Having my twins tomorrow! Advice?

Just back from the dr and I'm going to have my twins tomorrow morning via c-section. I'm so nervous! I suddenly can't stop crying for my 22 mo daughter too. Her whole world is going to be flipped on its head and she has no idea. Also nervous about having a csection. I've never had surgery before. If anyone has any last minute advice for me, I'd really appreciate it. I'm off to pack my bag and try to get this house in some semblence of order!

Thanks,
Amy

 

Just back from the dr and I'm going to have my twins tomorrow morning via c-section. I'm so nervous! I suddenly can't stop crying for my 22 mo daughter too. Her whole world is going to be flipped on its head and she has no idea. Also nervous about having a csection. I've never had surgery before. If anyone has any last minute advice for me, I'd really appreciate it. I'm off to pack my bag and try to get this house in some semblence of order!

Thanks,
Amy

 

1. Don't panic. There are times when each day will seem like a year, but it does get better -- the first few weeks are the hardest.

2. After your c-section, get up and walk around as soon as they will let you (which should be just as soon as the anesthesia wears off, if you had no complications). It will hurt like blazes but it will really help.

3. Don't worry too much about your older DD. This is easy for me to say as the twins are my onlies, but I think everyone feels that way to some extent about their first child when they have younger ones -- and the older children always survive. (I did.)

There was a post just like this in the past 2 months or so -- maybe someone can help you find it?

Good luck!

 

You are going to do a great job!
I'll be blunt- I thought the recovery from my c/s was terrible compared to my singleton vag birth, but everyone was healthy & that's the important part!
Your dd1 will adjust. My dd1 did really well UNTIL dd3 began to crawl & now the fun has really begun. Do you have anyone who could come over & play with dd1? My parents or sister would come over & play with dd1 - so that she & I could get a break from each other.
Good luck! It's only going to get better!

 

We picked up little gifts that the twins "brought" for our 3 yr old. Things like coloring books and markers (Crayola Magic) that he could keep busy with while visiting at the hospital- and he was instantly in love cause the babies were already giving him presents.

You will get lots of advice from the wonderful ladies (and the terrific gentlemen too) so I will leave it at give yourself a break; don't beat yourself up over everything and be sure to ACCEPT ANY HELP OFFERED!

Good Luck and God Bless You tomorrow morning- will be watching for your birth story...welcome to FY!!!

Christina

 

*First thing is to get up and walk as soon as possible, it will hurt but it really helps you recover. Dont just stay in bed, you need to continue to move to keep the blood flowing.
*Stay on top of your meds, even if you plan to bf, the meds are fine. Dont think you are feeling better and not take it because the pain will come back and its a lot harder to get the pain back under control.
*This one might be a little scary but I lost a lot of blood in the last c-section, I refused a transfusion and regreted it...it took me a long time to recover this last time and I had several complications...so dont be stubborn like me

As for your other child, it will be tough to adjust. My son didnt understand at all and i had been in the hospital for a few weeks before the girls came and then they were in the NICU so I wasnt home for a month and a half or so, so all of a sudden I mommy came home wiht these two screaming brats. He was angry at first and even now he sometimes gets a little rough or gets really obnoxious but its just jealousy. Try to do something with the older one at least once a day, whether its reading a book or dancing around...it makes life much easier. Oh and if you can, try to do your grocery shopping at night when dh is home, leave the babies wiht him and take your dd with you for some one on one time

Good luck tomorrow

 

Relax about the csection itself. Just think that your "labor" will be about and hour compared to what it could be if you did it the old fashioned way!

My spinal was super good and not painful at all. I have an issue with motion sickness, so as soon as they laid me back I threw up - several times during the surgery. That wasn't fun, but I probably would have doing a vaginal birth as well.

I was up the next day moving around. The first few times burns like you wouldn't believe where they cut you open, but it's nothing compared to the pain I felt after my laprascopy (a tiny incision in the belly button). I was on true pain meds for two days then just Tylenol. I was surprised at how little pain there really was.

Take your own pillow if that makes you comfy.

Just think....tomorrow you'll have babies. The rest of what you are worried about will just melt away when you hear those cries!

 

Congratulations!!

