How is being pregnant with twins different than a singleton?

I think that most people (myself included before I was preggo with two) think that a twin pregnancy is the same as a singleton pregnancy...you just get bigger. Now that I'm living it, I know that it is NOT that simple. I'll start...

1. You are bone numbingly exhausted...by the time you hit 18 weeks. And it only gets worse.
2. You are constanlty worried about pre-term labor.
3. You can't sleep.
4. You pee so much you actually groan audibly when the urge strikes...again.
5. Picking names for two is a HUGE pain in the a**.
6. You worry about the well being of TWO babies instead of just one...and are always secretly terrified that you will be the 1% where one baby will die and you'll have to carry it to term...
7. You have at least twice as many doctor appointments.
8. You are so excited to meet your babies, but just as terrified.

 

Ditto! Its twice the EVERYTHING!
i never had heartburn with my previous pregnancies and its so bad i throw up at times now
i get kicked in 2 different places at once
I thought i had morning sickness bad with DS....yeah right!
at 25 weeks i think i'm officially larger than week 38 with DD
I could go on more...i admire you ladies you start in twinland and actually have more kids afterwards!

 

Hi! I have a two year old, which was my first pregnancy and now am 28 weeks with twins. Let me tell you... VERY different pregnancies!

1. I was tired in the first trimester, but felt great the rest of the time! Worked until I was 35 weeks, and commuted two hours a day.

2. I even moved four hours north, while at 35 weeks. Wasn't worried ever about preterm labor, even though the move caused my water to break at 35 weeks and 3 days. Oops!

3. I slept great! The entire time!

4. I did pee a lot, but I also drank like 80 ounces of water a day...... lots a trips down the hall at work.... and up from bed at night.

5. Names.... LOL. My daughter had to go to the NICU for a week, so we had some time.

6. This didn't even cross my mind. I didn't ever think about neonatal death. Or maternal death for that matter! Now I am well aware of both and it FREAKS me out!!

7. Since I delivered at 35.5 weeks, I never went to a shorter doc. schedule, just kept going every four weeks.

8. I was terrified of meeting my daughter. Also terrified of birth....labor....delivery....NICU.....postpartum issues......

 

Biggest difference - SO many more appointments. I am 31 weeks and up to weekly OB appointments (that didn't happen until like 38 weeks the first time), next week I start twice weekly NST (only had one total with my daughter), an U/S every four weeks (I had a total of 3 U/S with my singleton), and I just found out I have to have iron supplement injections once a week for the next few weeks. The number of appointments a week is completely unbelievable!

 

WOW...it's soooo different! I have a 20 month old son, and my pregnancy with him was a breeze! I'd say this pregnancy is just as uneventful medically, but so different in many ways.

1. M/S that lasted at least 5 months and now seems like the return of it at 35 weeks, though I think it's a recurring flu!

2. I've visited L&D twice, both times for dehydration.

3. I can't finish ANY of my meals! With DS I could eat McD's value meal everyday!

4. Pain...everywhere!

5. Weight gain...with DS I gained 35, with the Twins, I've gained 14.

6. PARANOIA! I had the dying baby paranoia forever. Now I see them on U/S so often I know they are fine!

7. Lack of excitement...dreading having to juggle 2 newborns and a 20 month old. My lack of patience NOW makes me so scared that I will lose my temper but I know it's mostly hormonal so hopefully it'll go away!

8. I worked up until the day before we 'evicted' DS....so I am thinking this PG with Twins will be the same in that manner. I don't see them coming on their own!

9. SLEEP or lack there of. I just want 8 hours of straight, unpee interupted SLEEP!

10. Cravings...I crave ICE... with DS I didn't crave anything!

11. The emotions...I just want to cry for no reason at all, which actually is a lie because I have 1,000 reasons that make me want to cry. Right now, just want to BE DONE being PG...but I know I can tough it out... I hate being so tough!

 

When I found out I was pregnant with twins, a woman I knew who had adult twins said, "People will tell you that you get 2 for the price of 1. But it's really more like 2 for the price of 3. It's just a lot harder and more expensive all the way around." Now I don't think that's always true, but it can be a lot more challenging, in some ways. And 2 little ones can create vastly more mischief than if you added together what either would get into on their own. Just so you know what you're getting into, LOL!

 

Day and night different!!! I also give my complete respect to ladies here who have twins first and then go on to add to the family!!!
1. The increase in sickness is ridiculous.
2. The constipation and dehydration that comes with this twin pregnancy was something i never even knew could be a problem with our DS.
3. Anemia/low iron equivalent to NO ENERGY. I worked right up until the day before DS was born. Now i'm lucky to tolerate a five-minute shower without wanting to sit down in the tub.
4. Complete fear of something happening to this babies while they are cooking... complete fear of what will happen to the family when they get here! lol
5. The crying... I would have never belived more hormonal until I lived it. I can only imaging what it is like for moms expecting more than two...

 

1. WAY more sickness. I always felt great with my singleton, this time around I was so nauseous for months and now it comes and goes again in the third trimester!

2. Weight gain- I gained 20 lbs in the first trimester. It slowed way down after that, but with my singleton I gained 25 the entire time.

3. Constipation- UGH. Always an issue no matter how much fluids I drink.

4. Throbbing feet after walking around shopping for 30 minutes. I have had a two store limit since the second trimester!

5. No energy- it is comparable to having the flu without the actual symptoms. Sometimes I don't want to walk from one room to the other :lol:

6. Even when you feel constant movement, you are always wondering if you are feeling them both or only one.

7. Sleep like a rock with the twin pregnancy- had trouble sleeping the whole time with the singleton

8. TONS more bathroom trips!

9. WAY more ultrasounds, which is a total bonus!

 

See, I've been tempted to have another just to experience a singleton pregnancy. It sounds like it would be so enjoyable by comparison. :ibiggrin:

 

I would like to say.. Are you ladies in my body? lol I am just about 10 weeks.. I dont recall feeling this way with my DS.. I am nauseous alot during the day and its awful.. I am always tired.. All the time.. There is always some pain.. and I know its them..lol But I will take it.. I am very worried about the health of my babies, especially with the bleeding I had this weekend.. But the docs can not figure out where its coming from and the buggers are still growing.. Thank God.. I just want to enjoy this pregnancy.. I didnt enjoy my singleton pregnancy like I wish I had.. So this is the one I wanna do like no other..lol

 

My pregnancies were very similar ... the main difference was that with oldest I walked around happily until labor started (9 days late) and with the twins ... I just wanted to lay down from 35 weeks + and I couldn't sleep after 2 am), still not that bad. I didn't mind the extra doctor's appointments. My pregnancy was very smooth, so nothing super special.