Out of the First Trimester

We’ve just completed week 13, and we are completely out of the first trimester! ***General celebration!*** While there are still risks, we have fortuitously navigated through the dangerous waters of the first trimester and avoided the extra perils caused by age and having identical twins. Our two little babes have come a long way. Here is a recap of some of their basic information:

Thurs., Jan. 21: 7 weeks

• Twin A: 9.4 mm, 6 weeks 6 days old
• Twin B: 9.9 mm, 7 weeks old

Our little California raisins.

Thurs.,Feb. 4: 8 weeks 6 days

• Twin A: 22.1 mm, 8 weeks 6 days old
• Twin B: 23.2 mm, 9 weeks old

To give you a little perspective, our two little ones were each about the size of a grape.

Fri., Feb. 26: 12 weeks 1 day

• Twin A: 75.2 mm, 13 weeks 4 days old
• Twin B: 75.0 mm, 13 weeks 4 days old

The Amazing Duo are as long as a peach but not as round!

Let’s see how much they’ve grown:

The Amazing Duo at 7, 9 and 12 weeks.

As you can see, the Amazing Duo more than doubled in size between weeks 7 and 9, and they tripled in size between weeks 9 and 12. By week 12, they also looked a lot more like tiny little babies (though still with fairly large heads in relation to their bodies). It’s also extremely important that their sizes stay close to the same early in their growth, so they’ve done a good job there too. I’ve added not stealing each other’s food and blood to the twins’ prenatal training. What all is on the list?

• Stay healthy.
• Share the space.
• Share the food and blood equally.
• When the time comes, heads down and faces forward.

Pregnancy Symptoms

As the pregnancy-symptoms shuffle comes to a close, I’m left with a few enduring symptoms, primarily fatigue (doubled by my allergies at the moment), indigestion and constipation. I fell asleep early in the evening last night only a few hours after a 2 1/2 hour nap because I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. As for the other two symptoms, I’ve found some remedies that work for me. Much earlier in the pregnancy, I started drinking a daily cup of prune juice (you can buy brands that call themselves plum juice if you find the name unappealing) which has helped keep me running smoothly. As for the indigestion and heartburn, antacids do help, but I’ve recently started to chew a little candied ginger instead. The ginger seems to be more effective in relieving my heartburn quickly.

The Wait

Now the wait is on. We are waiting until we can feel those little ones moving inside regularly, until we know if they are 2 little girls or 2 little boys. We are also watching as my belly continues to grow and my bellybutton gets bigger. At the moment my mammaries are determined to give the belly a run for its money, and they have maintained a small lead in their measurements. However, I’m not sure they have the endurance to keep that lead over the course of the race.

These photos were actually taken right before we completed week 13 (March 3rd). I’m wearing some of my genuine maternity clothes. Thanks, sisters! Plus, Puck got to make an appearance with me because we found our tripod.

Click once on an image to see the full image. Click a second time to see it larger.

These photos are from Feb. 22, the Monday we wore our twin shirts to school and work (though I wasn’t wearing sweatpants to campus). Shakti gets some loving attention and photos too.

Click once on an image to see the full image, and click a second time if you want to see a larger version of the image.

At midnight Oklahoma-time, my twins surprised me with a birthday present and card. They got me a heart monitor so that we could hear them moving around and later in the pregnancy we’ll be able to hear their heartbeats. I also discovered how talented my twins are. They not only fence but also write poetry. In my birthday card from them, they wrote me a lovely little poem:

Dear Mom,
You can’t see us as we grow
But there is something you must know–
We both listen as you are speaking
And feel the love from your heart beating.

We can’t talk yet but you must trust
Our hearts beating are love from us.
We both love you is what they say
Hugs from inside on your birthday.

Puck and I took some time to listen to my belly for those tiny heartbeats and the thumps of movement, and we look forward to hearing more as they continue to grow.

From the Twin-Daddy:

Much has happened since our visit to the Baby-Ninja and our previous post with the video was very short.  This post will be a bit longer to catch up.

Boys or Girls?

I should also make it clear immediately that we have no idea as to gender but we’re now looking at two kids of the same gender.  That takes us back to a 50-50 shot of either boys or girls.   As before, we are happy with either.

Mary’s next OB-GYN appointment is on March 18 and we may know more then.

The Dill Engine Kicks into Gear

Thursday night there were boxes on the porch.  Mary’s sister Janet (and the rest of Mary’s female relatives) had been saving maternity clothes and baby supplies for this moment for years.  Janet’s boxes were filled with maternity clothes for Mary but these were only the first ripples that hinted at a wave of goodwill coming our way.

The same evening Mary’s other sister Linda arrived.

It wouldn’t be completely unfair to say that Linda didn’t just ‘arrive‘, but rather she ‘transported motherly goods with great abandon‘.  She had carefully looked for an airline that would permit her the most possible luggage and she filled half of our minivan with the gently used and necessary items that had served so many of my nieces and nephew over the last few years.  Struggling onto a plane with two kids and more luggage than any single person could carry, we stare in amazement at what an experienced mom can accomplish.  (Resumes should have a special section for Mom-ness.)

We sit as beneficiaries of all the parents in our family who are raising their older children and were kind enough to set things aside for our future needs.

Also, for the weekend we got a too-brief preview of what our house could become filled with giggling kids.  Both Kate and Eric were wonderful to have and hopefully we spoiled them a bit so that their dad, Brian’s, life is a bit harder when they get back.  ;o)

Report from the Baby-Ninja

Friday we visited the legendary Baby-Ninja.  Linda, Kate, and Eric were able to come in and watch the ultrasound with us.  As soon as the babies came up on the display both Kate and Eric were dumbstruck that these two little babies were wiggling around in Aunt Mary’s tummy.

