24 Weeks Pregnant With Twins

24 Weeks Pregnant With Twins

24 weeks of pregnancy means fewer weeks than that till you get to see your munchkins! It also means that your body is getting ready to deliver the babies. Your babies are developing much faster than ever now.

They have almost all of their organs developed by now. As exciting as it is, pregnancy complications can still occur. So it’s best to know about the symptoms right away

Twin Pregnancy Symptoms at 24 weeks

24 weeks is more than halfway through your pregnancy. You will have a visible bump by now. You will see a change in the people around you too.

Strangers will be extra caring, people will be helpful, etc. To enjoy that experience with strangers, get this twin peeking tshirt to have a laugh!

Round Ligament Pain

While that is very nice to experience, it also comes with a price – that is a pain. It is called round ligament pain which is caused by the expansion of your womb.

The pain can be felt on both sides or one. But it will be on the side of your baby bump. In the case of twin pregnancy, the baby bump is way more significant than usual. That’s why you will feel the ligament pain more.

Bloating and Constipation

As your womb gets bigger with time, it needs more space inside the body. The bigger uterus will take up space and put pressure on other organs. Think about the first days of your period. You feel pressure on your intestine, right? That also happens because the uterus is swollen.

The same thing happens here too. That makes it more difficult to finish your bowel movement. On top of it, the release of progesterone makes the digestive system slow and more difficult. Therefore you will feel boated and constipated more often. Try to stay hydrated and eat more vegetables to tackle this problem.

Urine Infection

As petty symptoms like morning sickness or dizziness almost disappear, you get prone to some other significant symptoms like a urine infection. It occurs during the trimester usually.

When that occurs, you will feel pain in your abdomen while peeing. Your body will also be dehydrated. But prevention is always better than cure. So always remember to drink enough water and talk to your doctor if any unusual vaginal discharge or pain occurs.

Thrush

It is a yeast infection caused by a specific type of fungus. It lives inside the vagina harmlessly because of the good bacteria in your body that keep it under control.

But when you get pregnant your body’s balance of bacteria changes due to pregnancy, antibiotics, stress, etc. That’s when the infection starts. You will see discharge like cottage cheese without odor, pain, soreness, itchiness, etc. But the good news is, it usually doesn’t harm the baby.

However, if it ever happens, don’t hesitate to call your doctor or healthcare professional. Oftentimes, discharge can have different meanings.

Swollen Feet

During pregnancy, the uterus grows and causes slow blood flow to the legs. On top of that the body gets extra fluid for the baby. Both combined, you might experience swollen feet.

It will cause problems with moving and you will feel uncomfortable. But there are a few ways you can reduce the symptoms. It is also very normal to experience this.

However, you need to be careful about the extensity of it. If your feet get extremely swollen it can be a sign of eclampsia. In that case, it will cause severe harm to you and your babies.

False Pain

During the trimester, you might feel a sensation down your abdomen almost like menstrual cramps.

Some people mistake it for early labor pain. It is called braxton hicks or false pain. It is actually quite an interesting thing that happens to your body. Braxton hicks are when your uterus tries to practice for the delivery. It prepares for delivery.

It usually lasts for 30 seconds which makes it distinguishable from labor pain which lasts for about 2 minutes.

But don’t take any pain as braxton hicks since some pain will be like early labor pain for a premature baby. Doctors will be able to tell you specific things by which you can identify braxton hicks.

Twin Baby Development at 24 Weeks

Twin Baby Development at 24 Weeks

Size

Each of your babies is 30 cm long. That can be compared to the size of an ear of corn! How adorable that is!

Twin babies also weigh 600 grams each at 24 weeks. If we want to compare that that will be about a big tub of cottage cheese.

As a parent of twin babies at 24 weeks, you will feel the same weight as two tubs of cottage cheese. The interesting part is if your baby was born this week, there is a greater chance of survival.

Senses

Your babies have a much better nervous system now. It is a complex organ so it has to grow quickly for a long period of time.

They can hear the sounds you hear and your voice too. They can see lights and respond to them. You will also feel a lot of moving and kicking by this time. Pay attention to their movement since it can mean a lot.

Your babies finally have eyes too. But the color of their eyes can’t be identified now. You have to wait till they are born for that. If you feel like a shaking or jerky in your belly that could mean that one of your babies has hiccuped.

One interesting part of week 24 is that they have their own taste buds. So anything that you eat, your babies can taste that too. If it is too bitter, your babies will make a slightly annoyed face.

Skin

Your babies finally have fingerprints and footprints. Their skin is developing fast. At this point, they have wrinkly skin too. Although they have grown thicker skin than before, it is still translucent. Their blood vessels are visible through the skin too.

Lungs

Your babies will breathe differently as long as they are inside the womb. But they do develop their lungs and other respiratory organs during this time.

By 24 weeks of pregnancy, your twin babies will have developed lungs that are still immature. But their lungs are getting prepared to produce a substance called surfactant that keeps the lungs inflated. You will be worried less once they have developed this since with surfactant premature babies can survive outside the womb.

24 weeks Pregnant with Twins Ultrasound

From about 20 weeks you will get to see the features of your babies more clearly. You can identify their gender but only if the hospital lets you.

As time passes their structures will be more prominent. At exactly 24 weeks you will see their nose, ears, eyes, and other physical features. Their fingers and toes are a little too.

Conclusion

As much information you get online, it is never more important than your doctors. Always get a follow-up visit and share any unusual (or usual) symptoms that you see.

What might be normal for one mother might not be normal for you. As a parent of twins, you should always be careful. You can also watch this video of a medical professional on 24 weeks of pregnancy

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