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AmandaV
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| Posted: April 24 2013 at 9:18pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and prayers coming your way. The thought of twins can be very overwhelming. I was mostly spared the worry - I was very trusting, for some reason - thanks be to God - and was not really in shock just tried to get ready. My oldest was almost 4, the second was 2 1/2.. I was not ready. The first few months were so hard and kind of a blur. But I had no helpers at home during the day. Husband of course, and family visited, but the children could only bring diapers and coo at the babies. You have baby holders. You have a 12 year old. I would focus on your health, rest, eating enough, and training your olders in any habits that might have fallen aside. I'm still teaching my kids to get into good habits, but I bet yours have pretty good routines. Talk to each of them about how you'll need more help with two babies. Assign a lunch maker or a snack/water bringer for mom when nursing, or a reader to littles while mom nurses, and pretty much everything else while mom nurses! :) You'll do fine! You'll do great!
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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Mrs. B
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| Posted: April 25 2013 at 10:35am | IP Logged
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Definitely get rest, and don't push yourself. You really need to have that spare energy for the babies. I relaxed amount of schoolwork I was doing with the kids a few weeks before delivery of mine because it just takes so much energy from me to be fully present and encouraging to the kids. My twin boys are 4 months, and I'm not really back to doing much of that schoolwork. Instead, I'm teaching my 6 year old to read and we are all trying something new for spelling so it's okay if things change after the babies are born and you can't get back to doing "what you were doing before." So don't stress about it. Workbooks can always be resumed next school year. With the freedom this has given my kids, one of mine has suddenly decided to write stories- so it can even be a good thing to have an extended break.
You might even need 6 months to get back to doing the usual stuff. I think that's okay to take it if you need it.
I occasionally get serious anxiety about "doing it all." This can be hard, but I tell myself "doing it all" is not reasonable for a postpartum mom of twins and it's okay to have some slack time. You're not alone in your worry, but we just take it one day at a time and pray for the graces God wants to give us.
Rather than worrying so much about school try and get your house in order- declutter, clean up, make food for the freezer now and get some extra stuff for the new babies. You will need some extra clothes. I didn't quite double the amount but some extra is really good to cut down on the amount of laundry.
I bought some nursing nighties and robes and a new nursing pillow from double blessings. I looked forward to using them, too. I was able to co-nurse the babies for the first 2 or three months but now they are too big. I stocked up on diapers by using coupons.
The baby powder from burts bees smells Sooooooo amazing.
Do you want birth stories?
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and a bunch of rabbits, a pack of dogs, a clowder of cats, and some fish.
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 25 2013 at 9:25pm | IP Logged
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I would love to hear birth stories!!
Is it true I can expect to get about 3 hours of sleep for the first few months? I'm scared of that. How in the world will I ever function??
And - I just realized that pumpkin seeds have 18 grams of protein per 1/4 cup! My new favourite protein munchies!
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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: April 26 2013 at 7:34am | IP Logged
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I only got on average 3 hours of sleep or so a night for the first few months. It was difficult, and it as not possible for me to nap during the day because I was homeschooling AND I had so many other little children; I couldn't just "sleep when babies sleep" sort of thing with the youngers. If you have an older child, perhaps you can catch a nap here and there. Also, use those weekend opportunities when husband is home to sleep. You really just must insist on this! I gained a whole bunch of weight I think in large part due to sleep deprivation. So, talk to husband about how to handle that now because it can be difficult. My only suggestion would be to nurse one of the babies each night and then bottle feed the other. Bottle fed babies usually sleep for longer stretches, and then you can keep getting the other baby back to sleep with co-sleeping/nursing. Then, I would switch the babies the next night. They could easily transition from bottle to nursing for some reason, although I started out with nursing them exclusively but quickly found that I could not keep up with the demand! Also, husband has the bottle baby as "his" baby for the night. We had one of the twins that did better with the Daddy/bottle routine. So, she ended up being "his baby" at night most of the time, and I would nurse her first thing in the morning and give the baby I slept with the bottle. So, I just switched around and assigning each parent a baby REALLY helped. Husbands are often used to us just nursing and taking care of the babies with one, which makes sense if we are nursing, but you are seriously going to need his help! I won't lie!   Also, I did really stupid things like go to town to Borders bookstore or something to "relax" for a few hours when I was overwhelmed. In retrospect, I should have just gone to bed!!! Also, relax your school, purge unecc. items from your house now to minimize your cleaning. Also, I did have to have cleaning help for a time at the end of my pregnancy. Something we couldn't really afford, and I was SO HUGE for some reason...I tend to have big babies though...and it was hard to keep up with it all, already having 5 young children. Anyway, talk with hubby about his willingness to help BEFORE they come home. My husband DID end up falling asleep during the day here and there, and he does NOT do well with sleep deprivation , so I ended up staying in another room for awhile so he could sleep, but then again, I tend to be a martyr type personality, so DON'T DO THIS!! It was bad for my health to try to "do it alone". Don't let this discourage you though. This was MY experience with my hyper babies, who are hyper girls! You may have babies that sleep, sleep, sleep!!
