General Discussion ~ Twins & More #4

[**Helen**]

Cathie:OMG how exciting nearly already half way there alread. 4cm!!! Hope everything goes well for you.

Kim:Thanks for that news, it has made me feel more confident. Now if those niggles and tightenings would go away I would feel heaps better, but I have a feeling I will have them all the way through.

[ATryingTime]

Cathie - OMG - How on earth are you still working full time? You poor girl, you must be exhausted!!!!, and looking after 3 kids - you need a medal.
Yay for already being 4cms dilated though and at least now you have a deadline. Tuesday will be here before you know it, although I hope you go on your own before then anyway. I will have my for you. Can't wait to hear the good news!

Helen - Glad to hear that you are hanging in there and that your scan results were good, hope your leg is feeling a bit better, how did the second one go?

Kim - Thanks for keeping an eye on us, although by the sounds of it you will need to be keeping both eyes on your two very soon!

I am freaking out a bit, I had an appointment at the antenatal clinic this morning and still have to wait until next Wednesday to meet the OB who we are booked under for delivery (Also the only one who will let you try for a vaginal birth), however had a quick discussion with the guy I saw today and he seems to think that it should be fine, but that I will have to have an epidural. Apparantly even though they are both head down, the second twin can move after the first is born and may need manual extraction - sounds great doesn't it? My problem is I am terrified at the thought of an epidural and to be honest I am more scared of that than the thought of them 'going in' after the second twin. Has anyone birthed both twins vaginally without an epidural?

Well keep well ladies.
Shell

[**Helen**]

Shell-Although I havent given birth to twins, I have had an epidural. I was one of the people who was completely adamant that I would not have one, but am glad I did. They gave it too me in amongst my strong contractions, so I didnt feel a thing.
Have you thought about asking them to see how the labour is progressing before they put one in and if they do, can you request no drugs be put through until absolutely necessary.

2nd needle was fine, no where near as bad. My hips and pelvis though are loosey goosey and causing havoc.

Take care ladies.

[diva det]

hey there
sounds like we are gonna have some twins born soon
Shell- as far as the epidural goes- you would be hard pressed to find a doc to let you VB twins without an epi. However, you can asked for it to be put in place, but not topped up. That way if they need to turn twin 2 or get them out in a hurry, the epi is allready in place and they just have to give more med.

All the people that i know that have had VB twins have had to agree to this. It is quite common for twin 2 to turn after twin 1 has been born as all of a sudden it has all this room to float in. Manually turing twin without medication on board wouldnt be very pleasant!!

Also i have had friends that have birthed 1 twin VB and then the other twin has had to come out via a ceasar. With the epi in place, they just have to top it , otherwise its a full GA.


I know you will be fine, but unfortunately twin births have soo many variables that can come into play, so the docs like to have all bases covered so that they can take decisive action if needed, quickly and with as less pain for mum as well!

good luck and you should have your babes in your arms very soon!!!

odette

[CathieW]

Hi
Well Ihad a show today rang the hospital and they said come in when I start having contraction or when my water brakes.

Shell - My Ob explained to me that I will need an Epi just incase Twin B turns and it's not much fun for mum when they have to go in and turn the baby. If I have to have one I will.

Cathie

[**Helen**]

oh, you have got me all excited to hear some news Cathie. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[hannahfroodoo]

good luck Cathie!!

I was another one in tears everynight at the [rospect of another night of pain and discomfort. it is hard but it's soooo worth it if you can carry your babies to 37+ weeks and avoid scn.
my girls were diamniotic, dichorionic and they are identical. we did a cheek swab dna test to confirm. (for $150 - I don't think they are still recruiting for the tooth emergence study unfortunately)

Shell - I know of a couple of people who had a VB for twins without the epi - and even 1 lady who had to have an internal manipulation of twin 2 and did it without an epi so it is possible.
I was adamant that I wouldn't have an epi. and my OB had reluctantly agreed with my wishes. As it turned out, my babies were born on the weekend so I didn't have my regular OB - the one I did have argued with me over my decision not to have the epi - even said 'it won't be very nice for me if I need to stick my hand into your uterus to get twin 2 out if you haven't had an epi' which made me so angry - WTH?? he's an OB - it's his JOB! I don't care if he doesn't think it's very nice... anyway, I was in tears for a lot of my labour thanks to the whole situation and ended up having the epi in the end because they just wore down my resolve for so long at a very emotionally vulnerable time.
have to say I HATED the epi experience. felt like labour was happening TO me and I had no control. in the end, twin 2 didn't turn and was born all on her own with no complications 8 minutes after her sister. after experiencing an unmedicated birth with my first baby, I would never ever recommend the epi to anyone.
anyway - that was my experience. My point is, if you don't want an epi - hire yourself an independent midwife instead of an ob. or at least hire a doula so you have someone to stick up for you. I wish I had!! it can definitely be done without an epi - regardless of the scare tactics OBs try to employ.

