Is anyone else pregnant with twins?

Hi girls, thanks for your sweet replies and of course congratulations to all of you on your pregnancies!!
I'll try to answer everyone briefly
For missliss, some days I feel fine and other days I'm so incredibly tired that I'd rather just flop on the couch all day. And I'm starting to get a bit of round ligament pain.
We don't know what it is yet; my partner wants it to remain a surprise until the end (just like with our previous pregnancy) and I'm still hesitating.. On the one hand, I don't want to know so it really is a surprise, but on the other hand, I do want to know so you can prepare a little. Maybe I'll have the answer put in an envelope that I can secretly peek at if I really can't hold out anymore , but I still don't know! We ourselves think it's a boy and a girl because on the ultrasound and photos one has a slightly nicer head than the other.
And you're right, the longer they stay in your belly, the better! They're only born earlier if there are complications, but if everything goes well, it's better for them to stay as long as possible; they call it the natural incubator..
How are you feeling and do you feel them moving yet? Do you know if it's 1 or 2 eggs? Exciting, huh!
Oh yes, next Sunday I'll be 19 weeks pregnant and on February 13th I have another check-up at the hospital and on February 18th I have the 20-week scan.
It's nice that I've found more girls who are also pregnant with twins because you don't hear about it that much, at least not in my area.
Enjoy your pregnancy, girl!
Love, Jo

Re: Lynn,
Hi Lynn, yeah.., I hear that a lot too. After they've heard my story, they only then realize that it's indeed not something that just happens automatically, and that they are therefore even happier that things went well for them and they have healthy babies.
If I had only lost my son, I might have seen it differently, but because I also almost lost my own life and managed to pull through, I see it as a second chance in life. I lost over four and a half liters of blood and they barely managed to save me in the OR (and fortunately my uterus), and I also got 9 bags of blood transfusions afterwards. I really felt myself slipping away and couldn't say or do anything anymore, getting weaker and weaker, and that was quite a scary feeling. Afterwards, you do see it as a second chance in life and realize how happy you are with the things you still have and the things you can still do. For my partner, it was also very traumatic because he was expecting to become a family, and then he first lost his son and then almost lost his girlfriend too.
But it did leave scars though, because like last week, I suddenly got worried if everything was still okay with the twins. I called the midwife, with whom I have a very nice relationship, and she immediately said I could come in. When I saw them on the ultrasound again, tears sprang to my eyes, everything was still good with them and they were having nice interactions with each other. So now I have a lot more fear that something might go wrong again. I really, really want things to go well now!
How lovely that you're having a girl! Then you have a 'royal couple', as they say, right? And does your son like that he's getting a little sister? And you hear it more often that the second pregnancy isn't the same as the first. I think it's really nice for you! Congratulations again! I hope I can keep in touch with you all..
Love, Jo

Hi Lynn,
That's great that you can feel her moving, right!
It does give a kind of reassurance!
I had to laugh at your story about your son, how sweet and lovely! Baby doctor Vito is coming to listen to his sister's heart nice!
Most boys often want a brother, so it's really nice that he enjoys having a sister. He can be the big brother to his little sister later on.
I also hear a lot that kids can guess whether it's a girl or a boy; somehow, children seem to have a sense for this.
By the way, is it a special device you use to listen to the heartbeat?
Oh, I can imagine you're looking forward to the 4D ultrasound, then you'll really get to see her well!
It might feel like a long wait now, but before you know it, it'll be March 11th!
You have something nice to look forward to!
Enjoy it!
Love, Jo

Hi Mandy,

Well, I’m learning something new too! I used to see the abbreviation TTS all the time but didn’t know what it meant. So you probably meant a medical ultrasound as well. It’s nice that you get an ultrasound every two weeks though, you get to see them quite often!

I knew there were two types of twins, but only that with identical twins the babies look alike and with fraternal they don’t. But I didn’t know about sharing the placenta or having a membrane between them or not. I actually thought identical twins didn’t have a membrane between them... I think, if I remember correctly, they have their own placentas in my case.