Talk soon,
Kim
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Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: April 26 2013 at 8:32am | IP Logged
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For some reason, it seems God helps you to make it through the sleeplessness. At least I have found that with each baby, but particularly the twins. It can be a bit of a blur, but you just make it through. I know we were getting to the point where it was feeling more difficult to deal with, and they started sleeping more at night. It was so blessed to wake up and realized they had slept. 
For protein, one of my favorite things I ate during the twin preg., that my dh still says was weird, but it tasted so good to me, and picked me up, was a fresh spinach, hamburger patty and fried egg salad. IU got a cheap box of hamburgers, so I could easily fry one up, then fry an egg, throw it all together, then go sit down again. I also got some brewers yeast and would add it to my salads, or mac n' cheese, things like that that it was tolerable in. Fish such as tuna and salmon were also high on my proteins list, as well as peanut butter and string cheese.
Continuing to pray for you! 
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Syncletica
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| Posted: May 05 2013 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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Suddenly worried. I'm reading Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More.
I already understood that many twins are preemies, but there must be ways to prevent that. Protein seems to be a biggie. What is/are the best way(s) to prevent having preemies? I don't want them to be spending time in the NICU!!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 05 2013 at 11:37pm | IP Logged
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dense nutrition (not just protein but definitely that).. you gotta keep all 3 of you healthy.. and as pregnancy gets later, you'll lose space for food rapidly.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: May 06 2013 at 7:15am | IP Logged
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Protein shakes might be an easy way to increase your protein & nutrition intake, especially when it's difficult to eat as your sweet babies get bigger.
Some ingred. I've tried and find easy to tolerate:
~Whey powder (BioChem 100% Whey Protein Vanilla is a flavor that doesn't overpower)
~Greek yogurt
~Milk
~Bolthouse Farms Smoothie (Amazing Mango is light & pleasant tasting ~ I use about 4-6 oz. per double shake)
Shaker bottles are an easy way to whip up a shake you can sip throughout the day. BlenderBottle.com makes a sport bottle version which holds 26 oz. BTW, I've never tried it but some people add nut butters to their shake ~ another simple way to increase your protein intake.
Praying for you and your precious little ones.
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: May 06 2013 at 8:44pm | IP Logged
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Just to give you hope, our twins were 6 lbs. 4 oz, and 6 lbs. 2.5 oz. and our one twin only ended up in the NICU for 4 days after having been home for 4 days, due to dehydration linked to a spit-up problem. Otherwise, neither one would have spent time int he NICU and they were home within 2 days of birth, with me. They turned out this healthy and good sized for twins *in spite* of my having not started eating near enough protein and nutrients for twins until the 24 or 26 week of pregnancy! If your doing all you can to beef up the protein, and eating good healthy food, you should do great.
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Maryan
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| Posted: May 06 2013 at 9:19pm | IP Logged
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 and 
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Mrs. B
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| Posted: May 06 2013 at 10:58pm | IP Logged
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Don't let them induce you without a really good reason. Get as close to your due date as you can. I was within 4 days of mine. I was not induced. A baby that is close to the due date has far less problems feeding, breathing and sleeping than a baby that is full term.
Don't let those books worry you. Your experience with twins will be different. 
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~ * mama to a houseful~ *
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and a bunch of rabbits, a pack of dogs, a clowder of cats, and some fish.
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Syncletica
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| Posted: May 22 2013 at 11:06pm | IP Logged
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I just got my glucose test results today at my midwife appt. and apparently it was pretty high. I have 2 weeks to allot to cutting out all sugar before a 2 hour test.
Has anyone had gestational diabetes? Have you treated it naturally? What advice would you have for avoiding/dealing with it?
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 22 2013 at 11:22pm | IP Logged
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figure your own levels of carbs.. and GD almost always is more unstable in the mornings getting better throughout the day.. what you have too late at night will cause major fluctuations in the morning.. and you need that fasting number under control.
Dropping all carbs at breakfast is good.. I had 2 months of eggs and bacon for breakfast but my numbers stayed level. Easiest if you don't need too much variation. And breakfast is the easiest meal for me to not vary as much.
And no eating after about 8pm was my other part.. but once the numbers were under control.. I could have carbs with lunch and dinner (think like half the carbs of a regular dish.. sandwich eaten open face so only one slice of bread).. and I could have fresh fruit for a snack as long as I watched the spacing and had something with protein with it.. cottage cheese is good with fresh fruit and high protein.
