Getting to know the boys...

Getting to know the boys as siblings and as individuals has been amazing. For those of you who haven't met them yet, here's what we've found out so far. Can't wait to learn more about these cool little people who live with us now:

A bit about Teddy Spaghetti -

Teddy was the smaller twin at birth but is definitely the big bro. As of now, he calls the shots (we're sure this will change and change back again; they keep us on our feet). Teddy is very interactive and alert. He uses his hands really well. Adorable, but frustrating when trying to feed him. He bats at the breast and the bottle. Teddy also grunts like crazy. When he's happy, when he's frustrated, hungry - you name it, he's grunting. People always asked how we can tell them apart. Teddy's defining characteristics are big saucer eyes and a noggin the size of Minnesota to match.

A bit about Paddy Boy -

Paddy likes to sleep...and eat...and sleep some more...sleep again...sleep! Actually, this is changing a bit now but, for the first few weeks, Paddy liked to get his beauty sleep. When awake, he makes this adorable little "O" face and stares off into space. Our little dreamer. Paddy is especially soothed by his daddy's voice and snuggle. He is really mesmerized by Ry. Paddy has chubby cheeks and big, pouty lips.

The Birth and Other Happenings

Edward Parker Haas (Teddy), 6 lbs 1 oz

Patrick Gray Haas, 6 lbs 4 oz

Born October 16, 11:00 and 11:01

Most of you already know this...via BookFace, email or real life. But I'm keeping this blog going as a sort of diary for the boys for their first few months. Feel free to continue following or drop us now that I'm a blubbering new mama.

Teddy and Patrick came via c-section at 37 weeks (3 weeks early). They showed no signs of wanting to come out, but my pregnancy-induced high blood pressure concerned the doctor too much to allow them to stay in my belly.

We arrived to the hospital at 8am. It was a beautiful morning, with streaks of the sunrise still present in the sky and reflecting off the buildings of downtown Minneapolis.

The staff at U of M hospital began prep work for surgery right away. I had vitals taken, tummy shaved, IV inserted (AWFUL, awful, awful), etc. I was wheeled in to the OR and Ry was made to wait before putting on scrubs. There were some delays with the anesthesiologist and Ry had to wait longer than expected. He got nervous that something had gone wrong. It hadn't, but I felt terrible from the drugs but, before I knew it, I was numb from the waist down and the doctor was starting the procedure.

Of course I didn't feel any pain, but a C-section is still a very uncomfortable process. I was very aware of being pulled on and tugged at. I felt a lot of pressure from the doctor's maneuvers. I am so squeamish that I just couldn't handle the thought of what was happening to me. So, I just held Ry's hand, kept his face really close to mine, and insisted that we NOT talk about babies or surgeries or anything that would remind me of where I was. So, I decided to give him a honey-do list of all the home projects we needed to do. It did the trick; my mind was (somewhat) taken off of the fact that I was awake during major abdominal surgery.

All went well except that Teddy (Baby A) didn't want to come out. It took some painful pushing on of my abdomen to coax him from the womb, but he made it - and Patrick followed shortly thereafter. They lifted Teddy over the screen so I could see him and I instantly cried. He was so perfect. And they brought Patrick around to the side. And he was perfect, too. I only got to see them for a second before the nurses took them to the other side of the room for an evalaution, which is important to do immediately with twins and babies who arrive early.

All of the nurses (there were a lot, including 5 from the NICU in case anything was wrong) just kept saying, "they're both over six pounds!" and "look at that hair!" I was so happy that they came out weighing a good amount. Ry went to the other side of the room to watch the evaluation and a few long moments later, he brought the babies to me so I could see them. Ry was just glowing. I'm sure I was, too, under the oxygen mask and hair net.

Ryan, almost as squeamish as I, made the dumb move of looking at the surgery in process when he walked from one side of the room to the other. He said there was a bucket of guts. His guess is that it was the placentas. Good diagnosis, Doc Haas.

