PreemieTwins.com Resource for Parents of Multiples and/or Premature Infants

James had to stay another month and a bit.

Taking both of the home for the first time together was the happiest day of our lives. We went back to the doctor in February to review the hole in James heart. We found out that it had closed. But the doctor also told us that he had never seen a hole like the one James had close over. He couldn?t believe it didn?t need to be operated on. Because of the size, location and the fact that it was also through a section of mussel.

Our boys are now just over 8 months old and they are both doing very well. We have been very blest through the pregnancy, delivery, intensive care and even now as there are no long term effects from either there problems or from their premature delivery. The boy?s were born on the 19th of July 2002 and we have just celebrated their first birthday.
Well that is the story of James and Andrew Cook.

smaller one, he did well and was ok for the first couple of days. After this he started to decline and required oxygen through C pap for most of his stay in hospital. James also had to have long line drips. He had two in his head, one in each of his legs, one in his groin and another on his right leg over the next couple of months. We also found out that James had an open valve and a hole in his heart. For the valve James was given aspirin, which closed it up. The doctor?s were hoping as James put on weight that the hole would close over. Andrew once having the boxed oxygen seemed to pick up although he had to have more chest drains as more sacs had ruptured in his lungs.

It was a very hard time to go through. My husband and I spent every spare minute we had at the hospital with our two miracle boy?s. I would spend all day at the hospital before making tea. When my husband came home we would eat tea then go straight to the hospital to be with the boys. On weekends and days off we would sit at the hospital with them. We basically lived at the hospital for 3 months.

The day after the boy?s were born my doctor came to visit and to tell us some news. First he told us that the boy?s were identical. This was suspected as twin to twin transfusion only happens in identical twins. The chances of it happening are 1 in 1000. They had also found that the umbilical cord of the smaller one, James was not attached directly to the placenta. There were a few blood vessels running up the membrane between the boys which then went in to the cord. On top of everything else he didn?t even have a proper umbilical cord supplying him. The Obstetrician said to us that James shouldn?t have been with us. So we were thanking God for the miracles that he did to keep our boys alive. So after a couple of months in intensive care Andrew was able to come home. We were even blessed enough to have him home a couple of days before his due date. (Which would have been the 11th of September). Jam

Finally we got there. Things had picked up a little bit, the smaller one had more fluid around it and the larger one wasn?t producing too much. However the smaller one was now struggling as he was having trouble pumping blood back out of the placenta. We also noticed around the same time that the blood in the heart of the smaller one had started to flow backwards between beats. This of course added to the concern.

So I began having ultrasounds every second day. My doctor said that to give them the best chance he hoped to get them to about 34 weeks and then he would deliver them. But things started to go down hill quickly over the next few weeks. The smaller one was not putting on weight at all and was having difficulties pumping the oxygenated blood out of his body. He was beginning to show the early signs of distress.

We began having the babies monitored on an ECG machine every second day, and having an ultrasound every other day. At this stage I was at about 32 weeks. The second time I went back to have this done they called in my doctor because things were getting worse. The smaller one was struggling. So after consulting the team in the neo-natal unit my doctor decided that the best option would be to do a c-section and deliver them immediately.

Our twin boys were delivered at 32 ? weeks. My eldest son James weighed in at 1030gms (2lbs 4oz) and was just 35cm long. He was so tiny it was hard to believe that he had made it. Andrew was born just 6mins after his brother and he weighed in at 1690gms (3lbs 12oz) and his length was 42 cm. They were at approximately 25 weeks and 28 weeks development instead of being 32 weeks as they should have been. They both were taken to the Intensive Care Neo Natal Unit at the Flinders Medical Centre.

Andrew needed oxygen and also chest drains as oxygen was leaking into his chest. His blood was also too thick and needed to be thinned. There were a few other problems such as jaundice as well. Even though James was the s

Hi, my name is Carissa Cook, I am 22 year?s of age and I have twin boys.

I am writing this to you because I would like to share my story with you.

