You know that you’re pregnant, but do you have a funny feeling there are two babies in there?  Depending whether this is you first pregnancy or not, your expectations of what is a ‘normal’ pregnancy may vary.  Raising-Twins.com polled their expert twin mamas to see what are generally the first signs a woman can look for in a twin pregnancy. Although some swear they had absolutely no idea, usually that “mother’s intuition” lets them know there’s something extra special going on!

1. Extreme Fatigue

Every pregnant woman feels more tired than usual. But twin moms reported extreem fatigue, often taking 3-hour naps during the day, falling asleep on the job or before dinner!

2. A big fat positive on the pregnancy test

Most of  Raising-Twins.com‘s twin moms took a home pregnancy test and were answered with a big fat positive almost immediately. While normally there tends to be a very faint line for positive, especially in early pregnancy, when you are pregnant with twins, the hormone hCG  (human chorionic gonadtropin) is at higher levels and is therefore picked up faster by the test.

3. That twin belly grows fast!

Many women who start showing early on in pregnancy wonder if they are carrying twins. Sometimes they are, as the extra blood volume and extra water weight can result in faster-growing bellies.

4. Severe Morning Sickness

Many twin moms have reported the first trimester resulted in morning sickness. Even moms who have been pregnant without morning sickness before, reported having morning sickness for the first time ever. If you are finding your sense of smell is heightened, you have an overabundance of saliva, or things turn your stomach that you once enjoyed, you can atribute it to hormones once again. For almost all women, morning sickness passes around12-14 weeks.

5. Early Fetal Movement

Those little flutters and kicks can happen earlier with twins, especially if you have been pregnant before and know how to differentiate the little bubbles sensations from normal bodily functions. Most women pregnant with twins report feeling fetal movement earlier than usual – around the 16-18 week mark. However, there are cases though where they feel less fetal movement due to the position of the babies. If their little hands and feet are pointing inward, you are less likely to feel their movements. You may also only feel one baby on a regular basis.

6. Mother’s Intuition

Many, many moms swear they just ‘knew’. They either dreamed it, felt they were seeing signs, or just felt somehow different. While this is obviously not scientific in any way, there is something to be said for a mother’s intuition!

7. Seeing is Believing – Ultrasound Pictures

A trained technician or obstetrician can do an ultrasound or sonogram to show you on the monitor the two fetuses and and two heartbeats. Modern technology allows for quick diagnoses of twins, as well as viability and whether there are one or two sacs.

If you are looking for confirmation of your suspicions, your health care provider is the person to see. Having a twin pregnancy is an incredible journey that requires preparations – mentally, physically, financially and emotionally. But hopefully your twins will also bring you double the joy and double the fun!

For more information on twins, from pregnancy, birth, and throughout childhood, visit Raising-Twins.com.

Feature image from Science Daily