Amazing News: Times Two!!!!!!!

I'm 12 weeks pregnant... with IDENTICAL TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Each baby is 57 mm long; about the size of a lime

We were completely shocked when we went in for our first ultrasound and the OB said: "here's the baby and the heartbeat... and here's the other baby and heartbeat."  I had just gone through a miscarriage and twins was not even a fleeting hope in my mind.  But we are so excited!!!  YAY!!!

There are a few sets of twins on the Seaver side, but no twins (that we know of) on the Hanna, Glauser or Huntwork sides.  But fraternal twins are the hereditary kind (two separate eggs) - not identical (one egg that splits).  

Our twins are "Mono/Di"

• Monochorionic: Only one placenta and chorionic sac (that's how we know they're identical, but if there are 2 placentas they could be fraternal OR identical)
• Diamniotic: Two separate amniotic sacs (for the first month they thought our babies shared an amniotic sac which is very dangerous - so we're soooo grateful they have their own sacs!)

Because they share a placenta they're at risk for Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) where one baby starts taking blood from the other baby.  Because of this condition I have ultrasounds every two weeks to monitor the babies.  I go back and forth between my normal OB and the high-risk OB.  I've already had more ultrasounds then I had during my entire pregnancy with Scarlett!

Today I had a special ultrasound called a Nuchal Translucency Screening.  It's done between 11-13 weeks.  They measure the thickness of the fluid behind the baby's neck and look for a nasal bone.  This information, along with my family history, age, ethnicity, etc.. they are able to assess the risk for certain genetic disorders. Everything went great!  Our babies look very healthy!  And we got lots of great pictures of them!!!  It was too early to see the gender though... but that gives us something to look forward to!  (Twin A is closer to my cervix, Twin B is on top)

I've been reading a lot about multiples cause I really didn't know anything about twins before this.  My doctors told me to read When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads.  It's a great book that explains the science behind the methods (just what I need!)  Basically when you're pregnant with a singleton (term for just one baby) the female body is designed to just "handle it."  With twins (or more) the strain is so much greater on the body and the babies that you have to be a lot more specific about what you eat, how much weight you gain and when, etc.  The book gives proven guidelines to achieve a healthy twin pregnancy.

Weight Gain
Basically I need to put the majority of my weight on by the 28th week.  Studies have shown that later in pregnancy it is harder for the mother to eat enough calories (with all those babies squishing her stomach) so you need a good fat storage.  If the babies don't get enough to eat and their growth slows/stops the mom's body views that as something is wrong and can trigger preterm labor.

I had to meet with a dietitian to go over my new eating guidelines.  I went into the meeting expecting her to tell me that I do a good job with my diet... but instead she told me I need to be eating full fat, high calorie meals.  Lots of meats (like every meal).  Lots of full fat dairy and ice cream.  Eat every 3 hours - and snacks should be mini-meals with a protein and a carb.  Skip on the veggies or save them for last since they are filling but don't provide a lot of calories.  Then in a few months I'll need to start drinking these high calorie protein drinks.  !!!  Not at all what I expected.  At first her advice was hard to handle cause I was soooo sick.  I could barely eat soup.  But now I'm so hungry.  All the time.  Like eat-FiberOne-Oats-&-Chocolate-bars-in-my-bed-in-the-middle-of-the-night hungry (and yes, I have woken up with melted chocolate on my arms - classy!)  I'm even eating more than Jake!

Belly Bump

So with twins my belly is about the size of someone 6-8 weeks further along with a singleton.  By 32 weeks my uterus will be full size.  After that my OB keeps saying "you're going to be soooooo uncomfortable."  I believe her too!  I can't believe I'm already wearing my maternity clothes.

20 weeks with Scarlett vs 12 weeks with Twins

Complications

With twins you are at a higher risk with all the normal pregnancy complications (gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, bleeding, cervix issues, etc).  But you're also at a much higher risk for preterm labor.  They don't know exactly what causes it but the longer we can keep those babies in me the healthier they'll be.

Our goal is to get to 37 weeks (around May 12).  Most twins come around 35 weeks.  But my main goal is to avoid the NICU as much as possible.  I've already been down that road once - at least I know what to expect.  Oh she also said she'll be able to use the same c-section incision as I had before and that the scar won't have to be any bigger with twins.

To sum up... we're doing everything we can to get healthy babies.  They look great so far.  Oh - and we're sooooooooooooooooo exciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!