New Belly Pic!

Well, today is 14 weeks and I've posted a new belly pic...definitely looking different these days! I saw the cardiologist for a check up today and everything looked good. He didn't have any concerns about my heart. We also had another quick sono and both twins were looking great! We could see their spines and ribs when they were still enough to get a good picture. They are about the size of lemons this week. In two weeks we should be able to tell the sex when we go in for the next sonogram- we can't wait!!!

After my doctor appointments I went shopping with mom and got a couple of new things to wear. I bought some new undergarments since that's what I seem to be growing out of the fastest. I also got an official "maternity" top! We browsed the baby section at Target and we were both overwhelmed by all the choices- I can't wait to find out what we're having so I can narrow down my choices and start registering!

Baby update!!!

We had another sonogram today and both twins look "perfect" according to the doctor. Heartbeats are still going strong on both of them, and they are growing according to schedule. One weighs 72 grams and the other weighs 73 grams- I saw online that an average egg weighs 50-55 grams so they are not much bigger than that! They both were moving around some and we even saw one baby lift his arm and suck his thumb! It's truly amazing to have such great technology and be able to see all this cool stuff our little ones are up to.

We're in the 2nd trimester!

Wow! It's all going so fast, I can't believe we're in the second trimester now. I'm still not showing a whole lot and I'm still in my regular clothes...I keep thinking that any day now I'm actually going to really look pregnant (rather than like I just ate a dozen doughnuts).

Yesterday was 13 weeks and the little guys are about 3 inches long and the size of medium shrimp! This week Andie and I both had dreams that we had a little girl, so maybe they're not little "guys" afterall...we'll see!! I'm feeling much better these days- I even stayed up until 10:00 two nights this week, Whoo Hoo!!

Bring on the waterworks!

So I experienced my first hormonal meltdown on Monday afternoon. I had the day off of work so I thought I would drop in on some nearby daycares to get an idea of what they were like. I was less than impressed...in two different locations there were infants lying in cribs crying and nobody paid any attention to them. No soothing words, no back rubbing, no picking them up- and that was with me the "visiting parent" in the room!! Imagine how neglected they are when nobody is watching! I was only impressed with one location that I visited and of course I might as well give up my right arm to pay the fees. (Remember I have to pay tuition for two babies!)

After my catastrophic day driving around town to daycares I called Andie and proceeded to cry uncontrollably about how I could not under any circumstances leave my children in daycare, and he would just have to quit his job so he could stay home full time. As always, he managed to calm me down and assure me that he would not under any circumstances quit his job...we would just have to figure something out. A little while later I talked to my mom and it started all over again- hysterical tears about what kind of mother I would be to knowingly leave my children in a place where I know they weren't being cared for, blah, blah, blah. She too assured me that we would figure something out and she was going to help as much as possible. :) Under no circumstances was I to worry about this anymore because she was going to help me fix it! I love my mommy!!!

So I've decided that I will look for a private nanny to come to our home to care for the twins on the days that Andie and Mom aren't able to do it...if anyone has any good recommendations in the New Braunfels area I'm all ears (and fewer tears for now)

Thank heavens for a 3 day weekend!

I'm so excited to have a three day weekend! I need the R&R! We've hit the 12 week mark so the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically now. Andie and I are both feeling relieved to have gotten this far. The results of the genetic screeners all came back negative on the twins- that's good news, no Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 18, or Trisomy 13!!

I've been feeling much better the past few days, less nausea and more energy. They say the second trimester gets better, and I guess it's already starting. My tummy is definitely showing a little more but I'm still able to fit in my regular clothes, though I don't think it will be much longer before I have to go shopping!!

Are they identical or fraternal????

So yesterday afternoon we saw a perinatologist (that's medical speak for someone who specializes in high risk pregnancies). We got another sonogram and the doctor discovered that we are having identical twins!!! This only occurs in about 4 out of 1000 births, so it's pretty rare. We still don't know the sex but we should be able to tell in about 5 or 6 more weeks. So the big questions is: How do you know they are identical? Here's a little twin biology 101.

