The post Pregnant with twins: It’s not one, but two! appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>The question is: do you need two of everything? Certain items will require that you have one for each, whilst others can be shared.
One of the biggest purchases will be your twin pram. Careful consideration should be given when selecting your twin pram.
It is essential to buy a twin pram that will suit your needs and lifestyle. Your pram should be lightweight, compact, and easy to push and manoeuvre and most importantly, it must fit into your car boot and down the isles in a shopping centre.
A pram that is suitable from birth to four years will save you the unnecessary expense of having to buy two prams.
You will definitely require two infant car seats and preferably ones that are compatible with your twin pram so that you do not need to disturb your sleeping babies whilst moving the babies from the car onto the pram and vice versa.
Bassinets or carry cots are handy to have, but not essential. Most are compact and can fold flat for easy transportation. Bassinets can be used in your bedroom for the first few months.
Car seats bases remain installed in the car and alleviate a lot of trouble strapping two car seats into the car. Car seat bases increase the safety aspect of all car seats.
Choosing the correct travel system will give you the independence that you need to travel with your babies, short and long distance.
Twins fare better co-sleeping when they are little but eventually you will need to buy two cots. It is best to provide for this before their arrival to prevent unnecessary stress once the twins arrive. There are many configurations available for twins.
L-shaped cots are fantastic for small spaces as they fit into the corner of the smallest room. Babies can lie head to head and still have room to be separated.
Cots that convert into toddler beds will allow you to use your cot and linen from birth to approximately three years of age. Your babies will also adjust quicker to sleeping in a bed. Toddler beds come with guide rails to prevent your restless toddler from falling out. The toddler beds are also low to the ground so that your toddler can climb in and out safely.
Twins that are born prematurely and have spent time in NICU, will need to be monitored using apnoea pads, also know as breathing pads.
Preemies are more susceptible to suffer from apnoea episodes and therefore have an increased risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
Apnoea monitors can be hired from most hospitals or bought in our local baby stores. There are two types of apparatus that can monitor an infants breathing.
Breathing pads can be placed under the cot mattress and monitor the babies breathing whilst sleeping in the cot only. If you would like the babies to co-sleep it is essential to look at the sensitivity of this type of breathing pad. Certain brands are not able to detect the breathing of two babies. An infant could suffer an apnoea episode without you ever being aware of it.
Alternately, there are breathing pads that attach to the infants nappy. These devices are small and compact and monitor the babies breathing in every situation. Should they become dislodged the alarm will sound. Most of the breathing monitors come with a sound monitor so when the babies are old enough you will only utilise the sound component of the monitor.
Breastmilk is essential for the survival and well being of preemies and small babies.
The benefits of double pumping (simultaneous breast expression) compared to single pumping (one breast followed by the other breast), are well known. Recent scientific research has not only confirmed this, but has also uncovered further benefits for pumping mothers.
These benefits include:
Key advice to parents expecting twins is to keep practicality, versatility, safety and high quality as the forefront when purchasing your twin baby gear.
About the Author: Double Trouble is a Cape Town based company that specialises in baby products for Twins and Singletons. For more information, visit www.double-trouble.co.za.
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]]>The post What are the effects of pregnancy on your skin? appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>Almost 90% of woman experience stretch marks. Initially presenting as red streaks running down the tummy, thighs and hips.
What can you do?
There is very little medical evidence to show the effectiveness of stretch mark creams. Pulse dye laser is generally not safe in pregnancy. Moisturise and take heed in the fact that they will become white and silvery. Carboxy-therapy post-pregnancy can sometimes lessen the appearance of the marks.
1. Moles
Moles may darken in pregnancy. Be sure to check your moles before and after pregnancy. If you notice any significant changes during your pregnancy, contact your dermatologist as soon as possible.
2. Chloasma/Melasma
The pregnancy “mask” characterised by a brownish discolouration on the cheeks and forehead. Remember to wear sunscreen and use good sun protection i.e. sunhats. After pregnancy, if the marks do not fade, pigment lightening gels can be used. Fractionated laser is also useful in the post-partum period.
