new to this.....

[twinmommy1985]

just wanted to introduce myself. my name is savannah, and im 24, almost 25. soon to be single mommy to identical twin boys. its exciting and scary all at the same time. some days i feel ready and other days im not.
ive had a lot of problems with this pregnancy already. in the beginning, i was so sick from the nausea that i had to be hospitalized for 4 days, unable to even keep fluids down. that continued till i was well into my 2nd trimester. thankfully ive grown out of that stage. i had sciatica which i ended up in physical therapy for, and it def helped.
middle of october, i went in for my routine ultrasound, and they measured my cervix. it was only 7mm, when its supposed to be 25-30mm, and funneling. the drs asked me if i was having any contractions, or any loss of fluids, and i wasnt. i felt fine. i actually felt better than i had in a long time. they sent me straight over to labor and delivery, hooked me up to the monitors, and sure enough i was having contractions, i just wasnt feeling them. they gave me indomethacin to stop the contractions and betamethasone for the babies lungs. i figured i would get to go home either that night, or the next day. no such luck...i was there for 2 weeks. one week in the high risk ward, and the next in the regular birth rooms. it was the most intense and frightening thing ive ever gone through. they had me talk to the NICU drs, the peris, all the OBs, and i basically got to know everyone very well. when i was there by myself, i would sit and think about things, and it would make me cry, hoping my boys werent born too early.
im back at home, on bedrest. i can get up to go to the bathroom, and to my appts. i make small meals, and my mom will only let me take a shower if i call her before and after i get out. other than that, i lay on my couch and sit at my computer basically all day. not fun, but im doing everything i can to keep my babies in there as long as possible. i had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago, and they measured them to be 2.4 and 2.9 lbs. still small, but im not a very big frame anyways.
ive made it 3 more weeks out of the hospital, and im aiming for at least 5 more. the drs said they would be happy with 32 weeks, but id rather go longer. im due middle of january, but im not going to make it that far. not with all the complications ive had. but im going to try my best.

just wanted to introduce myself, and say hey to all the other MoMs out there.

<3

[Ombeline]

Hey, Savannah, I wish you the best of luck. Keep them warm and safe in there as long as you can. Can you get a friend to come stay with you or visit frequently so you don't have to cook, or shower when you're alone in the house? Have groceries and take-out delivered?

I'm expecting twins in May (first pregnancy, too) and my sister is due with twins around Christmas. She's been having premature labor off and on + incomp. cervix since very early in the pregnancy and has spent a lot of time in the hospital like you. The doctors were so sure they would be born at 29 weeks at the latest, after steroids and everything--still too small.

But guess what: she's managed to hold on so far and is almost at 34 weeks! I'm just amazed. She's been home for a couple of weeks. Now her babies are almost 5 lbs each and growing fast. In addition to the medication, she told me her secret has been to totally stuff herself with protein and calcium every day, as much as she could handle and more, to make them catch up and grow a lot. And she's being really good about the bed rest thing to keep the weight off her cervix as much as possible. My BIL has done all the cooking and cleaning and left a cooler of food next to her when he's out, and for showers (but not even every day) they put a plastic chair in the tub. She also sent me a book that I found really helpful. I read it while I was on short-term bed rest a few weeks ago. "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy", by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein. Maybe you've got it already but otherwise Amazon delivers and it might keep you busy for a few hours while you're stuck in bed! It's full of good info on preventing/dealing with premature labor and has a chapter on bed rest, on exercises you can do to improve circulation while you're on it, etc. The only thing that I'm not quite following is the calorie count: they tell you to eat 3500 (healthy) calories a day with twins to beef them up in case of prematurity! I'll definitely try to eat more and healthier but that much just seems impossible.

Anyway, I'll be crossing my fingers for you and watching this thread for more news of you and your twins! Take care.