By the way, those are the symptoms I’m experiencing now too: ligament pain because my belly is starting to grow quite a bit (I already have the belly I only got at 6 months in my previous pregnancy), and I sometimes get sharp jabs under my belly. And yes, I also have pelvic floor instability (what’s that word again!?) – I get a sharp stab in my left buttock towards my tailbone, and in the worst cases, I can’t take a step because it feels like everything is out of place, so it’s painful, especially after a day where I’ve done a lot. And I’m still really tired. Next Wednesday I have a check-up at the hospital with the OB-GYN, and I’ll have my blood checked to see if I’m low on iron. By the way, what is Gaviscon?

I know there’s one on the left and one on the right, and I feel them occasionally very lightly, alternating, but not so strongly and not that often yet. The midwife also said maybe I don’t feel them so well because the placenta looked thick and because they were both in a lot of amniotic fluid, which could have dampened the movements a bit.

It’s nice that you already really feel them moving, that does give a reassuring feeling!

It’s sweet that your daughter says 'no' really hard when you say you have two babies in your belly. Does she ever come along to an ultrasound? Maybe if she sees it, she’ll understand it a bit better. But as you say, she’s still very young. It’s nice that she’s so sweet with the baby dolls though!

Because it’s a twin pregnancy, I’m now under supervision at the hospital with an OB-GYN. I go there once every 4 weeks. But I have a really good relationship with my midwife, also from the past (because I had the same midwife back then). They found what happened back then so terrible that they never forgot. So they understand if I’m a bit worried, and they want to help me out in this way. Plus, they admitted themselves that they secretly enjoyed seeing and following the twins because they don’t see that often. If they see it’s a twin pregnancy, the hospital takes over the supervision and they don’t see it develop beyond 12 weeks. So they actually enjoy seeing me so they can look at the twins again. So they’re making an exception for me. I find that really nice because I know I can always turn to them with questions or possibly an ultrasound. Next Wednesday I’m going for a check-up at the hospital with the OB-GYN, and the week after that I have a 20-week ultrasound. I’ll ask again how it is with the placenta... whether they share it or have their own. I thought they had their own, but I want to be sure. I think they said because there was a membrane between them, they have their own placentas because of that... Sometimes they say so much that due to the stress you forget half of it again, hihihi.

Take it easy, girl, and enjoy your two little ones in your belly!
We’ll keep in touch!
Love, Jo

Yes, you can certainly ask. But I can't really give you a definite answer..
In the end, I had high blood pressure, which luckily stayed stable with safe medication.
Towards the end, my son had a slight growth delay, but nothing alarming, because there were babies born who were even smaller than my son.
They thought it might be a detached placenta, but that would have to come with bleeding and abdominal pain, which I didn't have. I was checked every Friday (also for the high blood pressure), and on Wednesday I didn't feel him moving anymore, so I went to the hospital just to be safe and get it checked. It had happened before that I couldn't feel him anymore, but then the ultrasound showed he was just curled up with his legs drawn up, and they also said I could feel him less because he had less and less space. But on that Wednesday, I got the news that his heart had stopped beating (in the 36th week of pregnancy). My (our) whole world collapsed; no one (not even the hospital) saw this coming. We didn't want an autopsy done on our son, partly because they said they usually couldn't find the cause anyway, but also because he was such a beautiful boy and I didn't want them to cut into him. We arranged a beautiful cremation for him. We also have a very nice spot for him here at home because that's where he belongs, with us.. So basically, neither we nor the hospital know exactly how it could happen. They did change the hospital's rule right away so that women with high blood pressure now have to come for check-ups twice a week. If they had induced labor earlier with my son, for example, he would still be here now, but there was no other reason to do so at the time. This shows that nothing is certain.. After hearing my story, I heard several other stories like this, such as babies dying at birth or babies dying after 8 weeks. You only hear about these things when it happens to yourself. Not nice at all, anyway...
I hope I've been able to give you some kind of answer...
Love, Jo

Hi Mandy,

They aren't sure either if he died because of my high blood pressure. They don't really know what caused it or what exactly happened, and they're scratching their heads too; they don't understand it themselves. But thanks to the medication, my blood pressure stayed nicely stable, and they were safe meds that wouldn't harm the pregnancy.

