Women with twin pregnancies are more likely to have pregnancy health problems and complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, premature labour and bleeding. Twins who share a placenta might have extra complications.
Nausea and vomiting can be worse in a twin pregnancy, thanks to higher levels of the hCG hormone circulating in your system. You may notice that it starts earlier, and lasts longer. And severe nausea and vomiting, a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum, is more common among moms carrying twins too.
The hardest thing about having twins is…
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
Severe Fatigue
Extreme fatigue is the most commonly reported complaint during pregnancy with multiples. Sleepiness, lethargy, and exhaustion during the first trimester can be enhanced because the body is working overtime to nurture more than one baby.
Measures included actigraphy, sleep diaries, and standardized instruments for fatigue, sleep quality, and depression. According to the results, by the time the twins reached full-term, mothers were sleeping an average of 5.4 hours in a 24-hour period, with over 70 percent reporting less than six hours of sleep.
At three months:
The three-month stage marks the end of the “fourth trimester” and your twins can better adapt to life outside the womb. For one thing, they'll sleep in longer stretches of about three- to four-hour chunks.
Vaginal Birth of Twins
The good news is that even though you have two babies, you only have to labor once. Once the cervix is open, each baby will have its own pushing stage. This means you will have to push twice, but the majority of the time the second twin is born much more easily than the first.
Twins are more likely to be born early, often before 38 weeks, so it's important to understand your birth options. Less than half of all twin pregnancies last beyond 37 weeks. Because of the likelihood that your babies will be born early, there is a good chance one or both of them will spend some time in special care.
Twin Pregnancy: First Trimester. In the first few weeks of your twin pregnancy, you might notice some typical signs of early pregnancy, such as breast tenderness, fatigue, nausea, and a missed period.
Morning sickness tends to be more severe for moms having twins than moms having singletons. Hearing heartbeats early on: Your doctor would be able to hear 2 sets of heartbeats as early as 10-12 weeks into pregnancy. Higher water retention: There is a high level of water retention when you are having twins.
If you're carrying multiples, you can expect: More-frequent checkups. You'll see your health care provider often to track your babies' growth and development, monitor your health, and watch for signs of preterm labor. You might need frequent ultrasounds or other tests, especially as your pregnancy progresses.
A little more than half of twin pregnancies end in preterm delivery (before 37 weeks). While 40 weeks is the full gestation period of the average pregnancy, most twin pregnancies are delivered at approximately 36 weeks (range 32-38 weeks depending on the type of twin pregnancy).
Labor is often shorter with multiples. If you're delivering vaginally, that means you'll get to work on the pushing part faster. It could also be longer.
Beyond the usual rivalry and spats between brothers and sisters, there's the additional pressure and frustration that comes with always being lumped in with, and compared to, another person. From an early age, twins often feel intense competition as they struggle to forge their own identities beyond one half of a duo.
The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days, in the case of Molly and Benjamin West, dizygotic (fraternal) twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA to parents Lesa and David West (all USA) on 1 January and 30 March 1996.
It's perfectly possible to breastfeed twins, triplets or more. Lots of twins are breastfed until they start eating solid foods. You may like to try a few breastfeeding positions to see which suits you best. You'll get support with breastfeeding at the hospital and also when you take your babies home.
“Having twins is not twice as hard—it's exponentially more difficult,” says Natalie Diaz, author of What To Do When You're Having Two and CEO of Twiniversity, a global support network for parents of twins.
Can my twins sleep in a single cot? You can put your twins to sleep in a single cot while they're small enough. This is called co-bedding and is perfectly safe. In fact, putting twins in the same cot can help them regulate their body temperatures and sleep cycles, and can soothe them and their twin.
Milk supply works on the principle of supply and demand. Breastfeeding tells a mother's body to produce more milk in response to her baby's (or babies') needs. With two babies, more milk is removed from the breasts, so more milk is made.
Twin Diaper Usage
So your newborn twins will need about 10 diapers X 30 days X 2 babies = at least 600 diapers for the first month. After the first month, diaper consumption goes down to about 8 diapers per day. You'll need 8 diapers X 30 days X 2 babies = at least 480 diapers per month for a few more months.
Longer lives
When analyzing the data by gender, the researchers found that female identical twins lived, on average, about 63.4 years, whereas female fraternal twins lived about 61.4 years and the general Danish female population lived about 58.8 years, Sharrow said.
What are the benefits for the twins? Their buddy is always there. They've known each other since they can remember and that is very comforting. They are also a little more social than the average child since they are used to being with another kid since the beginning.