Tons of "home stretch" questions!

Hi all,

I'll be 36 weeks this week (so amazing to me, as I went on bed rest at 23 weeks with an initial goal of just making it past 26 weeks!!!) and while I'm so happy to be at this point, it is getting very real and I find myself with lots of questions. I would love your input on any of these!

1. Both babies are currently head down. My doctor says while it is possible, the likelihood of them flipping now is rather low, so we'll be trying for a vaginal delivery. These are my first children, so I have NO IDEA what to expect. How long from the time the first one was born until the second came out? I'm planning on getting an epidural; would anyone recommend otherwise?

2. At yesterday's appt, my cervix was "fingertip and thick." From what I could gather, that means it was dilated at around 1 cm, but still needs to thin out. It seems like this process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depnding on the person, but I wonder if it happens slower or faster with twins? From the time you were told you were starting to dilate, how long until delivery? Does it matter if it was your first babies?

3. Was everyone else feeling huge and very uncomfortable at this point? My belly is measuring 42 weeks, and at various points throughout the day, everything hurts (pelvis, abdomen, back, legs, etc.) On days I get out of bed to go to doctor appts, I am totally exhausted by the effort. And I'm SOOOOO thirsty now that it is amazing. (I passed the 1 hr gestational diabetes test without trouble, so I'm assuming this is just normal pregnancy thirst). I wonder if all of these are signs labor is starting, or just par for the course with a twin pregnancy?

4. I'm so worried I won't know when I'm in labor! I've been on bed rest for almost 13 weeks because of frequent contractions. Over the past few weeks, those contractions have gotten more and more painful, especially at night. I have near constant abdominal pressure, and vaginal pressure at times too. And, yesterday, my lower back hurt for a while. And I'm still only fingertip! So, how did you "know" you were in labor, or is that a silly question because I'll know it when I feel it?

5. Finally, while I can't imagine I'll go too much longer, my doctor has said that as long as the babies are being monitored and doing well, there's no reason to induce before 40 weeks. Gulp!!! That seems to be so different from what I read on here from other's doctors, who are scheduling sections at 37 or 38 weeks. Aren't there dangers of going the full 40 with twins?

Sorry for the question overload, but I'm feeling a bit overloaded, lol!! Thanks to everyone for being so wonderfully supportive for the past few months.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! !


1. My duo flipped less than a week before they were born, no one could believe it. I ended up with a c section my two are 1 minute apart. I have
Had 3 vaginal births, 2 with epidurals I love epidurals! I did not get one with my second delivery because at the time they would not give you one
Past a certain dilation and by the time I begged for one I was a 7 and it was too late (that was 15 yrs ago) Now my OB will let a woman get one as long as there is
Time to put it in!!

2. I have 6 kids. 3 vaginal biths 2 c sections. I have gone into labor 2 days after being told my cervix was closed and thick and been induced at a 3
You just never know! With my twins, I never dilated past a "finger tip" .

3. I was very uncomfortable, I could barely walk I had so much vaginal pressure! I would not have been surprised if my baby A just fell out, oh and
Huge oh I was HUGE!!! I was put on bed rest at 28 weeks, I looked forward to my appointments like a kid looking forward to Disney! I dont
Remember a ton of thirst but I was pretty tired. Get your rest NOW is all I know about that! Oh and also take as many showers as you can, your
Life is really close to changing and these simple things will be a thing of the past for a while LOL!! Oh and enjoy these last days/ weeks of your
Pregnancy, time goes by so quick once they arrive! Cherish every little kick!!!!

4. I had a scheduled c section at 38 weeks. ( would have been an induction date had they been head down) My OB wanted me to go to at least 39 BUT At 28 weeks after my babies growing good up until, it was
Discovered that my baby A had not grown in 2 weeks and her fluid level was low she was also very lethargic and had to be awakened with a buzzer. At that point I was monitored twice a week and at every visit
They told me that if her fluid level got any worse they would take them so I had to keep a hospital bag in the car. They scheduled me a c section for 38 weeks because my OB will not schedule one before 38 weeks. He did not think we would go that far nor did my MFM dr. At my MFM visit 2 days before my c section he told me that it was time. So in my case since Addison was having issues going to 40 was not advised but this is something we knew - had she been fine and I was closely monitored I would have been fine to wait til 40.

