long time coming....

it's been a loooong time.  :)

i'm posting now, because i am (90%) sure that the only people who read this consistently are already aware that we are expecting, and probably aware that we are expecting twins. 

how exciting.

though we are definitely not keeping the fact that we are expecting two little bundles a secret, we are also choosing to not annouce it to the facebook/social media world for quite awhile.

the twins are indeed identical, and we have been told our two little lovies are sharing a very special bond.  baby a and baby b are sharing a placenta as well as an amniotic sac.  this kind of twinning is rare, only 1% of all identical twins share the same amniotic sac, 1 in 60,000 births.  sounds sweet, and so special! 

unfortunately, this kind of sharing, sweet though it may be, puts that babies in a bit of a precarious situation.  our doc described it as two puppies tied to a tether in a small pen.  as the puppies play and grow, obviously those tether are going to get twisted and intertwined.  for the twins, those tethers are their cords. 



common knots in monoamniotic twins, although scary looking, these cords kept two babies healthy and nourished!

obviously, those cords are the babies life lines, so the concern is that the cords become crushed and the babies are unable to get oxygen and nutrients.  entanglement is a given, we have to watch for compression.

so what this means is that we will watch the babies VERY closely.  lots of ultrasounds and doctors visits until we hit about 24-28 weeks.  at this time, the babies will be viable outside the womb, a very important accomplishment.  once the babes are considered viable, we will begin daily, yes every day, monitoring.  our options at this time will be for me to be admitted to the hospital for inpatient monitoring, or to go the hospital 7 days a week for a couple hours to check the babies.  luckily a babies decline is generally gradual, so by being diligent in watching their development we should be able to make a very well informed decision about when to deliver. 

the goal is 34 weeks.  we will be lucky to make it to 32 weeks.  if at any point after viability the risk of the babies staying in uetro is higher than the risks of a premature birth, they will be delivered.

our chances of bringing home two healthy babies are 80% as long as they are monitored VERY closely.  without this obscene amount of watchfulness or chances drop to 50%.

we will keep everyone posted with any changes, and are simply asking for your love, support, and prayers during this intense time.  we are truly excited for these babes, and feel confident that everything will be fine, but are trying to remain well informed and realistic about what the risks are and what the next couple of months will be like.

we love you all and thank you for your support!