3. Linea nigra
A dark line that runs from your navel to pubic bone. The line will fade after pregnancy.
Skin tags are loose pieces of skin that may appear in armpits or under the breasts and neck. Very little can be done to prevent these. If they do not disappear after pregnancy, they can be removed.
1. Spider veins
Tiny red blood vessels that branch outwards. Spider veins tend to appear on your face, neck, upper chest and arms.
Try to improve circulation by walking and not crossing your legs while sitting. Often these are hereditary and little can be done to prevent them. Laser treatment after pregnancy can be useful.
2. Varicose veins
These are bulky bluish veins appearing on legs. To prevent varicose veins, increase your vitamin C intake, avoid standing for long periods of time, walk as much as possible, prop your feet on a stool when sitting, wear support stockings and avoid excessive weight gain.
After pregnancy, the pulse dye laser or sclerotherapy can be used.
Also known as “Prurigo of Pregnancy” – a general itchy skin. If it is just general itchyness, increased use of emollients and a mild topical corticosteroid cream can be used. Look out for jaundice (yellow discolouration of skin and eyes). If this occurs please contact your medical practitioner urgently.
Acne can occur in pregnancy and is often very distressing. It may be the first presentation of the disease or following on from a previous occurrence.
It is best to consult your dermatologist. The acne treatments in pregnancy are not always effective, but medication can be taken to lessen the impact of the disease and thus the scarring from acne can be reduced.
1. Atopic eczema
The most common skin disease in pregnancy is a new-onset of atopic eczema. Characterised by itchy, red papules; vesicles (fluid-filled blisters); and thickened skin. If you experience eczema during pregnancy, consult your dermatologist. Steroid creams can be used in moderation with good emollients.
2. Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy
Characterised by very itchy, red lesions that usually start on the tummy and may spread to the buttocks, thighs, arms and legs. Consult your health practitioner. This disease is often controlled by topical or oral steroids, if necessary. The good news is, the disease will resolve after delivery.
3. Impetigo Herpetiformis
A serious skin condition, characterised by pustules (pus-filled blisters) on a red base. Consult your gynaecologist and dermatologist if you develop these lesions.
About the Author: Dr NooriMoti-Joosub is a Dermatologist at Laserderm. For more information on Laserderm, visit www.laserderm.co.za.
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]]>The post Born at 25 weeks, a story of hope appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>“This was our first child and we were very excited from the beginning. We had wanted to have a child for a long time. It felt like a miracle from the start, but I was naïve about what was going to happen later on. In my mind it was all going to work out perfectly, I was going to have a normal birth and breastfeed without any problems.All the signs up to that point showed everything was well,” says Tanya.
“But when the pain didn’t go away and I started bleeding, I knew something was wrong,” she says. Tanya and her husband, Davy, went to the hospital where their gynae did a physical exam and a scan and confirmed everything was in order.
But the pain escalated through that night and her instincts told her all was not well.
“I woke up early the next morning, but I was so weak I could hardly move. The pain was intense and I could feel the baby moving down into the birth canal. I knew I was in labour, I knew the baby was coming,” says Tanya.
“He was crowning in the car and I kept saying to Davy, ‘drive faster, drive faster’. Although we were only 10 minutes away from the hospital, it felt like the longest drive ever. I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see how far we still had to go.”
“We arrived at the hospital and I stood beside a pillar in the entrance and shouted for someone to help me. I had to keep my legs together to keep the baby from coming out.”
It wasn’t until the staff of the maternity unit saw the baby’s head that they realised Tanya was in an advanced stage of labour. The baby was delivered straight away, with one push.
“I looked at the faces around me in the delivery room and I saw expressions of sorrow and regret.” They looked at Davy, who was distraught and very emotional. The looks implied ‘I’m so sorry for your loss’. I picked my head up and I saw a tiny blue baby. We were overcome with sadness and anguish, thinking that he had not survived, and seeing his little body lying still, without any movement.
