comparison belly photos

12 weeks 3 days with twins

20 weeks with Owen


When my doctor said that twin pregnancies will be twice as big as singleton pregnancies, I thought she was just exaggerating. Then when she told me that the top of my uterus was at my belly button at 10 weeks, and that it was the size of a 20 week pregnancy, I started to believe her. Well, there is no denying the proof in pictures!

Babies galore

Here are the twins during last weeks ultrasound. They were 10 weeks 3 days in the pictures below...


The technician has changed the "names" of the twins because Twin A (formerly known as Twin B) is presenting first (closest to the cervix). I could not believe how much the babies had moved since the last ultrasound 4 weeks prior. Another thing that blew my mind was that the babies had grown so much to the point where they looked like little babies!


I felt so lucky to have this glimpse into their private little lives, so early on. With Owen I only had two ultrasounds- one at 16 weeks (the all exciting reveal of sex) and one more at 34 weeks when the doctor thought Owen was breech (Owen was indeed head down and ready to go). So I really do enjoy each of these ultrasounds, and every moment seeing my babies on the screen. During this particular ultrasound, I saw the babies moving around for the duration of the ultrasound exam. They would arch their backs every time the technician would rub the doppler over my stomach, along with many leg kicks and hand motions that almost mimicked them rubbing their eyes or sucking their thumbs.


The technician just kept telling me how adorable they are, and how they have cute little profiles (It was very reminiscent of my ultrasound with Owen when the ultrasound tech said those exact words and his cute profile).


The sweetest words to my ears though, were that there was a membrane (seen above, dividing the twins). Brian and I had been praying about that for weeks, ever since my last ultrasound. Four long months of hoping and praying that our babies had a separating membrane. Thank God, there is a membrane. Without a membrane, the babies can become entangled their cords, which is often deadly. The twins that share a placenta and an amniotic sac (no membrane) are called Monochorionic-Monoamniotic twins (always identical). Our twins thankfully are Monochorionic-Diamniotic, which means they share a placenta but have separate amniotic sacs (because of the membrane separating them, they are in separate thin sacs. Also, always identical. Unless there is a rare case that the placentas of fraternal twins fuse together to look like one single placenta.)

I read a description of this that seems helpful in understanding all of this. Think of fraternal twins (from two separate eggs) as being in two hard shell eggs. They have separate hard outer layers, plus an inside thin membrane layer. With identical twins, they are essentially in one hard shell. They share the hard outer shell. My twins have separate thin inner sacs that divide them in their one "egg".

What a learning experience this all has been. I can't believe how different it is having two babies in my womb instead of one. I know that theme will continue long after they're born, and I'm welcoming that difference as a really fulfilling and heartwarming experience. Yes, double the time and work, but double the blessings!

New life, times two

12/14/2011
Lying on a table, getting an ultrasound done, I felt like I was having my first out of body experience. There on the screen were two little beans. As thoughts raced through my head "Can I actually be seeing two babies?" so many emotions swept over me as I reasoned with myself and put things into perspective. All while the ultrasound technician was continually printing out images of my full uterus. I sat there still, quiet, and in awe. Then, the confirmation came. The ultrasound tech labled those beans.... Twin A and Twin B.

A few photos of my babies were handed to me, and I proceeded to the waiting room while my doctor looked at the information prepared by the ultrasound technician. For the next 20 minutes I could not take my eyes off of that picture. The images of my tiny babies were so beautiful that I'm sure everyone in the room noticed my smile. I then explained to Owen that there were two babies in mommy's belly, not just one. He smiled, hesitated a moment and then exclaimed "I might get a brother AND a sister!"

Lets back up a little. On Thanksgiving eve, as Brian was preparing the turkey for our upcoming feast, I found out that I was pregnant. It was such an unexpected and welcomed joy that we were able to celebrate together, right at Brian's favorite holiday.


Right from the beginning, I felt that this pregnancy was entirely different from my pregnancy with Owen. I must have said that a dozen times, because all of the symptoms were much more intense. I never had morning sickness with Owen, and this time around I felt like I didn't have a moment of not feeling sick. The list of doubled pregnancy symptoms just goes on and on.

I scheduled an early appointment with my OB/Gyn to have an ultrasound, because I was not sure how far along I was. My doctor told me that all she could see was a thick endometrium and possibly a tiny gestational sac, but that it was too early to tell. She scheduled another ultrasound for 2 weeks from then. I left the doctors office feeling really emotional. Close friends who knew of my pregnancy reassured me and prayed. Two weeks went by and it was time for my second ultrasound. December 14th. That's when I saw my twins for the first time. The whole time we had been praying for this baby and it turns out, it was two babies all along! What an awesome God, we have.

That first ultrasound that I had, was only at 4 weeks which is why nothing was seen. My second ultrasound, where the twins were clearly visible, was at 6 weeks. So now as I approach my third ultrasound this Wednesday, at 10 weeks, I can't help but wonder how different my babies will look. Seeing that their little tails have completely vanished, and now they will have arms and legs!

New life, so intricate and wonderfully made. Such a blessing.