Success stories and smooth sailing?

I am new to TS and this is my first post! The information is amazing and I am hugely impressed by the engagement and support of the community. So, I am hoping some folks can oblige this request...

There is so much information about twin pregnancies that is scary and can cause anxiety and I really don't want to spend the next six months (I'm 11weeks) worrying about everything that could go wrong. So, I am looking for stories of fabulous twin pregnancies that were healthy, free of major trauma etc. I'm not talking about perfection, just hoping there are some stories of relatively smooth sailing so I can have that vision to balance out all the other stuff and believe it's possible to have a great experience. Thanks in advance!

 

Congrats on your twin pregnancy! I was full of worry too. I had a m/c right before we concieved the twins and I think that set me up for even more worry. But, I made it to 38 weeks 1 day. I had no complications, bp stayed normal, no PTL, nothing really except kind of hitting a wall around week 33 or 34. I was induced with some prostiglandin gel (no pitocin needed) and was able to deliver vaginally. Baby A was vertex and was 6 lb 4 oz. Baby B was breech (she turned breech at 38 weeks), but turned vertex after A was delivered and she weighed 7 lbs. Other than being more tired, sore and bigger than with my singleton, I loved my twin pregnancy. I feel very lucky that I didn't have any complications.

 

I had a complication free twin pregnancy and I'm diabetic!! I carried to 36w exactly and had to have a c-section due to pre-eclampsia - which didn't develop until after 35 weeks...I worked until I was 35w 3d - my twins were only 3.5 and 4.5 lbs but were perfectly healthy and came home with me on day 5!!

I know a lot of people recommend Dr. Barbara Luke's book, however I did not like the tone it set - I felt it was very "multiples will be sick unless you follow me to the letter"...

there are a lot of people on here that had relatively complication free pregnancies and carried well into 37-38-39 weeks...

good luck!

 

I am 5'4. I carried my twins to 38 weeks (15.2 combined weight). I had no morning sickness or anything. I had a few days in my pregnancy where I wasn't feeling them move, but it turns out they were kicking each other. No gestational diabetes or anything. Congratulations and :welcome:

 

37.4 weeks when my water broke. Babies were 7.13 and 6.2. No NICU time. Easy recovery from my c section. No complications or scares or PTL at all. I think it was just a freak thing that my water broke because they were still not inclined to leave! Only pregnancy issue was swelling, but no BP issues until delivery and those were easily managed. It's not pleasant being 37.4 weeks pregnant with twins, but we were all healthy and good. I worked as a lawyer until 35 weeks and then stopped only due to my long commute. Best of luck!

 

Another 38 weeker here! My babes were born by scheduled c-section (instead of induction) at 38 weeks 2 days. Jacob was born weighing 7 lbs 6 oz, and Katelyn was 8 lbs 2 oz!

I had a complication free pregnancy. I had lots of contractions all through my third trimester, but they were never preterm labour. So, while I was uncomfortable and SOOOO done being pregnant it really was a pretty smooth 38 and a bit weeks!

 

Welcome to TS! And congrats on the pregnancy!

Another 38 weeker here! Some minor bumps along the way, but overall, a great wonderful pregnancy! I had no symptoms of a pregnancy, with the exception of a growing belly! No morning sickness, no nausea, food aversions or smell aversions, high bp, gestational diabetes(my ob was floored I did not have it!), nesting, yada yada. The boys were born via c/s weighing 6 lbs 13 oz and 6 lbs 3 oz.

If anything-stay away from the internet!!! I worried myself sick over some things with the boys...and the internet most certainly did not help!

 

I worked up until 33 weeks. I had some minor complications, but nothing that was serious enough to cause me to stop work. I'm a teacher, so I was up a lot during this time. I made it to 35 weeks and 6 days and had healthy baby girls that each weighed over 5 lbs a piece. We had no NICU time and they went home with me 3 days later.

 

I made it to 38 weeks too!! I had some minor bumps along the way but nothing too bad it was mostly that my twin pregnancy taught me a few things about being pregnant lol!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

 

38 weeker here too!!!! I had no issues other then some morning sickness early on. It was an easier pregnancy than my singleton. No PTL, no bed rest, no surprises .

I had a very easy, unmedicated vaginal delivery at 38w3d. My girls never left my side and we were all discharged an hour after they were born .

