I am learning so much being pregnant with twins. I've had babies before, been there, done that. But this is different, and some the same. I thought it would be an interesting post to compare the experiences between having one baby (singletons) and twins (multiples). Plus, one of the most common questions I get asked is "is there a big difference between pregnant with one and pregnant with two?"
I would say, that the biggest difference, at this point, is timing. Everything just happens sooner. In all of my pregnancies I have struggled to sleep. With each one the struggle just happened sooner. I can remember when I was pregnant with AJ (fourth one) the struggle to sleep really hit around Thanksgiving time. With three months to go and with Jackie (our first) the last month was a struggle. With the twins...I haven't had a good night sleep since the end of April. I always say that I sleep better with newborns than pregnant (better, not more). Currently at 27 weeks pregnant a typical night will see me wake up 6-9 times, little to no REM or deep sleep, and maybe 4 hours of total added together sleep. (And that's not an exaggeration...I now have a watch that tracks it)
Belly Growth: I was actually surprised at how long it took for me to start showing or needing to wear larger clothing. I figured with twins it would happen sooner...but instead it was closer to week 14 or 15 before I could really tell. But where there was a difference... rapid change, not gradual. I went to work on a Friday with my regular jeans on, no real problem and on Monday I couldn't button them and had to wear leggings from that point on. I definitely "popped" and it seemed to happen overnight. Now, right at the start of the 3rd trimester I feel huge...and I still have a good 10 weeks to go! The babies are moving constantly and our older kids are LOVING getting to feel them wiggle and kick!
Morning Sickness: I count myself very lucky that I didn't experience much consistent nausea with my other pregnancies. I would have little moments here or there, but nothing that was constant. Twins was a different story. I felt like I was going to throw up all day (but only did a handful of times). This lasted from about week 9 to week 15ish. And I was not a fan.
Ice Cravings: Give me ALLLLLL the ice in our freezer. That is all.
Food Cravings: I don't really have any specific cravings other than fruit. I want my sugar to come from fruit. Don't get me wrong...I will still have a slice of cake, but I don't crave it like I want grapes and watermelon. There is a cutoff though. I have to be done eating really early in the evening. I need to be eating by 5:30 at the latest right now. I'm sure as I get to the biggest part of my pregnancy where those babies are taking up even more space, that time will only get earlier. It is the most bazar thing to not be able to lay down to sleep because you still haven't digested your dinner you at 4 hours ago. This includes drinking water too. I get so thirsty at night, but can't drink because if I lay down to sleep the water will literally come right back up my throat and I'll puke.
Exhaustion: This is probably the #2 worst symptom that I experience. It's embarrassing how little I have to do to need a break and sit down to rest. Or how just walking up the stairs makes me breath heavy like I just did a workout. I know...I know...I'm growing two tiny humans inside my belly and it's all understandable...but still very weird to get used to. I'm not THIS out of shape, but boy do these babies make me feel it. The lack of sleep doesn't help matters either.
Chronic Nasal Congestion: And here we are with my #1 pregnancy problem. My nose...or at least one nostril is stuffed close at all times. When I FINALLY get relief and it clears out, the other side soon clogs. It's maddening. And nothing works. There's no pill that relieves it and no spray that clears it. This happens throughout the day and night (which may be more of my sleeping issue than trying to find a comfortable position or having to pee all the time). I am constantly fighting with my nose. It hurts and is unbelievably annoying. I had this with my first pregnancy (Jackie), but it hadn't made a repeat appearance since. All the twin information I've read said it's more common with twins because of the hormones and blood flow needed for two babies.
Since my first baby I haven't ready up each week tracking growth and progress, but with two I've done my fair share of reading up on what to expect with the pregnancy, birth, and life with infant twins. One thing that I seem to keep running into is how it seems that so many of these twin bloggers either only had twins and stopped, or just had one other child. I am finding it difficult to find people in similar situations as our family dynamic. Four older, very active, kids who are on the go. All the "sit and rest" and "take a nap" advice doesn't really work when you're running kids from swim practice to eye doctor appointments and the four-year-old asks for another drink/snack/anything the second your close your eyes. When I think about anxiety about having twins, it's not the babies that really cause me to worry about handling it all...it's ALL of what we already do as a family of 6 and adding two more to that mix. I know we'll figure it out...but a lot of the advice and suggestions out there don't work for us. I'm sure there will be more on this topic later...maybe I'll be that person who has suggestions for families like ours.
For now, I'm going to go chomp on some more ice cubes before I pass the point of the night when I can't drink anything. It is amazing how after birth these symptoms of frequent urge to pee, not being able to eat late, and the stuffy nose just seem to disappear overnight. Which is a good thing...because I'll be busy enough with the things that replace it!
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