Twice the Luck

With one internet search, you can find a plethora of sites talking about the early signs that indicate you are having twins.  Some of them even have decent information from credible sources.  The annoying truth is that there is no one way to know that you are pregnant with twins because everyone is different so the ways that we each react to the upheavals of early pregnancy are all going to be unique.  So if you do not experience some of the things that I did, there’s nothing wrong with anything.

I began to suspect very early on that I might be pregnant.  I was hesitant to trust that feeling because it seemed too good to be true – I couldn’t possibly know so early, it was just wishful thinking misconstruing symptoms that had some other, perfectly logical explanation.  Now, of course, looking back, all the signs together paint a very obvious picture.

It is relatively common for people pregnant with twins to start feeling the effects earlier than a singleton pregnancy.  Hormones are calling the shots and more babies mean more hormones.  The driving force behind many of early pregnancy symptoms is the sharp increase in hormone levels as your body starts to bring all systems online to take care of this tiny germ of a baby.  With a twin pregnancy, that curve can be much steeper.

Many, Many Trips to the Bathroom

The first change I noticed was that I was having to go pee more often.  Since I work primarily outside, there isn’t just a bathroom handy down the hall and bathroom breaks can require some planning, it was easy to notice the uptick.  I kept telling myself that I was just drinking more water because there was no way the need to pee more had started already.  I assumed it was a symptom that you acquired later in pregnancy when the weight of the baby started to really push down on your bladder.  While that is definitely a thing, it’s not what’s going on in the early stages.

Blood flow is another driving force in pregnancy.  Blood flow increases to your uterus and your breasts to start getting ready for big things to come.  On top of that, you are circulating blood for your baby, providing them with oxygen.  There is now more blood moving through your system so your kidneys are working overtime to filter everything and as a result, making more urine.  More babies mean more blood so people pregnant with twins are more likely to feel this change sooner and to a greater degree.

One the subject of blood flow, one sign that took me by surprise was the appearance of veins.  I first noticed this just before I began to suspect that I had missed my period.  One night in the shower, I looked down and saw thick blue veins crossing my lower belly and the crease of my upper thighs.  This is just the outward manifestation of the increased blood flow to the uterus but I found it to be a startling sight at first.  This was when I started to let myself believe that this might actually be happening.

Nausea – kind of

Within the first few weeks, I started to feel a little funny, particularly around mealtimes.  I don’t know if I would call this nausea but it definitely wasn’t business as usual.  This slightly unsettled feeling only built as the weeks went on until it blossomed into full grown nausea.

Smells are a big deal

I knew about smell aversions going into this whole process but I honestly was not prepared for the extent or exactly how it would feel.  It comes on quickly so you get little to no warning when something is not going to go well and it’s a strange sensation.  The best way I can describe it is that it is not as if the smell itself has changed, it honestly smells just as it always has but my reaction to it is something deep and uncontrollable.  Total revulsion, for lack of another term.

As we started approaching the process of trying to get pregnant, my husband and I jokingly named our first attempt Plan A.  I was probably about three weeks pregnant when we went to see his family for a lobster dinner.  I’m not a big fan of lobster but the smell has never bothered me until that night.  In the face of the briny smell of cooking lobster, it was all I could do to sip some water and nibble on a roll and pretend that everything was absolutely fine.  I managed to make it out of there without drawing too much attention and on the way home, my husband and I joked that maybe Plan A was in effect. 

Bone crushing exhaustion

Fatigue was a sign of pregnancy that creeped up on me slowly and then crushed me.  In the first few weeks, I oscolated between practically vibrating with energy and then being so tired, I could barely pick up my feet.  As I progressed further into pregnancy, the energy bursts started to peter out until everything left like a grind.  Some days, I would have to stay at work a little late just so I could take a fifteen minute nap before I drove home.  Naps became compulsory and they are a lot less fun when you don’t really have a choice in the matter.  Then I would get home, take the dog for a walk, and then collapse on the couch.  For me, this continued from the early weeks right through the majority of the first trimester.

Am I pregnant or am I about to get my period?

Despite all of the signs that pointed towards pregnancy, I still had some doubts and they were not helped when the rest of the little signs that something was changing were all similar to how I feel when about to get my period.  I felt bloated and generally sluggish.  My breasts were tender and fuller than they are normally.  Since those symptoms felt just familiar enough, it made it easier to dismiss the others.  It’s not uncommon for me to get tired around my period, or my stomach is unsettled because I’m about to get my period.  The mind can reason its way into or out of anything.

Run down on running

This was when my running mileage and activity in general first started to dip.  I was so tired that I honestly didn’t have a choice of whether or not I was going to push through.  I can’t stress this enough, with this kind of fatigue, the only option was to submit.  So I did.  I focused on making sure that our dog got her exercise with a morning run and then I just let the rest go.  I also let strength exercises slip during this time.  Running was helping my building nausea while I didn’t feel like I got the same benefit from strength training.