Twins are here at 30 weeks

I had my Twins 2 weeks ago. They were 30 weeks. They are John Parker and William Michael. They are still in the NICU and are unsure of when they will come home. They are surprisingly doing very well. They are breathing on their own and are very healthy. The only thing is that they have feeding tubes. We are waiting on them to start bottle feeding. After they have mastered that they can come home. Has anyone else gone through this? I really feel like my husband and I are the only ones going through this.

 

I had my Twins 2 weeks ago. They were 30 weeks. They are John Parker and William Michael. They are still in the NICU and are unsure of when they will come home. They are surprisingly doing very well. They are breathing on their own and are very healthy. The only thing is that they have feeding tubes. We are waiting on them to start bottle feeding. After they have mastered that they can come home. Has anyone else gone through this? I really feel like my husband and I are the only ones going through this.

 

I am sorry to hear about your babies, although it sounds like they're doing well, considering the circumstances.

You should post this on the first year or NICU boards. I'm sure there are people there who could help you out.

I am 30 weeks right now. I have had contractions all day. I am hoping they will stop and not come back.

Best wishes to you and your baby boys.

 

Congrats on your babies, sounds like they are doing incredibly well, considering their gestational age!! I don't have any experience, but I am sure a mod will be able to cross-link your post to the NICU forum, and those great ladies will be able to help you!! Good luck, I am sure they will be home before you know it!! How big were they?

 

Congrats on the arrival of your babies. I went ahead and linked your post to the NICU forum. I'm sure those ladies will have lots of great advice to offer.

 

Congratualtions! You are not alone, at all. I went through this with my twins, born at 34 weeks. They were born pretty healthy, at 4 pounds, 5 ounces. They had 02 for a few hours until they could breathe on their own. Then they spent 13 days in the NICU learning how to eat. It was really slow at first, it took them over an hour to eat an ounce, but they figured it out. And I did a lot of pumping because they weren't strong enough to nurse. They turned 8 weeks on December 1st and they both weigh almost ten pounds! So hang in there. I know it's awful seeing your precious bundles like that, but they'll be home soon.

 

Congratulations!!

As others have said, the NICU board is a great source of advice and support. Good luck with your little ones -- I wish them a speedy discharge!

 

YAY!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am glad you and the babies are doing so
well!! I think that it is REALLY GREAT that they aren't having any breathing troubles!!!

 

Congratulations on the arrival of your babies! You are definitely not alone, there are plenty of other people on this board who have had their babies in the NICU. Mine were born at 32 weeks and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. My daughter was not even able to breathe on her own, so your boys are doing wonderfully considering they were born two weeks before mine!

They'll be home before you know it and terrorizing your home soon enough. Get some rest while you can so you have energy to care for them when they are home.

Mona

 

Yes we are going through the same thing, our were born at 33 weeks a week and a half ago, they are doing great, they are on feeding ttubes also, and we are trying to bottle feed and breast feed. They are drinking a little bit from the bottle and breast, hopefully not much longer before they drink their full feeding. Congrats by the way, and hang in there

 

Congratulations on the birth of your babies! I'm glad they are doing well. One of my 35 weekers didn't have mature lungs and was on a ventilator for a few days and your two seem to have made it passed that hurdle. If you haven't visited the NICU forum yet you can find it here. There are many women who are happy to provide support and shoulder to lean on as your boys make their journey over the next few weeks and then come home. Congrats again!

 

Congratulations Rebecca!! John and William sound they they are doing awesome. My guys were born at 29 weeks and spent almost eight weeks in the NICU but at four are doing great!!

 

Congratulations on the birth of you babies! My babies were born at 34 weeks and spent a month in the NICU. They do come home! They do take out their feeding tubes! You can do it! I know it is stressful especially if you have other kids. It sounds like they are doing great though if they are on room air. I wish you the best honey! Congratulations again!

 

It sounds like your twins are doing really well!

My twin boys were born at 30 weeks. They were in the NICU for 6 weeks and are doing very well now (they are almost 3). Hang in there. The NICU can be a rollercoaster.

 

Congratulations and John & William!!
NICU is a bit scary at first, until you get used to the beeps, bells, and whistles that go off all the time. My babies started bottle feeds around 4 weeks and had to drink 30-45ml within 30 minutes 8x/day to be considered successful feeds and ready to come home, they also had to pass the car seat test; 1 hour of sitting in the car seat with no desats. Douglas was in longer because of apnea/brady episodes, he came home on an Apnea monitor, but is doing great now, other than reflux which also isn't too bad anymore. We had ups & downs with digestive and breathing issues in NICU. Douglas ended up on the nasal cannula two times to help with breathing issues. Sarah had some nasty looking green fluid in her stomach which resolved on its own after having no feeds (other than IV) for a couple days, x-rays showed no problems; one nurse believes that the NG tube was misplaced. The nurses were great. Tell them you want to do the diaper changes/temp while your there and also do some kangarooing with them, it helps you and the babies and your DH can do kangaroo care too.
Most of all get as much rest as you can before they are home...because resting is difficult for a few weeks after they come home, especially if you have other children.
Again Congrats...they'll be home before you know it.

