Target(s) Acquired

The perinatology appointment went great. I am 21 weeks already. The babies are growing right on target. Baby A weighs 13 oz. and Baby B weighs 14 oz. The 50th percentile for twins at 21 weeks is 14 oz. so the doc said they are nice and healthy! No sign of the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) yet, so let's keep it that way! He said that if TTTS does present itself (which it can, at any time)they have several ways to treat it: laser treatment to separate blood vessels, amniotic fluid reduction, and if they are older - delivery.

The appointment took two hours! Same as last time. They had told me at my last appointment that all these subsequent appointments would only be one hour. Well apparently they needed some pictures that they weren't able to get last time - because the babies were moving around a lot. Well, they didn't cooperate very well this time either. Baby cage match indeed! At least they finally got all the shots they needed. So now my appointments moving forward are to measure growth and amnoitic fluid and should only be an hour long... we'll see.

It was a bit convenient that the babies are movers - they had to use the 3-D (or 4-D?) ultrasound to get detailed pics of the spine. When she was done getting her shots she put it in the contour mode so I could see some cute faces. So it was kind of cool to "see" them. The contouring is not very accurate - but at least the babies look more like cute little cheetos than skeletor-aliens. hahaha. Anywho I put some of the pics below...

Case in point of baby cage match - the picture below was supposed to be of Baby B's face, but Baby A decided to kick box her cheeto legs into Baby B's face. It was so funny watching it, the technician and I were laughing so hard. Those babies are all over the place!

Below is a picture of Baby A's face:

Here's a regular ultrasound pic of Baby B's profile:

And, here's a pic of Baby A's bum and legs (top of the picture, the baby is facing down) - can you tell?

Next appointment is in 3 weeks (a day after my OB checkup). These babies are already keeping me busy!

Lucky Number 20

Time seems to be flying by. I had my 20-week check up yesterday with my OB. I'm officially 20 weeks today -- 5 months down!

Everything is fine. My blood pressure is excellent. I've gained 17 pounds so far. So I've definitely made up for the weight loss in the first trimester. I'm right in the top end of my range for twin pregnancy weight gain at 20-weeks (they base it on your pre-pregnancy weight and your height). The bigger the better! So I'm feeling good about that :-) She listened to the heartbeats: one was 145 bpm and the other was 160 bpm. She said it's normal for them to be different and that they are both in the normal range. She also measured my belly. At 16-weeks, I was measuring the same size as a 20-week singleton. Now, at 20-weeks, I'm measuring the size of a 26-week singleton pregnancy! Whew. So I'm up 6 cm in one month and still growing... hahaha.

I've become an expert on managing my nausea. It's still there, but I have learned how to not trigger it, along with keeping up on my nausea medicine. Heartburn is getting worse of course. The edema in my legs, ankles and feet is worse. I occasionally notice it in my hands and face, but it fluctuates. Since the edema will only get worse, the nurse recommended support stockings (look out Maudie!). I don't feel the fluttering of the babies as much as before, probably because my uterus has moved up more. My nerves are still healing from my fibroid surgery last year, so I'm full of weird -- sometimes dull, sometimes painful -- sensations. All par for the course. I pulled a groin muscle during a particulary bad throw-up session about a month ago and it keeps reaggravating itself. I think the extra weight I'm carrying is the culprit. It hurts to walk, to lift my left leg, to stand up, etc. The nurse recommended one of those belly contraptions that help support your belly -- to ease some of the weight off my pelvic muscles. So we'll see if that helps.

Anywho - my next perinatology appointment is next Tuesday! Time really is flying by. I'll be able to see the girls again and see if they are growing on target. I'll also be able to ask the doctor more about the risks of the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. So I'm eagerly awaiting that appointment. On a side note: we picked up two FREE Graco swings from one of our neighbors today. Woohoo!

Pink Mafia

We're having identical twin girls!

Chances of having identical twins: 4 in every 1000 births (or 1 in 250) --
we should have played the lottery!

All the ladies in the doctor's office were all a twitter about it. They said they get quite a few fraternal twins (especially with all the people doing fertility treatments now), but they very rarely get identicals.

