If you landed on this page, it is likely because you yourself are experiencing your own Twin Pregnancy! Congratulations to you! I loved reading about other twin moms’ pregnancies, especially the week-by-week accounts with photos. It helped me feel calmer about all the sensations my body went through as it grew and stretched for these tiny humans.
I made sure I took notes each week, so I could share my experience with you. Read about the FIRST TRIMESTER here. It is so easy as moms to feel like we are on an island struggling alone. I hope you feel a little less anxious about the journey and a little less alone after reading my experience.
I remember how crazy excited I was to see not one, but TWO active babies on that ultrasound.
I had a dream when I was 17 that I had a set of twins, and ever since then if someone would ask me if I was going to have kids or how many more, I would say “yes, we are going to have four kids and two of them will be twins.” Everyone thought I was crazy, but sometimes that womanly intuition just knows.
16 years and two kids later, I gave birth to my twins in 2023. A double rainbow after years of recurrent pregnancy loss! What a blessing.
The Only 17 Things You Actually Need to Survive the Infant Stage with Twins
Okay, 2nd Trimester of my twin pregnancy. Lets get into it!
13 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
I had all the symptoms in the second trimester with my twin pregnancy: headaches, round ligament pain, fatigue, nausea, and heartburn. I was super worn out by the end of the day and needing breaks more often during the workday. The heartburn is my biggest complaint at this point, and I remember being so thankful for maternity pants. I was extremely thirsty all through the day and night. My appetite did return, but I was eating mostly soup, broth, yogurt, and granola bars.
I thought it was weird how big and how soft my belly was by this point. I could always tell where each baby was though, even this early on, because I could feel a hard spot wherever they were laying! They move all over the belly, which I wasn’t prepared for. I imagined them staying in their respective “corners” of the uterus; you know like apartment spaces haha. I feel flutters when they move sometimes, but mostly I notice pressure where they are snuggled, usually into one side together.
14 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
I constantly worry if the twins are okay. I lean on feeling symptoms and the “pressure spots” moving to different locations on my stomach as an indicator that they are still doing good since I can’t really feel them making dramatic movements yet.
I haven’t had any pregnancy cravings so far, but I did have a very vivid dream in slow motion of me baking a chocolate cake. So of course, when I woke up, I recreated my chocolate cake from the dream, but it tasted like copper to me.
15 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
Symptoms this week are extreme fatigue, painfully sensitive nipples, body aches, and deep headaches. Strawberry fig newtons taste ahhhhh-mazing. I feel flutters all throughout the day, and a couple of times thought I felt a kick! My husband was even able to feel them moving a few times at night while I am sleeping.
I am so thankful to be able to finally feel movements!
Since we were having twins, we could not find a midwife who would support a home birth. We also had a little trouble finding an OBGYN who would allow us to have a vaginal birth with twins, who also had the training to deliver breech if necessary. (There is a very good chance that baby #2 with twins will be breech, so I needed to be in a hospital that could safely support that birth). We ended up finding a twin specialist two hours from our home, who could safely support our birth plan.
16 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
The recurring miscarriages I was having before the twins were conceived were always lost between week 6 – 15, so we were officially past that point now in our pregnancy! What a milestone to be thankful for!
I had all the same symptoms as week 15, except the extreme nausea and vomiting returned. Sleeping so so uncomfortable and difficult because of the heartburn and indigestion. I could for sure feel them moving and rolling around by this point! Which was so comforting, because it gave me peace of mind they were okay.
I am OBSESSED with orange juice by this point. I cannot get enough of it! Which sucks, because this 2023 inflation hit the OJ price tag hard.
17 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
We had our 2nd OB appt and everything is looking great so far for our fraternal twin pregnancy. I discussed my birthing options with our OBGYN. Since twins usually come a little early, and we were two hours away, we needed to have a plan in place!
I began incorporating physical training to prepare my body for birth, including but not limited to pelvic floor exercises and therapy. It was also important to make sure my glutes and legs were strong enough to support the extra weight and that I gave a little extra attention to back, chest and arms in preparation for breastfeeding.
18 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
I still have those same symptoms of headaches, fatigue, body aches, nipple sensitivity, sleepless nights, and heartburn. Now, I am also feeling pelvic floor tension and pain in addition to a lot more long-ligament pain.
We traveled my whole pregnancy for baseball or just because we love to explore. I was 18 weeks when we took the big kids to TN for a four-day weekend just for some fun and cold weather hiking! I had to take extra breaks, but ultimately, I kept up just fine.
It can be so uncomfortable traveling pregnant, if you want some tips check out this post: How to Make Traveling Pregnant a Little More Comfortable
19 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
The babies are moving SO MUCH by this point in my twin pregnancy. I can’t make it through the day without at least a couple naps. I feel slow and heavy and doing anything wears me out fast.
Our OBGYN is two hours away, because that was the closest who specialized in twin pregnancies and deliveries. My husband developed a plan with the OB that if I went into labor and it was moving too fast that he would deliver baby #1 in the car and then get me to the hospital for her to deliver baby #2. It was kinda a joke, but also … kinda not a joke since this was babies 3 & 4 for me.
