Yesterday we received another update of the babes with a few more scans, they are both still doing fine and growing... faster than I thought twins would grow. They are both ahead the grow- curves and the expected delivery date is now 10 days earlier. We asked our doc when we should be in Mumbai to be in time for the delivery and it still is Valentines day 2010, I don't think they will arrive exactly that date but near to that date anyways, twins do tend to come a bit early. Tomorrow we'll be picking up one of the cribs we bought and next week the other one, V-day is getting closer and we really should start to get the nursery ready. So far we have been anxious to start but at the same time a little hesitant, we just didn't want to jinx it. But as we are halfway there, we should start now.
Last week my mum stayed over for a few days and she went to the babydump store with A, and also some other baby stores as well. She can't resist buying something when she is in a baby store and she bought one big kangaroo and a big furry dog and some smaller items. We also have been looking into things we need to bring to Mumbai and many months ago I read a list of someone else with advice what to take. Stupid me but I didn't copy-paste it into my to-do list.. So experienced IP's: your list is more than welcome! I mean, I read about people who brought their own diapers but had to buy new ones locally as the nurses didn't approve of the diapers which were brought over. Formula is another big issue, which one is best? Is it best to bring your own so the babes don't have to change back to a different formula once you get home? How many bottles should you take with you? (I can multiply if you only know it for a singleton:)) How many onesies to take? My mum says that 7 each should be alright. Which bottle sterilizer is the most handy one to take along? What meds should we have with us all the time for the babes (if any)? Breath in and out I know, but there is so much to think about and becoming first time parents you just don't want to forget anything.
The hotel or apartment will be sort out this week, haven't really decided yet but the Vits seems to be popular these days (if you know how far it is from Hiranandini(?) pls share this info). And what about car seats? Do you take a maxi-cosi for the car rides in Mumbai or can you just hold them? (here in Holland you can be put in jail if you don't put your baby in a proper car seat). Also I would like to get some advice on a gift for our surrogate, we haven't met our surrogate and I doubt we will actually, but we do like to give her something. For her it must be an emotional ride as well and I am sure she will think of our babes in the future too hoping that they are loved, cared for and become great individuals when they grow up. It is a promise that we will do everything in our power to provide them with love, be caring parents and the best in all they need. But how do you express this to someone who is giving us the greatest gift?
Anyways, any word of advice, link to your post on the subject, is greatly appreciated.
Fingers crossed for uneventful pregnancies!
4 comments:
I have all the same questions you have! I have read so many accounts about the preparations from other IP's blogs and forums and these were so helpful. I recall seeing lists of what to bring on Rhonda and Gerry's blog and also on John and Chris' (Bonjour Parenthood).
Our twins are due about 2 weeks before yours and I am now getting apprehensive about all these final preparations too! We have had family visiting us from overseas for several weeks now, 2 more to go and then we can get re-focused on our baby preparations...
I am anxiously awaiting our 3D/4D scan, which should be any day now!
Best wishes to you for an uneventful final few months and there is a good chance we will meet in Mumbai (imagine that, twins meet twins)!
A baby seat isn't required in India. We used a sling carrier in cars (you won't want to travel too much anyway.) On the airplane we got a basinet, and you could fit two babies into one, but we ended up with the baby on our laps for most of the 15 hour flight. My experience is that onesies are useless for newborns -- they are too cold to be uncovered that much, so what we call "feetie pajamas" (full bodysuit with feet) works best. You'll also want plenty of swaddling blankets. Bottles -- newborns only drink small amounts at first (30 ml at first, but formula is usually mixed in 60 ml batches), so you only need to bring small bottles, but they quickly ramp up to needing the larger-sized bottle. Bring a container to hold pre-measured formula powder, too, for your longer trips away from the hotel to go to the embassy. Hiranandani hospital gift shop stocks just about anything you might want for babies except burp clothes (cloth diapers work great for this) and eye coverings in case they need to be under the lights for jaundice. It would be worthwhile going to your local medical supply shop to buy these in advance. We ended up taping cotton balls over our boy's eyes to shield him from the UV lights.
Note that prices on baby things in India is not too dissimilar from the US (and probably Europe too) so there isn't much savings in buying it there. We brought our own formula from home to make sure we had a brand we felt safe with. I think we used 2 canisters for our 2-week stay with 1 baby.
Best prices on diapers and wipes is at Haiku, a grocery store that's a few blocks walk from the hospital. They also carry formula. VITS hotel is about a 20 minute ride from the hospital. Easy to do in a tuk-tuk, but once you have the babies with you you'll want to take a cab. We only needed to take one trip to the hospital after discharge, and we could have done it without the baby if we had chosen to. Downside of the VITS is that there isn't much else to see in the neighborhood, or a pleasant place to walk. But, with two babies, you're not going to be in a hurry to go anywhere! They have a fabulous gym, though. Restaurant diagonally across the street is pretty good and cheaper than the hotel restaurant by far.
That's all I can think of, but feel free to e-mail me at stephaniekb@mindspring.com if you want other suggestions.
@ Todd, would be great to meet up in Mumbai, in what hotel are you staying? The last stretch is stressful and at the same time a lot of fun!
@ Stephanie, thanks!
Stephanie, great information! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I haven't booked anything for us yet -- will start working with Amit on that soon. I'll wait until around the start of December to actually make a booking(that would be ~27-28 weeks). I don't think any set of twins that I know about has made it to 36 weeks (start of Feb. for us), so I am anticipating we will be in India sooner than expected!
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