I'm Pregnant with Twins!

I myself didn't have twins, but I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel in the Bay Area, and we have several counselors who have worked with moms of twins. We are a non-profit organization of moms who have breastfed and gone through additional training to become peer counselors. We provide FREE breastfeeding classes (although they are here in the Bay Area) and one-on-one counseling, mainly by phone, to help support YOUR goals for breastfeeding. You can get more information at http://www.nursingmothers.org.

That resource being offered, TAKE ADVANTAGE of the lactation consultants where you deliver!! They should be a wealth of information especially in terms of latch and what to expect. Try to take a breastfeeding class in advance and ask specific questions about twins. I know moms of twins who have supplemented, and moms who have exclusively breastfed. Supplementation could be recommended by your pediatrician, or it could be wanted by you for a little break from the babies.

Whatever you decide, understand that for 99% of women, whatever your babies are demanding from you, you will provide! Have lots of support for when you come home; people who can clean, cook, do laundry, hold babies when you're not nursing, feed if you decide to go back and forth between breast and bottle/cup/spoon/etc, run errands, help with your 2.5yo. Surround yourself with people who will HELP and people you feel comfortable with :)

Heather, I so Congradulate your family for the new babies that will add so much love to your lives but little sleep!
My neighbor has twins and my daughter in law is a twin as well as many friends. With one she worked light duty until 7 months, another had to stop at 5 months and another had to stop rigt away due to confinement to bedrest.
I had a C-Section becasue she thoughtit was safest, 2 had vaginal, so like you said its different. I do know that they made sure they had lots of meals in the freezer, and someone to help with other children so they weren't left out, and so they could get a nap. We all took turns and some of the neighborhood pre-teens 12-13 yo helped Good Luck,

Congratulations! I had my B/G twins at 37 1/2 weeks vaginally, worked up until about the 35th week and nursed them both but did need to supplement. I was fortunate and had no complications it ws almost as easy a pregnancy as it was with my singlet only I was way larger with the twins and afterwards, way more exhausted for the first 6 months.

Best of Luck,
M.

Congrats! I had twins as well. A boy & a girl! They were due 8/31/03 and they were born 8/1/03. They were 4 weeks early, she was 5 lbs 10ounces, he was 6 lbs. Even though they were 4 weeks early, twins are considered full term, so my healthy babies came home with us the day we left the hospital. I tried to breast feed but ended up pumping for 2 weeks and then they were given formula. I had an epidural and my babies were born vaginally. So I pushed them both out! What a strong woman! Twins are a tough job, I didn't get a full, full nights rest for almost the entire first year. Every child & parent is different, so of course, your experience will be different then mine. They are now 7 yrs old and playing sports & in the 2nd grade. Enjoy your time! Best wishes!!!

Almost forgot, I went out on bed rest end of May becuase I was already dialating. I was on bed rest from end of May, spent 2 wks in Alta Bates on bed rest, went back home and stayed on bed rest until they were born on 8/1. My water broke around 1pm and my babies were born by 11pm that night! Good luck!!

There is a Harvard Study that shows that getting adequate protein in your diet has shown to be 100 % preventative in preventing toxemia. Check out: http://www.blueribbonbaby.org.

A double congrats to you & ur family.
I am a mom to triplets so maybe i can answer few of ur questions , i had my trio at 36 weeks with no bed rest or any complication (major acidity issues though since my stomach was up on my heart) & ofcourse i had c-section.

I did breastfeed one since he was only one who could nurse but rest was combined with pumping & formula. But i know many twins & triplet moms nursing for a long time .
Fremont area has the moms of multiple group which is mostly twin moms so they have tons of resources ,mom meet up & activities.

wishing u a wonderful pregnancy.
Md

Hi Heather,

Congratulations! Twins are a real blessing! My twins are now 9 and I also have an 11 year old so she was only 2 when they were born.

My pregnancy went full term without any complications and I had to be induced as the doctors don't like you to go overtime with twins. I was very uncomfortable at the end but even more so with my singleton!

I was advised to have an epidural for the vaginal birth in case there were any complications so they wouldn't have to waste time with that should there be a need. My first birth was au naturel but the twins were soooo much easier with the epidural. After twin 1 was born, there was a slight commotion and the doctor stepped in and helped twin 2 out (4 minutes later). That was what the epidural was for so it was a good thing I had it. All was well after that. Both were and are healthy as horses!

I did breastfeed both for 6 weeks. I started supplementing then and it didn't last much longer after that. The same happened with my first. I struggled a lot with both as I never seemed to have enough milk.

