Hello third trimester! This pregnancy has gone by extremely slowly for me so it feels amazing that the third trimester is finally here. It’s no secret that a twin pregnancy is ROUGH and I’m excited to be saying goodbye to the second trimester. In three words, in the second trimester I was sick, sick, and sick! Although I have loved being pregnant, I am very excited to meet both of those babies (and I am equally excited to not feel sick and sore all the time!)
ANNOUNCING!
At the start of the second trimester we announced our pregnancy! I thought that I would announce much earlier this time around, but when we found out we were having twins (around 8 weeks), I chickened out and though we should wait. Multiples pregnancies are inherently high risk, and there are usually concerns about the viability of the babies. Baby B was measuring quite a bit smaller than Baby A, so we had a lot of ultrasounds to check on Baby B. Needless to say, we wanted to make sure that both babies were healthy and viable before telling everyone. We ended up telling the world back in October around 14 weeks. We got to tell a lot of our family in person which was really special. My cousin got married early October, so it was perfect timing to let a lot of my family know (including my grandmas) and that was really nice. It was a lot harder to keep the secret this time around mostly because the baby bump was there right away! The second bump certainly does not waste time especially when you’re having twins!
OB APPOINTMENTS
There are A LOT more appointments with twins. We had frequent ultrasounds up until 16 weeks to make sure that both babies were growing appropriately. Baby B gave us a few scares, but kept growing and is doing great. For the 20-week anatomy scan, our OB suggested we do it at the hospital with a high-risk OB. This is fairly standard practice for multiples pregnancies (or any sort of high-risk pregnancy). This appointment was very long, as they had to do every measurement twice of course (for two babies!) Both babies looked great and were within the size range that they would expect.
MARGINAL CORD INSERTION
We learned that Baby B has marginal cord insertion which means that instead of Baby B’s cord going into the center of the placenta, it is going in near the edge. The sides of the placenta are weaker so they don’t support the cord in the same way that the center does. Marginal cord insertions are three to four times more likely with multiples pregnancies and also possibly more likely when fertility treatments are used. Marginal cord insertions can be more risky and this could be why Baby B has been slightly smaller the entire pregnancy, but Baby B is doing great! My doctor has recommended a C-section though because of this slight complication.
SYMPTOMS, ACHES, AND PAINS
Morning Sickness: I spent the majority of the second trimester sick. I was sick from about 4 weeks clear through the whole second trimester. The worst of the sickness was around 16 to 20 weeks probably? I took B6 and Unisom to help with nausea but there was still quite a bit of throwing up. This is a lot more common in multiples pregnancies but I will still pretty surprised to be sick that long. I ate a lot of carbs and really bland food, but it was hard to really keep up with the nutritional demands of a multiples pregnancy. I didn’t gain as much weight as anticipated, and was constantly worried about that!
Back and Hip Pain: I started having quite a bit of back and hip pain in the second trimester. Carrying twins is just plain heavier and it hurts more. In the third trimester I am going to do prenatal massages every few weeks to help with this!
Bad Sleep: Between the nausea, back and hip pain, and having to go to the bathroom, the sleep is horrible! The Unisom really does help and I’ve been relying on that throughout the second trimester. I sleep with this pregnancy pillow which seems to help!
GETTING READY FOR BABIES
We did very very little to get ready for babies in the second trimester! Between the holidays, our basement being remodeled, and a toddler, we haven’t had the time or focus to really prepare the nursery or anything. We did make the decision on which room would be the twins’ room so that we can start getting the room ready a bit. We also purchased a few things for the babies and received a few gifts for them, but nothing crazy. The genders of both babies will be a surprise (again!) So anything that we have purchased or gotten out of storage is all neutral. Once they are born, I will buy a bunch more things!
At this point with my first pregnancy we had a lot more ready, had showers planned, etc. and this time is just so so different! Although we aren’t planning on having any showers, we have many baby items from our first pregnancy that we can use again plus I have a small list of things I want to buy (probably secondhand) and that will be a big focus for me in the third trimester.
MULTIPLES CLASSES
In the second trimester we started taking classes at a local parenting center geared towards multiples. Although a lot of the information was repetitive from the first time around (labor, breastfeeding, etc.) there was a lot of helpful information on multiples pregnancies, c-sections, baby gear, etc. My favorite part of the classes though was getting to connect with all of the other parents in the class. They are all going through the same thing as us (and at the same time!) so it was great to connect with them and also get their phone numbers.
THINKING ABOUT NAMES
We’ve been thinking a lot about names but it is SO SO hard to come up with two names that you like, and because we don’t know genders, we have to think of all three scenarios (boy/boy, boy/girl, and girl/girl). Basically it’s a lot of names! The only name we know for sure is a boy name. The other names are all up in the air! It’s been fun to ask Rosie what she thinks because her suggestions are hilarious! My favorites so far are Minnie and Mickey, Woody and Buzz, and Anna and Elsa. Who knows maybe we will throw one of those in there (ha!)
BABYMOON
At around 24 weeks, we went on a very short Babymoon to Florida. I did a whole blog post on the trip, you can read it here if you want more info. We debated whether or not to do a Babymoon for a second pregnancy for awhile. Ultimately we decided to just do it and it was a great decision. Highly recommend!
ONTO THE THIRD TRIMESTER!
Our c-section will be no later than April 5th (38 weeks) so our third trimester will be a bit shorter than most. We know there is a higher chance that I go into pre-term labor sometime in the third trimester, but we hope the babies stay in as long as possible. That being said, we are looking forward to meeting the babies in probably March or April!