Where you able to tell you were pregnant with twins without having an US?

[BekahJ]

We are using a midwife that doesn't do routine U/S and if you want to have one done you have to schedule to get it somewhere else and I was just wondering if any of you were in the same situation but were able to find out if you were having twins? How and when did you end up finding out?

[Intertwined]

I was in that situation with my third pregnancy. I was measuring about 6 weeks ahead and so went ahead and chose to have an U/S. We only had one baby. With our fourth I was also carrying very far ahead and while we were having an unassisted birth we did choose to have a back up OB in case of transfer and he offered to give me an U/S. We took him up on it at 24 weeks (again, measuring 6 weeks ahead) and again it was just one baby.

With the twins my MW offered U/S. At my 20 week appt I was measuring 8 weeks ahead and I had grown 10cm in just 4 weeks so we knew something was up! It was indeed twins.

[happythistle]

we're using an ob due to multiple losses, missing our midwife but she's in the same practice so we just hug a lot. :-) Anyway, I'm measuring way ahead and have a lot of movement on opposite sides of the uterus. OB is suspicious so we're having u/s next week. very curious!

[Gena 22]

We were shocked by the twin news at the routine 19 week u/s. If not for that, I MIGHT have guessed around 25 weeks when my belly was really lumpy. I could see the shapes of two babes, but knew what I was looking at. Otherwise I could easily have gone til birth with no idea.

There's no knowing like an u/s!

[Llyra]

We first suspected twins when trying to hear a heartbeat with a doppler, around 14 weeks. My midwife kept getting it, and then losing it, and then finding it again in a really different place, only it was going along at a very different rate, and after a few minutes of doing that, told me her suspicions. I think she's already been thinking along those lines, after seeing my size and doing an internal exam, and the doppler thing just made her more sure. She did recommend having it confirmed by ultrasound, which we did that same day. She and I had already had a conversation about me declining routine ultrasound, but she made a persuasive case once she'd started thinking twins, and I agreed.

[Scalpel]

Besides being pretty large...the twins were my first pregnacy and to tell you the truth I really couldnt tell there were two in there. All the kicks to me still felt as if it could be big baby.

[nd_deadhead]

Our family doctor suspected twins at my first visit, at 10 weeks, when I measured 14. We did a US that afternoon, to confirm, but we wouldn't have had that if I hadn't measured big. Since a tumor or cyst can also cause you to measure big, it's worth checking.

At 14 weeks we could distinctly get both heartbeats on the Doppler, so it is possible to know for sure without a US. But I would want to make sure it was 2 and not 3!

[Novella]

I had US. . . but if I hadn't it would have been very apparent it was twins ONLY very late in the second trimester on two separate occasions where their movements caused my belly to heave hugely apart as the babies completely headed for "opposing walls" and there was a dip in the middle (for a couple of seconds). That would have been the absolute and shocking evidence that there is NO WAY one baby could do that! Otherwise, I would have just had a bunch of pregnancy stuff that seemed "off" and chalked it up to: another two years older, in a stressful job, "every pregnancy is different" etc etc.

[f&p'smama]

I sat next to a 90-something year old obstetrician at a dinner for my DH's aunt and uncle. He was a twin and we talked about my twins. His opinion was that a trained person should be able to palpate 2 babies if they were thorough. He obviously worked in the pre-ultrasound days when the hands and ears were the best tools a doctor had. I don't know if younger doctors have this kind of training, or if relying on ultrasound to know what's inside means they no longer have these skills. And, obviously, they can't feel two babies at 10 weeks.

I was huger than huge. The size of a full-term singleton pregnancy by 26 weeks. So I probably would have thought something was up.

[SuzyQ2+2]

I was totally in the dark, had no idea...but we also found out fairly early (12 weeks). If you do suspect I would suggest getting an ultrasound as it's not the kind of surprise I would want at birth - I needed those 6 months to get over the shock My midwife could barely palpate 2 babies at 20 weeks (of course then she knew there were 2) and my experienced OB had a tough time telling what ANYTHING was later on - it's just so jam packed in there with limbs everywhere.

Good luck mama, I wish you a healthy pregnancy

[DoomaYula]

I was seeing CNM, but I didn't have an u/s til 20w, which showed twins. She suspected it, but only at that appointment, and only because I was the size of a barn. Unless you've seen someone pregnant with twins, you really can't imagine the size.

[GCHICAGOS]

I'm curious to know if my intuition is right or not too... Have had a feeling about this pregnancy being twins and lots of "twin dreams," got bigger wayyy faster (this is my 3rd pregnancy), movement since 9 weeks, really bad M/S, lots of kicking almost all day long, crazy hunger in spurts (never had any of these with the other two), and now at 18 weeks I seriously feel and act like I'm at the end of the 3rd trimester. I get dizzy, crampy, and just feel awful with any exertion, bending over, picking up my kids, etc. It is SO much different than my first two, who were relatively easy pregnancies.

Of course, my midwife says my hCG level at 12 weeks was normal for a singleton (I think that's quite late and not as accurate as an earlier test), uterus is normal size, she only palpated one, and we had trouble getting the HB twice because the baby was jumping around so much. She also says that diastasis (ab muscle separation) could explain how I look 7 months pregnant at only 4, and also the early movement since the muscles are pushed away and you can feel the baby(ies) more easily.

I'll keep you posted on what I hear next Friday at the U/S!

BekahJ -- did you ever get the U/S or find out either way?

