What to Expect When You're Having Twins with Natalie Diaz of Twiniversity
Show Notes:
[1:33] Our Reviewer of the Week, HeidiAbhy, said "I can’t recommend enough!!! Binge listener here! Third time mom prepping for my natural birth (March/April due window!) after my first two births didn’t quite go as expected. I love the unbiased and extremely informative conversations, and have been going back to listen to all the labor prep episodes as baby time nears! I especially like the early episode about what to do when you’re sick of being pregnant…haha! Thanks for all you do."
[2:13] Our guest is Natalie Diaz, founder of Twiniversity, the world’s leading resource and support network for multiple birth families! She is the Pied Piper of twin families around the globe. Nat’s become a global influencer for this small niche community. Natalie is the world’s #1 twin parenting and twin gear expert, serving as a twin consultant for top brands and worldwide recognized foundations. Natalie is also a Certified Lactation Counselor and a Child Passenger Safety Technician.
[3:58] What's the first thing that you recommend to a mom that finds out she's pregnant with twins? The very first thing is start getting used to saying, "Yes, thank you!" With a multiple birth pregnancy, twin moms definitely need more support than the average mom. You're going to have potentially more doctor's visits, a few more sonograms than average, but you should still expect to have a very typical pregnancy. Get used to saying "yes, thank you" because anybody offers you support, you should accept it.
[5:30] How do you navigate providers with twins and what questions should you ask? When moms typically find out that they have a second embryo, another heartbeat, or even a third heartbeat in there, they tend to throw their hands up and put all control in the doctor's hands. Once we hear that second heartbeat, we decide that we can't have any of it. Meanwhile, nobody told us we couldn't have any of it, but we have this assumption that there is going to be a lot more medical intervention but that's not always the case. Natalie shares her own experience with providers.
[10:16] Remember the acronym BRAIN. B is benefits, R is risks, A is alternatives, I is intuition and N is nothing.
[14:26] When you go to that provider's office for the first time, ask the first person in the room "Hi, I'm so nervous about having twins. Do you guys have a lot of twins in the practice?" Twin parents do have higher risks of certain pregnancy issues than other families such as a significantly higher risk of postpartum preeclampsia or a higher risk of gestational diabetes.
[18:29] In general, doctors really don't like to go past 38 weeks with a multiple birth pregnancy. 38 weeks does not have to mean a C-section by any means, shape, or form. Typically, you're physically running out of room after 38 weeks.
[25:09] What are the different kinds of twins?
- Dizygotic twins happen when a person hyper ovulates and releases two (or more) eggs during ovulation. Each egg is fertilized by one sperm resulting in two embryos. Also known as fraternal twins, they are always dichorionic diamniotic (di-di), meaning they each have their own placenta and amniotic sac.
- Monozygotic (identical) twins occur when one sperm fertilizes one egg and within 3-15 days the egg splits in two, resulting in identical twins. Monozygosity usually leads to monochorionic twins, meaning they share a placenta.
Knowing which type of twins you are carrying is vital, as identicals carry higher risks for complications such as Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Your doctor will perform an ultrasound during your first trimester to determine what kind of twins you're having.
[32:11] At Twiniversity, there is no birth plan, there's birth preferences. We could just prefer to have something one way versus another, but plans change. You have to be flexible and be willing to pivot. For all of you that are expecting twins, there's only so many things that you're actually in control of. Try to focus on those things that you're in control of, like your nutrition, your sanity, your stress level. You know, there's so many things that you could do, but don't worry about where the babies are and who's head down and who's head up because it's just not in your control. But what is in your control is how happy you are, and how relaxed you are, and that you're doing every right to get ready for the awesome experience that you're about to have, that's what you can do. So take a deep breath, and even though your delivery may not go as planned, it's still going to be absolutely extraordinary.
[34:32] When it comes to fitness during a twin pregnancy, there's literally nothing that you can't do unless your doctor specifically notices that there's an issue. Right? So the thing is, is don't worry until somebody tells you to worry.
[36:33] What can moms do now to prepare for a twin birth? Don't prepare anything more than your relationship because there is a storm that's coming. Just focus on drinking your water. Google stuff minimally. The first trimester, I wouldn't start buying stuff because you don't even know what's out there. You might want to start doing your research, but I wouldn't put deposits down on even anything. I wouldn't pick paint color for rooms. I would just chill and relax. During your second trimester, I would start looking at the stuff. Don't start thinking about like giant changes on top of giant changes because you may make hasty decisions. You have time to do things and really enjoy it and focus on those birth preferences. That's something you could research now. You could see what choices that your hospital has. Does your hospital have a midwife on staff that will stay with you the whole time? Does your hospital have a doula on staff? What type of birthing equipment does your hospital have? By week 30 though, I kind of put a hard stop on preparation. You will physically be fairly uncomfortable at 30 weeks with twins.
[45:24] Your health insurance company has to cover lactation. Every healthcare company to provide lactation coverage for as long as the mom chooses to breastfeed. I am not just an advocate for a healthy birth, I am an advocate for a healthy parent.
- Go to healthcare.gov to see what is covered under your plan!
Your insurance has to cover lactation care, and they could say we only cover people in network. However, if you can't find somebody in network, they still have to cover it. That means that you get to choose who you want to be your lactation provider.
[51:33] I ask Natalie to give her best advice for moms postpartum: "Just focus on feeding. Don't worry about sleep. Don't worry about the dishes. Don't worry about anything else. Just focus on feeding, whether that's bottle feeding or breastfeeding or bottle feeding breast milk. It does not matter. And 100% please introduce a bottle within the first month. With multiple births, you're going to need somebody to feed a baby. There will be a time that you will need to sleep more than an hour and 20 minutes. So we have to get those babies to accept a bottle, but focus on nothing but feeding every three hours, 24 hours a day, unless a doctor tells you different. That is the only thing you worry about. You outsource everything else."
[52:54] Where to find Natalie:
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