Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Well, this post is just going to be full of surprises.  So get ready!

First, we found out we are pregnant again!  Yay!  While this is wonderful news, this was NOT news we were expecting to find out.  We had just decided we were content with our family of four.  In fact, the same day that we had a conversation about our family size, I decided to take a pregnancy test since I was a little late for my period.  Lo, and behold, it was positive! 

I had my first doctor's appointment today and found out I am 9 weeks along, putting the due date at Sept. 22nd, which is the day after my birthday!  I have been feeling a decent amount of nausea during this pregnancy so far.  With the other two there was none at all.  I am not enjoying it one bit!  Other than that, symptoms have been pretty minimal.  Been craving a lot of fruit, similar to my pregnancy with Sophie.

The video below was taken right after the doctor's appointment when Ryan got home.  Watch it before reading any more of the post:






So in case you didn't catch what was going on-- 


The doctor had written Ryan a note that looked like this:



And I don't mean Happy Valentine's Day.


I tried  to think of some fun way to tell him it was twins, but decided that the note was clever enough.   Ryan likes puzzles, and I thought he would not have much trouble deciphering this one.  I guess I was wrong though!  My favorite part of the video is just watching my face at the beginning.  You can tell I am trying so hard to keep a straight face.  I wanted to get Ryan on camera to catch his reaction, so I told him that we could see the sonogram pictures online.  He totally bought it, and I can't believe it took him so long to figure it out.  You gotta love the girls screaming in the background.  Imagine what it will sound like when there are FOUR of them!

We also found out that the twins are identical, which is less common.  Identical twins have nothing to do with family history, we have learned.  Doctors don't know why, but the egg just spontaneously splits into two, making two babies.  There is less than a 1% chance of getting pregnant with identical twins.  Of all sets of twins, they comprise only 1/3 of them.  I guess Ryan and I just like representing the minority, since we are also part of the .1% of couples who get pregnant on an oral contraceptive (with no missed pill, no antibiotics, etc.).  That was the case for Sophie's pregnancy anyway.  As I was talking to my doctor, he said jokingly, "Well, I guess you have a fertility problem."  I don't think he meant the traditional kind!

In 3-4 weeks, I will have a surgery (cerclage) done on my cervix to strengthen it and help the babies stay in longer.  I also had this surgery with Sally's pregnancy, and I carried her to term.

If you think of us, please pray for a healthy and full-term pregnancy and healthy babies!  I will be updating often so you can keep tabs on us.