Twins, twins everywhere!

Twin Reality: PART I

I never really thought much about twins. Not even when Mike and I began trying to start our family, and get pregnant, did it really cross my mind. I'm not a twin, my mother didn't have any twins nor any of her brothers or sisters (there were 9 of them!) nor anyone from my Grandmother's generation. There are no twins on Mike's side either-it just didn't seem like anything I needed to think about.

...and then it happened...

Went in for that routine 12 week check-up where you get to hear the little one's heartbeat for the first time....and nothing. Nada. Zip-zilch-zero. We were a little disheartened but it was our first try and we were young. The Dr. said that they would do an internal ultrasound just to be sure. She started the procedure and then started laughing. I knew this was a good sign but when she showed us that monitor, my eyes went wide at the sight of two perfect little people swimming around in there, happily floating away! Now that was a shock!

As Mike and I got used to the idea of having 2 at once, we also started doing a lot of research on twins and wondering specifically why WE were being blessed with them. By doing a lot of reading and asking multiple doctor's, I learned that I experienced multiple ovulation, where a woman's body releases more than 1 egg at a time. This is a genetic trait that will be passed down to my girls.

A healthy woman in her prime child bearing years (24-29) has about a 1-90 chance of conceiving twins without the use of drugs or IVF. If she does have a set of fraternal twins, her risk of having future twins is quadrupled! This also goes for fraternal twins, if they are girls (like mine), their chances of getting pregnant with twins or more increases to 1-17! Wow! I need to make sure that I point this little fact out to the girls when they get older-I wonder what they'll think?

This week, as I am thinking back to that time in my life (over 4 years ago), I wonder how different our life would have been with just one. I can't imagine not having them both-they've always been with me. One is older than the other, since the eggs are usually released 12-24 hours apart, but Lauren will always be our first born. She had a whole 1 1/2 hours to herself in this world before her sister rejoined her. They've never known what it's like to be alone and I hope it always stays that way.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for PART II: Are they twins? and other ridiculous questions...