 

Congrats on your new babies. I hope they will be able to come home with you soon.

 

Congratulations on your boys. My 2 were born at 32 weeks and were the same as yours healthy but small. They had to master bottle feeding and get over their jaundice, then we got them home and it has been great fun ever since. So dont worry, (i know its a hard thing to do), get loads of rest and stay positive and i am sure they will be home in no time x

 

Congratulations on your twins. Hang in there, I am sorry that your babies are not home yet. Praying that they will be coming home soon

 

Thank you so much for your support! We called last night and John was able to take a bottle!!! He only took 10 ccs of formula and took the remaining formula via his tube! Small steps but great obstacles! Keep John and William in your prayers!

John Parker Tilley
4lbs 10 oz
17 1/4 in long

William Michael Tilley
3lbs 11 oz
16 1/4 in long

 

Congratulations! We went though a similar situation as well. My twins were born at 34 1/2 weeks and one spent 12 and the other spent 17 days in the hospital. They both had to master feeding on their own so they needed feeding tubes which they needed until 3 or 4 days before they came home. Luckily we didn't have any other issues really to worry about. Oh, and yes the car seat test. I remember being so thrilled when they told us we could bring the car seats in. That meant the twins were so close to coming home!

I do remember thinking 2 oz of formula was so much and it took them about 20 mins to get that down. Sometimes they would only take one ounce and would have to neo tube the rest of the feeding. I had to formula feed because my milk didn't come in enough. I did supplement whatever I could in the beginning but I did eventually just formula feed when I got home. That was one of the hardest decision I had to make because I really did want to breast-feed but my body just wasn't cooperating.

Because one came home earlier it was even more difficult to take care of both, one at home and one at the hospital. I always felt I was neglecting one or the other. But I relied on my mother who was here and other family to help with one or the other when I couldn't. It made me feel better that way.

Take comfort in knowing that they do come home and that will be a most special day.

 

Congrats!!!! Mine were born at 30 weeks 6 days and stayed in the NICU 39 days. It is exhausting to go back and forth, however, make sure you eat, drink, and get enough rest as you will need it when they get home. I am sure everyone will agree that you do feel somewhat alone in the NICU and it is an emotional rollercoaster. However, from you post, it seems they are doing much better than mine as mine were on a vent for a couple of days, so you may have a shorter stay. Once they start bottle feeding, it will go so quickly. Just hang in there. Just think of it being a few days of 18+ years of taking care of them and try to have fun with it by having pictures in their bassinet. Since we ride Harleys, we dressed our girls in Harley shirts and the nurses loved it. Hang in there! Also, if you can get to know other parents in the NICU as support...that really helps!

 

you arent alone, but i understand why you feel that way!!

I had my twins Nov 22, 2006 at 30 weeks, 2 days. they are also doing well - only on feedings tubes and a few monitors. they were moved to the step down nursery area in the nicu yesterday!

theres at least 2 other mamas here who also recently had their twins in the 30th week like us. im glad to read yalls experiences, it makes it a little less scary.

 

Hi Rebecca,
CONGRATS on your twins. My twins were born at 31 weeks weighing 2 pounds and 3 pounds. They stayed in the hospital for 5 1/2 weeks. They had to be fed through a tube in their belly buttons for 3 weeks. It's a rollercoaster having them in the hospital with all the monitors hooked up to the and all, but stay positive, pray, call the nursery and visit them every day(if you can). I visited my babies more than once per day and I called the hospital twice a day. Everything will be fine. Post here as much as you would like, we are all here for you. Stay strong honey!

 

Rebecca-
Congrats on your boys!!!

My husband and I are currently going through this. Our girls were born on Thanksgiving at 30w4d. They are also doing very well, especially considering their gestational age. Both have been breathing "room" air (Emilia was on nasal oxygen for a few days, but no ventilators or anything like that). Now, they are just "making up for lost time," as the doctor put it. They are still in the isolette, but they are close to being able to maintain their own body temps and will probably move to a crib very soon. They have been practicing taking their feedings from a bottle and breastfeeding for about a week now. Although, several of their feedings are still given through the tube. The hospital speech therapist saw the girls today to evaluate how their sucking reflex was coming along. One of our girls is starting to do well with the nipple and the other will "accept" the nipple, but she is not quite as ready to take the bottle. However, our NICU is really good about letting them "practice" with the nipple without having high expectations at this point. The nurses keep telling me that they are still young to be taking a bottle, but that they'll "get there" soon.

Although I know the girls are getting very good care, sometimes I leave the NICU totally stressing out because of all the alarms and ringing from the monitors even if it's not from our girls. Visiting them is the BEST part of my day and I wake up looking forward to it, but I can't help but come home stressed some days...I wonder if that's normal???

All the best to you and your boys!
Feel free to PM me anytime, as we are probably experiencing some of the same things while living the NICU-life!

Shelby

 

Congratulations on your boys! My two were born at 29 weeks - so I know what you are going through! Hang in there! We spent 10 weeks in the NICU and they are both doing fine now Come hang out in the NICU board if you have any other questions. You are definately not alone!!!