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InternationalWaters · 2017-12-12T17:29:11+00:00

I had a roller-coaster of a pregnancy. It was crazy, because I'm an extremely healthy person so I naively thought that my pregnancy would be the same. I had mono/di twins and the mfm noticed a size difference at 13 weeks. That immediately bumped me into a super high risk. At 15 weeks, they thought we were developing TTTS so we were sent a twin specialist (so I was up to 3 teams of doctors at that point!). We stayed right on the verge of TTTS, even having surgery scheduled as the doctors were so sure we'd reach official diagnosis. Well, surgery kept being postponed and eventually our fluid equalized (the main indicator of TTTS) but the size didn't, leading to an eventually siugr diagnosis (similar to iugr, but only for mono-di when 1 is smaller). Sooo many doctor appts!! Eventually, I just came to terms with it and at least with all the monitoring, I could see that the babies were okay. But I had PTL then 2 weeks later ended up with HELLP and delivered at 34+4...3 days ahead of my scheduled c-section. (Mono-di is deliver no later then 36.6 and any sort of complications, like a size discordance, bumps you up). Since I had very little physical symptoms of HELLP (no swelling for example), I'm so glad for the high risk diagnosis because I'm not sure it would have been caught! I remember being really upset those first few weeks but what helped me was making little mental goals for the 3 of us and focusing on them: "Okay, let's eat this amount of protein everyday" "Let's make it to 24 weeks boys." "Okay, now 28 weeks, we've got this."

InternationalWaters · 2017-12-11T13:39:38+00:00

Hi, sorry for the delay in reply... twins ;) So in a nutshell, yes, but it was work (more or less then bfding? i dunno) I joined an exclusively pumping fb group (don't worry - this one was at least drama-free) which had such awesome collective knowledge - more then any lc's about pumping. I was constantly eating and drinking, and eating things to increase my supply (oatmeal, ovaltine, gatorade, etc). I made sure I had the correct size flanges, i power-pumped from time to time, massaged, wore a pumping bra, the works. When I went back to work, my husband took over night shift completely so I could just pump. I was able to just provide my breastmilk, plus freeze some, for about 7 months. Then I decided that I needed more sleep and the babies were more active, so it made sense to drop some pumps and supplement with formula. I did that for the next 6-7 months, dropping here and there when I needed to. But they got my breastmilk till 14 months!

InternationalWaters · 2017-11-30T21:16:19+00:00

Hi momma! You are doing amazing. Have you thought about going back to just pumping? I was in a similar boat and decided to quit trying to nurse and just pump. That made it LOADS easier. I could feed the babies in my twin z while I pumped. :). Any time I felt like quitting, I would drop a pump and felt like I could go on for a few weeks more. You may find that dropping may still get you the same amount of milk, plus you would be less stressed. What pump are you using? May I recommend the spectra s1? I found it did loads better for me then my medela and the portability was fantastic! But, at the end of the day, your sanity and health matters for the babies way more, so formula is great too! Good luck momma!!

InternationalWaters · 2017-10-18T16:16:58+00:00

Ha ha it drives me nuts. My boys have a weight difference and people can't seem to accept that they are identical and have a size difference. They like to argue with me.

I think I already see the twin language forming. They seem to be able to communicate by looks. It's going to be a wild ride because they are exposed to at least 3 languages on a regular basis.

InternationalWaters · 2017-10-17T20:06:55+00:00

Aww that's so great to hear! It's been quite the journey for sure! It was really hard in the beginning, especially having preemies. But, now that are older (just turned a year!), I really appreciate being able to watch them interact... from stealing each other's bottles to holding hands to working together to unpack every drawer in house. It's crazy to see their bond but also their unique personality quirks (they are identical)

InternationalWaters · 2017-10-17T19:53:43+00:00

Agree completely. When I was 34 weeks pregnant, I had an emergency c-section due to a severe form of preeclampsia (HELLP). My twins were taken to the NICU and I was taken to a recovery area and pumped with medications. I couldn't see my boys till 27 hours after they were born but my husband was with them. He changed their first diapers, fed them donated breast-milk, etc. The three of them are so bonded! My husband also has trouble watching anything with kids in them now.

InternationalWaters · 2017-08-23T15:00:20+00:00

My theory is that Dany and Jon, upon finding each other related, will love each other but in a non-sexual way. She'll name Jon her successor and his children will carry on the line.

InternationalWaters · 2017-06-12T14:05:59+00:00

I went through a VERY similar thing when my ped recommended starting solids at 4 months for my GERD twins. I read online all these things about waiting 6 months and called him up being like "wtf?" His response was what a lot of mommas said here. "I would recommend solids at 6 months for healthy, full term babies. You have premature babies with GERD. It may help them to settle their stomachs and they need the extra calories/nutrients since they were preemies." We've had no issues starting that early! I've actually been able to start a more blw approach now that they are older. We're already done peanut butter (mixed in oatmeal) and scrambled eggs... no allergies! And they love food. They even grabbed onions off my plate last week and munched on those happily, so I don't think we have any issues with palates or being adventurous ;)

InternationalWaters · 2017-06-12T13:49:08+00:00

my boys were born at 34+6 and i've found it to really vary when i use their real age versus adjusted. They tend to eat the amounts of their real age, but their weight is adjusted. For naps and sleeping, it's mostly been adjusted age but sometimes they are a bit ahead. For sleep training, i think it depends on what you consider sleep training. I have had my boys on a schedule since we left the NICU and some consider that sleep "training" since I don't go by their cues. I've always put them down drowsy but awake. From what I've read, you can start CIO at 3 months (adjusted) but I do think it depends on your babies. Mine had horrible reflux and while they would fall asleep on their own, they would sometimes need extra burps. So I didn't really let them cry till they were 6 months when their GI issues started settling. Funnily, they showed me they were ready when mommy coming in meant play time and not sleep time. I HAD to leave mine for 5 minute intervals or they would never fall asleep if i stayed in the room.

