At 12 weeks pregnant it was starting to sink it more that I was really going to have twins. I had started researching twins, twin pregnancy care, and so much more. Below I’ll share what I found as well as what it was like when I was 12 weeks pregnant with twins.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
12 Weeks Pregnant with Twins – Development
By 12 weeks along, the babies are already stretching, kicking, making fists with their hands, and fingernails are starting to grow! Their faces are starting to take shape and their heads are half their entire size! They’ll grow into their heads eventually, don’t worry.
12 Weeks Pregnant, What You Need to Know
When you’re pregnant with twins there are complications that can arise throughout pregnancy. This is especially true for identical twins who share a placenta (MoDi twins) and those who share a placenta and an amniotic sac, MoMo twins. The more they share, the more high risk the pregnancy and more appointments you’ll need.
I write about this at 12 weeks pregnant because that’s when you should get a referral for a perinatal physician / maternal fetal medicine provider (MFM) if you have MoDi twins, from your OBGYN.
During a MoDi Twin pregnancy, it’s important to get more specialized care than with your regular OBGYN. By 16 weeks pregnant you should start seeing a MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) doctor or Perinatal Physician, in addition to your OBGYN.
When I was pregnant with my MoDi twins I learned this through a Facebook group as my OBGYN wasn’t aware I needed the referral, especially so early. I did my due diligence of research, reading journal articles like the ones I’ve referenced below, and I advocated for myself and got the referral to a Perinatal Physician.
I’ve done a lot of research throughout my MoDi twin pregnancy and beyond, which I want to share with you. I’m also working on a MoDi Twin Pregnancy specific Pregnancy Journal that will be available on Etsy once I complete it!
Comparing First Pregnancy to MoDi Twin Pregnancy
I remember when I was pregnant with my first child, my singleton, I felt a sigh of relief at week 12 when the rate of miscarriage dropped significantly. I felt that everything would be ok and I was able to enjoy my pregnancy from that point out. I actually felt healthier during most of my pregnancy than I did when I wasn’t pregnant. This likely is because my autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s, was likely in remission due to the pregnancy and because I was following the Autoimmune Protocol. I had a very uncomplicated first pregnancy until delivery, besides having to fight to have my thyroid levels checked often like I still have to push for, as detailed in my blog post about Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism and Pregnancy.
With MoDi Twins, Complications Continue to Rise
With my twins, I couldn’t sigh after 12 weeks. I’m pregnant with MoDi twins which means they are monochorionic (share a placenta) and diamniotic (have their own amniotic sacs). For MoDi twins the risk for miscarriage still went down at 12 weeks but the risk for other complications continues to rise by the day. MoDi twins are identical and typically are the same gender.
I also had significantly more uncomfortable pregnancy side effects such as difficulty breathing starting at 11 weeks pregnant, significantly more nausea than I had with my first that is lasting well into the second trimester, back, leg, and hip pain that causes me difficulty walking, standing, and sitting starting at 15 weeks, and always being exhausted – never having that 2nd-trimester breath of fresh air I had with my singleton.
I’ve gone into more detail regarding MoDi twins in a blog post linked here: MoDi Twin Pregnancy Care
Measuring Big Already
Compared to my first pregnancy with just one child I’m already quite a bit bigger. Below is an image comparing me 10 weeks pregnant with my first child and then with my twins at 10 weeks.
Date Change & Delivery Options Reconsidered
In the end, instead of my original 40 week due date of October 13th, September 22nd will be the latest they’d let me deliver, at 37 weeks. Oftentimes when problems arise with MoDi twins it’s safer to have them on the outside than the inside if they start to not share resources the way they should. I’ve been told that as long as I deliver after 25 weeks, which would be June 30th, they have a decent chance of survival. Of course, at that point, they’d need to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a considerable amount of time, but at least they might make it.
If I deliver before 32 weeks I have to deliver at a different hospital than I did with my singleton which is further from my home because they are more well equipped for this type of situation and their NICU is a higher level than the one where I delivered my singleton. If I can make it past 32 weeks then I can deliver where I delivered my singleton again, likely by the same OBGYN that delivered him, by c-section. They also have a NICU where my singleton was for 4 days after his birth so at least we’re used to that situation somewhat. It isn’t guaranteed that the twins will be in the NICU but it’s very likely, no matter when they’re born.
