Just found out I’m expecting twins!

[chouxchoux]

I’m completely shocked, even though I had a nagging suspicion/instinct it might be twins.

I thought I was 6w 5d going in - Twin A measures 6w 6d and Twin B measures 6w 3d. Both have heartbeats! They're in two sacs, so likely DCDA twins.

I’m obviously totally terrified. I’m a first time mum, so pregnancy is new to me, let alone twin pregnancy. For those of you further along in this journey than me - do you have any advice, anything I should expect? I’m already anxious about things going wrong which I’m cross with myself about as it’d be so nice to just feel joy and excitement!

Scan pics attached 😀

Aaaw congratulations I’m a twin mum to non identicals
it is very scary they are also my only children take each day as it comes and if you have any concerns contact your midwife I was scanned monthly and had regular checks with my midwife try not to worry to much my boys were good weights and I was 38 weeks 5 days when I had a planned C-section due to the way the babies were positioned a natural delivery was out of the question for me best of luck OP xx

We have 2 sets of twins and singles tbh when I was little twins was like wow your having twins and now it's so common. Don't worry all will be fine, I had home births with all of them and wouldn't change a thing

Awwww congratulations!

I am a big sister to a set of fraternal twins. I remember the day my mum found out (very big age gap plus contraceptive fail) - she cried! A lot.

I just wanted to tell you that those 2 babies were and continue to be the biggest blessings in our lives.

As the eldest I was immediately promoted to junior mum and we are all still so close.

I think you will be fine.

My advice would be:

Take all help offered and ask for help when you need it.

Congratulations again.

You have 2 sets of twins? And a singleton? Sweet baby Jesus!

I had three under two as my twins were close to my singleton and it was bonkers.

Thank you so much! I quite like the idea of a planned c-section now I know there are two of them! 38 weeks and 5 days sounds like a good stint too 😊 It’s strange suddenly readjusting your mental due date… this time yesterday I thought I’d be delivering at my due date, 18th May, and now I’m thinking it could be as early as early April. Just bananas getting my head around how little time I actually have! 😅

Thank you so much for replying xx

Wow - home births! And two sets of twins! That’s amazing. Are your twins fraternal or identical?

Ahh gosh - your reply made me teary! What a lovely thing to have had in your life! I’m a big sister too with a decent age gap and that’s been a huge blessing, so I can only imagine how that must’ve been with twins! We have a few sets of twins in our family so I could well have been passed down a hyperovulation gene (apparently the odds are highest for you if your maternal grandmother had fraternal twins, which mine did).

Thank you so much for your lovely message! 🩷

I had twins, who are now 5. I was a bit scared of how big my bump would get at the end of pregnancy. But it didn’t get that big - I hid the pregnancy in work until 25 weeks. Had an uneventful pregnancy and a scheduled c-section at 38 weeks. Recovery was quick and easy. I had extra scans throughout. Twins are amazing! :)

@chouxchoux

I am glad you mentioned genetics. Aside from my sisters, I have 2 sets of twin cousins and my grandma was a twin! The genes skipped me but I really believe you will have a wonderful time with your babies.

Wishing you a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery 💐.

Congratulations!

Twins are ace 😍 Love mine!

It’s exhausting, especially in the first weeks when your body clocked hasn’t recalibrated to being a mum (brutal may be a better word. Lasts for a few weeks and your hormones get you through).

My advice is…do what works for you. Breastfeed if that works for you. Formula feed, combi…do whatever makes your life easy. Use dummies. Swaddle. Whatever it takes. That applies as they grow too eg toilet train when it’s easiest ie when they’re ready rather than going by what you should be doing at certain ages. They might do things slower than “expected” or they may be ahead. Don’t sweat it!

Accept help! Family that come need to pitch in. They’re not there to just cuddle babies, they can make dinner (for a week!) or put a washing on or hoover…something that takes something off your list.

It will impact your relationship because you will both be knackered. Babies prefer their mum so your DH may feel left out/surplus/not loved etc (men can be twats when babies arrive) but if he does go weird he needs to woman up and get on with it. They will depend 100% on you and his role is to support you with it. Of course he will do bonding things but some men take the view that as baby wants their mum they don’t have to do anything around the house or anything vaguely involved with the babies (I had one of these!! It sucked).