20 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
20 weeks pregnant | 32 years old | 5’2″ | 150lbs | 39″ waist
I started my pregnancy at 135lbs, then I dropped to 120/125lbs during the first trimester due to sickness. Then, week 20, I weighed in at 150lbs and 39″ around the waist. So, in just 8 weeks, I gained 25lbs and my belly gained 7″ in circumference! No wonder I was worn out and sore and tired.
PS> Watching my body change so fast was a mental challenge, I worked to practice gratitude daily for my body growing and stretching to accommodate TWO babies. The mental side of watching your body grow so fast – and then be so different after pregnancy is over, is NORMAL. It does not make you a bad mom, and it does not mean you are ungrateful for this opportunity to create life.
I get big bursts of energy where I am super productive, followed by extreme fatigue. The nights are restless sleep and riddled with nightmares. This week I also got to say “hello” to the back pain and itchy skin other twin moms talked about!
We went and met the other doctor who specializes in twin pregnancy and twin deliveries and would be on our case. Should the babies need fetal surgery, this is the doctor who would perform that operation. Throughout the rest of this pregnancy, we would have two (sometimes three) doctors consulting on our pregnancy and delivery, to ensure it is a safe pregnancy and delivery for me and the babies.
21 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
Work is intense and the days feel too long. I am usually cramping really good by the end of the day. I started wearing this pregnancy belt all day at work to help with the back pain and stomach cramps, I don’t know if it helped – but I figured it couldn’t hurt. I have started sleeping with this wedge pillow to hold my belly up, and it totally helped with the painful pulling sensation I got when laying on my side.
22 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
I feel just pure exhaustion. I remember how alive and energetic I felt during these weeks with my two big kids when I was pregnant with them. Twin pregnancy is different for sure. At 22 weeks, I am as big and heavy and slow as I was at 38 weeks with my singleton pregnancies!
Week 22 is a BIG milestone in pregnancy, because babies are viable at 22 weeks gestational age. I let out a sigh of relief and celebrated that we made it this far! I am continuing to focusing on gentle exercises, lots of rest, eating nutritionally dense meals, and doing whatever I have to to protect my peace.
My doctor reminded me that twins are usually born early, because the body just thinks “ope, we’re at 10lbs of baby, its go time.” The body doesn’t know if it’s one baby or two. We wanted these sweet babies to “cook” as long as they could, but we still made sure we were prepared for an early delivery and maybe even NICU time, should something happen.
23 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
The headaches and heartburn are the worst part. Nausea is gone, though which is a win. I talked to my doctor and got on a prescription medication for the heartburn, because it was just so unbearable. My skin, hair, and nails were all looking amazing though.
The traveling and exploring is getting a little bit harder by this point. I need A LOT of breaks, I made sure to wear my pregnancy band when I knew I would be on my feet for a while.
24 Weeks Twin Pregnancy
This week, I was back to getting big bursts of energy. I even felt good enough to go running with the family and enjoying the weather. I had been working out at least a little bit every day, but this is the best I had felt all pregnancy.
As far as symptoms go, I could not lay on my back without extreme lower back pain; the heartburn is better with the medicine but not completely gone; I had no nausea, but the headaches were nonstop.
My biggest complaint was that my heartbeat was SO LOUD in my ears, like sometimes I can’t hear my daughter talking to me over the pounding! I am thankful to my body for putting in the hard work to pump blood and nutrients to them babies.
I also was able to get a lot done this week preparing our home to welcome two more humans into it thanks to the energy!
We had our first detailed sonogram of the twins this week! We found out one is a boy and one is a girl, and then did a fun reveal for our big kids (who were 12 and 8 years old). We confirmed that there are two amniotic sacks, two placentas, two heart beats, and they measured all the tiny baby bones and organs.
The detailed sonogram was a lot of fun, so informative and offered a ton of peace of mind.
End of 2nd Trimester
We were so blessed to make it this far with healthy babies and healthy mama!
Being pregnant with twins is so scary, because there is so much that can go wrong. We knew of several families in the area who were unable to have healthy twin pregnancies and lost one or both of their twins during the same time period we were pregnant with our twins. Emotionally and mentally, it broke my heart that those parents had to go through such loss. Selfishly, it struck fear into my heart every time.
It was important to us to have a team of doctors we could trust and to deliver at a hospital we were comfortable with their intervention practices. Birth mortality rates, Csection intervention rates, and how big/equipped/and successful their NICU operations were, are all things we looked into. So important, that we were willing to drive two hours for the medical care we believed would be best. It gave us peace of mind that no matter how or when the babies came earthside, we were going to be taken care of.
My husband and I always asked tons of questions, and we did our own research on our own too. Being educated and knowing the options available is empowering. Try to keep your spirit in a place of peace and joy, and have a plan in just in case. (For instance, we always knew which hospital we would go to when traveling).
Ps. I struggled with accepting my body during every pregnancy and post pregnancy (for like two years post pregnancy every time if were being honest) because it’s so much morphing and changing in such a short time. Try to focus your mindset and energy by flipping any negative thoughts you might have about your changing body to gratitude. Focus on all the capabilities, list off the amazing things your body can do and does do! Even if it’s a fake-it-till-you-make-it approach, it will help.
Hang in there, Mama! You’re doing a great job growing those babies, give yourself grace and practice gratitude.
xoxo Carmen
NEXT UP > read about the 3rd Trimester with twins
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