I was also incredibly worried throughout my pregnancy. It seems like all you hear when you tell people you're having twins are the horror stories. I wish I had found this site and the amazing women here when I was pregnant, I'm sure it would have relieved my anxiety. Congrats on your twins and welcome!!!!

 

:wavey: Welcome to TS and congratulations on your pregnancy. :woohoo:

I carried my twins to 39 weeks (A was 7lbs14oz and B was 6lbs 4oz) and evicted them because they were just too comfy in there. :lol: I had no major issues at all, fortunately. I only had to go to L&D two times because of braxton hicks contractions but that was caused by me not drinking enough water... so it was an easy fix. :good: My doctor took me out of work at 32 weeks thinking I'd go "any day" and they stayed put for another 7 weeks.

There is alot of scary information out there but you really only need to listen to us. :blbl: Seriously, try not to read to much or else your mind will get the best of you. :hug: Drink lots and lots of water and listen to your body (and doctor ) and you'll do great!!

 

I had easy pregnancies both times. I've never had any morning sickness or complications of any kind. My only problem is I gain too much weight b/c I really enjoy food when I'm pregnant! With the twins I was up walking around right up until the day my water broke. I had easy vaginal deliveries both times as well. I was only in labor with my twins for about 8 hours even though it was my first time. People told me all sorts of horror stories, told me to be ready for bed rest and NICU stays, etc. and none of it came to pass. My girls were born at 36 + 5 and were each about 6 lbs and came home with me from the hospital. They are healthy 3 year olds today.

 

Congratulations on your pregnancy! You are almost out of the first trimester! It moves pretty quickly.

I remember finding out I was pregnant with twins and immediately thought of all the bad things that could happen. My best word of advise is to not google anything, if you have questions, talk to your doctor. I also suggest that you listen to your doctor. If he/she says there is nothint to worry about, don't worry. If they say, stay in bed, stay in bed....you get my drift. They know what is going on and they know what course of action to take and I would follow with their words of wisdom.

I had an extremely smooth sailing pregnancy right from the moment I got pregnant until the day that I delivered at 39 weeks. It wasn't until the last week that I started to get ICP and then it was time to induce, but heck going 38 weeks with twins without a single visit to the L&D ward was pretty friggin' fantastic!!! I had 2 beautiful healthy babies 5lb14oz and 6lbs9oz, with not a single minute away from me after birth.

I wish you much luck with your pregnancy and just stay away from google! Ask your doctor or come here and ask away! The girls here are a welth of information, support and encouragement!

 

My twins were mono/di and while I was monitored closely, I had a very easy pregnancy! I gained 25lbs, had no issues with blood pressure, GD, or anemia. I had pretty constant BH from 32 weeks and still carried to 36 weeks 5 days (6 hours after my husband got home from a military training). My girls were 5lbs 7 oz, and 6lbs and had no issues upon birth and were able to room in with us I do have some pretty crazy stretch markes, but thats it!

 

I remember doing all the research when I was pregnant, it was like reading a doomsday novel over & over again!

I had a very easy, uncomplicated pregnancy. My only problems, if you can call them that, were bad heartburn (which I have again with one!!) and stubborn babies - they had to be evicted! I never went into labor on my own and was induced at 40 weeks exactly. They were born naturally with no problems, were 6 & 6 1/2 lbs and we all went home 2 days later.

I keep making jokes to my husband that if I can carry twins to 40 weeks, this baby isn't coming out until he's 5!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

 

Welcome to TS!!! :wavey: and congratulations on your twin pregnancy!! How are you feeling so far?

My pregnancy was pretty uneventful, I did have some PTL at 31 weeks, spent a couple days in the hospital for monitoring and got the steroid shots just in case. But it was nothing that meds and some bed rest couldnt cure until I delivered at 36 weeks. Had a vaginal delivery and both babies were perfect and went straight to my room with me.
There will be times when it gets pretty uncomfortable and that takes some adjusting, but we will be here for you every step of the way! Good luck!

 

Welcome! Another uneventful pregnancy here! I had the typical morning sickness in the first trimester and did have gestational diabetes, but that really wasn't anything more than just a pain to manage. I did have BH contractions from 22 weeks on, but it never developed into anything too significant and we delivered via c-section at 36 weeks, 3 days.. weighing 6 pounds 2 oz, and 5 pounds 4 ounces. Neither of my girls spent any time in the NICU and went home at the same time I did!