I'm exactly 18 weeks today. The babies are currently growing very healthy and on target. One measured at 8 oz., the other at 7 oz. They were kicking and moving like crazy so the technician was glad that they have a "rewind" feature on the ultrasound machine. hahaha. Our twins are referred to as mono-chorionic (one placenta), di-amniotic (two amniotic sacs). It's very rare for identicals to share an amniotic sac as well as a placenta. And identical girls are more common than identical boys.

Just as my OB had mentioned, the perinatologist said identical twin pregnancies are even higher risk. He said that because they share one placenta, one might start getting more nutrients than the other, which obviously would not be good. So he said they monitor the pregnancy more closely to keep an eye on growth, etc. He said we'll have to see him every three weeks now -- and more frequently as we get farther into the pregnancy. Crazy!

I think Richard and I were both in shock. Richard was especially in shock about the "two girls" thing. I was more in shock about the "identical twin" thing. We need time to let it all sink in...

Lucky Number 16

So it's official, I'm 16 weeks today. I definitely feel like I'm filling out more on the upper part of my belly -- getting more of that round shape -- I think the updated pic shows that? I'm in that stage of the pregnancy where the babies should start gaining weight faster, so I'm sure my belly will start growing faster as well.

In yesterday's blog post I didn't quite give all the appointment info -- I had to talk to my boss first. The doctor ordered mandatory bed rest starting at 28 weeks. She said bed rest is a mandatory for multiples since the risk of premature labor is high (hence the reason we're seeing a perinatologist as well as the OB). There are many factors that determine how strict that bed rest will be. I'm already at a bit of a higher risk since I just had fibroid surgery last May. The fact that this is my first pregnancy is also riskier. Twin type is another factor (identical twins are higher risk, but we don't know what we have yet). Amongst many other factors. Basically, the point of bed rest is to avoid pre-mature labor. I'm not sure how strict it will be for me (if I can work from home or not; if I can do basic household chores; etcetera) -- it all depends on how my doctors appointments go up until then. My initial upset was when the doctor told me I could not go to my best friend's bridal shower. We've been planning it since September! I'll be 29 1/2 weeks at the time and obviously will be on bed rest. Fortunately, everyone is being supportive, which helps. I'm still depressed, scared and stressed though. I just need to get over the initial shock of it all and let it sink in, because I have to do what is best for the babies.

So here's the updated schedule:

• June 1 - bed rest at 28 weeks (strict TBA?)
• July 13 to July 27 - c-section delivery for twins is usually between 34-36 weeks. The later the better, any earlier than 36 weeks and the babies will be in the NICU.
• TBA - Time off for recovery and baby time (this is all up in the air date-wise since I don't know when I'll be delivering exactly).

We are still trying to figure out how we'll handle child care. We had budgeted for one baby (never even gave a glimmer of a thought about having twins) -- so yea, double the cost, which we don't have. I know it has to work out somehow in the end. We're just stressed in the meantime.

16 Week Checkup

Okay, so it's technically 15 weeks 6 days -- 16 weeks tomorrow! Everything went well. The doctor gave us a lot of information on what to expect going forward. I will be seeing her once a month until 24 weeks and then possibly once a week after that. She gave me a referral to see a perinatologist in Baltimore. She said I'll be seeing him as often as I see her. Talk about appointments galore. Yikes! Fortunately the perinatologist does all the ultrasounds from here on out, so I won't have to schedule those seperately. I have to schedule an appointment with him asap, for chorionicity testing (i.e. testing to find out if they are fraternal or identical twins). She said twins are higher risk in general -- but identical twins are even higher risk because they share a placenta. So we shall see.

She's pretty sure she heard the two separate heartbeats. And she measured my belly -- I'm the equivalent of a 20-week (5 months) pregnancy! In a normal pregnancy, the heartbeat and belly size are a fairly accurate indication of how the pregnancy is progressing. With multiples though, it's hard to know if you are really hearing more than one heartbeat, and belly size isn't an accurate indication of progress. So that's why they schedule ultrasounds more often for women pregnant with multiples -- because it's truly the only way to know the babies are growing healthy and on target.

