Being pregnant is a wonderful experience in itself, but when you’re expecting twins, the joy is (literally) twofold! Being pregnant with twins is twice the fun of a normal pregnancy – you will get much bigger, your babies will kick in tandem and you will have two bundles of joy after nine months.
But how do twins grow inside the womb? Most mothers expect double the amount of morning sickness and double the pregnancy weight gain with twins, but this is not true. The symptoms of pregnancy will normally be as much in intensity as that of a single baby.
This is how a twin pregnancy goes week by week:
– In the first few weeks after conception, you will not have an idea that you are expecting two babies instead of one. The earliest this fact is revealed is in the second month by an ultrasound. By then, however, the process of development of their bodies has already begun. Both babies develop in separate sacs with their own amniotic fluid. Just like in a single baby, they will have started the process of developing a large head, paddle-like arms and legs and a largely undefined torso.
– By Week 8, your babies will have developed miniscule ear holes, toes, genitalia and the beginnings of eyelids. Meanwhile, their internal organs and brains are also in development. By the end of the first trimester, i.e. by Week 12, your babies will have grown as much as four times as the end of the second month of pregnancy.
– By Week 20, each of your babies will be about inches long. Your pregnancy will now be apparent since your belly will protrude noticeably. Your babies’ kidneys and lungs are in a crucial state of development at this time. The babies also start discharging minute amounts of waste by now. Each of your babies will weigh about one pound by now.
– By Week 28, both babies develop hair on their heads and they each weigh about three pounds. The best part is that your babies can now open and close their eyelids, which you can see on an ultrasound. They will also respond to the sound of your voice, sudden loud noises and even music. Reading to them and playing soft music is essential.
– By Week 32, your babies will grow to about four pounds and move quite a lot. However, you might not be able to tell which baby is moving. Since the babies have already grown quite a lot in size and weight, you will feel extremely heavy by this time and constant pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor.
– By Week 36, your uterus will have expanded to its full capacity, so your babies will not be able to move around as much as before. They will have reached about five pounds in weight.
– By Week 40, you will be about to go into labour quite soon. Mothers of multiple babies normally go into labour earlier than single baby mothers.