If you had Mono/Di twins

I'd love to hear about how other pregnancies with mono/di twins have gone (or are going). I find this whole pregnancy to be fascinating and a completely miracle and just want to see what everyone's experiences have been thus far.

I'm only 17 1/2 weeks with our Mono/Di girls and have been lucky thus far. I found out at 6 weeks that I was expecting twins because I had intense cramping that sent me to the ER (thinking it was ectopic) and she informed me that infact it was twins. I was BLOWN AWAY. At the next 2 ultrasounds in the doctors office I was told that to the best of their ability with the bad equipment they had it looked like the babies were sharing a placenta and that one of the babies was quite a bit smaller than the other. This past Tuesday we found out through a Level 2 Ultrasound that the babies are sharing a placenta and that they are girls. There is currently a 9 day difference between our girls in size and Baby B has an abdomen bigger than it should be for the gestational age and Baby A's is smaller so they will be bringing me back in on the 4th for another scan to monitor.

Anyway, was just curious to hear about everyone else's pregnancy and experience with this type of twinning?

 

Hi and congrats. You can find my full story under the ttts success stories. Although I did unfortunately fall under the small percentage that suffers from ttts, my boys were born at almost 35 weeks, at great weights, and only 1 week nicu. I always thought ID twins were weird and wondered how they would be different with the same dna. They are sooooo different and I find it fascinating how two so identically looking children can have such original souls.

 

we found out we were having twins at an early dating ultrasound (11 weeks) and found out they were sharing a placenta shortly after that - then it was lots and lots and lots of ultrasounds! but i didn't mind that so much because it meant i got to see my babies a whole lot.

when i was 24 weeks pregnant i broke my foot which totally sucked. i spent a week hopping around on crutches until i was able to get a walking cast. at my 27 week ultrasound i found out that my cervix had suddenly shortened to 2cm (hmmm...i wonder if it was all that hopping around on crutches? d'oh. :blush: ) and that our baby B's fluid had suddenly increased substantially. i was immediately put on bedrest, given steroid shots to help develop the girls' lungs & was started on twice weekly NSTs. i also had two more ultrasounds that week to see what baby B's fluid was doing - thankfully it held steady and there were no other indications of TTTS.

after that intense flurry of craziness nothing else of note happened until i went into labour spontaneously at 34w & the girls were born. they spent two weeks in the NICU. Danika (baby B) spent about 18 hours on CPAP and also spent a couple of days under the bili lights for jaundice while Riley (baby A) had some trouble controlling her temp for the first few days. after that though, they were just feeding & growing and it wasn't long till they were home with us. what an adventure it's been! :good:

 

I am 36 and 3 days with mono/di boys. We found out at 8 weeks we were pregnant with twins and confirmed at 12 weeks that they were mono/di, quite a shock. I don't think reality will really hit until they are both in my arms! We were going to induce labor this last Wed, but the little stinkers keep flipping so we are giving them until Monday since they are doing so well. My peri wanted them delivered right at 36 weeks but we fortunately have had no complications with my pregnancy (other than hyperemesis) and the boys are looking great on our twice a week NSTs so he said we could give it a few more days. We have done ultrasounds for growth and cervical length (I have contracted since 15 weeks with no cervical change thankfully) every 2 weeks. I think I am up to 16 or so now! I love seeing how they have grown each time and the last time even saw that they have hair! Both my OB and peri said it is pretty unusual to have as smooth of a pregnancy as I have had considering all the risks so we feel very blessed. I am even working yet, just 1/2 days, but I am still amazed as I was on bedrest at this time with my singleton. We started the twice a week NSTs at 32 weeks and did a biophysical profile on Tues to see if they were practicing any breathing, which they are. I am getting very excited to finally meet these little ones who have been quite active and I can't wait to see how they will interact with each other. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, I hope it goes well!!

 

I found out I was having twins at 11 weeks & then at 19 weeks we found out they where mono/di & unfortunately had TTTS. But I am posting this not to scare you but to be helpful......I had the laser surgery the very next week and everything went wonderful from there on. I had my babies at 36 weeks weighing 5lbs 15oz & 5lbs 4oz. No nicu & they left the hospital with us just 3 days after delivery. I had no preterm labor other than our big scare there for about a month it was a wonderful pregnancy. Good luck!

 

We found out we were having twins at 6w5d and that they were mono/di girls at 18 weeks. I had a completely uneventful pregnancy. The babies were born by scheduled c/s at 37w1d (wasn't even dilated to a 1) and they weighed 7lbs 2oz and 7lbs 4oz. My pregnancy went so well that the perinatologist joked that we should rent my uterus out, lol.

 

Hi! My mono/di boys are almost 8mths old now! They were born at 38w2d, weighing 6lb9oz and 6lb5oz ( I think I could have got them bigger if I'd known about the protein requirement sooner!!) They were born by c-section as my baby A was a footling breech. I hadn't gone into labor - it was 'scheduled' as I live an hour away from the hospital and we were concerned I WOULD go into labor and be in an ambulance delivering a foot.

My pregnancy was as uncomplicated as it could get. I had no extra appts other than 3 extra ultrasounds - the initial one at 21wks where we found out we were having twins (no clue up to that point other than my own suspicions all vetoed by the doc as totally because it was my 4th viable pregnancy), one at 27wks,35wks and a quickie position check at 37wks. I had no other interventions, complications or concerns. They were in the NICU for the required 2hours of monitoring and stayed an extra hour til I was out of recovery (required general anesthesia as my epi didn't work). They breastfed like troopers from the start. They were born Wednesday am and we went home Saturday am!


