Congratulate yourself for successfully carrying your twins for 23 weeks in the womb in the safest way possible. You are a week or so away from completing what is usually termed as the honeymoon stage of the pregnancy. And don’t worry because things will get better. This particular week is quite crucial; it is during this week, that the mother and her babies gain a majority of the weight. You will soon move to the final trimester of the pregnancy.
While the previous weeks might have been filled with numerous changes and interesting developments with regards to the growth of your triplets or twins, this week is usually calm on that front. The focus primarily stays on keeping their growth unabated and letting things progress at their natural pace.
The skin covering your babies around this time is still a bit shrunk and wrinkled since the fat deposits on their baby are yet to reach a quantity that can stretch the skin to a proper limit. That translucent red skin could make the babies look weird, but this will pass in the coming months.
If you tried listening to the heartbeat of your little ones but had to wait for the ultrasound scans for that to happen, then you are in for a treat. Usually, around the 23rd week, the hearts of your twins or triplets will be stronger and will pump blood even more intensely. This can make it possible for you to hear the heartbeats by merely using a stethoscope. Your doctor can guide you for the same.
By this time, your twins or triplets will grow quite rapidly. One of the last organs that develop are the lungs. However, babies do tend to make attempts at breathing as they practice it inside, making similar movements that they would mimic once they are out in the real world. With brain development reaching a significant milestone and eyes growing in strength, you might occasionally notice your babies dreaming actively inside. This also manifests in rapid eye movement under their eyelid and random body movements.
Your babies will now mature from the size of a coconut to a wonderful mango. The growth would seem substantial when compared to how they were in the previous week. The length of the babies, when measured appropriately, would usually be somewhere around 28 centimetres, with a weight of 500 grams or so. The size of twins or triplets would increase massively in the next couple of weeks.
Most women usually have a calm pregnancy in the 23rd week. Any changes that occur in the body are all a remnant of the previous weeks, carrying forward or growing in intensity.
The signs of a twin pregnancy at 23 weeks are quite evident. You will notice that some of the previous symptoms will appear again around this time.
Your belly at 23 weeks pregnant will start showing the characteristics of a twin pregnancy belly. This means that in comparison to a singleton pregnancy at 23 weeks, your belly would measure a few weeks ahead of that time. But every pregnancy is different and the belly size can be influenced by genes, by your height and weight as well. So there is no standard measure that you need to watch out for.
Most scans around this stage are focused on ensuring that the fat deposits on the body and the weight gain are progressing as expected. Furthermore, you might notice the nipples making their initial appearance this week. Chances of seeing your babies respond to your voice or tummy rubs are high as well.
Diversity is the key in this week, making sure that the diet you intake has nearly every nutritional element you can think of, in copious quantities. Iron, calcium, and numerous vitamins stay at the topmost priority as usual. Drinking water and other fluids should also be a thing to focus on.
Things might start getting a little discomforting around this week, but there’s nothing you cannot handle with a few simple tips.
You might already have most items in your possession by now, so you can hop out for a quick shopping of:
As a mother, when you are 23 weeks pregnant with twins, movement of any kind inside your tummy could instantly make you feel connected with your babies. Cherish moments like these and create memories that you can recall later once your babies grow up.