Multiples

Pregnancy with Multiples vs. Singletons

Being a FTM that is 22 weeks pregnant with twins, I really don't know what it is like to be pregnant with a singleton. Is there a difference between a pregnancy with multiples vs. singletons? What are the biggest differences?

 

In my eyes, it has to be different!!! We are growing at least 2 babies instead of 1!

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Re: Pregnancy with Multiples vs. Singletons

  • Uncomfortable many weeks earlier. Bigger, measured 10w ahead. And double the pregnancy hormones meant double the sickness. God awful hyperemesis. So basically a lot harder for me!
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  • amy1007 This is exactly my feelings but I needed some reassurance since I obviously haven't lived the singleton pregnancy. I am measuring 8 weeks ahead (I have an appointment tomorrow but think it will be the same if not more!), having some intense rib pains, and just all around being uncomfortable. I was quite sick in the beginning too.

    I am just getting really tired of others telling me how it should be, how I should be feeling, etc. My MIL keeps telling me she is going to "make me tough!" And when my DH told her I was coming home quite exhausted from work, she again said it. Of course all of these kind people who are giving me advice and telling me how it should be/feeling..... have only carried singletons!!!

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  • Honestly, at 21 weeks my pregnancy is not much different than with my dd. I am more tired but have gained less weight and think my bump is smaller at this point. I am sure that will change in the next couple of weeks but for now my pregnancies are similar.
  • Most women who've had both will say the difference hits in mid-2nd tri. Since multiples means measuring ahead the toll on your body (exhaustion, stretch marks, discomfort, difficulty moving, etc) tends to arrive sooner. At 30wks with twins I measured nearly the same as I did with DD at 40. That said, there are a few women who don't see much of a difference.

    Lots of people will have opinions and say uninformed (and/or stupid/rude/crazy) things to you when you have multiples...just check out the collection pinned at the top of this board. :)
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  • At first, my pregnancy was pretty similar. Actually, I was wayyyy less sick with this one than with my singletons. I'm 32 weeks now and I started noticing a difference somewhere around 26-28 weeks. I only measure about 5 weeks ahead, but the aches and pains and exhaustion is almost too much to handle at times! I can barely get around these days and I was extremely active with my singletons all the way until delivery.
    TTC #3 (#1 for DH) since September 2011. DX: Unexplained infertility with possible cervical factor. May 2012 did clomid with IUI - BFN August 2012 IUI #2 w/ follistim/letrozole - BFN September 2012 IUI #3 w/ follistim/letrozole - BFN October 2012 IUI #4 w/ follistim/letrozole - BFN November/December 2012 IVF/ICSI #1 Retrieved 12 eggs, 8 fertilized. Transferred 1 beautiful embryo and 5 made it to freeze. Got my BFP! January 2013 u/s showed empty gestational sac. FET cycle April 2013.  Transferred 2 5 day embryos.  BFP!!!!!  2 heartbeats!!!!  EDD:  12/27/13
  • Most women who've had both will say the difference hits in mid-2nd tri. Since multiples means measuring ahead the toll on your body (exhaustion, stretch marks, discomfort, difficulty moving, etc) tends to arrive sooner. At 30wks with twins I measured nearly the same as I did with DD at 40. That said, there are a few women who don't see much of a difference.

    Lots of people will have opinions and say uninformed (and/or stupid/rude/crazy) things to you when you have multiples...just check out the collection pinned at the top of this board. :)

    I agree w this. I was way more tired in the beginning w the twins, but I also had a toddler that didn't STTN, so I can't attribute that solely to carrying multiples.

    It just got a lot tougher a lot quicker at the end. By 30w, I felt like I did at 35w w my singleton. I only got to 37w with him and by 33w w the twins, I found myself bigger and more limited. I only made it to 34w, so the extreme uncomfortableness was short lived but I would have taken a few more weeks of it.

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  • I had a very easy pregnancy with my singleton and really, compared to a lot of women, my twin pregnancy is going fairly well (22w2d now). I was a little more nauseous in the beginning, but not much different. I am definetly starting to hit a wall these days as far as general energy and being able to stay on my feet for extended periods of time. I was very active right up to the end of my singleton pregnancy so that's pretty different for me. I've only been measuring about 3 weeks ahead so far, yet I've started to outgrow my maternity clothes from DS so I feel a lot bigger.
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  • I just wanted to add that each pregnancy can be really different for everyone. I wish people would think of that before they make comments, but most times people just don't think.
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  • ntdane said:

    I just wanted to add that each pregnancy can be really different for everyone. I wish people would think of that before they make comments, but most times people just don't think.

