At 8 weeks pregnant, I was already bigger than I expected but still didn’t even consider the possibility of being 8 weeks pregnant with twins. Until my ultrasound later that week… There were plenty of 8 weeks pregnant with twins symptoms I should have realized were more than with my first pregnancy.
8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins Symptoms
Though you’re just a couple months into your twin pregnancy, you’ll likely already have some early signs of twin pregnancy including physical changes due to hormonal changes. You may already feel overly thirsty, fatigued, bloated, and bigger than you’d expect.
It might already be difficult to hide your baby bump since it’ll likely be bigger than a single pregnancy. This was one of my first signs of a twin pregnancy, being much bigger than with my first pregnancy.
You may already have increased urination, morning sickness or nausea, and food aversions or cravings. Some pregnant women end up with severe morning sickness due to the increased hormone levels of being pregnant with twins.
8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins Development
By 8 weeks pregnant with twins, all the major organs are starting to develop, babies have graduated from being an embryo to a fetus, and their hearts have been beating for 2 weeks.
They’ve started to develop the beginning of what will be their arms and legs and their hearts are dividing into two chambers already.
The first ultrasound for a pregnancy is typically around the 8 week mark and it’s likely that you’ll be able to see your twins during this early ultrasound.
Questions to Ask at 8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
If you find out you’re pregnant with twins at your 8 week ultrasound like I did, here are some questions to ask your healthcare provider.
If possible, it’s a good idea to write down the answers to these questions because if you’re anything like me when I found out I was pregnant with twins, there wasn’t much else I could remember or focus on, I was so shocked.
- What type of twins am I having, identical twins or fraternal twins?
- If I’m having identical twins, do they have their own placenta or a shared placenta?
- If identical twins, do they have their own amniotic sac or do they share an amniotic sac?
- When will I be referred to see a specialist in addition to you, my healthcare provider?
- Can you tell from the early ultrasound where the placenta or placentas are located?
- What is my expected due date?
- What is my expected adjusted due date based on the type of twins I’m having?
- Will I need to have frequent ultrasounds and if so, how often?
- What are some things I should know that are different between twin pregnancies and a singleton pregnancy?
- Are there any risk factors or risk of complications I should watch out for based on my medical history that are more prevalent with twin pregnancies?
- Are there any resources or support groups you know of in person or online for expectant moms of multiples?
Keep in mind that most healthcare providers, even OBGYNs aren’t always up to date in terms of what needs to be done for each type of twin pregnancy. As I’ll note in other blog posts, my OB was great but he didn’t know I needed to be seen by a specialist by the time I was 16 weeks pregnant, he didn’t plan on consulting them until I was 20 weeks pregnant. I’m glad I did my own research and advocated for myself and my babies.
My Experience of Being 8 Weeks Pregnant With Twins
I didn’t have my first ultrasound until I was toward the end of my 8th week of pregnancy so I still had no clue for most of the week.
I already was feeling like I was as big at 8 weeks gestation as I had been at 14 weeks gestation with my first pregnancy but figured that was due to it being my second pregnancy and nothing more. I also had extra weight gain already which wasn’t saying much since with my first pregnancy I didn’t gain much weight at first.
As you can see below, my tummy was MUCH bigger already at 8 weeks along than it was during my first pregnancy. Apparently I didn’t take more than a selfie for my singleton pregnancy when I was 8 weeks pregnant.
My 8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins Symptoms
At 6 weeks of pregnancy, I was already feeling very nauseous at almost all hours of the day. Luckily I never actually threw up but felt quite miserable. Having to care for and run around with my 1 year old while also feeling like I was going to throw up at any moment was less than ideal. I had no idea I was having twin pregnancy symptoms due to higher hcg levels, I just figured I was carrying a single baby like last time.
I also felt, and looked, so much bigger than my first pregnancy, which was a singleton pregnancy, at this far along. It was very odd and surprising. I was already peeing more than usual and had a really low amount of energy. My body was working so hard on the inside yet I had no idea.
I was having a hard time with most foods and smells especially chicken and other meat. I’ve always had a sensitive sense of smell but this was really rough, always feeling like I’m going to throw up when food was around. I made sure I kept eating though, I knew I had to keep eating.
Trying to Hide my Pregnancy, Unique Situation
Six days before we found out I was pregnant with twins, my mom was officially diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease at the age of 59. We knew the diagnosis was coming but it was still really hard to hear and to know it was for sure. We knew her future was grim though 6 years later I can’t believe how quickly she’s gone downhill, which I talk more about in this blog post.
I was able to accompany my parents to her appointment during which she was diagnosed, and I remember worrying that they’d notice I was pregnant. We hadn’t told them yet and wanted to wait until we all were in person together, my husband and then 1 year old included. We actually were going to go over to their place the next day to tell them even though we were just 8 weeks pregnant, we wanted our parents to know earlier than others.
The First Ultrasound
The day we had the first ultrasound when I was 8 weeks and 5 days pregnant, my mother-in-law was sweet enough to drive over an hour down to our house to care for our 1 year old while I was at the doctor. She didn’t know I was pregnant yet, we just told her that I had an appointment.
My husband left work early to come with me to the first ultrasound and we met in the parking lot of Target as we knew if he came home to go to the appointment with me my mother-in-law would start putting together the big surprise (that soon would become even bigger than we’d imagined!!)
