Throwback Thursday: Twin Pregnancy

This post was originally published in January of 2011.

I approached pregnancy just like everything else, with tons of research. When we found out I was having twins I had to do even more research.

I read about nutrition in multiple pregnancy, exercise, how to prevent common problems, etc. I also looked at the survival/disability rates for multiples in many other countries. The countries with the highest rates of living, healthy multiples did many things differently than the standard of care in the U.S.

In the U.S. most women are told to take a prenatal vitamin every day and that's the extent of the nutrition advice. However, the better a woman's nutrition the healthier the babies. Weight gain in a multiple pregnancy is extremely important. The more weight you can gain earlier, the better. I interviewed multiple providers before finding one (with a team) that I knew would lecture and provide me with research on things like nutrition at every appointment. She also was available by email, text, and phone all the time.

I struggled with weight gain. I had all day sickness (not just feeling nauseous) every day for 5 months. I ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration because I couldn't even keep down a sip of water. I tried every cure out there. When we would go out, my husband often carried lemon slices in a baggie in his pocket. Smelling and biting into one would often give me enough time to get to a trashcan or bathroom.

4 months pregnant

About the time that ended, we went on our last big vacation before having kids. It was an incredible trip to Hawaii. I was limited to just walking and swimming for exercise, so we hiked and swam every day. It was beautiful, though I will have to go back another time when I can swim with sharks and do a few other things I wasn't able to do that trip. I remember thinking I was huge and looked so bad in everything I wore. Little did I know how much bigger I would get.

 Hiking - 6 months pregnant

6 months pregnant - I thought I was huge.

Another thing I learned from other countries, is for the best chance of avoiding early labor (other than tons of water and staying hydrated) is to stop working at 30 weeks. This is enforced by doctors in other countries because it is so much safer! While I did stop working at 30 weeks, a situation/opportunity  presented itself and I did work a few more months. However, I worked with my legs up and kept drinking tons of water.

In the U.S. most multiple pregnancies are over by 36 weeks. The OB has often scheduled the c-section early in the pregnancy to prevent any problems. In the countries with the highest success rates multiples are usually born vaginally between 38-42 weeks. This was my goal. While I did make it to 38 weeks, I ended up with a c-section.

38 weeks - I gave up on maternity clothes fitting

While pregnant (and huge) people would often comment on having twins. Most people said things about how wonderful it is, how lucky we are, and how they have always wanted twins. People who had multiples would say they are thinking of us, wish us luck, and offer condolences. My favorite response at the time, and looking back, still the most accurate, came from a young 2 year old. He is a twin and was usually a happy, silly, bouncy boy. When his mom told him I was having twins he stood still, looked very serious, and very slowly said, "Ha. Ha." He then walked away. That pretty much sums it up.

I made some very unusual decisions for a multiple birth in the U.S. Many people thought I was crazy and should just do what an OB tells me without question. However, when I had to go to the hospital at 38 weeks, the nurses assured me I never would have made it that long with an OB. I did end up with a c-section and looking back would absolutely do some things differently. Choosing a care provider (midwife) who had the same goals I did would not be something I would change. My kids were born at just over 5 pounds each. If they had been born any earlier, they would have spent time in the NICU. Instead they spent their time with us, in our arms, and bonding from the moment I was awake.

1 day old

Most people don't realize how dangerous it is to carry twins. Fetal deaths per 1000 births is 26% for twins (7% for singletons). Everyone knows premature birth is dangerous, however most don't realize that 62% of twins in the U.S. are born early - usually through an induction or c-section. 82% of twins are born with low birth weight. 70% of low birth weight babies have a disability diagnosed before age 11 and 30% within the first year. There are also serious risks for the mother trying to grow multiple babies at one time.

I spent the entire pregnancy thinking things like, if they were born now they have a 5% chance of survival. If they were born now, they have an 80% chance of survival, but a 98% chance of disability. When I made it to 36 weeks I finally breathed a small sigh of relief. I was still waiting for their weight to go up. Knowing that most ultrasound weight estimates are off by +/- 2 pounds I wanted them to measure at least 7 pounds before I would feel safe. At my last ultrasound, 2 days before they were born, they measured 7lb 5oz and 6lb 15oz. Almost there and I felt relief. I am so glad I didn't believe they would be born the size they were estimated.