I second all PP's on here- listen to your doc... and my advice is always that if you feel like something isn't right or are fearful of something don't hesitate to call the doc- that's what they are there for.. they can really put your mind at ease..

I agree- stay off of google! Twin pregnancy is (usually!) a once in a lifetime experience... it can be very uncomfortable near the end, but you are in good company! Just take good care of yourself and those babies!!!

 

I had pretty smooth sailing too. I can't say I enjoyed most of it (other than an "eye of the hurricane" period from about 16-24 weeks when I felt really good, except being constantly hungry), but nothing went wrong. The closest I came to disaster was a night in the hospital at 29 weeks for "threatened pre-term labor," which just means I was having a lot of contractions -- no dilation or real labor. I got 2 shots of terbutaline, then they sent me home the next day on modified bedrest with a terb prescription to last through 37 weeks.

I also felt Dr. Luke's book was unnecessarily dire, but I did like her instructions to eat, eat, eat (especially protein and fat) -- mostly since I felt compelled to do that anyway. I gained a ton of weight (70 lbs!) but my babies were big, about 6 lbs each, and all the weight did come off eventually.

My SIL had twins two years after I did, and she had no complications, issues, or bedrest. Also, my "little sister" in our local twins club was never on bedrest and delivered her twins at 40 weeks! (She had the rare doctor who didn't insist on inducing earlier than that.)

 

Hi,

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope you have a good pregnancy. I was also scared of everything I read online and it helped me to read about positive stories, so here is mine .

I had a great pregnancy for the most part. The only bad thing was that I had nausea from pretty much everything I ate, other than maybe carrots and icecream. But the positive side of this is that I didn't gain too much weight - I didn't gain any until 12 weeks and in total I gained 38 pounds.

I went to the gym until 30 weeks but even after I was working out at home, I was doing some abs on a medicinal ball and also some light weight lifting for biceps, triceps and back. Honestly it was really useful to keep my body in shape, because after birth I had to lift the babies all the time, so this is really useful. Working out helped also with the fact that I went back to my usual shape in a few weeks without doing anything other than breastfeeding and taking care of the babies. As long as your doctor allows it, I recommend working out and keeping in shape during pregnancy. Also, as a result of doing abs while pregnant, I didn't have that muscle separation on my belly - so no twin skin for me. Also, no stretch marks, but that may be genetic also, my mom doesn't have any either and I am a twin. Also I used this body oil on my stomach after 12 weeks, I am not sure how much it helped, but no stretch marks. I also took a Nature Maid Prenatal Vitamins every day.

I went to the pool, that felt great towards the end when you feel your stomach will burst, also I went to the ocean and did some body boarding at 32 weeks. My belly was huge and my boobs got bigger but other than that it was fine. I went to work until the Monday before I had the babies, I took that last week off to be rested before the birth and I recommend that, because you have no idea how tired you will get after. I was able to drive and wear my high heels shoes and my rings all the way to the end.

I am not going to lie to you, it's going to be hard to get out of the bed towards the end, but I think it's expected when you are 8-9 months pregnant with twins. Try to get a pregnancy pillow if you can, I used this one I am used to sleep on my stomach so this pillow helped me sleep sideways when my belly was too big to be able to sleep on the stomach.

Also, the best advise I can give you is DRINK A LOT of water. That helped me a lot. I read somewhere that if you don't drink enough the kidneys are kind of slowing down and they can't go back to full power being cramped with the babies so that's why you have to pee all the time. Well, I was drinking a lot of water, maybe 2-3 gallons a day and I am proud to say I only had to pee once a night all the way to the end - that is not bad. This way I was able to sleep well most nights all the way to the end. I had some Braxton Hicks contractions in the third trimester - but that's expected, just drink A LOT of water and it would feel better, or take a shower.

I made it to 37 weeks and 5 days and I had a scheduled C-Section because both babies were breech. I gave birth the Friday before Labor Day and I was
teasing my OB that he didn't want me to go into labor and mess up his Labor Day weekend. I had no dilatation or any sign of labor, and I think I could have made it another week or so. My babies were born 6# 5oz each and they came home with me after 2 nights, no NICU.

