Rose Petal Caresses - Week 20

Some people describe it as butterflies, some as "the squirmies," a bubble bursting or gas movement. It is something that I've been consciously anticipating for 4 weeks now, even though some women don't feel it for 2 more weeks. There are so many ways that these first movements, the "quickening," are described, that it's hard to envision what to expect. A roller coaster ride? An adrenaline rush? For me, however, a totally different analogy came to mind.

Last night, after finally struggling to find a semi-comfortable sleeping position, I settled down, lain on my side, with Paul cuddling close behind. In my ready-for-sleep daze, I felt what I first thought was Paul affectionately stroking my belly with something soft. After focusing on the sensation, I realized it wasn't Paul. "Could it be a baby?" I thought. I moved the body pillow away from my belly and waited to see if the feeling was still there. Soft little petals continued to stroke the inside of my upper abdomen and I whispered to Paul, "I think I can feel her... it's Baby "B" (which refers to the one on top)." "Really? What does it feel like?" "Rose petals... rose petal caresses." I take his finger to show him where I'm feeling it.

Newly awake and still unsure if the feelings were imagined or real, I am now very focused on any sensation. I wait in silence for about 5 minutes and then all the sudden, a tadpole, much lower down, changes direction and leaves a wake of fluttered movement and I'm sure now that we got our first "good night" wishes from both Baby A and Baby B.

They hold their silence no longer. Throughout the day today at work I could feel them like little muscle twitches, although it was more difficult to figure out which one was creating them. Perhaps they were together, making a game of it.

No wonder there are so many different ways used to describe the first movements - they are all so different from each other. There can be rose petals first, followed by swimming and stirring, little muscle twitches, and gas bubbles all next to each other. It is a very reassuring feeling, although I know that in the months to come I will wish they would quiet down. Right now, it's fun and energizing and I am amazed with the variety of sensations I feel. Each movement makes me smile with awe and wonder.

Support in Numbers - Mothers of Twins Club

Yesterday, I attended my first meeting for a local chapter of the Mothers of Twins Club. Besides their monthly meeting for all members, they have bi-monthly informal meetings for new and expectant parents of twins. This meeting happens to be in the middle of the day, so I took some time off of work to see what it was all about.

There were 10 women and a dad in attendance - 2 of us were expectant mothers and the rest were new moms/dads. The gal sitting next to me was the other expectant mom and was scheduled for her C-section in 5 days. She is a small-sized woman and I almost gasp in horror and anticipated discomfort to see how big she is. She is more square than round and I am sure that her ribs are expanded near the breaking point. There isn't an inch in her torso that isn't used by her babies. I silently wonder if my longer back might help me, should I be as lucky to go to term. All but one mom gave birth at California Pacific Medical Center, the same hospital we are planning to use, and they absolutely rave about it. One of my questions to the group was how many actually made it to term (37 weeks) and how many needed the C-section. Most fell under the 37 weeks, but the earliest was only 35 weeks - not too scary. All but 2 women had C-sections, although the moderator assured me that the statistic was really more like half. Other questions brought up were lactation and feeding questions, how much help to accept questions, horror stories about well-meaning, but un-educated advise or demands of non-twin or non-moms, advise on scheduling, sleeping, and helpful gagets that are "have-to"s with twins.

The truly valuable part to me at this point, however, was just sitting there for 2 hours and watching 8 sets of twins and their moms be happy, content and productive. The proof that even after 4 weeks, mothers with twins can have a "normal" life - get out of the house, visit with people and still get changed, fed, and have all their other needs met. It will take a lot more observation and sharing of ideas and schedules (time management and scheduling are the core of success, it seems), and I look forward to spending more time in groups like this with women who are already in the trenches. Although all moms have admitted to crying everyday for the first couple of weeks, there does seem to be hope that this might just be workable without a full-blown emotional breakdown.

Week 18 - And she's getting larger...

Trying the old ski pants on in Tahoe at 18 weeks.

For the long weekend, Paul and I traveled up to Tahoe with his sisters, their families, and their cousin Christine and her family. Before we left, I was told by the doctor to stay out of aerobic activities through the 3-day altitude acclimation process. So, no snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, but it left all sorts of time for snowman building and taking the kids sledding. The funny part, which deserved a picture itself, was trying to put on the old ski pants so that I could stay dry. I've grown so much, that I needed to take out the plastic string from a kitchen garbage liner and use it to try to close the pants. It worked for a while, although it did break once as I got up out of the snow! The babies' weight now requires that I sleep on my side at night - sleeping on my back will now restrict the bloodflow that runs down my spine to the babies. Sleeping is starting to get tough and I really feel that a body pillow will become increasingly necessary.

The Sonogram - Week 17

A profile look at "Twin A" at 17 weeks.

Today we met with the genetic councilors who told us everything that "could" go wrong with our babies. All sorts of rare and common genetic and chromosomal abnormalities that may or may not affect our babies. At one point, it was so overwhelming, the blood drained from my face and my hearing became distorted, like I was underwater. Comically, when the aware councilor told me to put my head between my knees to regain myself, I had to tell her that I couldn't reach my knees!

But, after a glass of water, and decisions not to have the amnio, we were walked down the hall for the amazing photo session with our babies. Both of them, thankfully, appeared fine. Each had 4 healthy-sized chambers to their heart, 5 fingers, 5 toes, a nice spine, and all the blood supply that they needed. Baby "A" (pictured), who sat lower in my abdomen, was a little bit smaller (10.1 cm compared to 11.8 cm) than the other, but both their heart beats were strong at 145/bpm. Baby "B" turned and looked at the camera during her cameo. One would think that it would be a cute picture to publish, but honestly, she looks more like a Led Zepplin skull than a baby!

That leads to the other important news: Paul and I learned that we were to expect not just one, but two baby girls in June. Now comes the hard part... agreeing on names.

The Countdown - How many weeks are you?

The Curlettos are expecting twins!! We are:

Well, this "nifty" calendar counter relies on a 40-week pregnancy (which would put me at June 19th, Father's Day). My doctor uses a 37-week calendar for twins, so really they are due about 20-days earlier: sometime late May, if we're lucky. Still hard to tell at this point. Nonetheless, this countdown will help you keep automatic track of where we are in the whole grand scheme of things.