Halloween

What kind of costume goes with pregnant? This has been our dilemma this Halloween season. With the belly being too obvious to hide, we decided that whatever couples' costume we came up with had to have pregnancy built into it. After much debate, we finally settled on "Joe the Milkman" (get it???) and the '50s housewife he got pregnant. For our last Halloween without kids, we were determined to rally and make it to two parties - staying up until 2:00 am, a record for pregnant Sarah!

Meanwhile, Mika got dressed up as a pumpkin. Despite appearances, she actually didn't mind it as much as last year's bumblebee costume!

Btw, if you ever need ideas for pregnant couple Halloween costumes, here were some of our finalists:

- a baker and an oven (with a bun in the oven)
- a chef and a jar of Prego spaghetti sauce (with exp. date as the due date)
- jock and pregnant prom queen
- Mother and Father Earth

One of each!

Today was the day of our big 20-week ultrasound. We were happy to see that the babies are both progressing nicely, have all the essential parts, and are still measuring at about the same size. In fact, they are still measuring about a week ahead, so they are really growing! We were also able to find out the gender, and were thrilled to find out that we are having one of each - a boy and a girl!

Names are still to come, with no final decision to be made until they are born. Until then, they are referred to as "Baby A" and "Baby B" in clinical terms - Baby A being the boy, and Baby B being the girl. The A and B have to do with positioning - Baby A is positioned closest to the cervix, which means that he will be the first to be born.

Here are our little ones below - Baby A (the boy) on the left, and Baby B (the girl) on the right. We loved how the girl was smiling for the camera already!

Love my new shirt!

Tonight, we received a wonderfully thoughtful pregnancy package from my sister-in-law, Kristi. Among other things, it contained the great little shirt you see below - which reads, "My pod has two peas"! Naturally, I was so excited, I had to try it on right away. I will totally live in this... especially since it will help explain to people why I look as pregnant as I do! Thanks Kristi!!!

Side view, circa 18 weeks:

Okay, maternity pants do kinda rock.

I had originally promised myself that I would hold out on wearing maternity clothes until 20 weeks - halfway through pregnancy. I figured if I stretched out wearing my regular clothes as long as possible, I would be less likely to create a big bonfire of maternity clothes by the time I reached the end. I was all set with the perfect transition wardrobe - wrap dresses, wrap tops, empire waists, stretchy fabrics - everything I needed for the fat-awkward phase of pregnancy. But with the 20-week mark still weeks away, I could see I was not going to reach my goal. With one - maybe... but with two, it just means that I am so much bigger so much earlier. After all, if even chilly DC commuters are giving up their seats for me on the metro, it's because I LOOK TOTALLY PREGNANT. And I'm not even halfway there yet!

So, I broke down and finally busted out the maternity pants. And now I'm wondering, what was I waiting for all this time? Why have I been walking around with my pants and skirts unzipped and uncomfortable for weeks? Hello, stretchy elastic waist comfort. Ahhh. I think I may never go back!

Twins: What everyone wants to know

Ever since we've announced to the world that we are having twins, we have received a multitude of curious questions about how it happened. After researching and learning more about twins than we ever thought possible, we feel we have a responsibility to educate and dispel some of the myths out there. Here are some of the most common questions we have gotten:

Did you use fertility treatments?
Nope! These twins are all natural, baby.

Do twins run in your families?
We have twins on both sides of our family. However, contrary to popular belief, fraternal twins are the only type of twins that truly "run in the family." But - because fraternal twins result from the mother releasing two eggs at once, they can only be passed down on the mother's side. Twins being on the father's side actually has no bearing whatsoever!

Identical twins, on the other hand, occur completely at random, due to the splitting of one egg - and have nothing to do with genetics.

Do you know if they're identical or fraternal?
When twins share a placenta and amniotic sac, it means they are identical. When twins have separate placentas, and/or amniotic sacs, they can be either identical or fraternal. Our twins have separate sacs and separate placentas, so the only way for us to know at this point is through amniocentesis. After birth, the placentas can be analyzed to determine if they are identical or fraternal. Of course, if they turn out to be opposite sexes, then we will know for certain that they are fraternal (since identical twins are identical in every possible way, including gender).

While there may be no explaining the Hollywood twin phenomenon, there is no doubt that twins are more common today than they were even 20 years ago. Aside from fertility treatments, some of the reasons behind this include factors such as maternal age, race, and even having a diet high in folic acid. This means our twins will be in good company with all of the other twins out there!

Holy crap, we're having twins!

Having twins always seemed like a neat idea... but one that we truly never expected would happen to us!!! But, you never know how things will work out sometimes. Looking back, we should have seen it coming... we would be walking our dog, or be at the mall, and it seemed like we saw twin babies everywhere. Everytime we saw them, we said to ourselves how lucky those parents were to have just one pregnancy, raise both kids at the same time without having to go through everything one at a time, and getting to share toys and kids' stuff. Little did we know!

And then came the first doctor's appointment on August 7, at 8 weeks. I had called ahead to find out if I would have an ultrasound, which they assured me they would only do if I were having problems. I figured there would be no need for Joe come to watch them take blood and urine samples, so I just went. But surprise! - since my insurance covered an ultrasound, they decided to just do one anyway. I started to prepare myself for the possibility of bad news, since I hadn't expected to find out anything that day... but surprise again! Not only was there one healthy little embryo there, but two! My doctor was shocked, as she had never diagnosed natural twins before, since she sees so many who have been referred from fertility clinics. So, she ran out of the room to get an opinion from another doctor, leaving me there to start freaking out by myself! But sure enough, twins were confirmed.

I debated calling Joe at work to tell him the news... but decided that it might be the kind of surprise better to save for in person. Unfortunately, we both had plans we could not cancel after work that day, so I somehow ended up keeping the secret for 8 whole hours - a personal record for a big secret. :-) Since then, our lives have been a whirlwind of shock and excitement, as we prepare to embark on our twin journey!

Here they are, our little ones at 8 weeks: