Illustration: Olivia Mew
Finding out that you?re pregnant is one of the great joys of life. Being pregnant with twins is double the joy (and sometimes double the unpleasantness, too). Carrying twins is very different from being pregnant with one baby. Here?s what you need to know.
Eating for three (not really)

You might think that being pregnant with twins means eating for three. Sadly, that isn?t the case. Whether you?re carrying one baby (or singleton, in doctor-speak) or twins, the amount of weight you should gain depends on your pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). If your BMI is in the healthy range (18.5 to 24.9), the recommended weight gain for a singleton is between 20 and 35 pounds. And though there are no set guidelines for twins, between 30 and 50 pounds is average, says Ellen Giesbrecht, senior medical director of the maternal program at BC Women?s Hospital in Vancouver. ?It?s double the placenta, the baby, the fluid and the additional body resources to supplement that pregnancy,? she says. Gaining enough weight is important (it?s been shown to help ward off preterm labour), but it only takes an extra 200 to 400 calories each day (versus 150 to 250 calories for one baby) to hit your target?the equivalent of a bowl of yogurt and some fruit every day.
So sick, so tired

That is, of course, assuming you can eat because twin morning sickness laughs in the face of regular morning sickness. ?The so-called minor symptoms of pregnancy, which almost everybody gets in a ...