I've finally gained weight! I lost a few pounds in the first trimester (probably from nausea) and have already gained five pounds since my last appointment. So she said that's fine. Yay! I was so worried about low birth weight and eating as much food as possible... I want fat babies!

I still have the nausea, but am keeping up with the nausea meds so I can keep food down as much as possible. Heartburn is still an ever present nuisance. I'm eating smaller portions of food more often during the day -- helps with the nausea and heartburn. I've cut out the exercise (too tired and winded), which is good, because the doctor confirmed I should relax as much as possible. Sleeping is far more uncomfortable now. I know it will only get worse -- especially the bigger I get and the hotter the weather gets.

I will update the blog tomorrow with my official 16-week belly photo.

The Genetics of it All

So my mom checked the family Bible and said my great great grandfather Bingham had a twin brother. We don't know if they were identical or fraternal twins. I've read up on the genetics of conceiving twins though, and have concluded that this incidence of twins has no genetic correlation to my twin conception.

Here's a good article on "Identical or Fraternal Twins" for reference (and a much better explanation than I'll be offering below): http://www.twin-pregnancy-and-beyond.com/identical-twins-or-fraternal-twins.html

So there is no genetic marker for conceiving identical twins. So if my great great grandfather was an identical twin, it would have absolutely no influence on my conceiving twins at all.

For fraternal twins, there is a chance they could be genetic. There is a hyper ovulation gene that can be passed down on the X-chromosome. Hyper ovulation results in fraternal twins -- because two eggs (or more) are released by the mother during a cycle. This explains why the gene can't be passed on the Y-chromosome (since that's a distinctly male chromosome).

And a refresher from biology: Females are XX, and Males are XY.

Now if we consider that my great great grandfather could have been a fraternal twin, that means his mother released two eggs that were simultaneously fertilized. Now if his mother released two eggs because she had a hyper ovulation gene -- then there is a good possibility that she could have passed this gene onto her son through her X-chromosome (remember boys get their X-chromosone from mom, and the Y-chormosome from dad). The genetic connection for me though, ends here, because my great great grandfather fathered a son, who in turn fathered my grandmother -- then follows my mom, and now, me. Making any sense? Well since the genetic marker for fraternal twins can ONLY be carried on the X-chromosome, my grandmother's father would NOT have inherited his father's X-chromosome, only his Y-chromosome. My grandmother's father would have instead inherited his X-chromosome from his own mother (who did not have twins). Therefore, my grandmother (as well as my mother and I) have no X-chromosome from the great great great grandmother who produced twins. If it's too confusing, refer to that article I linked to.

The whole XY deal of it all should also explain why Richard's genetic history plays no part in our conceiving twins either.

So what it all boils down to is that no matter what kind of twins I have, fraternal or identical, neither of them will be genetic for me -- unless of course I'm a mutant. hehehehe.

On a side note... I called my OB's office to schedule my next appointment -- which is Monday, March 8 (16 weeks). About two hours later I get a call from my OB's office, it's the nurse practitioner (the one I had seen at my belated 12-week appointment), she says, "Hello Ann! I just reviewed your chart over the weekend and saw the results of your ultrasound report!! Very exciting!" She was definitely as surprised as me. We talked about how we only heard the one heartbeat and everything. She said the report shows that the babies are 100% healthy and doing great! I told her I had just scheduled the follow up for next week. She explained that I'll be having a lot more appointments and ultrasounds than a singleton pregnancy, of which the ultrasound technician had already informed me. At anyrate, I had been wondering when the doctor's office was going to get the ultrasound results and if they were going to call me. So I'm glad she finally did. Richard and I calculated the time since I had the ultrasound and really, if you don't count the two weekends, it's only been 5 business days. So anyway, she said to come loaded with questions, and we already have a bunch ready!

The Twilight Zone?

So we feel like Rod Serling is outside our house narrating our story...

We had our home inspection almost exactly 3 years ago. The owners were still living in the house at the time, so it was furnished for daily living.

