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Multiples
Post preg twin tips
Below are MY pregnancy tips. Mileage may vary, but this is what I learned and wanted to pass along. I just wrote up the thoughts as they came to me, so they are all over the place in terms of pregnancy, child birth etc.
1) Obviously I'm not a doctor, but my own doctor agreed with me . Don't feel like you have to gain the recommended weight amounts (that you see online or in the book by Dr. Luke) for healthy, full-term twins. I only gained 30 lbs and I had two 6 lb 8 oz babies. As uncomfortable as I was at the end, I can't imagine having to carry around even more weight. I think the 30 lb weight gain kept me going until one day shy of 38 weeks when I was induced. IMO, it's the quality of what you are eating that matters. BTW, the babies aren't even a week old yet and I have already dropped 22 lbs. I'm still retaining a lot of water, but I do have to say that I IMMEDIATELY felt better after labor - so much less weight, discomfort, heartburn etc.
Oh, and this - don't do an strenuous activities or exercising. We tried for years to have these babies and I never wanted to risk that I would lose them in utero. Take it easy during your pregnancy and rest up!
2) During labor & delivery, TRUST YOUR INTUITION. If something doesn't seem right, it may not be! I kept complaining about the excruciating pain of delivering my second twin and was told everything was fine, to only discover at the end that the epidural had been unplugged the entire time.
3) Birth plans - I made the conscious decision not to have one because I just knew that everything would be different than any of my expectations w/ a twin delivery. In fact, the delivery was very different than what I would have pictured but my anxiety level was at bay because I accepted that before I went in.
4) Get a shower stool during pregnancy - esp for the third trimester! I tried to stay away from this one but in late pregnancy it was an absolute life saver!
5) I had a rough recovery and we did something I thought I would never do - we sent our twins to the nursery for the night. I think this was HUGE, especially in my case, because it helped me recover more quickly so I could be there for the little ones.
6) Take EVERYTHING that you can home from the hospital - mesh underwear, pads, diapers, etc. - basically anything that isn't nailed down. Our nurse told us that we could take whatever we wanted. Oh, and the spray bottle they give you after a vaginal delivery - USE IT. It's the best thing ever.
7) Breastfeeding - If you are a MOM, I would suggest you ask to use the hospital breast pump right away to help your milk come in if the babies aren't latching or if it just isn't working out at the hospital. Also, check if your insurance covers a breast pump. Mine did but I was shocked when they asked me if I wanted one at the hospital because it was covered by my insurance and brought it to my room. Apparently, they have them right at the hospital!
Ask to meet with the lactation consultant. Don't place undue pressure on yourself. With my blood transfusions, I was worried I hadn't pumped enough to get my milk to come in. In addition, we fed them the ready to feed Similac formula bottles in the hospital. But, I kept up the pumping and I'm now pumping enough to feed one baby and they were only born on the 16th. Hopefully I'll be able to give breast milk to both in the coming days as my supply is steadily increasing.
8) The babies - try not to let your anxiety level go up. I know this is easier said than done, but I am a strong believer that babies pick up on your cues/mood. Try not to get frazzled.
9) Bring some cute outfits or even just a couple accessories with you to the hospital because your hospital may have the option to have professional photos taken. Ours were done right in our room and we were ill prepared - we ended up just using our Aden & Anais swaddlers.
10) When the babies are here, remind yourself that you can't do a million things at the same time. My husband and I had to laugh at ourselves yesterday and we are now repeating over and over again "only one thing at a time."
11) Don't obsess over the ultrasounds where they measure your babies. We were told our presenting baby was much smaller than our girl, and they ended up being the same size. I OBSESSED over each appointment because they would give me a print out of the measurements. Just remember there is a huge margin of error there.
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Re: Post preg twin tips
IUI#3 - Jan 6 IVF#1 -5/18 - stims start (225 gonal f, 75 menopur, 5 lupron) ER 5/29 - 14R, 11M, 7F. 6/1 - Transferred 2 8cell embryos (grade 1 and 2). 8dp3dt +HPT, Beta#1 - 92, Beta #2 - 174, Beta#3 - 614, Beta#4 - 2010. 6wk u/s - TWINS! Baby A 114bpm, Baby B 112 bpm
Unexplained Infertility
After two Clomid cycles, three injectable IUI cycles, two IVFs, two miscarriages, and one lap surgery, IVF #2 has brought us our little boy!
TTC #2
After months of being postponed or cancelled, FET #1.3 (Natural FET) brought us twin girls!
Yeah, I gained 54 lbs and initially had trouble losing the last 10 (there were other factors involved there though), but now I'm 4 lbs below pre-pg weight. Overall the studies (beyond anecdotal evidence) show better outcomes for MoMs who do follow Dr. Luke's weight gain guidelines so while I agree with focusing on quality of what you eat and not stressing too much if you don't gain a lot of weight, I would be careful about discouraging MoMs from following Luke's guidelines unless better studies come along to back that up. That's definitely a YMMV thing though since there are no guarantees with any amount of weight gain; not to invalidate your experience or what your dr said but just another perspective for pg MoMs. OP, it was sweet of you to come back and share what you learned with the pg MoMs!
I love this perspective.....it can be very hard to get a handle on my own moods when it's just me, but if it's for the sake of the babies that makes such a difference! Thanks for all the tips OP!