Twins at 34 weeks?

[mamalove]

Hi everyone,
I was told today at my Cons. appt. that i will most likley have to deliver my babies asap and within the next week or so because the blood flow to smaller twin has reduced.
We've had our share of problems,from about 27 weeks but smaller twin would go down and catch up and everything would be ok,but todays news came as a shock!
We are not mentally prepared at all,all their clothes is not washed nor their bedding..i just can't bring myself to do it,i keep putting it off.
I would really love to hear some reassuring stories about babies being born this early and how they've coped,how you coped..
Their est. weights are good,twin 1 is 3lbs 14oz and twin 2 iz 4lbs 8oz,fluid around them is fine.
How long can we expect them to stay in special care? Can i breastfeed them?
Do they need clothes? Are there visitng times in scbu? basically ANYTHING we need to know?
I would really appriciate it,we're very freakedout by all this.
I am having second dose of steroid tomorrow,and then scan on Fri and Monday and we'll after that wether i'll go for an induction or c-section.

 

[joeyjo]

Sorry I have no advice or info but just wanted to send some

 

[chel27]

hi hun my little girl was born at 34 weeks and was in special care for 18 days, only bcos of the fact she was premature. she had some oxygen the first day and was tube fed and nursed in a warmer cot but apart from that she was fine...shes now home and perfectly well. having your LO in scbu is hard to deal with and upsetting as obviously you cant bond properly with your LO, but even though they in special care we cared for our LO mostly, i still breastfed and expressed. you and your OH can stay as long as you want whilst there but other visitors are restricted to visiting hours. yes you can take your own clothes in for LO, the scbu unit do have clothes to put on them but im sure like us you would perfer to take your own with you.

dont worry hun everything will be fine. hope this has helped you xx

 

[mamalove]

Thanks girls,i keep searching through net for stories,and it seems that most babies spend at least 2 weeks in scbu when born at this stage,and if there are no real issues.
I hope they'll be fine,they just seem soooo tiny!

xxx

 

[Jkelmum]

My son Jake who is a strapping 13 yr old was born at 34 wks weighin 5lb he needed special care for 3 days as he couldnt keep his body temp but he breastfed from day 1 and breathed on his own we was home when he was 11 days old ....as this is planned i am sure u will get steroid injections to help there lungs

 

[alloyd519]

Hi hun, my twin girls we're born last February at 33 weeks and did really well!! Kailyn stayed in the NICU for 9 days and Kyleigh was in for 3 weeks. Kailyn had to stay in due to having to learn how to feed from a bottle, but no major medical issues. Kyleigh had an infection, got rid of it, and then got another right before she was supposed to come home but had to wait for her to also learn how to bottle feed (due to them having feeding tubes at first). I really wouldn't worry, and i'm sure even just the extra week will make a big difference. But all in all they did really well for being preemies! Keep us updated I wanna know how it all goes for you!

 

[kookie]

my sister had twin girls at 35 weeks she had had the steroid injections as well they were both just under 5lb each and were home in 3 days they did really well breathing on there own ect and she breastfed straight away i know your a little earlier but just wanted to share a positive story. xx

 

[fruity]

Hi,
My best friend had twin boys at 24 weeks, they had to stay in hospital until their due date but she could stay with them and visit anytime she wanted. They are perfect, no harm came to them at all. They are reaching all the milestones they should be (based on milestones of their due date rather than birth date). Just wanted to let you know that just because they will be early, they will be just great!!

 

[snowgirl]

Hi hun,

read your post on another forum and replied there. Just thought I'd answer some specifics here.

How long can we expect them to stay in special care?

Depends. Premature babies have a habit of not being able to control their own body temperature. My twin 2 was 4lb 8oz and didn't need to go into NICU. Smaller twin being 3lb 2oz did. He was in an incubator and temperature was controlled over a period of days then reduced gradually to ensure he could maintain his own body temp.

Can i breastfeed them?

They strongly encourage you to put the babies to the breast in special care. At 34 weeks your smaller baby may be very tired and not latch on easily. But keep putting him/her to the breast to encourage your milk flow anyway, but if he/she can't breast feed just yet, then they will be either tube fed (and sometimes IV fed in addition) or cup fed.

Do they need clothes?

They will provide small clothes if you don't have any. Our little boy used the NICU clothes for about 12 days then when he came out of low dependency into transitional care I dressed him in stuff we'd bought from Tescos as their babygrows (early baby range) are tiny.

Are there visitng times in scbu?

Only for relatives. You can be there 24 hours if you wish.

basically ANYTHING we need to know?

