We went to the doctor on Monday for the first of our "formal" ultrasounds. They examined our babies for almost two hours, which means we got the privilege of watching them for almost two hours! It was lots of fun.
We learned so much about them, I have been so excited to share it with you. First, we got an additional surprise of finding out that we will be having IDENTICAL twins! Wow! We originally thought that they were fraternal due to their spacing and some other stuff, but it turns out that they are actually sharing the placenta which automatically makes them identical. The ultrasound tech described it to us by saying that they live in the same house in different rooms. Living in the same house and the same room would be very dangerous so, we're very glad they are separated by their own amniotic sacs. Having identical twins means two boys or two girls... we couldn't tell their gender yet, but when I go back in two weeks we should be able to see the boy/girl parts.
We had the screening called nuchal translucency which looks for an increased risk of defects like Down Syndrome. All's well... neither are showing any signs of abnormalities. YAY!
They are both exactly 2.5 inches long, and have equally strong heartbeats. It was amazing to see them.
Below is a picture of both little ones, if you look closely you will see one babies head is up (labeled H) and the other's head is facing down. The "B" label means body.
My favorite part of the ultrasound was when I saw one of our little ones yawn! The other one put up its hand to us (I think he/she was saying HI MOM!) and we could so clearly see the tiny fingers. They were both jumping around and turning. At the start of the appointment they were head to butt position, but during it they moved to head to head. Seeing their tiny legs kick was really amazing. I am so grateful to live in a generation that has this technology. I saw them in color (the little hearts were beating bright red) and we also got some 3-d pictures which showed they fit together like puzzle pieces.
All in all it was such good news and a relief. I was starting to fall prey to the
"paranoid mommy" brain and was feeling worried that one twin wasn't ok, or maybe they were sick or something completely irrational like that. I was anxiously waiting to just see that they were both just fine- and they are.
On another note, I had some bloodwork done and it showed that I have a blood disorder (it runs in my family, called Protein C deficiency) that creates too much clotting. Therefore, during pregnancy I am at risk for blood clots and strokes. This does not affect the babies, just me. So, its a simple fix- I have to get daily injections of a drug called Lovenox which is a blood thinner. So far, Dan has had the pleasure of administering the shots, my brain will not let me carry out the shot. I get close, right about to do it and then...I just can't. I am very lucky to have a husband willing to live out the doctor role every day.
So, everything is going great in the world of Mazzio Mania. I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!
