Moving While Pregnant (With Twins!)

We are so excited to share our first guest post with our readers and {mostly} fellow twin mommas.  We can all learn from each other, which is the main reason we decided to create this blog.  Meri {from Twenty Little Toes} had a unique experience during pregnancy with her boy/girl twins: picking up her entire life... and pregnant belly, and moving across the country to the great state of Texas.

Two months after I discovered that I was pregnant,  my husband was offered his dream job in Dallas. At the time, we were living in our dream home that we had just built a year prior, in Indianapolis. To learn that I was pregnant with twins, and then that we would be moving hundreds of miles away just a few short months later, well, you could call that a double whammy. (<-- Pun totally necessary. - Amber & Meredith)

While I don't recommend it, moving to a new city (or even into a new home) while pregnant is manageable if some key steps are taken. Here are five tips from my experience!

First thing's first: Find a doctor that you trust. 

After finding out we were moving, the first person I contacted was my doctor in Indianapolis (whom I loved), with a short list of questions for her. A few important ones to make note of:

• What is the latest point at which a new doctor would take me on? (She thought probably 27 weeks.) 
• When is the last time I could fly pregnant with twins? (Probably around 32 weeks, but that was pushing it.)

She offered to make some phone calls for me, but ultimately I went with a doctor who was recommended to me by a friend-of-a-friend in Dallas who had delivered two children with him and had great things to say.

Ensure that the doctor you like delivers at a hospital that suits your needs. 

Before we decided to go with the doctor that I chose, we investigated the hospital he delivers at, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. First and foremost, with twins, I wanted to know that it had a Level III NICU, and it did. I also (selfishly) wanted to make sure that it had been renovated in the past decade (I'm high maintenance and wanted to recover in comfort). I had also heard that my hospital was big on pushing breastfeeding, which didn't bother me because I wanted to be somewhere where the nurses helped me through the initial BF struggles. These may or may not be your requirements (maybe you want to be at a hospital that doesn't push breastfeeding) -- whatever they are, do your research and don't budge on your most important wishes for your delivery hospital.

Start searching for a pediatrician, STAT. 

As soon as my husband and I moved to Dallas, I started asking around for recommendations of a nearby pediatrician. Nearby was important to me, especially with twins, because I knew I wouldn't want to have to tote two preemie infants very far for their weekly visits. Good thing everyone in Dallas is so friendly; even strangers I met at the park or local restaurants were gladly handing over information on their pediatricians, and as it turned out almost all of the women I was meeting were using the same group. It was a group of young (read: not retiring anytime soon) women pediatricians who were pretty equal in their reputations as great doctors. I was dead set on getting into this group, so when I called the doctor who I was hoping to see and was told that she was no longer accepting new patients, I hung up and started crying. I asked my Dad if he would make a phone call to her as a fellow doctor in the hopes that that might help get us in, and it did. Do whatever it takes to get into the right doctor for you before your baby comes into the world.

Whatever you do, don't pick up that box. 

Knowing that I was moving into a new home at 30 weeks pregnant, my OB said to me, "Let your husband and movers do everything. Don't even hunch over a box. You will only be pregnant for 9 months, but your back is already so strained from the babies, and any damage you do to your back while pregnant could last for the rest of your life." Additionally, with twins there is always concern about shortening of the cervix and I worried that straining myself too much could put me into early labor. But realistically, being the perfectionist that I am, I couldn't oversee our move without participating (although I did stay away from the heavy stuff). I went into labor five weeks after our move, at 35 weeks. Was my premature labor due to moving stress and strain? It's possible. Be careful, my friends.

Meet the new neighbors; you'll need them. 

That doctor I found? The pediatrician? My babysitter and sometime nanny? All found through my new neighbors (and in fact, mostly through my kind, amazing next door neighbor who has two kids herself). Your neighbors know everything about the area that you don't. They're like the cliff's notes you need the night before a test when you failed to read the book--worth their weight in gold, I tell you.

Most importantly, remember to take care of yourself. Spring for the prenatal massage, ask for those nightly foot rubs, and give your body the rest and sleep that it needs. Nurturing yourself is the best thing you can do to nurture your babies and keep your pregnancy stress level as low as possible.

Don't be a stranger; come visit me over at my blog, www.twentylittletoes.com, and view our life with twins via pictures on Instagram {@merichesrown}.

Thanks, Meri!  Anyone else move while pregnant (twins or not?) and have anything additional to share? We'd love to hear your feedback.