Book recommendation

When I was pregnant with twins last time I had a great book recommended to me. It is called When you're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads. by Dr. Luke and Eberlein. It is a great resource. So many people are clueless that a twin pregnancy is so different than a singleton. IT is all about carring to term and having babies healty enough to come home from the hospital with you. I did it and my little miracles came home with me after 4 days b/c of my c-section. It even recommends gaining 50-60 pounds. I know that sounds like a lot but if you look at the science behind it it makes sence. So if anyone is looking for a great book. Read it. I think there is a new one out since the edidtion I have but you can find it cheap at Amazon.com. ANyone else out there read it?

 

I'm at page 189 now. Love it!!

 

I read it and I loved it. My OB is impressed with my weight gain (50lbs so far) because my babies are measuring 6.5lbs each at 34.5 weeks. I believe what she says about gaining the appropriate amount of weight by certain milestones in order to give your babies the best chance of avoiding the NICU when born. My babies are projected to be 7lbs each when I get my c-section at 36 weeks.

 

I saw several people saying how great it was to have only gained 15 lbs or so and it worried me. I just wanted to get the info out for people who would love help at having big healthy babies. Mine were 5.11 and 5.13 so they could have been bigger but after 6 weeks of bedrest I was ready to get them here.

 

I love this book! I've read it a bunch this pregnancy and its been really helpful. My ob totally agrees with everything in the book too which is fabulous. I've gained 49 of the 60lbs my ob wants me to gain and i have to credit it with this book. My babies are also in the 86th and 93rd %tile in weight!

 

I've read the book and have also been following the dietary guidelines the best I can. Some days it is just too much for me to eat, especially if I'm feeling a little nauseous, but since week 19 or so I've been doing my best. I gained very little in my first trimester, only about 7 pounds, but as of this week I've gained about 43. At week 19 my babies were measuring small and Baby B was diagnosed with IUGR. I really don't think it was diet-related and neither do my doctors, but I wanted to do everything I could to give them a chance for getting bigger and stronger. They have been doing great and at my last scan Baby A was at the 55th percentile (up from 25th) and Baby B was at the 18th percentile (up from 5th). I really think the nutrition has made a difference. I feel really large and I don't love the way my body looks, but I think it's a small sacrifice for the health of my boys.

 

I read it and while I'm sure it works for everyone, some stuff was just unrealistic for us. Like three servings of red meat daily. And so many naps, while your nanny watches your older kids. If you ate that much meat I can see why you'd need that many naps, but still!

Take all advice with a grain of salt (well, not rally salt, edema sucks). It is helpful, but if you can't follow it to the t, its ok!

 

I liked it, it really gave me a goal to work towards and TRY to eat more. I would often stop at Mc Donalds for a Mc Muffin prior to shopping just to get some extra calories and food in. I really got into making shakes with extras and that really helped. My two were 36 weeks one 4 lbs 10 oz the other 6 bls 3 oz.

I also recommend "Healthy sleep habits happy child" and "Happiest baby on the block" great for when after the babies arrive and you can attempt to understand the sleep patterns of the various ages.

Heather

 

PS- didn't mean to be negative. I just used it to beat myself up a bit when I couldn't hit their marks.

 

I highly recommend this book, too. While I didn't follow it word for word, it definitely pointed me in the right direction. I gained 63 pounds and my babies were 7lbs 2oz and 7lbs 4oz at 37w1d (and for those who freak at the thought of gaining that much weight, I lost all of it by 4 months post partum).

 

Anyone else read this?

 

I've got mixed feelings about Dr. Luke. On the one hand, I think she does such good with her nutrition info that she deserves a lot of respect. Not that I followed her exactly, but she's got a great point - pregnant mommas need lots of protein to grow babies. You need protein to build cells. Every bite counts. Get in lots of eggs, nuts, meat, beans and good fruits and veggies. Fish oil. All sorts of good food / fuel.

But, I have two big problems with her advice. One is on activity. I think she's totally off base. But all means twin mommas need to listen to their bodies carefully. It's entirely appropriate for twin mommas to take off work weeks and weeks before their due date, and scale back stress and activity. But only if they need it. If things are going well, if you have a low stress job and feel great, working and light exercise is really good. I walked every day in my pregnancy. Several gentle miles. And I was in great shape for delivery at 39 weeks. Yes, I was very lucky. But telling women like me to sit on the couch for 5 months would not have been good. Get the OK from your doc, make sure your cervix is good, and be as active as your body tells you it wants to be.

Secondly, I think it was Dr. Luke who was involved with the study showing that twins should be born at 38 weeks or before. I strongly believe this is poor science. Too many different twin moms were included in her sample. For twin moms with uncomplicated pregnancies (yes, there are such things) you are robbing your babies of a very important week or two in utero. In some ways I wish I hadn't induced at 39 weeks and let my girls come at their own time.

See this study:

http://www.uptodate.com/home/content/topic.do?topicKey=labordel/5122

But for all the good Dr. Luke does to prevent prematurity, she deserves a lot of credit. NO! Not all prematurity can be explained by diet or maternal care, but it is an important component, and one all twin moms should be mindful of.

Hope that's not too preachy! Just my $0.02!

 

Great recommendations, thank you. It’s so important to have guidance specific to multiple pregnancies, especially when it comes to things like weight gain and carrying to term. Having your babies come home with you after just four days must have been such a relief! For everyone looking for it, you could probably grab a copy easily on Amazon or even check with mymail nectar for any deals on parenting books. Definitely looks like a must-read for expecting moms of multiples.