Scan 17 Weeks & 5 Days!

We get so excited before every scan and just can't wait to see our little babies! We go every 2 weeks and can't imagine having to wait any longer! I felt the first real kick today!!! Baby B kicked the scanner really hard! Today was the start of lots of kicking which I love!!!

We unfortunately didn't get a very good report from the Dr. today. In fact, the Dr. is very worried about Baby A. With identical twins there's a big risk of the twins starting to transfuse blood. It's called TTTS or Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. One baby becomes the donor and the other the receiver. I'll spare all the details, but it's very dangerous for both babies. One sign of TTTS is slowed growth and reduced bladder size. Today Baby A had both of those so the Dr became very worried. Because Baby A has a marginal cord insertion it's hard to tell whether any transfusion has started or if it's just that Baby A is struggling to get enough of what it needs from the placenta due to the poor insertion. Baby A weighed 167g and Baby B 184 g. The weight wasn't what worried her as much as the size of the head, tummy and bladder. The Dr determined that is was just the cord causing the problem and not TTTS, but started talking about the possibility of us having to go overseas for laser surgery. The surgery is very risky and it would mean losing one baby if not both. Scientifically there's nothing you can do if a baby has restricted growth due to a marginal insertion so we were told that there was nothing we could do to help our little one.

That left us feeling horribly helpless so out of desperation we started researching frantically and calling everyone we knew that might have any information about what we could do. What we learned is that diet and rest had worked in some cases not all, but we thought it was worth a shot. I started having SCIO energy work done to increase the amount of energy going to the babies. I also saw a homeopathic nutritionist to help me find some better prenatal vitamins & supplements. He also put me on some oxygen boost to help increase my circulation and therefore oxygen to the babies. I also put myself on partial bedrest because, although nothing is proven, it's been said that bedrest and particularly laying on your left side increases the amount of blood flow to your uterus. I tried hard to control my stress, but it was a very emotional and stressful time because we were faced with the real possibility of losing our babies. We spent a week in Plet and it was very good for all of us! Needless to say it was a very long 2 weeks until our next scan! Even though we were quite nervous, we considered ourselves so lucky because we had so much support! People around the globe were praying for our babies and sending lots of healthy thoughts! Deep down we knew they had to be ok because they were loves so much by us as well as all of our family and friends!

Scan 15 Weeks & 5 Days

We were amazed to see how much our little Bubbas had grown in just 4 weeks! Baby A now weighs 113g and Baby B 117g. Dr Morris was amazed at how evenly they are growing given that Baby A's umbilical cord is only marginally connected right on the edge of the placenta. Baby B has a solid connection right in the middle! She checked them again to be sure they are anatomically correct and they are perfect!! They are really starting to look like babies and are so adorable!!

Our 1st Specialist Scan - 11 Weeks & 5 Days

We went for our 1st scan with Dr. Morris today! She specializes in high risk pregnancies which identical twins are among the riskiest. She has super high-tech equipment that was able to count every finger & toe. She could also measure spaces as small as the bone in the babies' nose! We loved seeing our babies this close up and received some very good news today! Anatomically our babies are perfect and there's no risk of Downs or other mental problems. She confirmed that we are in fact carrying Monochorionic Twins which means they are identical and sharing the same placenta. She could tell which gender they were today, but we decided to keep it a surprise for when we meet them! We both have a feeling they're girls, but we'll see! They will definitely be either 2 boys or 2 girls and not one of each! We are still getting over the shock of learning that we'll be having 2 babies and not 1, but are SUPER excited too! We feel so lucky to have been given this special gift! Today Baby A weighed 46 grams and Baby B 52 grams. Baby A is lying on my left hand side and Baby B on my right!

The ultimate 8 week surprise!!

At 8 weeks we went for our 1st scan! When the Dr. asked if Andrew was sitting down we got quite a fright thinking that was something was wrong. He then pointed out the 2 flashing lights on the screen and said they were hearts. We then thought "why does our baby have 2 hearts??" Very silly when you look back look back, but the last thing we ever could have imagined was that we'd be expecting twins! We not only found out that we were blessed with two babies that day, but that they would be identical!! We are so lucky! The chance of falling pregnant with identical twins is less than 0.02% :)

A big + on the stick!!

We found out that we are expecting a baby today!!!! It came as a bit of a shock because we'd been trying for some time, but we are both SOO happy! We are also relieved because we thought when we got home from Seattle that we were going to have to start seeking some help to fall pregnant! There is SO much truth to the saying that wanting a baby is the best contraceptive because as soon as we'd resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to need some help...we got pregnant! I'm sure it also helped that we were on holiday and very relaxed!

We had a hunch when I was late, but confirmed it today with a stick from Target! Good old Target! I had an appointment with Theresa (homeopath) in Seattle so we had to take the test at her house just before so we knew for sure. When you're pregnant there are a lot of supplements that aren't safe to take!

When we got home to my Moms we handed her the stick (we washed it of course) and she just asked "why are you handing me a thermometer?" It was soooo funny! It took her a good few seconds to figure out what was happening and then of course the excitement started!!

Where it all started!!

Our actual 1st year marriage anniversary was on Nov. 28th, 2010, but since we were apart (Andy was in SA and I was in Seattle) I decided to surprise him with a getaway! We drove out to Hood Canal and spent 2 nights at Alderbrooke Resort! This is where, we believe, our little ones were created! We hadn't seen much of each other in weeks so we had the most amazing time just being with the 2 of us and enjoying each other's company! Oh and of course we had massages too!! The weather wasn't great so it was the perfect setting to just cuddle up in front of the fire! The fire, yummy wine, and long chats were just what the Dr ordered apparently :)