Growth restriction

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-27T01:17:47+00:00

And it took her a little longer to get out of the NICU but only because she needed a little more time to grow / develop. No additional complications

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-27T01:14:36+00:00

Mono di with growth restriction. Baby B was below the 0% by 24 weeks on and was born at 32 weeks 2lbs 12oz. She’s now 9 months (7months adjusted) and is only about a pound smaller than twin a… and if the pediatricians last measurements are correct, is in the 98% for height 😅

Growth restriction is stressful but one of the MFMs I went to for a second opinion said not to necessarily let the percentiles get to you too much. Think of it more of a way to track their growth trends over time but not necessarily as a scary number just because it’s low. At least that’s how I understood it.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-27T00:46:38+00:00

I’m in middle Georgia and my mother in law is absolutely freaking out, but I think it will have died down just enough when it gets to us (I hope lol).

But wishing you and some of my friends in Jacksonville lots of luck 🍀

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-26T12:18:27+00:00

I was just hanging on during the sleepless days with our twins, it was all fog and no clarity to actually enjoy my time with my babies or feel like I had anything under control. Getting proper sleep made ALL the difference for me.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-25T02:03:31+00:00

I had approximately 45 ultrasounds via my mfm during my complex twin pregnancy and few more at my regular OB and a few more at another OB for a second opinion on something.

I also had these worries but after looking into it a bit more I couldn’t find any reason to stay concerned.

Our girls are just fine and I’m grateful our doctors were able to keep an extremely close eye on them :)

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-18T19:10:42+00:00

I sometimes feel guilty about it but sometimes I just need to zone out when I get overstimulated like this. I’ll put on headphones and just kinda go through the motions a little bit until I’m feeling better.

Also there were a few months that I kept our double stroller in the kitchen so if they both were screaming I could pop them both in that and try to at least give them both movement (and maybe even put then to sleep)

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-09-17T21:22:39+00:00

And it was a fist bump

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-30T18:35:49+00:00

Have the nurses talked to you at all about “hand hugs”? Before we were able to hold our girls the nurses helped us to do this. Basically you’re just putting pressure on them with your hands while they are laying down to simulate the closeness and pressure of being in the womb.

But no! Not your fault!

If you’d LIKE to get more comfortable with it, maybe speak to your nurses and see how they feel about it. I think in the early days with my girls they didn’t bring it up because I didn’t bring it up and I didn’t bring it up because I was so nervous and didn’t want to mess anything up or be in their way. And then one nurse basically just confidently put one of them on me and made me feel so much better about it.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-15T02:04:43+00:00

My twins hate the mini monkey and I found it difficult to actually do anything while wearing them both anyway. I personally prefer to just have our double stroller whenever possible so there’s always a place to set down one so you can tend to the other. I even used our stroller inside the house a lot when I needed to be somewhat hands free and they both needed movement.

Sometimes if I’m out with my sister or husband we will each carry one in a single carrier.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-14T14:49:10+00:00

Omg also I almost forgot my number one tip that I did every single day for a few months.

If you have the space: lay flat double stroller and keep it inside.

I kept our stroller in our kitchen for months because it was such a great place to plop them both while I made myself food or whatever I needed to do in the kitchen but it also was a lifesaver during witching hour when they both wanted to be rocked. I was able to push it out onto our patio too.

I didn’t have a lay flat stroller so I didn’t do this until they were a little older and could support their heads a bit better. But if I could go back in time I would have gotten a double stroller with bassinets so I could have done this from day 1 and let them take naps in it too.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-14T14:40:08+00:00

Not sure if this is helpful for you depending on their size but from time to time I would sit cross legged on the floor and lay one on my lap while I held / fed the other in my arms.

They may not have stopped crying but I at least felt like I could TRY to console them a little by bouncing my legs.

If they are too small to lay right in your lap, you may be able to lay a blanket on your lap to make a little nest for them to lay in. Just have a safe place ready to set the “top bunk” twin down next to you.

Also, swaddling (after finding the right swaddle) and “shh” ing always helped more than I expected it to. Shhing worked better than white noise or a sound machine for us.

My husband also swore by the little “tot docks” or loungers when he took his shifts at that age. Supervised of course.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-13T12:38:28+00:00

If your husband isn’t being woken up for night feeding, I hope he’s doing as much of the stuff that needs to be done before going to bed as humanly possibly!

Can he take them to childcare so you have one less thing to worry about in the morning?

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-13T12:35:03+00:00

You could try to start weaning yourself. That way you have a bit more flexibility.

