Cravings

Every pregnant woman has different cravings. Our doctor says cravings are meant to keep the men busy or drive them crazy with hard-to-get items. He said when his wife was pregnant they lived in New Jersey and she craved Salvadoran food. So what have mine been?

First few weeks of my pregnancy

• BBQ: Specifically ribs! J had to take me to Tony Roma's quite a few times those first few weeks to quench that craving. I would always get the Carolina Honey ones.
• Watermelon: Couldn't get enough of it!

We joked around about how they are definitely Southern babies with those kinds of cravings!

Throughout my pregnancy (so far)

• Southern Food: fried okra, fried eggplant, fried chicken, chicken and dressing, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes with gravy, cheese grits, bacon, etc...

Yep, I definitely have some Southern kids in there! J can't get many these items here, so we have had to get teams from the US to bring several of these items down with them.

Currently

• Anything sour: sour gummy worms, green apple jolly ranchers, grapefruit juice, lemonade, etc...
  
• Fruit: Especially the sour ones! Green apples, green/purple grapes, limes, red plums and apricots while they are still a little sour (not quite ripe), etc...

I thought the sour cravings were kind of weird, especially when I could not resist the urge to drink concentrated lime juice one day. I kid you not! I took out the carton and poured myself a third of a glass and drank it straight (not even mixed with water). It made me pucker for sure, but I thought it was delicious! J gave me the weirdest look after that. Ha! Later, I read online that sour things can actually help with nausea. I have definitely had my share of morning sickness, so I guess that explains that craving!

MoMo Twins

We're having Monochorionic/Monoamniotic (MoMo) twins. That means that they are identical and share the same placenta and same amniotic sac. The two babies are growing and developing normally and are active as usual. Their growth rate is a week behind of schedule, but that is normal for twins.

The twins' skin is still very thin and transluent, so it looked like K had two skeletons in her belly. haha

The spines and bones were all perfectly formed. It reminded me of Psalm 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Both of the babies are sitting upright just behind K's belly button, so the easiest way to view them are from the sides of K's abdomen. Twin "A" was squatting, holding its knees and jumping, so we couldn't see if it's a boy or girl. Twin "B" was sitting and sucking its thumb, so we were able to see that Twin "B" is a boy! So the doctor went back to the other side to see if we could see if the other is a boy or girl, but Twin "A" was having too much fun to cooperate. But based on the fact that they are identical and Twin "B" is a boy, we are 99.9% sure that Twin "A" is a boy too.

We are so thankful to the Lord for the twins' health and ask that you keep them in your prayers. MoMo twins are very rare and have increased risks that other twins don't have, but we know that the Lord will be with us throughout the pregnancy and their birth.

And the survey says...

The results of the online poll showed that 66% of people think we are having identical twins and 33% think that we will have fraternal twins. Now, we're off to our doctor's appointment for the official results!

Identical or Fraternal???

Since we found out that we are having twins, people have asked many questions. Are they identical or fraternal? Do you have twins in your family? Are they boys, girls, or one of each? 

On next Monday, we will find out if they are identical or fraternal and possibly the sexes, even though it is still early to see that at 16 weeks. The doctor has ordered an MRI to determine what type of twins they are. He said that if they are identical, he will have to monitor them more closely. When he said that, it sparked my interest and this is a little of what I learned about twins.

Identical

Identical twins are created from one fertilized egg that has split and they share the same genetic information. Identical twins may share the same placenta and amniotic sac. Twins being identical is an anomaly and is not hereditary.

Fraternal

Fraternal twins are created when two eggs are fertilized by two different sperm cells and they are genetically unique children (two siblings born at the same time). Fraternal twins can be the same sex or different sexes or look similar or look different. They can be as similar or different as any other siblings, but are born at the same time. Fraternal twins have separate placentas and amniotic sacs. Fraternal twins can be the result of several factors, including heredity.

Twins are hereditary in both of our families, but according to research this trait can only be passed through the mother. Some families have the hereditary trait of releasing two eggs at the same time during ovulation.

In earlier ultrasounds, they appeared to be identical, but K has this hereditary trait. So, what do you think they will be: identical or fraternal?