Likely a Repeat C-Section
Due to having a c-section previously there are certain drugs they cannot give me to induce labor so if I don’t spontaneously go into labor before 37 weeks then I’ll need to have a repeat c-section. There is also a chance that even if I do go into labor, or especially if the twins need to be delivered early due to complications, I’ll also need a repeat c-section. I’m prepping myself mentally to need a repeat c-section.
The recovery from my first c-section was complicated by a few things I had no control over and my doctor is still unsure why my recovery was so bad. I healed fine overall but makes me very wary of another one due to the recovery time and the fact that I’ll now have a 2-year-old to take care of in addition to twin newborns. By the way, I do trust my OBGYN with my life and don’t feel he did anything wrong. I just tend to have horrible luck and no matter who I ask there isn’t an explanation for the severe debilitating pain that I had in a certain area after delivery that almost sent me into shock 36 hours later. I can only pray that won’t happen again.
I’m not trying to be a downer with all of this, I know I’m so blessed to be pregnant and even more blessed to be pregnant with identical twins. We are very excited, just also a little scared of all of the possible complications that could arise and trying to plan for the best but also the worst, just in case.
So Many Appointments!!
We are lucky that I’m a stay-at-home mom already since I have to go to all of these appointments! Beyond the every 2 week ultrasounds that last from 1-3 hours, I also still have the normal monthly, then bi-weekly and weekly OBGYN appointments. However, now that I’m a stay-at-home mom we don’t have childcare for my singleton and I can’t bring my him to my super long ultrasound appointments.
The blessing is that I have an amazing mother-in-law who drives an hour and a half each way every other week to come to stay with our son while I’m at these appointments. She also stays the night which gives us some special time with her as well as special time with her grandson. She also is going to help us out after the twins come by staying with our son when we’re in the hospital and even after we’re home for a while (as long as she doesn’t get sick of us!!!) to help out since if I have a c-section I can’t lift my 2 year old into the crib or changing table for quite a while. Also, I’ll be pretty busy with the twins between nursing them and changing them and all of that, I sadly don’t see myself having a lot of time to dedicate to my oldest son. Already he will ask about Grandma and when she’s coming back. It’s pretty sweet. He’s sure enjoying all the extra time with his Grandma and so are we!
Here’s hoping everything goes well!!
Resources
- Practice Guidelines: Role of ultrasound in twin pregnancy Khalil A, Rodgers M, Baschat A, Bhide A, Gratacos E, Hecher K, Kilby MD, Lewi L, Nicolaides KH, Oepkes D, Raine-Fenning N, Reed K, Salomon LJ, Sotiriadis A, Thilaganathan B, Ville Y. ISUOG Practice Guidelines: role of ultrasound in twin pregnancy. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2016; 47: 247–263.
- Twin Pregnancy Journal Articles from Ultrasound Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Birth Defects and Anomalies in Monochronic Twins (this is for MoDi and MoMo twins) by Children’s Wisconsin
Pregnant with Twins? You’ll want my Twin Pregnancy Journal!
Twin Pregnancy Journal
When I was pregnant with twins I was using a regular pregnancy journal but there was no place to keep track of all the extra appointments, all the measurements, ultrasounds, etc. Years later, I decided to make the twin pregnancy journal I wish I would have had when I was pregnant!!
The twin pregnancy journal has over 100 pages you can use digitally on a tablet or iPad or print it out and put it in a binder to hold even more info. It includes a page for every week, ultrasound pages you can duplicate if you need more, places to keep track of Baby A and Baby B’s measurements, weights, etc. each week, birth plan pages, and even the hospital bag checklist I created from when I had my twins!
Here it is below, click the button or image below to learn more and purchase. It’s much less expensive than the pre-printed ones, that’s for sure! I know you’ve got enough expenses right now, though this took me a lot of time to put together, I’m ultimately here to help.
Next Post
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.