Then it was time for the boys to leave the OR and get a more thorough evaluation. I insisted that Ryan go with so he could talk with the pediatrician. I was left on the table, still sick from the drugs and just wishing that Ry was still with me. But it ended eventually and I moved onto the recovery room. The pediatrician came to see me and assure me that the boys were perfect, with all their fingers and toes. She did warn me that their heads were a little odd looking due to the cramped conditions of the womb. The doc said this would correct itself, but Patrick still has a weird crease on the back of his skull and Teddy has a "dormer" on the side of his head almost a month later. Whatever. They're still perfect.

I then got wheeled to the room where babies were and they were put in my arms together. Not until I held them together did the reality of mommyhood set in.

OK, this is getting mighty long, so I'll wrap it up in a few sentences. We stayed in the hospital for 3 days (left a day early), got very little sleep, had one awesome nurse who made the breastfeeding process a lot easier (yep, I'm breastfeeding both and, yep, its HARD), had a crazy nurse who wouldn't let Ry too close to the babies, had a mean nurse who scolded Ryan for sleeping through a feeding (no wonder we left early), had lots of visitors including two over the moon grandparents...and so on and so on like many other birth experiences before us.

What I'll remember most from those first few days is is Ry and I simply spending a lot of time staring at our babies and loving them and each other more than we ever thought possible.

10.16.09

That's the date!

I'm getting filleted like a fish (really, can you describe a c-section any other way?) on 10/16/09.

My blood pressure isn't getting worse, but it isn't getting better. My doc and the maternal medicine specialist she consulted with feel that, while my health isn't in imminent danger, it is safer for me to get the boys out. So they're letting me go to 37 weeks (considered full-term) and not a day longer. I still have FOUR appointments next week to monitor the situation and, if it does get worse, they'll come earlier. But its nice to have a deadline.

Also had a big ultrasound today. Baby A is 5lbs 12oz. That's around the 50 percentile for overall size. However, his head measures in the 97 percentile and his limbs only in the 30 percentile. HAHAHAHAHAHA. That there is a Doran boy. Baby B is 5lbs 14oz, with long limbs and a normal sized head. Haas/Lauginiger?

I asked the ultrasound tech if this means they are fraternal since they're body types and heads are so different. She said it does indeed make the case even stronger for fraternal twins, but did say some identicals measure very differently in the womb due to various conditions/space constraints.

Check back to the blog for pictures! Before we go in, I'll try to put up a picture of my massive pregnant body.

Love to all.

Hans and Frans Haas might be here sooner than we think!

So, had another doc's appointment. My blood pressure went up again. The only cure for pregnancy-induced high blood pressure is delivery. My BP isn't so high as to warrant that quite yet. However, the doc was clear that BP usually gets worse and not better. Our goal is to get me to 36 weeks with rest (I'm at 34 today). After that, we'll take it day by day. But she was pretty sure I was NOT going to make it to 38 weeks (which is when they induce/perform c-sections on full-term twins). So, I went into the appointment thinking it would be a month until I met the boys. Now it seems that it might be two weeks or maybe even less. That's a big difference when we're talking the arrival of humans.

The boys are fine. BP is more of a threat to mama's health.

34 weeks is an excellent place to be, really. The boys would have to spend some time in the hospital, but they wouldn't be there for too long (barring any other complications). But 36 weeks is sort of the holy grail. And I'm hoping for 37. Keep us in your thoughts!

Oh, and we need name help. Big time. These guys are still A and B to us. I'd like them NOT to be that when they're born. Suggestions welcome.

