-OR- don't believe everything you hear.
Like most first time mom's I read a lot about being pregnant when I got pregnant. I read even more about twins and what to expect with a twin pregnancy. Now that I have only days left of this pregnancy, I feel pretty comfortable saying that most of what I read ended up being a load of BS... for me. I'm sure for other women these things happened, but it just goes to show how every woman, every experience, and every person is different. My advice? Read. Read all you can, and ask all the questions you can, but be realistic and remember that no two pregnancies are the same. The following is a list of things I read that were often presented as twin preggo facts that just weren't true for me.
"More morning sickness and more fatigue" - I had ZERO morning sickness my entire pregnancy. But I'm not a vomiter... I just don't vomit, even if I try to gag myself, nothing. I can recall two times in my entire life when I threw up; once when I was 5 and had the stomach flu, and the other time, was my bachelorette party, and I sorta fibbed when I said I could recall it. As far as fatigue goes, I have no singleton pregnancy to use as a comparison of what "more" is, but I am definitely more fatigued than not being pregnant. I take naps, where as before I hated taking naps. It felt like a waste of daylight. So yeah to that, but sometimes I feel like the word "fatigue" is an overstatement; I'm tired, but does that mean I'm necessarily fatigued? Feels a little over-dramatic to me.
"You will be High-Risk" - False. My doctors felt that simply being pregnant with twins didn't make anyone "high risk". Had I developed gestational diabetes or high blood pressure (Both things that a twin mama has an increased risk of) I would have been considered high-risk, but those things never happened. I was however seen quite frequently for ultra sounds but that was to make sure the babies were growing at comparatively equal rates.
"You will gain SO MUCH WEIGHT" - HA! FALSE! I'm happy to say that while I feel huge, and strangers often ask if "there are two in there", I've only gained about 30 lbs my entire pregnancy. This is where I find that the women I know have varied the most! Personally, I fully expected to gain a ridiculous amount of weight; I was't being careful about what I ate and I did't maintain any sort of exercise routine despite my best intentions. BUT my eating habits didn't change too dramatically either, I gave into my cravings when I had them, but our meals stayed the same, as did my portion sizes (most of the time) I didn't deny myself anything, but I didn't over do it either. Besides, with two babies, there's a lot less room for food that you'd think!
"You'll have to go on bed rest" - Nope! Unless something actually happens like placental abruption, or early labor, twin mamas don't go on bed rest simply because they are pregnant with two babies anymore. Apparently this used to be common practice and I've ran into many older mothers of twins who were surprised to see that I was out and shopping at Target on my own.
"You won't be allowed to travel" - False again. I was allowed to travel until my 35th week. Granted I pushed the envelope and made a 15hr road trip in my 33rd and 34th weeks. I also flew a transatlantic flight at 12 weeks. Both with extreme discomfort, but problem free. I also saw my doctors very close to the day of travel both times just in case anything had changed.
"Nothing will fit" - This one is true! At 37 weeks I have one shirt that is long enough to cover the bottom of my belly, but I've worn it so much it's covered in stains and looks pretty terrible. My maternity jeans and even my stretchiest yoga pants dig into my belly when I sit down. I pretty much depend on long skirts pulled up too high to compensate for lack of length of shirt. This may be, due to the fact that I am a 5'11", long torso-ed woman who happens to be pregnant with twins. I wonder if short women pregnant with twins encounter this...?
"Strangers will touch your belly all the time!" - I've heard this for every pregnancy not just twins, but I've not had an excess of strangers touching my belly. One was a tipsy, fellow gator fan at a sports bar who high-fived all of us after a touchdown, including the belly. I thought it was hilarious. The other was one of the little old ladies at Target who had twins and was surprised I was not on bed rest. She just reached out and patted it as she said good-by after chatting me up. It didn't bother me, she was sweet and kind. I want to meet a woman who got touched all the time... like how many times? Every time you went out? I need details here. Not a belly touch but once I got a free bowl a fruit because "babies need fruit" and THAT friends is the way to pregnant woman's heart!
In the end I'm glad I read so much about pregnancy and twins. While I don't think anyone is ever completely "ready" I feel confidant in my ability to figure out and handle this whole parenting twins thing. Just a few more days until we meet these two little babies and bring them home! I can't wait!
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