At 35 weeks pregnant with twins you’re likely feeling like you’re ready to burst, I know I was! If you’re anything like I was, also be excited that your twins made it this far, this is great!! Read on to learn more about the 35th week of twin pregnancy.
35 Weeks Pregnant with Twins – Development
At 35 weeks pregnant with twins you’re well into your third trimester and almost to the finish line! In general, the longer your babies are inside, there is a lower chance of needing to be in the special care baby unit or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Depending on the type of twins you’re having, you may be scheduled for a cesarean section (C-section) by 37 weeks, or earlier. If your twins are in a head-down position, you may be to opt for a vaginal birth.
If you’re pregnant with monochorionic twins who share a placenta, monitoring will continue for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), amniotic fluid levels within amniotic sacs as well as babies’ growth, and overall babies’ health. If you’re pregnant with nonidentical / fraternal twins, you’ll also be monitored closely these last weeks of pregnancy, you just may not have as many tests as a pregnant women having identical twins. Women pregnant with twins are at higher risk for high blood pressure and often are unable to have a vaginal delivery and instead need to have a cesarean delivery (C-section). Each pregnancy is unique though, this is something to work through with your healthcare provider.
Just like last week they are just working on gaining weight, building fat, and shedding most of their body hair. Their major organs are up and running and ready to go! You’re likely seeing your healthcare provider at least weekly at this point to monitor your health and the health of your twins.
Babies are growing well!
Baby A is 5.4 pounds (43rd percentile) and Baby B is 5.6 pounds (52nd percentile)! I’m very happy with their weight gain recently! Of course that’s an estimate based on measurements within the womb so might not be completely accurate if they were born today but still great weights and don’t think they’ll be considered low birth weight at this point. Both babies were practice breathing during the ultrasound which was good (and cute) to see. They did well on their non-stress test and other tests as well such as heart rates.
C-Section Date
As you know I’ve been trying to move up my C-section date because it’s safer for MoDi twins to be delivered within the 36th week due to the placenta they share being more likely to stop working well after that. I had been hoping to deliver at 36 weeks+6 days but looks like that won’t be a possibility unless I go into labor on my own. I’m 37 weeks and 2 days. Honestly I’m going to be a little stressed until they’re out and safe in my arms. I’m still so afraid of losing them at this point.
I’ll be surprised if I don’t go into labor in the next two weeks though. I know I never did with my eldest but my body has been doing a lot more prep for labor than it did when I was pregnant with him so who knows. If I don’t go into labor I assume I’ll end up with preeclampsia since I’m at a greater risk for that.
Blood Tests
I was tested for anemia again just to be sure before I deliver in just over 2 weeks that I’m not anemic, and luckily I’m not! I should be over an 11 at this point in pregnancy and I was 12.2 which is up from 11.7 a month ago so that’s great! They also did an updated thyroid/TSH test for me to make sure my levels are still good. I’m a little overmedicated at the moment but that’s better than under medicated at this point so we’re going to leave it as is. I also feel just fine in terms of my thyroid and generally I am very sensitive to when my thyroid meds are off so that’s another reason to leave it as is.
Blood Pressure & Swelling
I’ve been having quite a bit of swelling, even though I keep my feet up as much as possible and don’t walk around much. My legs and feet are swollen as well as my hands and face. Eek! As many of you know, swelling can be a sign of preeclampsia which is a dangerous condition in which I would need to deliver the babies for all of our safety. Women pregnant with twins are at an increased risk for this due to carrying two babies at once.
My blood pressure has been high lately as well, yesterday it was 138/83 when I was at my appointment. That’s another indicator of preeclampsia. They told me to call if it gets to be over 140/90 so I’ll be keeping an eye on that with my wrist blood pressure monitor at home at least once a day, or more if I have more symptoms. At least I haven’t had any of the other symptoms so that’s good for now but I’ll keep an eye on it.
My Ears
Luckily I was able to stop that ear infection coming back last week in it’s tracks. I got a chiropractic adjustment, kept taking a double dose of my probiotic, used tea tree oil on a cotton ball outside my ear, and while in the shower did tapping above my collar bone and massaging from behind my ear down my neck to help it drain. I still keep that up daily to prevent it from coming back. This all worked, I can’t believe it! I actually did try to get an antibiotic when I thought it was coming back because I knew I couldn’t deal with the pain again but was told my pain wasn’t bad enough yet for antibiotics. Which is fine, that was good, I’d rather not have them if I don’t need it. Luckily I was able to cure it anyway. This is not one of the normal twin pregnancy symptoms, I don’t get why this keeps happening.
Overall
My spirits are up somewhat but I’m still in an incredible amount of pain. Even just spending 10 minutes in Target on Thursday I was wincing in pain, I really have difficulty walking much at all, even around the house. My oldest is stuck inside most of the week though we’re trying to make the best of it. We read book after book, work on our numbers, letters, shapes, coloring, and make up games to play with all of his wonderful toys!
Last weekend we went to a lake about 2 miles from us in the morning to play at the beach. I brought along a camping chair and had my feet in the sand. It was a nice morning. Sadly the rest of the day didn’t go well because my oldest refused to nap but at least that morning was nice.
I hope we can get out and do something fun this weekend too. I can’t walk much but hopefully we’ll figure out something. I’m getting pretty stir crazy and it’ll just get worse once the babies are here!!
Thanks for reading and being interested in our evolving story!!
Next Posts
Spoiler alert! My 35 weeks pregnant with twins post was the last post I made before I had my twins, which was a big surprise.
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.