Baby 1 is down at the bottom and should be the first to arrive. This baby spent the entire scan with crossed legs and hands behind the head like it was laying in a little hammock down there. Baby 2 is towards the top and just bounced around all over showing us every move and every body part. It didn't take long for the tech to be able to show us that this baby was definitely a boy! We were having a boy! And then she told us that she was pretty sure that our babies were identical twins but it would be easier to confirm if baby 1 would just give us a little better look. It took a lot of poking and prodding, which left me feeling a little sore that evening, but we finally got a pretty decent look to confirm that this baby was indeed another little baby boy.
My friends all wanted to know how my husband reacted but Michael is not the most effusive man on the planet. He's thrilled of course but this isn't a guy who cries or jumps up and down. I mean, put his football team on tv and there will be yelling and hat throwing and some cheering now and then but only sports bring those kinds of reactions.
After the tech was done with her portion of the scan she told us that the doctor would be in shortly. In a few minutes we met the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, Dr. B. She gives an air of competence and intelligence that is hard to describe but is also very blunt in many ways. It wasn't long before we were informed that our babies had TTTS. Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Baby 1 was kind of stuck at the bottom because he didn't have as much fluid or space to move as his brother. Baby 2 was bouncing around all over because he had too much fluid and all the freedom a fetus could need. Thankfully our babies both looked healthy and perfect in every way. They were within a few grams of each other for weight, which is well within normal for identical twins. This was something to watch and definitely a concern but they were both great and we'd just keep a close eye on them. An appointment was set for one week later and we went home to tell our girls and my parents (who were visiting to fix our roof and celebrate a birthday and Thanksgiving) that we had two beautiful boys on the way.
Our girls were admittedly less than enthusiastic to learn that they are getting brothers. They'll warm up to the idea gradually but this is all a ton to process for them. A always wanted a brother but twins is not something she expected. W wishes we weren't having any more babies and has told us to throw them in the garbage. She's 5 and we've had a 5 year old express similar feelings for each baby other than the first so we're neither surprised nor worried about this reaction. We know that 5 year olds tend to love their little siblings with a passion and we're excited to see how she takes ownership over her brothers. B is excited but doesn't really get it and would love if I would stop dragging her to doctor appointments. She's going to struggle the most when these boys arrive because they are obviously going to take mommy's attention and time. H is cautiously enthusiastic but she is also smart enough to know that she's going to have to step up and help out a little more when I'm tired or sore or whatever so she has some mixed feelings but loves babies (until they are old enough to get into her stuff) and loves how special the twins are.
Michael and I went home and spent a lot of time researching TTTS. I'll be sharing some links on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/4sistersand2littlemisters/ in the coming days that shed a little light on the disease and the potential courses of treatment. It's not light reading so I don't expect anyone to get as obsessed as we have to be but it will help explain things a little more thoroughly than I can. Next time I'll try to bring us up to current news and then keep the blog and facebook page updated as much as possible from there.
Now, what kind of pizza do I want to eat for movie night? And which Christmas movie do I force the kids to enjoy?
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