I got in his vehicle and we drove to the next city over for my ultrasound. My OB’s office was the same one I went to throughout my first pregnancy just over a year prior so we were used to the people, my doctor, and where everything was, which was comforting 🙂
The ultrasound started as normal and before long the ultrasound tech said everything looked good and then…”Oh! There are two!” Our first thought was “Two what?” We were thinking she could somehow already see two arms or legs or something but no…she replied with “Two babies!“
Our. Jaws. Dropped.
We couldn’t believe it!
I don’t even know what happened the rest of the first ultrasound because we were in total shock. She did tell us that they shared a placenta but had their own amniotic sac, and they were identical twins.
Our heads were swimming.
After the ultrasound, as we waited to see my OB, we sat in shock. I just saw dollar signs, thinking we couldn’t afford two babies. We had one income since I was a stay-at-home mom and I knew that with two newborns and a 2 year old by the time they were born, there was no way we could have them in daycare because it would cost significantly more than I would bring home if I went back to my career.
I was stuck. I had to keep being a stay-at-home mom.
This had been the plan, that I’d keep being a stay-at-home mom but it felt different once I knew I didn’t have a choice.
I was also thinking about how much more it would cost to have two babies at once, the extra college fund, the fact that we’d be crowded in our house, that it was more kids than either of us had ‘planned on’, that I didn’t think I could handle two babies at once plus a toddler, and the list goes on.
Talking to My OBGYN
When we got into a room, we first talked with my doctor’s nurse and asked her if identical twins can be different genders. I know now that’s a stupid question because of course not, that’s part of the whole identical, but at the time we still were really hopeful for a little girl since we already had a boy and were wondering our chances. The nurse wasn’t sure so went to ask the ultrasound tech. Turns out, in very rare cases of MoDi twins like we have, there can be one boy and one girl but typically the girl has significant health problems if that is the case.
So then we knew that either we’d have two boys and I’d be a boy mom forever or we’d have twin girls. I honestly was overwhelmed thinking about either scenario but I didn’t have to wait long to find out what I was carrying. More on that in subsequent blog posts.
My OB told me we’d do basically the same things as if I were pregnant with just one baby except that he’d have a specialist as part of my 20 week ultrasound. I soon learned through my own research that wouldn’t be the case, it was a high risk pregnancy and I’d need to see a specialist starting at 16 weeks pregnant, if not earlier.
Telling our Parents
When my husband and I came back from the appointment, we were still in shock and about to tell my mother-in-law that we were pregnant. I had the ultrasound in hand showing there were indeed TWO babies in my tummy and I remember kind of throwing it at her. Not that I was mad or anything just excited and terrified at the same time. Lol
She wasn’t really sure what she was looking at, which is completely understandable, especially since me even being pregnant was a surprise. I exclaimed that there are TWO! I’m pregnant with TWINS!! This was the first she heard of me being pregnant and she was doubly surprised that I was pregnant with twins!
Now that I think about it, I suppose we could have done our oldest the courtesy of telling him first that we were expecting twins before telling my mother-in-law but he was in the same room at least and pretty sure he doesn’t remember that moment anyway. Everything was still such a complete blur and chaos in our heads.
We had told my parents the weekend before the ultrasound that we were pregnant, but of course, we had a big update! I remember calling them while sitting in the rocking chair in my son’s room around dinner time and telling them that I’m pregnant with not just one baby but TWO!! They were SO excited!
The Research Begins
I started looking for more information on the type of twins I was pregnant with, MoDi Twins, who share a placenta but have their own amniotic sac. I quickly learned that I needed to be seen by a specialist, either a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist or a Perinatal Physician starting at 16 weeks pregnant and every two weeks thereafter.
This wasn’t something that my OB had mentioned so I kept researching so I’d have a lot of references when I went to ask for a referral to the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist.
In my next post about being 12 weeks pregnant with MoDi Identical Twins, I go into my research and what I learned about why I need to be seen every two weeks by a specialist, and much more.
Pregnant with Twins? You’ll want the Twin Pregnancy Journal!
When I was pregnant with twins I was using a regular pregnancy journal but there was no place to keep track of all the extra appointments, all the measurements, ultrasounds, etc. Years later, I decided to make the twin pregnancy journal I wish I would have had when I was pregnant!!
The twin pregnancy journal has over 100 pages you can use digitally on a tablet or iPad or print it out and put it in a binder to hold even more info. It includes a page for every week, ultrasound pages you can duplicate if you need more, places to keep track of Baby A and Baby B’s measurements, weights, etc. each week, birth plan pages, and even the hospital bag checklist I created from when I had my twins!
Here it is below, click the button or image below to learn more and purchase. It’s much less expensive than the pre-printed ones, that’s for sure! I know you’ve got enough expenses right now, though this took me a lot of time to put together, I’m ultimately here to help.
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.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I just found out yesterday we’re pregnant with Modi twins and already have a son. I resonated with all the initial concerns you had when you find out, except with the additional stress than I never wanted 3 kids. I look forward to reading more of your journey.
You’re welcome, Lyndsay, I’m so glad it resonated. Congratulations!! I hope reading through the rest of my twin pregnancy helps as well. Since you’re pregnant with MoDi twins like I have, make sure you check out this post as well: MoDi Twin Pregnancy: What You Need to Know. Congratulations again and I hope you have a healthy and great pregnancy. Always feel free to reach out if you want to chat 🙂