At 26 Weeks Pregnant with twins you’re likely already measuring full term if you were carrying a singleton pregnancy. At least that’s where I was at that point, already as big as I had been with my first pregnancy. Your babies are working hard to keep growing and appointments with your healthcare provider will likely increase soon as you get closer to delivering.
My latest ultrasound scan of my high-risk MoDi Twin pregnancy showed improvement in some areas and concerns in others. MoDi stands for monochorionic diamniotic which means they have a shared placenta but each has their own amniotic sac. My twins are identical twins.
26 Weeks Pregnant with Twins – Development
By 26 weeks pregnant with twins, their brains are growing rapidly and layers of fat are growing underneath their skin. They’re going to be so cute!! They sleep most of the time but can open their eyelids and show off their cute little eyelashes.
Your babies’ brain development is going strong and overall fetal development is really rounding out! They’re practice breathing, breathing in amniotic fluid, which will prepare them for when they breathe in air after they’re born!
They’ve passed the point of viability (24 weeks) which is an awesome milestone to reach. This means that if they were born now, there is a good chance they’d survive. Yay!
This is when I finally started to feel more secure that both of my little guys would make it and started to get duplicates of baby gear.
Your babies might already turn head down in your uterus to get ready for birth. You’re about to round out the last of your second trimester.
As you near your third trimester, the frequency of visits with your healthcare provider will likely increase to ensure everything is still going well and there aren’t any possible complications or need for an earlier delivery.
Symptoms during the end of the second trimester of twin pregnancy may include trouble sleeping, swelling, lower back pain, headaches, braxton hicks contractions, high blood pressure, leg cramps, and increasing pelvic pain. If your swelling is sudden or severe, especially if accompanied by high blood pressure, be sure to contact your healthcare provider asap (like now) and possibly go into labor and delivery to be checked for preeclampsia and/or HELLP syndrome.
It’s always a good idea to listen to your mama gut!
You’re doing great, mama! You got this!!
My 26 Week Ultrasound Scan Update
My babies looked great overall at their growth ultrasound scan plus Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) check. They’re both head down again though a couple weeks ago Baby B had been breech. He tends to switch position a lot which I find surprising since he is the bigger of the two. I’m not surprised to hear he is head down again though, I’ve been feeling an immense amount of pressure on my pelvic bone lately and pelvic pain so that explains it.
In fact, the other day I was up for 2 hours overnight because I thought I was going into labor due to all of the pressure.
No signs of TTTS at this point which is good to hear. Both boys are having normal fetal movement and adequate amniotic fluid. No signs of birth defects, umbilical cord issues, or need for bed rest at this point, though gosh, I’d kind of welcome it.
By the way, if TTTS sounds new to you, don’t worry about it if you are pregnant with fraternal twins or identical twins who don’t have a shared placenta, then it doesn’t apply to you – consider yourself lucky! 🙂
Baby A
As of this week Baby A is measuring 1 day bigger than his gestational age, weighs approximately 2 lbs. 4 oz., and is at the 55th percentile, which is a normal weight and height. His previous kidney issue continues to be resolved which is great news! Short update for Baby A since he’s doing so well!
Baby B
As of this week Baby B is measuring 1 week and 1 day bigger than his gestational age, weighs approximately 2 lbs. 9 oz., and is at the 87th percentile so bigger than normal weight and size! Oddly though I don’t feel him move around as much as I do Baby A. It’s hard to keep track of where he is though, he tends to move from position to position a lot.
Baby B’s kidney issue, unilateral urinary tract dilation, is almost resolved. Initially the concerning measurement was at 4.9mm two months ago, then one month ago it was down to 4.4mm, and now it is down to 4mm. Normal values would be under 4mm and the mild concern range is from 4mm-7mm. Now that Baby B is at 4mm he likely will be just fine but we’ll check again at my 30 week appointment when he has his repeat echocardiogram and both boys have a growth ultrasound scan. At that point, or soon thereafter, the concerning range for the kidney issue will be at 7mm so even if he stays at 4mm he’ll be in the clear.
