“Hello.” As soon as I heard my mom’s voice on the other end of the phone I broke down.
“Mom.” I sobbed.
“What’s wrong?” I could hear the concern in her voice.
“Something isn’t right. I feel horrible and I am so sick. This is nothing like my previous pregnancies.”
My first two children were singletons. I had very textbook pregnancies with the variety and intensity of pregnancy symptoms you would see portrayed on a sitcom when a character in the show is pregnant. But after having two kids and taking a hiatus, we had a little trouble conceiving our third child. A year of trying and two early miscarriages later, I was being monitored by a fertility clinic to try to detect if there was a problem.
I was finally feeling some relief at the tail end of a stomach flu, but after a couple of days, my stomach upset returned, and didn’t go away. I tried to be patient like I had been instructed by the fertility clinic, but I eventually gave in and did an at-home pregnancy test. Immediately a dark pink line showed up. Positive. I was pregnant. Note: we were still in the beginning phases of exploring if there was a problem. I had not taken any fertility medication.
Fast forward two weeks to when I was six weeks pregnant and having this conversation with my mom. I had had some nausea with my previous pregnancies, but nothing like what I was experiencing. It was cruel and violent. But it wasn’t only the nausea. Everything felt…. magnified.
The idea of twins briefly flashed in my mind, as I tried to grasp why this pregnancy was so extreme. But the rational side of me dismissed the thought, thinking that when my blood was taken multiple times, just days after I had taken the at-home pregnancy test, surely something would be elevated… which it wasn’t.
I not only received the surprise of a lifetime during my seven-week ultrasound, but part of me felt relief to find out we were expecting twins. It explained everything.
Here are how my earlier pregnancy symptoms during my twin pregnancy were different than my two previous singleton pregnancies. Note: this is completely my personal experience, and not the case for every multiples pregnancy.
One of the first things that I noticed with my twin pregnancy was my food cravings and aversions. I had also experienced this with my other pregnancies, but this was more intense. If I wanted a certain food, I had to have it immediately. Then soon after, I would typically be sick and completely turned off of that food. I am nine weeks pregnant in this photo.
You can read more about my twin pregnancy here.
The nausea with my twin pregnancy was a different animal than my singleton pregnancies. It was intense and very predictable. I would begin the day not too bad, but by 4 o'clock my nausea would ramp up and I would have to lay down. This was very hard since I had two kids to look after. I would count the minutes until my husband walked in the door. By 9:30 p.m. I would be sick to my stomach. After this, I would have just enough relief to go to sleep and start the whole process over again the next day. This level of nausea continued until the 15th week of my pregnancy, but then resurfaced again in my 35th week. This is my 12 week ultrasound photo with my twins.
I remember feeling out of breath very early on in my twin pregnancy, and much earlier than I did with my singletons. This was due to the higher hormone levels. This feeling of breathlessness only intensified throughout my pregnancy, and was eventually paired with lightheadedness.
When I was pregnant with my twins I showed very early on. Keep in mind this was also my third pregnancy, so I was more inclined to show early. But my belly grew fast! I remember having to go out and buy new maternity clothes around the tenth week of my pregnancy because my shape was so different than my previous pregnancies. In this photo I am around 16 weeks pregnant looking like I am full-term with a singleton.
When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I had the opportunity to tag along with my my husband on his work trip to Las Vegas. As we started to walk around and enjoy the sites, it felt like someone had applied a vice to my belly. Braxton Hicks contractions set in that week and they were intense. I never felt any Braxton Hicks with my previous pregnancies, but with my twins it was relentless until the very end.
Not too long after, my hips began to ache. Again this symptom only increased during the rest of my twin pregnancy. When I talk to other twin parents, I find that the most common distinct twin pregnancy symptom among them is hip pain. I am 19 weeks pregnant in this photo and had just found out that I was having two girls.
If you would like to read more about my twin pregnancy, life with twins, or how to prepare for twins, head to my personal blog, Nesting Story. You can also follow my family’s journey on Facebook.