Sedentary Lifestyle is (is not?) for me

Last week, my ankles were swelling so bad that they looked as though they "belonged to a 250 lb woman" (Ryan's words - he's a gem) and my blood pressure was climbing a bit, so my doc prescribed a sedentary lifestyle (her words). Not bedrest - I'm allowed a stroll, an errand here and there, a few hours at the office when necessary. But I'm working from home and taking it easy. The swelling and blood pressure can be signs of some nasty pregnancy complications. Lucky for me, my lab work is coming back great and it seems I don't have those complications. But I guess the doc still didn't like the look of my cankles (ankles that look like continuation of one's calves), so sedentary lifestyle it is.

Its been helping, though. And I'm not really minding the whole bed-as-an-office thing. I'm a bit bored and miss my long walks with Roadie but, other than that, happy camper I am.

32 week ultrasound...

We're 32.5 weeks (every day counts!) and had an ultrasound today.

Baby A weighs 4 lbs 3 oz
Baby B weighs 4 lbs 4 oz

The tech said they can be off +/- 10%, but both are weighing at the 50%. They are just average Joe's (nope, that is not one of our names). They used to be weighing much bigger and I, for one, am happy that they've slowed down just a bit. The Doran women in my life will understand. We make big babies. I don't want two 9 lbs babies.

The most important thing is that they are weighing similarly. It is not a good sign when one baby is much bigger than the other.

We also found out that Baby A is still head down and Baby B is still in a breech position (by the way, Baby A refers to the baby who is first in the birth canal and Baby B is the second in the birth canal; they don't switch during the pregnancy). Most twins pick their position by 32 weeks, so this is likely how they will stay. And I am, therefore, likely to have a c-section. My doc and her practice do not attempt vaginal births unless both babies are head down. You can hope that Baby B would flip head down after Baby A comes out, but it is a bit risky to Baby B. Also, if he decided not to flip after his bro made his way out, then I would have a C-section on Baby B after vaginally birthing Baby A. YUCK. NO.

We have weekly ultrasounds now, so I'll keep everyone more updated.

My daily conversation with the public...

...goes like this:

Public: How many more weeks do you have to go?
Me: 6-8.
Public: WHAT?!?!? You are about to pop! You should be careful not to gain too much more weight or you won't be able to walk. And your kid will be too big to push out. Are you sure you're not having twins?
Me: Ummm, I AM having twins.
Public: Oh, you're so small! You should eat more! Those kids need to grow. Aren't they too small?

I find it so funny that I literally have some variation of this conversation 8-10 times a day. When I'm walking the dog, in line at the market, hiking, everywhere! And the change in opinion on my body mass is so QUICK!

I think every prego woman should tell people she's having twins when they piss her off by saying she's too big. It feels wonderful to be told I'm too small :)

More maternity photos

30 weeks!

Hanging in there at 30 weeks and a couple of days.

Getting really tired, but feel great overall and blessed to be able to take care of these kiddos inside.

I kept telling Ryan about how much the babies were moving. Finally, last night, he committed to watching the belly for a few minutes. The boys cooperated with some amazing acrobatics. It is entirely possible to discern little arms and legs and even a head. The problem is that I don't always know whose limb it is that I am seeing and/or feeling.

Here are a few maternity photos. I am really glad we had them taken...I'll put up the rest in the next post.

Birthing class is OVER!

Ryan and I enjoyed (or maybe the better word is benefited) from our Multiples Birthing Class.

Casey, the instructor, was awesome. Really funny, laid back, open - all those good things you expect from a person who is successful in working with a bunch of basket cases expecting their first child(ren).

However, I am a bit happy it's over. The group was getting smaller and smaller as more women were put on bedrest. One couple had their twins at 27 weeks. Another had their twins at 30 weeks and lost one of them. How heartbreaking. Absolutely tears me up and I didn't even really know the parents - they only made it to one class before bedrest was prescribed.

As much as it is wonderful to give and receive support from other couples going through a twin pregnancy, I know I have a lot more confidence and positive thinking OUTSIDE of that classroom, where I am not always reminded that the chances of difficulty are so high. I know Ry feels the same.

