Twins born ten weeks early

[Snog]

My cousin's twins have been born ten weeks early. They are doing ok but in special care of course.
Does anyone have any advice about how to help them and what to give them as a present? They live abroad.

[badtemperedaldbitch]

No ideas just a little encouragement.
My dd born at 30 weeks....is now 9
Happy healthy and fucking fantastic!

Please be positive for your cousin

[amillionyears]

A little cuddly toy for each cot? If they are allowed them.

[Mononoke]

Hi, my dt's were also born at 30 weeks, they are 2 now.

I found baby clothes helpful, we needed them as soon as they were out of incubators and they are more expensive than the standard sizes.

[Mononoke]

That should be prem baby clothes

[Snog]

Ooh thanks for the fast responses
I am very upbeat and excited but aware that having babies in special care must be hugely stressful and a real worry

[Snog]

Where would I buy prem baby clothes? I was assuming the hospital would provide these but I guess nicer to have your own. Babies are in the USA

[Liskey]

Mothercare do them - DD had them when first born (as DH and Dmil had to go and find some when she was born).

[Liskey]

Was also going to add I was born at 32 weeks along with DT and we turned out fine (& that was 40 years ago!) and we were only 3lb each. They should be ok, though doesn't stop the worry.

[Liskey]

As I remember the premature bodysuits from mothercare were really good as they had Velcro along the sides which was really easy.

[Mononoke]

We got ours from Mothercare and Boots. Their hospital may provide clothes, I know some do.

[Sulawesi]

Tiniest clothes you can buy.

I had premature twins at 10 weeks and even the prem clothes were huge (depends how big they are of course but assuming not very!).

We were allowed a little rabbit in each incubator - they are still floating around somewhere in the toy box and mine are in their 11th year now .

[Sulawesi]

Oh and some nice toiletries for their mum please (wistful).

[Mononoke]

Ah yes, the nice toiletries is a good idea, especially hand cream as they will have to wash their hands a hundred times a day. Then pile on alcohol rub.

[Snog]

I'm eyeing up the mothercare clothing range!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

My 30 weekers are nearly 18 mo!

Actually clothes weren't that much use to us, because the hospital provided the tiny sized. 5-7lb stuff was good once home but they grew out of it super quick. Big size stuff was great once we knew they were well and home, bu prob a bit overwhelming right now.

If they live abroad tbh I'd send something small and sentimental and then vouchers as they've got enough on their plates without worrying about returns etc Or a really fab giant playmat would be good to post maybe?

But just stuff to celebrate the birth - card etc is lovely to have because you miss out on lots of that with premmies

[silverangel]

My DTs were 31 weekers, now fantastically well 19 month olds. Could you perhaps send a package to the parents - good handcream (alcohol gel is sooooo drying), some cute preemie clothes - Boots do a great range with velcro which are good for the monitoring wires (but not too many, they get big quickly! - and some bigger clothes as they will need them when they get home. The best things we got when they were in hospital were meals lewft in the freezer - obv. Won't work when the babies are in the USA! A listening ear and supportive texts will work well I'm sure:)

[thereistheball]

Another word of encouragement - my 29 week twins are now almost 6 months and doing really well.

I found that once they got home they grew really quickly, so although they are only 3 months corrected age they are on the growth curves for term babies born 6 months ago - in practice this meant that they didn't even get to wear some of the beautiful clothes we were given for the early months. Twins will always need lots of clothes so I'd suggest getting babygrows for 3 or 6 months onwards. If you want to get actual outfits make sure they are quick to put on and take off - no buttons! You will get baby clothes much cheaper in the US so try a few of their sites rather than Mothercare etc.

The other thing I needed when I got the boys home was clothes for me! Being pg with twins changed my shape almost beyond recognition. So maybe some vouchers for the mum, with an instruction to use them before she brings the babies home (she won't have time after!)

[Snog]

Thanks very much for the tips!

[Mandy21]

My 27 weekers are 8 soon, perfectly healthy and normal.

Do you know anyone who lives nearby, or can you search on the net to see if there are any cafes / restaurants / supermarkets etc that will deliver home cooked meals / a grocery delivery? We had a firm deliver 12 frozen gourmet meals which sounds odd but it was a godsend - would get in from a long day at hospital and we wouldn't need to bother about shopping / preparing food etc.

AS others have said, depends on hospital policy - my DTs were dressed for an awfully long time as the drs wanted to see their bodies. They were allowed one soft toy each in their incubator, and then a blanket that we could put over it.

My best present was a simply notebook and pen - when I spent long days at the hospital, I wrote things down about comments the drs and nurses had made, how much milk they'd had, whether I'd been allowed a cuddle / changed a nappy. When I had a bad day, I could look back and see how far they'd come. Its also nice to have now to remember it cos it all passed in a bit of a blur to be honest.