I wish you the best and I hope you will have a great and easy pregnancy. Good luck with everything!

Monica

 

Thank you so very, very much for your beautiful stories and thoughtful advice (got it - no Internet research!). This is just what I needed as I get ready to transition into my 2nd trimester and get ready to tell people, who will likely bring their own concerns.

My intention moving forward: hold a clear and attainable vision of a healthy, happy, to-term pregnancy resulting in healthy, happy babies to take home! Thanks for helping me see this is indeed possible.

 

Most people won't know of complications with twins. They might say they'll be born early, but that's not necessarily the case (esp with good care and listening to the docs ).

I was reluctant to share my story as I don't know if it was 'smooth sailing' per se, but mostly it was just very uncomfortable for me- (I had a weird skin rash/itch for a few months but it wasn't harmful to the babies, just really irritating to me!) I did have cervical shortening at 28 weeks, but was able through modified bedrest to carry the boys until almost 38 weeks. They were both healthy, no issues other than newborn jaundice and I nursed them until 15 months.

 

Thank you for sharing your success story and insight. It sounds like every experience is different and positive outcomes come from many paths!

 

my water broke at 39+1 weeks
besides being HUGE....no problems

water broke at 03:15
Got to the hospital around 05:15 had 5 cm dialation so...no pain meds
Cosmo was born at 06:22
Keagan with a little help 7:20

so don't worry to much!!!!

 

My mono/di girls came at 35w6d when my water broke. Plans were to induce later that week. I delivered vaginally and baby B was breech. No NICU time - both girls are very healthy.

I found the high-risk pregnancy stressful compared to my first singleton pregnancy. So many "what-ifs." Luckily everything went about as well as it could have!

 

I had a schedule c-section at 38w1d. No real issues, other than being uncomfortable. My kids were 6 lbs 11 oz and 6 lbs 13 oz with no NICU time. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy. I found TS to be a great resource.

 

Thanks for keeping your stories coming everyone! It's great fuel for keeping low stress.

Much appreciated!

 

@Amycplus: Just wanted to comment on the intention you posted previously to have a vision of a healthy, happy pregnancy. I'm not to the end of my pregnancy yet, but I wanted to encourage you that having a positive attitude and taking care of yourself is going to help you tremendously. And I mean taking care of yourself like, "baby yourself, even more than you think you should."

I sailed through the first two trimesters of my pregnancy with no problems. Then things got extremely stressful at work and I, unfortunately, let it take it's toll on my body. I spent two weeks feeling miserable and not feeling the babies move, constantly calling the doctor, and finally ended up in L&D for monitoring one afternoon. Of course, everything was fine. But it was a good wakeup call, for me and thankfully, for my co-workers, too. Since then, I've been extra careful to avoid what stress I can, say no to extra projects at work if I'm not up to it, and just generally keep the health of the babies at the front of my mind. I'm feeling good again and even though I have several more weeks to go, I'm very confident that I'll carry these guys to term without any complications.

I think you have a great attitude! Remember that your health, and consequently, the health of your babies comes first. You don't have to constantly be "happy" but stay as calm and as stress-free as you can. You'll do great!

 

Thanks for your perspective lilybay. It's a great reminder as I have a tendency to overcommit and need to remember where my only commitment lies right now. It's really my only job!

 

I didn't find out about my twins until I was 19 weeks along. Nothing, but extreme tiredness in the beginning. At 19 weeks I was admitted to the hospital for what seemed like appendicitis. That's when I found out I was carrying twins. Nothing came of it and I stayed in the hospital over night just to be monitored. I spent one other night in the hospital for contractions, but I was dehydrated...drink lots of water. Next time I went in was for their birth. I ended up with a c-section for breech and transverse babies, but I wasn't even showing signs of labor. My OB was leaving for Scotland the day of the c-section which is why I had them at 37w3d. They were 6lbs 14 and 7lbs 11oz. Healthy take home identical boys. I did follow Dr. Luke's book and am very happy that I gained the 24lbs in 24 weeks. Nothing beats taking home a set of healthy twins.

Congrats on your twin pregnancy!!!

 

Thanks for yet another success story! Each one is a huge help.

Today I encountered a family with 4 week old twins who went full term. Everyone looked so relaxed (or perhaps just exhausted?). The success stories are everywhere!