Other than that, we're just truckin' along. Made it to 28 weeks, which is a very important milestone. Twins born at 28 weeks have an overwhelming chance of being A-OK in both the short- and the long-term (not that it wouldn't be a rough ride). I'm still exercising, albeit with a bit more difficulty, and doing the things I enjoy. But I'm tired all of the time again after having lots of energy during the second trimester. Maybe that is because it is 90 friggin' degrees out. YUCK. Come back, winter!

"Birthing" Class

They call it birthing class. So nice sounding. But it is GROSS, I tell you what. Last week we watched a C-section. Or, rather, everyone else watched, Ryan glanced with one eye open and I turned my back to the screen. The vaginal birth was traumatizing, too. Honestly, there isn't anything beautiful about that. Sorry, mamas. EWW.

Parts of our class are really helpful, though. We learned about basic baby care last night (Ryan can swaddle a baby better than I) and also shared tips on time saving techniques for the first few months, like online grocery ordering and freezing meals. We also found out that there are two other couples planning to cloth diaper, too. Greenies unite.

The class is just for parents of multiples and the size of the class has slowly dwindled. One couple had their baby boys at 27 weeks. 4 other couples are on bedrest and only one of them has a pass to come to class. So, we've lost 50% of the original "students."

One more class to go. I hope they spare us any more videos.

Shower them babies! And photos, too!

I had my baby shower on Sunday, organized by my sister, Molly, cousin Kelly and soon to be cousin-in-law, Liz. I even had the wife of my 2nd cousin there. Yep, we're a close family. I felt really loved and honored. My monster in law and niece, Hannah, even came into town all the way from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Although the babies were the reason for the shower, of course, lots of people had Ryan in mind when they shopped. These boys are going to be decked out in "rocker" gear. Onesies with guitars, sleepers with drumkits - you name it, they got it. There were no soccer jersies or mini-hiking boots to honor mommy's passions, but that's OK, musicians are indeed much, much cooler. Roadie even got his own gift, as one guest made a donation in his name to the animal rescue organization where he came from (and where I volunteer). Big brother Roadie cannot be left out of the shower! After the babies come, I'm sure we'll get another dog from there. Right, Ry?

We had maternity photos yesterday, too. We did some at our house and some at the local park. Totally awkward. Ryan and I can't take such things seriously. Bless that photographer for her patience. There was a little girl walking in the park when I had my shirt pulled up a bit to show off the boys and she said, "Mommy, look at that lady's belly!" I actually recoiled more at being called a lady than the fact that my twin stomach has become something to point at.

"Your Babies are BIG!"

Those were the words of the doctor after my 25 week ultrasound today. The boys are measuring bigger than 65% of SINGLETON babies. They have big heads (Doran side) and long limbs (Haas side, duh), which must account for the monster weights. The good thing is that they are basically the same size. That's always the best case scenario - both babies growing at the same rate.

Other than that, the ultrasound was pretty uneventful. There were lots of people in the room at times - an RN, a resident, the doc, the technician, someone else who I don't know. Twins are a big deal still, I guess, which is interesting as more and more people have them.

Grandma Jean joined Ry and I at the ulstrasound today. She was amazed by the technology that has come out since she last gave birth 28 years ago. Get out of the dinosaur ages, Grandma-ma! She even got to see a 3-D image of Baby A. Rad.

Identical versus Fraternal Twins

You can imagine how often we get this question: "Are they identical or fraternal?" now that we know they are both boys (although, surprisingly, some people ask the same thing of boy/girl sets. Duh, people). Then, "Do they run in your family?"

Some people who ask are just trying to determine if we used fertility treatments or not because most babies helped along with drugs or IVF are fraternal. Other people are genuinely interested.

The answer is that we don't know. But I've learned a lot about the differences between the two types of twins.