Identical!

It was in this sort of stunned amazement that we found out we are having identical twins.  When an egg is divided into two eggs, the timing of the division can produce different combinations:

• Dividing in the first 1-3 days = 2 amniotic sacs & 2 chorions
• Dividing during days 4-8 = 2 amniotic sacs & 1 chorion (Shared placenta)
• Dividing during days 8-13 = 1 amniotic sack & 1 chorion (Shared placenta)

Divide and Conquer!

Our kids each have their own amniotic sac, but they share a chorion and a placenta.  That means we are on the lookout for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.  (That is when one twin gets most of the nutrition and the other twin doesn’t grow as fast.)

Right now our twins are very close in size:

• Twin A: 75.2 mm in length
• Twin B: 75.0 mm in length

That’s perfect!  Most identical twins won’t have a problem with this but it is always better to be safe and that means Mary gets ultrasounds every two weeks after week 17.  If something does come up, the doctors can do things to help.

The other thing tucked into this information is the fact that our kids had a big growth spurt over the last 3 weeks.  At the time of the ultrasound they were 12 weeks and 1 day old.  Their relative size was 13 weeks and 4 days old!!

Holy Cow!  In three weeks my kids picked up another week and 2 days of growth!!  That is absolutely stunningly good news.  Because twins are often born early, their weight and size is a good indicator of how well they will do when they are born.  Getting ahead of the game is a nice bonus for us.  This makes me want to gloat.

Cower before me!

My newest token gloat:

“Not only am I the man, I designate myself Alpha-Husband.  Weaker and inferior husbands must cower before my awesome husband-liness!!  I have managed to hunter-gather so well for my babies and my wife that we got over an extra week’s worth of growth.”

I beat my chest at this point, hoot vigorously, and then attack a shrub or two.  Then I will go into the garage and loudly and randomly use power tools for no apparent reason.  Seriously though, early growth is going to be good for us.

Mary’s Bloodwork

The other important thing is that Mary’s bloodwork came back very well and it doesn’t look like we are in for any surprises.  We are taking a preliminary pass on the CVS and Amnio tests.  If Mary’s next round of bloodwork gives us any indication that these test can help us improve our chances for healthy babies we will reconsider it.

WifeWatch 2010

Food

Predictably, the pregnant lady can no longer eat a large meal in a single sitting.  When she does eat, there is a struggle for real estate in the tummy department between the kids and the lunch.  We knew this was coming which is why getting her internal larder stocked up earlier was a big goal for me.  Now we just need to keep her stocked up with smaller meals more often.  Protein has been going fine but we want to get her more vegetables so that will be our new focus for a bit.

There are a few foods that will cause Mary’s eyes to light up and generate the stomping & clapping dance.  Her cravings really like an English breakfast and she absolutely loves the all you can eat Curry buffet.  There is a wonderful tradition of vegetarian dining in India which means she has a wide selection of vegetables to choose from.  Because Spinach is a power food, Saagwala is like turbo-charged twin fuel for her.  Saagwala is a non-spicy spinach Indian gravy often served with chicken (or without any meat at all) and the spinach is packed with good mom and baby stuff.

Mood

There is a sort of continous stunned experience we are going through as the doctors keep surprising us with new information, with the latest being that we’re having identical twins.  If the next ultrasound shows us that the twins have established their own Wi-Fi internet connection it will be par for the course and I’ll ask if they have started their own blog.

First Twin Blog Entry from the Womb – “Had to smack my twin today.  Mom is eating curry again.  My twin and I both suspect that our Dad is very weird.  We don’t know why, but we just both think this must be true.”

Mary is also strutting her stuff in her new maternity clothes today and she is very happy to have comfy pants.

Sleep

Not much new here.  I was lying in bed reading while Mary snuggled up for her nap on Sunday.  As is typical, she was out almost immediately.  A few minutes later she giggled in her sleep like someone had told her a joke.  Pregnancy, it’s being pretty fun for us and she giggles even more when she is awake.

Babies Countdown – The Double Header

192 Days until September 9

The Twinsanity Interval –  I’m penciling this new item in with an indeterminate starting date based on our conversations with the other twin moms.  This will be the rough patch where the rookie parents figure things out and work against the learning curve.  Our family is going beyond the call of duty in this regard with family members already scheduling out their support time with us during these early days.  That means we will have people leaving their homes and traveling thousands of miles to help.  Words cannot describe how wonderful and amazing that is.

Halfway Home Day – At 18 weeks, we are halfway to our goal of 36 weeks.  While we would prefer to carry those twins longer, 36 weeks is our minimum goal.  When we hit Halfway Home Day, we’re about 18 – 22 weeks from having kids in our house.

• Wednesday, March 3 is Mary’s birthday!
• Thursday, March 4 is Twin Week number 13.
• Thursday, March 18 is the next OB-GYN appointment.  (There is a good chance we can learn the gender of the twins here if they give us an ultrasound.)
• Thursday, April 8 is Twin Week number 18 and Halfway Home Day.
• Thursday, April 22 is week 20 and we should be feeling regular baby kicks by then.  (By this time we should also know the gender via ultrasound provided the little ones have not been shy.)
• Thursday, May 7 and the twins become viable as early as 22 weeks.
• Thursday, May 20 and 90% of twins born at 24 weeks survive and that number only gets better from here on out.
• Thursday, August 12 and we hit our goal of 36 weeks minimum.  From here on the twins could come at any time.
• Thursday, September 9 and we hit 40 weeks.  This is our due date even if we expect the twins to possibly come sooner.
• Sometime After the Delivery – 4.5 months of the Twinsanity Interval.