Chiropractic Care

During pregnancy I had awful back pain. It's like I was huge and carrying twins. I remember calling a chiropractor who specializes in pregnant women and begging for her to get me in that day. She was able to work me in the next day and I was amazed at how much it helped. I saw her regularly for the rest of the pregnancy and it helped a ton until about 37 weeks and at that point I just lived with the back pain. I'm so glad I didn't live with the pain for months.

No wonder my back was hurting

A few months after the kids were born their pediatrician commented on their head shape and our son's lack of bending. She referred us to another chiropractor. There were two main issues.

The first was head shape. While my son's head shape wasn't perfectly round, it wasn't too extreme. My daughter's head was clearly misshapen. It was flat - not even slightly rounded - in the back. I'm not talking about one little flat spot, the entire back of her head was flat. We didn't get a lot of great photos, but hopefully these will help you see what I'm talking about. We rarely took photos of the back of the kids heads.

 The entire back of her head was flat.

 Another angle of the flatness

 Halfway through treatments

After 6 months of treatments. Slight curve noticeable now

The chiropractor the pediatrician referred us to started treating the head shape 4 times a week. As it got better, it did back off to 3, 2, and 1 time a week. By the very end we were only going once every 2 weeks before she released us from her care. Our daughter required more than 90 visits over 10 months to correct her head shape. This was a huge commitment from us, but now her head is round and you can't tell any difference.

No more treatments!!

Many babies have flat spots on their head and are treated with the large helmets. The most common in the US is the doc band. These are expensive, often not covered by insurance, and only prevent more flattening rather than correcting what has already happened. Chiropractic care was more effective and cheaper (though still not cheap or covered by insurance). I highly recommend chiropractic care for anyone who has a baby with a flat spot on their head.

While my son's head had a flat spot that we did get corrected, his biggest issues was his stiffness. He was diagnosed as hypertonic. Basically, he was stiff as a board. He didn't bend and when forced to bend he would cry and be upset. The first chiropractor treated him, but it just wasn't helping. She even told us he would probably never walk or bend since she couldn't help him. We went back to the pediatrician who wanted us to try another type of chiropractic treatment. She gave us another name and we called that chiropractor. After a phone consultation, we realized we could not make the intensive schedule and cost work for our family. I called the chiropractor that I had seen during pregnancy and discovered she did the same type of treatments for babies and we could afford her!

One baby bends and one doesn't

We started with weekly appointments and then backed off two every two weeks. There were a few times we were even able to only go to once every three weeks. While he is still being treated for this, we see a huge difference with each treatment. Before a treatment he is stiff and it hurts him to bend. After a treatment he can not only easily bend, but he's happier. As he gets older and is able to talk to us more we are beginning to get a better picture of what is happening. He will complain that his knee hurts the day before he stops bending the knee for example. He is walking, running, climbing, and everything else without limit. He has met each milestone differently, but has always been able to meet them.

 Babies should not be able to stand unassisted at 6 months

Only one could bend and sit

The most difficult part is watching him and knowing he can't do it the "easy" way other children can. When he was learning to pull up he would go from laying flat on his stomach to pulling himself up with his arms without ever bending at the waist. It looked goofy, but he was so proud of being able to stand. Our daughter, by contrast, followed the more typical pattern of going from laying to sitting, to pulling up, to standing. As I said, he is still receiving treatments so we don't know what the long term solution is yet. He also has other issues that we are dealing with to help him be happy and successful for the rest of his life.

Happy while crawling after a treatment

I am so thankful for the chiropractic care we have and are still receiving. It has quite literally changed our lives.

Twin Pregnancy

I approached pregnancy just like everything else, with tons of research. When we found out I was having twins I had to do even more research.

