Mommy to Be

Twins!! Congrats!! I'm jealous... my husband and I have always wanted twins. :)

I had a scheduled c-section for both of my daughters, BUT if I had had the opportunity to deliver vaginally, I would have opted for the medication. It was my thought process that, "Why would I go through so much pain when I don't HAVE to?" But I have a very low tolerance for pain, and I couldn't see myself making it through that, ha!

Good luck with your babies!!

Please try to remember, whatever you do, that the important thing is that your babies enter the world safely, and that there are many ways for that to happen!

That being said, many twins are not born vaginally, so be open to a c-section. I would read up on what "typical" births are like, and then decide what is really important to you. my hospital did not really ask for a birth plan and they typically to what they feel is right, so make sure you start touring early and asking questions if you have certain things your feel are necessary for you.

whatever you decide, be open to changing it if necessary. there are a lot of reasons why c-sections are necessary, and safer, and that doesn't make your birth any less special or make you any less of a mother!

I wanted to have natural because a friend of mine had lifelong back problems after having an epidural and I didn't want to bring a groggy baby into the world. But the prospect of the type of pain you see on tv births made me rethink that and want pain meds. Unfortunately, all 3 biths, I didn't get to the hospital in time for an epidural.

It's ok, I lived through it. It actually was not nearly as bad as it looks on tv. It was just a long series of increasingly harder cramps and then the urge for a bowel movement. A few pushes and it's over. I wish someone would have described it to me that way and I would not have been so scared.

I think with twins you're choices will be more dictated by circumstances. Many moms of mutiples have to be put on monitored bed rest. Some have to have c-sections. It's great to have a plan, but be open to changes in the plan!

I had the same questions as you when I was pregnant, and I went on to babycentral.com I watched videos of a vaginal birth with no medication, a vaginal birth with an epidural, and a c-section birth. All 3 were very positive, and it became clear to me that I could listen to any and all advice, but when push comes to shove, no one could tell me what road to go. It was a decision I had to make on my own. Since I had never experienced labor or childbirth before, I had no idea how my body would be able to cope. When I wrote out my birthing plan, I used the template that was on thebump.com and filled in the blanks. There were some things that I had definitive decisions on, and there are some things that I was not sure of. I wrote it all out. As for pain management, I opted to see how it went and ended up using no medication at all. By the time I wanted to use something for pain, I was already in transition and it was too late. I made it through with no complications as well as a great recovery. Good luck!

Mom of twins here (my 3rd pregnancy). Talk with your ob/midwife about the delivery of twins. The group I had at the beginning of the pregnancy tended to deliver c section to avoid complications. That didn't sit well with me so I did a little doctor shopping and found an ob that was a little more experienced. He was known for doing VBAC back when a vaginal birth was unheard of after a c section. .All through the pregnancy our goal was vaginal if possible c section if emergency and as long as the first baby was head down it was a go.

As far as medication vs non medication I have to say that I didn't have pain medication for any of my births and it was right for me. If at any time I had felt overwhelmed I would have agreed to medication in a heartbeat. No use being in agony since the goal is to end up with a healthy mom and baby. Not like you get an award for a non medicated birth.

Go into it with as much information as you need but keep an open mind to things. Make sure you are comfortable with your health care providers.

I am catholic so I went with names from the Bible and used family names for middles. My grandfather's name and I was going to use an aunt if I had a girl. Of course my oldest son is named after his dad and pa. I prefer the names you picked over your husband's choices.
Also I went all natural, just a little demoral (spelling?) to help rest between contractions. Also you can move around the room and take walks to help bring on the labor if it is dragging out. I also was able to get up right after delivering because I could feel my legs!!!
Good luck!!!

Congrats on the twins -- my twin daughters are now 5, and it is an amazing experience all around.

I recommend that you talk to your OB/GYN about birthing options, which are a logical thing to be thinking about now, but remember that your birth experience is a tiny fraction of your life with these children. I had hoped for a vginal birth -- which my doctor supported in theory -- but ended up with a C-section because my "Baby A" (the one who would clearly be born first, because of her position) was significantly smaller than my "Baby B." C-sections are common in this scenario, because the first baby doesn't clear the way enough for the larger, second baby. I also didn't go into labor -- my birth was scheduled at 36 weeks because my blood pressure by that point was very high, and the babies weren't really growing any more. My point is simply that twin pregnancies have more factors to consider than singleton ones, so be flexible in your vision!

I also recommend you be thinking now about breastfeeding, which is absolutely doable with twins, though some may try to discourage you. If it is important to you, consider taking a breastfeeding course before your babies are born, and/or speaking with a lactation consultant ahead of time. It will take a lot of support at first, but in my case I found it totally worth it!

As for names, we went with very different names that were in the same "era" -- Nora and Lucy. This was my grandmother's name and that of her sister. For me, it is important to remember that my daughters are two individuals who aren't a "set," even though they were both born on the same day. I never refer to them as "the twins" -- advice another mother of twins gave me right after they were born.

Take care of yourself over these next few months/weeks and good luck with the pregnancy, birth, and hazy first weeks of caring for two newborns!

-A.

Hey, congratulations! Before you start writing your birth plan, I would ask your practitioner if you have any option of delivering your twins naturally. Most OBs will automatically go to a c-section for twins, and there are relatively few midwives who handle twin births. So, if that's the case, okay. Your twins decided for you, so you don't have to worry about it! I would instead shift to a post-birth plan. Are you okay with the twins being given formula in the nursery, or do you want to nurse exclusively? Things like that. If you weren't having twins, I'd be responding to this completely differently, but since you're having "double the fun," it's a different situation.