MOMs (Moms of multiples) weekly check in for the week of January 14th

momma6angels11

Hi ladies - This is for all of us expecting more than one little blessing! How are you doing this week? 
Feel free to post bump pics or ultrasound pics and of course babies pics when they finally get here.!.!

OUR Multiple Mommies!!


37wks cut off @Momma6angels11,@kikikav
38wks cut off @i-wanna-b-the-girl-w-most-cake,@Mnddnvn,  @amanning2011, @Sardavbak , @vflux33 

@lexigirl1228 ;EDD 3/4 B/B
@awolfff EDD 3/8 B/G
@Momma6angels11  EDD 3/9 B/G
@Sardavbak EDD 3/12
@vflux33 EDD 3/14 B/B
@i-wanna-b-the-girl-w-most-cake EDD 3/14 B/B
@Mnddnvn EDD 3/16 B/G
@Syssa-o EDD 3/21 B/G
@amanning2011 EDD 3/25 G/G
@Gingham EDD 3/26 B/B
@kikikav EDD 3/29 G/G



1. How far along are you? What are the babies sizes, or if you know their weights??

2. Any recent appointment updates,if not when is your next appt?

3. How are you feeling?

4. Best moment with the babies this week?

5. Any Rants/ Raves/Questions, or  Advice ? 

6. HOW MANY POUNDS HAVE YOU GAINED SO FAR THIS PREGNANCY?

momma6angels11

@mnddnvn how are you? Are you still in the hospital or did you get released for bed rest?

AFM I will post sometime after Tuesday since I have my MFM appointment on Tuesday. 

mnddnvn

Hi there--thanks for asking. Still in the hospital on hospital bedrest until at least Friday. Trying everything we can to keep the babies in. Feeling discouraged but trying to stay positive.

momma6angels11

@mnddnvn thanks for updating! Im glad they are still inside you and I hope they are able to keep them that way for as long as possible!

momma6angels11

1. How far along are you? What are the babies sizes, or if you know their weights??
32+5 today , they are pomelos.
2. Any recent appointment updates,if not when is your next appt?
Had MFM appointment yesterday and both babies passed their BPP ultrasound.  Not so happy because baby b was still breech! I am hoping for a vaginal birth so this is nerve wrecking. I also have an OB appointment Friday for a NST.
3. How are you feeling?
Ready to be done. Just huge and uncomfortable. 
4. Best moment with the babies this week?
Just love when they are rolling around in there.
5. Any Rants/ Raves/Questions, or  Advice ?
 
Is everyone ready for babies? Do you have your hospital bag packed and ready to go?

6. HOW MANY POUNDS HAVE YOU GAINED SO FAR THIS PREGNANCY?
I have gained 39lbs as of yesterday.

amanning2011

1. How far along are you? What are the babies sizes, or if you know their weights??
30 + 3, Baby A is 2lb 3oz and Baby B is 2lb 4oz as of last Thursday
2. Any recent appointment updates,if not when is your next appt?
I was diagnosed with GD last week and the twins are considered growth restricted. At the MFM appointment last Thursday the doctor said everything looked great, they are just measuring small so he's not super concerned about their health. The midwife I saw yesterday is definitely new and doesn't feel comfortable arguing with the by the book answer of 2x weekly monitoring appointments. We are compromising currently with weekly appointments since outside of just being small they are perfectly healthy. My next appointment is next Wednesday.
3. How are you feeling?
Lower back pain has been kicking in for a bit. I'm also getting really sick of poking my fingers all the time, I'm really tempted to mention to the midwife that I haven't changed anything about my routine and my blood sugar is under control.
4. Best moment with the babies this week?
Getting to see them in the ultrasound again. They are also constantly moving which is really reassuring.
5. Any Rants/ Raves/Questions, or  Advice ? 
Just sick of everyone questioning our decision to cloth diaper the twins. Yes I know it's more work than disposables, but it costs less and I like the eco aspect of it. I'm also really sick of my grandma (who had twins) constantly telling me how much bigger she was pregnant with her twins than I am. My dad and his twin were both 6ish pounds and it was her second pregnancy, of course she was bigger than I am with my first and babies measuring small. She also keeps telling me how horrible her birth experience with twins was (you know 60 years ago). I keep reminding her how much better technology is now and that cloth has changed to be less work and that this isn't 1959 anymore, but that doesn't seem to change anything.
6. HOW MANY POUNDS HAVE YOU GAINED SO FAR THIS PREGNANCY?
As of my appointment yesterday I've gained exactly 20 pounds.

vflux33

@mnddnvn Sorry to hear you're still on hospital bedrest. Are you there indefinitely and not expecting to go home until after the birth? Ugh I really hope things turn around for you and that your LOs cook as long as possible!

@momma6angels11 I was told that if A is head down and B is breech and there are no other issues they can do a breech extraction with a vaginal birth *IF* a qualified OB is there (but that an induction can be scheduled with that in mind if I want to do that). Were you not given that option? I don't know if I'm personally comfortable with a breech extraction, especially since it's dependent on who is on call, but if vaginal is super important to you then maybe that will help you. 

@amanning2011 I'm glad to hear they're so optimistic that they are letting you go down to one appointment a week! Maybe yours are close enough to being over 10th %ile that they think they'll have a growth spurt on their own or something. 

1. How far along are you? What are the babies sizes, or if you know their weights??

32 weeks. At last u/s (29 +6) A was 6.6 %ile and B was 10.2, but I'm reallllllly hoping these numbers have improved and if they have we will probably find out tomorrow at my level 2 u/s with the MFM. In the meantime I have been having lots of protein bars and crossing my fingers. 

2. Any recent appointment updates,if not when is your next appt?

This week I had a NST today and another Friday, a level 2 ultrasound with MFM tomorrow, and an OB appointment Friday. Busy week! 

