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When you come to know that you are expecting twins or multiple babies, you are nervous and excited at the same time. By the time you complete two months of your pregnancy, the continued onslaught of nausea and morning sickness and the irritation will reduce and your belly will start showing. As you see your belly, you will start thinking about raising your kids and the different preparations you will have to do to make sure that your little ones are comfortable. All these preparations are necessary but you must not stress yourself instead take one step at a time. By 2 months of pregnancy, i.e 8 weeks, your tiny twins or multiples will undergo a significant development. Find out by 8 weeks how much your kids will have developed.
Baby Growth at 8 Weeks
Around the 8th week of pregnancy, a lot of important organs and physical attributes of the babies start developing in a strong and consistent manner. The neural growth is the most important in this regard and the brain undergoes a substantial progress. The newly formed nerve cells that constitute the majority of the brain, start reaching out to each other and create numerous branches and connections. This is primarily what helps their brain function and the existence of such neural pathways contributes to it.
The formation of eyes already begins a couple of weeks ago, however, it isn’t that evident. By the 8th week of pregnancy, eyelids begin to form in a translucent tissue-like material and begin to cover the eyes of your babies.
The growth of limbs is substantial as well. Although the hands and arms are yet to develop completely, the flexing that occurs at the wrist is very much present and they are positioned closer to the heart. Their fingers also continue to grow. By the 8th week, their arms and legs develop and start bending as well too. Most babies tend to start showing a knee that can be recognized by a doctor in the scan. Certain babies have a larger feet growth, which can make the legs long enough to be bent in the front of the body.
Size of the Babies at 8 Weeks
If your twins or multiples were barely the size of a seed or a pea in the previous weeks, the growth in the 8th week will make them as large as a kidney bean. Most growth is only around a millimetre on a daily basis, which might not seem much, but is substantially large when compared to their overall size. Your twins or triplets will also start gaining some weight.
Common Bodily Changes
Most of the changes that occur in twins or triplets in the womb are internal, while their physical growth is slowly moving ahead at its own pace. However, a woman’s body will undergo many changes:
- If you are pregnant with twins or multiple babies, your waistline will expand. This may not be evident always, but wearing certain pants which fit you comfortably earlier, may feel constricted.
- The uterus will begin to increase in size in accordance with the growth of the babies. It may appear larger than an orange and would start pushing into the abdominal space and can be felt from within. These could even result in abdominal cramps and might hurt some women intermittently.
- The 2-month mark, in a way, also signals the breasts that they would have to be ready for the babies when the delivery comes through. By this time, your breasts also swell, and the areolas have small bumps around them as they morph in a nature to support lactation of the little ones.
- The blood levels in the body increase tremendously, and so do the levels of various hormones, particularly progesterone. These increased hormones further start aggravating the morning sickness symptoms, while a few women might see a reduction in them. The increased blood flow may or may not have enough blood cells in it, which could disturb the brain’s requirement and set in headaches at random times.
Symptoms of Twin Pregnancy at 8 Weeks
The signs of having twins or triplets at 8 weeks get very prominent and you can even celebrate it at the completion of two months if you haven’t done so already. Apart from that, there are tons of other symptoms that get evident at this stage of your journey.
- Morning sickness and constant nausea are common pregnancy symptoms, and you will experience it mostly in the first trimester of your pregnancy. But when expecting twins or multiple babies, you will have to bear these for some more time. Your hormones will be at the highest levels and their effect will be compounded as a result of multiple babies. If nausea is too severe for you, going for alternative aromas or eating food items that don’t have strong flavours could help you keep that under control.
- As mentioned above, aromas generally work to your benefit but sometimes it could even be the reason to set in nausea. This is primarily due to the fact that your olfactory senses level up and can spot a range of smells than before. Such a change is usually an evolutionary response in keeping yourself and your babies free from any foreign substances that could cause harm.
- The increased amount of blood, the extra pumping that your heart undertakes, the headaches, and the intensive tapping into nutrients can make you feel low on energy and a lost-out exhausted mood of sorts. This is pretty natural for women pregnant with twins or multiples.
- If your doctor has given the go-ahead to continue with sexual intercourse, there might be occasions when you spot a little bleeding in the vagina. The sensitivity of the cervix is the culprit here.
- Another strange sign that many women mention around this stage of the pregnancy is the occurrence of absurd dreams. Some might be ecstatic while others might cause you to wake up sweating. This is basically a result of the changes happening inside your body, and even if you have had a bad dream, there’s no reason to worry about it or be stressed and anxious.
Belly at 8 Weeks Pregnant with Twins
The belly continues to grow larger, a little faster in case of twins and multiples as compared to the usual pregnancies. Your waistline will also expand and the baby bump will start making itself evident since the placenta of the children will gradually take over most of the supporting responsibilities.
8 Weeks Twin Ultrasound
Up until now, you must have believed that the hazy black coloured spots and shapes to be your children only because the doctor said so, but by the 8th week of your pregnancy, you will be able to see the clear pictures of your twins or multiple babies. Undergoing an ultrasound scan at this stage will make it easy for you to spot the babies since their limbs would be better formed than before and would be clearly visible.
What To Eat
Your diet in the 8th week of pregnancy and in fact throughout the pregnancy should constitute of healthy foods. A balanced diet will support the all-round development of your twins or triplets. Protein and calcium intake needs to be substantial since it plays a vital role in the bone and muscle development of the babies. Other vitamins along with iron and a good amount of folic acid are necessary as well. Combining a good nutritive diet with a healthy amount of water can help reduce the chances of constipation.
Pregnancy Care Tips
The 8th week of pregnancy can be tough for women who are pregnant with multiple babies since it takes a lot from their body to keep the babies healthy and to keep their growth on track. But here are a few tips that can make things easier for you.
Dos
- Read up on pregnancy from various books or proper websites. These can give you a better idea of how your twins or triplets are growing.
- Undertake a full blood and urine exam. This is also a great time to get the blood group of your babies checked and mitigate any complications.
Dont’s
- Stay away from attempting strenuous exercises in an attempt to keep your weight in check. Eating healthy foods and light exercise is the safest measure for you.
- Don’t take any medication for headaches or body pain without checking with your doctor.
What You Need To Shop For
The swelling of the breasts can definitely shift up your cup size by a size or more. So, you must buy good maternity bras, which are a size larger than what you need so that these can be used easily until the end of your pregnancy.
For a woman who is 8 weeks pregnant with twins or triplets, the first couple of months can be quite tough and may worry you about the months to come. However, do not stress yourself, as with time everything will be fine.
