15 Weeks

Well, I ended up getting the H1N1 Flu Shot this week. After much deliberation, back and forth, we decided that the potential benefit outweighed the risk. We had found out (after the fact) that the Halloween Party we went to was at a home where their son had confirmed H1N1. Then a week later, one of our close friends, who hosted our small group last week, came down with H1N1, too. It felt like the risk was slowly creeping in on us. It came down to; risk our children maybe being born with a form of autism (the biggest concern for any immunization while babies are in utero) or risk getting the flu, and then all three of us possibly dying.

While I was at the OBGYN getting the shot, I asked the nurse what I would have to pay for her to do a quick ultrasound. She laughed and then said "Of course we can take a look!" I said "Are you serious! I'm gonna hug you right now!" So, I was able to take a peek at the babies. The ultrasound pictures were taken at 14 wks 4 days.

They aren't the best quality once I scanned them in, but I'll try to explain a little bit.

Baby A is the top picture. They call her/him Baby A because he/she is closest to the "exit". Right now, it is in the perfect position - head down. The ultrasound shows a frontal view of it's face. You can see the white outline is the skull and the two dark spots are his/her eyes! Then, the neck and moving up to the left is his/her body.

I didn't upload the other picture, but I finally got to see Baby A move this time! Last time, we were pretty sure that he/she was sleeping. This time, Baby B was moving all around, as usual, then Baby A kicked Baby B because he/she was being squished, then Baby B punched Baby A and then Baby B moved out of the way and Baby A stretched out as long as he/she could. It was amazing! I could see every one of little vertebrae that make up it's backbone. From head to toes, in that position, Baby A was 13.3 cm long.

The bottom picture is of Baby B. It's head is towards my spine right now - in the opposite position as Baby A. Right now, he/she would be in a Breech position - feet first towards the exit. In the picture, he/she has it's legs crossed and tucked up (bottom right) then it's body, you can also see a little hand at the top and finally his/her head. This is a profile picture of the baby. The bright white area on the head is all of the little bones that make up his/her facial bones.
Bones! There are two little lives inside of my belly that have hard bones. It's just so amazing!

We are getting very anxious for our appointment next week. We will talk with the doctor (the first appointment, I talked with his wife, the Certified Midwife). He will measure my belly, we will get to hear the heartbeats, and then we will talk about going to see the Perinatologist at Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids. We will then call and schedule an appointment for our first, big, official ultrasound in GR. This happens anywhere between 18 and 20 weeks. Looks like that would put us at the week after Thanksgiving. Hopefully, at this time, we will be able to see if they are boys or girls, they will take a bunch of measurements and check out their internal organs. What a Big Day!

And just a really cool fact that I read about: at about 15 weeks (which is today), researchers say that the twins begin to notice each other and realize that someone else is there. How cool is that!