I finally get to share the news that I have been keeping in for a LONG time! Any pregnant woman who has news like this knows how HARD it is to keep it in. Tanner and I wanted to make sure things were ok with the OBGYN before we told everyone and it turns out that we had a few surprises so far.First of all this pregnancy was the first surprise to us. This was not planned and I was on birth control which is a good warning to all women on birth control that sometimes.. you might want to use double protection and that it is not 100% safe ;). Even though we did not plan this, we are now getting used to the idea of becoming parents and are anxious and excited for our family to start. Our first OBGYN visit was August 27th, where all the extra surprises started piling in. I was excited and a little nervous with stupid thoughts running through my head like, "what if I'm really not pregnant and the stick lied and we look like idiots?" well it turns out that the stick definitely told the truth... I am pregnant and not with one baby but with TWINS.
Since I was unsure of when my last period was, the doctor wanted to do an early ultrasound to figure out our due date. The technician was moving around her ultrasound tools and she said, "do you see what I see?" I was just thinking... um no I can't see anything. She said we had TWO babies in my stomach and not just one (using more technical and smarter words than that). I wish you all could see Tanner's face when he found out. WHAT?! TWINS?! I must admit though that my first initial reaction was pure joy and excitement. I know I use the word excitement a lot but that word really sums up what I am feeling along with the usual worry, nervous, and scared feelings that most pregnant woman go through.
The technician left the room to get the doctor to say some "final words" leaving Tanner and I just so... well EXCITED :). The doctor came in and then dropped the mood in the room rather drastically... she said that she couldn't tell by our ultrasound but it looked like they may be in the same amniotic sac which would mean a high risk pregnancy. I immediately broke down which I am sure these doctors are used to but like all worried moms for their babies... I was scared. We had to wait a whole week before we saw the specialist/parentologist to confirm if they were mono amniotic twins or not. So I had a week of sleepless nights and mood swings... sorry Tanner.
Our appointment was today and the new ultrasound technician did the meanest thing possible without realizing it. She was looking around and said, oh there is two membranes (two sacs)...which immediately lifted my spirits but what she really saw was an umbilical cord and not a dividing membrane. After searching for that stupid membrane dividing the twins she couldn't see anything and finally had the parentologist come in. She did a stomach ultrasound and a vaginal ultrasound. She still could not tell for sure but her gut feeling was that they were for sure mono amniotic twins (sharing the same sac and placenta). Surprisingly I was very calm in the room as the specialist explained to us what we were going to go through for the next 7 months.
I am about 10 weeks now and the twins are about the size of a Lima bean. The good news is that they are both healthy and growing at a normal rate with a healthy heartbeat. They also never like to separate which means that they are already close buddies.
Mono amniotic twins is a high risk pregnancy because of lots of reasons. The main reason is because the babies are in the same sac, their cords can become entangled causing all sorts of problems. Another reason is because they are sharing the same placenta, one baby may hog all the nutrients from the other baby causing abnormal growth in the other. If you are interested in finding out more about mono amniotic twins, you can always research it but those are the two major high risk factors. I found out that I will have to be on bed rest in the hospital shortly after Christmas until I deliver... which means I need visitors to keep me sane! Also they will automatically take them out between 32 and 34 weeks by C-section which means they will be premature by 8 weeks. They will be identical twins.
Wow that is a lot of information and I'm sure I have left some out but that is the gist of it. I am going to the same specialist next week so I will keep everyone updated. As far as how I am feeling... well tired and more tired! I have never felt more tired and incapable in my life. Luckily I have the sweetest husband who understands my craziness. The doctor said I should be experiencing fatigue (check!), depression (check!), constipation (check!) and dizziness (check!). I am praying that in 4 weeks, when my first trimester is over, I will be feeling a whole lot better than I do now.
I am so grateful for the support that Tanner and I have both had during all of this. I am also grateful that I wont have to enter into the hospital until after Christmas. I am mostly grateful that my twin babies are healthy right now and I am going to be praying every day that they stay that way.
SO to sum up everything... I'm pregnant and I'm due April 3rd (but really the middle of Feb)... and we are having TWINS! :)
