Learning as we go...

The last month and a half has already been a wild ride. At 13 weeks, I look very pregnant! No hiding the baby bump for this mama!  I have been battling morning sickness AKA feeling like crap all day!! It has increasingly become a struggle to find things to keep that nausea tamed and the food down. So here's to hoping that as I enter the second trimester all this fun stuff starts to disapate. 

Yesterday we had our first Dr appointment since learning our family was growing by 2! And we got to not only see our growing babies but learn more about them. Both babies are growing great and measuring right where they are supposed to and both had heart rates at 160.  The big thing that we learned is that they are IDENTICAL!!! Eeek!!

So what does that mean? Well there are several types of twins (aside from fraternal and identical). Ours are di/mo (di amniotic/mono chorionic) twins....meaning, each little baby has it's own amniotic sac but they are sharing a placenta and a larger sac, called the chorionic sac. (Identical twins also means it's either 2 boys or 2 girls!!)

 

 

The diagram just shows identical twinning...where one fertilized egg splits ( fraternal twins being 2 completely different eggs). On the diagram the center column represents what our babies look like, di/mo twins. 

For random knowledge...fraternal twins or identical twins that share NOTHING are called di/di (di amniotic/di chorionic) twins...looks like the first column.  And identical twins that share EVERYTHING are called mo/mo (mono amniotic/mono chorionic) twins...looks like the last column. 

The best case scenario as far as risk goes is twins that share nothing. So since our babies do share a placenta there is some risk of Twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). TTTS basically, in simplicitest terms is where one baby takes more from the placenta then the other causing one baby to grow at a slower rate. (Obviously there is a little more to it than that, but we don't need to get into all of it). There is only about 15-20% chance of TTTS occurring and there is no reason currently for us to worry about it, as both babies are growing great.  But we will continue to be monitored for it. 

Enough about the twin babies....as exciting as they are!

Peyton is officially 16 months old and in full toddler mode...sass and temper tantrums included! 

A few weeks ago Bryce had the day off and it just so happen to be a beautiful day out. So we took advantage of it and spent the day at the zoo.  Peyton had an awesome time.  She wanted to walk the whole time and loved all the animals, she reached for each one...wanting to pet them like she does her puppies.  And it was great for Bryce to get to join us on an outing, since often times Peyton and I go by ourselves during the week.

 

Peyton also had her first toddler Easter! We went to my parents house and just hung out. It was pretty low key, but nice and relaxing.  Peyton even picked her own Easter bonnet to wear ALL day!!

Is dad sitting down?

Bryce and I had decided shortly after having Peyton that we wanted more kids and that 2 years was a good gap.  After several months of trying, we were excited to learn at the end of February that we were pregnant! It made those months of waiting worth it!

Over the next few weeks we shared with family that we were excited to make Peyton a big sister in November. A few weeks after learning we were pregnant I had a trip planned to visit my sister and niece, with Peyton and my mom...I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity to get to tell my sister in person.  So the plan was to put Peyton in a big sister shirt and wait for them to notice! 

My sister was the first to notice, even though my mom was the first to see her at the hotel and even commented on her cute outfit. (apparently she didn't actually read the shirt!) Everyone was super excited....and I was glad to have the cat out of the bag, as I was already feeling blah, horrible, like CRAP!  

Fast forward 2 weeks to our ultrasound......The day of the ultrasound I had told Bryce I was anxious for our appointment to see baby and he informed me that he forgot about our 2:30 appointment and he had a meeting from 1:00-2:00.  I was PISSED!! On my way to the appointment Bryce called to let me know that he was on his way.  Our ultrasound tech was AWESOME and said she would wait until he arrived.  

So 20 minutes later Bryce showed up and I was changing for the ultrasound.  In the office there are ultrasound pictures all over the walls, including pictures of twin ultrasounds.  Naturally we joked about what we would do if we saw two (clearly having no clue that we would!).  Bryce joked, it would be time to get snipped.  We both laughed and then the tech came in to get started. 

Not long into the ultrasound the tech says "Well, is dad sitting down?"  

Bryce instantly said  "Is that 2?"

    Babies at 7 weeks 2 days

    Babies at 9 weeks 4 days

And for me the rest is a blur!

Needless to say, Bryce clearly processed the news quicker than I did! 

Now, several weeks later we are still processing what all of this means for us, our family and for the growing babies.  I never really knew a lot about twins....I do now! Yay google and awesome Drs and nurses!

So here are some of the many questions we had and others have asked us:

1. Do twins run in your family?

Actually yes! On both mine and Bryce's side.  However, it doesn't matter that it runs of Bryce's side of the family because the woman is the one releasing the egg.  There is a gene that causes hyper-ovulation...the release of multiple eggs.  However, identical twins has nothing to do with genetics.  It can happen to anyone and is simply the egg splitting in 2 in early fertilization.  

2. Are they identical twins?

We don't know....and may never know unless we do a DNA test.  This is a little confusing but I'll do my best.  The only way to tell if you definitely have identical twins without DNA is if both babies are sharing EVERYTHING (sac and placenta).  My babies have their own sac and we cannot tell yet if they have their own placenta.  If the babies are opposite sex....they are clearly fraternal twins.  In fact, identical twins are quite rare.  So all in all, we may NEVER know if these babies are identical (even fraternal twins can look almost exactly alike).

3. Are they natural?

These babies are all natural! No fertility drugs used.

4. Did you have any idea you were pregnant with twins?

Nope! Not a clue...otherwise we probably wouldn't have joked about it.  I suppose I did have signs...I experienced symptoms almost right away!  Nausea hit before I even had a positive test and extreme exhaustion hit right after.  I assumed it was all normal....I had heard you can experience things sooner with your second pregnancy...so I thought nothing of it.