Double the Love! Twice the Fun! Wow TWINS!
So, this is really happening. We are expecting TWINS! My husband, Don, and I found out we were having twins when our son, DC, was 10 months old. Let’s rewind and start with how we found out I was even pregnant.
As a new mom, pregnancy still feels like yesterday to me. Before missing my period, I struggled with fatigue, nausea and headaches for a week straight. These symptoms were all too familiar and I decided to take an early pregnancy test. It was a Sunday afternoon in August, and we had just got back from visiting my parents in the city and picked up our favorite Chinese food for dinner. Stopped at Target, like no big deal, grabbed a pregnancy test and took it as soon as we got home. Waiting 3 minutes for my results to show, I went into the kitchen to fix our plates for dinner and played with DC. In this same moment, in my head I am thinking I am probably overreacting and there is no way I am possibly pregnant. Those that know me, know I tend to overreact.
To our surprise, we saw TWO lines, which means it was positive for pregnancy! Don, jokingly laughs and says “No way! The two lines are way too faint”. He then runs to Target, grabs a digital pregnancy test for double confirmation. The clear “YES” had us shocked and smiling ear to ear at the same time. We immediately called our parents and everyone was so excited. Another added blessing to our family and DC was going to be a big brother!
At this point, I was only 3 ½ weeks pregnant. Still at a very early stage, I called my OB to set an appointment to officially confirm pregnancy. I strongly recommend scheduling this appointment as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. Even if this is not your first pregnancy, this appointment is not only helpful to confirm pregnancy, but to talk through what appointments will look like, discuss any risks and ask questions. At my appointment, my pregnancy was confirmed with a due date of 5/8 and our 8-week ultrasound was officially scheduled for 9/25, 4 days before Don’s birthday.
We were so excited for our first ultrasound appointment and could barely sleep the night before. We couldn’t wait to see our baby and hear the heartbeat. We knew the pregnancy would become REAL for us once we saw the ultrasound. For any new mamas, ultrasounds that are scheduled anywhere from 6-9 weeks of pregnancy are more than likely a transvaginal ultrasound. Here is what your first ultrasound will confirm:
1) Heartbeat
2) Location of the embryo to rule out ectopic pregnancy.
3) Confirm due date based on baby’s measurements.
4) Yolk Sac
5) Cysts
6) Number of fetuses
Let’s pay close attention to #6 – number of fetuses. Our ultrasound tech was so nice, and we were in casual conversation as she started my ultrasound scan. She let my husband know that he was more than welcome to take pictures of the screen since the printer wasn’t working. This being my 2nd pregnancy, I was paying close attention to the screen since I knew key things to look for. For example, the flickering flash is actually the heartbeat! As she was scanning my stomach, my heart stopped and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the screen and screamed, “NO WAY”. The ultrasound tech’s eyes instantly grew bigger and asked me what I saw, and I told her that it looked like I had TWO sacs. Don, totally oblivious, taking pictures of the screen WITH two sacs on screen, it finally registered to him. The ultrasound tech confirmed in that moment that we were having twins.
I cried for 5 minutes of happiness and joy as I couldn’t believe that these babies chose us to be their parents. This was nothing, but a blessing sent from God and we couldn’t be more thankful. We couldn’t wait to tell our parents and knew their reactions would be absolutely PRICELESS.
Most of you are probably wondering, do twins run in the family? Here is a fun fact! Don does have twins on his side of his family; however, the mother’s genes is what controls the likelihood of having twins. I do not have any twins on my side of the family and it just so happens to be a coincidence that Don does! So how did this happen? Well it was completely random! My OB confirmed that I released 2 separate eggs during ovulation that were both fertilized, which means we are having fraternal twins! Our babies have their own sacs with their own placentas, which means they don’t share a blood supply or nutrients. Twin pregnancy is automatically considered a high risk pregnancy; however, this is the best scenario to possibly have to lower the risks of complications.
Since there are 2 babies that means double/triple the appointments! We have had 3 appointments and 2 ultrasounds in 13 weeks. Our babies are well and healthy. They are both measuring perfectly with strong heartbeats.
So, there it is... the beginning of our journey as we prepare to welcome our babies as DC enters the toddler stage. We are looking forward to sharing this journey with you. Feel free to leave comments and ask any questions about what you will like to hear more of. It is going to be a crazy ride. I am excited, anxious and curious to see what all is to come. 3 under 2, we are ready for you!
With Love Always,
Jasz