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.

Fun at the Pool

The pool at our apartment complex recently opened, and Lilly absolutely loves swimming! Usually Gus takes her after he gets home from work, and this weekend her aunts came over and played. Lilly always has so much fun with KA and MJ!

A Great Purchase

This could perhaps be the best 10 bucks we've ever spent. It's the "Amazing Bubbles" bubble machine from Target. After working our way through the insane packaging (they make it so difficult to get these things out of the box!) Lilly was simply in heaven. Actually, I was pretty amazed at how many bubbles this little machine pumps out. After a few minutes the carpet got a little damp from all the bubbles that Lilly wasn't able to pop with her hands. She has loads of fun with this thing. In fact, she was having so much fun that her Aunt MJ had to come over and get in on the action.

The Past Four Weeks

I know, I know. It's been a while since my last post... ya okay, it's been a long while. But I'm back.

The past four weeks have been great.

The second week in May my parents flew out to Virginia to visit us. They were here for a full week and Lilly loved every minute of it. Her favorite thing to do was take long walks with her grandma around our apartment complex making stops at the tennis court, the swimming pool, the club house (affectionately known as the diner), and the mailbox. And she always got really excited when her grandpa would wrestle with her on the living room floor.

At the end of the week, me and Lilly flew back to Idaho with my parents, leaving Gus behind to live the lonely life of a bachelor. It was a long trip and I was so happy to have my parents on the plane with me to entertain Lilly.

Lilly loves Idaho. I mean she really just loved being there.

Then again, what little kid wouldn't love feeding goats every morning with here grandpa, watching the chickens run around, jumping with the cats on the trampoline, running all around the open backyard, visiting Grandma "Arden" (Arnold) and raiding her candy basket every morning, playing the piano and singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as loud as possible, reading books with her sweet "great-gran", giving endless hugs to James and Brayden, making messes around the house with her cousins, and going shopping with her grandma? She was in heaven. It was such a fun two weeks in Idaho!

It was hard to leave, but we had to head down to Utah to meet up with dad'n. After being alone for two weeks, Gus was finally able to fly back and be with us. We stayed at his parent's house for a few days and had a lot of fun with Cristy and her kids that were also there visiting. Lilly's favorite thing to do was to swing on Gramma Henshaw's swings and run around in the backyard with Grandpa Henshaw. Another highlight was making cupcakes with grandma, and then going to Home Depot to make a craft at the Kids Workshop. Our stay in Utah went by quick, and Susan was a wonderful host as always.

Lilly was surprisingly decent on the plane ride back to DC. Gus couldn't have been happier and says that was the best present for his 30th birthday.

Oh ya, and before I forget...

The reason my parents came to Virginia for a week and I flew home with them for two weeks, and then went to Utah for one week is because I'm pregnant... WITH TWINS! And I'm SUPER sick!

Yep, this go-round has been pretty miserable and I spent the last four weeks either on a couch or a La-Z-Boy trying to relax and keep whatever I can down. I'll be 14 weeks along this Friday and I'm holding on to hope that things will get a little better in my second trimester.

So, while you enjoy the pictures that follow I'm going to run to the bathroom - because here it comes again...

A Fun Easter

Last Sunday, Lilly woke up to a surprise from the Easter Bunny. He hid eggs all over the house and a basket of goodies. Lilly was so excited and had so much fun finding all of the eggs with gum and candy inside.

Lilly was SO excited to see a Max and Ruby DVD

Finding the eggs

Enjoying her delicious candy

We also dyed Easter eggs for the first time. We had a great time, but I was really nervous about spilling the colored water everywhere. So I went ahead and dyed the eggs and then let Lilly put stickers on them. She loved it.

Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday, some friends in our ward put on an Easter egg hunt. At first, I wasn't sure how much Lilly would enjoy it because she usually gets a little shy when there are a lot of kids running around. As it turns out she loved it! After she found a good share of eggs, she settled into a comfy seat under a tree and enjoyed her candy.

Meeting The Easter Bunny

Today, Lilly met the Easter Bunny for the first time. We went to the mall and she got really excited when she saw him. We waited in line for a little bit and after Lilly observed a couple of kids screaming on the Easter Bunny's lap, she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I'm not scared." She thought she could handle it, but things turned a little traumatic for her.

At first, Lilly just stared at those mysterious white gloves

Then, she panicked and ran

Finally, I sat with her and she was happy