I had a c section. Twin 1 was the smaller of the two and he was taken immediately to NICU. Twin 2 was allowed to come up to the ward with me. I didn't see my little boy in NICU for 24 hours because they were short staffed and couldn't wheel me downstairs. Don't let that happen to you if you have had a section. Insist they take you down as soon as possible to see your baby. I was really angry about this and I'd hate for anyone else to not see their baby after their op as soon as they want to.

It's very upsetting seeing your baby in an incubator. You may feel very overwhelmed by this but they will let you hold your baby as soon as possible. The nurses are very good in Neo Natal care and will want you to hold your baby asap. Don't be surprised if you feel very emotional. Nothing can prepare you for having a baby in NICU/SCBU. It's heartwrenching. I still feel very emotional about it 8 weeks later. Best thing you can do is spend all the time you can down in NICU rather than on the ward. If you have your bigger baby on the ward with you, take them down in a cot and spend loads of time with your other baby. It will help you bond.

If you want to see some pictures of my boy in NICU then PM me It might help you prepare yourself for seeing a small baby.

Glad you are having the steroid injections as it means your babies won't need any breathing support.

Big

Elle x

 

[mamalove]

Thank you so much everyone
I just got back from hospital tonight,i went in for my scan on friday but ended up staying as they think i might be devloping pre-eclampsia.
I also had blood transfusion because my HB is very low,so things just keep creeping up on me!
The good news is that we're still ''3 in 1'' but no idea for how long,i have to go to hospital every day from now on for bloods,urine checks and ctg monitoring.
Blood flow today was ok for both babies but smaller baby has ''less'' amniotic fluid,on friday it was fine ???
I am not leaking,what could this be ?

Snowgirl,thanks sooo much for your post,it explains everything i wanted to know
I never had the tour around the scbu,they keep saying they'll show me around but theres always something else ..
I would love to see pictures if you don't mind,as i have NO IDEA what to expect at all,i think i'll die when they leave them there without me ..I spent the last few days on maternity wards and everyone has their babies with them,i just don't know how i'll cope.

 

[alloyd519]

I thought i'd post you some pictures of my girls in the NICU, I don't know why but it really didn't seem to bother me too much, I think I was just so excited to actually get to see them and spend time with them. It was really hard for me to stay in the hospital after my c-section hearing other people's babies crying and not having my own, but I think the worst part is leaving the hospital without them so i'd try and prepare yourself more for that. But you can always go see them whenever you want which is good, I only had 2 hours a day I could go, as it was policy.

Just getting used to how they run things in the NICU and once you get to know some of the nurses and everything it doesn't seem as scarey, lots of alarms for all the babies, I always had to look up when I heard one to make sure it wan't one of my girls! And a lot of the babies in there have feeding tubes at first which was a little scarey and I didn't want to pull it out or anything when I was holding them! But you get used to it all and looking back now it really wasn't a scarey or bad experience for me.

Who knows, they might be nice and healthy and not even need a stay!! Hope everything goes well with you and the LO's, and keep us updated!!

 

[mamalove]

Thank you girls

Alloyd,thanks for pictures,they are beautiful

I think everything is getting less scary now that we're past the 34 week mark,and i just hope they stay put for another week or 10 days.

I have another scan tomorrow,to check the blood flow and amniotic fluid and i just keep panicking because i now i can be ''left'' in hospital any time i come in!

 

[alloyd519]

That's really good that you got past 34 weeks!! More than I made it! They say that average length of a twin pregnancy is 34-36 weeks but I think for the most part you should be out of the clear with preemie problems! I hope that they can stay put for you a little longer!! Keep us updated!!

 

[mamalove]

Hey,just a quick update!

I had my babies on April 9th,i was 35+2 and spent the last few days of my pregnancy in hospital.
Both girls were with me from day 1 and didn't need any help at all,they were a bit jaundaced but nothing had to be done about it.
We spent 3 days in hospital,and went home Easter Sunday!
Smaller twin was 2.120kg and ''big'' sister was 2.380kg both perfectly healthy!

Thanks again everyone for their help and advice

 

[joeyjo]

Congratulations!

 

[Plus2]

Hey,just a quick update!

I had my babies on April 9th,i was 35+2 and spent the last few days of my pregnancy in hospital.
Both girls were with me from day 1 and didn't need any help at all,they were a bit jaundaced but nothing had to be done about it.
We spent 3 days in hospital,and went home Easter Sunday!
Smaller twin was 2.120kg and ''big'' sister was 2.380kg both perfectly healthy!

Thanks again everyone for their help and advice

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I had my twins at 35+1

 

[LMH]

Congratulations, glad to hear that you and they are doing well

 

[MummyMummy]

congrats!

i'm glad you had a perfect finish!

xXx

 

[embojet]

Congratulations! Glad they are doing so well xx

 

[Bec L]

Congratulations. So pleased for you xx