When I found out I was having twins, the only thing I could think of was, "I am not going to get ANY sleep!". I thought it would be a like my first pregnancy, maybe a little different, more difficult, sure, but it can't be THAT different...Ummm, sure. I was very naive. The more I read and experienced, the more differences came out. I am sure I will have lots of opportunity to add to this list throughout the rest of the pregnancy and into their infancy and childhood. Some will be positive differences and some will be not-so-positive ones. Hopefully eventually the positive will outweigh the negative. And let me just get this out of the way. I am not saying my pregnancy is any worse than any others. I am just stating the ways my twin pregnancy is different from my singleton. I am sure there are women who fly through a twin pregnancy and suffer through a singleton. This is just my experience. My blog...my experience.
So here goes:
1. There 2 babies in there! (I am going to state the complete obvious first)
What this means to me - When you carry 1 baby, you either carry high, low, or somewhere in the middle. There are pros and cons to each. With me I am carrying Olivia high and Abigail low. I have the cons of each position, but none of the pros. Olivia is up in my ribs and I can't breathe or eat large amounts at a time. Abigail is grinding her little head against my pelvis and pushing on my bladder. This means at 2 more months to go, I am already peeing a tablespoon at a time, every thirty minutes. It also means I can't breathe or walk for more than a little while, the grocery store is pushing it at this point. Seeing me try to get out of a soft chair is just funny. Socks and shoes are totally out, slip-ons have to do. Thank you, God, for Crocs. I can barely get my underwear on. Sorry, but it's true.
But on the other hand...there are two precious baby girls in there. They are snuggled up together bonding in a way only twins can, in a way I will never experience. They will be close all their lives, a built-in best friend. And all the discomfort is worth it...
2. Hormones are doubled up
This was a surprise to me. I didn't expect to feel even more emotional than with my first pregnancy. Either I am royally pissed, mostly at Gary (hi honey) or I am crying over some insignificant thing. Gary tells me he can deal with mad better than he can my tears, so we mostly go with being pissed. In order for me to not cry all the time, I have to kinda shut down to a point.
This also means I was sick until about 19 weeks. Morning sickness?...no...try all day and sometimes in the middle of the night sickness. Blah...at least that is over for the most part. Another part of double hormones are the lovely side affect of acne. You know that old wives tale that boys add to your beauty and girls steal it. Well, with two girls stealing my beauty there is very little left.
3. You tire more easily
I worked up until the day before my son was born with very little trouble. Sure, I was tired and uncomfortable, but I made it. There is no way I could still be working at this point. I am not sure I could have ever worked with this whole IVF fiasco. I know I would have let an entire class just coast through if I was working...not good when you have the future in your hands, right? At the beginning, I slept three hours pretty much every afternoon, plus about 10-12 every night. In the middle it got a little better. I no longer napped and I was able to keep my eyes open. But as we are heading for the home stretch, I am back to hitting a wall around 4:00. Like I said, the grocery store is a stretch for me now.
4. Ravenous Hunger / No appetite
Yes, I had this with my first pregnancy, at least, I thought I did. I read that a singleton can pull their nutrients from mom even if there is no prenatal care, but with twins, it's different. There is a direct correlation to the amount of weight you gain before 26 weeks and the baby's birth weights. So when I am hungry, get out of my way or I might hurt you while I make a dash for the fridge. For the past few weeks I have had this ravenous hunger but with no appetite. I have had to force myself to eat (See previous posts). You just can't skip meals with a twin pregnancy like you can otherwise. Your babies health depend on you getting them what they need.
More to come...
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