35 Weeks With Twins: Claire's Twin Pregnancy Update

35 Weeks With Twins: Claire’s Twin Pregnancy Update

Follow along with twin mama’ Claire’s twin pregnancy from 30 weeks through delivery! Inside this update, you’ll see Claire’s progress at 35 weeks with twins.

It’s been two weeks since we last sat down with Claire, and a lot has happened. Our Alabama twin mom is 35 weeks pregnant now, and for the first time in a while she opened her check-in with the best words possible: “I feel so much better.”

Before getting to that point though, she made two trips to labor and delivery and faced a genuine cardiac scare.

To watch Claire’s full Week 35 with twins update, click here! Or keep reading below for the biggest takeaways from Nat and Claire’s week 35 conversation.

Just so you know! There is no Week 34 video or article update for Claire.

Takeaway 1: Trust the gut feeling that says “something is wrong”

Claire almost talked herself out of going into the doctor. She was worried she’d be dismissed as “just an uncomfortable twin mom in her third trimester.”

Instead, she listened to her body. She felt terrible, and her blood pressure was still bouncing around. Because Claire couldn’t catch a full breath and had chest pressure, her team ran a thorough workup: a chest X-ray to rule out anything structural, an echocardiogram to look at her heart, and blood labs.

The echo came back relatively normal, the X-ray was clear, and her pulse ox held in the low-to-mid 90s. That said, her troponin came back slightly elevated (16, just over the upper limit of 15). So they repeated the test every several hours to watch the trend.

Troponin is a protein that gets released when the heart is under strain. The slightly elevated levels show how Claire’s body is handling the load of a twin pregnancy. A stable or falling level is reassuring; a rising one would prompt more action. Thankfully, hers held steady, her repeat NSTs were reassuring, and she was cleared to go home.

Takeaway 2: Advocate for yourself, not just the babies

With twins, it can feel like all the monitoring energy goes to the babies while the mom’s symptoms get less attention. Claire kept feeling like she couldn’t breathe, and while the third trimester with twins can be uncomfortable, there’s a fine line between regular pregnancy discomfort and true medial concerns.

If you feel unheard by your care team or a particular doctor or nurse, keep asking, and bring a support person if needed. And don’t downplay symptoms like breathlessness, chest pressure, vision changes, or swelling. You are allowed to advocate for yourself and what you need!

Twiniversity tip: Your instinct is worth honoring every time. You know your normal better than anyone, and it’s always okay to get checked. That’s exactly what labor and delivery or OB triage is there for.

Takeaway 3: Losing your mucus plug (and what dilation does and doesn’t mean)

Claire started losing her mucus plug and got checked. She was 1 cm dilated. Her regular OB scheduled the first steroid shot and gave her a directive. If she has four contractions in one hour, head straight to MFM (maternal fetal medicine).

Losing your plug and being a centimeter dilated can happen days or even weeks before labor really starts. So it’s a signal to stay alert, not necessarily a sign that today’s the day your twinnies are coming!

35 weeks with twins - see the timeline for this week of twin pregnancy!

Takeaway 4: Third trimester hurdles and questions

Claire had asked her team about HELLP syndrome after her platelets dipped low a couple of weeks back. Her rechecks came back normal, and her liver labs looked good! Phew!

As Nat put it, preeclampsia and HELLP are like cousins that sometimes travel together, so if you’re being watched for one, your team will often keep an eye on the markers for the other. Knowing some of the lingo (platelets, liver enzymes, HELLP) can help you keep better tabs on your own care.

Some other less glamorous end-of-pregnancy stuff showed up too: pitting edema (when you press a finger into the swelling and the dent stays) and a raging, itchy belly rash.

Claire is also already leaking colostrum, so she and Nat floated a playful spot-test: dab a little colostrum on part of the rash and see if it helps. It’s not medical advice, just two curious moms brainstorming; anything persistent or worsening is worth running by your provider.

Takeaway 5: Everything’s done. Now the job is to rest and stay ready

At this stage, Claire’s twin nursery is finished, her freezer meals are stocked, there’s a plan for her son Graham, and the grandparents down the street will take the dog.

With the big prep behind her, Claire’s only assignment this week is to keep the girls in a little longer. She’s taking it hour by hour, watching the timing of her contractions (stairs reliably trigger them), keeping her feet up, and eating small meals since there’s no room left.

Takeaway 6: Know the signs your water actually broke

Your water breaking isn’t always the dramatic gush from the movies! It can be a slow trickle that’s easy to mistake for leaking urine.

The rule of thumb Claire and Nat talked about is this: if fluid is coming out without you pushing, get it checked. Once your membranes rupture, timing and infection risk matter. Claire’s not leaking amniotic fluid yet, but she’s got a waterproof mattress cover and a towel at the ready just in case.

caring for you and two twin pregnancy class — Register for our next live (and free) Caring for You and Two twin pregnancy class to feel more prepared for your first month with twins.

One decision worth making before your twins’ delivery: cord blood banking…

One more item to at least think about before your twinnies comes is cord blood banking. Cord blood is a one-time source of newborn stem cells that’s collected just after birth, and it can be used later down the road in the case of certain health circumstances.

If cord blood banking is something you want to explore, this series’ sponsor CordBlood.com offers special twin-family pricing. Use the code DUO2 for a special discount for parents of multiples!