My husband Justin and I were married in August 2001. We had not planned to have children straight away but if it happened then we were happy. It was just after Christmas 2001 and before the new year of 2002 that I found out that I was pregnant, we were very happy about this. So I went to the doctor and they sent me for an ultra sound to check on dates. At my first ultra sound they told us that we were having twins, which was a shock. Although there are twins on both sides of the family, I just never thought that it would happen to me.

As the pregnancy went on I got really bad morning sickness. But that finally ended. The doctor sent me for another ultra sound at about 16 weeks. It was then that they realized that there was a problem with the twins. They found that they had twin to twin transfusion. So I had to go for ultrasounds at least twice a week. As the pregnancy went on there were more problems. The smaller one did not have much amniotic fluid around him. The larger one was making extra. The danger was that the extra fluid being produced by the larger one could trigger early labor. So they started to keep a very close eye on things. We were told that the likely outcome was one, if not both the babies would die before 20 weeks. So between 16 and 20 weeks was very stressful. But the 20 weeks came and we still had both babies.

It was a relief that they were both hanging in. The doctor continued to keep a close eye on things, as they were not getting any better. As the weeks went on, we found out that one was small for their dates but the other one was very small and now under the 5th percentile. The bigger one of the two was getting most of the nutrition, which meant the smaller one was getting very little and not growing. We were told for them to have a chance they would need to make it to 28 weeks at lea

i found out i was expecting twins when i was 11 weeks gone, i was sufferin with mornin sickness really badly! people always told me twins were born early, i guess i proved them wrong.. 9 days before my due date i was induced because i was so uncomfortable. after only 9 hours off labour i delivered my son, mason weighing 5lb. 11 manutes later to my surprise my daughter zoe was born weighing 5lb 8ozs. after 4 days in hospital we were allowed home. the twins are now 7 months old and are doing everything, including walking!!! my babies are miracles.

My daughter Nichole was born 9 wks premature due to a placental abruption that was diagnosed in my 3rd mth of pregnancy. When I started spotting, thank God, the on call doc told me to go to the hospital for overnight observation. While there, I hemmoraged and emergency c-section was done, the doctor said I almost didn't make it. Nichole was 3 lbs 2 oz. and spent 28 days in NICU before coming home with an apnea monitor for 5 mths. 1 year later she is 22 lbs and almost caught up on her corrected age. I thank medical technology for her survival.

My twin girls were born 16 weeks early at 1 lb 3.8 ozs and the other 1 lb 1.4 ozs. They both were in the hospital for 3 1/2 months and came home one week after another. They are now 4 years old and my youngest twin has a mild form of cerebral palsy. They are my miracle babies

I was hospitalized at 23 weeks with preterm labor. They put me on magnesium sulfate and I was catheterized. We had a brief scare at 27 weeks when I developed a bad kidney infection which caused my contractions to be about 1-2 minutes apart. Thankfully, they managed to get the infection under control and stop the contractions. My water broke at 30 weeks and 5 days. Jack (baby A) was 3 lbs 5 oz and Dean (baby B) was 2 lbs 13 oz. They both had to be intubated because of immature lungs (even with 2 doses of steroids), they both had pdas and were jaundiced. Dean had to have a chest tube because his lung had a leak that caused it to collapse. It was removed after 1 week. They started nippling when they were 34 weeks. I was able to breastfeed them when they got to be 36 weeks. Jack was a very good eater but Dean had trouble latching on. They came home 1 week before their due date, both on apnea monitors. Jack was also on 2 different diuretics, aminophylline, sodium chloride and potassium chloride. It took 1 week at home for Dean to finally latch on. The monitors were discontinued after 3 months at home. They are now almost 8 months old and growing well - Jack is 14 lbs and Dean is 12 1/2 lbs. Their developmental exams were normal for preemies, I'm still breastfeeding and they are also getting cereal and fruit. Dean had some reflux at first but eventually outgrew it. We're very lucky to have had them at one of the best NICU's in the country. The care that we all received was absolutely phenomenal (Providence St. Joseph in Burbank, CA). We are incredibly lucky and just marvel at our beautiful boys every day. For those of you who are going through this now - keep the faith, things will improve and soon you'll have your beautiful babies at home. My heart goes out to you all.
Kelsi - Van Nuys, CA

My twin boys were born on June 5 at 26 weeks 5 days. I had been on hospitalized bedrest since I was 23 weeks due to preterm labor. I had been hoping to make it to at least 28 weeks, but the boys had other plans.

