General Discussion ~ Twins & More #5

[Traveller]

I tried to tandem feed, but found it really made things harder. Maybe because I had breastfed before but I really needed a free hand to help latch each baby on so I found it impossible. Switching to feeding one after the other saved our breastfeeding relationship and also meant I enjoyed each feed more as I got one on one time with each baby.

When your babies are born you will quickly work out if you can do it, but if not don't worry about switched to one at a time feeds as it is still entirely possible (I fed to 22 months)

[Kezzabird]

Way to go Traveller with regards to bf twins for 22 months! I too struggled with the tandem feeding, my girls were very small, and needed help getting a good attachment, so a free hand was always needed. Maybe it would have worked out if they were bigger, but I'll never know now. They also took ages to feed from me like an hour a feed, so I would be sitting down for 2 hours feeding one after the other, plus expressing in between, it was exhausting. I had to think of Alex who was 5 at the time and at Kinder and had needs too. It just wasn't working for me, so I did it for as long as my partner was home with me, to help out (3 weeks) and then had to go with formula, I expressed until my milk dried up and gave it to them in a bottle. I was basically on my own once Duncan went back to work, as I have no family around to help out, so it was really hard on me for those early months. I know plenty of women who have successfully tandem breast fed, so just go with the flow and don't stress too much if things don't go to plan.

I didn't use cloth nappies straight away, I used disposables until they were around 3 months old I think. The cost of keeping them in nappies was huge, with one income, we realised that we had to cut some costs. So I looked into clothies, got some, tried them out for a month and couldn't believe how much money we were saving, so I bought some more a little at a time, trying out a few of different types until I found one that I was happy with, and then bought a whole load of the ones I liked. Unless you are a clothy pro, there is no way you would be able to keep up with a new born (or two) and cope with washing nappies on top of the normal washing duties. It's better to get used to having your babies and concentrate on a good routine before thinking about using them.

By the way a Pinky Ponk is some very odd balloon thing in a childrens show called "In the night garden" the whole program is seriously freaky, but the girls love it.

I think I didn't feel my girls move until around 18-20 weeks too, definite movements anyway. I did feel something before that, but it could have been wind!! I'm sure everything is fine, it's good that you are off the meds now.

[Brunette]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I will play it by ear, then, and see how I go. I seriously hope I can breastfeed because I really want to, but I suppose we'll have to see. My boobs are huge (well, for me they are!) and sore all the time, so I had better be able to breastfeed with them!

Kezza, I think that's some sound advice about concentrating on the babies, using disposables and then going to cloths. Why did you express in between feeds? For storage reasons? Must have been hard when your partner went back to work and having no family nearby. Although my mum has talked for years of wanting grandkids, I think she thinks it's going to be a social outing/occasion when she comes over, as she wants to bring my SIL as well. I'm like, no, just you!

BD, Thanks for the tip on expressing milk. I was thinking of buying a double breast pump, but now will wait till after hospital to buy one. Also, I have looked at the local multiple birth association but the closest one to me is ages away. Still, I might have another look, because renting a tandem BF pillow rather than buying sounds like a great idea.

Traveller, I hear you about needing a free hand for attachment purposes and bonding with each baby. I just worry I'll be exhausted feeding one after the other that I'm trying to get it all done at once.

[Traveller]

Traveller, I hear you about needing a free hand for attachment purposes and bonding with each baby. I just worry I'll be exhausted feeding one after the other that I'm trying to get it all done at once.

pre twins that was my concern too, but I found it was such a struggle to feed both at once that it took twice as long. So it worked out I spent the same amount of time feeding when doing one after the other. But all babies are different and I know many who take to tandem feeding from the offset. Just don't exclude one after the other feeding if you find it tough doing it tandem, even if you only stop tandem feeding until you and they get the hang of it.

[sunshine 11]

HI Ladies,
I popped in a few weeks ago as my numbers were super high - but we only saw one splodge on the screen today with a heartbeat so looks like not twins but crazy high HCG's!
Best Wishes to you all
xxx

[Kezzabird]

Ahhh that's lovely thanks for letting us know Lairdoz and congrats on the splodge! :-) Good luck with the pregnancy and all the best. x

Brunette I had to try and get my supply up, so it was recommended that I express in between feeds to boost my milk. As these will be your first babies and you'll have your mum over to help, you will have plenty of time to sit on the couch and feed your babies. I'm sure you'll be just fine, just go with the flow, you know if it doesn't work out it isn't the end of the world. I know when I had my son, I had my heart set on bf, but unfortunately I was unable to and got myself all worked up and ended up with pnd. This time around, I was much more relaxed and didn't set my heart on anything - I just concentrated on a good routine and getting them through the night. My son hasn't come off any worse for being bottle fed, he is perfectly healthy and is hardly ever sick.