Mine are now 10 and they’re still ace. I bf’d until they were about 4 (totally outrageous I know, but they were never sleepers so I always did it and it was a parenting thing more than anything. Made my life a million times easier. It worked for me!). They have always played brilliantly with each other and it’s been a joy being allowed to be part of their word 😍

One final thing to remember is that this will be your normal. I think having twins as your first children is the best way to do it as you don’t know what having one is like! You’ll have two to deal with from the start so you learn to deal with two.

You’ve got this!

I'm also a twin mum to dcda girls. You never forget that moment you found out it was twins 🤣 congratulations

Congratulations op!
Massive well done to all amazing twin and Singleton mamas out there!!

Can I ask if twins were through natural or medicated conception?

I have 12 week old twins and a 2.5 year old. It's hard and I am glad I had them second as I already had the mum experience but then also you'll never know differently so your way may be better. The pregnancy was hard at the end, you'll need a lot of help so ready that now. I had a section at 37+0 and the last two weeks I was effectively bed bound and couldn't have gone on any longer.

Congratulations!

Natural for me, conceived the cycle after a chemical!

Wow that’s amazing!

Twins are awesome. We have one and twins. One was a tough gig. Twins just snuggled up and came along for the ride. Nothing better than going to sleep with one small body and a matching one spooning either side of you. Nothing cuter than two adorable little alien faces (all early toddlers are aliens) bobbing up at the side of the cot.

Wishing you so much joy!

Congratulations OP!

I have identical twin girls and a 5 year old. I will say that the twin pregnancy is far harder than a single pregnancy so be kind to yourself and take any help you are offered. You will be looked after lots by the hospital with twins and have lots of checks.
However, my delivery was a million times easier with twins than it was with my singleton! I managed to deliver them both naturally and it went incredibly smoothly at 36 +3, both healthy weights and no stay in NICU.

They are now 6 weeks old and it’s just such a blessing 🤗 I am totally blissed out, it’s just so wonderful to be going through this experience! Yes it is hard sometimes and you will be tired but the positives far outweigh the tough times.

My biggest advice is that routine is everything, try and get them on the same schedule from the beginning and everything will be just fine 💕

Good luck!

Congratulations @seneducator93

Thank you for this lovely message and congratulations on the birth of your twins! 💕What an exciting time for you! I am really pleased to hear your birth went so well too - were they both head-down, out of interest?

I am now 16 weeks and since I last posted have found out my twins are both girls, and non-identical (I did a NIPT called the Panorama which can assess zygosity - very cool!) My consultant would like to deliver between 37 and 37+6 weeks via c-section, which so far I feel comfortable with. Pregnancy wise I am getting a pretty mega bump already, and I am so ravenously hungry! Otherwise I've been doing pretty well. It's so nice to be out of the anxiety of the first trimester!

How are you doing @chouxchoux?

Hello @BinNightTonight, thank you for checking in! So far, so good! I'm 22 weeks exactly today, had a good anatomy scan just before Christmas with everything looking as it should be for both girls! They also did a cervical length scan for me as incompetent cervix can be especially risky in twin pregnancies and that all looked good.

Physically my bump is pretty huge and I'm definitely feeling the strain on my lower back. Sleeping has also become increasingly difficult (not least the many, many wakeups for a wee in the night). I started feeling movements about 10 days ago and they are proper kicks now which I can feel both internally and with my hand resting on my belly! It's a lovely if slightly weird feeling.

It's funny how time seems to have sped up; the wait to the 12 week scan felt like an eternity but since then it feels like everything has flown. All being well I'll have my c-section in 15 weeks time!

And my most recent scan for any scan enthusiasts - so amazing really to think they’ve grown this much since I posted in September when they looked like little baked beans!

Aww whay wonderful news, it really does fly by the father along you get! Enjoy 🥰

Ahh I miss the movements! Mine used to have a fight around midnight and would kick each other like mad.