Q&A About the Twins

Well, I’m almost 17 weeks along now and I’ve decided to do a post to tackle some of the most popular questions I've gotten about the twins over the weeks:

Are the twins identical?
This is probably the most common question I get asked.
Yes, my twins will be identical.

The nerd term for identical twins is “monozygotic” (MZ). Basically what happens is a single egg is fertilized to form one zygote (hence mono-zygotic) which then splits into two separate embryos. It is a natural phenomenon that doctors cannot yet explain.

On the other hand, fraternal twins, otherwise known as “dizygotic” twins (DZ), usually occur when the woman ovulates two eggs in a short period of time. The two eggs are independently fertilized by two different sperm and then the eggs implant themselves. The two fertilized eggs form two zygotes, hence the term dizygotic (DZ).

At my last ultrasound the doctor could tell the twins were MZ because the little ones shared a placenta. Now, not all MZ twins share a placenta. Occasionally with MZ twins, the zygote will split very early and each cell will develop its own placenta. Since DZ twins have their own placenta as well, this scenario would have made it difficult to tell if they were identical twins (MZ) or fraternal twins (DZ). But in our case they are MZ because they share a placenta.

However, the babies do have separate sacs – the thin membrane surrounding and protecting them and holding the amniotic fluid. The medical term for babies who share a placenta but have separate sacs is monochorionic diamniotic or just mono/di, which occurs most of the time with MZ twins.

Do twins run in your family?
No hereditary influence for MZ twins has been identified. Scientists still haven’t determined why the embryo splits during development. It’s an anomaly that occurs in about three of every 1000 deliveries worldwide. Since our twins are MZ, this question doesn’t apply. I guess we’re just lucky.

Note: Fraternal (DZ) twins can be hereditary on the mother's side. The tendency to release more than one egg in a cycle is a genetic trait that can be passed from mother to daughter.

Were you on fertility medication?
No. Besides, MZ twins are not caused by fertility treatments, birth control pills or maternal age. Again, science does not know what causes identical twinning. Fraternal twinning can be attributed to fertility treatments, advanced maternal age, birth control pills or other factors that influence twinning.

Do you know the gender yet?
Yep. My most recent ultrasound was at 15 weeks and they were able to see two little BOYS! The radiologist was really funny. She said, “Well, there’s only one thing that that can be…” A part of me was hoping for one girl and one boy, but MZ twins are always the same sex. They also have the same blood type and share 100% of their genetic markers.

Do you have names picked out?
Maybe.

How are you feeling?
Like crap.

No really, how are you feeling?
I’m serious. I feel like crap. I'm not as bad as I was in the beginning and I’m not throwing up as much as I used to, but I still feel pretty crappy. I'm afraid this is how I am going to feel the rest of my pregnancy since that is how I was with Lilly.

Right now I crave cottage cheese, white bread (with butter), and watermelon. I get really sick if I eat anything other than these three things – like last week when I ate some of Gus’s cheeseburger from Five Guys. It was so good, and I’m sure the twins enjoyed it. But I’ll never eat at anything from Five Guys again. Just thinking about it makes me sick.

How does Lilly feel about all of this?
My dear, sweet Lilly. I just love that kid. I know some people say that small children don't really comprehend what is going on. That’s not the case with Lilly. She gets it. I really believe that she gets it.

She always rubs my belly and calls the babies by name. She always tells them she is sorry when she jumps on them, or “accidentally” throws something at them. And she always makes sure they each get a Flintstones Vitamin everyday (I haven’t been able to swallow pills so I take two chewable Flintstones each day).

Lilly is very sweet to sit on the couch with me when I feel sad and really sick. We often talk about how big the babies are getting, how much she is going to help when they are finally here, and how she loves looking through all the ultrasound photos. My favorite is when she snuggles up to me and reads me her “Peter Rabbit” book that my mom gave her.

She is really excited about the babies, but not too excited about me lying on the couch all day. She often says things like, "Mom, when you’re not sick anymore you can chase me!" Or another thing she often says to Gus is, "Mommy can’t come, she's too sick."

It makes me feel like a horrible mom that I can’t take care of her. But maybe this is just good preparation for when the babies come and I won’t be able to give her all my attention like I used to back in the good old days.

When is your due date?
My original due date is Dec. 11th, but twins are commonly delivered sooner than singletons - full term is considered 37 weeks with multiples. If this holds true for our boys, they should be here a week or so before Thanksgiving.

How did you feel when you found out that you were pregnant with twins?
I was totally excited! Then I started thinking about all the hard and scary things like how many more complications I could have during pregnancy, or how Lilly is going to handle all of this. I worry that she’ll get left in the dust with two new babies that will demand my constant attention. I know Lilly will be a great big sister and helper but I don’t want her to feel left out. So, I guess right now I am feeling happy, nervous, anxious, blessed, excited, and overwhelmed....all at once.