We decided I would be a stay at home mom, so I don't know about maternity leave, which I highly recommend. We had to make a lot of changes in life as we were not well off to begin with but it sure has been worth it. Besides, child care for 3 kids, gas, taxes etc may not make it worth working. It wouldn't have for me plus I couldn't be at work while my 3 babies were with someone else all day.

I see you are in Sacramento. I was there when my twins were 6 months old. There are lots of very active and fabulous support groups there for you to join. Contact them now! Mine was Sierra Mothers of Multiples I believe and they met in lower Folsom at the time. They will answer allll your questions and provide you with all kinds of help, services, social outings, educational meetings etc. That really helped me as we had just moved to the USA and it could have all been very overwhelming.

Good luck with all the adventures and decisions you will be making! Feel free to message me with any further questions etc. Twins are really cool and it seems a perfect family to us to have the eldest child as well like you do!

Congrats...twins are an amazing experience...not easy, but well worth it. I went on maternity leave at 25 weeks. I think it is really up to your dr. My dr. wanted me off between 25-27 weeks. I was a teacher and 25 weeks landed right after Christmas Break...so that worked best. I had my twins at 33 weeks. I was put on bed rest at 29 weeks because of my blood pressure. Besides being premature, my birth was relatively easy. I had a vaginal birth, but had to deliver in the OR in case they had to do an emergency C-section. My twins did very well, even with being early. They were in the special care nursery for 2 weeks and then came home. They just needed to learn to eat. As much as I tried, I was not able to breastfeed. I pumped for about 3 weeks but my milk never really came in. I tried to nurse as well, but it just never came in. But I do know lots of mom's of twins that have breastfeed successfully. Many times with supplementing.

So as you said, everyone experience is different, but it is great to hear what others went through. The biggest adjustment for me was sleep. I was not prepared for the lack of sleep that I got for the first year. Try to get them on a schedule as soon as possible. When one wakes up to eat, wake the other. Sleep when they sleep. I was lucky that mine generally slept at the same time during the day, but my son was up a lot at night.

Get and accept help!! That was one thing that was hard for me. I felt like I should be able to do it all myself. It is hard, especially when you have another little one. If you can have regular help the first few months, it would be a lifesaver. Even if it is to help with just household chores.

I see you live in Sacramento. I delivered at Sutter Memorial and had a great experience. They have an amazing special care nursery and where ever you deliver I would try and take a tour ahead of time. That made it a little less intimadating for us. We knew a bit of what to expect. There were classes at Sutter Memorial for those expecting multiples. Part of the class was a tour of the special care nursery.

I know lots of moms of twins that went full term, so I'm not saying yours will be premature, but it is nice to be prepared and to know what to expect. Although my twins were 7 weeks early, you'd never know it now. They have hit all the developmental milestones and have no effects from being premature.

Good luck!!!

J.

Congratulations! My b/b twins just turned two on Sunday. Yay! I'm still alive so that's good news for you! In all honesty, it's super hard work but definitely worth it.

I didn't have any complications during the pregnancy. No bed rest etc. I was a stay at home mom to a toddler and a preschooler so there was no maternity leave. I delivered vaginally at 39 weeks. Was planning to get an epidural but the first baby was crowning on the car ride to the hospital so I was out of luck. They both weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and didn't need any NICU time. I supplemented for the first three weeks with one baby because he wasn't gaining weight as quickly as they wanted. Then solely breastfed until they weaned themselves at almost 11 months.

My biggest piece of advice would be to get them on the same feeding/napping schedule for your own sanity and don't ever be too proud to accept help!

Congrats again!

My sister has twin boys and when she was pregnant, she joined a twins mothers group. She went to a newly pregnant with twins round table meeting and got a ton of questions answered and found out what to expect. Not sure where you live, but she lives in Danville, in the East Bay Area, and belongs to the Tri-valley Mother of twins group. I think that is the name. Good luck to you.

I don't have twins, but I have a good friend who has boys who are now 6. She was a member of Sacramento Moms of Multiples (SMOM) and a similar group that is based in Elk Grove. Do some searching on Google and I'm sure you'll find them.

I also want to highly recommend that you attend at least one La Leche League meeting before you deliver, and continue to come after the babies arrive. The Sacramento group meets on the third Thursday of each month (which means we meet this Thursday) at 10 AM at the Central United Methodist Church (it's on the corner of 53rd and H Street). The leaders can connect you with another leader who breastfed her twins, and it's great to have a place to see and talk to women who are breastfeeding. Also get a copy of "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" - it admittedly only has a few pages specifically on breastfeeding multiples, but the information in the book is invaluable and can be applied whether you're feeding one or more!

Mostly though, when it comes down to it, trust your body to make enough milk to satisfy your babies. You can do it!