I have been on bedrest for 7 weeks now and I am now 32 weeks and have been told that my little twin is not putting on enough weight, I have a planned c-section on Friday the 2nd of october.
I have been on a tour around the nurseries spoken to doctors and nurses but still feel abit anxious about the whole thing it would be nice to hear some stories of mums that have been and are going through it. I have also had steriods once a week to help with their lungs so Im hoping it will help them to breath. Twin 1 is 1200g and Twin 2 is 1900g a big difference in sizes.
Congratulations to getting past 32 weeks, the extra 7 weeks you have gained so far being on Bed rest will have made a HUGE difference to your bubs, as in general terms 1 day in the tummy is worth 3 in NICU.
My DD was born at 33 weeks, she didn't receive the steroids as my waters broke and labour progressed very quickly, no stopping her Her lungs were ok and she only required a bit of o2 for the first 24 hours, we did have weight gain problems that went on for quite a few months, but we worked though it. Only now is she having respiratory problems but we believe that it is unlikely to be connected to her prematurity.
It is a great start that you have been able to receive the steroids as that will give their lungs a real boost, they may still require some assistance, especially Twin 1 due to size, but until they are born know one really knows. 33 weeks is considered "good" gestation for prems, but a lot of other factors can come into it and there can be complications, or bubs may have a reasonable smooth journey.
It is good that you have been through the nurseries and can be a little more prepared for what will happen, it can be a very stressful and emotional time. Are you considering breast feeding? If you are I would highly recommend getting in touch with the ABA for information on expressing and feeding Prems, they will unlikely have a suck reflex for the first couple of weeks so would be tube fed through a NGT (Nasal Gastric Tube), and you will need to express milk for them. This alone can be difficult, I had a lot of trouble but perservered and got through it.
I hope *Det* pops in as she had prem twins and will be able to give you a heap of advice on the differences between have a singleton and twins.
I have PM's you some good links where you can find out further information.
I wish you all the very best as you approach the arrival of your little one's
My DH's cousin & his DW had their twins at 32 weeks. Living in central west NSW there's not as good services, so after trying to stop labour she was sent to Sydney to have them.
I think they were back in the local hospital at about 2 weeks & were home at about 5 weeks. (Would still have been only 37 weeks gestation.
Both were just over the 1500 gram mark. Both did quite well
Goodluck hun. Sending you heaps of strength.
Beema thanks for your story I did wonder about the NGT and yes I am planning to BF I have oganised double breast pump throught the MBA co-ordinator here at the hospital. I hard a time BF my DD so hopefully I have a bit more knowlegde behind me to keep perservering as you did. I guess you just have to take it a day at a time, Im trying to mentally prepare myself for it but dont think you can.
Hope Nikita gets over her respiratory problems soon she looks fantastic.
Bjrose it always good to hear postive stories like that one. I asked my OB how long they will be in the nursery for and said to always aim for their due date but they will most likely be out earlier depending on how well they are doing
Cass_blob thanks for the hug
Im feeling a little nervous as the day comes closer but I know im in good hands I think I am thining about it to much.
Hey there
congrats on the impending birth of your twins
Thanks beema for pointing this thread my way!!
Our twins were born 10 weeks early due to our DS placenta failing and IUGR.
Like you were were lucky enough to get the steroids on board and it made a HUGE difference.
When our twins were born DS had a 10% chance of survival and DD and 20%. Today they are fit, strong and healthy 6 year olds!!
Their birth weights were 1400g and 1800g- so similar to what your bubs will be.
I am not going to go into details of our journey as I dont want to scare you or put negative thoughts into your head- everyones journey is different and you need positive thoughts your way, but I am happy to answer any questions you have openly and honestly- so fire away!!!
My main piece of advice is that you will find that your twins many end up with a few different doctors, depending upon what they need. Please find one doc that can bring all the info together and keep it all into prospective for you- for us it was our twins pead- he was ace. Also dont be afraid to get a second opinion or if you think something isnt right for you or bubs- then say so!! Just b/c they are docs, doesnt mean that they know best all the time for you!!!
Take lots of photos, write things down as you will forget (it can be overwhelming at times) and have someone you and your partner can debrief with- really important!!!
The hossy can provide someone to talk to - or put you onto someone!
Contact your local MBA- they were my saviour!! IF you are having trouble or you need a contact number just let me know what area you are in and I will get a number for you. There is a club finder on their website that may be of help- worth checking out!
Be prepared, but be prepared to go with the flow!!
and most importantly enjoy your babies!!!!!!!!
Please feel free to ask as many questions you have!
hugs and good luck
Hi Azzrenae
A few months ago I helped a woman birth her twins at home. They were only 34 weeks when she gave birth. They did not get the steroids and although it was a little scary at the time everything turned out well. Here is the thread if you want to have a read.