They were born weighing 2 lbs. 4.5 oz. and 2 lbs. 4 oz. They were both put on ventilators, but baby A got off his after about a week and baby B was off his after about 2 weeks. Baby A had to have surgery at 1 week for a perforated intestine and he now has an ostomy, which he'll keep until he's 6-8 months old. He also has a hernia, which they will fix when they go in to repair his intestine. Oterwise, both boys are healthy and just need to grow. We feel very lucky that they are doing so well. We plan to take them home in August, around 38 weeks.

looking for preemie info

Pregnant with fraternal twins in 2002 and my water broke on Baby B at 12 weeks. They swore up and down that this baby would die in utero. I went for u/s every week and was on restricted bedrest. At 18 weeks, baby B started regaining a little fluid... and by 30 weeks she had quite a bit for herself. I started having bleeding and leaking at 31 weeks, but managed to keep cooking them until 33 weeks and 5 days. They opted for a c-section after trying to induce. Abby was born first weighing 4lbs 10oz and Becca (baby B) weighed 3lbs 15oz. Both girls were in the NICU for a month, had some feeding issues, and reflux and apnea. They came home with oxygen during feeds. Becca was born with arthrogryposis because she was squished inutero. She has dislocated hips, contractures of the left arm and knees, clubbed foot on the right, and plagiocephaly (flat head) we currently go to shriners childrens hospital and the girls are doing well. They are 9months this month.. abby weighs 22 lbs and Becca weighs 19.

) love my girls! wouldnt have them any other way than together

I guess I dont have much of a story, but here it is. I went into preterm labor at 28 weeks and was put on bed rest. I delivered Kody and Kaylee at 33 weeks. Kody was first at 4 lbs 9 oz and 18 inches and Kaylee was next weighing 4 lbs 6 oz and was 16 1/2 inches. They never needed oxygen and were only in the NICU for 3 days for IV fluids and food until they were able to nurse. They were in the transitional nursery for the next 5 days and then came home. Kody has really never had any trouble. Kaylee has had some trouble with feeding and weight gain, but now they are almost 1 and are just about the happiest babies alive. Kody is now 22 lbs and Kaylee is 16 lbs. Thanks for looking.

My twins where born at 32 weeks. I was only 22 when they where born, on October 19. Jesse Ryan was born weighing 3 lbs. 8 oz. unfortunately he didn't make it, but Alaina Mariah did weighing 3 lbs. 3 oz. She is now 2 years and 8 months. She's absolutely the best I love her so much. The most beautiful and adorable little girl I ever met.

I was looking for some preemie sites:)

My twin boys were born December 29,2000.. WE had a rough start,but not as rough as some I have read.
I went to the Dr's appointment on the 28th and my Dr through me in the hospital..I had dilated to 3 cm and he said he was worried if I went home I wouldn't be able to make it back on time to the hospital

They hooked me up to everything (the twins by the way were born at 34 weeks),he came in that after noon and told me that he was going to leave me until the morning and he wanted me to have them natural..he stressed NO C-SECTION!!!!!!!!,well that night my monitor went off big time and Joe's heart rate was really high and never came back down,my husband called for the nurse to come in and she said she was going to call my DR..He told her there wasn't anything to worry about that he wanted to get some sleep and that I needed to also and he would be in,in the morning to give me a sleeping pill...I refused to take the sleeping pill and stayed up all night watching Joe's heart beat.....The next morning he came in and threw me into a c-section....the whole time there prepping me to have my c-section they keep talking me into going to sleep because they thought it would be the best thing..I didn't want to so I fought them on it,until this one guy came in and started to tell me how I would feel like I couldn't breath and blah blah blah..needless to say he scared me so bad that they put me under