We won’t get an update on Baby B’s mild pulmonary valve insufficiency heart condition until next month when he has his third echocardiogram in Mlps. However, at the ultrasound scan this week they found something new about his heart which was further confirmed at my OB appt later that week when they listened to his heart again. The condition is called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) which are extra heartbeats that begin in one of the heart’s two lower pumping chambers (ventricles). These extra beats disrupt the regular heart rhythm, sometimes causing one to feel a fluttering or a skipped beat in their chest. Both doctors said some babies and some adults have it and it’s not a cause for concern at this time and isn’t likely related to his other heart issue.
However, at my OB appt my OB healthcare provider was concerned enough to call over to the specialist’s office, after hours, and see if he could learn more about what they had found last week since the ultrasound scan report had yet to be transferred to him. (This OB rarely shows concern so this was a huge deal.) He was told that at this time either the MFM or OB will need to listen to Baby B’s heart every 1-2 weeks to make sure it doesn’t become tachycardia, which means beat above 160, which would be cause for alarm due to this condition. (Normal for babies this age is 120-150s).
We’re obviously quite concerned about Baby B at this point, having two heart issues and all.
General Updates:
Nausea has returned
Sadly, the nausea I had starting in the first trimester of pregnancy and continued for the first 16 weeks of pregnancy has returned as I’m ending the second trimester. I had a short 11 week break before it returned which was nice but now it’s back and I have 10 weeks left. Ick.
Last Thursday I felt really sick to my stomach one evening but luckily felt better for a few days but again today I’m feeling horribly nauseous and even afraid to leave and drive to my OB appt later today in fear that I’ll throw up on the drive there. Ugh. Also, nothing like trying to keep up with a very active 2 year old and being nauseous, afraid at any moment I’m going to have ‘morning sickness’.
Delivery site change
We’ve decided it would be best for me to deliver at the Mother Baby Center at Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis instead of the smaller local hospital like I did with my oldest 2 years ago.
They have a higher level NICU there in case the boys need it and I feel more comfortable delivering there because of that. I told my OB today since he isn’t able to deliver there I’ll need to change OBs. I’ll be sad to leave my OB, he saw me through my first pregnancy and complicated delivery and I was so impressed that I wrote him a 3 page typed thank you afterward.
However, I feel it’s the best due to this increasingly more complicated pregnancy to stick with just the MFM.
The good news is that I will be able to coordinate my OB and specialist (MFM) appointments once I make the transfer of care appointment in next month so that’ll be nice instead of having completely separate appointments on different days and locations like I’ve been doing for the past three months.
Measuring 12 weeks ahead!
As of my OB appointment this week at 26th week of pregnancy I’m measuring full term if I was carrying a singleton pregnancy. WOW!
No wonder I’m so uncomfortable and have difficulty doing a lot of things. So since I’m measuring 12 weeks ahead and will deliver at 37 weeks at the latest, that means I’ll be measuring at least 49 weeks pregnant by then. OMG. My first pregnancy, a singleton pregnancy, I stopped working at 40 weeks because I was so miserable but not like I can quit being a stay-at-home mom! This is just going to get more and more interesting and painful.
My baby bump is no longer a cute baby bump, it instead tends to make people worried when they see me out and about, that I’m going to go into labor at any time. Which granted, I could, but I’m not as far along as they assume since I’m carrying twins! The stretch marks on my huge baby bump are quite a lot more than with my singleton pregnancy and I assume they’ll just get worse as I keep growing bigger.
Health Partners OB Nurse
I also got hooked up with another resource last week, a nurse that works for our insurance. Apparently, Health Partners has a program that is free of charge where an OB nurse shares resources with me and checks in with me from time to time. I didn’t know about it until they called me a few weeks ago and finally got set up for the initial 45-minute call last Friday. She sent me a lot of great resources I’m working on reading and reassured me that I’m doing a great job so that was nice. Always good to have more resources.
2nd Glucose Test on Friday
I have my second 3-hour glucose test to check for gestational diabetes on Friday. Ick. Not looking forward to it but hopefully it goes well. I really don’t need yet another complication added to this pregnancy and further restrictions on what I can eat. As I documented in an earlier post, I failed my first test for gestational diabetes back around 19 weeks pregnant so I had to take the dreaded 3-hour gestational diabetes test soon thereafter. Luckily I passed that one but they want to test me again just to be sure.
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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.