New to the twins board!

Hi! I am currently a mama to 2 beautiful boys and expecting boy/girl twins on March 4th! I have had a relatively smooth sailing pregnancy thus far, but of course I have been filled with a bit of anxiety since day one.

I have a question for you. I had been feeling mostly kicks from Twin B and just little flutters from Twin A. The last 4 or 5 days I have only felt the flutters and not anything from Twin B (my boy.) I am 21 weeks tomorrow. Should I worry, or is it still early for consistent movement?

Also, in the last week I have noticed that every time I walk up the stairs, lift a load of laundry, walk my son to school etc., I have gotten a rock hard abdomen. It does soften up again when I finally put my feet up, but it seems to be consistently hard the entire time I am walking to the school and back etc. I was wondering if I should be concerned about it being contractions or not. It doesn't come and go as much as it just comes and stays. Does that make sense?

I used to be an OB RN and I've been pregnant twice before, but having twins is really throwing me a curve ball! I'm not as confident in what I'm feeling as I would be if it were just a singleton. KWIM?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

First, a big Congratulations!!

In my experience with my twin pregnancy, I had a ton of braxton-hicks and they started early and were daily. Also, the stretching of the muscles in the abdomen would often times cause my stomach to be hard because they were so tight. I never experienced the BH or the muscle tightness with my singleton as with my twins. I think as long as you are not feeling cramping, bleeding, or contractions, the hard stomach may just be due to the stretching of the muscles. You are at the time when growth really starts to pick up and the muscles are really going to be stretched to their limit.

Good Luck and welcome to Twinstuff!!

 

:wavey: Zann and welcome to Twinstuff!! Congratulations on your twinkies! :Clap: I think anxiety comes with the territory. :hug: As for your questions, I think it's still too early for consistant movement from both, but you can always call your doctor and see what they say. :good: It sounds like the hardening is braxton hicks. I started getting them at 25 weeks. They weren't painful, it was just that my stomach got really hard and there was a little bit of uncomfort. My doctor always suggested laying down and drinking water. If I got more then 4-6 braxton hicks in an hour, I was to call them. I think every pregnancy is different, so of course a twin one will throw you a few curve balls. Please ask away on Twinstuff, and remember that your doctors are always a phone call away, and you are never bothering them, it's their job.

I hope you have a happy and healthy pregnancy! :hug:

 

Hi Zann and welcome to Twinstuff! :wavey: Congrats on your twins! :Clap: Please ask anything here, we have so many wonderful and supportive members.

 

Thanks ladies! This morning I've had a lot of movement/kicks from Baby B, so I am definitely feeling more reassured. I felt like it was early to worry, but I just really wanted to feel him in there!

This looks like a great forum. I can't wait to get to know everyone.

 

:welcome: to TS and congratulations on you boy/girl twins! I too am expecting boy/girl twins due January 12th! Looking forward to getting to know you!

 

Congratulations Zann and :welcome: to twinstuff! x

 

I'm afraid I don't have any advice to give as this is my first pregnancy (B/G twins) but I'm also experiencing similar symptoms with some pains and pangs thrown in. I'm almost 22 weeks and I've started having tightening in my abdomen. Sometimes it's painful - but I can usually discern that as muscle stretching - it gets me more on the sides and sometimes on my pelvis (almost feels like sharp jabs in my cervix). I'm hoping the abdominal is just BH's...... I have an ultrasound on friday so I'm hoping to get more info then. I'm concerned about cervical shortening - mine is measuring 2.7b and 2.5 is the danger zone - so i really hope it stays where it is - but I fear impending bed rest.
Also, your question about the babies movement - I had the same concerns starting about 2 weeks ago. Baby A kicks constantly, and Baby B just once in a while. It had me very concerned but as I did more research, I came across posts from numerous twin moms who said they experienced the same thing and that it's highly common. It can be due to their positioning, or the amount of space one takes up over other other. Many moms said that their activities in the womb mirrored their personalities after birth - one remained more active than another. Regardless, it sounds like as long as you do detect movement, even if its slight or less than the other, it shouldn't be cause for worry.
How often are you getting ultrasounds? are you seeing a peri or a regular OB?

 

I am seeing a Perinatologist as well as my OB. I'm currently being seen once a month by both, my next appointment on Nov. 3rd. I don't know what my cervical length is. I guess they probably didn't tell me because it wasn't of an alarming length. I think I'm going to ask at my next appointment though. I'm curious now! I get an ultrasound at each appointment.

Thanks for all the input and advice. I do feel much better about the movement and the tightening. I will mention the tightening at my appointment though, or I'll call if it get's more concerning. I did have one day that I was walking to pick up my son and I had to stop multiple times because my right side was sooo painful. I almost couldn't walk through the sharp stabbing pain. I was breathing through the pain and holding my side. I'm sure it looked like I was in labor. Thankfully it hasn't manifested itself again.