Finding out!

On Tuesday, November 12 (which happens to be my birthday) I had an appointment with my midwife. I am 12 weeks pregnant and was really excited to hear the baby's heart beat. I visited and talked with my midwife for the first time and was really excited to meet her. I have decided to have a natural labor & delivery for this pregnancy. After visiting with her for a little bit and going over questions and concerns it was time to hear the baby's heart beat! I got up on the table and my midwife put the Doppler on my stomach. Within seconds we heard the heartbeat! The heartbeat sounded fast. It was healthy and perfect. After hearing the heartbeat my midwife wanted to check my uterus to see how big it felt. Immediately after checking my uterus she looked at me and said, "Are you sure your 12 weeks? It feels like you are 4 weeks further along. I want you to get an ultrasound as soon as possible so we can be sure. Getting an ultrasound early is more accurate." I was a little surprised and thought, there is now way that I'm 16 weeks, that is just crazy! So we made an appointment to get an ultrasound later that same day!

As I sat in the waiting room to get the ultrasound I was feeling anxious and excited. Excited about the fact of seeing the baby and anxious to see if there was a reason I was measuring larger, or if it was just a fluke. I went into the ultrasound room and lied down on the table. The ultrasound tech started. At first everything looked blurry. Then she said, "Alrighty....there.... are twins, so that's the reason you are measuring big" I was so happy, shocked, surprised, & excited! I couldn't believe it. I didn't think that I would ever have twins! I had been joking about having twins a little bit and had even told Chris the night before that I secretly hoped I was having twins because our youngest will almost be 5 when we have the baby. I really feel like this is a great blessing from God. This is God's way of giving me another baby without having to go through another pregnancy.

The babies were each measuring 12 weeks and 4 days. They are each in their own sac, but it looks like they are sharing a placenta. If they ARE sharing a placenta they are identical twins. But it could also be two placentas that were fused together. In that case, they are fraternal twins. So far as I've researched a little bit about twins this is what I've learned. Fraternal twins are hereditary and Identical twins are just by chance. Fraternal boy/girl twins are the most common type of twin followed by fraternal girls, then fraternal boys; then identical girls and the least common is identical boys. Identical twins can share the same sac, but it's better if they are in their own sac. Identical twins always share the same placenta. Which can be risky because sometimes one baby will get more fluids leaving the other baby deprived. Fraternal twins always have their own sac and their own placenta.

Because it looks like my babies are sharing the same placenta I have another ultrasound scheduled for next week. A specialist will then take a closer look at the babies and the placenta to make sure everything is looking good.