Experiences of twin pregnancy?

[edwardcullensotherwoman]

Posted in Multiple Births, but I've come over here for a bit more traffic, hope that's ok

I decided to have a search around the 'net, simply because this pregnancy is so different to my previous ones, and my mum seems convinced I'm having twins.

But now I've scared myself! It seems that I fall into several catergories where twins are more likely - my BMI is over 25, twins on both sides of the family (my gran, my dad and my sisters), and I've been pregnant 3 times before.
Then there are symptoms. I've had nausea for the past 5-6 weeks (I'm only 7 weeks according to my dates and CB digital test!), BFP showed very quickly 8 days before AF was due, I'm unbelievably tired, had stretching pains and SPD since 4wks, and palpitations and breathlessness since 5wks.

Does this sound familiar to anyone expecting/who has twins?? Not that it bothers me, it will be lovely obviously, just hard work and a shock after 2 singletons 4 years apart!

[HappyAsASandboy]

My twin pregnancy was the opposite!

There are no twins in the family, my BMI is less than 25, I was under 35, I had no sickness, I didn't get tired until about 12 weeks.

Seeing two babies at the 12 week scan was a bit of a shock!

Good luck with your pregnancy, whatever form it takes :)

[edwardcullensotherwoman]

Gosh I can imagine that would be a shock given those circumstances!

Just goes to show I suppose it really is luck of the draw!

Thank you :) I hope your twins are doing well. Do you mind me asking, did you have older children before the twins? I'm getting a bit panicky about potentially going from 2 to 4!

[Evie2014]

I really don't think you can tell. I'm 27 weeks with DCDA twins. I have identical twin uncles on both sides but identical twins aren't genetic.

I thought my nausea and tiredness were bad but really in retrospect they weren't, compared to lots of other people. They will be our first babies (though I had a previous MC).

As I have said before on threads, though, I did have a distinct "feeling" there was more than one in there! I really wasn't surprised at the 12 week scan. It was more a psychological feeling than anything physical.

Plus many pregnancies are different- I wouldn't start looking at double buggies just yet!

[Slebmum]

I don't think you can tell from symptoms. DC/DA twins can be genetic due to hyper ovulation but only down the maternal line, identical twins are completely random.

I didn't have any sickness until about 10 weeks and was earth shatteringly exhausted by 12 weeks. Having said that, I went for an early private scan as I had a feeling it was twins, and it was (I'm not normally woo about things!).

[slightlyinsane]

I have 2dds and 1ds. This pregnancy was different fromday 1. I tested 5days before Af was due and got a very faint positive, the faintest I've ever had. I had nausea from very early on until about 16 wks. Even though it was pregnancy no4 the rate at which my belly expanded was shocking and I was really worried about how big I was going to get.(I laugh at that now) Was really struggling to hide it by 12 wks. The exhaustion was overwhelming. I found out at my 12 wk scan it was twins. The next few wks were a blurr where we went from non identical to identical twins. I still have moments of panic at the thought of going from 3 to 5 but nothing I can do about it. I too had the palpitations from early on aswel. There is no way of knowing for sure if you're having twins before your scan, but something was niggling at me that it was. If you're concerned tell your mw at booking in and she may have a feel of your belly. I have always been able to find the top of my uterus from about 12 wks when its supposed to pop up over pelvis, I couldn't this time turns out I was feeling far too low down.

[twinsmonplusone]

Hi OP. I would say that people who "knew" they were pregnant with twins before any scan is more wishful thinking than anything else.

I had absolutely no nausea, never, and to be honest it never crossed my mind that I could be pregnant with twins as this is so rare (if no ivf of course), so it was a shock when I found out at 8 weeks and that they were identical. As someone else said above, identical twins are not genetic, and can happen to anyone, at any age. I was tired, but so am I with this singleton pregnancy.

So to answer your question, the symptons don't say whether you are carrying one or more babies as they vary enormously from person to person.

What you will notice if you are indeed pregnant with twins is that it progresses differently to a normal pregnancy. You will need more scans and it is a higher risk pregnancy, especially if twins are identical and they share a placenta.

[edwardcullensotherwoman]

Thanks everyone

As my friend pointed out yesterday, I could be extra tired because I've got a busy 21mo DD to run after. I think I just panicked because of what my mum said, especially as she had twins after me.

Anyway, I've calmed down now and I have my booking appointment next week, so I'll have a scan date the week after and hopefully only a couple of weeks to wait after that for the scan itself. I'm sure I can manage another month or so

[Ilikepancakes]

Are the twins in your family identical or fraternal (non-identical)?

Identical twins occur randomly as a fertilised egg splitting in two is not influenced by genetics. So identical twins in your family are just random and would not increase your chances of having them.

Fraternal twins do run in families as the tendency to release two eggs in one cycle (hyper-ovulation) can be hereditary. It is estimated that having naturally conceived (not IVF) fraternal twins in your immediate family (i.e. a parent or sibling or yourself) as much as doubles a woman's chances of conceiving fraternal twins herself.

[neversleepagain]

Twins did not cross my mind. I thought all pregnant women felt exhausted, had awful morning sickness & nausea and generally felt rotten. It was was my first pregnancy and I had nothing to compare it to.

You have a one in 80 chance of being pregnant with non identical twins and a one in 200 chance of identical twins.

My twins are 18 months old now.