By the way Traveller I like your quote you have on your signature, it's so true. I just read your birth story, WOW it is awesome, I am jealous that you were able to move around and go into a birth pool. I had to lay on the bed strapped to the monitor, all I wanted to do during labour was take a hot shower or ly in the bath. Maybe one day I'll write up my birth story too.

[azzrenae]

Hi everyone
I have just brought a web cam so my family can see the boys and DD its great DD loves it she know who she is speaking to now.

Brunette I BF for 2-3 months and tried tandum feeding I found it easier when my Dh was with me to help once we got going it was great but once they popped off you have to try and pop it back in but I did found it easier with a twin feeding pillow. The hospital can help you out with everything I think I paid about $75 to higher a double BF pump you have to buy all the little bits and pieces that was included in the price. If you join the MBA they sometime have a few BF pillows at the hospital that people have given to them after they have finished with it and they either let you have it or higher it out to you. I also agree with kezza just relax and if it happens it happens.There is so many ways you can BF twins tandem, one at a time or one BF and the other express milk or formula you do what works best for you, have you signed up for your classes yet?
have you read any twin books?

lairdoz thanks for letting us know it must of been amazing to see your little splodge

Traveller whaooooo 22 months BF fantastic

Kezza have you done a test trail on pinky ponk yet

BD I see you are from the gold coast how is the hospital up there? my SIL had her baby there yesterday she was 9 days overdue, she was losing her mind as anyone would she was booked in today to be induced but bub had other ideas

boys are doing well Harper had a clingy day today yesterday it was Cody they seem to alternate days does anyone else found that.
Hope you all are doing well x

[kayla_b]

Hi all,

Just wanted to pop back in now that we've had our twins... Was a while ago that I posted, in fact I think it might have even been when we first found out we we're having twins, which was at 13 weeks.

On the 16th May our twins made their appearance via emergency c-section (after I had a suspected amniotic embolism, followed by major blood loss (4 litres!!) and several days in intensive care - but that can be saved for my birth story...) and it's hard to believe they are already 7 weeks old! They were born at 36 weeks and weighed 5lb 9oz and 5lb 12oz.

I am currently breastfeeding DS as he is a strong feeder, but I am expressing and giving DD her feeds from a bottle as she has had attachment issues from day 1 and it gets too frustrating for both of us to have to keep re-attaching her every 5 seconds!

We also have a two and a half year old DS so life is pretty busy, but I feel like I am coping really well. DH has been wonderful and helps out heaps, even after going back to work - plus we have both families local so we're pretty lucky.

Look forward to keeping in touch with you all!! Chat soon x

[Kezzabird]

Congratulations Kayla! That is wonderful news, your twins were good sizes, their birth weight was more than my two born at 37 weeks. Sounds like you're doing a fantastic job too. It never ceases to amaze me how I get so excited about hearing the birth of another set of twins, even from people I've never met

Azz, no I haven't done a trial run yet, I've just made some ginger bread, the dough is chilling in the fridge as we speak (or as I type). I'm doing ginger bread Tomliboos I don't think there will be a trial run, it's gonna be sink or swim, they take too long to do and I just don't have time to be farting about in the kitchen fashioning cakes into Pinky Ponks, so one it is!

And yes I do find that the girls take it in turns to be clingy, thank goodness, it would be a nightmare if they both decided to be clingy at the same time! I have also found that one is a mummy's girl and won't go to strangers, that is very odd, since they have both had the same experiences etc etc. It just goes to show you that no two kids are the same and parents aren't always the reason why kids are the way they are. (if that makes sense) Ok on that note of confusion I shall go and make myself a cup of tea, whilst the dough chills for a bit longer

[azzrenae]

kayla_b great to hear your news fantastic sizes. How is you DS going with your bubs im sorry if I missed it but what did you have? I had a 2 year old when I had my boys and she coped really well always wanted to cuddle and kiss them but now they are crawling around and touching her toys she does like it very much.

