Ramblings-n-Writings

Because of a serious problem with a previous pregnancy, I’m required by my doctor to have an ultrasound as soon as I know I’m pregnant. So, at 4 weeks 6 days gestation, I had our first ultrasound. I’ll never forget that ultrasound! It was almost over when the sonogram lady paused.

“Wait a minute…” she said.

“Oh no! What’s wrong?” I thought to myself as a feeling of dread washed over me.

“See this right here? I think it might be a twin.”

“Twin?” (I think my voice squeaked a little.)

“Now I can’t be 100% sure because it’s early but I’ve been doing these ultrasounds for years and this definitely looks like a twin.” She was pointing to some faint blobby thing that really didn’t look at all like the other baby. In fact, I had a hard time distinguishing it on the screen.

She said she was marking it for the radiologist to look at as she typed “Possible Twin???” on the screen.

One other thing that she mentioned was that my HcG levels were elevated which can also signify a multiple pregnancy.

Later that evening my doctor called with the ultrasound results. He told me not to get excited about the twin thing because a lot of pregnancies start out as twins especially on the early ultrasounds. Then somewhere between the early ultrasound and 10 weeks gestation one of the twins vanishes resulting in what is called “vanishing twin syndrome.” (Scientists have no explanation for what happens to the twin other than it simply vanishes and our bodies absorb it.)

So the plan was that we wait until 10 weeks gestation for our next ultrasound.

To me, that wait seemed like forever. Not so much to find out about the twins because I already knew in my heart it was, but simply to find out if they were healthy and to see/hear their heartbeats.

Finally at 10 weeks 6 days, we had our ultrasound. DH came along for this one – no way was he missing out on seeing his babies for the first time! (Other than the very first ultrasound, he was at the remaining 8!)

Sure enough, there were two tiny little babies who were very active squiggling and squirming around. (And they were that way at every ultrasound. We had 5 different sonographers over the course of the pregnancy and all of them commented on how active the babies were, more so than some singletons.)

Now for the ironic part of the story. For a month or so before that first ultrasound we had been car shopping. My car at the time had an unsolvable mechanical problem and we were tired of dumping money in to it. I took a pregnancy test on a Thursday (4 weeks 1 day), and that Saturday we were out shopping again. We did find a car, albeit bigger than what we had in mind – we were planning on a Focus but ended up with a Fusion.

As we drove off the car lot, I looked at DH and said, “Ya know, this car is bigger than what we planned. Maybe God knows that we’re having twins and we’ll need the bigger car.” DH groaned and we both laughed.

So, four days later, after that first ultrasound was finished, I called DH who was on his way to work. I made him pull over to the side of the road (partly because I didn’t want him losing the call in spotty cell service and partly because I didn’t want him wrecking his car!). First, I assured him that everything was okay with the pregnancy – a big relief for us.

Then I said, “Remember what I said when we left the car lot on Saturday about needing the bigger car?”

“Seriously?” (I could hear the disbelief in his voice.)

“Yep.”

“You’re having twins?”

“Yep.”

And I really don’t remember the rest of the conversation. But I do know that today there is no way we’d fit in a Focus!

Related posts:

1. Identical or Fraternal?
2. Guess Who is Here?
3. Entering the Home Stretch
4. Twins and Solid Food
5. Twins = Two of Everything?

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