The one thing that set my "i am in labors" apart fron Braxton Hicks contractions was that I had some bleeding. My water broke with my second pregnancy - I had been spotting and contracting but not bad - I had just sent my husband to work and sat on my bed when I got up I thought I had leaked urine LOL!!! Then I cleaned up, sat back down and when I got up leaked more!!! I thought it was urine!! Then I noticed more blood and decided to call Travis home and head for the dr office.. Once there it was like Niagra Falls all over the office LOL!!!! I was soaked and everything was soaked!! They gave me a towel and sent me to the hospital!!!!


Please excuse my messy typing, I am on this iPad while feeding my baby!

 

Congrats on making 36 weeks! That's awesome.

1. My girls were born vaginally & were 8 minutes apart - however, they expedited baby B's birth by breaking her water & then by using a Kiwi (a smaller handheld version of the vacuum extractor). I chose not to get an epidural because, for me, the risks were never worth the benefits. To help cope with my contractions, we hired a doula & used rhythm, ritual & relaxation comfort measures, as well as hydrotherapy (shower). The contractions were definitely hard towards the end (I had a client once say that they've never had to work so hard to relax before :laughing and I certainly had moments where I felt completely overwhelmed & thought I couldn't do it anymore, but then my husband or doula would help me re-focus & get on top of the contraction & we kept going.

2. So, the pre-labor cervix is not a magic 8 ball. Here's an excellent blog post explaining that. I know it's hard not knowing exactly when you're going to go into labor, but hang in there! Try to think of it as a surprise Christmas. :hug:

3. I never made it to 36 weeks but I felt ridiculous at 34 weeks just before my girls were born. I remember feeling like I really couldn't be pregnant any longer (seems my children agreed ). I also drank a ton of water. I was either drinking water, or in the bathroom peeing water. I was very thirsty.

4. You will know. At some point, it will be obvious that labor has tipped over into active land. Also, I would argue that what you're feeling now IS labor, it's just the super early, pre-labor portion that's bringing your cervix forward, softening it up & thinning it out so that it can start to dilate.

5. Yes, there are potential risks to continuing a twin pregnancy but there are also benefits (full term babies!). On the flip side, there are also potential risks to elective induction/cesarean birth that may (or may not) be outweighed by the benefits. I think that if you are concerned, you should do your own research & ask your doc some more questions. I like to tell my clients to follow the BRAIN line of questioning - ask about the Benefits, ask about the Risks, ask about Alternatives (including doing nothing), consider your Intuition (what is your gut telling you?), and Negotiate a course of action.

Congrats again on 36 weeks!

 

My twins were my first pregnancy also..

1. My baby A was breech until around 36 weeks when he flipped head down somehow. Baby B was vertex the entire time. They are fraternal twins so they were in separate sacks. There are 6 minutes in between them. After Baby A was born, my Dr said to me "Okay, I'm giving you a 5 minute break and then we'll break B's water." That five minutes seemed like 5 seconds, but whatever! After she broke his water, he almost literally fell out! Ya know how the nurses count to 10 for your to push during a contraction? They got to 8! :lol: Every situation is different, though. I adamantly refused an epi both times. I know my dr tried to convince me to get one with the twins simply because of the higher risk of needing a c-section. If an epi is in place, they can just up the meds and you can be awake during the c-section. Without the epi, they have to put you completely under anesthesia. I really really hate needles so I just couldn't stomach the idea of them sticking one in my spine. I had to get an IV with both deliveries and that was bad enough for me!

2. I was told at 36 weeks that I was 1 cm and thinned out so labor could be any day. I was induced at 40 weeks and never went into labor on my own. With my second pregnancy I was walking around at 2-3 cm dilated and also never went into labor on my own and was induced at 42 weeks. It really doesn't mean anything and I've argued that doctor's shouldn't even tell women about it! It gives us false hope!

