And more photos...

These are all of Baby "B" who was feeling much more photogenic on Thursday:

Twins!

(note about photos above - the first three are of Baby "A" and the last two are of Baby "B")

Well, it's been a while since I've written...our lives have been pretty caught up with our big news. Yes, the title is correct, Emmett and I are expecting twins. We can still hardly believe it ourselves, although we've had six weeks to get used to the idea. I had been thinking from the beginning that something was very different about this pregnancy than the last one. Everyone kept saying, well, every pregnancy is different, which is true, but this just seemed a LOT different. It wasn't so much the ever-present nausea and incredible fatigue that were so much worse than anything I had with Thomas - I knew that my pregnancy with Thomas was extraordinarily easy from the beginning. It was the fact that at 8 weeks I was noticing discomfort in my abdomen when Thomas would lay on me to have his story read...it sounds crazy, but it just seemed like my uterus was more distended than it should have been at that stage. I was telling Emmett, I think this might be twins...he was laughing at me and saying that I was having wishful thinking. I suppose in some ways it was because the first trimester was so rough that I was definitely thinking this would be my last pregnancy, even though I really wanted to have two more children. Well, I guess I'm getting both of my wishes. :-)

We went to our first appointment with the ob/gyn in late October. My friend Deb had recommended her and she is really wonderful - excellent bedside manner, very competent-seeming, and also seems to have the kind of calm, laid-back temperment that I want from an ob/gyn. We were both very impressed with her. She came in and did the manual exam and then we were waiting for our turn with the ultrasound machine. I asked her if everything felt okay with the exam and she smiled and said, "well, your uterus feels a little big". Emmett and I just looked at each other. Sure enough - she brought in the ultrasound machine and as soon as she fired it up, there was more than one baby in there - and there they were floating in their own sacks with their own placentas. Emmett looked like he'd been hit by a truck. The doctor said she wanted us to go over to the place that specializes in multiples to have a confirmation ultrasound that day...but took a look at Emmett and recommended with a smile that he not be the one to drive over. She and I were laughing at that point - he just looked so thunderstruck.

Which of course he had reason to be - it does change our lives dramatically in large and small ways. On the practical side, it means that we are going to have to figure out a lot when it comes to when I go back to work, how much work, and how Emmett will juggle everything when I am working and still be focused at his job. Child care for 2 kids - totaling something like $2000/month, is just not a possibility at this point. Also it seems that nursing school is going to be on the back burner for the time being since we can't afford the childcare during classes nor could I envision having the concentration required to get through an incredibly intense program while trying to parent two infants. Also, for the time being, until we figure everything out we are going to have to stay in this apartment. I know Emmett especially had been wanting to move, so that was kind of a disappointment. In short, a lot of our plans are kind of going to get shuffled around and I know that took some time for him to get used to. I think it's just really sinking in for me.

All of this is not to detract from the happiness we feel - now that we've had time to get used to everything we are so excited about this. Two more children - I, of course, am an only child and have always wanted kids fairly close together so that I could experience (vicariously at this point) what sibling interaction is like and Emmett kind of feels the same way since his siblings are all considerably older or younger. Twins are the ultimate sibling experience in a sense. We've been looking at double strollers and just imagining what it's going to be like to have a baby in the house again. Emmett was smiling the other day and saying that he's really looking forward to it. I'm excited to see him with them - he was so incredibly good with Thomas as an infant - so ready to be involved at every step. I know it's going to be a lot harder this time - since he'll have to be also focusing on work this time and, needless to say, all the 3am feedings will be x2, but we'll figure it out.

So it's been a busy time - we've had a lot of appointments due to the "multiple gestation" and, when combined with the "advanced maternal age" factor, it makes this a very high risk pregnancy, which doesn't make it very easy for me to relax and get used to being pregnant. The good news is that the specialists we've been seeing are awesome and we have gotten to get a lot of peeks at our babies since there have been many ultrasounds. We did a CVS - chorionic villi sampling - which is where they take a small sample of the placenta to do genetic testing on the baby. It's similar to amniocentesis except that it's done much earlier. They were only able to sample one of the babies, though, because the other was turned in a way that they couldn't get to. The CVS turned out that the first baby is very normal genetically and that she is a girl. I thought I was prepared to have all boys if that was the way it turned out - but when I found out I was having a girl I was really excited, more so than I thought I would be. And it was such a huge relief that she is so far healthy and normal. We will do amnio on January 7th, so then we'll have an idea of how the other one is. I have a feeling that one is a boy, but I could be completely wrong. I also want to be prepared way in advance if there is something wrong, so that we can plan for it.

Thomas is very excited about all of this...he was a little concerned when he found out that there were two...he said, "well, what will I be to them? They're going to have each other..." It broke my heart, but I explained to him that he'll still be their big brother and how important that's going to be for them. Now he's back to be completely excited, although I don't think he's aware of how (at least at first) this is going to affect his place as the king of the house...that poor child is in for a rude awakening. I will do my best to be aware of it and help him through it but I know that there are some rough times ahead for him. Later, though, I have a feeling those two are going to idolize their big brother. It's going to be fun. When it's not completely exhausting, that is haha.

Anyway, I guess that's enough news for now...now that I'm through the first trimester I feel more comfortable sharing this and the latest photos of the babies and hopefully I will write more often to chronicle this incredible blessing in our lives.

Love,
Melissa