“Everyone was quiet, and the pause in conversation felt very long. Then, out of the blue, this sound came, like a gasp. Kyle had taken a breath. Our despair turned into hope.”
Tanya had suffered a placental abruption, where the placenta (which is the source of nourishment for the unborn baby) becomes separated from the uterus. The cause of the condition is unknown, but Davy recalls: “It was a very painful and traumatic experience – Tanya had labour pains for more than 24 hours.”
Kyle had arrived 15 weeks early, weighing just 700g. A foetus is deemed clinically viable from 26 weeks’ gestation.
“The gynae wrapped Kyle in a hospital gown, and the nurse took him and ran to neonatal ICU, where they resuscitated him. They worked on him for an hour to stabilise him and he was on life support for a day and a half,” says Tanya.
“The doctors gave him a 10% chance of survival. He’d been starved of oxygen and we were warned of the possible complications that could arise in the days ahead, like heart and lung conditions and brain bleeds. The first 48 hours were crucial.”
‘Don’t get your hopes up, expect the worst,’ they said.
“I cried so much when I saw him, he looked so tiny and underdeveloped. He had a drip in his head, a feeding tube into his stomach and two other cords attached to his tiny little feet.”
Kyle’s birth was a life changing experience and it put things into perspective for us. I held onto my faith – not the stats and science – based on that first breath, which I believe was him saying ‘I’m here for a purpose, I am going to fight to live, I am going to hold onto hope, it’s my time’.
“We were totally unprepared. We hadn’t thought of names, done the shopping, or got his room ready or anything. I was depressed those first few days, I blamed myself, and thought if I had done this or that maybe things would be different. But I also knew I had done everything to keep fit and healthy, I have never drunk alcohol or smoked in my life, and so it felt unfair that my baby was suffering.”
“But I had to put these things behind me. I never looked back, I just thought about what my baby needed from me. He needed to draw strength from us.”
Kyle spent three months in neonatal intensive care and has had two heart surgeries already.
“From the beginning, we knew we needed to prepare for complications. After a few weeks, Kyle became very ill and the cardiologist picked up some problems. The first was the congenital heart disorder PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) where a connecting blood vessel that is open when the baby is in the womb so that blood bypasses the immature, non-functioning lungs, fails to close at birth. In order to get blood oxygenated, Kyle had to have the gap closed surgically when he reached a kilogram in weight. Kyle was one month old and weighed 900g when this procedure was done.”
The second surgery which was done when Kyle was seven months old and weighed three kilograms, was to open a chamber of the heart that was too small.
Kyle has six-monthly check-ups with his cardiologist, and his third operation, to close the hole in his heart due to atrial septal defect (ASD), is planned for when he reaches 15 kilograms.
“The journey was very stressful and a huge emotional roller coaster for us. Good news and happy moments of bonding always preceded bad news from the doctors, nurses and specialists. Fear, nervousness and despair were common emotions that we experienced, together with pride, joy and hope,” say Tanya and Davy.
“The saying: ‘Where there is life, there is hope’ became our mantra. We never stopped believing that everything would turn out perfectly.”
“The day we brought him home for the first time was the best day of our lives. Our house finally became a home,” they say.
Touched by the Moodleys’ story, the Discovery Health Concierge team reacted to their situation and founded the Premmie Concierge Project, which aims to assist and support parents of babies in the neonatal ICU and beyond.
Although he still has heart defects (atrial septal defect and pulmonary valve stenosis) and poor weight gain, Kyle, who is about to celebrate his second birthday, is an energetic and fun-loving little boy. He learns at least two new words a day. He loves playing with his toy cars, trucks and buses but his favourite pastimes are snuggling up to mommy, playing with daddy and chasing after his cat, Bizzy.
For more information on the Premmie Concierge Project, visit www.discovery.co.za. For more Medical Miracle stories, visit DiscoverySA on YouTube.
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