Caleb came first weighing 4 pounds 9 oz and was small,but cute and healthy..then came Joe,my little trouble maker

Joe had the cord wrapped around his neck and couldn't take his first breath..When I woke up I found a man standing over me and explained that they were rushing my baby to the NICU 2 hours away from me that the ambulance just got there and they would bring him in for me to name him and send him on his way.That was something I didn't want to hear at all...They brought Joe in,he was a good size boy weighing 5 pounds 9 oz and he had the beautiful black hair an

through birthstories.com

I have 4 yr old identical twin boys who were born at 33 weeks 1 day. While pregnant everything was going well.....i never had any problems, in fact at 30 weeks we were told that both babies(at that time we didn't know they were identical and only knew one was a boy) were already 3 lbs.

Well at my 32 week appt. they decided to check my cervix and found out I was 75% effaced and almost 4 cm dilated. Iwas immediately put on Mag and they kept me pregnant long enough to administer steroids to help their lungs. A week later I was checked and was 95% effaced and 5 cm dilated....needless to say they were born 9 hrs later weighing Kodey(babyA)4#, and Kaleb(babyB)4#5oz. They had O2 blowing at Kaleb for about 4 hours other than that they were both moved to open cribs at 2 days and that is were they stayed for 5 weeks. They had A's and B's(apnea and bradycardia) and had problems nippling. When they were released at 5 weeks they were 6#14oz and 7#2oz. They were alittle behind when it came to walking but that was it for delays...........now at 4 yrs old they are both just over 40# and 42 inches tall........... GOOD LUCK to all multiple parents.........I also have a 3 yr old who was 9 days late and weighed 8#5oz and amazingly enough he is the one small for his age now......i am also 20 weeks with our 4th.

searching for twins websites

I never thought that i would find myself on the examination bed in an ultrasound room listening to the nurse tell me that i have "two in there". It was my first ultrasound at 11 weeks and here I was alone being told that I was having twins. I could have killed my husband for not being there. But this was the beginning of a wonderfull, easy pregnancy. The doctors said that because of my size (5'1/2, 109 pounds), that I would be lucky if I carried the twins to 36 weeks. Well, I never had a lick of morning sickness, no false contractions, I never had ANY problems with my pregnancy. I would have kept working (might i add that i worked at a daycare) if my doctor wouldn't have pulled me out of work at 28 weeks, standard precedure for twins he said. At an ultrasound at 34 weeks, my Ob doctor had trouble getting measurments of one of the twins, and he thought that they were growing uneven, so he sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound at 35 weeks. That ultrasound showed that my twins were growing fine, but my amniotic fluid was considerably low. He decided at my next appointment, after calling some of his collegues, that we would go ahead and deliver. He gave me the choic of c-section, or natural, so i asked him which one he thought would be safer, and he decided a c-section would be the best. So on Monday March 31, 2003 at 1pm i was checking in at the hospital. Stephen Richard was born at 1:30 weighing 5 lbs 4oz, 19 1/2 inches, and Aaron Jacob 1:32 weighing 5 lbs 3oz, 19 inches. Both were born at 36 weeks with absolutely no complications and were perfectly healthy. To this day I am certain they would have made it full term if my fluid wouldn't have been low. The 3 of us were discharged on Thursday. They were 9 weeks yesterday and are doing exeptionally well, and growing each day. the both are 10 lbs, are lifting their heads (they were doing this in the hospital believe it or not) and make me cry everytime they coo.

I am the mother of fraternal twin boys. Born @ 34 weeks due to preeclampsia December 31st 2002 (New Years Eve). My pregnancy was trouble free though I did start to dilate at 30 weeks but my doctor didn't seem to be too concerned. Told me to limit activity but did not demand bedrest. On Dec. 30th I went for a scheduled Dr. appointment. I had been exprencing a light headache for the previous couple days but overall felt wonderful. When the nurse checked my blood pressure she told me to lay on my side and left the room immediatly. She returned a few minutes later and took my BP again. She left the room again returning quickly with a doctor. He was calm and I didn't feel like anything was wrong, he check my cervix and I was 3cm dilated. He told me and my husband to go straight to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital they started magnsium and gave steriod shots. I hadn't ate that day very well and was not allowed to eat anything for next two days not even ice chips. The boys were delivered at 8:19 and 8:20p.m. New Years Eve. The hospital didn't feel it was fair to deliver them so that they were the new year babies because six other women where laboring. But we did get two tax deductions!

