Turns Out, Baby Kicks From Twins Are A Little Different Than Single Pregnancies

One of the coolest things you can experience during pregnancy is the flutters you feel when your baby moves around in your belly. Their tiny kicks can help you bond, but they also comfort you knowing your little one is moving and thriving. So of course, you're super anxious to feel them as quickly as possible. If you're carrying more than one baby, you're probably expecting a whole lot of karate kicks, but do you feel baby kicks earlier with twins? I mean, you can probably feel four feet earlier than two, right?

Dr. Sherry A. Ross, women’s health expert and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period., tells Romper that most women feel the beginnings of fetal movement, medically referred to as “quickening”, before 23 weeks gestation, but the same rules apply if you are carrying twins.

“When carrying two passengers it may make sense to think you should start feeling fetal movement sooner,” explains Ross, “but the truth is, if you are carrying twins, this does not mean you will start feeling fetal movement sooner.” If it’s a first pregnancy, Ross says you may feel kicks around 18 to 23 weeks gestation, but if it is a subsequent pregnancy, you already know what the movement feels like, so you may recognize them as early as 14 to 16 weeks.

So what’s the best time to feel your baby kick? Ross says that studies show that babies are most active between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., and you’ll most likely feel early fetal movement when you are sitting or lying quietly and concentrating on your body. “It is usually described as a flutter, gentle tap, or feathery feeling below the umbilical area,” she explains, “and as the fetus grows in size, these feelings become stronger, regular, and easier to feel by the end of the second trimester.”

If you are carrying twins, you may not feel kicks much earlier, but once you hit your second trimester, What To Expect explained that you may feel your babies trying to make room sooner than a mom carrying one baby might. The article explained that because two babies run out of space quicker than one baby, in the second trimester you’ll begin to feel that rolling, pressing feeling that single pregnancy moms don’t feel until the third trimester.

When you do feel your babies kick and move, it’s a good time to bond and connect with them. (Or just marvel at the alien-like belly of yours.) It’s just a matter of time before those tiny kicks turn into actual pitter patter.