Could I Be Carrying Twins

you should get a sonagram shortly and that should show something hopefully other than that I don't know of any other way to tell good luck

It's certainly possible that you're having twins and even more probable the older you get. However, I got big suddenly with my 3rd one, too. It was like my body remembered how great it felt for that stomach to just "let go" and pop out. I was even working out 5 days a week including weight lifting and pilates. I still got big fast.

H.,

First of all congrulations on your pregnancy!

I'm a twin mom that used fertiity treatment, but my bio family also had a history of twins.

We started out with triplets, but around 12 weeks, we lost Baby C. However, prior to that, I would say around 8-10 weeks, I was starting to show. I am not a "small" woman, I weighed 170-180 lbs when we got our pregnancy results back. I was not "fat" but I already had a little pug of a belly from previous surgeries - female related.

By the time I was about 16 weeks, I looked like I could be 5 months. In the beginning, I had all day morning sickness, but other than that felt wonderful. Because I was under my reproductive endocronologist until I was 12 weeks, I had blood draws and ultrasounds regulary to see how my pregnancy was progressing. But I also had blood draws every other day once our PG test was +, so I knew I was carrying more than one, based on the numbers when they jumped 4 times instead of doubling every 24 hours.

If you think it is possible, I would ask your ob/gyn for an ultrasound. They can go vaginally and take a peek. They stop going vaginally around 20 weeks, I believe that is the cut off. A blood draw at this point wouldn't show multiples unless you had them from the beginning.

If you are carrying twins, I would find a twin club to give you support during your pregnancy and beyond. Having multiples is a completely different ball game from having singletons, now matter how close in age they are. (I won't get started on that soap box)

Keep us posted and again congratulations on your pregnancy.

Take care,
God Bless,
J. D

Hi H.....

Just to answer your question on twins. Fraternal twins are heriditary and the gene is passed down maternally. Generally if yourself, your mother,grandmother, or great grandmother was a twin your chances of having twins increases greatly. Identical twins on the other hand as far as I know are random and occur in 3 in every 100 births. Hope that helps!

Hi. I received the exact same questions when I had my third child! With every pregnancy you go through, your body is more open to the changes because it has been through them before, certain places have already been "stretched out" like your stomach and eventhough you might look like you are back to normal after a pregnancy, the changes that occured to your body will last forever. Lots of times, first time moms can be 4-5 mths before they start showing but a mom on her third child can start showing at 2 months! All of this came from my doctor because I was asking him the same questions when I was pregnant for my 3rd son.

My doctor saw my twins at 6 weeks. I was really tired and running a low grade fever so he did a portable ultrasound. You could already see the 2 heartbeats. Check with your doc!

I just had my son in December. He is my second child. I totally know where you are coming from. My whole pregnancy I was asked if I was having twins. When I informed them no I am not they would look at me like I was lying and squint their eyes and say are you sure. The same people would ask me over and over again the whole nine months. You know there are just somethings you do not ask a pregnant woman. I wish you luck and patientice with these annoying people.

Your doctor can do a vaginal ultrasound (although at 12 weeks, he may be able to do it from your belly) to see if you've got more than one little pea pod in there! :) Identical twins do not run in families...they are just 'flukes' and can happen to anyone. Fraternal twins do tend to run in families although they can occur anytime you drop more than one egg (drugs to regulate your cycle can cause this in addition to fertility drugs). Another indication may be your pregnancy symptoms...are they exaggerated? I had bearable morning sickness with my son, but it was much, much worse with my twins. Also, with my twins my home pregnancy test turned positive a few days before it should have...meaning extra elevated hormones. Don't know if that helps or not...but yes, it is possible to have twins without a family history of them.

I completely understand what you are going thru. I only have one child, but I was in maternity clothes when I was eight weeks along. My OB/GYN did an ultrasound on my first visit to make sure I wasn't carrying twins, as they run in my family. Turned out that I had fibroids that were growing because of the hormones pregnancy produces. You need to talk to your OB about your concerns and see if she will do an ultrasound so that you can be sure. Best wishes....
G. C.

I have never had twins, but both my best friend and I were extremeley large early on our 3rd pregnancies. The doctor said that we looked that big due to our muscles being stretched twice before. Good luck :-) and congratulations!!

Twins run on the mother's side of the family. I had twins with no family history. The key is the progesterone levels at the beginning when they test them. They are usually VERY high. You will definately find out your first ultrasound. I think most women get bigger faster as they have more pregnancy.

This is perfectly normal especially since this is not your 1st baby to carry. I am one to always show early and look further along then I really am before it levels off. Anything is possible as far as number of births. Your dr. should already be able to confirm this by listening for the heart beat. You will definitely hear only one or more on that monitor. If the dr. hasn't mentioned anything about multiples from your exams (and they would because they watch these pregnancies a little more closely), there's most likely just one little bundle that you're having. Congratulations!!

Hey H.-
I have heard that with each successive baby you get bigger faster, could that be it? There would be one way to find out, and that's ultrasound. If you don't have twins in your family, it's unlikely that you'd have twins but not impossible. It doesn't matter if twins run in your husband's family, only yours.
Good luck, hope you get twins if you want them, or just one if you want one!

You got alot of good input. True women tend to show faster with subsequent pregnancies because ligaments are already stretched. However, I want to clarify something...I read several people say its hereditary from mother, grandmother, ect. That is not true. Fathers can pass that gene on to their daughters!! So dont just look at your mothers side look at both. Congratulations on you pregnancy.

H., its always possible but your Dr.is the best one to confirm the yes or no answer he can do an ultrasound, my daughter was asked the same question over and over with all four of her children and twins run in both sides of our family,last set was born fourth generation back. Good Luck and Congratulations.

With each subsequent pregnancy most women will start to show earlier, the body is ready to have the pregnancy and not shocked by it as with a first. Also in subsequent pregnancies, mothers tend to have less or no morning sickness which also can contribute to earlier weight gain.

I am a mother of twins and it was my second pregnancy, no fertility drugs, no family history of twins. I found out it was twins because the Dr did an ultrasound at 7 weeks because my blood tests were "off" from what they should have been and I was cramping and spotting. If your blood tests have looked good, you were not using fertility treatments, and there's no family history of twins it is probably not twins, but there is always the possibility, as I know from experience. :)

If you can pay for it or your insurance will cover it, you can ask for an ultrasound but at this early they will probably have to do a vaginal ultrasound to be able to see much. I would tell your OB that you are concerned it is twins and see what they say.

The only way at this point to know if you're carrying twins is to have a sonogram. My niece found out that way. It was her first pregnancy and the twins were a definate suprise. Didn't run in the family. Guess she just dropped to eggs. Because they are still not sure if they're identical. Won't be long and you'll find out!

I think they are rude to some extend and suggest you humor them saying - No just a small hernia - or - sextripolits!

God Bless

i was showing at 8 weeks and everyone asked me the same thing. it is possible...but not really likely. everyone carries a baby differently. i would ask your doctor for an ultrasound to make sure. congrats on the pregnancy!

I would say this is fairly common with your 3rd. Your body knows what is about to happen and starts to stretch and grow sooner. It doesn't mean you have eaten more or that you will gain more weight. Just that the muscles have memory of having stretched before, so they expand sooner.