    Exactly this!!!!!
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  • raraavis28raraavis28 member
    edited November 2013

    Most women who've had both will say the difference hits in mid-2nd tri. Since multiples means measuring ahead the toll on your body (exhaustion, stretch marks, discomfort, difficulty moving, etc) tends to arrive sooner. At 30wks with twins I measured nearly the same as I did with DD at 40. That said, there are a few women who don't see much of a difference. Lots of people will have opinions and say uninformed (and/or stupid/rude/crazy) things to you when you have multiples...just check out the collection pinned at the top of this board. :)
    All this! My twins were my first pregnancy, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but a bunch of my friends were pregnant w/ singletons at the same time, and I seemed to get much bigger and run out of energy way sooner. Ignore your MIL's comments....or tell her to shove it....anyone who can carry and give birth to two other human beings is a badass!
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  • I have only had a twin pregnancy but I noticed a big difference between myself and my girlfriend who was pregnant at the same time with her 2nd singleton (she was 9 weeks ahead of me). She had energy when I didn't. I had horrible nausea which now I believe was hyperemesis. I was hospitalized because I lost 10lbs and couldn't eat/drink anything (I was dehydrated). She was sick in both her pregnancies but never ended up in the hospital. At the 27-28 week mark is when I really noticed I was started to get worn down easy. I also measured 5 weeks ahead the entire time. People think they know everything just because they have had kids. No one knows what it's like to carry multiples unless they have in fact carried multiples.

                              

  • I had very little difference in the first half of my pregnancies, and other than being super, super enormous and uncomfortable (like physically sore all over) toward the end, no other difference. I was hospitalized for a shortening cervix, but as my OB pointed out when it was ok in the end, they just didn't monitor these things for my singleton so it is impossible to know what was otherwise normal.
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  • I was waaaaay sicker with the twins than with my singleton.  I never needed meds for nausea the first time around; with the twins, I couldn't have survived the first half of the pregnancy without a steady stream of them.  

    I was so much bigger, and sooo much more tired.  

    I developed gestational diabetes with the twin pregnancy; with the singleton pregnancy I didn't.  I also had a raging case of PUPPPs with my twins.  

    What does your MIL mean, SHE'S going to "make you tough"?  Is that a threat?  WTF?

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  • I was waaaaay sicker with the twins than with my singleton.  I never needed meds for nausea the first time around; with the twins, I couldn't have survived the first half of the pregnancy without a steady stream of them.  


    I was so much bigger, and sooo much more tired.  

    I developed gestational diabetes with the twin pregnancy; with the singleton pregnancy I didn't.  I also had a raging case of PUPPPs with my twins.  

    What does your MIL mean, SHE'S going to "make you tough"?  Is that a threat?  WTF?
    Good questions! Yes I do believe she thinks she is going to make me tough!!! Who says I'm not already?! According to her I'm not because I have rib pains and come home tired after teaching all day. I wish I could trade places with her for a day so she could have a reality check!
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  • And you're a teacher?? I was too and only made it to 25 weeks still working.....guess I must not be tough. :-P She can definitely shove it....
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  • I was a teacher too, and it was all I could do to make it to the end of the school day, not to mention after school commitments.
  • And you're a teacher?? I was too and only made it to 25 weeks still working.....guess I must not be tough. :-P She can definitely shove it....

    This totally made me giggle!!! Yes.... a 4 year old kindergarten teacher at that!!! My plan is to work until Christmas break which will put me around 28 weeks. Some days I think that is a far cry but once I leave, it's all unpaid unfortunately. But from my appointment today, I may not be able to medically work much longer. Only time will tell.

    We can be in the "untough club" together than! :P

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  • I agree with others that my twin pregnancy was pretty comparable to that if my singleton pregnancies other than feeling sicker in the beginning and the last parts of my pregnancy where I was pretty uncomfortable (I measured 47 weeks the day I delivered at 36wks 2 days-yikes!)
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  • I have 6 other kids, all singletons. This twin pgcy is different. I was sick with all, so that's not the difference. Measuring so far ahead (10 w more!) and looking 6 mos pregnant, but haven't felt babies move yet, is driving me insane. I'm MUCH more tired with this pgcy, even in second Tri. (I'll be 16w tomorrow) babies are both measuring ahead, so dr saying that's not helping. Achy all over like having the flu, is different. Feeling like this doesn't usually happen until much later, so to experience it now, is really surreal.


  • And you're a teacher?? I was too and only made it to 25 weeks still working.....guess I must not be tough. :-P She can definitely shove it....



    This totally made me giggle!!! Yes.... a 4 year old kindergarten teacher at that!!! My plan is to work until Christmas break which will put me around 28 weeks. Some days I think that is a far cry but once I leave, it's all unpaid unfortunately. But from my appointment today, I may not be able to medically work much longer. Only time will tell.

    We can be in the "untough club" together than! :P

    Good for you @nblondheim! I cut out of a preschool classroom (16 2 and a half year olds) at 26 weeks. I was useless with bending over to do anything and refused to lift kids to the change table... But mostly because my coworkers were asses and didnt want to be nice and help me do anything. Their attitude was that it was my job and if I was there I should be doing it 100%. So I left!
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  • And you're a teacher?? I was too and only made it to 25 weeks still working.....guess I must not be tough. :-P She can definitely shove it....



