seen, I actually cut my widest pair of shoes in order to be able to squeeze my elephant feet in plus I also am cutting the top of my socks. I can hardly walk and I spend as much time as possible in my bed, the couch or the bath tub. My husband has become my personal slave, which I am actually really enjoying! I am also abusing my 3 year old son to pick up anything I accidently drop (I blame the numb fingers) plus he is now perfectly trained in taking my socks and shoes off. But fair enough, I am 34 weeks pregnant with twins!!! They should give me a gold medal, bring me flowers every day and bow when I walk past

The scan didnt go that well, I thought it did until the twin consultant popped his head in, looked at the growth discordance of 38% and decided to bring the c-section forwards by a week… I really didnt see that coming!  Twin 1 is now 3lbs 2ozs (1425g) with a PI of 1.21; twin 2 is 5lbs 1ozs (2299g) with a PI of 0.95

So the new birth day is going to be 16th of March – I feel robbed by a week… I still have so much to sort out, boxes of clothes that need to be sorted, unfinished little jobs on the PC, still no music on my iphone, need to go to dentist and a million other things which of course I could have done in another week (who am I kidding?)

Next week I will be having two scans to check amniotic fluids and PI & CTG, one on Monday and one on Friday, plus I will be having a steroid injection on Friday and will be prepped for the section.Its all happening now… how surreal. But it feels right, I think my body has reached its limits and as the little girls growth has slowed down and they will both be at a good gestation, I am not worried. If anything I am excited!! I dont think you actually really believe you are going to have twins until you see them!

I cant wait to meet my two little girls! I am aware that its very likely for at least one of them to be going into NICU or SCBU so I have really been concentrating on gathering as much info as possible on breatfeeding prem babies, one book I found particularly helpful, it was kindly posted to my by Barbare the leader of la leche group Okehampton, a mother of twins herself:

“Mothering Multiples – Breastfeeding & Caring for twins or more” by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada
This book is great, just what I need now, very practical advice on how to successfully breatfeed when one or both twins are in special care and not ready to be breastfed yet.

Extreme Motherhood – The triplet diaries was such a fun read, makes you appreciate expecting twins rather than triplets

Week 33 twin pregnancy

Yeah, past the magical 32 week line! But its not all fun… I am soooo heavy, I can hardly get myself up from bed or the couch, plus I have a nasty cold and cough and my little boy has got it too! We both had a few daytime sleeps and a few rough nights together, mostly he sleeps in my husbands bed now.. I moved into our guestroom about a month ago as we were both not getting any sleep at all! Swelling is getting worse, went to see the midwife who checked urin and bloodpressure which is all good. Still no splints and my hands are now constantly swollen and the fingertips are numb. Scan on Friday went ok but the PI is up again for twin 1 and I need to come in for another scan in 5 days. After the scan we went into town to buy some early baby clothes, what a mistake to make, I just cant do this anymore, I creeped along the highstreet at minimum possible speed, my husband couldnt believe that I was beeing serious about having to walk so slow… it must have looked rediculous! Did buy some tiny little clothes though and a few other things. After an hour in town I felt like I had just conquered Mount Everest – twice Was absolutely shattered afterwards. Its couch and bathtub from now on, the girls love it when I chill out, they get really active, and its nice and reassuring to feel them! Phoned the surgery and the midwife about the splints, she forgot to do anything about it! I can do a self assessment and would get them in 3 weeks or wait to see the physio, next available appointment in 6 weeks – hahahaha!

Week 32 twin pregnancy

This week is term break and my 3 year old is home all day long and wants action, this was a tough week even though it was really lovely to spend so much time with him before the girls arrive! Feeling quite energetic this week, I think it all depends on the position the babies are in and they are being kind to me this week I took my son to the local twin club, I havent really told him much about twins yet, just that they are called twins if they share mummys bump and that he had my whole bump to himself and thats why he is not a twin. He didnt mention anything about lots of them looking exactly the same, he had a really good play with a couple of twin girls and loved all the double buggies, he is a fan of twin club now Fridays scan was a proper, long scan to check the growth of both girls, the scans are getting more and more uncomfortable now as its so difficult to lie on my back, but my consultant is just such an excellent sonographer (compared to all others who had a go at scanning before) that the whole thing is ok, painless and swift, even though not rushed! Twin 1 is 1183g and the PI is 1,17, twin 2 is 1608g and the PI is 1,19, so all is back to “normal” for now, growth difference 26% but PIs fine. Thats good news! Roll on 32 weeks! Next scan in a week to check fluids and cords.

Week 31 twin pregnancy

I am taking it real easy and eating like crazy,it worked around 18 weeks why shouldnt it do the trick now!? I have cancelled all social activities apart from taking my son to the local toddler group. If anyone wants to meet up with us they can come to our house and bring takeaway food The carpal tunnel syndrome I am suffering from is getting worse, I have asked for splints but nobody ever go back to me… my hands are so swollen, I look like a 80 year old bob the builder! My feet are also swollen and so are my ankles, but my blood pressure is fine and no protein in the urin, so no signs of pre-eclampsia, which is a relief.  Scan on Friday to check fluids and cords went very well, Twin 1´s PI has come down and they can definately stay put for another week. Next scan in a week. I am approaching the magical 32 weeks now, my consultant said, once you´ve gone past 32 weeks you´ve done really well and the babies have excellent chances. I have met and read about lots of twins now that were born even way before 32 weeks and are doing really well a few years down the line, also the small ones, but its nice to feel like I have actually “done well” to make it this far with monochorionic twins twin 1 cant make up her mind, one week she´s head up, next head down – its not like there´s a lot of space left for 180 degree turns but if thats what she wants to do, fine by me, I am glad when I can feel them both moving!