You go kezza we have all our fingers and toes crossed for you on their big day. whaooo can't believe they are 1 soon

[sarahrach]

Hi ladies - thought I'd say hi, I posted a few weeks back in the twins forum but thought I'd introduce myself here. We have identicals cooking which all going well will join us in late November / early December. Babes will be joining us via c-section (which was essentially the only choice other than travelling ages to Monash) so I'm working on preparing myself for a different birth than originally expected, but hopefully one with a good outcome!

I'm in the process of joining my local MBA and trying to get things organised before I get too massive :-)

[Kezzabird]

Hi Sarah, congratulations on your twin pregnancy, I hope it all goes swimmingly for you. There are a few of us here, but as you can imagine we are all really quite busy with our twinnies, but we do pop in every now and then I also have identical twins they just turned one on Friday, the time has gone so quickly it's unbelievable!

The celebrations went really well and the cake turned out pretty good, considering I'm no expert an all that. I didn't bother with the ginger bread Tomliboos, but did normal gingerbread biscuits and guess what? I forgot to put them out at the party!!! LOL Oh well that means there were more for me, and my god they were scrummy
The girls have come on in leaps and bounds the last week or so, they are now pulling themselves up to standing position, Jennifer has started to say some words and can clap her hands and wave bye bye on demand. And forget commando crawling they are now getting up on all fours and crawling properly and are faster than the speed of light! LOL they are so funny right now, they make me laugh all the time. I have started to take them to some mums groups now that their nap time is a bit later in the morning, they love it, and I love it too, I get to speak to adults....YEAH!!!!!

I hope everyone else to doing ok, much love to everyone.
xxxx

[kayla_b]

Thanks for the welcomes all.

Kezzabird - happy birthday to the girls. Glad the celebrations all went well. Sounds like they're really progressing too - how wonderful, you sound so happy.

Azzrenae - DS is generally pretty good with the twins, he adores them and always wants to kiss / cuddle - but sometimes he's too rough or is just in a silly mood and when i tell him off he'll often take his frustration out on them. We're also struggling to get him to bed at night, he stays awake for hours and plays up a fair bit before eventually falling asleep, not sure if it's just a way to try and get some attention... We had a boy and a girl this time, I was soo sooo soooo happy to get a girl as well, lol - wasn't sure how i'd handle 3 boys under 3.

Welcome Sarah, I hope you have a smooth pregnancy, look forward to sharing the journey with you!

I can't believe the twins are 2 months already, I can see i'll be typing about their 1st birthdays before I know it. They had their hip ultrasounds yesterday and DD now needs an x-ray, they suspect she may have hip dysplasia. I hope not but at least it's treatable if so. Has anyone had experience with this at all?

Well mum has taken DS for a couple of hours and twins are sleeping so I should probably go and do some washing or something. Or maybe even have a sleep!!

Chat soon xx

[Kezzabird]

Kayla, my girls didn't have hip displaysia, but I know a little girl that did. She had to have a plaster cast for a while for her hips, then she had a plastic thing - sorry don't really know what it's called that she had to wear 23 hours a day to splay her legs, but could take it off for baths etc, then she only had to wear it at night for a while, I couldn't tell you how long each of these stages were though. But would you believe this little girl managed to walk with this plastic gadget on her, totally amazing.

Jennifer how ever was born with a foot condition, commonly known as Club Foot. She had to have a similar thing, only plaster cast on her leg from her foot to over her knee for 6 weeks, then she got put into what is called a Boots n Bar, which is a little pair or boots bolted to a metal bar to keep her foot in the correct position for 6 months 23 hours a day. Now she just has to wear the boots n bar at night time. I think that is a very similar time frame to the hip thingy (sorry I wish I knew what it is called) But anyway what ever treatment DD will be ok afterwards, it takes a lot to get your head around the fact that your precious baby has to be plastered up and not to mention the stares you get in public, it's all a bit upsetting, but it's all for the best.

[azzrenae]

Kezza happy to hear your party went well how funny you forgot your tomliboo's you did that on purpose so you could have them hmmmmm girls sound like they are ready to get going watch out they will be running before you know it.

kayla is DS still having avo naps? My DD would stay up late too I spoke to one of the mums at playgroup and she said she might be growing out of her avo naps so I would let her have her avo sleep every 2 days or when she would have playgroup and swimming because she was stuffed when we got home and it worked a treat she is in bed by 8.00pm every night now. She does go longer with out her avo sleeps now only because she is nearly 3. She was 2 and a half when I started that.
Is DS potty trained?