Identical twins occur when one sperm fertilized one egg. That zygote then splits into two, creating two eventual babies with the exact same genetic make-up (but differing environmental influences throughout their lives affect which genes are switched on or off, if that makes sense, so identical twins aren't the exact same person). Identical twins, according to the experts, are a random occurrence. In other words, identical twins do NOT run in families. They occur at a rate of about 1/250 and every woman in this world has the exact same chance of having identical twins. The zygote can split at different times. If it splits very early, identical twins can have two placentas. If it happens later, they have just one placenta. If there is just one placenta, you know you have identical twins, as fraternal twins always have their own.

Fraternal twins, on the other hand, occur when two sperm fertilize two eggs. Without fertility treatments, a woman's chances are about 2/100 to have fraternal twins when she is younger than 30 and higher when she's over 35 (since her ovaries are having some sort of going out of business sale and just drop like crazy). The rate also increases significantly if the mother herself is a fraternal twin. Rates also increase when certain drugs are used, such as Clomid, which stimulate egg production, or when multiple embryos implant during IVF treatments.

So, in the fraternal scenario, a woman must release two eggs in one cycle for this type of twinning to take place. Dropping two eggs in one cycle can be a genetic trait - hence, fraternal twins DO run in families. And it comes ONLY from the mother's side in any given father/mother relationship. Having said that, Ryan could carry the gene for dropping two eggs but considering he doesn't actually do any egg dropping himself, he can't determine twins in our relationship - but he could pass it to any daughters we might have (hence, the whole theory of twins skipping a generation, which is only true when it comes through the father's side). Fraternal twins always have two placentas.

Since we are having two boys who each have their own placenta, they could be identical or fraternal. Given that I do have twins on my side 3 generations ago and given the fact that fraternal twins are so much more common, our doc says our chances are 80% that they are fraternal.

How will we ever know? Well, they could look very much unalike. But even if they look very much alike, they could be fraternal (Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are NOT identical, for example). DNA testing is the only way to be really sure. Either way, since I'm younger than 30 and we used no fertility treatments, we should play the lottery more often.

Since Ryan and I have similar coloring, we're banking on their height telling us if they might be non-identical. I mean, if one comes out at 22 inches and the other at 17, you just know has Haas genes and the other Doran genes. No DNA testing needed there, that's for sure.

Hope this was super enlightening.

Belly Pics (Real)

OK, here they are...
Week 7 (bottom two pics)- Should've known it was twins, as I was already growing a bump that you can see in profile
Week 18 (middle pic)
Week 23 (top pic)
I grew a LOT early on...and have slowed down since then. I'm almost 6 months now and look like a typical 7 month pregnancy (trust me, I've used Google Images to compare almost daily). But I looked like I was 7 months along when I was 14 weeks, too! That was scary...

Belly Photos

By popular demand, here is a belly photo. I think he looks great, don't you!?!

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

That is what little boys are made of. We've got two boys!

I made a bet with Ryan that we had two boys (he had his money on one of each). I win. Boy parts were on full display at our ultrasound yesterday.

Ryan was a bit disappointed not to have a little girl (and who doesn't love a daddy with a baby daughter?) but he got over that pretty quickly. I really, really wanted two boys. I feared the payback from a daughter.

The most important thing is that both babies are growing really well, ahead of schedule in fact. Both look healthy. I'm worried about Baby B's head, though, as Baby A is repeatedly kicking it. The ultrasound tech said not to worry.

Garage Sale Chic

That's what these babies will be.

Since I fear looking and feeling like a creature of the sea (nice way to say "whale") by the end of the summer, I am trying to do some baby shopping now. I find it all so overwhelming and, sadly, not fun unless it is done at a garage sale. I derive sick pleasure from a bargain. Plus, I'm not subjected to the craziness of the moms at Baby-R-Us who are stressing over baby wipe warmers. What?

For just $137, I have found:
External Frame Backpack for Ry (for hiking and x-country skiing). Gotta find my own now.
2 rocking chairs, including a nice glider
3 table size changing pads
1 travel size changing pad
2 Baby Bjorns
A monitor
2 swings
A bouncy chair
An activity center (yea, whatever that means. Its a blanket with a few rattles hanging on a bar)
Baby socks

The backpack alone would cost $400 new. Same goes for the glider rocking chair.

