So far, I've gained 12 lbs. in what, tomorrow, will be 13 weeks. If I weren't having twins, I might be disturbed by that. But in this case, it's not just ravenousness - it's purposeful. From reading Dr. Barbara Luke's recommendations, and some others, it has sounded like, with twins, the best chances for good birth weight, and a delivery at or near term (and so, probably, less hospitalization), comes when the mother gains a significant enough amount of weight, early enough to continue fueling their growth in the last trimester, when it's hard to keep up with their calorie needs, both because they're considerable, and because the babies are big enough, together, to compress the digestive system and make that level of intake difficult. Lay down sufficient fat stores by six months, so they say, and their growth can continue uninterrupted. Obviously, I'm no expert, but it sounds reasonable, and the support for it appears credible. My doctor recommended a weight gain of 30 lbs, before she did the ultrasound and discovered twins. If I follow Dr. Luke's low-end recommendation for twins, based on my height and weight, I'll gain 45. That sounds appropriately scaled for a second child. Slightly more would be okay. But I am more worried about not gaining enough, or staring the second trimester needing to gain more than a pound a week to try to keep the little ones growing, than gaining too much. I should be able to put on a total of 24 - 29 lbs. by 24 weeks, at this rate: which is (according to these recommendations) 'just right'.
It's daunting to gain so much, but, as my husband said - 'of course personal vanity matters more than the twins...!' ;)
I am happy to be gaining weight though. We have so much trouble keeping stuff around to eat for some reason and I feel so hungry all the time that I'm just glad to be getting (more than) enough calories. Somehow gaining this weight makes me feel really wholesome or something.
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