The morning of September 28, 2013, I decided to take a pregnancy test, for no real reason other than curiosity. I wasn't late yet, and I wasn't having any weird symptoms, but I took it anyway. To my surprise, the second little line showed up for the first time ever, and our journey to being parents began.
I did the calculations and determined that I was about 4 weeks pregnant at the time I found out, making my due date June 7, 2014. We told our families right away, and they were as thrilled (if not more) than we expected them to be. Around 6 weeks, I started having some nausea, heartburn, headaches, etc. to the point of being pretty miserable. I tried all the different remedies that everyone suggested, but I didn't feel much better. Word got out around work that I was pregnant pretty quickly, because I was feeling so sick that a lot of people just figured it out (plus, I wasn't much good at keeping it a secret.)
My first appointment at 11 weeks went well; we got to hear the baby's heartbeat, and that was about it, since the doctor had been called away for a delivery. Between 11 and 15 weeks, I started slowly feeling a little better, although not 100% yet.
This brings us to today...
I had a normal checkup scheduled, and since the doctor wasn't available for my last appointment, I was going to get the whole shebang -- pap smear, cultures, etc. I kindly told my husband he could stay home for this one. The nurse came in first to find the baby's heartbeat. She found it right away, but told me I seemed a little big for being 15 1/2 weeks and that maybe my dates were incorrect. I found myself thinking that I must have been wrong all along and that I really was closer to 20 weeks than I thought. The doctor came in and thought the same thing -- in fact, she said "you are way bigger than 15 weeks. We'll get you in for an ultrasound today or tomorrow." She explained that either my dates were wrong or that there was more than one baby in there. For some reason, I refused to entertain the idea that maybe two or more babies were growing inside me, so again, I assumed my dates had been wrong this entire time. They were able to get me in for an ultrasound right away... so quickly, in fact, that there wasn't enough time for Nate to get there.
The ultrasound began, and within 10 seconds, I heard the tech say, "there's one baby, and there's another baby." Holy Shit. I was in shock. I don't remember a lot of it, so thank goodness she gave me a lot of pictures. According to the ultrasound, both babies are about the same size, they each have their own amniotic sac, and they share a placenta. From what I gathered, this means they are most likely identical twins! I could have found out the gender(s), but I decided to wait until the next one (yes, we'll be having a lot) when Nate could be there too.
I called Nate, and of course, he didn't believe me at first. When it finally hit him that I was serious, he said, "let the ride begin!" I waited to talk with the doctor, who is a bit concerned that one baby has quite a bit more fluid around it than the other. This could mean one baby is getting quite a bit more blood/nutrients than the other, a condition called (I think) twin to twin transfusion syndrome. It could be something, or it could be nothing. We are going to a high-risk specialist on Thursday to be evaluated and to have another ultrasound.
We called our families as soon as I got home, and they were as excited (if not more) as when we told them we were pregnant in the first place! We are overwhelmed, scared, and most of all, thrilled! We thought we had a lot to think about and get in order with one baby, and we are discovering that it will be exponentially more with two! We have great family and friends to support us and we know everything will turn out fine!
I don't know if I'll ever share this blog with anyone, but I really wanted to document this day and the rest of the pregnancy... if for no one else, then for me.
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