1. Identical twins occur when one fertilized egg splits into two sometime shortly after fertilization. (Fraternal twins occur when two separate eggs are fertilized).
2. Nobody knows why the split occurs, and identical twins are not genetic/hereditary like fraternal twins are. They are just a fluke of nature!
3. Depending on how soon after fertilization occurs, the twins can either develop their own placentas and amniotic sac, or share them.
* If the split occurs within the first 2 days of fertilization then the twins will each have their own amniotic sac and own placenta- this only occurs in roughly 30% of twin births and is hard to distinguish from fraternal twins since fraternals always have their own sacs and placentas.
* If the split occurs within 3-8 days after fertilization then the twins will share one placenta but develop their own amniotic sacs- this occurs in roughly 70% of twin births. This is the case with our twins- the doctor saw one placenta but two sacs!!
* If the split occurs 9-12 days after fertilization then the twins will share one placenta and one sac- this is very rare (only 1% of twin births) and very "high risk" because of the risk of entanglement with each other's umbilical cords while in the same sac. We are very thankful this is not the case with us!!
*If the split occurs after 12 days then you get conjoined or siamese twins...again, very thankful this is not the case with us!!
4. Identical twins are ALWAYS the same sex since they come from the same DNA, but interestingly, they don't have the same fingerprints!!!

So there's a little lesson on twins. I think I've covered all the questions about twins that have been asked to me over the last 24 hours...but ask away if there is something you want to know that I didn't touch on.

Now for an update on mom and babies:

I'm great except for some bouts of vomiting lately. The perinatologist will be seeing me every two weeks to do a sonogram to monitor the babies and the condition of my cervix to make sure I don't go into premature labor. I will also being seeing a cardiologist monthly to monitor my heart and make sure everything is good there. My regular OB will see me monthly until delivery gets closer and then every two weeks. I'm in very capable and intelligent hands with all my doctors and will be seeing someone at least weekly, so I feel very comfortable about everything.

The babies looked great on the sonogram yesterday. Both are developing normally and have very strong heartbeats. We did a nuchal fold test (a Down Syndrome screener) and both passed with flying colors...no concerns from the doctor. Baby A was very active- lots of tumbling and acrobatics. He would not be still and the sonographer had a hard time getting some good pics. His heart rate was 180 from all the activity! Baby B on the other hand was very calm and appeared to be napping. He stayed in one spot and posed very well for his pics- his heart rate was a little more calm at 167. Anywhere between 160-180 is a good heart rate at this stage of the game.

Yes, I am referring to them has "he" because I have to call them something, and because my gut feeling is that they are boys....I will be sure to let everyone know when we get a confirmation!

Embarrassing pregnancy moment #1

So yesterday morning I wasn't feeling too good. A little queasy when I got up but I managed to eat a bowl of cereal and then felt better. A little while later I was feeling yucky again so I downed a banana thinking...last time I ate something and felt better, so I better eat something again. BIG MISTAKE!!! As I was backing out of the driveway to go to work, the sudden urge to puke hit me. I threw the car in park, managed to undo my seat belt and flew out of the car and proceeded to projectile vomit into the front yard. As I was bent over with drool coming out of my mouth, I hear my neighbor across the street yell, "Brooke, are you alright?" I managed to get out, "Yeah" right before I hurled again. She just smiled and said, "I know how you feel" and went back inside. I was so thankful she didn't feel the need to come rub my back or watch my public display of puking go any further. Luckily, she knows I'm pregnant and had a perfectly valid reason for vomiting at 7:30 in the morning....I was not hung over from the super bowl party the night before! So, that is my first very embarrassing pregnancy moment...I'm sure there are more to come which I will gladly share with all of you.

Will I ever stay up past 9:00 again????

I have been so exhausted lately... growing babies is hard work! I usually am in bed by 8:30 at the latest these days, though on Saturday night I went to bed at 7:30 and slept over 12 hours!! Poor Andie, he has nobody to spend his evenings with anymore. I hear this should get better in the second trimester and we are counting down!

I have felt pretty good otherwise. As long as I eat something every two hours I can manage to not feel sick. Evenings are the worst time for me- nothing sounds good and my stomach is always upset. At least I'm not throwing up! I must be getting some calories in because mom and Andie both commented this weekend that I'm getting "a tummy" or "a pooch". I guess I'm really starting to show now.

So I've been contemplating renting a fetal heart rate monitor to reassure me when I'm feeling nervous. It would be great to be able to check the babies heartbeats anytime I want, but Andie thinks this will only lead to problems. They are not totally reliable and sometimes you can't find the heartbeat with the machine- he thinks this will lead to panic attacks. I, on the other hand think I will be perfectly rational about it since I know that going in...so what do ya'll think? Am I going to worry myself needlessly, or will this actually give me piece of mind?