one vs. two

One of the most frequently asked questions during this pregnancy has been whether or not it is different carrying twins than it was carrying one baby. There have been some major differences, but probably not what you might expect. Here are the top 3 differences in my experiences. Keep in mind that every pregnancy is different for every woman, so my experience may be really different from your own or any other woman you have known.

1. Feeling two babies move inside you is WAY different than feeling one move.
These girls have stayed on opposite sides of my belly even though they have flipped all over in different positions the whole time. So I have been able to feel distinctly different types of movements from each baby. Talk about crazy!!! There is movement all the time. Baby A is much more chill than Baby B and I'm guessing that those traits will carry on after they are born.

2. The amount of food I've eaten and water I have drank has been insane.
Don't get me wrong, as any pregnant woman knows, pregnancy hunger is all-consuming. I love food when I'm NOT pregnant, so holy cow, eating while pregnant is intense. But carrying twins brought that to a whole new level. Following a specific diet for multiples made me feel a lot better about how much food I wanted; it was suggested that I take in about 3,000 calories a day. Not to mention 132 oz of water a day. ( A big risk factor for premature labor is dehydration). The amount of calories suggested tapers off during the last trimester, thank goodness. Eating that much was a full time job! And it couldn't be crappy food; I could eat a few Big Mac's and be done for the day, but the point was to eat good food.

3. My weight gain and how I'm carrying.
So you would think that I've gained a ton more weight since there are two babies in there, but I really haven't.  Actually, the amount of weight has been about the same. In fact, and don't hate me for this, I've gone down a pants size. And that is because I already had a bit of leftover baby weight and that went straight to the babies as they started growing. Bonus for me!!! So with this pregnancy, I am literally all belly. My face has not turned into moon-pie face (yet) and when I look at pictures from my past pregnancies, I look different.

So those are the big differences, otherwise, physically I feel the same. Obviously the emotional journey is different, but that is an entry for another day.