Oh my, it's TWINS!

TWINS!!! Never in a million years would I have ever thought to hear those words directed at me. The feelings that I felt that day (2/12/15) were unbelievable and I'm (J too) are still wondering if this is real life. Reality is slowly setting in. The excitement is still there and I'm not sure if the shock will ever really go down.

We found out we were pregnant on January 12th.  We planned this one (seriously - we only planned for one!), just like we did with Jamison and we were so happy that it didn't take us as long this time around as it did with him.  The thought only crossed my mind once that we were having twins when I jokingly told Justin at 5 1/2 weeks that I was abnormally large.  I told him we were either having twins or I was a lot bigger than I thought I was pre-pregnancy!  And then 3 weeks later - my "joke" was confirmed. 

Naturally, I've been doing a ton of research since we found out. One of the most important things that I've learned is that there are three types of twins: mo/mo, mo/di, and di/di.

Mo/Mo Twins:

Monochorionic/Monoamniotic - 1 sac and 1 placenta. This is very high risk and these type of twins are always identical.  Some of the risks include cord entanglement, cord compression and Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrom (TTTS).  This is where one twin receives the majority of nourishment, causing the other twin to become undernourished. 

Mo/Di Twins:

Monochorionic/Diamniotic - 2 sacs and 1 placenta. This is also a higher risk pregnancy due to the risk for TTTS. These twins are always identical. However, if it is not determined before 10-12 weeks how many placentas there actually are, there is a chance that 2 placentas may fuse to appear as 1. If they are same sex twins, there's no way to know in utero if they are truly mo/di or di/di.

Di/Di Twins - this is what we're having:

Dichorionic/Diamniotic - 2 sacs and 2 placentas. These type of twins have a lower risk. These type of twins can be either identical or fraternal. Now, according to my doctor and the nurse, they were pretty adamant that the twins would be fraternal. Which is not the case, but there is a chance of them being identical. If we find out that they are the same sex in utero, there is no way to determine Zygosity (identical or fraternal) until they're born (how similar or different they look), have their blood typed (different blood types = fraternal), and/or do a DNA test. Some parents with di/di twins often times don't find out if their twins are identical until years after their babies are born. I know for sure our hospital will have their blood types because that's what they did with Jamison when he was born.

So - here we are! Even though we're not considered high risk, I will be going to see a Perinatologist (Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist) every 3-4 weeks and my regular OB every 4 weeks until I think 20 weeks. Then the appointments will become more frequent. I hate going to the doctor so much, but the plus side is that we'll be getting an ultrasound and will get to see our little beans at each appointment.

Right now we're enjoying being a family of three, teaching Jamison about the babies, and becoming mentally prepared for this journey God has put us on. We're blessed He chose us to be parents again and we pray for a happy pregnancy and two sweet little healthy babes come September!