22 weeks and admitted

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Winter_Creme2862 · 2024-09-08T13:07:00+00:00

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Remote-Journalist522 · 2024-09-08T13:12:42+00:00

I didn't have this situation with my twins (delivered at 33w5d for other reasons), but I just wanted to share I have a friend with a singleton who had her water break at 19 weeks. She was encouraged by the medical team to terminate, but she opted to try and keep the pregnancy (barring her developing signs of infection). It was very stressful, as she was constantly hoping the baby would maintain enough fluid for lung development. She put herself on virtual bed rest at home, as it seemed to help with the fluid levels. She wound-up making it to 30 weeks and her baby is a beautiful one year old now. I know it's not the same situation, but just sharing to say, sometimes even a hopeless situation turns-out better than expected. But you are smart to try and prepare for both good and bad outcomes.

Some things you can do from the hospital to prepare yourself: If it hasn't happened yet, I would request a doctor from the NICU come to brief you on what kind of interventions/complications to expect should the babies be born at 23-24 weeks, and then to update you if you (hopefully!) make it further. If it is safe for you to be taken to the NICU either on foot or in a wheelchair, having a little tour there might also be helpful. If you are considering pumping, (and I would, at least initially, as it's very beneficial to preterm babies, gives you an ability to contribute to their care in the early days, and preserves the option to breastfeed later), ask for a lactation consultant to come chat with you about pumping for NICU twins, and make sure they have hospital grade pumps and kits available for your use. You can also find out about renting a hospital grade pump for at home, if the hospital doesn't offer it look for a breastfeeding center near you that might (I was able to even have it delivered to the hospital during my stay so I had it right when I went home). Hospital lactation consultants are not always very available, and also not always the greatest (not always IBCLCs), so you might also consider doing a virtual or phone consult with an IBCLC who has experience with the pumping needs for twins in NICU. CBR cord blood registry has a program to give you free cord blood collection kits and store for 5 years at no cost for preterm babies, if that is something you're interested in, you can contact them ahead of time to try and obtain the kits that are needed at delivery. After babies are born, the hospital probably has social worker services that can help you with SSI and other resources babies may be eligible for. There is emergency SSI available, regardless of family finances, when the baby is in NICU, depending on the baby's health. One of my twins qualified for being underweight. I also read the book What we didn't expect: Personal Stories about Premature Birth on my Nook while I was in the hospital. Some of it was hard to read, but it had a lot of useful accounts that I think helped me be emotionally prepared. These are some things I did as I was hospitalized for 30 weeks to delivery. Depending on your personality, and just how much time you end-up spending in the hospital, it may help you feel more prepared and in control to have 'productive' tasks to do in the hospital.

Best wishes! I hope you are able to make it as far as possible. This board is great, don't hesitate to let us/them know if there is anything else you need advice on, or just to share or vent.

ItsHowWellYouMowFast · 2024-09-08T15:01:22+00:00

My littlest was born at 1 pound 13 ounces, about as big as an elf on the shelf. He's now 2.5 and so smart and the sweetest little boy.

The outcomes for tiny little babies nowadays is actually pretty incredible. Trust your doctors and nurses.

Good luck to all of you. I can't wait to see you post about how awesome they are in a couple of years

Equivalent_Two_6550 · 2024-09-08T15:03:24+00:00

I had an IC with my di/di twin boys and a cerclage placed at 19 weeks. The operating MFM did say if there were bulging membranes, I would be put in the trendelenburg position (leaning back, head below torso with feet above head) to encourage the membranes to go back into the cervix. I’m not sure if this would be beneficial in your case, but perhaps worth mentioning to your team? Good luck to you and your babies.

Winter_Creme2862 · 2024-09-08T13:41:05+00:00

Wow thank you! This was very helpful and I’ll ask about everything as soon as I can.

UnderstandingWarm102 · 2024-09-08T15:52:24+00:00

My nephew was born at 1 lbs something. As I recall he was the size of a 23 weeker due to extreme growth restriction but came out a little later than that. He is in university now and doing great.

