Hospital bag for preemie twins (UK)
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One of the twins has restricted growth, and it sounds like they’re going to monitor it until the point where it’s safe to deliver them so they can grow better outside the womb. Maybe I’m just being overly cautious though (I’m a bit of an over-thinker 🙈) When I had my first baby she couldn’t latch at all and I borrowed the hospital pump but will take my own this time, and been looking at twin feeding pillows too. My first born was only 5lbs 6oz at birth (37 weeks) and we found size 0 nappies and tiny baby clothes fit perfectly!
It's really interesting to explore and understand what's happening in the baby and what's happening in the mother in the first 24 hours after birth. Nipple stimulation (whether by hand, expressing or by your baby suckling) in the first 24 hours increases the number on prolactin receptors your breasts create, this sets the bar for ongoing milk production. Your placenta produces high levels of the hormone progesterone, which suppresses prolactin, when the placenta separates from you your prolactin spikes. For the baby, as they transition from being an aquatic to land mammal, their kidneys are working hard to flush fluid from every cell in their body, this is why they need colostrum, not milk (which is more fluid and more work for their little kidneys to process) Babies are born with brown fat on their upper back and neck, they use this fat for energy and regulating their body temperature, which you can preserve with skin to skin. The perfectly designed system 💕
Frequently hand expressing just a few drops of colostrum will suffice in the first 24 hours, keep those babies glued to you 🫶🏼 there’s no rush to start filling them up with milk
hi!! i’m US based, but i had my twins at 32w and one had restricted growth. at that age they can’t regulate their body temperature yet, so they stayed in incubators for around one-two weeks ish~ and they couldn’t wear any type of clothing during that (except for hats). they were fed through a nose tube for at least two weeks as well (probably longer but i can’t remember). the twin that had restricted growth wore micropreemie diapers and the other one wore preemie diapers (hospital provided it all). my restricted growth bb stayed in the NICU for two months and the other for only one month. i know our countries may have different processes and everything but feel free to message with any questions!!
I’m UK based, my twins arrived early at 36w via emergency c section. We took our own nappies and formula (as I was combi feeding) but they told us they would provide the formula and they also gave us nappies. Mine weren’t in NICU because of their weight they were being tested for something else but they were not tube fed for long, yours may not be tube fed. So take bottles as the recommended using these rather than the disposable teats the hospital uses so they get used to them. Mine were both under 5lb and used size 0 nappies and they fit fine. They lent us a pump but if you have one great! They also gave me syringes to collect colostrum. Basically I packed what you normally would in a hospital bag but also smaller sized vests and baby grows and hats too.xx
I’m UK based and my twins arrived at 35 weeks via emergency c section. I just took plenty of tiny baby vests & sleepsuits as well as newborn ones, as I wasn’t sure what weight they’d be. We took a pack of size 0 & size 1 nappies, as again wasn’t sure what size they’d be, and the size 0 were perfect (definitely too big but still did the trick🤣). I know there is a smaller preemie nappy size that the hospital may stock. We took ready made formula as a back up, even though I was planning to breastfeed, but there was absolutely no need as the ward had different brands of formula anyway! They also lent us a hospital grade pump as I decided to exclusively pump after my birth x
I had my triplets at 31 weeks and bought lots and lots of preemie clothing but they didn’t get lots of use because while in the incubator they were just in nappies. But I’d say buy some vests/grows check if your unit provides nappies or if you need to buy them. I had muslin squares which I rubbed on me and they skep with and hats. I also provided nice blankets x
I’m presuming you are just wanting to be cautious? or do you know for certain that they will arrive 30-34 weeks? I’d pack all the usual stuff and some preemie outfits.