Not interesting yet? I know. Well, here's where it gets a bit interesting: the previous owners had Twins! Fraternal boys (different hair & eye color, one crawled forwards, one backwards - funny guys!). They were 9 months old when we closed on the house (so about 8 months old when we had the inspection). I remember asking the previous owners if there was a history of twins in their families, and they said no - it was a complete surprise (sound familiar?!)!! Richard and I joked at the time that it must be something in the water. Little did we know...

Now, fast forward 3 years, and we're wondering if there really is something in the house... [here's where you insert the Twilight Zone music]... Hahaha. Gotta admit it's quite the coincidence at least.

I took pictures when we walked through the house -- including of the nursery. Ironic that now it can serve as a blueprint for a working twin nursey set up!! Below are the pics I took of their nursery setup. We won't have it set up exactly the same way, but at least we know there is plenty of space for all we need.

Their set up entering the room.

Left side of their set up.

Their set up for the closet area.
The room is only 11 x 10, pretty tiny.

Baby Cage Match!

I didn't upload this picture earlier -- it's of the babies' 4 little hands waving about (I believe the pic is looking up from their feet). It's not that clear, but I'm finding it more adorable each minute, so I decided to share.

They're either saying "Hi everybody!" or they're holding their own baby cage match (which it feels like most of the time)...

Shock and Awe

So I had particularly rough last night -- lots of nausea! Yuck. So anyway I was eager to get to the appointment today to see if maybe it was fibroids or intestinal issues causing my cramping, bloating -- and consequently wicked nausea.

So we get in the ultrasound room and of course I can't see the monitor. Richard can see, but he has no idea what he's looking at. The technician is looking around and starts asking me questions: have all your blood tests came back fine? Yes, I say. Hmm, you have a lot of follicles on your ovaries... did you have fertility treatments? No. (But I'm thinking, are they causing my pain?) At this point, I'm starting to get nervous. And she says well I'm seeing something a little bit different here. And now my heart is racing with fear and confusion. And she says, I'll tell you, I'm seeing a twin birth... This is where SHOCK & AWE set in! I didn't cry, I just laid there thinking I was dreaming. Richard was laughing hysterically -- his version of shock and awe. We were both dumb-founded!

I'll tell you I was looking forward to this ultrasound for health reasons, but also a bit to prove the "twin-sayers" wrong. The doctor assured me it was just one baby! Well check mate people -- you were right! So we can't tell yet if they're fraternal or identical. She said fraternal tends to be genetic because the woman releases two eggs. She said identical aren't usually genetic. But both types can be the luck of the draw. So we'll have to wait and see.

So THAT explains my excessive (and vicious) vomiting episodes. AND my cramps and constant "flutters." She said they are both extremely active: kicking and waving! WOW is all we can say. Definitely more than we can comprehend for the moment! It's going to be an interesting pregnancy going forward!

Anywho, I know you might want to see the visual proof, so here goes:

Two little heads, and each raising an arm!

Baby A (Shock!) is positioned on my left side

Baby B (Awe!) is on my right side.

Lucky Number 13

Pic from last friday:

12 weeks, 3 days preggers!

Well folks, I've made it to week 13! Nausea is still here -- and definitely in charge. I'm crossing my fingers for the 2nd trimester bliss everyone talks about ;-)

Had my belated 12-week checkup yesterday. When the doc walked in she thought I might be pregnant with twins. HA! Don't worry, she said everything feels normal size. She listened for the baby's heartbeat and finally found it after what seemed like forever (probably 3 seconds in reality). I didn't get emotional like I thought I might. Maybe because it sounded funny? My friend Amy described it best, as a loud underwater shwow shwow shwow sound. The doc still wants me to go get an ultrasound (usually the 1st one is done at 18-20 weeks) -- she just wants to have visual verification that there's nothing out of the ordinary going on that could be causing my increased belly size. She said it could be due to several issues: bladder, intestinal (inc. bloating), or more fibroids. I'll say with my track record: "all of the above." So my ultrasound is scheduled for friday and I'll definitely keep everyone posted on the results. Crossing my fingers that all is well!