Expecting twins

[ItsAlli]

Anyone else expecting twins?
This is my first pregnancy and I'm terrified. I'm 10 weeks and had a scan last week which revealed two babies! I was told I am going to be seen by a specialist as they are identical and I'm considered high risk.

Congratulations :)

All twin pregnancies are considered high risk, however, many women have healthy pregnancies with little or no problems.

MCMA twins (identical) are scanned every 2 weeks from 20 weeks and DCDA twins every 4 weeks.

Have a look at the Multiples section, there is a lot of advice on there.

Congrats ladies! My lovely identical girls were 8 weeks old today. Twin pregnancy is hard going and a bit scary, but so worth it!! Wishing you all a smooth ride and tremendous joy in your little miracles.

Hi, I'm 18+4 with DCDA twins (2 placentas and 2 sacs). I found out at my 12 week scan (altho almost 14 weeks) It took a while to get my head round it, especially as we already have a 3 year old. However, I am now excited about it and looking forward to meeting them. Do take a look at the TAMBA website, it has loads of useful information and they also run courses for expectant parents of multiples. I am just doing the £5 practical parenting course as this is our second but they also run full antenatal courses.
Good luck and many congratulations!

Congrats! I've got fraternal 19 month old girls.

I remember the initial shock...but it IS a little blessing. All babies are special but - call me biased - twins even more so .

Shameless plug - I've been writing a blog about surviving/thriving with twins from when I was pregnant till now. If you scroll down to some of the earlier posts it's got info about eg birth plans, what to take to hospital, birth story etc.

I'd also second you going on the multiples thread here, and getting in touch with TAMBA, who run very helpful workshops for people expecting twins. The Gina Ford Contented Little Twins book is good too - I ignored a lot of the poppycock, but used her timetables. Also have a look to see if there are any twins' clubs in your area. I went to one a couple of times when I was expecting (you don't have to wait till they're born). You get loads of tips, and begin to experience that sense of solidarity that most parents of multiples enjoy! Basically use this time to soak up all the information you can; it'll pay dividends.

likepeasinapod.com/

I am an identical twin, my mum found out she was expecting us at 7 months pregnant just after she had driven back from Leicestershire to my dads army base in Germany. Her words at the appointment were " what do you mean baby 1, is there another?" She has also said that if your going to have twins better it be your first pregnancy as everything to do with a baby is new and you don't know what to expect. Myself and my twin still draw double takes even now at 37, I do enjoy being a twin :)

I'm expecting non ID twins end of March - 20 week scan in a week and can't wait! My husband is a non ID twin which one of the docs said is why we're having twins but the midwife swears it's just a big coincidence given non ID twins are all down to the woman....anyone? Finding out was a huge shock as we went to A&E thinking I was miscarrying and after 3 hours were finally given a scan only to find out it was twins!

Fraternal twins (hyper ovulation) is due to the woman, men can't double ovulate or ovulate for that matter

However, if your DCDA twins are b/g then obviously they will be non identical, however, DCDA (two sacs and two placentas) can be identical. If they are the same sexes you will need to have a DNA test to determine zygosity. I know a few "non identical" twins that turned out to be identical after testing. Mine look very different so I didn't bother with DNA testing.

Congratulations :)

Thanks - that's good to know! They're pretty confident they're non identical but I'll try and find out why at my next scan! Hope all is going well with you and yours :)

thank you for your lovely messages everyone, I guess I'm scared of the 'high risk' factor and of everything that could happen. Having one baby is scary enough, having two is just terrifying. But I'm so so happy about having two babies, what a blessing!

Can I ask you if you've had a nuchal scan + blood test or just the nuchal scan? I've read that they don't do blood test for twins?

I had blood test with nuchal scan. You need to have it by 14 weeks.

thank you very much neversleepagain (oh my God, your nickname says a lot!) I was concerned they don't offer this test to women expecting twins... thank you!

Hi all, I've been checking out various multiple threads for a while and finally decided to join one! I'm 23 weeks with (what they think) are MCDA twins. They're not 100% certain of MCDA as whilst each scan (fortnightly since 16 weeks) has only revealed evidence of one placenta, there is also a clear lamda sign at the top of the chorion (think I've got my terminology correct?!), anyway, this could be a sign of DCDA. One twin is definitely a boy and the other has been shy on every single scan so far, so they're treating us as MCDA just to be on the safe side. Has anybody else had this situation? I'm gradually getting my head round the idea of having twins but it has taken a while! The pregnancy came as a bit of a surprise and we have a little boy who will only be around 18 months old when the twins are born!

How are the rest of you on here feeling? I'm going through quite a good spell at present but still completely knackered!
I'm a newbie on here and can't work out how to get onto the main multiples thread - can anyone help me out?!

Hi rowrowroar! Wow I thought they would know by now if you're having ID babies or not, there must be a way! Is it likely that they'll find out soon?

Here's the link to the multiple births thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/multiple_births

Congratulations! I'm 25+3 expecting DCDA twins, looks like one of each in there. This is my first pregnancy so taking each new development as it comes. I'm feeling great most of the time but knackered and uncomfortable in the evenings however, very happy and excited all the same.

Thanks ItsAlli; think the only way they'll know for sure is if other twin shows up as a girl. Even if it's a second boy they won't know for definite until birth...
Congratulations to you too, Mommaloca! It is very exciting! I'm just trying to combat tiredness by heading to bed early during week and then snoozing occasionally in afternoons at weekends. Fortunately my 15 month old finds nursery exhausting so likes to catch up on his sleep at weekends too! Have you been given any idea of delivery method or time yet? They've hinted at 36 weeks for us though I think some of that will depend upon whether or not they discover MCDA for definite.

Yep rowrowroar, they talked about 36 weeks for us too. I can't imagine how tough it must be having a 15m toddler running round as well, hats off to you.

Congratulations. I have. 2 sets of twins a both were 2 sacs and 2 placentas but got them tested and we have one identical set and one non identical so I recommend the testing if your not certain.

Had another scan today which revealed the other twin is almost certainly a girl so we're DCDA now!

rowrowroar congratulations!!! It's a much easier pregnancy, for sure!

Can I ask everyone if when you got your Down's Syndrome test results, did you get a result for each of the babies or one result for both???