Yeah... that was the worst part... having to arrange a cremation for your baby out of the blue. It just doesn't feel right. You carry a baby in your belly for almost 9 months, and then suddenly you're left with empty hands—nothing in your belly and nothing at home. That's not how it's supposed to go. We did arrange a beautiful service for him, a nice basket instead of a coffin, a lovely speech, etc., because that was the last thing I could do for my little boy as his mum, and it was truly terrible, that's one thing for sure. I couldn't even be there at first because of what happened to me afterwards; I had to stay in the hospital. Luckily, I was allowed to go home a day before the cremation and could arrange everything with my partner.

Our little boy's name is Mike, but since he stayed small, we called him Mikey.
And it's definitely a gift and a (double) miracle that I'm now pregnant with twins, and Mikey will always be my first baby and will become the older brother of these 2 babies.

From about 30 weeks of pregnancy onwards, they'll keep a close eye on the growth, etc., and we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Being able to share my story here anonymously has helped me too, and all the support and kind words from everyone, even people I don't even know, did me a lot of good. Thank you for that too, it's really very sweet!

You enjoy your 2 miracles in your belly too, okay? By the way, I'm starting to feel some light flutters from them now, it feels so wonderful!

Let's keep in touch!

Love, Jo

Oh yeah.. today I went back to the OB at the hospital for a check-up and everything looked good, beating little hearts and they're in plenty of amniotic fluid! You could see them moving quite a bit but I hardly feel it yet because the placenta is at the front. I'm only now starting to feel occasional very light flutters.. As soon as I feel that, I get a happy feeling right away and think, "hey, are you guys there?".

I asked about it right away and they both have their own placenta.
The placenta is at the front on the abdominal wall and luckily not blocking the birth canal so that's no problem.

I did get my blood drawn again to check if I have enough iron. I've been feeling very tired and such, but he said that's normal in a twin pregnancy because all my energy goes into the growth of the babies, uterus and placentas. I also get out of breath very quickly sometimes but that's because the growing uterus pushes your lungs upwards.
Just wanted to let you know.
Love,
Jo

Hi Mandy,

No news yet about the blood test, but the OB-GYN said that no news is good news, so the iron levels etc. are probably fine. So maybe I'll hear back, and if not, then everything is good.

The fatigue can indeed be because all your energy is going to the two babies, two placentas, and the uterus growing like a weed.

That sucks that you're having such a rough week
But that sounds familiar to me. If I do a bit too much, I feel it immediately in my back, sometimes so badly that I can't take a step. They call it pelvic floor instability, bleeeh!
And I'm also getting a rounder belly, so I'm having more and more trouble putting on my socks or shoes; the belly gets in the way..
Yes Mandy, we have it much harder because we have two little ones in our tummies. Take it easy and listen to your body.

We're going to the 9-month expo at the RAI this weekend. On the one hand, it's totally fun, but on the other, I'm already worried about how I'll get through the day..
Are you going to the 9-month expo too?

Had my 20-week ultrasound last Monday and everything looked neat, no strange abnormalities seen, so so far so good! Hope it stays like that until the end!

I hope you're feeling a bit better by now, girl!
Really take it easy and if your body asks for it, just flop on the couch all day. Stay strong, girl!

Love,
Jo

Hi Lynn,
Nope, haven't got the results yet but the OB/GYN also said, "no news is good news," so either the results aren't out yet or they are out and there's nothing wrong, so just wait and see.

I feel so tired!!
I barely have to do anything and I'm wiped out immediately.
Like this afternoon, someone from the postpartum care came for an intake chat and I thought I'd clean the living room etc. and dust, walk and take care of my dog, and take care of myself with food and fruit, and now I'm completely exhausted again, can't do it anymore!! I know it's for a good cause but it's frustrating sometimes because normally I can always do a lot and have a lot of stamina, and now I sometimes feel like an old woman who gets out of breath quickly. But well.., it's part of it, right!

Everything else is good with you! Feels nice, right, when you feel that little one moving!
When I feel those light little kicks, I immediately get a smile from ear to ear!
Love, Jo

Hi Mandy,
I hope you're feeling a bit better by now, girl!
As Lynn also told me, try to rest when you need it, and if that works, I'm trying that too but I also find that it doesn't always work and is hard to give in to. Good luck with everything!
Love, Jo