How do I set my wife up in a realistic way for our twins arrival in Jan…

@reaper_2 Those are HUGE babies!!! Thank you for sharing! Thats what I’m worried about — that she just won’t be able to carry the weight eventually!
 
@cinder7 My wife went 38 weeks with our twins and they were both 7 pounds. She was induced and everything went smoothly. Everyone at the hospital was pretty shocked with how big they were. So I'm assuming it's possible, but not probable.
 
@cinder7 My di/di twins were born via scheduled c-section at 37 weeks and were 7 lb 9 oz and 6 lb 13 oz. I can’t imagine how big they would have been if the doctors had let me go longer than 37 weeks.
 
@cinder7 I'd recommend reading When You're Expecting Twins Triplets or Quads. It offers some great advice on nutrition and some information about possible births (realistic). It also depends on what type of twin you have as to how long most OB will let you go.
Basically encourage all the protein and carbs to set her up to grow those babies as big as possible. Take over most of the day to day chores so she can rest (Braxton Hicks get worse when you overdo it) and put her feet up, prep as much baby stuff early and pack the hospital bag by 32 weeks. Twin pregnancy is hard and unpredictable. But it is possible that she might have 7lb + babies.
 
@terry2xx Great idea. She read what to expect when expecting before our singletons so I’m sure she would be willing to read that — will order today!!
 
@cinder7 I would encourage her to explore what she's hoping to avoid with these expectations. I assume they're coming from a fear of early delivery and smaller babies needing NICU time. I think confronting the root cause could help her accept the fears rather than build up defenses.

A friend just had a 12 lbs singleton at 40 weeks who needed a week of NICU time. There are some 35 week twins I've seen who don't go to the NICU. There's no guarantees and no magic formula to get the outcome we want.
 
@cinder7 Mine were 6#3 and 7#3 at 37 weeks and my first was only 6#15 so with her history of big babies I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. BUT if her pregnancy is anything like mine, she will not care by that point and just want them out. Twin pregnancy is miserable and I was hoping to go into labor way earlier than I ever would otherwise.
 
@cinder7 Def let her be optimistic and be her biggest cheerleader--ofc she's gonna make it!!! But also have a hospital bag ready to go. And if she does go in early, I suggest you be extremely sympathetic instead of dismissive (you already are so concerned that that probably doesn't even need to be said).

I had di/di twins at 38 weeks via scheduled c-section a year ago today! 7lbs and 7lbs 10oz (ish). It's always possible. I'm short too so it was an ordeal by the end lol.

Good luck to you guys!! The fun is about to start!!

Editing to add: my singleton was also 10lbs before them! So it's even more possible. Lol.
 
@cinder7 I didn’t get a choice to get to 38 weeks, I had a vasa previa and after being hospitalized for a few days at 26 and spending a lot of time on basically bed rest I had a c section at 35 +5. My girls were 5 lbs and 4 lbs 11 oz. They did their last three weeks of growing in the nicu and are perfectly healthy and happy little babies (well A is happy, B is a bit of a pickle with what we call resting baby face, but that has nothing to do with her size lol). Hopefully everything just goes according to plan for you though, but with twins I’ve learned to just roll with it!
 
@cinder7 My goal was making it to 38 weeks, but around 28 weeks I was so miserable I started praying just to get to 36– joke was on me, my doctor scheduled an induction at 36 weeks exactly due to rising BP. Baby boy was 7 lb 8 oz and baby girl was 5 lb 15 oz.

There is so much out of our control but one thing that’s really in her control is what she eats. Help her get as much protein in her diet as humanly possible! Protein drinks, chia seeds in smoothies and yogurt, steak salad for lunch, tall glasses of milk… I wholeheartedly believe that was a big contributor to the size of my babies bc the recommended amount for twin moms is 150 grams a day, which is a LOT.
 
@cinder7 I was equally determined, eating 3000 calories a day and wanting to make it as long as possible. By 35 weeks though I was so exhausted and done with being pregnant that healthy babies outside my body was pretty much all I wanted. Preeclampsia won the day anyway and no control over what came next once that set in… only cure is delivery says the doctors… twin pregnancy is a lesson in giving up control/expectations and just being prepared to be unprepared.
 
@cinder7 My di/di twins were both 7 lbs. My c-section was at 37+6. I only moved it up a day because of a really bad PUPPP rash that started a couple weeks before that. I was very uncomfortable carrying 14 lbs of baby and wasn't sleeping at all, so I went into postpartum with twins having already not slept for weeks. I was grateful for healthy babies, but whew...
 
@cinder7 I was the same as your wife and did everything I could to keep my babies in as long as I could. But they had other plans and made their arrival at 33.3. Just be supportive of your wife and if the babies come early then be extra supportive in those moments. Obviously, never say I told you so.
 
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