By 30 weeks pregnant with twins you’re in your last trimester of pregnancy and it’d be a good idea to pack your delivery bag and your birth plan ready. Honestly, few births actually go to plan but having some general ideas written down can be useful.
30 Weeks Pregnant with Twins – Development
At 30 weeks pregnant with twins they can control their own body heat and are moving around more than before. You may feel more movement from them and find it more difficult to sleep at night. They are quite developed at this point, yay!!
Depending on the type of twins you’re pregnant with, your appointments may increase in frequency within the next couple of weeks through delivery to watch even closer for possible complications.
When I was 30 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
When I was 30 weeks pregnant with twins there were some answers we got to some very scary concerns that had come up in the previous ultrasounds and echocardiograms.
I also decided on some changes in my OBGYN, hospital, and have an update on my latest glucose screening.
Repeat Echocardiogram for Twin B
We’ve been waiting for this day for 8 weeks since we found out Baby B had a heart issue on June 15th. The great news is that the heart issue is no longer an issue!! Completely resolved! The second heart issue that had come up since then has also been resolved just by him growing so he’s a regular healthy little guy now!
They actually couldn’t even figure out which baby was which at first because they had moved around so much since two weeks ago when I had an ultrasound. Now Baby B is trying to be the first one out with his head down and to the right of my pelvis and Baby A is feet first on the right. What a couple of goofs! They could tell Baby B was B because he’s always been bigger. They checked both hearts just in case they were wrong and both looked fine so we’re good.
Update on Twin B’s Kidney Condition
Baby B’s kidney condition that had been resolving itself as he grew has completely resolved now! Yay! Baby A had it initially as well but his also resolved so both babies have normal kidneys from as far as we can tell!
Growth Scan Updates
–Baby A: Baby A is 3 lbs 9 oz and at the 39th percentile.
–Baby B: Baby B is 3 lbs 15 oz and at the 63rd percentile. He’s measuring a week and a half ahead of his actual age. He almost weighs as much as I did when I was born!
Twins are at an increased risk for preterm labor so every week it’s relieving that they’re staying put and getting bigger and healthier. It’s really great to hear that they’re already over 3 lbs, almost 4 lbs!
Side note, back in the 1980s I was delivered via emergency c-section at 33 weeks weighing 4lbs 4oz so whenever my babies get past 4 pounds I feel decent that they’d survive on the outside. If I was able to survive 30 years ago that little, they should be fine now (hopefully).
Future Appointments
All my future appointments will be in Minneapolis instead of going between 3 different locations on different weeks so at least I’ll always know where I’m going now! After I had spent 30 minutes scheduling the remaining appointments I was told I could have some of them in a closer location but decided to keep them in Minneapolis in case I need to go straight from an appointment into labor and delivery then I am right there. Plus, it’s nice to have some consistency.
My next appointment is in 2 weeks, after which I start weekly appointments. I’ll be having what they call Non-Stress Tests and a Biophysical Profiles at each appointment as well as an OB check-up. I’ve been told to expect to each appointment to last about 3 hours.
A Non-Stress Test (NST) is where they’ll watch to see if baby’s heart rates go faster while resting or moving. For this I’ll be hooked up to a fetal monitor, which is a heart rate monitor for the babies. There will be one fetal monitor for each baby plus one monitor that measures if I’m having any contractions. These monitors look like white hockey pucks on my belly held on by big straps.
The Biophysical Profile (BPP) is an NST with an ultrasound. This looks at each baby’s movement, body tone, breathing and the results of the NST. It also looks at amniotic fluid.
My Belly During a Non-Stress Test
This is a look into the future, this was around 34 weeks in this photo but wanted to show you what a Non-Stress Test looked like from my point of view at the time.
C-Section Scheduled
If I don’t go into labor on my own, my c-section is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 24th. The funny thing is that’s my cousin’s birthday and my oldest was born on my other cousin’s birthday (those two cousins are brother and sister). Apparently, neither one of them are allowed to have their own spot on the calendar anymore! Sorry!
I am hoping that I go into labor a little earlier than that or that I’m able to move the date up to Friday the 21st but we’ll see. The reason is that MoDi twins are safer to be born at 36 weeks and 6 days at the latest due to a higher risk of stillbirth after that due to the shared placenta breaking down. The hospital has me scheduled at 37 weeks and 2 days. I’ve read that the 3 extra days can actually be life or death so once I get closer and if I don’t go into labor on my own I’ll be advocating for my little guys to come out earlier than they have me scheduled. Generally, I’m pretty convincing but we’ll see how it goes…
New OBGYN
I’ve now officially transferred all of my care, including OB care, to the MN Perinatal Physicians, the “MFM” I’ve been going to since week 14. I liked my old OBGYN, he saw me through my pregnancy and delivery with Carson, but he can’t deliver at the Mother Baby Center so I felt the need to switch. The downside is that I won’t meet the doctor who will deliver the babies until I’m in the operating room. The doctors I meet with now for my OB care and other appointments tend to be random doctors, whoever is available that day. The appointment went pretty well and got everything switched over so we’re all set at least. They are more thorough with some tests so that’s comforting to me. Now I won’t have to have separate appointments at different locations for my OB, they’ll be added onto my other appointments at the same location which is convenient.
Passed 3 Hour Glucose Screen!
I took my second 3 hour glucose screen a few weeks ago and passed!! Yay! No gestational diabetes! Crummy that I had to take the test twice, 7 weeks apart, but so glad that I passed because the last thing I need is to have to remove more things from my diet and add more complications to this pregnancy. I already can’t have gluten, dairy, soy, spinach, avocado, and shellfish…really don’t need to add more to the list.
Touring the Mother Baby Center at Abbott Hospital
Holy wow. My husband and I toured the Mother Baby Center in July and it was amazing. I know a hospital is a hospital but so many things that went wrong with my eldest’s labor, delivery, and NICU stay sounds like it would have gone right here. If only I had known. Not that the hospital I delivered at was bad, it’s good for when things are uncomplicated but we had a few situations arise that I feel would have been better had I been at this hospital instead. They even have special accommodations and rooms for twins as well as the highest level NICU in the Children’s Hospital connected to the Mother Baby Center, in case the boys need it.
They also have a special care nursery in case they need a bit of extra care but not a complete NICU. We even would be able to stay in the NICU or nursery with them if I were discharged before them, etc. I feel really good about this hospital. The only downside is it’s in downtown Minneapolis and there is SO much road construction and closures that it’s a total pain to get to.
The rest of my appointments leading up to delivery will be at this location so at least I’ll be pretty used to it. I actually found a pretty direct route to get there other than the highway. There are a lot of stop lights but neat to go through downtown past Calhoun Square, Midtown Global Market, and many other places.
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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.
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.