3. How are you feeling?

Carpal tunnel is making life tricky, but other than that I'm mostly fine. I get SO tired though, and feel like I have contractions whenever I try to get anything done. 

4. Best moment with the babies this week?

I don't know if I have one for this week--I think I have to change the time of day I do my kick counts or something, they seemed to have calmed down a bit, fewer big movements, maybe just from space constriction. Every day I'm like, I want to meet them... but not today! And then every day I don't go into labor I want to high five them. 

5. Any Rants/ Raves/Questions, or  Advice ? 

6. HOW MANY POUNDS HAVE YOU GAINED SO FAR THIS PREGNANCY?

33-34 so far

momma6angels11

@vflux33 yeah I have an OB that will only induce / procede with a vaginal delivery if both babies are head down, but was told by another ob in practice that if a comes out and b flips breech they will attempt a breech before a C-section. Which gives me hope..lol baby b just needs to be head down to be induced or go on with a vaginal delivery.  I mean if i absolutely need a C-section im not against it but would rather have a vaginal delivery. 

awolfff

1. How far along are you? What are the babies sizes, or if you know their weights??
33 weeks today! Baby a is measuring at 5lbs 4oz and b is at 6lbs

2. Any recent appointment updates,if not when is your next appt?
Babies are measuring well and the specialist brought up that because b is larger than a and breech, she recommends a cesarean.  Otherwise no real updates.

3. How are you feeling?
Large and uncomfortable, but grateful. Also really nervous about the thought of a cesarean. I’m trying to prepare, but the OB is so useless. She mostly just shrugs and acts like it’s no big deal. I have never had major surgery and am really intimidated by all of it.

4. Best moment with the babies this week?
Getting to see them at the specialist ultrasound was pretty great. We got some nice images and saw hair! The hair was cool for us because our first was sooo bald! 

5. Any Rants/ Raves/Questions, or  Advice ? 
Nothing new here..mother still driving me nuts, mother in law driving me even more crazy and my OB is still insisting I agree to the cesarean but she seems unwilling to talk to me about what the surgery will entail- basically hoping to get a step by step (nothing detailed). Just a first you have the surgery, then here is What recovery will look like, here are some things you may want to consider having on hand while you are recovering and so on. I asked her what I should pack in terms of attire and her response “whatever you are comfortable in” ooh okay, glad you told me that...I was going to pack my high school prom dress and hope for the best. 
 

6. HOW MANY POUNDS HAVE YOU GAINED SO FAR THIS PREGNANCY?
so far about 30lbs

momma6angels11

@awolfff Im so sorry your OB is like that! Will that be your last growth Ultrasound?

 Im still hoping for my baby b to go head down in hopes of a vaginal birth, and hoping shes not too much bigger. I wont get my next growth Ultrasound til the 30th. BUT FEB 16TH will be the day unless they decide to come earlier.

vflux33

@momma6angels11 Interesting. My OB, who mentioned she herself has performed them before, said we could  still induce if B is breech as long as herself or one of the other OBs trained to perform a breech extraction at our hospital is on call. Maybe that training is more common in certain regions or something? Or the OBs who have done that before are more comfortable recommending it? I saw her today and she even went so far to say a breech extraction is actually easier (on the mom) than if they are both head down because sometimes you have wait hours for baby B to get down after Baby A is born but if you do breech extraction they just grab B after A within a couple minutes. 

awolfff

@momma6angels11 thanks...I saw the nurse practitioner yesterday afternoon for the NST. She walked me through everything...she used to work in pre-op at the hospital I’m delivering at, so it was really great getting her insight. I feel she spoke pretty candidly about what is going to happen and told me that recovery is going to hurt so take the medicine offered and try to possibly manage with an NSAID like Advil or aleve (forgot to ask her if it was safe while breastfeeding so going to ask about that), make sure to ask for a stool softener and to try and move/walk as much as possible once you can. She said that there is a greater risk for babies to end up with water in their lungs and when they first are taken out that it may look like nurses/docs are slapping your baby, but that it’s not hard and they are trying to get the fluid out. She also said that recovery for moms who have an emergency or unplanned cesarean can be much more challenging. I’ve read that it takes longer for your milk to come in when you have a cesarean so set up time with lactation consultants if you plan to breastfeed.

Really not what I wanted and I’m glad I waited and got the info I needed. The hospital I’m going to is known for being csection happy with the highest rate in the county and also a higher rate than the national average. Upside here is at least they have done it before! Lol. We wanted to deliver at this hospital because of their experience with multiples and high risk patients (probably contributing to the higher csection rate). I’m still nervous and am not at all looking forward to a painful recovery process while trying to navigate the world of twins, but at least I can try to prepare for it now.

And attire...I bought long leg warmers and will bring a few nursing night gowns...because who wants to shave after a cesarean? Not me! I was told some light drawstring pj bottoms or yoga pants would be fine and I’ll bring those, but what if they aren’t with the incision and all? I also bought a pair of the c-panties...going to bring them with me and talk to the doctor once I am there...if I don’t use them, I’ll send them back  

oh and I’m going to talk to the pediatrician about having them both in the halo while I recover. I’m hoping if they are also in their sleep sacks it will be ok in terms of safety. I just can’t imagine doing any sort or twisting/turning to get the babies out of their co-sleeper to feed..at least for the first couple of weeks I’m home. 

Sorry this is long. I ramble when I am nervous! 

vflux33

@awolfff I'm not sure if this will help you since your hospital/doctor may have different policies, but at Kaiser they have these semi-interactive "classes" online and one is about c-sections and includes some info on what to expect + recovery. I can't get you into the online system, but I did save a PDF of the program and I'll PM it to you now.