[BekahJ]

No I haven't found out just wanted to hear some stories from some other mothers. I have never noticed feeling implantation until this pregnancy and I know I felt it 2 separate times the first time early on a Friday afternoon and the second time that Saturday night. Could that indicate twins? I don't know a lot about implantation, and I forgot to talk to my MW about that at the first appointment. My morning sickness hasn't been as awful as some people but it has been worse for me than my other 2 pregnancy and is lasting longer. Usually it's gone totally by 12 weeks and I am 14 now and can't see it easing up. I am most definately bigger than usual but this is my 3rd pregnancy. I started feeling movement about 12 1/2 to 13 weeks. I'm going to talk to my MW about it at my next appointment and maybe see about getting an US just for peace of mind. Tell me what you ladies think about the implantation thing is it possible to feel it 2 separate time with just one baby?

[Intertwined]

I felt ovulation two seperate times. Distinct signs of O, too, four days apart. Funny but Claire measured four days ahead of Ben for months!

[eatingfor3]

I ovulated 2x, 4 days apart and had 2 distinct episodes of implantation, 4 days apart.

I got a +hpt about 5 days later than I should have according to my LMP, had an appt a week later, doc said he couldn't see much but said there "might" be something there. Went back a week later and that little tiny "something" was a sac, and then he found the other sac that was measuring 4 days behind. Turns out I actually got my +hpt VERY early so I was a week or so off. When the babies were born at 35.6 weeks, according to my LMP, the neonatologists said no way were they 36 weekers, they were most likely 35ish weekers and that baby B was about 4 days behind baby A, putting her closer to 34 weeks. The neonatologists didn't know about the double ovulation/ implantation episodes so they were going by the babies reflexes and behaviors.

So yes, that is the very long way of saying I think 2 episodes of implantation is possible. However, I did have implantation bleeding/ pain 2x-3x on different days with both of my singletons-- sometimes they just burrow a little deeper.

[Shuli]

I knew the second I concieved with the twins and had a feeling there was more than one from the beginning. We had a routine ultrasound at 8 weeks and there they were! My baby A always measured 4 days behind his brother and I feel like I also had two different implantations - at that point I was hyperovulating so it's completely possible.

[klocke]

Originally Posted by GCHICAGOS

I'm curious to know if my intuition is right or not too... Have had a feeling about this pregnancy being twins and lots of "twin dreams," got bigger wayyy faster (this is my 3rd pregnancy), movement since 9 weeks, really bad M/S, lots of kicking almost all day long, crazy hunger in spurts (never had any of these with the other two), and now at 18 weeks I seriously feel and act like I'm at the end of the 3rd trimester. I get dizzy, crampy, and just feel awful with any exertion, bending over, picking up my kids, etc. It is SO much different than my first two, who were relatively easy pregnancies.

Of course, my midwife says my hCG level at 12 weeks was normal for a singleton (I think that's quite late and not as accurate as an earlier test), uterus is normal size, she only palpated one, and we had trouble getting the HB twice because the baby was jumping around so much. She also says that diastasis (ab muscle separation) could explain how I look 7 months pregnant at only 4, and also the early movement since the muscles are pushed away and you can feel the baby(ies) more easily.

I'll keep you posted on what I hear next Friday at the U/S!

BekahJ -- did you ever get the U/S or find out either way?

No one can really say if it is twins or not without an u/s but in my experience at 18 weeks I was still measuring relatively within the range of normal. I think I was maybe 2 cm ahead at 20 weeks.

I personally thought it was twins right from conception (and up until 9 wks)but had an u/s at 9 weeks that showed only one. So then I just thought I was crazy,lol, until 20 weeks when my 2nd u/s showed there was actually two! Shocked my Dh and while I was shocked it was more because I had been telling myself there was only one and the realization that there were actually two was crazy to me. My midwife had no idea though and I started seeing her at about 8 weeks up until 20 weeks when we had to switch care providers. Oh and I had seen her in a previous pregnancy before. In her defense though even now at nearly 35 weeks it is very hard to pick up Baby B's heartbeat with a Doppler she is hiding behind an anterior placenta.

[GCHICAGOS]

Originally Posted by klocke

No one can really say if it is twins or not without an u/s but in my experience at 18 weeks I was still measuring relatively within the range of normal. I think I was maybe 2 cm ahead at 20 weeks.

Thanks for sharing your story. It just goes to show you that intuition can really be more accurate than other indicators!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy

[mumm]

I never suspected twins.

I thought I had some terminal disease and was dying. I requested an u/s so I would know if I was still pregnant when I died. I was sure the fetus had already passed from my extreme illness.

Needless to say, I'm healthy and fine and so are the twins!

[Nanasi]

These responses should tell you that everyone experiences their twin pregnancy differently--sometimes very differently. I was 19 weeks before we found out and the only reason we suspected was that I was measuring 8 weeks ahead at my 16-week appointment. I had mild nausea and didn't notice anything unusual when I ovulated. And I didn't feel the babies move until 18 weeks, or so. Of course, I asked my husband, "What if it's twins?" before I was measuring ahead, but doesn't everyone?

When I did start to suspect there were two babies, I couldn't find anyone who seemed to have an easy first trimester. So I convinced myself that I couldn't be pregnant with twins because I didn't fit the model. It seems pretty common to think you might be pregnant with twins, and the mind does a great job of finding patterns and similarities between our situation and someone else's. But early in a pregnancy, the only way you'll really know if you're carrying twins is to go have an ultrasound.