simpletwinwisdoms: July 2013

1. Food TV during the night feeds and pumping. Helps calm the nerves and prepare for next day’s meal ideas (Melissa)
2. Bite babies nails instead of using scary clippers. (Chrissy)
3. With twins, use disposables and use cloth as stand by to maintain reasonable expecations of self if need be (David)
4. For snacks during morning sickness and throughout pregnancy, try unsweetened licorice, earl grey, Japanese pickled ginger (Leah)
5. If pp dish out advice not asked for, bear with it just in case there is a gold nugget in it somewhere. But if it is just a badge of honour they are after for their own bad pregnancy experience: use the truth of eg Pls don’t say anymore I can’t hack it, make up an excuse eg got to go and have a poop, or walk away or snap their heads off (Michelle, me, other mothers and fathers of twins and singletons) (lovely Prison Guard's wife and me)
6. Head off farm during lambing (Mum)
7. Took me seven months out of nine months to get used to it and then I had one! (Doreen, lawyer)
8. Otago ECE or SIT nanny course – use for a potential pool of candidates to help around house after the birth, c-section (Chrissy, me)
9. Get good nursing pads (Avent soak up to a lot of ml according to staff at baby shop).
10. Buy water resistant mattress cover and use silicon breast shells to avoid leakage and waking up in own puddle of milk. (Carmen)

11. When milk is drying up or planning to go on a trip, set aside one day solely for eating, drinking, feeding to reboot mammaries and milk flow (Michelle)
12. Get a short wave radio to keep in touch with the new daddy on the farm to alleviate anxiety (Andrew)
13. Go in twos or take a friend to go to swimming, park, shopping etc as support ( Deb)
14. Buy up and pack maternity pads for hospital as hospital pads feel like “sitting on a surfboard” (Michelle)
15.Take heaps of PJs to change into after birth (Bernadette)
16.To relieve back ache and weight stand in door way with arms and elbow spread sideways squeezing against frame, and lean forward. (Carrie)
17. For last week to term make cycling movements to relieve pain in hips (Leah)
18.Don’t let nurses come in and out of your hospital room tell you how to breast feed, stick to what is agreed between lactation consultant and you. NOthing worse than getting conflicting info from an army of staff (Kate)
19.Drink lemon drink (water, lemon, honey) with iron tablets and sunflower seeds to stay regular (Bernadette)
20.Keep up pain relief after c-section at all times helps with better bonding with babies (Nicky)

21. Take all the help you cna get (Mum)
22. When the day starts not the way you wanted to, just say to yourself " ok, I am going to start again!" (Shona)
23. 'Go with the flow" (Jane)
24. Hold breast pump in place with elastic top or bra, so hands are free to for writing thank you notes, computer work, phone calls or journal writing (Belinda)
25. Pubis, pevic and back pains during/after pregnancy and breastfeeding: If the wheel is squeeky, get it oiled (Physio, hospital)
26. Cathy Louise Broda yoga for each trimester yoga DVD ( Martina, Ak Yoga Academy)
Shiva Rea Prenatal Yoga is another good prenatal exercise DVD and uses chair yoga.
27. "Don't try and catch your own tail" Choose one, two, three routines and timings and alternate if necessary:
a) breast, formula-top-up (if not enough EBM), wind x 2/3, change and settle and pump within hour and a bit every four hours (for prems), use formula during night feed, wind change, settle and pump
b) bottle-EBM. formula-top-up (if not enough EBM), wind 2/3, change and settle and pump
c) just formula
28. Be open to "learning a whole new normal " (Tracey)
29. Reading sanitary slip odd spots for distraction. Some good examples, the hair of humans can stretch 25% without breaking, rats can go without water longer than camels, elephants are the only animals that cannot jump (me)
30. Selling stuff on Trade Me when nerves and resolve starting to come undone as approaching the due date . (Mark)

simpletwinwisdoms

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Online and other resources for dealing w multiple births

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

30 helpful tips for twin pregnancies from friends