Congrats on your twins! I still look at mine and say "hokey crap = there are two of them" and in the next breath I wonder in amazement at how identical they are - yet how DIFFERENT they are - as someone said 'original souls'. Totally and completely!! We call our Lane our "Sensitive Soul" and Zachary is our "Bull Moose".

 

Hello and congrats! What is the 'protein requirement'? I am unaware and would love to know more. I am 32 weeks with mono/di identical boys who are weighing 4lbs 2oz. I haven't been told about this! Thanks in advance!
Forgive me if I am postint this question/reply incorrectly - I am brand new to this site.

Jennifer

 

It's not a "requirement" but has been known to help with ttts. I was told 2 "Boost" a day. It really helped and my boys were actually larger than expected and their fluids equaled.

 

I have mono-di boys born at 38+5. We found out we were having twins at 8 weeks (a complete shocker since we already had two SMALL children and had thought a third would be fun, not a third and fourth!! although they are precious and we love them to pieces, of course) - they thought they were identical from the beginning, and thought possibly mo-mo until 22ish weeks when the peri I was referred to found a membrane. Aside from that scare, my boys tracked within an ounce or two (or day or two earlier on) of each other the entire pregnancy with the exception of one appointment. Sort of interesting - around 34 weeks Baby A measured around a pound less than B - weird since they'd been essentially the same the whole time. I think I probably had an NST that day - I only had two the whole time, but I think one was that day. The NST was fine. I was having weekly ultrasounds at that point, and the next week they measured close to the same again. My OB chalked it up to inaccurate measuring the previous week. At my final appointment and ultrasound, A measured 6 lbs. 10 oz. and B measured 6 lbs. 12 oz. At birth A weighed 5 lbs. 0 oz. and B weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. - and A was actually the longer baby (19" - B was 18") and had a bigger head circumference. Lab confirmed unequal sharing of a single placenta. It made me wonder if that single "off" ultrasound actually was accurate. I did go to an OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies (I had no other risk factors other than a) twins, and b) old at 36) and infertility (I was not treated for infertility), and had ultrasounds at every visit, but for whatever reason, nobody picked up on the size discrepancy.

The babies are nearly exactly the same size now, however - at six months A weighed only 3 oz. less than B. Hooray! Here's a pic of them last week nearly identical in size:

http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac260/amymc72/?action=view&current=IMG_3614.jpg

 

I had mono/di twins born at 34 weeks. The pregnancy was really hard- I had a difference in size between my twins from 9 weeks on and I was terrified of TTTS. Thankfully, my boys didn't develop TTTS, but at 22 weeks, my smaller twin dropped down to the 18th percentile (I went on modified bedrest and 3 ensures per day at that point). My twin A continued to grow well for the pregnancy. Twin B continued to grow at each scan (every 2 weeks until 32 weeks) but at 22 weeks, they thought I would deliver very, very early due to the early drop off in growth. I was prepared each ultrasound for a birthday- crazy! The doctors were shocked he kept growing as long as he did. At 32 weeks, they monitored me once a week for blood flow (his was sub-par at that point) and 2-3x a week for NSTs.

The boys were born at 4lb8oz and 3lb5oz. My big man spent 11 days in the NICU to feed and grow (he had CPAP for a few hours after birth) and he could have come home earlier but we weren't in a rush since my twin B needed to stay longer- just to grow! He never needed any oxygen or anything after birth- perfect, just small.

Now my little guy is 4 months old and doing great- smiling, laughing, babbling up a storm. My big guy is doing awesome too! Feel free to email with ANY questions. I know how hard the pregnancy is and how hard it is to have difference in size during the pregnancy.

 

I am pregnant with mono/di boys and just a couple of weeks further along than you. They also noticed a size difference between by twins at my last appointment and this week will start monitoring their growth on a weekly basis. I wish you and your girls the very best during your pregnancy. I don't really have any advice at this point, but just thought it might help you to know that you're not alone.

 

Did you all see membrane seperating the babies? Thick or thin?

 

Thank you!

 

We did see the membrane - about once each u/s and it was for a fleeting moment. The tech took about 20min to find it the first time. It measured 1mm thick at every u/s. Our radiologist said that 4-5 or thicker is di/di.

 

We did see the membrane - about once each u/s and it was for a fleeting moment. The tech took about 20min to find it the first time. It measured 1mm thick at every u/s. Our radiologist said that 4-5 or thicker is di/di.



Oh! And I meant to write "Protein RECOMMENDATION" not requirement. I guess I was a bit sleep deprived when I wrote that! I did start the boost at about 30wks - but wish I'd have started sooner and maybe the babes would have hit 7lb each.

 

I started drinking two boosts a day right after we found out it was mono/di twins (18 weeks) and mine were both over 7lbs and I definitely attribute it to drinking the boosts. I drank one for breakfast and one for dessert every night. I would put it in the blender with ice and peanut butter and make it into a smoothie (I always bought the chocolate ones) - sometimes I would add a banana. It actually tasted pretty good that way.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful stories and encouragement ladies!!

We go back to the perinatologist on Tuesday for another scan. I'm eager to see them. The OB does a quick scan every time we go in too but just to check heart beats and nothing else. So I get to see them weekly but don't got to really HEAR how their doing.