Ramblings-n-Writings

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Hope Rekindled Bethany House (June 1, 2011) by Tracie Peterson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.
She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings’ Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership’s vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.

In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.

She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.

Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.

Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family–especially her three grandchildren–Rainy, Fox and Max. She’s active in her church as the Director of Women’s Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer’s retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books

ABOUT THE BOOK

Will Love Escape Her Grasp?

Life seems to be falling into place for Deborah Vandermark. On the cusp of finally marrying Christopher, the man who claimed her heart, she is devastated when he receives an urgent telegram. Bound to his family obligations, Christopher travels to Kansas City, uncertain of what he will find there.

When her fiancé returns to Texas, Deborah is faced with a very different future than she expected. She finds herself plagued with questions and uncertainty…about marriage, motherhood, and her passion to train as a physician. And when an old adversary reveals a contract that may spell ruin for Vandermark Logging, Deborah’s life seems to be spiraling out of control. Can Christopher and Deborah find a way to claim the future they long to share when so much stands in the way?

If you’d like to read the first chapter of Hope Rekindled, go HERE.

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!

The big question everyone asks …

Are your twins identical or fraternal?

Our answer: That’s a very good question because we really don’t know the answer.

If you look at their picture here, you’ll see a lot of similarities but also some differences. Personally, I can tell them apart, but Daddy has a hard time. In his defense, I’m with them a lot more than he is. However, there have been a few times when I’ve mixed them up. Oops!

How do we not know if they are identical?

Way back in September, at 14 weeks gestation, we consulted with one of the top perinatologists in the state who specializes in multiple pregnancies. We were a little nervous because what we would learn that day would define whether we were a true high risk pregnancy. (Twin pregnancies are automatically classified as high risk until determined otherwise.)

At our appointment, we had an extensive ultrasound focusing on the placenta(s) and the sac(s). The goal was to determine if the twins were “di” or “mono” or a combination. Here’s a bit of a biology lesson …

If twins share the same sac, they are called “mono-amniotic.” If they share the same placenta, they are “mono-chorionic.” If they have separate sacs, they are “di-amniotic,” and separate placentas are “di-chorionic.”

Highest risk is the combination of mono-amniotic and mono-chorionic. In that situation the twins share everything, and the risk increases that one twin could get tangled in the umbilical cord of the other twin.

Least risk is the combination of di-amniotic and di-chorionic.

If you have a mono-mono combination, the twins are always identical. If you have a mono-chorionic di-amniotic combination, the twins are almost always identical. If you have a di-di combination, there is a chance the twins are identical.

So, what did the perinatologist tell us?

We appeared to be a di-di pregnancy.

“Appeared to be”? Yep, that’s what he said. After studying our ultrasound, he couldn’t be 100% sure that we had two separate placentas. He was 99.9% sure that they were in separate sacs even though the division line was really faint. (We learned at subsequent ultrasounds that they were definitely in separate sacs.)

Naturally, we asked about them being identical. His response: Di-di twins are typically fraternal, but they could be identical. He added that obviously if we have a boy-girl combo, then they are fraternal, however if we have a boy-boy combo or girl-girl combo, then there is a high possibility they are identical. (At that point, we did not know the gender of our girls because it was too early.)

Based on all of that information, after delivery, our Ob-Gyn sent the placenta to a lab to be tested. Why? During a twin pregnancy, two separate placentas will “fuse” and grow to look like one placenta. During birth, the placenta(s) is delivered as one and appears to be one. The only way to tell if it truly was two in the beginning is to have it tested. Ours came back as definitely two that fused together.

So, we really don’t know if the girls are identical or fraternal.

What we do know is that my family has fraternal twins, and DH’s family has both identical and fraternal twins.

If twins are identical, they typically develop at the same rate – both physically and mentally. I remember reading that identical twins tend to learn new things/skills within 24 hours of each other. There might be a 2 or 3 day difference at times, but generally no more than a week. Fraternal twins are just like regular siblings and can do things weeks or months apart. If you know for sure that you have identical twins, and one twin has not started the new skill, for example walking, after a week, that is a good indication that there may be a developmental problem.

At this point, LG and DJ are learning everything within 24 hours of each other. First smile, grasping  and grabbing toys, laughing, etc. I’m curious to see the trend for the bigger milestones like crawling, sitting, walking, cutting teeth, etc.

Is there any way to know for sure if the twins are identical?

Yes. It is recommended that di-di twins of the same gender have their DNA tested. A DNA test will give a definite answer.

Why does it matter if the twins are identical or not?

I have two major reasons for wanting to know. I mentioned one earlier – developmental milestones. And the other reason is for their future medical care should either develop a major illness. Identical twins share the same DNA with some minor variations. Depending on the illness, having a sibling with a matching DNA could be beneficial, and could also alert us of what to watch for in the healthy twin.

So, until we have the DNA test done, we will just watch and contemplate which we think they are – identical or fraternal. The general consensus is they are identical, but this momma still wonders.

Ramblings-n-Writings has evolved so much since I started blogging in September 2007. As you can see from the “Archive” list in the left sidebar, sometimes I blog, sometimes I don’t. Originally, my plans were to write about editing, writing, and life on the farm. Over the years, I created my business blog, left the farm, and started writing about books and more books.

Now, as I’ve spent the last 3+ months contemplating what direction to go, I want to return to a more personal blog. One that is about our life in the rural hills of West Virginia. One that chats about the challenges and blessings of rearing twins. One that still mentions books because they are a part of my soul. One that showcases photos of flowers and critters and country life. One that just follows life as it happens and reflects on what has gone by.

I plan to return to my roots of writing about what I want, not what the blogging rules dictate I should write about. My niche’ has evolved into a personal diary for the world to see. You, as my reader, can expect honesty, frankness, and opinion about a vast array of topics.

I do desire to protect the privacy of my little family; therefore I will not share many individual details about them. DH is my husband, LG or Peanut is my firstborn daughter, DJ or Munchkin is her twin sister born 6 minutes later. And I’m still on the fence about sharing photos of my girls. If and when I do share them, the photos will be watermarked for protection and piracy. (For those who know me in real life, friend me on Facebook for up-to-date photos.)

So, with all that said, I’m hoping to blog once or twice a week. It’s hard to say exactly how much time mommy will have each week with twins in the house!

Hi friends! It has been so long since I’ve blogged that I almost forgot how to log on to WordPress! I hope that some of my readers are still out there somewhere.

Lots of changes have happened in my world, and I think I’m finally ready to add blogging back into the mix. In honor of the changes, I decided to switch up my blog design. Hope you like the new look!

And now the news some of you have been waiting for … Remember the whole “twin” thing? Yep, they’re here!!!!! They’ve actually been here for over 3 months. Please meet our daughters – LG and DJ.

They were born in early February at 37 weeks 1 day. LG weighed 5 lbs, and DJ was 5 lbs 14 oz. They were sooo tiny! Both girls were healthy and came home from the hospital two days later. I hope to share more about our wonderful birth experience in the upcoming weeks.

Today (and that photo is from today) the girls are over 12 lbs and 22 inches long.

Life with twins has its own set of challenges, and I hope to continue sharing our experiences to be a help to other twin moms. I know that I read website after website about pregnancy, babies, and twins during the months leading up to their arrival. Some people prefer books about pregnancy or raising twins, but I found personal sites, as well as professional medical sites, to be the most help. So, my desire is to “pay it forward” and help someone else on the same journey.

And, if you are still out there reading this little site, please let me know!