Twinfo

So I know that last entry kind of left you hanging. But I was going for the shock factor. Did it work?

Let me back up and tell a little bit more about how we came to be expecting identical twins. First of all, there was no early indication or even suspicion. We went in for our first routine ultrasound at 8.5 weeks. Keith was with me and it was a Friday at lunchtime. We met with the doctor and I asked her exactly what she'd be checking for that day. She said she would be checking to confirm my due date by measuring the baby and checking for a heartbeat. And I said, "And you'll be checking that there is only ONE heartbeat, right?" Ha, ha, wink, wink. To which she replied, "You'd better be careful or you're going to jinx yourself!" Thirty seconds later she was saying, "There ARE two babies in here!" or something to that effect. Really anything she said after the words 'two babies' was a blur and almost like a dream. My mind just kind of shut down and didn't really take it in. I do remember her saying that she was kind of flustered because of the little exchange that we had right before she started. She said that had never happened before.

Keith and I spent a long time in the ultrasound room after she was gone. So much time that when we finally exited the doctor said, "Oh good, I was just getting ready to come and check on you guys to make sure everything was OK." Everything was not really OK. We were shocked and feeling very overwhelmed. It just wasn't at all what we expected to find out when we walked into that appointment and we weren't prepared for it!

It took me a few days to warm up to the idea and actually feel like it had sunk in. Jeff, Erica, and Macy were visiting us that weekend that we found out and of course we couldn't keep the huge secret from them. They were very supportive and excited for us. Jeff even helped Keith build some shelves in the garage for extra storage space while Erica and I took the kids shopping to look at cribs, double strollers, and books on twins. It really helped having them here to get through the initial shock and worry.

But of course I started to get used to the idea and it started to not seem quite as intimidating. At some point it just started to sink in as reality and I started to get excited about the prospect. The hardest part for me was adjusting the vision of my life that I had and letting this new vision settle in and replace it.

This past Tuesday we had an appointment with a group of high-risk perinatologists at a local hospital to find out if our twins share a placenta or an amniotic sac. If you're like me, you probably don't know that much about the biology of twins so let me give you a brief primer. Identical twins are one egg and one sperm that split shortly after conception. No one really knows what causes this to happen but it is a completely random occurrence. It is not influenced by heredity or any other factor. Identical twins account for about 1/3 of all twins. Fraternal twins are two eggs fertilized by two different sperm. Biologically they are no more similar than any other siblings while identical twins share the exact same DNA. Fraternal twins will always have their own placentas and amniotic sacs and this is the least risky situation with twins. Identical twins could have their own placentas and amniotic sacs, or they could share a placenta and have their own amniotic sacs, or they could share both.

I totally expected that we would have fraternal twins. Fraternal twins are a lot more common and are influenced by the mother's age, heredity on the mother's side, fertility drugs, and race. My great grandfather was a twin so there isn't a huge gene pool out there but I figured that combined with my age probably led to a "double drop."

So again I was shocked to learn during this ultrasound that our twins share a placenta but have their own amniotic sacs which is the most common situation for identical twins (about 67% of identical twins are in this situation). Identical twins??!! Whoa! So that means that they are definitely either both boys or both girls (goodbye to the possible names Brenda and Brandon). But wow, seeing them both moving in there and their strong little heartbeats was AMAZING. And just the thought of identical twins is so unique, interesting, and awesome. I left that appointment with 99% excitement and joy and only 1% anxiety about the prospect of having twins.

Unfortunately there are increased risks with the shared placenta. I will have to have lots of extra ultrasounds and non-stress tests later in my pregnancy. I feel like I am in really good hands though at this hospital and I am focusing on the positive rather than worrying about what might happen. So far I feel fantastic in this pregnancy (even better than I did with Colin) and the babies are measuring perfectly and have strong heartbeats.

There is more to say but this post is already crazy long. So I will end it by saying that even though this isn't the course we thought our lives would be be taking, we are feeling excited, blessed, and up for the challenge!