twins in special care nursery

[Niki]

is it common for twins to stay in the special care nursery after birth and for how long?

and any mummas who have had this how did u cope?

[bel84]

Hi Niki,

Congratulations on your twin pregnancy.:smiliedance:

My twins were born @ 38wks and they didn't spend anytime in the special care nursery. They were in my room the whole time.

Belinda

[Shajbm]

Niki, It depends on how early they come, whether or not they are sucking well etc. My boys were born at 32 weeks and spent 5 weeks in the SCN. 1 of them also spent about 6 days in NICU. Re coping, it is difficult to leave your babies in hospital while you leave but the nurses are fabulous as they have been doing this for such a long time. There are advantages and disadvantages for having them early. I'm happy to talk more about those if you like, just pm me and we can talk.

Think positively, if all is progressing nicely there is probably no need for them to come early and then go into SC.

Good luck and come in and let us know how you are progressing.

[TTannyaa]

Hi Niki, congrats on the pregnancy, I don't have twins but DD1 was born at 33 weeks and spent time in NICU and SCBU. My friend has twin girls born at 38 weeks that didn't spend anytime in a SCBU. I just realised that I didn't answer your question. Sorry :o Good luck with everything :hugs:

[pom04]

Hi there

I had identical twin girls at 35 weeks and they spent 1 month in special care - with emily needing a short amount of time ie a few days in intensive care!

I was not at all prepared for this as these were my first and until having the girls had never been admitted to a hospital - goodness me I was clueless really despite reading the book going to the classes etc

Im from the Uk and so it was quite a bit tough as I had no family or close friends as a support mechanism - looking back I may have done a few things differently when the girls were in special care _ I wont go into detail here but my twins spent time in two hospitals and I was VERY unhappy with the care they recieved at the local hospital - but that was just my experience - if U want to PM me please do if I can help in anyway !

Claire

[TwoBlue]

Hi Niki
I dont have twins but my DS was born at 36 weeks and spent time in NICU and then special care. Its not an easy time at all and with another child to care for also I can imagine it would be even harder.

I guess the best advice I can offer is to be prepared but not let it consume you, as you have heard already in this thread you may not need to have your twins in care at all (and I hope you dont!)

My best friend had twins at 36 weeks and one spent two days in special care, the other didnt at all.

Keep positive and I hope your bubbas can avoid special care but if not know that its the best place for them at the time and its not forever.... :hugs:

[DoubleDelight]

Hi Niki

Congratulations on your multiple pregnancy. My g/b twins were born by c/s at 31w5d due to an abnormal doppler on Twin II.

Taea was 1860gms and 39cms and Bailey was 1385gms and 40cms. Bailey was breathing unassisted from birth (a miracle considering he was the twin in trouble) and Taea needed CPAP for a total of 8 days. We went straight into Level 2 NICU and were in hospital for a total of 27 days.

It is common for twins to be smaller than singletons as it is pretty much unheard of to go past 38wks. It really does depend on the gestational age of the twins and any complications such as jaundice etc. Generally speaking twins before 36wks will spend at least one night in special care.

Have you joined your branch of AMBA? Most branches have a prem support officer who can offer practical help and advice.

The real advice I would have is to put yourself, your partner and your children first. Don't worry about offending anyone do what is necessary for you. The other thing is NICU has a social worker - use them. Even if its just to chat for 10mins it does help.

Take care and I hope that you don't get to experience NICU but if you do and need to talk just PM me.

[A Party of Five]

:hugs: Congratulations Niki on your twin pregnancy!

My twins were born at 38 weeks and 1 day by c-section. They did not need to spend anytime in the special care nursery. I had them in my room the whole time, which was great.

Felicity was 5lb 12oz and Nicholas was 6lb 14oz. They did have little bit of jaundice but that was it, very healthy babies. We went into the hospital on the Wednesday I had them on the Thursday afternoon and we went home Christmas eve.

Have you joined your branch of AMBA? They also have a forum which you may find helpful.

Angela :angel:

[BlessedWithBlue]

My boys were born at 36 weeks as i was induced for pre eclampsia. They both spent 2 weeks in the SCBU mainly because of feeding issues. Jett weighed 5lb 8oz and Isaiah was 4lb 9.5oz.