Or you could say, just generally feeling very full! Having experienced a singleton pregnancy last year (for those not down with the twin mama lingo, that means a normal pregnancy where you just have one baby) I would say that the following key differences are:
Being More Full
With one baby you get an occasional kick to the bladder, some pressure on your stomach, a foot in the ribs (our first born had a habit of hooking his baby toes around my ribs like a little bat and I used to have to reach in and wiggle them out in order to get some comfort, he and I have similar battles now he's 18 months old) but with a twin pregnancy, they're everywhere, all the time. Bladder squashed, stomach so compressed you can't eat quarter of a meal nevermind a plateful, all food inching it's way back up your oesophagus, ribs and lungs half their size, etc etc.
You become a talking point
People have even stronger opinions about your pregnancy (and aren't afraid to voice them)
a lot of twin blogs/ books I've read talk about the mean things that people say to those expecting twins "rather you than me" or "your life is so over" or "twins is going to be such hard work". My experience has for the most part been slightly different - less mean and a bit more jealousy - as if I deliberately chose to be pregnant with twins and designed the situation. "that's going to make a real difference in the time you need off work to get your family started", "you're so lucky to be getting two babies from only one pregnancy", "I've always wanted twins". I suppose all of these are nice things to say - but whatever the opinion., people certainly don't hld back when they find out you're expecting twins.
You become a spectacle
The stage on from the above is you near the end of a twin pregnancy, perfect strangers feel the need to comment on how massive you are. it usually goes something like this
Stranger: You can't have long to go now
Me: Still got 3 weeks to go actually
Stranger: Really, 3 weeks still?!
Me: Yes, it's twins that I'm expecting
Stranger: Well, I'm not surprised, you're so huge, I thought it would have to be twins
Me: Yes, I'm huge
Stranger: Well, good luck, twins is going to be hard work....
Everyone in the world is a twin/ knows a twin/ is married to a twin
Having never really thought about twins before becoming pregnant with them, I've been totally surprised by how many twins there are out there! From work colleagues married to them, taxi drivers who have twin grandchildren, and online shopping delivery drivers who are twins, as soon as you mention you are carrying two babies, it all comes out! It's been great to experience so many unique stories - and has certainly made the experience feel a lot more "normal" than we first thought.
You will probably feel all pregnancy symptoms x 2
My experience with nausea, fatigue, indigestion, restless legs, sleepless nights, water infections, anaemia and PUPPP have certainly made this pregnancy harder then my first pregnancy with one baby. And I've been really lucky! The strain of carrying two babies is phenomenal (and obviously even harder if you're carrying more than two - wow to the triplet mums) The risks are greater and it's certainly more worrying. The silver lining is that in my case I was poorly at the beginning and now I can barely fit any food in, plus carrying an extra four stone of bump around on a permanent basis has meant that I haven't gained the weight on my arms, legs, face and bum that I did with baby number one.
You will feel luckier than you could ever imagine
For us particularly, this was a planned pregnancy, but it came much sooner than anticipated. Compared to the stories that I've heard from fellow expectant twin Mums for whom this is the culmination of a 10 year journey of trying, after several rounds of IVF, or after several unsuccessful pregnancies I feel incredibly humbled and blessed. And for every hormotional day, or for every negative comment, or for every sleepless night, feeling two babies growing inside you is a truly magical experience. And form what I hear, this is only the beginning, the truly magical times are yet to come - and I can't wait....
And from what I've heard that's mostly to do with them being containeddistill. But even though a twin pregnancy and having newborn twins is doubly hard, you will be doubly rewarded by amazing moments.
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