[ATryingTime]

Ohhh Cathie - You are so very close no. You have done a fantastic job baking those babies for so long. I hope you have an amazing birth and are holding your precious babies in no time. Look forward to hearing some great news.

Helen - Hope you are doing well.

Odette - If I have to make a choice between an epi and a GA, I will definately choose the GA. The thought of someone sticking anything anywhere near my spine just FREAKS ME OUT BIG TIME!!!!

Hannah - Thanks so much for your reply. I am so disgusted to hear about the way you were treated during your labour and that someone could make you feel so bad at what should be a wonderful time. I can't believe he had the nerve to say

'it won't be very nice for me if I need to stick my hand into your uterus to get twin 2 out if you haven't had an epi'

OMG! Like it would be any more pleasant for you - besides its your body! - Arggghhhh

It makes me frustrated to think that in this day and age we have less control over the way we want our bodies to birth our babies than we have in the past.
I will be seeing my OB next Wednesday and will be sticking to my guns. I'm not sure what will come of it, but I will just have to wait and see.
There is no way they can give me an epi without my consent, so I guess I have that on my side. I have already warned my husband that there may be pressure put on at the time - his response was "I have to live with you", so I'm guessing he won't cave.

On a brighter note I am officially 34 weeks today

Take care ladies, chat soon

[Kim McManus-Smith]

Hey Cathie, how exciting for you!! Good luck, embrace the moment!
Helen, I was so against an epi. Both twins were head down but I was advised strongly to consider it incase the 2nd twin turned. I was induced and was suffering very strong and very rapid contractions with little dilation happening.Grr. My first 2 bubs were drug free v deliveries but after 12hrs of intense contractions and having my waters broken manually I started to consider it?! I pushed on to 6cm and my ob insisted it best. I did not feel much pain, it was more psycological for me because my contractions were very rapid and severe. At 8cm I caved. Glad I did now because 2nd twin did not move down after 1st twin was born and after much manual assistance she was born a whole 1hr later.

[CathieW]

Hi Girls,

I understand that people are not for an Epi and I've had 3 births with gas, But If I have to have one I will for my sake and for my babies.

Cathie

[Angel Babies 3]

Cathie,
I totally agree with what you just said. I don't think it is a good idea for anyone to go into labour being absolutely adamant that they want something one way or another. I think you have made the right decision. If you need to have one, then do. If not, don't. But keeping an open mind is always best as anything can happen as we all know.

Best of luck,
I know what a wonderful time you have to look forward to - holding those two precious bundles is the best feeling ever.

Debbie

[kristy J]

hello.

how on earth could i have missed this thread.

my name is Kristy i have a 19 month old son named Isaac and 3 month old Faternal Twins named Caleb and Sebastian.

they were born at 34+5 weeks by emergancy c/sect, tho i was going to have a c sect anyway it just wasn't surposed to be that early. they had few small problems but nothing too serious.

i hope to get to know you all soon.

kristy

[**Helen**]

Welcome Kristy, wow what a trooper. You must be so busy with 3 under 2. Glad to hear that their problems werent too serious when born. Did you get to take them home with you?

Cathie-Take care hun, thinking of you, sending heaps of labour vibes your way.

[kristy J]

Hi Helen, thanks na we had to leave them in NICU for 2 weeks 2 days. i had a placenter rupture and Calebs lungs filled with blood. sebi was breach so avoided most of it. they weighed 2.4 & 2.5kg. now at 3 months they wigh about 5kg each.

Isaac is pritty good with them and is a good baby himself (well most of the time) so its not too bad with 3 under 20 months.

Cathie nice to see you again good luck and take care.

[CathieW]

Hi Girls,
I'm still here,

Hi Kristy how are you going? Sorry I haven't been in touch still working at preschool. Very busy.

Cathie

[**Helen**]

Kristy-OMG how scary for you. They were good sizes, however still so tiny I bet. Glad to hear that the boys are all good.

Cathie:Sending you more labour vibes, not long now!

Am sick of peeing and having to roll over every 20mins during the night, I swear I am getting no sleep. Only 8more weeks.

[**Helen**]

CathieW-Just incase I forget to come on here later, all the best for your induction tomorrow. I hope it all goes smoothly for you. I cant wait to hear the news that you have both bundles safely in your arms.

[SamOake]

I have been to see my Obstetrician this morning for my 14 week check up. He is really happy with how the pregnancy is going. I am currently measuring at 18 weeks and I got to hear both heartbeats as well. So even tho I want to murder my other two children, all is going well.

Good luck Cathie for the induction, hope all goes really well xx