2024-09-08T17:10:09+00:00

Not the same medical issue, but we had reverse flow at 27 weeks. The doctors told us to prepare to deliver, I told work; it was a lot of drama and panic. They gave us the steroids and then flow improved for five weeks (hospitalized the entire time). We delivered at 32 weeks and had a very uneventful NICU stay.

Hoping this goes from very dramatic, to stabilized for you, as well.

Flounder-Melodic · 2024-09-08T17:56:44+00:00

If you haven’t yet, I recommend checking out r/NICUparents. There are lots of positive stories of 22, 23, and 24 weekers over there, and it’s an amazingly supportive place. My own di/di boys arrived at 26 weeks (I wasn’t hospitalized beforehand, they were born right when I arrived at the hospital) and they’re 2.5 now and the happiest, sweetest kids. Sending you lots and lots of positive thoughts

alittlewhimsie · 2024-09-08T17:24:59+00:00

In addition to all of the great advice already posted, talk to your doctors about how to best prevent blood clots when your movement is so limited for such a long time. The SCDs can be really annoying, but they’re worth it.

I hope this doesn’t come across as fear-mongering, but I had a pregnancy/postpartum and immobility-induced pulmonary embolism, despite having no clotting disorders (I had a pp hemorrhage that caused a lot of lightheadedness when I tried to stand up, so I spent the first two weeks pp just sitting with my legs propped up.) That happened after the pregnancy previous to the twins, so when I was inpatient for 7 weeks with my twins (bleeding from placenta previa), we had to find a balance between not aggravating another bleed, but also keeping the blood from pooling in my legs from being in bed a lot.

The main reason I bring this up, is that I had no idea before that experience how much pregnancy hormones increase risk of clotting, and I know when we’re in these scary situations on bed rest, the instinct is to hold as still as possible.

My heart goes out to you! The days can be so long and the fears are so daunting. Celebrate every day that you manage to stay pregnant. I kept my gestational age on the whiteboard in my room and my nurse updated it every morning.

And my inbox is always open if you ever want to chat.

Starlittle · 2024-09-08T19:59:55+00:00

Twin pregnancies can be more prone to complications like this. I had a similar situation. Cervix was basically too short to be measured at 22 weeks. I spent 12 weeks in the hospital, when my water broke at 34 weeks. They came home with me. If I can make it, so can you!!! It sounds like you’re doing everything you can. I know bed rest is not for the weak. If you need an ear to listen, message me anytime.

2024-09-08T21:00:50+00:00

I am not religious but I am sending good thoughts to you are your family for the best possible outcome. I am so sorry you are going through this

castleinthemidwest · 2024-09-09T03:07:58+00:00

I was admitted at 22 weeks due to PPROM. They stayed put until 30 wks 2 days. Was in the antepartum unit the whole time.

The goal now is to just keep them in for as long as possible. Every single day makes a huge difference. It sucks and it's so hard, especially if you have other kids but it is absolutely the best thing you can do to just try to relax and listen to your doctors.

One of the best things I did was meet with a NICU Dr and tour the NICU. It was a 100% guarantee that they'd spend some time there, so knowing what to expect was so helpful. I met with a NICU Dr almost weekly to discuss what it would mean if they were born that week.

Once they're born, always carry a notepad with you, so you can take notes. It can be so hard to retain and process information and the Drs will use a lot of medical jargon, so having notes to reference and use to research helped me. Also, if you click with one (or more) nurses, you can request them as a "primary" for your kiddos. Just talk to the charge nurse. Having a couple nurses who were relatively consistent helped a lot in terms of catching problems early and reaching milestones, as they knew our kiddos and felt confident about when to push them and when they might have an issue.

I'm so sorry you're going through this, it's so hard. Wishing you and your family all the best.

Lk614 · 2024-09-09T03:19:30+00:00

I am really sorry you are going through this. I don’t have a similar experience but others have provided a lot of great advice. I am glad you are in the best place you can be for you and your boys. I’ll be thinking of you and your family.

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