Andrew weighed 4#11oz. and Ashton 3#15oz. Both were taken to NICU where they stayed for one month. Ashton did not require any special treatment and was kept to gain weight, Andrew was on highlevel oxygen for a week and had jaundis. We were so lucky that the boys did so well. They are growing like weeds and seem to be developing on schedule with just a few delays like rolling over and Ashton does not babble hardly at all where Drew makes up for both.

Best wishs to you all!

I went into premature labor at 24 weeks and was put on complete bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy....which I thought would be for 3 more months....but my twins had plans of their own. I delivered at exactly 26 weeks on December 2, 2002. My son (1lb,12oz) and daughter (1lb,9oz) were immediately put on respirators. I was told to be hopeful, but not to expect too much. They also said that boys are not as strong as girls so my son, Carsten would probably be "more involved" than my daughter Mia. Boy were they wrong! After a few days he came off the ventilator and other than being born early, he seemed to escape any preemie related problems. He came home at 37 weeks. Mia on the other hand wanted us to have a challenge. She sat on the fence for so long with so many issues (PDA, infection, grade 2 IVH, ROP, disorganized suck). At 37 weeks she had laser surgery for her ROP which they say is regressing!!!! YEAH!!!! But we won't know how much she can see until she gets closer to a year old. If you ask me I think she can see just fine, but we still need that professional opinion to really put our minds at ease. Mia came home at 40 weeks, but she was still not feeding properly. The NICU staff told us she just needed to be home and things would turn around - well, here we are 2 months later and still struggling with her eating. She had to have an Ng tube again last month to supplement her feedings which made her miserable....not to mention it aggravated her reflux...and having her spit up all over the place at every feeding. Against a lot of advice we decided to try switching formula.... she is eating soooo much better, but not "enough" as the doctors/nutritionists tell us. She is now 9 lbs, 10 oz. which is just huge for her, but when you look at her twin who is 14 lbs. you see what a peanut she is. I would love to talk with anyone who has had feeding issues or anyone with twins born at similar gestation....moral support right now would be so nice.

Makayla ROP stage 5 and feeding tube. She had a lot of problems when she was born like her PDA and she had no skin at all so she has a lot of scars now. They wrapped her in gauze and like Vaseline but nothing compared to Nickalas who still fights for his life on a daily basis. A cold could kill him and he has more track marks in his body than a hooker from L.A. They are still like newborns with very developmentally delayed. They still can not hold up their heads but they try and Makayla is working on sitting up now. But the are both home now and I would love to talk with other moms who?s babies have and had similar problems.

My twins were born at 22 weeks gestation. Kay was born weighing 13 oz and was 11 inches long, Nick was 15 ozs and 11 inches long. At 21 weeks I was taking a nap because I was on bed rest when my water broke. I knew immediately this was not good. My husband drove me to the hospital and they did a ferning test to see if it had broken and the test came back negative that I must have peed on myself. I knew they were wrong so Michael went home and got the clothes that I was wearing because they were drenched. While he was gone I started having contractions so they gave me a shot to stop them and it worked. They then tested the clothes and found out that my water had broken from then on I was confined to bed with a catheter. The whole week was a blur but I knew that I was there for the long haul. They did an ultrasound and thought that the bag was sealing back up so when I went into labor again they stopped it once again. By the 6th day they did not try to stop it anymore. The babies were delivered by c-section on the very day I turned 22 weeks. They were given a 0 to 1% chance of survival not very good odds when you are a mom given birth. I was put to sleep and had our priest come in to baptize them before they pronounced them dead. When I woke up I found out that they were both still alive but barely. During the next 10 months I don't know how I survived. Nickalas had a heart attack and was pronounced dead for 2 minutes when he had a seizure and it started his heart. Nick ---Hydrocephalus grade 4 bleeds on both sides of his brain, aspergillus ( a very rare fungal infection that developed on his back and quickly started eating away at his liver and other organs), NEC still has it and they don't know how or why( a deadly intestinal infection), Kidney failure, heart failure, liver failure, Septic Shock x's 2 (deadly) ROP stage 5 (completely blind)34 surgeries and still a lot more to go. Lung disease still on O2. Basically you name it the kid has had it. Makayla R