I read about nutrition in multiple pregnancy, exercise, how to prevent common problems, etc. I also looked at the survival/disability rates for multiples in many other countries. The countries with the highest rates of living, healthy multiples did many things differently than the standard of care in the U.S.

In the U.S. most women are told to take a prenatal vitamin every day and that's the extent of the nutrition advice. However, the better a woman's nutrition the healthier the babies. Weight gain in a multiple pregnancy is extremely important. The more weight you can gain earlier, the better. I interviewed multiple providers before finding one (with a team) that I knew would lecture and provide me with research on things like nutrition at every appointment. She also was available by email, text, and phone all the time.

I struggled with weight gain. I had all day sickness (not just feeling nauseous) every day for 5 months. I ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration because I couldn't even keep down a sip of water. I tried every cure out there. When we would go out, my husband often carried lemon slices in a baggie in his pocket. Smelling and biting into one would often give me enough time to get to a trashcan or bathroom.

4 months pregnant

About the time that ended, we went on our last big vacation before having kids. It was an incredible trip to Hawaii. I was limited to just walking and swimming for exercise, so we hiked and swam every day. It was beautiful, though I will have to go back another time when I can swim with sharks and do a few other things I wasn't able to do that trip. I remember thinking I was huge and looked so bad in everything I wore. Little did I know how much bigger I would get.

 Hiking - 6 months pregnant

6 months pregnant - I thought I was huge.

Another thing I learned from other countries, is for the best chance of avoiding early labor (other than tons of water and staying hydrated) is to stop working at 30 weeks. This is enforced by doctors in other countries because it is so much safer! While I did stop working at 30 weeks, a situation/opportunity  presented itself and I did work a few more months. However, I worked with my legs up and kept drinking tons of water.

In the U.S. most multiple pregnancies are over by 36 weeks. The OB has often scheduled the c-section early in the pregnancy to prevent any problems. In the countries with the highest success rates multiples are usually born vaginally between 38-42 weeks. This was my goal. While I did make it to 38 weeks, I ended up with a c-section.

38 weeks - I gave up on maternity clothes fitting

While pregnant (and huge) people would often comment on having twins. Most people said things about how wonderful it is, how lucky we are, and how they have always wanted twins. People who had multiples would say they are thinking of us, wish us luck, and offer condolences. My favorite response at the time, and looking back, still the most accurate, came from a young 2 year old. He is a twin and was usually a happy, silly, bouncy boy. When his mom told him I was having twins he stood still, looked very serious, and very slowly said, "Ha. Ha." He then walked away. That pretty much sums it up.

I made some very unusual decisions for a multiple birth in the U.S. Many people thought I was crazy and should just do what an OB tells me without question. However, when I had to go to the hospital at 38 weeks, the nurses assured me I never would have made it that long with an OB. I did end up with a c-section and looking back would absolutely do some things differently. Choosing a care provider (midwife) who had the same goals I did would not be something I would change. My kids were born at just over 5 pounds each. If they had been born any earlier, they would have spent time in the NICU. Instead they spent their time with us, in our arms, and bonding from the moment I was awake.

1 day old

Most people don't realize how dangerous it is to carry twins. Fetal deaths per 1000 births is 26% for twins (7% for singletons). Everyone knows premature birth is dangerous, however most don't realize that 62% of twins in the U.S. are born early - usually through an induction or c-section. 82% of twins are born with low birth weight. 70% of low birth weight babies have a disability diagnosed before age 11 and 30% within the first year. There are also serious risks for the mother trying to grow multiple babies at one time.

I spent the entire pregnancy thinking things like, if they were born now they have a 5% chance of survival. If they were born now, they have an 80% chance of survival, but a 98% chance of disability. When I made it to 36 weeks I finally breathed a small sigh of relief. I was still waiting for their weight to go up. Knowing that most ultrasound weight estimates are off by +/- 2 pounds I wanted them to measure at least 7 pounds before I would feel safe. At my last ultrasound, 2 days before they were born, they measured 7lb 5oz and 6lb 15oz. Almost there and I felt relief. I am so glad I didn't believe they would be born the size they were estimated.