My number one piece of advice is pain control. There was a lovely nurse who taught me the art of pain management 2 days postpartum. I envision a place in heaven for this woman. They will most likely prescribe percocet, which you can take every 4-6 hours, usually only when you request it. You may also have tylenol, and you can stagger the doses. So say 8 am percocet, 10 am tylenol, ask for the 12noon-1 PM percocet, even if you don't yet feel the need for it. Do not wait until you are in pain.

I do not mean to scare you. My pain may have been more severe than most as I had a classical inscision (not bikini)and I had some hip and pubic symphasis problems late in the pregnancy. There is no reason, however, for you to experience a great deal of pain, when you should be enjoying your new babies.

As for your older daughter, I second a pp who said that you should probably get gifts "from" the new babies. My daughter loves her baby brother and sister and proudly wears her Big sister tshirt she got from the twins.

Good luck and enjoy your babies.
Cat

 

I was sad for my eight year old boy when I had my girls. He was the only child for so long I wasn't sure how he was going to react. I just kept telling him how special God must have thought he was to bless him with two sisters for him to look after and protect. I also made sure to let him help me with the girls as much as possible so he could bond with them and feel included. For example, when it came to bath time he really looked forward to washing their hair or giving them a bottle at feeding time. Little things like that will help your little girl adjust to the new additions and make her feel like she is the big sister and the little ones need her, too.

As far as the c-section, I was scared to death, too. My docotor prescribed me some pain medication that was a stronger version of aleve. It was great and didn't make feel drowsy at all. I had a lot of trouble going to the bathroom after my c-section, so as soon as the nurses let you, you need to get up and get moving as much as possible. Getting up not only helps you get used to the pain, but it also wakes up your insides so you can go to the bathroom.

Also, my sister-in-law bought some merderma to put on my scar. It turns out it was a good buy because my scar did not heal flat like it was supposed to do. However, the mederma has made a big difference in the way the scar looks now.

 

My dd was 21 months when her brothers were born and she did great! She was fascinated by the boys and never acted out towards them. She did start systematically destroying the house when I would care for the babies, she wanted Mommies 100% attention again, but she has now adjusted.

Like everyone else has said - stay on top of those meds!!! You can't take care of those little bundles if you are in pain. The meds they'll give you are compatible with bfing so you don't need to worry about that.

If you need to sneeze or cough, hold a pillow to your tummy as tight as you can! That makes coughing bearable.

Use paper plates & bowls and plastic cups & utensils, the crockpot is your friend, as is the take-out menu. Get as much rest as possible, if it absolutely doesn't need to be done - then don't do it! Put in a video for your toddler and try to take naps during the day as much as you can.

You'll do great, feel free to come here and vent or ask questions if you need to!

 

I second everyone else that says get up and moving after the c-section as soon as you are allowed. I dont know if anyone has really walked you though what happens with a c-section, but no one had told me that they would be strapping my arms down and i panicked when they did....dont be surprisrd, it is ok, and as long as you can talk you can breathe even if you feel like you're in a weird position. i was also not prepared not to be able to hold my babies as soon as they came out. I got to recovery and found out they had to bring my pressure up so i could sit up a little to be able to see my babies. It was probably a few hours by the time i got to hold the boys...dh and i had agreed though that we would be the first apart from the medical staff so everyone else just had to wait until i could sit up and hold them. They father and I were the first to hold our munchkins. Be glad though, not too scared...i still feel like i cheated by not having to go through labor and just having a 1.5 hour delivery!

You will be great, tomorrow is a wonderful day! Good Luck and I cant wait to read your story on here!

 

Just thought of a couple more things (i didnt read everyone elses responces so this might be repeated). THe spinal may make you nauseas...I didnt have an issue the first two times with it but the section with the girls, it quickly dropped my bp (i had preeclampsia again) well it made me sick. The anethesiologist just put in nausea meds in the IV and suctioned the barf (i know gross).
You may itch afterwards, its a side affect to the spinal, just ask for benydrl.
If they give you the choice ask them to wait to put in the catheter after the spinal...trust me its sooo much better to not feel it go in.
Expect that very very quickly after the spinal you will not be able to move or feel anything from your breasts down.
thats all I can think of for you

 

Good Luck, I'll keep you and the babies in my prayers!!!