As I read these stories, I thank God we were as lucky and blessed as we were. We're the parents of triplets, Lilly, Shelby and David. They were born at 34 weeks 6 days. Lilly was 5.5lbs, Shelby 5.8lbs and David 5.11lbs. I had a relatively uneventful pregnancy and I went to my scheduled delivery date. I had gained 75lbs and lost 40 of it on the table when the babies were born! Our babies were born healthy and were in the well baby nursery by discharge 4 days later--with me! Yes, they came home when I came home. I was NOT prepared for that! But like I said, I feel so lucky and blessed that it turned out the way it did. They will be 3 years old on June 29, 2003 and it's been great! I have to say I miss the babies, though!! Time goes by so fast. Enjoy every moment with them. Proud mom, Kathy Oliver

I was so shocked when I learned that I was expecting twins.
Anyway, I gave birth to a boy and a girl on April 16 03 one
day before my due date. I was afraid that I would go into labor prematurely, not because I was having trouble with the
preganacy, but because of the stories that I have heard from
other mothers that were expecting twins. I prayed everyday
for healthy babies. My son weighed 8lbs 6ozs and my daughter
weighed 6lbs 13ozs. Both babies were delivered without any
problems and are now growing very fast. I just want to say to all the other women who are expecting twins to keep the faith and have confidence in your body.

LOLITA

The Edmonton Twin and Triplet Club Website

We the story all begins when I went into labor at 27 weeks. It was the most frightening yet calm experience of my life.
I thought that I had just a simple backache, and put off going to the hospital because there was no need to worry right, big mistake. When my husband took me into the hospital, after much insisting, it turns out that I was 3cm dilated and fully effaced. Needless to say they rushed me to the hospital with a NICU and we all hoped for the best.
After 4 weeks of hospitalized bed rest, and a lot of Magnesium sulfate, the nurses let me out of bed. I then proceeded to make hospital friends. My next door neighbor was also having twins, unfortunately she had twin to twin transfusion, and she was only 26 weeks, she was hospitalized so the team could keep an eye on the situation. As a veteran to the anti partum ward I was happy to visit and show her the ropes. We visited, well mostly cried, back and forth, it is very isolating being in there, and became good hospital friends. One day, I heard my friend crying and thought that I could send someone to get her a treat and it would cheer her up. Upon my entering her room, I found out that her smaller baby had not made it through the day and they were taking her up to have an emergency caesarian in the hopes that they could save the other twin. I was absolutely horrified and devastated at the same time. I got so stewed that I myself went into labor and they too were going to take me up to have a C-section, at only 32 weeks. It seemed that one of my girls was laying sideways with her back down and the doctors were not sure that they could save her. We prepared ourselves for the worst. So when they showed me my two beautiful little girls, both alive and kicking, we were ecstatic!!! My daughters were so very healthy, there were no tubes like the Neo Natal team said there would most probably be, and no special medications, only isolettes and toques. My girls were 3lbs 10 oz, and 4 lbs 1oz, and health

I first came to this site when my twins were 4 months old. I decided to check back and read the new stories and post a small update! My twins Michael and Amanda were born exactly 6 weeks early on October 22nd 2001. Michael was born weighing 5lbs 10oz, Amanda was 4lbs 15oz. They are now 18 months old, how the time has gone by! Michael now weighs 25lbs 3oz, Amanda is just under 21 pounds. They are a bit behind in speaking, they prefer to talk to each other in their little language instead of using english. Michael just started walking at 17 months. Overall they are developing in the normal range.