We had a celebratory meal last night with the future grandparents :-) It was really lovely. 6 sleeps until our next scan and seriously cannot wait for a number of reasons...
1) Firstly and most importantly to check both babies are OK obviously. It is still really hard to believe there are two actual real life human beings growing inside me. It's so hard to believe still because I can't see or feel them. I find myself looking at my scan pictures every day to remind myself it really is real!
2) I can't wait to tell all our friends...we are so excited and want to share with everyone now!
3) I'll be that much closer to the second trimester and I'm hoping that I can relax then and stop worrying about every little twinge (maybe!?). People say no point worrying about things now, you'll be doing enough of that for the rest of your life once they arrive!
People always ask, "WOW, twins! How did that happen? Do twins run in your family?" There doesn't seem to be an easy answer to that. Reading up on the technicalities of it all, there are two main types of twins...
Identical twins
Identical (monozygotic) twins happen when a single egg (zygote) is fertilised (Not by two sperms as some people seem to think!) The egg then divides into two, creating identical twins who share the same genes as one another. Identical twins are always the same sex, so if your twins are identical you'll have two girls or two boys, and they'll look very alike.Non-identical twins
Non-identical (dizygotic) twins happen when two separate eggs are fertilised and then implant into the woman’s womb (uterus). These non-identical twins are no more alike than any other two siblings. Non-identical twins are more common. The babies may be of the same sex or different sexes. One-third of all twins will be identical and two-thirds non-identical.
They think ours are diamniotic dichorionic (top right) at the moment, which is the kind with least risk of complications so that gives me some reassurance but they will confirm that next Friday hopefully.
Some research suggests that a certain enzyme in a male's sperm is responsible for the egg splitting for identical twins but others suggest it is just a fluke. Non-identical twins are said to sometimes run in families because there is a genetic predisposition to hyper-ovulation (releasing more than one egg each cycle) although most of this research says it can only be passed down the maternal line.
As there doesn't appear to be any twins on my mother's side, and the twins on my father's side are identical or distantly related, and no twins on Robin's side either, perhaps the answer to the question is, "No twins don't run in my family." I (and some other speculators) personally think it has more to do with a 'hormone balancing herb' I was taking called Vitex Chasteberry, bought from Holland & Barratt. I was concerned about ovulating late in my 32-34 day cycle (about day 23 according to the fertility monitor) and had read this helped sort this kind of problem out naturally. You know me, no patience to just go with the flow and like to be in control (that's going to have to change haha!) The label said to take 2 tablets in the morning and 2 at night, which is quite alot but I thought give it a go, see what happens!
Here's some more information about it... http://natural-fertility-info.com/vitex The only thing I know for sure about the effects of these pills, having took it for only 18 days, is that it brought my ovulation forward by 6 days, which may have been the key to me getting pregnant, but perhaps I always pop out 2 eggs (have to bear that in mind if we want a third one day!) or maybe it made that happen too. I guess we will never know for sure.
However it happened doesn't really matter...we don't care, we're just happy it did! :-)
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