July 10, 2012

The Verdict is In...

Well, don't worry everyone, we did not fall off the face of the earth! Our lives have just been full of a lot of craziness lately. But don't you worry...it's about to become filled with even MORE craziness!
(More on that later)

I know why you all have really been checking in on us - yep, that's right, I can stalk you all! Okay, I just see how many times the blog is viewed, and my guess is you haven't kept coming back to re-read our thrilling stories...you've been waiting and waiting for the details. We sorta left ya hangin' about the genders didn't we...

Well, some people know that we are even meaner than you think. We've known for weeks...since my belly was this big...
 
18 Weeks


 ...That at least one of our nuggets was a little BOY! That's right - at our appointment on June 20th we found out - the doctor told us we were for sure having one little BOY!

Baby #2 wasn't as cooperative, so we decided to torture all of you, and wait to share that news until we knew for sure what both babies were and make a big announcement about it.

Of course, now we've known the genders of both babies for a good two weeks and have just been so crazy I haven't had a chance to make the news official.

So...here it goes.

 The verdict is.....


BOYS!

Now, let me just say, this has not been the normal pregnant experience. For many reasons. I have not been sick at all. (Angry - oh yes. Hormonal - definitely. Exhausted - and then some, especially in the beginning! Sick - not so much.) We have not had a doctor's appointment without an ultrasound. Every doctor's appointment seems to come with a surprise. For example:

Appointment #1: We get to hear the baby's heartbeat...and *surprise* we find out we are having TWINS!

Appointment #2: Doctor cannot hear distinct heartbeats so *surprise* ultrasound it is.

Appointment #3: Doctor again can't hear distinct heartbeats so *surprise 1* ultrasound! *surprise 2* a BOY!

Appointment #4: Our ultrasound with the high-risk specialist *surprise 1* Baby #2 is a....BOY!!!!!!! *surprise 2* These BOYS are IDENTICAL!!!

Yep, that's right. The extra verdict is in...IDENTICAL twin BOYS!!! Is anybody else's heart pounding like crazy after reading that?! Because even after two weeks of knowing that, my heart is still beating like crazy after typing that!

On top of the big news, we got even one more surprise at our visit with the specialist. We now have to have doctor's appointments with ultrasounds every TWO weeks! Yep, add just a little more craziness to our lives. Now that they know they are identical they have to keep a closer eye on them to make sure something called twin to twin transfusion. From what I understand, since the babies share the placenta, they have to worry about the shared placenta containing abnormal blood vessels. This connects the umbilical cords and circulations of the twins - usually resulting in one twin getting more nutrients than the other.

Being pregnant with twins, you are already at higher risk for a lot of pregnant complications like preeclampsia, preterm labor, gestational diabetes. But all of those things can be tested for at your regular checkups or have symptoms associated with them. Twin to twin transfusion is not something you can test for, and has no outward symptoms. So, they keep a close eye on the babies and make sure they are growing at a similar rate. Twin to twin only happens in about 10-15% of identical twins, so we have good odds that our little nuggets will be just fine! And if we get to see them more often, whose complaining? :)

 So, I vote that from now on, no more surprises at the doctor's office. I am not sure my heart could handle anymore surprises. Now it seems like the only surprises we could have would be bad surprises...so I'm really hoping no more! Just routine appointments from now on please :)

And here's what you were all really coming back to check on us for...the pictures!!



Baby A - Heartbeat 144 bpm



Baby A- Profile



Baby A - Close up profile 
(You can see part of Baby B's face above Baby A's!)

 

Baby A - BOY!! 
(Baby A is the more cooperative...we knew he was a boy a week before!)



 
 Baby B - Heart rate 157 bpm

 

Baby B - Profile



Baby B - Profile closeup



 
 Baby B - BOY!!!



In all honesty though, we are thrilled. Tadd is on cloud 15. (It's even higher than cloud 9) Twin boys is what he said would be awesome ever since we found out we were expecting. He came out of the doctor's appointment with the biggest grin on his face - and I'm pretty sure it hasn't left yet.

In true Resa fashion...my first reaction after finding out was, "Tadd, we need to go fabric shopping!" So we did! And the fabric we picked out is fantastic! I can't wait to get started...but wait is what I will have to do since I have an anatomy final in one week. And let's be honest, with all of this excitement going on, who would have been studying? Not me is the answer to that one! So I have to buckle down for one more week...then let the crafting begin!

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