Sarah Welcome and congrats can't wait to hear all about your pg journey I to have Identical boys. Are they monoamnionic or diamnionic. Mine were Diamnionic but shearing a placenta.

Cody is crawling all over the house and Harper is moving a round on his tummy not quite the commando but at least he is moving around a bit he does gets up on his knees.
well best be off Cody sounds like he needs my attention

[Baby Dreamtime]

Hi lovely twin mummies,
Excuse my typing and any typos, I have almost polished off a bottle of champers and am on the iPad, so that is my excuse. I have been officially weaned for almost a week now. It all kind of went really quick and as I was planning on stopping at six months anyway, I stopped a feed when I thought I didn't have enough. So I had my last bf last Sat, dh took some beautiful pics, I had the girls undressed and have some lovely 'last feed' shots. But am now suffering from engorgement and hoping my boobs realized soon they are meant to stop producing lol.

Azz and Kezza ao exciting to hear your bubs are on the move. What fun! Aria has just rolled over for the first time and we are super excited for her, though she doesn't know how to roll back and just cry instead on her tummy when she has had enough. Kezza hope the girls 1st Bday was wonderful.

Sarahrach, I have to say my c section was amazing, the girls were great and I hand skin to skin and bf within 30 mins. I was so totally afraid it would be so clinical, but it was amazing. I guess I am saying you really can have the best of both. So a sheduled c section can be almost as good.

Kayla, glad all is going well

My girls are great, they are constantly surprising me and making me laugh, and we have enjoyed for the last two nights 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep ie no crying in the middle of the night, I just hear them start chatting sbout 6:30am, so am very happy with that. I am planning their christening next month, will be sure to post some of their pics, they will look like little princesses in their dresses.

Hi to everyone else. Traveller, i hope all is well.

Xx

[sarahrach]

Hi ladies! Thanks for the warm welcome!!!

Baby Dream: funny about the champers, hope you did not have too many after effects!!! Congrats on weaning - I too am hoping that I'll make BF to the six month mark, awesome job!!! I've actually booked in with ABA for a twins BF class, so am very excited about getting that part organised.

Azz: same as yours babes - diamnionic but shearing a placenta. OB has not gone into too much detail other than looking out for twin transfusion and has suggested getting US at a specailst centre and doing the csection at 37 weeks due to the one placenta running out of goodness. Do you think there is anything else I should be aware of? I sort of feel that I'm being drip fed bit by bit at my OB, he's great, don't get me wrong, but I really like to know everything up front if that makes sense.

Kayla: wow - 2 month old babies - I've been told the first few months is like being in a fog. How have you coped? I hope all goes ok with the x-ray, wishing you guys well.

Kezz: Congrats on the one year celebration - sounds like you guys had a blast!!! Adult conversation is key I recon - keep you sane!!! So enjoy those coffee mornings.

I've got my morph scan in a week, I'm excited but nervous about it if you know what I mean. All going well we are then ready to start laybuying nursery stuff - got a nice list of things we want without going overboard. I've also started doing preggie yoga, feels nice and relaxing which is good cause I feel big already :-) Hope everyone has a lovely week! Speak soon!!!

[Brunette]

Hi Sararach, good to see you in this forum too I have my morph scan a few days after yours, and I, too, am planning on starting to buy/layby things (all going well FX) after the scan.

BabyDreamtime, LOL at your post about enjoying a bottle of champers. Good for you; you certainly deserve it. Hope you didn't feel too poorly the following morning Well done on having your girls sleep through at 5 months.

Azzrenae, Your boys must be keeping you on your toes now that they're mobile! When did you have to baby-proof your house?

Kezza, I had a look at some celebratory pics of your twins' 1-year-old birthday party on Facebook. Adorable!

So I have a question for any of the twin mums who used a breast pump...

I am going to join the Australian Breastfeeding Association as I am going to do a BF class with them. I have been looking into hiring or buying a double electric breast pump. ABA hires at discounted prices hospital-grade double breast pumps, but at $30 per week this could still be an expensive option, esp if wanting or able to use it for say 6 months.

Has anyone bought a double electric breast pump, or perhaps even a single (which might have a double in the same product range) which you highly recommend? Any other tips/advice re BF pumps? Thanks in advance! I really appreciate it.