How/when can you tell if you're having twins?

[queenbean]

When I was pregnant with my daughter, a few weeks into the pregnancy I knew that she was a girl. Knew it like fact, before any ultrasound could have possibly told me. Anyway... I'm 9 weeks pregnant. For about a week now I've had a growing feeling that I'm carrying twins, and tonight it became like a fact in my mind, the same way it felt when I knew my daughter was a girl. And I have to be honest, I really really REALLY hope I'm wrong. My daughter will be 19 months old when the new baby comes, I don't think I can handle 3 kids under 2!

Anyway, how early can you tell if you're carrying twins, and how would they know that? Is an ultrasound the only way to tell? Because I'm not scheduled for one of those until 20 weeks, but I have an appointment at 12 weeks to listen to the heartbeat. Can they tell at the 12-week appt, or do I have to wait til 20 weeks?

[NamastePlatypus]

I know how you feel!! SOMETIMES on a doppler than can hear two heartbeats that early if they are not in sync if they are, then no. You will know by 20 weeks in terms of how you measure! : for you, I said 'them' today and wanted to shoot myself in the foot, I know it is sunconscience fear but still

[pamama]

I'm having the same fear! This will be our third baby and it took me a good long time to convince dh to have this one. When he agreed I had to promise this was the last one! LOL!! He said 3 he could probably handle but 4 would put him over the deep end! We have an almost 6 year old son with autism and a very precocious 3 year old girl. I knew both their genders almost from the beginning, but I can't seem to tell this one. BUT my 3 year old keeps insisting we are having 2 girls. She refers to my belly as the babies! Twins don't even run in my family, but my cousin had identical twin girls in May. I have an appt this Friday to hear the heartbeat, so we are hoping to see if we hear one or two. I am 14 weeks tomorrow. I also won't have an u/s until 20 weeks. Just this wierd nagging feeling! It's driving me nuts! I am also a lot bigger than I was the last 2 times, but being the 3rd might be the reason for that.

[queenbean]

Yeah, I'm having more pronounced symptoms -- bad nausea, extreme moodiness, extreme tiredness -- and I'm showing sooner than I did before, but the symptoms could be from nursing my one-year-old, and I could be showing earlier because I started out 20 lbs lighter than I did last time. I just don't know. I hate this feeling. I wish I could just find out for sure so I could start preparing and asking the questions I need to ask. Blah.

[crsta33]

My three yo often insists there are two in there as well and I've got suspicions too. My midwife only found one heartbeat at my first appt. (she probed around looking for another, but that doesn't mean much). I go back tomorrow and although I was thinking no u/s this time, I'm beginning to think it would be a good idea.

I'm bigger faster this time and my midwife already asked if my dates could be off and if twins run in either family...the answer to both questions is no. So we will see. Twins is the *last* think I need at this point...but I find the possibility kind of exciting anyway.

Christa

[camille76]

I can remember thinking maybe I was pg with twins with #3, but I wasn't. I think you just get bigger faster each time. And I guess all pg's are different as far as morning sickness, etc. goes.

[queenbean]

Originally Posted by camille76

I can remember thinking maybe I was pg with twins with #3, but I wasn't. I think you just get bigger faster each time. And I guess all pg's are different as far as morning sickness, etc. goes.

Yeah... if it weren't for this gut feeling, I wouldn't have thought twice about the symptoms and all that. It's just now that I have it in my mind, I was looking it up, and found that often moms of twins experience stronger symptoms than they do with single births.

[pamama]

My symptoms are also stronger this time around, but I was trying to chalk it up to each pg is different. I had bad ms with both my other 2, but it was considerably less with #2, then this time BAM, full blown hyperemesis and I'm still taking zofran for it. I have also never been more exhausted in my life and I just feel so much more pg than I actually am. And we are absolutely sure about the dates.

[*Lindsey*]

Ahem. :

We heard one heartbeat at my 10 and 14 week appointments. I did have more prounounced symptoms this time compared to any other pregnancy.

My DH kept joking that it was twins b/c I was getting bigger faster and sicker than I'd been before. At 15 weeks my uterus was at my belly button and I remember thinking, "hmmmm..."

We had an ultrasound at 18 weeks and SURPRISE, it's twins!

[cravenab00]

i'm really wondering too.

Im 13 weeks, and my uterus is right at my belly button. And its filled out my whole lower abdomen.

I dont know what to think.

[queenbean]

FRICK.

A week before I took my pregnancy test, before I even had any suspicions, we had friends over. One friend, my husband's boss, was here. When we told her that we were pregnant, she informed us that she already knew, she had known since the party. She jsut got that "vibe."

Today he told her about my feeling, and she said that she hadn't wanted to say anything, but she had the feeling that it was twins too. She didn't want to say anything because, well, you know how it is when you know something before someone else does... you don't want to ruin the surprise. She thinks it's one boy and one girl though, where I think it's both boys.

