One question newly pregnant moms always seem to ask is – could I be pregnant with twins? What are some common early signs of twin pregnancy? Can you tell if you are pregnant with twins by the signs and symptoms alone? Even though most women aren’t actually hoping for twins, it’s still fun to speculate about!
All pregnancies are different, from mother to mother and even from pregnancy to pregnancy for the same person. But what makes twin pregnancy different? Are there any early signs or symptoms that set a twin pregnancy apart? For someone who has had both a singleton and twin pregnancy, were there any noticeable differences early on?
Full disclosure, my twin pregnancy was the result of IVF. We implanted two embryos; not because we were trying to have twins, but because that was what the doctors advised based on my age, the number of embryos we had to work with, and several other factors.
Because I knew there were two embryos implanted, I knew there was a high possibility (roughly 25% chance based on what the IVF doctors told me) that I could become pregnant with twins. So naturally I was looking for those early signs of twin pregnancy (even though I was also scared to death that it would actually happen)!
First Early Sign of Twin Pregnancy – Early Positive Pregnancy Test
I have always been an early tester. Getting pregnant was easy for me, although keeping the pregnancy going was harder. My cycles have always been relatively regular too. If there was even a slight chance I could be pregnant in any given month, I would be testing at least a week before my period was due!
I would use the tests with the ability to detect the lowest levels of HCG in urine, and sometimes I would get that positive pregnancy test almost a week before the day of my missed period. With the availability of such sensitive tests, an early positive isn’t always a sign of twin pregnancy – but it might be! A lot of it depends on how sensitive the test you have is. My go-to has always been the First Response Early Result – or FRERs as they are referred to in pregnancy groups.
In total I have been pregnant five times, with two successes (one of those resulting in my twins!) My embryo transfer was on a Friday, and my first HCG blood test wasn’t scheduled until 11 days later. No way could I wait that long! I had to take a pregnancy test at home first!
Because of the drugs used in IVF, there was the chance of a false positive if I tested too soon. I made sure to wait until there was no chance of that happening, bought a bunch of cheap dollar store pregnancy tests (the kind that can detect the lowest level of HCG), and started testing daily.
I started seeing a faint line at 8 days past the egg retrieval date (which is basically 8 days past ovulation for the rest of you not going through IVF). It became more and more obvious as the days went by, and by 11 days past ovulation, it was most definitely an obvious positive. I even got a positive digital, and for those of you that research this stuff, you know those require a higher level of HCG. So I knew for sure I was pregnant even before I got the results of my blood test.
This means I knew I was pregnant on cycle day 22. With a 28 day cycle, this means I got a positive pregnancy test 7 days before my missed period!
Related – https://eschooled.com/how-to-create-an-online-baby-registry-for-free-stuff/
Second Early Twin Pregnancy Sign – HCG Blood Test
This was my first time getting my HCG levels tested in pregnancy. When the nurse called with the results of my first blood test, she hinted at the possibility that it could be a sign of twins. The number was on the high side. I began to think that both embryos might actually have implanted! I was nervous but excited at the same time.
From there, they tested my HCG blood levels again two days later. The number is supposed to double over 48 hours, and my numbers didn’t quite make it. The nurse called with the news, and I was terrified that I might be gearing up for another miscarriage. She mentioned that perhaps both embryos had implanted and started to develop but then one might have stopped growing. This could explain the slow rising HCG.
They did another test two days after that and lo and behold, my levels had more than doubled by then. The high HCG definitely got me thinking this could be a sign of twin pregnancy!
Now that I began to think there might actually be two babies growing in there, I started paying more attention to the rest of my pregnancy signs and symptoms.
Nausea came on sooner and stronger with twins
I have had nausea with all of my pregnancies – the ones that worked out and the ones that didn’t. I wouldn’t say the nausea with my twin pregnancy was doubly worse, but it was definitely a little sooner and a little stronger. Unless you have a previous pregnancy to compare to, it might be hard to tell if your nausea is a sign of twin pregnancy. But if you are feeling more nauseous than you expected to be, it might be a sign of twins.
At my first ultrasound at the IVF center, the one where we found out it was twins, I remember complaining about the nausea and asking about medication before they even began the ultrasound. One of the firsts things my doctor said when he told us we had twins was “that explains the nausea!” Apparently it is quite common for nausea to be worse when you’re pregnant with twins.
Luckily, the medication helped enough that I wasn’t sick all the time, although the nauseous feeling lasted through the whole first trimester. The medication also compounded the tiredness I was dealing with, which was an unfortunate side effect.
Free shipping for orders $75+ in contiguous US at Lovevery.com!Which leads me to my next early sign of twin pregnancy – extreme fatigue.
This was a big one for me during my twin pregnancy. I could not function without naps, and I would fall asleep all the time without even trying. I couldn’t get through a few minutes of a movie without my eyes getting heavy.
Thankfully my older daughter was almost five at the time and able to let me nap for a bit while she watched TV. It was hard not to feel guilty about it, but there was honestly nothing I could do. I was so useless between that and the nausea, my mother actually hired someone to come clean my messy house!
I knew this extreme fatigue had to be due to my twin pregnancy. It was definitely one of the early signs of twin pregnancy for me!
Being the type of person who usually can’t sit still, I dreamed of the day when the fatigue would finally fade. Luckily, it was gone by the early part of my second trimester (and replaced by the most incredible nesting urge – that part was really fun!)
Another Sign – Heightened Food Aversions
Most people talk about all the crazy cravings pregnant women have, and I will say, for all of my pregnancies, I started out craving sour things like pickles and salt and vinegar potato chips, and ended up craving sweets like cookies and ice cream later on.
What was different about my twin pregnancy, however, was the aversions to so many types of foods. It made it really difficult to eat anything because pretty much nothing sounded good. In fact, most things sounded terrible and it made my nausea worse just thinking about them.
I really had to force myself to eat. It was hard. The few things that sounded okay were too much trouble to cook, so we survived on a lot of takeout. Where we live there aren’t a lot of good options, so I really didn’t eat much. Pickles and potato chips made up the majority of my meals for the first month or two.
If you are newly pregnant and find yourself turning your nose up at foods you used to love, it could definitely be a sign of twin pregnancy.
Another obvious twin pregnancy sign
This one happened right away for me – extreme breast tenderness. This was much worse than in any of my other pregnancies. I chalk it up to the higher level of HCG early on that I had with twins. It hurt to wear a bra, it hurt to not wear a bra, it hurt to be hugged, and forget about anything rubbing against my nipples – ouch!
This might be hard to notice unless you have a previous singleton pregnancy to compare to – but if you notice extremely sore breasts early on, you could be like me and be expecting twins.
A Less Obvious Early Twin Pregnancy Sign
This one actually kind of scared me – my heart was doing funny things.
First, my resting heart rate was slightly elevated. As someone with anxiety, this happens from time to time without being pregnant. But with my twin pregnancy, my heart rate was elevated for much of the first trimester. I was told this was normal and not to worry about it, so I tried to ignore it.
Additionally, whenever I laid down to try to rest, I could feel my heart pounding. It was as though I was running on a treadmill instead of camped out on my couch. My doctor said this had to do with the increased progesterone (I was also doing progesterone injections in the early part of my pregnancy) and that it should go away early in the second trimester. Luckily she was right. Of all the early twin pregnancy signs, this was the one I was most bothered by. Honestly, it was really hard to get comfortable like that.
Of course, only an ultrasound can confirm for sure whether you are carrying twins – but until that first appointment, it’s fun to speculate!
Did you have any of these or other early signs of twin pregnancy? We would love to hear about them!