Like I said, sick pleasure.

Mexico and Meg's Wedding

Poor Ry. Shortly after finding out we were unexpectedly expecting two bundles of joy, I took off for Mexico on a business trip. Left him all alone to contemplate the fact that, in less than one year, we went from ski bumming it in MT, living in a studio apartment, to the proud owners of a house in MN, a dog and 2 soon-to-be babies.

Shortly after I left for Mexico, the swine flu broke out. Normally, I think those health alerts are silly. Then I got to the Mexico City airport, noted that every person was wearing a surgical mask and airport personnel were quarantining those with temperatures. Being pregnant, I suddenly wished I had one of those masks. But I made it home safely, swine flu free. Say that 5 times fast.

Just a few weeks after that, Ry and I headed to Sedona, AZ for my close friend Meggan's wedding. We planned a little side trip of hiking. I was super excited. Until I realized that neither my bridesmaid's dress OR hiking pants would fit. I had the dress let out at the seams and just wore my hiking pants halfway zipped. Must've been a sight to see. And that was at just 14 weeks. I was so big so early that people at the wedding asked, "Is it TRIPLETS?" Not funny, folks. But the wedding was incredible - Meggan found a really special person - and Sedona is breathtaking. Even if I couldn't hike more than 5 miles at once. And I can't wait to see the photos of Meg and I together, she in her wedding dress. She insisted on rubbing the belly every time. But I think they will be beautiful - two friends smack dab in a few of the happiest moments of their lives.

Pregnant Con Dos!

Since I'm about 4.5 months along now (with a due date of Nov. 5 or 11, still TBD), I'll be playing a bit of catch up in the next few posts.

No, we didnt' use fertility drugs. And, no, twins aren't in our family. Or, not really. There are twins on my side three generations ago, but no one since then (and FYI, the father doesn't determine twins, but can pass on a twinning gene to his female offspring). So, yes, these nuggets were a surprise. Even more of a surprise considering the "life plan" for Ry and I was one kid and two dogs. Maybe three. Dogs, that is.

We went in for our first pre-natal appointment in early April. I was really nervous because I had no pregnancy symptoms other than fatigue, which made me really worried that something was wrong with the baby. But my midwife found a heartbeat. In the process, she told me I was a bit too big to be just 10 weeks along and that must be more like 14 or so. She sent me for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. Ry came with me and we were pretty excited, thinking that we had just fast forwarded a month in our pregnancy without even trying!

When the ultrasound technician put that wand to my belly, however, I saw almost immediately that there were two "things" on the screen, but considering I knew very little about pregnancy at the time, I convinced myself that was normal. Maybe the baby needed an extra sac for a pillow or something? Then the tech pulled the wand away and said, "are there twins in the family?" Um, what? WHAT? And that was how we were told we would be a family of 5 (I always count Roadie).

And then several hours of shock set in. I only remember that Ry and I called each other a few times that first day just to say, "We're having twins," as if to check and make sure it was the truth. That's not so necessary anymore, as my girth pretty much makes it clear that there is more than one in there.

Bienvenido!

I was chastising myself the other day for not keeping faraway folks more updated with photos and such, especially considering this will be my one and only pregnancy (PLEASE, OH PLEASE). With so many family and friends around the country (special shout out to PA, OH, MT, NY, VT, AZ, NE, FL, MD) and the world (what's up London? Prague? Uganda? Mexico? Nica? Namibia? France?), a blog seemed the easiest way to communicate.

I know I'm not the first person ever to be pregnant, so I won't bore with details about glucose tests, Braxton-Hicks contractions, and what not. Promise.

To kick off this blog, here's the first photos of Baby A and Baby B. Yea, I think they're blurry, too.