Gah... I have an appointment at 12 weeks, and I'm goign to talk to the doctor about moving my u/s up a couple of weeks, if only one heartbeat is heard at the appointment. Cuz the suspense is going to KILL me. :P

[queenbean]

How can you guys tell where your uterus is? Are you going from where the doc measured you, or can you feel it on your own?

[pamama]

I can feel mine. When I lay down flat on my back, I feel upward from the pubic bone. The uterus feels kind of hard and round, so I can tell where the sides and top edge are as oppsed to my belly fat. LOL! Mine is at my belly button at 14 weeks. It's supposed to be belly button height at around 20 weeks. That's the average and I always measured right on target with my other 2.

[*Lindsey*]

Fran--I'll be really surprised if you're not having twins!

queenbean--I'm interested to know where you feel your uterus at...

[eilonwy]

I'm terrified of having twins this time, only because this is not exactly a planned pregnancy and I think that the universe is twisted like that. I don't think I'm quite ready to deal with having four kids, so ha ha it would be SO funny if I had five. ( In any case, when I'm able to be rational I'm confident that there's only one in there, but I've been having nightmares about twins because of course I already feel overwhelmed. Yes, my uterus popped up early (like, two weeks ago; I was 6 weeks on Saturday), but this is my *fourth* pregnancy; it'd be more surprising if it hadn't. Plus, I've had two c-sections so everything in and around there is soft and mushy.

So yeah, when I'm rational I realize that this is just my mind's way of trying to cope with the fact that I'm feeling inadequate as a parent of *three*, to say nothing of four. On the other hand, I told my husband I'd been having nightmares about twins and he looked at me and kind of twitched and moaned patheticly for a while. He too believes that god has a sick sense of humor...

Anyway, I've got an ultrasound scheduled for the 3rd, because the OB intake doctor disagreed with me about my dates. Never would have happened with my regular doctor, he knows I know what's going on, but there you have it. I'm looking forward to confirmation of the baby, singular. Perhaps worrying about twins is, like, something to leave me feeling relaxed and confident when I only see one in there.

[moreland82]

Hello everyone, I was 17 and was pregnant with twins. I had no idea what so ever but my mum kept having dreams i was having twins. I went for a scan at 12 wewks and it was there in black and white, and very clear that there were two babies in there. I then went on to have another daughter, that was a single pregnancy, I am now pregnant again and have a very strong feeling that this will be twin boys i am now around 8-10 weeks pregnant am due an internal scan in the next 2 weeks. I am unsure if it will be picked up if it is twins or not, but will defo find out by my scan after that. Just a bit of advise for people out there i didn't gain a huge amount of weight whilst being pregnant for the twins and the midwife would have problems finding the two heart beats as she never knew if it was the same one just moved or it was echoing from the other one so don't bank on it but i can definetely say they should be able to tell you if you are carrying twins by 12 weeks pregnant. Will let you all know if what i am carrying is twins soon.

[moreland82]

Having twins

Just one more thing, anyone worried about having twins. Well, don't I was a single mum at 17 and I coped well if I do say so myself LOL, it's not as hard as people think!!!!! You do get yourself into a better routine I must say. My syptoms also seem alot more extreme on this pregnacy, but from what I can remember I did have very bad morning sickness being pregnant for the twins, but no different to what my sister is now going through only carrying one. I personally think every pregnancy is different and we will all find out in good time. ( My twins were Identical) and I did spend an awful big ammount of my pregnany in out patients due to different weights of the babies (twin to twin transfusion) Hope I have been of some help.

[misskerri]

Originally Posted by pamama

BUT my 3 year old keeps insisting we are having 2 girls. She refers to my belly as the babies!

FWIW, my son (also 3 at the time...almost 4 now) insisted I was carrying TWO BABIES! as well. He'd hug my belly and say "hi, babies!" and when I questioned him on it, he'd just say, "two babies!" I'll admit, he had me a bit worried, since little ones can be kind of psychic sometimes, but...

I am carrying a singleton girl. No doubt about it, just one baby in there (thank the gods).

[kuhlady]

hi all,
so, queenbean and pamama, are you guys having twins??
i was wondering if anyone knows about the HCG level when twins are present. i know it is usually higher and wanted to know if anyone knows exactly how much higher for there to be suspicion of twins. i am 6 weeks right now and yesterday (day 3 of the week) my level was 30,089, which seems high if it is supposed to double by thursday or friday, which would put me at over 60,000, and normal high for this week is 56,500.
sorry if that all sounds confusing.
any info would be great!

[gloriousmom]

wondering about twins, and movement or gas?

I feel so much better now to know I'm not alone. I, too have been having twin thoughts. This is my fourth and I'm around 8 weeks. Seems like being sick is my norm because I remember being miserable with them all in the beginning. I complained about my level of sickness with my third at my first doctor appt and he instantly suggested we look to see if there were two and used the ultrasound machine there in the office and found only one. This is going to sound crazy though- sometimes I swear I feel baby movement already, although it's too early and is probably gas, it just doesn't feel like gas.