[twinmommy1985]

thanks for your reply!! its good to hear that im not the only one going through this sort of thing. makes me not feel so alone in this journey.

my mom comes and gets me every other day or so, and we get lunch and just keep each other company. she also does all my grocery shopping, and cleaning my house for me. and my best friend comes and hangs out occasionally, although she has a family of her own that she has to take care of as well. understandable. its getting easier the longer im doing it, i guess im just getting more accustomed to it.

congrats on you and your sisters twins!! how exciting!!! =] this will be my parents first grandchildren, so everyone is super excited...but worried too. i have a ton of support from my family and friends, and definitly dont know where i would be without them at this point. ive been reading all the baby stuff i can. i have a ton of twin and even singleton pregnancy books, trying to keep myself occupied and learn at the same time. lots of useful information.

i have another US on friday, and i do believe they will be doing measurments again since its been 3 weeks by then. so hopefully they have gained some wieght, and are maturing good. so far everything has been good. they have stopped measuring my cervix, saying that it irritates it every time they do, not to mention that im at the point now they wouldnt do anything differently if it was shorter. a cerclage is obviously out of question. but the last time they measured it, which was oct 30th, it was 15mm at the shortest and 18mm at the longest. so hopefully its at least that long still. im trying to hold on as long as possible for these babies. i want them to be healthy and happy. and this momma isnt quite ready for their arrival just yet. lol.

good luck to you and your sister, and ill keep everything updated as i go along!!
thanks for your encouragement!!

=]

[Ombeline]

It's wonderful that you have your mom and a best friend to help you. I confess I've been calling my mom and dad just about every night lately just because I suddenly feel like a big baby myself, not ready for all this and for all that can go wrong, and I need reassurance and contact from them more than ever. I've always missed home but now it's even harder to be so far away from them (different continents). Otherwise my husband and I are pretty much alone in the world together and he's having to work really hard to make up for all the stuff I'm suddenly too exhausted to do or have to avoid because it's dangerous, like heavy lifting. I'll leave my job just before Christmas so I hope things will get easier then.

I hope your next u/s will show that your little guys have doubled in size since last time and are growing big, strong lungs! I have my next doctor's appt. on Friday morning, too. My gynecologist doesn't know it's twins yet. She ignored me last time, a couple months ago, when I said I suspected it was because of the high hormone levels. I'm hoping she'll refer me to a different doctor this time, maybe a little more specialized, somebody who actually has a doppler or something in his office? All the other people I know who are having twins back in the US are seeing maternal/fetal health specialists, OBs with a lot of experience with multiples, OB/GYNs at the very least (mine is just in general gynecology). I'm a little anxious after seeing how many times my sister almost lost her babies even though she was in perfect health and she's under such careful medical care.

OK, let me know! I'm sure it will go really well.

[TwinsMom0508]

Hey Savannah- My name is Melissa, I have 22 month old faternal twin boys and a 14 year old daughter. When I was pregnant with the twins, I had really bad morning or what I call ALL DAY sickness. My husband and I did invitro and I got a huge side effect from it as well. Try and do as LITTLE as possible. The last month of my pregnancy I did NOTHING. I delivered 7 hours shy of turning 37 weeks. My boys were 6lbs 9 oz & 6lbs 110z. We are going to try invitro again for a girl or another set of twins. Check out my blog when you get a chance and the best of luck to you. If you have a questions please feel free to ask.

[craftyashley]

Hi Savannah! I have identical twin girls who are now three. Don't stress too much- twin pregnancies are often riddled with complications. Just keep the big picture in mind. Sure, they may stay in the NICU for a period of time, but most that I've heard eventually come home and grow up to be healthy and happy. In fact, I had a ton of problems in pregnancy and was SUPER lucky to make it to 36 weeks. (nothing short of a miracle- I assure you) I was preparing for NICU stays, and they came out small, turns out they had TTTS, but they were perfectly healthy and went home with me after three days.
I totally remember the vacillating from being "ready" for twins and then being so frazzled and not ready that I could cry. Part of it is hormones, the other part is just the sheer unknown. You'll manage. You'll become super organized, you'll thrive. Because that's what us mothers of multiples do! We adapt.
One elderly Chinese lady told me that twins brought great luck and prosperity to a family. It was so true for us! I quit my job and we went down to one income (which was scary- but really, trying to pay for TWO infant daycare spots was expensive) Somehow we did really well and bought our first house 8 mos. after the twins were born! Twins are a blessing in so many ways. You're about to discover such an awesome new world.
Also- if you're on bedrest, read the Elizabeth Lyons books: Ready or Not, here we come! And Ready or Not, There we go (the toddler edition). It really helped me get into the twin organization mindframe! Wishing you lots of luck and health!