Just wanted to come in and wish you all the best Azzrenae. It will be a rollercoaster of a time ahead and we are here to cheer you and your babies on and listen whenever you need to debrief.
Azzrenae hun, good on you for preparing now. I am sure that will be a big help to you.
It's great that you have organised a breast pump already - have you also spoken to the ob, paed and nursing staff about your desire to breastfeed? It would be great to have a plan in place now before the babies are born. The ABA can give you some great information on bfing premmie babies and they also have a booklet for $5 (less 10% for members) which is really, really helpful.
The main things with establishing bfing are skin to skin contact, and frequent expressing if the babies are unable to feed straight away. The skin to skin contact (also known as kangaroo care) has also been shown to have very positive results for the health and development of premmie babies - so it's certainly something that you might want to do as much as you can of. Your partner can also do this.
Best of luck hun. I will be thinking of you and wishing you all the best.
*det* Thanks alot for your advise, I am a member of MBA but am no sure what they can help me with as yet they did send all my info to the MBA co-ordinator here at the hospital which was great when I came here she came up to say hello. I get the monthly news letter so I might have another read and have a look at the support they offer.
As for the pead I did meet with one but am not sure if he was a baby doctor from the NICU our the twins Pead hmmmm I will have to check thanks for pointing these out.
My plan is to go with the flow which I am very good at but this is very new to me as it is with everyone else who knows what is going to happen. Im sure I will have alot of questions for you soon.
Alan Whaoo 34 weeks and a home birth amazing. Im glad everything went well it nice hearing positive stories like that one thanks for the link I will check it out
Thanks Nelle I may be in here all the time for a debrief.
MantaRay thanks for the info about BF I can't quite get my head around it all only cause I had problem with my DD, I am going to check out the ABA. Do you know when they will let us do kangroo care as they are will be 33 weeks?
Once again thanks alot for all your info I will pop back in before friday as Im sure I will have a heap of question by then.
By now you've probably had your twins, I hope they are doing really well. You did so well to hang on for as long as you did, well done.
A friend of mine had twins at 32 weeks, just over 2 weeks ago. They were born via emergancy c-section after 8 weeks of bedrest and hospital admissions. Their weights were 1000 and 1200 grams, very small for 32 weeks. They only required the NICU for 2-3 days and have been in SCN since. They are also almost completely suck fed!!!
As for BF, I had LOTS of trouble with Brendan (30+1 weeker) and exclusively expressed for 5 months. I was so determined to BF Tristan (34+3 weeker) even when he arrived early it made me even more determined. Both boys fed using a nipple shield in the early days. Tristan was weaned of it by 3 weeks and is now 3.5 months and fully BF! I highly recommend the lactation cookies if you are having issues with supply.
I hope your twins arrived safely and would love to hear how they are doing.
I had a singleton at 33weeks, he was in hospital for 4 weeks and is now 3 1/2yrs old.
kangaroo cuddles are the absolute best and would definatley help your milk supply, it would just depend on how they are doing and weather in nicu or scn to how much cuddles you get! I got my first cuddle with Nixon on day 4 and he was in nicu until day 5, once he was in scn i could hold him lots more
my c-section got cancelled on friday then I had a problem with my liver and started to get really itchy, then my little mans doppler flow wasn't doing so good so I ended up having my c-section on the 6th oct Harper weighing 2160g (4lb12oz) at 9.41pm and Cody weighing 1460g (3lb2oz) at 9.42pm They are both doing really well they didn't need any oxygen and went straight to scn. It was great to hear them screaming their heads off when they came out.
I am still trying to get my milk supply up they are 9 days old now and I was hoping to have it in by now I have lots of kangaroo cuddles with the boys and am trying to breast feed them once or twice a day so hopefully it works.
Congrats Azzrenae, great to hear they're doing so well !!
I'm sure you're probably doing this anyway, but just incase you're not, make sure you pump every 2-3 hours (even thru the night at least until your milk is in) for about 10 mins per side to get your milk supply going, because the 1-2 feeds per day probably wont be enough to get it started. The hospital should be able to lend you a pump.
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Im having twins at 33 weeks need some advice
Her lungs were ok and she only required a bit of o2 for the first 24 hours, we did have weight gain problems that went on for quite a few months, but we worked though it. Only now is she having respiratory problems but we believe that it is unlikely to be connected to her prematurity.
It will be a rollercoaster of a time ahead and we are here to cheer you and your babies on and listen whenever you need to debrief.
but this is very new to me as it is with everyone else who knows what is going to happen. Im sure I will have alot of questions for you soon.
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