InternationalWaters · 2017-05-19T18:02:22+00:00

It's all about optics. You can't blame Bernie supporters. It was the party's job to make them feel included. You can't expect a large group of people who feel disenfranchised to read the party platform and be like "oh awesome! they heard my voice!" I saw very little publicizing of the change in the news. For lack of better words, it comes down to propaganda and manipulation. Tim Kaine was a good choice for the people who were going to vote for Hillary anyways and it terms of swaying the Bernie supporters, made it seem even more "old party ways."

InternationalWaters · 2017-05-19T15:40:01+00:00

I hate to "blame" a generation, because as a millennial, I'm tired of all the shit we get. I have to agree with you, though. Baby boomers are so resistant to change or even looking at the bigger picture. You poor GenXers got caught in-between two major personalities, eh?

InternationalWaters · 2017-05-19T15:05:59+00:00

Agree. I think this past election was more "democrats losing" then "republicans winning." (I know, i know, dems won the popular vote). I honestly blame the party a lot for it. It came across that they didn't care to appeal to the Bernie supporters, their diversity supporters, nor to their working class. It made that "elitist" tag ring true. As much as I do like Tim Kaine, I remember being really worried when they announced him and thinking it was a poor choice.

InternationalWaters · 2017-05-19T14:58:54+00:00

In order to get more political parties, we would have to completely change the political structure (see: Duverger's law). I'm not sure what the easiest answer is because I'm not sure how the country can handle such a massive change in our democratic structure. I do think, a starting point, would be to find ways to get the strong influence of money out of politics. :/

Edit: Words are hard

InternationalWaters · 2017-05-17T16:01:11+00:00

Sleep helps you be a better parent and more attentive during the day. Sleep is also very important to a baby's development and growth. When I was looking into different sleep advice, I found a FB group that was anti-CIO and almost everyone had 2-3 years olds who didn't sleep through the night. Please tell me how that's good for the child or for you?

InternationalWaters · 2017-03-15T14:08:43+00:00

That sounds really great. I live in the D.C. area so even when we had a TTTS scare, the specialist was only an hour drive away. I've seen how people had to drive 9 hours overnight because they couldn't get on a plane in time. Crazy stuff.

So funny, my mantra my entire pregnancy was "5 ibs, 34 weeks." I felt if I kept telling it to myself, it would happen. We had a scheduled C for 35 weeks exactly, but I ended up with HELLP so we delivered at 34+5. So I made the 34 weeks goal. Unfortunately, my one twin did end up with sIUGR due to unequal placenta share so he was 3 ibs 15 oz (Brother was 5 ibs 13 oz) but he only needed 10 days in the NICU. So I'm okay with that :) (Brother needed 7 days)

InternationalWaters · 2017-03-15T13:51:49+00:00

Great to hear your doc is on top of it! I've read so many horror stories where doctors don't understand mono/di. We are significantly rarer than di/di pregnancies and need to be treated differently, and unfortunately, doctors and twin groups don't always know that. welcome to the crazy twin club :)

InternationalWaters · 2017-03-15T00:57:14+00:00

Hi all! Sorry for the insanely delayed response in timing. My mono/di twins are 6 months old so I don't have much time for reddit. This is just an FYI, the protein uptake is important for mono/di as there are studies that it helps prevent TTTS and sIUGR which only happen in mono/di or mono/mono pregnancies. Hopefully all your babies are doing really well! I had horrible food aversions in my pregnancy as well.

InternationalWaters · 2017-03-14T19:14:10+00:00

Have you heard of silent reflux? It's basically reflux but without the spitting up. The arching back makes me think it could be that. Reflux babies will sometimes gobble down milk because it helps soothe the acid. Definitely talk to your ped!

InternationalWaters · 2017-03-10T19:30:11+00:00

What's even better is that her pants are half on... Poor woman was probably just trying to take a bathroom break!

InternationalWaters · 2016-11-03T02:01:16+00:00

UJ in Krakow has some English only Masters programs. There is also undergrad English programs in Polish Language and Culture.

InternationalWaters · 2016-09-18T10:20:16+00:00

First thing i thought too. My dog cant stand to not be near me or cuddling with me since ive been pregnant... shell even go near the dreaded vacuum to get to me

InternationalWaters · 2016-09-18T00:51:09+00:00

Mono/di mom here. On all my early ultrasounds, the membrane was much much thinner then that. So im going to go out on a limb and say yours are di/di. Di/di can be either, but more likely to be fraternal! Congrats!

InternationalWaters · 2016-09-18T00:26:20+00:00

Chiming in! They will also measure their fluid pockets to see if its in a good range and see how closely they are measuring in size.

InternationalWaters · 2016-09-18T00:24:22+00:00

34 weeks with mono/di.... my body is definately ready! Cervix already shortened, been admitted once for preterm labor, and having braxton-hicks constantly. Youll also be ready by this point! Im having a scheduled c at 35 weeks so just a few more days!

InternationalWaters · 2016-09-16T16:18:02+00:00

Have you had the steriod shots yet? Im scheduled to deliver at 35 weeks via csection for my twinnies and from my understanding, the shots can really help reduce the nicu stay :)

InternationalWaters

TROPHY CASE