Otherwise, I ate mainly regular meals and just didn't eat as many carbs as normal.
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: May 23 2013 at 8:19am | IP Logged
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Make sure you eat protein with any carbs, balance the two. Think of protein as sustaining, longer lasting energy, and carbs as quick bursting energy, you need to balance your intake of the two. You may be able to eat at night, or middle of the night(I found I *needed* to with the twins just to get enough into me, and keep me from getting low blood sugar symptoms, which may or may not be your case?), but make sure you have protein to sustain your blood sugar through the night, and help prevent the blood sugar fluctuations. My family members who were diabetic always made sure to have protein in the evening, as a just-before-bedtime snack, even if just a spoon full of peanut butter, or piece of cheese, as it really helped their blood sugars to stay better through the night.
Continuing to hold you up in prayer!
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 23 2013 at 8:59am | IP Logged
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I had GD with both my pregnancies, and needed insulin. I generally have always had problems maintaining my blood glucose levels, typically having hypoglycemia since childhood.
Do not feel like a failure if you do need insulin. This is your placenta messing up your blood glucose levels, not you. I ate very well, but my levels would not respond, so I had to do insulin.
BUT looking back, while I followed their suggestions loosely and did more whole foods (Really, it's shockingly unhealthy what the Diabetic diet suggests!), I could have done more. I would avoid wheat for sure, and most grains because those create a healthy imbalance in the sugar, no matter what they tell you. (Read "Wheat Belly" for example.) Your babies need carbs, but not simple carbs or those that convert so fast.
Pilgrim's advice is spot on. They will tell you to eat small multiple meals, and definitely before bed have some protein. Combine things like cheese and apple, plain yogurt and fruit.
Some of my family have been following this sugar control diet, more info in The Sugar Control Bible and Cookbook: The Complete Nutrition Guide to Revitalizing Your Health. It's not for pregnancy, but there are good guidelines in gaining balance.
I'm not saying to follow the diet, but I found it really helpful to read for some ideas.
I also think books like Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat has good ideas. It's a modified paleo, allowing potatoes and rice.
What Jodie said about no sugar/carbs in the morning. Have a big breakfast -- eggs or omelette with cheese and veggies and some side of meat. Cook up a batch of hamburgers and have one in the morning with eggs (yum -- I was doing that this week with our party leftovers and I had none today.  )
I've never read any study to confirm this, but my mother and I both find that pork in different forms isn't as high protein or our bodies don't utilize it as well. So when I use ham or bacon for my meat it's not as much of a stabilizer.
I love the old books by Adelle Davis (she predates Nourishing Traditions which I JUST can't get into!).
And I loosely followed the Bradley method suggestions of protein.
Lots of rambling...continued prayers for you!
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Syncletica
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 10:36pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, ladies.
What if I don't have any symptoms (that I can tell)? I have no idea how I'm doing. I often feel like -- oh dear, maybe I'd better not eat in case it has too many carbs or sugars. But, how ridiculous is that?
I felt like I was cheating because I had an apple after supper with some almonds.
Are any of those books (or sections of them) interchangeable with a title that could be: "Blood Sugars for Dummies"? Because that's what I am in this case...
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 11:37pm | IP Logged
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you need to be checking your blood sugar with a monitor.. it's the only way you'll know what your body can handle.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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AmandaV
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 11:49pm | IP Logged
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I know nothing about blood sugar, officially, though I can tell mine drops sometimes. But I would say, as far as getting enough food for the babies, you shouldn't feel guilty eating an apple and almonds, unless that is a big no-no for your blood sugar issues. With a twin pregnancy, you have to eat. Way, way, more than you would think is normal. You need much more than with a singleton. At least I did. So yes, monitor your blood sugar like Jodie said, so that you can eat when you are hungry. The babies need you to. Sorry, off my soapbox now.
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Amanda
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Syncletica
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| Posted: May 25 2013 at 12:18am | IP Logged
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Thank you again!
I've actually just learned a bit more.......as stupid as this will sound, I didn't know what blood sugar was. It seemed like some forbidden topic I didn't go to because of fear of the unknown. Or something. And it's simply the amount of sugar in your blood. Well, now. How simple was that?
This short article just taught me a lot: (in case it helps anyone else out):
8 Easy Tips for Keeping Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
I will look into getting a monitor. I assume one can get one at any old drugstore....?
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"Live as though your judge were to meet you today, and you will not fear Him when He does come." - St. Augustine
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Syncletica
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| Posted: May 25 2013 at 12:26am | IP Logged
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I'm just reading "The Sugar Diet" that Jennifer linked to.
In it, they say to avoid even stevia.
While in the other article I linked to, said it was fine to use it.
Any suggestions or experiences with stevia? Stevia has been the one saving grace for not being able to satisfy a sweet tooth.
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