3. Definitely huge, uncomfortable, and thirsty. I drank gallons of milk, though, rather than water. I still worked and I would bring in a gallon to work and finish it in my 8 hour shift.

4. I was terrified of not knowing when labor was actually happening too, with both pregnancies. But as I mentioned earlier, I never went into labor on my own so I'm no help there.

5. Like Rachel said, the benefits can outweigh the risks. I had my twins at 40 weeks exactly and never had a problem. I was constantly monitored, after 38 weeks I had ultrasounds and NST's twice a week. My twins were born healthy and spent no time in the NICU, they came home with me two days later. Not a problem since!

Good luck!

 

This pressure tactic makes me a bit batty (my OB told me the same thing) because the type of anesthesia they choose to use would depend on why the cesarean is happening. Any unscheduled cesarean is considered an emergency cesarean, however the vast majority aren't necessarily emergent & they will have enough time to place an epi. It would only be in a case where babe needed to be born 5 minutes ago that they would put you right under - and this is quite rare. Most OBs go by the rule of thumb of 30 minutes from decision to incision which is lots of time to place an epi.

 

It did drive me a little batty at the time, she seemed to illicit the help of every nurse and hospital employee that walked in the room too because they all kept asking me about getting the epi over and over. (With Josh, one nurse asked when I checked in and that was it.) She did tell me that if it wasn't an absolute emergency emergency they could do an epi or a spinal before a c-section, but honestly I was asking her to just put me under all the way! I am really that scared of needles. I know they don't like to do anesthesia because it can transfer to the babies through the placenta. My doctor had told me that if it were a true emergency, she could have them out in 90 seconds!!

 

1. No advice on the time between babies as I had a planned c/s when I wasn't going into labour on my own. I obviously had an epidural for this, and I have to say that that part (if you want to have one) was totally no big deal. I was so worried as I get queasy when I have blood drawn and with other needles, and I was terrified even of the IV that they put in when I was first admitted. I can honestly say that the IV was way worse than the epidural. The IV wasn't even that bad...btw. My OB was there with me and held me while I curled forward (not easy to do with a massive belly!) and before I knew it (and with no pain at all) they told me to lay back and that was that! I can't say if I would have done one had I gone into labour naturally and had a vaginal birth, but in terms of fear of pain I wouldn't think twice.

2. I never dilated or effaced at all. I could have waited longer, but my OB didn't want me to go past 39 weeks and I was beyond done being pregnant. I was doing everything that I could to induce labour and my cervix was closed, high, and posterior! I often wish I could/would have waited to see when I actually would have started dilating and gone into labour on my own.

3. Ugh. HUGE. EXHAUSTED! Beyond uncomfortable! I remember my hips aching so badly and dreading the many times a night that I had to get out of bed to either pee or just to turn my giant self over so that I wouldn't be numb from the weight of the babies. This was the hardest time. I was 38 weeks on my 30th birthday and I remember crying and thinking how awful it was. Looking back, I can hardly "really" remember it, I just know that it happened. It will pass, and every moment of pain, discomfort, numbness, sleeplessness, and crying for it to be over was worth it

4. No real advice on this as I didn't go into labour, but I worried about the same thing! I was contracting every 5-10 minutes from about 30 weeks onward and it wasn't effecting my cervix at all, so I just had to live with it for the most part! I was always terrified that if I was getting used to that then maybe I wouldn't know when REAL labour had started. I'm sure I would have known the difference and I'm sure you will too!

5. I know that my OB told me that placentas could start to deteriorate past 39 weeks, but I know that if I'd been adamant about going to 40+ that we could have monitored and made it safe as possible for us. If you trust your OB then I would listen to his advice. I know a few Moms who went to 40 weeks and even beyond and have very healthy twins. You'll be well taken care of and I'm sure that no one would put your babies at risk. You being uncomfortable on the other hand....haha

Good luck!

 

Thanks everyone for all of the great thoughts and tips. I really really appreciate it!!

 

I don't have anything to say bc im only 25 weeks and this is my first pregnancy however, I just wanted to say GOOD LUCK and CONGRATULATIONS! !!!