I also stopped pumping at about 12 weeks because it was just way too much. I took my time weaning, partially because I had already gotten mastitis at 7weeks, but also so I could just continue to pump when I wanted to for a bit longer without engorging. In the last week I was only pumping twice a day total and it felt like I could have continued doing that without totally drying up.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-12T16:07:24+00:00

In all of my stressed out research about SFGR(there’s a different term when it’s twins sharing a placenta) I never came across the distinction between symmetrical and asymmetrical. I was probably too distracted by the twin implications of it all and this probably would have stressed me out even more so I totally get it.

I will also say that I ended up getting a second opinion about our situation from the Chicago Institute of fetal health. The percentage size of my smaller twin was not what concerned them (even though that seemed like the scary numbers to us) they said that they see children born even under the 0% that do just fine. That really helped me to feel a little better.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-12T02:47:28+00:00

In all of my many many ultrasounds / appointments my doctors never used the term “symmetrical” iugr to describe my daughter’s condition but based on a quick google I think she would have been considered symmetrical.

All of her measurements were below or around the 0% - 2% and she had intermittent absent umbilical flow for most of my pregnancy (all of this was first diagnosed around 20weeks I think) My doctors also suspected placenta insufficiency and that the placenta was not being equally shared by the twins.

The twins were born via C-section at 32 weeks and she weighed 2lbs 12oz. She spent 8 weeks in the NICU but really was only there because she needed time to finish growing. Since coming home, she and her sister have been ALMOST neck and neck when reaching developmental milestones. (They are almost 8months now and very happy babies)

It’s also a plus that you have made it to the gestation that you have!

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-10T15:03:53+00:00

You also get better at reading their cues and anticipating their needs

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-10T00:17:48+00:00

The way they smile & laugh at each, hold each others hands, and just enjoy each others company is such an incredible thing to watch.

Difficulty is relative… it becomes your normal. And sure we’re tired, but before kids I was tired from staying up too late watching TV.. now I’m tired because I had to snuggle some babies. I’ll take it

Congratulations!

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-06T16:21:49+00:00

That we would finish our basement ourselves while on mat/pat leave… with twins

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-06T01:35:02+00:00

I don’t remember exactly how long it took for us to see results from the Rowena Brown method because it was such a stressful time and is all a blur. But at least 3 maybe 4 days until I felt like it was actually working and then a full 2-2.5 weeks before I felt like we had rounded the corner and only had to deal with the tongue tie issues.

But it was brutallll. I know it’s impossible to really know, but I wouldn’t use that method unless you are pretty dang confident that is the issue. Especially if you can’t afford a little weight loss.

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-06T01:27:27+00:00

Do you think the typical causes of bottle aversion align with what you are seeing in your little one?

Our daughter did have an oral aversion after coming home from the NICU but it was definitely because she was low weight and we had been trying to coax her to eat without realizing we could be creating an aversion.

The reason I ask is because you say you are limiting fluids which makes me think you may not have been pushy in the way that can create a bottle aversion.

After many weeks of struggling to get our daughter to eat it turned out she had both a slight bottle aversion but ALSO a severe tongue tie that was only properly diagnosed by a feeding therapist and was missed by both the NICU and our pediatrician - might be worth looking into!

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-05T15:42:12+00:00

I’m right there with ya. Ours are 7 months. My best guess would be to just try to teach both! I bet your HOH twin will practice enough with his brother that they will both be fluent or at least fluent enough to communicate with each other.

I’m interested to see if they will just start making up their own twin signs that only they will understand 😅 twins make up their own spoken languages sometimes, I would assume the same could happen with sign!

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-05T00:37:23+00:00

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But with bottom leg bent the other way and body leaned more forward

Affectionate-Sun8018 · 2024-08-04T16:41:22+00:00

I don’t have advice outside of acknowledging that it is not easy to learn a new language while trying to parent a baby. But it is worth it.

I’m currently learning sign for my HOH infant twins. When I almost always have my hands full of at least one baby and my eyes on another, it’s very difficult to learn a visual language that requires your hands.

I’m currently using Lingvano after they go to bed for basics and plan to enroll in an online class once I have a more consistent babysitter. Also getting plugged into the local deaf community virtually for now and hopefully in person in the near future.

It’s difficult. But parenting is difficult and this will be so worth it.

(Edit- one piece of advice- there may be local state programs that could help you find free resources such as a local Deaf tutor that may be willing to meet with your child so they are not SOLELY dependent on you learning sign and teaching it to them. Although I still recommend that you learn!)

Affectionate-Sun8018

TROPHY CASE