    This totally made me giggle!!! Yes.... a 4 year old kindergarten teacher at that!!! My plan is to work until Christmas break which will put me around 28 weeks. Some days I think that is a far cry but once I leave, it's all unpaid unfortunately. But from my appointment today, I may not be able to medically work much longer. Only time will tell.

    We can be in the "untough club" together than! :P

    Good for you @nblondheim! I cut out of a preschool classroom (16 2 and a half year olds) at 26 weeks. I was useless with bending over to do anything and refused to lift kids to the change table... But mostly because my coworkers were asses and didnt want to be nice and help me do anything. Their attitude was that it was my job and if I was there I should be doing it 100%. So I left!

    Thank you! And wow....that's horrible!!! I have 30 four year olds split into two classes. I've heard "we know if you weren't pregnant you would be handling things differently!" This was pertaining to my physically aggressive students....either way I don't think it's okay for students or teachers to put up with getting hit, kicked, bit, etc! Thankfully the students have gotten a little better and I did get a part time aide. I sure know what you mean though!
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  • Yes, there is CLEARLY a difference, even with high risk singleton pregnancies... at least in my case.
    By this time with my twins I was on hospital bedrest and by 34 weeks could not walk standing upright and had to hold on to a wheelchair for support I was in so much pain.
    I had a cervical length check and fFn last week with my MFM and boy, it was such a relief to get good news at this stage. And can I get an AMEN for a 20 minute singleton growth ultrasound vs almost 2 HOURS with twins on that ridiculously hard u/s table ??

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  • Yes, there is CLEARLY a difference, even with high risk singleton pregnancies... at least in my case.
    By this time with my twins I was on hospital bedrest and by 34 weeks could not walk standing upright and had to hold on to a wheelchair for support I was in so much pain.
    I had a cervical length check and fFn last week with my MFM and boy, it was such a relief to get good news at this stage. And can I get an AMEN for a 20 minute singleton growth ultrasound vs almost 2 HOURS with twins on that ridiculously hard u/s table ??

    When did you end up on bed rest with your twins?
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  • LucyRicardo3LucyRicardo3 member
    edited November 2013
    Yes, there is CLEARLY a difference, even with high risk singleton pregnancies... at least in my case.
    By this time with my twins I was on hospital bedrest and by 34 weeks could not walk standing upright and had to hold on to a wheelchair for support I was in so much pain.
    I had a cervical length check and fFn last week with my MFM and boy, it was such a relief to get good news at this stage. And can I get an AMEN for a 20 minute singleton growth ultrasound vs almost 2 HOURS with twins on that ridiculously hard u/s table ??
    When did you end up on bed rest with your twins?

    Home bedrest around 23 weeks and admitted to hospital mid-24th week.. I'd had history of preterm labor so this wasn't a huge surprise, but still an unwelcome one, at the least. I was admitted because I lived very far from the hospital with the high level NICU (in a very rural area at the time) and my MFM was afraid that I would go into full blown labor at home and lose my girls before life flight could get me back to the hosiptal.. If' I would've lived local to the hospital, I would have to come in daily for NST's instead..
    EDIT: I should add that I had shortening from a 4.1 to <1 cm within 3 weeks and had started funneling, and I was having contractions when I was admitted, despite being on progesterone and procardia at the time.

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  • Thanks for explaining! I'm currently 22 1/2 weeks with anticipation of bed rest in 2 weeks. I also live 60 minutes away from my doctor and nearest NICU. This is my first pregnancy so I don't have a history but I've been "flagged"
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  • Higher risk for gestational diabetes, and preterm labor.  Possibly higher risk of having a C-section if the twins are not both head down or at least twin A is not head down. 
    Probably more physical discomfort once you get bigger. 
    Currently 35 weeks pregnant with twins, but very excited to meet them soon :)
  • I'm a teacher too! 18 1st graders... I'm 21w2d. Had a OB appt today and she said everything looked great but it takes everything I have to make it through the day. I don't sleep well at night.  I'm just chugging along until they tell me I can stay home. 
    ;)
  • Higher risk for gestational diabetes, and preterm labor.  Possibly higher risk of having a C-section if the twins are not both head down or at least twin A is not head down. 

    Probably more physical discomfort once you get bigger. 
    Currently 35 weeks pregnant with twins, but very excited to meet them soon :)
    Well I have been "flagged" for possible GD and high risk for ptl. :)

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  • I'm a teacher too! 18 1st graders... I'm 21w2d. Had a OB appt today and she said everything looked great but it takes everything I have to make it through the day. I don't sleep well at night.  I'm just chugging along until they tell me I can stay home. 
    ;)

    I have 16 four year olds in one group and 14 in my other group. I'm the same way....completely exhausted, teaching a lot more from a wheelie chair, and taking things as easy as possible. Unfortunately I've had some issues and have been told I may not be at work much longer.
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