Curious to see what twin pregnancy progression photos look like? Below are my twin pregnancy photos from week 4 when I found out I was pregnant to week 34 which is the last time I took a picture before delivering at 36 weeks. From first trimester to third trimester I can’t believe how much my baby bump grew compared to my first pregnancy which was with a singleton pregnancy.
Twin Pregnancy Progression Photos
I took photos throughout my twin pregnancy about every other week once I hit 12 weeks. I have twin pregnancy blog posts, linked throughout this blog post, to go with most of those pictures but I thought it’d be neat to see them all side by side to see my twin pregnancy development.
My twins were my second, and final, pregnancy. I could tell already at 8 weeks of pregnancy that I was bigger than I had been with my first pregnancy, a singleton pregnancy, at 8 weeks.
Later that week at the ultrasound scan I found out it wasn’t just that it was my second pregnancy so I was bigger, I was carrying two babies!
Weeks 4 – 8
At 4 weeks of pregnancy, most people don’t even know they’re pregnant quite yet but since we were trying to get pregnant and my period was rather regular at that point, I knew already by 4 weeks along that I was pregnant after I took a home pregnancy test.
Granted, as I detail in this blog post, I didn’t know I was 4 Weeks Pregnant with Twins yet! I figured I was just carrying a single baby like my first pregnancy.
By 8 weeks of pregnancy I was measuring much larger than I had in my first pregnancy but it wasn’t until the end of my 8th week of pregnancy when I had my first ultrasound that I found out I was 8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins!
By 8 weeks pregnant I was having plenty twin pregnancy symptoms, more than I did with my singleton pregnancy, likely due to high levels of hcg due to carrying twins! It didn’t even cross my mind until that first ultrasound scan that I was pregnant with twins, much less identical twins. I just figured that my pregnant belly was measuring bigger due to being my second pregnancy. Luckily I never had actual morning sickness but plenty of pregnancy nausea, pain, and exhaustion. Much more than I had in my previous pregnancy.
12-16 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
At 12 weeks pregnant with twins, my gosh, I knew it and I could feel it. My pregnant belly was already so big and I was really stressed due to all the things I learned I needed to be concerned about during my MoDi twin pregnancy! Twin pregnancies need to be more closely monitored than singleton pregnancies, especially identical twins who share a placenta, like mine did.
I also had to advocate for myself and my babies, asking my healthcare providers for a referral to a specialist due to being pregnant with identical twins who share a placenta. Luckily, they were willing to refer me even though they originally weren’t going to until I was at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
At 14 weeks of pregnancy I had my first specialist appointment due to my high risk twin pregnancy. They checked the amniotic fluid levels within each amniotic sac and took a closer look at their overall development. It also was the week I found out I was pregnant with identical twin boys!
At 16 weeks pregnant with twins I was coming to terms with the near future of having a house full of boys since I already had a 1 year old boy at the time, and now knew I had two more boys on the way. I was glad that I was in good hands with the specialists and kept careful watch over my twin pregnancy week by week to ensure they were doing alright.
Beyond the identical twin pregnancy, I also came into this pregnancy with other risk factors including an autoimmune disease, hypothyroidism, and a history of depression. Those things were all watched carefully during my singleton pregnancy and more so during this twin pregnancy.
18 – 22 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
18 Weeks into my Twin Pregnancy my babies had their first echocardiogram. We found out they had a health problem but luckily nothing too serious at the time. It was something that they watched at every ultrasound scan I had after that.
At 20 weeks pregnant with twins, my growing belly was already measuring 9 weeks ahead and I found out I had failed the glucose test for gestational diabetes. This is rather common with twin pregnancies. They had me do the three hour test which I luckily passed!
When I was 22 weeks pregnant with twins the twins had their second echocardiogram. Unfortunately, we found out that one of the babies had a heart issue so we were worried about him. The risk of complications kept rising as the babies continued to grow. Fetal movements were more apparent though I wasn’t able to do traditional kick counts since there were two babies in there and they moved around a lot.
24 – 28 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
By 24 weeks pregnant with twins I was feeling more confident that they’d both make it through since they’d technically reached the point of viability. I of course hoped they’d stay in for at least 10 more weeks! I was finally ready to start purchasing things in duplicate in preparation for their arrival.
At 26 weeks pregnant with twins the photo of me is at the beach in the summer while I stood in the water for a bit trying to cool down. It was a hot summer to be super pregnant with twins, that’s for sure, even here in Minnesota!
At 28 weeks pregnant with twins I was outgrowing the shirts I used for my first pregnancy, with just one child, and needed to buy some shirts that were a size bigger just to cover my growing belly by the end of the second trimester. Luckily, my maternity pants from my first pregnancy were fine since they went below my growing belly.
30 – 34 Weeks
At 30 weeks pregnant with twins I was in so much pain yet so hopeful and glad they were still healthy and growing inside of me. Same at 32-33 weeks pregnant with twins. I started to prefer dresses for my maternity clothes even though that meant I had to somehow shave my legs. Haha! It’s not easy when you’re measuring over 43 weeks of pregnancy!
By 34 weeks pregnant with twins I started to feel hopeful that a happy end was near, that soon I’d be able to hold my babies in my arms and soon would no longer be the only one responsible for them since only I could feel what I felt and know when to call the doctor, etc. As my due date approaches, or at least the updated one due to being pregnant with identical twins, I was so ready for these little guys to be born!
It was nice to no longer be worried about preterm labor as I felt my little guys were ready to be born. Had they been born at 34 weeks of pregnancy they likely would have needed to be in the NICU for a while but we would have gotten through it. However, they decided to stay put.
Why Only Until 34 Weeks?
With MoDi twins it’s safest to deliver before 37 weeks because the placenta they share starts to break down and not work as well at that time. Fraternal twins or identical twins who have separate placentas don’t need to deliver as early.
At 35 weeks pregnant with twins I was growing concerned that I was developing preeclampsia. I was swelling up more, I had high blood pressure but my preeclampsia tests kept coming back as being fine.
It’s good that I kept trusting my mama gut and kept testing my blood pressure.
I ended up going into the hospital when I was exactly 36 weeks pregnant and had to deliver via emergency c-section just hours later due to a severe form of pre-eclampsia called HELP syndrome. I was supposed to take the 36 week photo earlier that day but I was so exhausted that I didn’t.
I’ve been bummed about that decision ever since but it is what it is.
Notes about my Twin Pregnancy Progression
You may notice that I’m often wearing the same light purple shirt. I did have a decent amount of maternity clothes from my first pregnancy but grew out of those pretty quickly since I was measuring full term at just 26 weeks along.
Also, a lot of my maternity clothes from my first pregnancy were professional looking clothing since at the time I was still working as a school psychologist. When I was pregnant with my twins and a stay-at-home mom with a 1 year old, the last thing I wanted to do was dress up. So I didn’t. lol
The last two photos I took, weeks 32 and 34, I’m wearing dresses because at that point it was hard to get pants on I was so big. My pelvis felt like it was going to just fall out of my body from week 25 and on, as it was under so much pressure due to holding up two babies and a huge placenta they shared.
Want to Read about my Twin Pregnancy?
Below I have all of my MoDi Twin Pregnancy blog posts, most of which I wrote while pregnant in order to tell friends and family what was going on. I also have posts about what I found to be helpful while I was pregnant with my twins such as a support belt and sitting a lot, as well as how my pregnancy symptoms were different between my first pregnancy and my identical twin pregnancy.
My MoDi Twin Pregnancy
I started this blog after I had my twins but have included my blog posts from my MoDi Twin pregnancy back in 2018.
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.