Week 30 twin pregnancy

The last few weeks have been tough, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, I struggle to sleep, the growing bump is quite painful and I can really tell that the time has come to put my feet up. Its lovely feeling my little girls move so much even though they keep me awake when I go to bed I am so looking forward to meeting them. On Thursday I suddenly had the feeling that I wasnt going to make it till 36 weeks, just a funny thought in my head… the following day I had a scan and the small girl has hardly gained any weight during the last two weeks, she´s only put on 100g, compared to my other girl having gained 500g. The PI is very high again, the growth difference is now 37% , small girl is around 950g and twin 2 is 1590 g, thats still so tiny… after the scan I started to have cramps, was stuck in the restrooms for a good 10min sat on the floor waiting for the cramps to pass. Luckily a nurse came in and helped my up. The cramps continued for another 90 min, it was scary. Midwife told me to take paracetamol and rest. In the night I started to have a lot of discharge, thick and white, I phoned the hospital and my midwife and they say not to worry but to phone again if the cramps return. Guess I need to take it real easy today and eat and rest lots. I hope we will make it to 36 weeks… next scan in a week and then we will know more.

Week 28 twin pregnancy

I have been feeling quite tired and exhausted, after having my blood checked my GP prescribed iron tablets, 600mg per day, def did the job as I feel so much better. Went to the local twin club and it was like diving into a different world, all the mums there certainly had their hands full…  met a lovely mum of twin girls and I have been texting her everytime I have a concern or a question etc. Had a scan on Friday and all looked well, growth discordance has gone up slightly but PI was within range and babies are looking good. Afterwards I went into town to buy tiny baby clothes but my plans were shattered by massive braxton hicks contractions, spent about 15 minutes at H&M sat on a Tshirt display unable to move… not nice. Went home and took it real easy. Need to slow down and finally stop working, unfortunately I still have soooo much work to do!  Next scan and parent craft class in 2 weeks.

Week 26 twin pregnancy

Friday was scan day! And its the best news so far: Growth discordance down to 17% !!! Thats amazing! Twin 1 now 1lb 7ozs (651g) and PI of 1.4 , twin 2 is 1lb 12ozs (785g) and PI of 1 – we are over the moon!!! Everything else like liquer volume, cervical length etc. totally normal! I have been thinking a lot about the method of delivery and all the worries of the last weeks have led my husband and myself to the decision to have them delivered by c-section as this apparently poses a much lower risk to the twins. So thats what we´ll do and we actually booked it in with the hospital for week 36 – so 10 more weeks to go! And I sure I will be absolutely ready to pop by then! Bump is so big now that I can no longer see my feet, my hubby helps me with taking off my boots and he helps me to get out the bath tub! Sleeping not going very well at night.. cant get comfy anymore. Both girls kicking a lot, luckily twin 1 is now breech so less pressure on the downstairs department which feels very heavyly bruised. Need to put my legs up more often now!  Next scan in 2 weeks time. Very excited about the birth and hope that the next 10 weeks wont be too tough!

Week 25 twin pregnancy

My sister and her family came to visit this week which was lovely! It was my sons birthday and my hubby had lots of time off which was also great! My bump is really expanding now, I think I am nearly the size that I was when I was 39 weeks pregnant with my son. I have had some problems with taking deep breaths, I need to relax for a few minutes and then its ok again. One other nasty little pregnancy complaint this week is heartburn… never had it before and will do everything to avoid it from now on! No more jalfrezies for me, had one this week and was up all night with really bad heartburn – not joking! From now on its smaller and more frequent meals and no more spicy food!

Week 24 twin pregnancy – miracles and nightmares before xmas

Its christmas week and I am having a scan on xmas eve, but not with the twin consultant but with the normal scan team. Went in the morning planning to finish some xmas shopping in the afternoon, that didnt quite work out as I fainted during the scan. Rather than having my upper body propped up a bit, the trainee sonographer made me lie flat on my back and whilst she was scanning she was pressing my bump so hard that I actually had to ask her to be more gentle on a few occassions, I was just hoping for her to finish soon but it felt like years and then I started feeling so sick that I asked to take a break and sit up for a while and asked if I could just go to the ladies. the trainee sonographer just gave me a paper bowl and told me that I could be sick in the bowl… I couldnt believe it and told her that I´d rather do that on my own in the restrooms. Her supervisor interrupted and told her to get a wheelchair for me and held my should whilst I was sitting on the bed and then suddenly I started feeling hot and cold and fainted. She held me and said: you dont need to be sick, you are fainting! So they wheeled me next door to see a midwife, the stu**** trainee was driving the wheelchair like a nutter, forwards, back and way to fast… midwife placed me on my side on a bed and tried to check my blood pressure, after various attempts she got a reading of 90 above 58 and thats when I was already starting to feel better. I rested for half an hour and then had to go back to finish the scan… Midwife said that lying on my back had cut down the blood flow and made sure the rest of the scan was performed in a bareable position, the nightmare before christmas! But now the good part: Its got to be a miracle but twin 1 has actually managed to catch up! She is now 1lb (447g) and twin 2 is 1lb 4ozs (573g) and the PI is also ok. This has got to be the best xmas present ever! Both girls are head down and yes I can tell! I am constantly on my to the loo, I walk like a penguin and I feel like a whale