New Member Looking for Help

Hi everyone. My name is Danielle and my husband and I went to my 10 week OB appointment yesterday afternoon and we were shocked when the doctor found two babies! We are so excited but am a little overwhelmed because I know nothing about twins or what to expect! The books I have read only have a page or two about twin pregnancies and only offer very general information. Do any of you have any good book or website recommendations for more information about carrying twins? I really have no idea where to start!

When the doctor found the babies, they appeared very close together compared to other twin ultrasound pictures that I've seen and she said she was trying to find the membrane and she thinks she found it but she wasn't sure and whatever she was looking at, it seemed very thin. I could barely see what she was pointing at. I've seen some twin ultrasounds where it looks like the babies are clearly separated.

My dr. scheduled me for a more formal ultrasound in 2 weeks. She said she wanted to make sure there was a membrane but didn't give us much more info other than that. We were still reeling from the news that that there were two babies, so now that we are home and it's had time to sink in, we are wondering what the membrane is and why its important to find the membrane. Unfortunately I do not have a picture, as she didn't print any pics since she was originally only doing a quick ultrasound to check for a heartbeat until we found two active babies!

Any help for someone who is completely new to this would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

It sounds like you may be having identical twins! I was in your same shoes 4 and a half months ago! If there is no membrane serparating the babies it means that they are Mono Mono twins- they'd be sharing the same amniotic sac. If there is a membrane then they are Mono Di Twins- (what I'm having too)- it means they have separate amniotic sacs (a very good thing) and will share the placenta. At my first u/s they didn't see a membrane, but that was at 8 weeks, by 12 weeks they were able to see it. Best of luck to you and congratulations!!!

I'll add my first 2 u/s and you can see how close the babies are to each other. The first one you can't even see a membrane, but the second one you can see a tiny line by baby B's head.

8 weeks

12 weeks

 

First of all, Congratulations on your Twin Pregnancy and Welcome to TS!!

I found TS to be the best site for information during and after my pregnancy. The support of all the ladies here is amazing!

My OB did not find the dividing membrane for my girls until 14-15 weeks.

Good Luck!!

 

:welcome: to TS!! and congrats on your twin pregnancy!!

You will love TS, this site got me through everything, so much support and information!!
Good luck to you!!

 

Congratulations on your twins!! Mine are di/di (there is a membrane) so I can't speak to that.

But three books I recommend:

"When you are Expecting Twins, Triples, or Quads, Revised Edition: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy" by Barbara Luke

"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins" by Marc Weissbluth

and

"Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp


The first book is pretty much the bible of multiple pregnancies. The second book has great information about sleep, which is helpful to know BEFORE the babies come. And the third isn't for twins but is invaluable anyway.

Good luck to you!

 

Welcome! I agree that you may be having identical twins. When I took my first twin ultrasound pictures home and compared them to others I saw online, mine looked different than most of the other pics. I learned at my next ultrasound (only 5 days later) that it was because my twins were monochorionic. It sounds like yours may be the same. Mine are mo/di which means they each have their own amniotic sac, and they could see those clearly on the first ultrasound. The amniotic sac is the membrane your doctor is talking about.

Congratulations!

A couple of other books I have liked:
"Twin Sense" - it is short and basic but has a lot of helpful info, more about what to do to prepare for your twins and after they are born.

"Everything You Need to Know to Have a Healthy Twin Pregnancy: by Rachel Kranz. It was easy to read, and not too dense.

I also agree that "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads" by Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein is a must read.

 

Firstly Congrats on your twins its a very exciting time! I was in the EXACT same spot you are only 24 weeks ago. I am not 34 weeks and couting down til the 37th week so I can deliver my Identical twin girls.
When I went in at 8 weeks I found out I was pregnant. At 10 weeks I found out it was identical twin girls-we were very shocked-but excited! however they told me they did not see a membrane at all and I didnt really know what that meant, I asked the tech doing my ultra sound and she just said we want to see one and didnt say much more than that. So usually they would want to see you back 4 weeks later but they wanted to see me back two weeks later to see if they found a membrane-so of course I went home and reserached the difference and freaked out alittle thinking that I would not have a membrane--when I WENT back at 12 weeks they still told me no membrane - (my doctor considers all multiple pregnancies high risk) so i was scheduled to go see high risk doc at 16 weeks-still thinking there was no membrane and getting nervous --come to find out there was clearly a membrane--it was thin--but when i told my high risk doc that my ob doc told me there was no membrane he was shockd--siad it does nto just appear if they saw it then, then it would have been there at 10 wks and 12 wks, my point is,,,the high risk doctor ultra sound machines are much more intense and have better screening- so they might be able to see it whn you go to that appointment--it was not til 20 wks where my yregular OB doctor could see a membrane on their machines! I identical twins in one sac with no memrane is mono-mono tiwns and identical twins with a membrane ie mono di twins.

basically meaning--
mono mono twins---live in an apartment with one bedroom and share a kitchen
mono di twins --live in an aparment with two bedrooms but share a kitchen

If they saw a membrane --weather it was thin or not---if its there its there!! No worries! Good luck with your pregnancy and keep us updated and welcome to TS!! I found this site at about 24 weeks and it has been SOOOOOOOO helpful to me!!!

 

Thank you all for the welcome and advice. I'm really glad I found this forum!


Mommytokaleigh, the line in your 2nd ultrasound picture is similar what we saw in our ultrasound.

 

:welcome: to Twinstuff Danielle! Congrats on your twins. :Clap:

 

Congrats!!

I also recommend "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads" by Barbara Luke and would add "Juggling Twins" by Meghan Regan-Loomis.

 

Welcome and Congrats on your identical twins!

You'll want to find a Perinatologist right away to make sure you're getting expert care and then you'll be set!

Congrats!! Oh and STICK AROUND!!